Hello - Sorry for the 2 month hiatus. Things get busy and I forget about my little blog!
Marchee - what a pathetic, colorless, WET month! The whole month I felt like I was living in Washington. Depressing as ever, no pun intended...I still love Washington. I believe it rained almost 20 days in March. Not exactly the Spring I was hoping for.
March 2nd was our first day back at school. So far the year has been treating me well. I've got a new, interesting schedule, with new faces - both teachers and students. I'm no longer teaching the little Kinders, but they have added a second, 1st Grade class to the school. They are pretty cute, and seem to uphold the rumors that the younger students seem to speak better English than the older students. I've been teaching a lot more hours to the younger kids - some like it, others don't. My co-teacher has changed this year. She is actually a friend that I had last year (she was the 5-2 teacher), and was asked by the Principal to teach English this year. She is great. We teach together Monday through Wednesday, and I think that her teaching style is improving the way our students study and learn. We also have a new Principal. After a month of school, our Principal was promoted and we got a new, first year Principal. He is really nice and has traveled around the states a bit, so he attempts to speak to me in English...and that is always nice. The month of March was really slow, and not a lot went on.
Aprir - still depressing as far as weather goes...but a little more fun filled. I started the month off by taking a road trip with my friends Jana, Nikki, and Mack to Seoul. It was a great trip! We rode in my friend Jana's Nugget (her copper van that reminds me of a little chicken nugget) - slept in the van Friday night, and then continued into the city by subway. We had a friend with a birthday so we spent some time with him, and then did a little site seeing and shopping. My friends ended up getting tatoos. Don't worry - I'm inkless. :) It was a long weekend - mostly exhausting from the lack of sleep, but it was great to get out of Busan for a few days.
As most of you have probably already heard, an aircraft carrier was sunk off the west coast of S. Korea. A lot of scurry and hub bub has been going on about that - canceled events and such. The second weekend in April, the girls and I decided we were going to go to the Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival to check out the famous blossoms. Apparently, since the Naval base is quite close to that city, the attendance was supposed to be a lot lower...so we figured, it'd probably be a good time to go. Well, we got lost. Ya - not fun. But, eventually we found a part of the festival and we were able to take some cute pictures, and then leave. Haha. We are glad we were able to say we went, although it was short lived and not as exciting as we thought it might be. I think if we had hit the major festival AREA, we would have been able to see a lot more...but we were satisfied all the same.
On the 18th, I ran another 10K race. This one was the Pink Marathon - for breast cancer. It was a great run - right along the beach and then, as I was rounding the corned, the great run turned into a mountain right in the middle of the race. Nice. Anyway, I ended up with around the same time as I had last November. But...I found out later that the course was longer than an actual 10K and that we had a slow start time, so all in all - I ran a bit faster. It was a great day to donate and support a cause, run with friends, and get some exercise. My friends Nikki, Chris, and Charlie ran with me and we ended up seeing a bunch of other friends, so it was a great event. We've got another one coming up in May in Dadaepo (where I ran my race last Nov.), so we are all really excited about that one.
The other weekends this past month I've been busy spending time with my friend Nikki. She will be leaving Korea here in just a little over a month. I'm really going to miss her. We've become great friends, but I'm sure we'll stay in touch.
Last weekend we spent the days shopping, eating, and going to the beach. We got 2 nice days and my face is actually, a little pink.
Later this week, I'm going on a trip to Seoul with my students. We are going to Everland (which is as close to Disneyland that Korea has) and some museums. I'll have to fill you in on what we actually do, later.
I'm really looking forward to May - and hopefully a sunny end of Spring. May has many exciting things!! Jana's birthday is the first weekend and we're going to celebrate Sunday, doing as many Korean things as possible (norebang, silly photo booth pics...etc.). I'm paragliding on the 5th! I have the day off from school, due to Children's Day (yes, this is a holiday). We've got a great party planned for May 8th - a delayed Cinco de Mayo party! I've got my 10k on the 16th, and then a 4 day weekend May 21st, which hopefully means a mini trip will be planned!!
