After Korea??

As the time comes to finish my contract in Korea and move on to a new adventure in life I become baffled, confused, overwhelmed and uncertain of everything. I’ve lived abroad before and have become acquainted with these feelings as the time comes to leave the places I have created a life in. In the past I have made fast, irrational and completely wonderful decisions.

Kimchi Crisis!

OH NO! Due to copious amounts of rain this past summer and lack of good harvest there has been a kimchi crisis. Kimchi is the most common banchan (side dish) in Korea. There are hundreds of different ways to make it but typically it is fermented cabbage, radish or cucumber with a red chili paste along with many other seasonings.

Ridge Climbing at Daedunson

After a fun weekend climbing in Busan, we weren’t ready for the cold weather to take over just yet. One final ridge climbing weekend in Daedunson was the perfect way to end our outdoor rock climbing adventures in Korea. Though we may do a bit more bouldering here or there, the changing seasons has our next adventures focused on ice climbing and hiking.

Busan Prefreeze Climbing Extravaganza

With the number of warm days on the decline, the Busan Climbing crew set up the Prefreeze Climbing Extravaganza. This included an entire day of climbing, photo scavenger hunts, cracking riddles, meeting new and interesting people and finishing the day with an Indian dinner and drinks at a “foreigner” bar.

Braii and Yongseo Pokpo

Saturday morning I met up with Matthew and two of our close friends from South Africa, Annemien and Douwe. Annie and Douwe also live and teach with me in Okcheon  and we spend a lot of time eating dinners together and wall climbing on Thursdays along with many other fun activities. During the week it was Annie's 27th birthday and Douwe(being a good husband) planned a birthday Braii (bbq in Afrikaans) for her at the Daejeon Dam. We ate some delicious brats bought from Costco (sorry Shauna) and a delectable cake made by Gabi, another South Africa English teacher.

Not the best quality but the only picture I have from the Braii

In the Shadows

After missing my barefoot race due to an unfortunate mishap with my alarm clock, Matt and I decided to make a day of random adventures.

Rooster and Dragon Mountain

Gyreyongsan is a mountain near Daejeon. The mountains' name means rooster dragon because its ridgeline looks like a dragon wearing the crest of a rooster. This popular mountain has a small town and temple located at the start of the route providing for some tasty restaurants and numerous souvener shops.

Daejeon National Cemetery

After a few days in Muido, Matt and I decided to go for a local trip to Daejeon's National Cemetery. It’s only a 35 minute subway ride from Seodaejeon Station to, yup you guessed it, the National Cemetery Station (exit 3). There we decided to rent bikes. Most subway stops in Daejeon have a free bike rental. All you have to do is give them your alien registration card and when you return the bike, you receive your card back. No fee, no complications, just an easy exchange and you can use the bikes for as long as you like.

Halfway into a 20 minute ride to the cemetery we saw a small temple and decided to check it out. We didn't end up going inside, but we stopped to take pictures of the cluttered atmosphere of Buddha's and Garden ornaments. Then set on our way once again.

Muido

Muido is a small Island in the Northwest of Korea. Matt and I went with a couple of friends for the weekend before Chuseok and had an awesome time! We had so much fun that we went back for the holiday.

Waiting for the ferry on the mainland. That is Muido in the distance.

Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving Day)

Sept. 23-25

This is a harvest festival celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month according to the lunar calendar. This provides for a 3-day holiday and since it landed in the middle of a week day this year most people received a 4th day off of work as well.


A week before the holiday begins, families generally do a clean-up and lawn care on their ancestors gravesite. Usually Koreans do not bury family members in actual cemetaries but instead on rural hillsides. During the actual holiday, families dress up, sometimes in traditional Korean clothing (hanbok), and visit the gravesites to pay their respects to the spirits of their ancestors.

Jeju-do Adventures

After a long summer of camps, camps and more English camps, Matthew and I were finally getting to set off for some well deserved vacation time. Since we were traveling during the rainy season most tourist spots were either closed or not enjoyable in the downpour. A lot of our time was spent in cafés or under pavilions waiting out heavy rain but when we finally ventured out, our wet adventures were truly rewarding!

My birthday breakfast

The Lumberjack

Since my boyfriend, Matthew, will appear in many of my posts I thought I would officially introduce him. My knickname for him is “LJ,” as in lumberjack, because he has a beard, shaggy hair and many days wears jeans and a red and blue plaid shirt. Now how can I describe his personality without sounding like an obsessed 15 year old? He’s handsome, artistic, self-motivated, musical, well read, writes well, obsesses over doing the Appalachian Trail, loves scuba diving, loves kids and has an incredibly unique sense of humor. Is that all you may ask? Probably not!

A Typical Day

Since I live in an extremely small town there is not much to do during the weekdays.  Though I live 13 minutes by train and 45 minutes by bus to the fifth largest city called Daejeon, the trains are infrequent and both the bus and the train only get us to the edge of the city. I can't complain though, I love my little town and it has such a relaxing feel to it.

Okcheon

My Home

This quaint town of 30,000 people that make up the actual city and 58,000 including surrounding areas is both adorable and limiting.

This is a view of Okcheon from the top of a small mountain I hiked.

First Impressions

When I first arrived, I was naive about Korean culture and was not expecting to be impressed with the physical beauty of the country. In some ways this stayed true, however, I was pleasantly surprised in many other ways.

Welcome!

I realize it is a bit strange to be starting a blog so late in the game. I’m a year and half into my two-year stay in Korea and the adventures here are soon ending. However, I have come to terms with the fact that I was born nomadic and will always seek adventures.