Hope all is well at home. Miss you all! Stay safe!
Pictures will come soon...look for a Shutterfly link in your inbox!
PS The miss spellings of March and April are interpretations of how Koreans pronounce them... ;)
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Friday, February 26, 2010
1 year down
Wow - I can officially say that I've been in Korea over a year now. Just a few Fridays ago was my 1 year anniversary of being in Korea. It's so crazy to think that a year has already flown by, but then when I think of my first day in Korea - it seems as if it was soooooo long ago.
Being that the year mark has hit, I'm losing many friends that I've gained over the last 12 months. It's a bitter bitter. There is no sweet in that equation. They will be missed and are irreplaceable. Meeting the new Epik group is not high on my priority list, but spending time with the friends I've already acquired has become a lot more important.
I can recall a warmer March last year. Today/last night it snowed and for the first time in....whoever knows how long, Busan saw a good amount of white stuff. A quote from a friend's facebook status "Snow removal tools I saw today: brooms, hammer, wrench, desk, plastic storage container, umbrella, wait for it ... the lid from a sandwich tuperware container!!" -Kylene
Haha! I'm anticipating a warm Spring...one like last year - beach volleyball in May, but now that snow has hit Busan, I'm not quite sure what Spring will look like.
I've already had many new experiences since I've been back in Korea. Hard to believe I know, but as most of you know - every day is a new DYNAMIC experience for me. Not only have I had some new exciting things happen, so have my friends.
My friend Jana purchased a van - hilarious, small, and fits her to a T. A few of my friends have changed their apartments so they can be closer to the beach - and FAR away from their schools. That can either be a blessing or a pain in the neck. On one hand you are never going to run into your students at the store (as I do) and you have easy access to the beach during the summer, AND on the other hand, most of them have an hour commute to school now. I've decided to stay in the same place and PAY, ya my free apartment is now costing me, 50,000 won a month. Prices went up and the budget didn't go up with it.
I had my first experience at a Korean dentist. He graduated from UCLA dentist school and speaks very good English - but just because of all that, doesn't necessarily mean his ways are completely Westernized. For example, I went in for my teeth to be cleaned and because I had a sensitive spot where a cavity was. You can't just go into the dentist in Korea, unless something is wrong. If I would have gone in there just for a teeth cleaning....they might have laughed at me. I did indeed get my teeth cleaned, after he inspected my cavity, but its not common for just a cleaning appointment. When I got there I was sent to a room decorated with UCLA paraphernalia and pictures of this dentist all over on different vacations. He sits down and puts on gloves and takes this thing that looked like an over size pen, with a light on the end, and stuck it in my mouth. In front of me was a computer monitor, and after is inspected my mouth with this pen, the images of my teeth were plastered on the monitor. It was a little camera - phhhew, no x-rays - the kind that used to make me gag as a child. Yes, cavity and yes, I needed some cleaning....it's been a few years. He also said that my tooth needed to be ground down because my bite was off...which might have been causing me pain. He assured me that I'd need to come back in for a filling and then said that his assistant would clean my teeth. Oh great. So she sits down (uncloved) and gets to work with her cleaning instrument. Not flavored. Just a pointy thing with some ridges on it...like a small sander. She was basically sanding the grime right off. Not completely pleasant, but it actually wasn't too bad - until she hit the gums.
A few days later, I went in for my filling. I was NERVOUS. I had the dentist, as most of you know - it's a quite dramatic affair for me. They sit me down and he sits down and he says - let's speak Korean, ok? And I say - uhhh I don't know Korean, and he says - I'm going to teach you. Hahaha like I'm really going to learn anything while I'm focusing on nothing but what your hands are doing, and what my mouth feels like. So he says in Korean, now we're going to drill. Wait a second....did we miss a part. Like......NOVOCAINE? Ya, another example of Korean style. I had heard in the past that they don't numb you for these - but..thinking to myself that that wouldn't be the case with this American taught dentist....I was corrected. Oh ya, he hit a few nerves. Didn't seem to bother him that I was no longer laying flat on my back, but moving my hips like I was about to make a run for it. After the drilling agony, he filled it, rinsed me, and then I was free to go. Wow - I will be flossing 6 times a day now and never eating sugar again.
All in all, my experience did not damage me as did my childhood memories of the dentist. I must be getting older. Out a $150 bucks but realizing it would have cost me WAY more in the states. And saving money makes me happy!
Well - gotta get some work done here at school!
Love you and miss you!
Being that the year mark has hit, I'm losing many friends that I've gained over the last 12 months. It's a bitter bitter. There is no sweet in that equation. They will be missed and are irreplaceable. Meeting the new Epik group is not high on my priority list, but spending time with the friends I've already acquired has become a lot more important.
I can recall a warmer March last year. Today/last night it snowed and for the first time in....whoever knows how long, Busan saw a good amount of white stuff. A quote from a friend's facebook status "Snow removal tools I saw today: brooms, hammer, wrench, desk, plastic storage container, umbrella, wait for it ... the lid from a sandwich tuperware container!!" -Kylene
Haha! I'm anticipating a warm Spring...one like last year - beach volleyball in May, but now that snow has hit Busan, I'm not quite sure what Spring will look like.
I've already had many new experiences since I've been back in Korea. Hard to believe I know, but as most of you know - every day is a new DYNAMIC experience for me. Not only have I had some new exciting things happen, so have my friends.
My friend Jana purchased a van - hilarious, small, and fits her to a T. A few of my friends have changed their apartments so they can be closer to the beach - and FAR away from their schools. That can either be a blessing or a pain in the neck. On one hand you are never going to run into your students at the store (as I do) and you have easy access to the beach during the summer, AND on the other hand, most of them have an hour commute to school now. I've decided to stay in the same place and PAY, ya my free apartment is now costing me, 50,000 won a month. Prices went up and the budget didn't go up with it.
I had my first experience at a Korean dentist. He graduated from UCLA dentist school and speaks very good English - but just because of all that, doesn't necessarily mean his ways are completely Westernized. For example, I went in for my teeth to be cleaned and because I had a sensitive spot where a cavity was. You can't just go into the dentist in Korea, unless something is wrong. If I would have gone in there just for a teeth cleaning....they might have laughed at me. I did indeed get my teeth cleaned, after he inspected my cavity, but its not common for just a cleaning appointment. When I got there I was sent to a room decorated with UCLA paraphernalia and pictures of this dentist all over on different vacations. He sits down and puts on gloves and takes this thing that looked like an over size pen, with a light on the end, and stuck it in my mouth. In front of me was a computer monitor, and after is inspected my mouth with this pen, the images of my teeth were plastered on the monitor. It was a little camera - phhhew, no x-rays - the kind that used to make me gag as a child. Yes, cavity and yes, I needed some cleaning....it's been a few years. He also said that my tooth needed to be ground down because my bite was off...which might have been causing me pain. He assured me that I'd need to come back in for a filling and then said that his assistant would clean my teeth. Oh great. So she sits down (uncloved) and gets to work with her cleaning instrument. Not flavored. Just a pointy thing with some ridges on it...like a small sander. She was basically sanding the grime right off. Not completely pleasant, but it actually wasn't too bad - until she hit the gums.
A few days later, I went in for my filling. I was NERVOUS. I had the dentist, as most of you know - it's a quite dramatic affair for me. They sit me down and he sits down and he says - let's speak Korean, ok? And I say - uhhh I don't know Korean, and he says - I'm going to teach you. Hahaha like I'm really going to learn anything while I'm focusing on nothing but what your hands are doing, and what my mouth feels like. So he says in Korean, now we're going to drill. Wait a second....did we miss a part. Like......NOVOCAINE? Ya, another example of Korean style. I had heard in the past that they don't numb you for these - but..thinking to myself that that wouldn't be the case with this American taught dentist....I was corrected. Oh ya, he hit a few nerves. Didn't seem to bother him that I was no longer laying flat on my back, but moving my hips like I was about to make a run for it. After the drilling agony, he filled it, rinsed me, and then I was free to go. Wow - I will be flossing 6 times a day now and never eating sugar again.
All in all, my experience did not damage me as did my childhood memories of the dentist. I must be getting older. Out a $150 bucks but realizing it would have cost me WAY more in the states. And saving money makes me happy!
Well - gotta get some work done here at school!
Love you and miss you!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Happy 설날! (Lunar New Year)
Hey guys!
It's been months! Yes, I realize this. Soooorrryyy!
Well, the holidays came and went, and let me tell you....nothing like being at home.
I believe I wrote to you all about Thanksgiving...which ended up being a great time with friends, but Christmas (I will admit) was a bit depressing. The hype of the holidays in Korea are no where NEAR what it is like being in the states. At home, we're constantly reminded by the media, the decorations at stores, and our own home decorations....but in Korea - meh, nothing to get excited about. In Korea, Christmas is a lover's holiday - not much for family time. I ended up watching Avatar in the theater Christmas Eve night, spend the rest of the evening til the morning out and about, and sleeping in til 4pm on Christmas Day. Nothing to brag about. It definitely felt like any other day. I didn't do absolutely nothing....I went out to dinner with some other foreigners and had dinner at a foreign bar. It was good - but nothing like a home cooked Christmas meal.
I did receive some very nice cards, pictures, and some gifts!! Too bad I couldn't wait til Christmas - opened everything before or after, so that really didn't add to the spirit.
January - as most of you know by now, was an exciting month for me! My visit home!! It was incredible. I was able to catch up with my family, great friends, and some an enormous amount of money on American goods and services. It was all worth it!
I was able to spend about 3.5 weeks eating and talking. And that's about all I did, well add a little shopping in as well. It was perfect. I had the chance to go to Seattle and have a big girls' dinner, see the grandparents, go skiing with mom and dad, and took a trip to Victoria BC...to mention just a few things that I fit in.
It was a great vacation - filled with relaxation as well, but I will say, a big part of me is glad to be back in Korea. I'm a little anxious and excited what this next year has in store for me. I'm looking forward to making more money and traveling.
Miss you all and stay in touch! I love hearing how you are all doing and what's new in your worlds!
Updates and pics more often...promise!
Jin
It's been months! Yes, I realize this. Soooorrryyy!
Well, the holidays came and went, and let me tell you....nothing like being at home.
I believe I wrote to you all about Thanksgiving...which ended up being a great time with friends, but Christmas (I will admit) was a bit depressing. The hype of the holidays in Korea are no where NEAR what it is like being in the states. At home, we're constantly reminded by the media, the decorations at stores, and our own home decorations....but in Korea - meh, nothing to get excited about. In Korea, Christmas is a lover's holiday - not much for family time. I ended up watching Avatar in the theater Christmas Eve night, spend the rest of the evening til the morning out and about, and sleeping in til 4pm on Christmas Day. Nothing to brag about. It definitely felt like any other day. I didn't do absolutely nothing....I went out to dinner with some other foreigners and had dinner at a foreign bar. It was good - but nothing like a home cooked Christmas meal.
I did receive some very nice cards, pictures, and some gifts!! Too bad I couldn't wait til Christmas - opened everything before or after, so that really didn't add to the spirit.
January - as most of you know by now, was an exciting month for me! My visit home!! It was incredible. I was able to catch up with my family, great friends, and some an enormous amount of money on American goods and services. It was all worth it!
I was able to spend about 3.5 weeks eating and talking. And that's about all I did, well add a little shopping in as well. It was perfect. I had the chance to go to Seattle and have a big girls' dinner, see the grandparents, go skiing with mom and dad, and took a trip to Victoria BC...to mention just a few things that I fit in.
It was a great vacation - filled with relaxation as well, but I will say, a big part of me is glad to be back in Korea. I'm a little anxious and excited what this next year has in store for me. I'm looking forward to making more money and traveling.
Miss you all and stay in touch! I love hearing how you are all doing and what's new in your worlds!
Updates and pics more often...promise!
Jin
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Happy Octobre!
October brings the rents to Korea! Yay! Chuseok (주 석) is the first weekend in October. I'm finishing this first sentence..umm...almost two months later! Sorry people!
For those of you that didn't know, Mom and Dad came and visited me over Chuseok weekend. We spent a few days in Seoul and then took the bullet train down to Busan. They were about 11 days and we spent a ton of time doing some sight seeing. We went to dinners with co-workers, saw some of the major attractions in Busan, took a bus tour, and they even had a chance to visit my school. Even, in the small quarters of my apartment, we were able to make a great time out of it. Mom and Dad were awesome and I was excited to show them around my new "home" and have them meet some of my friends.
October was BEAUTIFUL!! I can not believe the nice weather we had. It was even super pleasant at the beach!
Sorry for the lame update. Love you all!
For those of you that didn't know, Mom and Dad came and visited me over Chuseok weekend. We spent a few days in Seoul and then took the bullet train down to Busan. They were about 11 days and we spent a ton of time doing some sight seeing. We went to dinners with co-workers, saw some of the major attractions in Busan, took a bus tour, and they even had a chance to visit my school. Even, in the small quarters of my apartment, we were able to make a great time out of it. Mom and Dad were awesome and I was excited to show them around my new "home" and have them meet some of my friends.
October was BEAUTIFUL!! I can not believe the nice weather we had. It was even super pleasant at the beach!
Sorry for the lame update. Love you all!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Summer is over!
I can't believe its September already!! Craziness. My summer went so fast. I'm not sure if I mentioned this in my other blog entries, but I was at school every day except for the 10 days I had off for vacation. So that means I got plenty of sleep, watched lots of Friends episodes, and that's about it. It was incredibly boring and a waste of time. My school doesn't realize that when students are on vacation, going to school is last on the priority list.
I spent a ton of time at the beach with my friends and tried to get out and explore a little more of the surrounding areas. With the end of summer comes vistors from the states!!! YAY! Friendly, familiar faces in a foreign country, nothing is better.
My previous co-worker/friend Tami Mason arrived in Seoul on the 9th of September. She stayed a few days without me and I arrived in Seoul Friday night to meet her. We did some exploring and sight seeing and SHOPPING up in the big city. It was great having someone to constantly talk to about the things I've learned and seen since I've been here. On Saturday night we made plans with some people from Busan to meet up and check out the night life around the Hongdae area in Seoul. We had a great time and met up with a handful of people I'm friends with. The next day we traveled the 3 hours on the KTX (Bullet train) back to Busan. I showed her around a bit down here and took her to school with me one day. The kids really loved asking her questions and getting nosey about her life. She did quite a bit of sightseeing and shopping without me... sad, I wasn't able to take any time off of work. I was able to show her my good "after" school spots and tried to get enough energy to make her evenings worth while.
I hope she had a great time. I really enjoyed her company and loved showing her the sights and great shopping areas that I am so accustom to now. I hope she visits again, being that this is also her homeland, but I feel that she will always find a special place in her heart for Korea.
With September comes many BIRTHDAYS and my first Korean wedding! Dad turned "older", friends got wiser.... and my apartment stayed cleaner.
The co-teacher I had for my summer English camp invited me to her wedding. It was the most OUTRAGEOUS thing I've seen (social setting) while being here. I thought the baby's first birthday was a little odd, but this one tops the cake. Picture this...the guests were piled in the back of the wedding hall, the isle was a lifted stage with a floral design, the only people sitting in the fancy chairs were over 55, the bride and groom did not show emotions, the entertainment/music was electric violin dancers, a small group came out and sang and they were AWFUL, AND they cut the cake at the ceremony with a machette while a fog machine went off....
Is the what you pictured?
Haha. It was great though! Definitely an experience. I guess in Korea, the wedding ceremony isn't really all that special, it's the gift giving and the joining of the families that is the most important. In Korea, they don't have receptions like we do at home. We were offered a buffet dinner and then we all went home. Pretty simple and I think the buffet is part of the "booking the wedding hall" prices, so they didn't have to cater a venue..it's just all provided.
Ahh, September...thanks for being over and thanks Korea for staying WARM!
I spent a ton of time at the beach with my friends and tried to get out and explore a little more of the surrounding areas. With the end of summer comes vistors from the states!!! YAY! Friendly, familiar faces in a foreign country, nothing is better.
My previous co-worker/friend Tami Mason arrived in Seoul on the 9th of September. She stayed a few days without me and I arrived in Seoul Friday night to meet her. We did some exploring and sight seeing and SHOPPING up in the big city. It was great having someone to constantly talk to about the things I've learned and seen since I've been here. On Saturday night we made plans with some people from Busan to meet up and check out the night life around the Hongdae area in Seoul. We had a great time and met up with a handful of people I'm friends with. The next day we traveled the 3 hours on the KTX (Bullet train) back to Busan. I showed her around a bit down here and took her to school with me one day. The kids really loved asking her questions and getting nosey about her life. She did quite a bit of sightseeing and shopping without me... sad, I wasn't able to take any time off of work. I was able to show her my good "after" school spots and tried to get enough energy to make her evenings worth while.
I hope she had a great time. I really enjoyed her company and loved showing her the sights and great shopping areas that I am so accustom to now. I hope she visits again, being that this is also her homeland, but I feel that she will always find a special place in her heart for Korea.
With September comes many BIRTHDAYS and my first Korean wedding! Dad turned "older", friends got wiser.... and my apartment stayed cleaner.
The co-teacher I had for my summer English camp invited me to her wedding. It was the most OUTRAGEOUS thing I've seen (social setting) while being here. I thought the baby's first birthday was a little odd, but this one tops the cake. Picture this...the guests were piled in the back of the wedding hall, the isle was a lifted stage with a floral design, the only people sitting in the fancy chairs were over 55, the bride and groom did not show emotions, the entertainment/music was electric violin dancers, a small group came out and sang and they were AWFUL, AND they cut the cake at the ceremony with a machette while a fog machine went off....
Is the what you pictured?
Haha. It was great though! Definitely an experience. I guess in Korea, the wedding ceremony isn't really all that special, it's the gift giving and the joining of the families that is the most important. In Korea, they don't have receptions like we do at home. We were offered a buffet dinner and then we all went home. Pretty simple and I think the buffet is part of the "booking the wedding hall" prices, so they didn't have to cater a venue..it's just all provided.
Ahh, September...thanks for being over and thanks Korea for staying WARM!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Mactan Island
Our traveling day was incredibly long and annoying. The 10 hour layover was ridiculous and seemed like it lasted a lifetime. We had the opportunity to go out into another part of the airport, but we were unsure of the restrictions. Turns out, we should have went out and explored. We were so bored and restless... Our flight to Cebu was quick and we met a few Koreans on the way. Needless to say, we had no idea that the WHOLE island would be saturated with Koreans. So much for a vacation away from them.
We got picked up by the hotel shuttle and was taken to the hotel. We were able to check in right away, which was nice because we were early. As soon as we got to our room, we settled down a bit and got dressed for the pool/beach. Well...the beach wasn't exactly what we had in mind. Apparently, Mactan Island is technically a coral reef, not really an island. Our beach was the equivalent of someone taking a bunch of shells and grinding them into tiny pieces. It hurt when you walked on it and under no circumstances would you want to put a towel down and lay on it. Luckily the hotel had out plenty of lounge chairs for sun bathing.
I was a little disappointed as to where we were located. We were really far away from everything and Cebu City was about a 45 minute cab ride. We were pretty secluded and it wasn't all that safe to take a stroll into downtown. I didn't realize til after I got back to Busan that there are way better options for the Philippines.
Our days were mostly spent relaxing at the pool side. On our second day we did manage to get out and about on an island hopping tour. We asked the bartender "what is there to do around here?" so he suggested this little trip. It wasn't arranged through the hotel so we were a little sketchy on what we were getting ourselves into. It turned out to be just the two of us going and we got the entire boat to ourselves.
The island hopping tour was quite interesting. We were the only ones on the boat with a crew of 4. Two young kids and two older guys. We made our first stop near the closest island to do some snorkeling. The water was gorgeous. So clear and blue. In order for us to even get in the water we had to pay a "water entrance fee" and a rental fee for the snorkeling gear. Did I mention that Filipinos will charge you for anything and everything. The snorkeling was great and we saw some amazing fish. After snorkeling we got back in the boat and headed for the floating restaurants. Half way across the water to the restaurants, it started getting cloudy and we could see there was a storm coming in. Oh ya, giant black clouds, down pour, in an all open boat. Great. We were soaked, our stuff was soaked, and we were starving. We got to the floating restaurants with ease, but I was a little nervous because there was lightning and thunder and we were under metal roofs. It was amazing how fast the rain came and how hard it fell. The restaurant owners gave us bright pink table cloths to wrap ourselves in, and were given the menu. Being in SE Asia, the menu was not just a handed to us....we were able to get up and choose what we wanted to eat. They had buckets of fresh seafood (catch of the day) that we could go up to and pick what fish, crab, snail, squid, shrimp...etc. we wanted. It was amazing...but as you all know, I'm not much of a seafood person. I ordered a Lapu Lapu (Philippines are famous for this fish and a city is named after it). My friend Katie ordered shrimp, clams and fish. As a courtesy, they offered us some spicy clam soup. Our meals came with some DELICIOUS 맛있요 fried rice. The fish was cooked whole, obviously...can't get a nice steak of fish anywhere around here, and EXPENSIVE. I can't really recall the amount but it was the most expensive meal we had in the Philippines.
The rest of our vacation was spent hanging out with some "locals". I put that in quotes because they are all from different islands but work in the same field. The Phillipines Islands are huge. There are over 7,000 different islands and over 150 different dialects. Pretty crazy. We met these crazy cats through a friend/acquaintence of Katie's. She lives in a small town in Korea called Andong and this guy is a University professor (he might be younger than me). We met up with him and he was friends with about 7 or 8 Filipinos. They are all Medical Reps or as we say Pharmeceutical Reps. Great people. We went out for dinner and coffee one night to get to know them and then the next day they took us on a 2 day tour of Southern Cebu. It was great because they all had cars and spoke English. We went to Mantayupan Falls and played around all day and then they took us to a beach after. We stayed the night at the beach and had a big Filipino dinner. It was great. They were so hospitable and wouldn't let us pay for anything. I was a little bummed out about the beach. There wasn't really anywhere to lay out in the sand because again, it had shells all over it. The view was gorgeous and the water was warm and clear.
Overall, we had a great time. There would have been a few things I might have changed but it was a great experience. When I got back to ROK everyone decided that was a good time to tell me of a better island to go to....jerks. Haha. Well I hope that fills you in a little bit on my first exploration around Asia.
Hope all is well on the home front. I'm thinking of coming home in January...not quite sure though. It will be summer in Australia..haha.
Love you all,
Jin
We got picked up by the hotel shuttle and was taken to the hotel. We were able to check in right away, which was nice because we were early. As soon as we got to our room, we settled down a bit and got dressed for the pool/beach. Well...the beach wasn't exactly what we had in mind. Apparently, Mactan Island is technically a coral reef, not really an island. Our beach was the equivalent of someone taking a bunch of shells and grinding them into tiny pieces. It hurt when you walked on it and under no circumstances would you want to put a towel down and lay on it. Luckily the hotel had out plenty of lounge chairs for sun bathing.
I was a little disappointed as to where we were located. We were really far away from everything and Cebu City was about a 45 minute cab ride. We were pretty secluded and it wasn't all that safe to take a stroll into downtown. I didn't realize til after I got back to Busan that there are way better options for the Philippines.
Our days were mostly spent relaxing at the pool side. On our second day we did manage to get out and about on an island hopping tour. We asked the bartender "what is there to do around here?" so he suggested this little trip. It wasn't arranged through the hotel so we were a little sketchy on what we were getting ourselves into. It turned out to be just the two of us going and we got the entire boat to ourselves.
The island hopping tour was quite interesting. We were the only ones on the boat with a crew of 4. Two young kids and two older guys. We made our first stop near the closest island to do some snorkeling. The water was gorgeous. So clear and blue. In order for us to even get in the water we had to pay a "water entrance fee" and a rental fee for the snorkeling gear. Did I mention that Filipinos will charge you for anything and everything. The snorkeling was great and we saw some amazing fish. After snorkeling we got back in the boat and headed for the floating restaurants. Half way across the water to the restaurants, it started getting cloudy and we could see there was a storm coming in. Oh ya, giant black clouds, down pour, in an all open boat. Great. We were soaked, our stuff was soaked, and we were starving. We got to the floating restaurants with ease, but I was a little nervous because there was lightning and thunder and we were under metal roofs. It was amazing how fast the rain came and how hard it fell. The restaurant owners gave us bright pink table cloths to wrap ourselves in, and were given the menu. Being in SE Asia, the menu was not just a handed to us....we were able to get up and choose what we wanted to eat. They had buckets of fresh seafood (catch of the day) that we could go up to and pick what fish, crab, snail, squid, shrimp...etc. we wanted. It was amazing...but as you all know, I'm not much of a seafood person. I ordered a Lapu Lapu (Philippines are famous for this fish and a city is named after it). My friend Katie ordered shrimp, clams and fish. As a courtesy, they offered us some spicy clam soup. Our meals came with some DELICIOUS 맛있요 fried rice. The fish was cooked whole, obviously...can't get a nice steak of fish anywhere around here, and EXPENSIVE. I can't really recall the amount but it was the most expensive meal we had in the Philippines.
The rest of our vacation was spent hanging out with some "locals". I put that in quotes because they are all from different islands but work in the same field. The Phillipines Islands are huge. There are over 7,000 different islands and over 150 different dialects. Pretty crazy. We met these crazy cats through a friend/acquaintence of Katie's. She lives in a small town in Korea called Andong and this guy is a University professor (he might be younger than me). We met up with him and he was friends with about 7 or 8 Filipinos. They are all Medical Reps or as we say Pharmeceutical Reps. Great people. We went out for dinner and coffee one night to get to know them and then the next day they took us on a 2 day tour of Southern Cebu. It was great because they all had cars and spoke English. We went to Mantayupan Falls and played around all day and then they took us to a beach after. We stayed the night at the beach and had a big Filipino dinner. It was great. They were so hospitable and wouldn't let us pay for anything. I was a little bummed out about the beach. There wasn't really anywhere to lay out in the sand because again, it had shells all over it. The view was gorgeous and the water was warm and clear.
Overall, we had a great time. There would have been a few things I might have changed but it was a great experience. When I got back to ROK everyone decided that was a good time to tell me of a better island to go to....jerks. Haha. Well I hope that fills you in a little bit on my first exploration around Asia.
Hope all is well on the home front. I'm thinking of coming home in January...not quite sure though. It will be summer in Australia..haha.
Love you all,
Jin
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Goodbye Silver CRV
Just an FYI, if you see the old CRV around town, you won't find me in it. Dad sold my car at the end of June to an 18 year old. So don't honk and wave...it's really not me. I'm sad but am looking forward to getting a new car when I return.
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