Teaching, Learning and Other Adventures Around the World: Spoiled by More Fantastic Weekends

As I mentioned in my previous post, the weekends have been full of adventures, and things haven't slowed down since my last entry. Recently, I made another rock climbing trip on a mountain outside of Ulsan. Three friends and I woke up early and drove our motorcycles/scooters 2 hours south to the top of a scenic mountain which contained a rock face with over 100 climbing routes. We had a blast of course, and conversed with some Korean climbers who shared their food with us and invited us to join them on future climbing expeditions. I am thrilled to be able to climb real rocks after a year of climbing in gyms!

We also continue to have incredible beach days. Recently, a volleyball net has been installed on the beach, and the foreigner community can't get enough of it! We had a news crew filming us playing a couple weekends ago, and the city business bureau asked my friend to organize a city-sponsored volleyball tournament to promote beach activity! So on Saturday June 9, three friends and I will be competing, and winning, the volleyball tournament!

Last weekend was a 3-day weekend to celebrate Buddha's birthday. A friend of mine coordinated a trip down to Yeosu, on the southern coast of Korea, to visit the World Expo and surrounding areas. 7 friends and I took a bus first to Busan, where we had about 5 hours to kill before catching our next bus to Yeosu. So I got to explore Busan for the first time. We took cabs up to an old fortress on a mountain and walked around for most of that time. We got to see some old buildings that looked like old mansions or small palaces. It was such a treat seeing old buildings that weren't temples, because frankly, the temples all kind of look the same. (I'll post pictures below)

We arrived into Yeosu in the late afternoon. We found a small island close to the Expo and walked a bridge to get there. We ended up spending most of the evening on that island, walking the paths and sitting on the rocky cliffs by the shore, toasting the world with any positive thought that came to our minds.

Around 10pm, we headed back into town to find a place to sleep. We knew it would be hard to find a motel with the Expo going on, so we hoped to sleep at a jimjilbong (a large bathhouse that is a common place for people to sleep). Unfortunately, the one jimjilbong in town filled up while we were trying to get in, so we split up to look for a motel. We found one motel room, and tried to fit all 8 of us. We were woken up around midnight to the hotel manager knocking on the door, who realized we had a lot more than 2 people sleeping in there. At first we were worried he would kick us out, without refunding our money, and we'd really struggle to find a place to sleep. But because the people of Yeosu are apparently the kindest people in Korea, the man let us stay for a minimal additional fee, and then brought us extra blankets, toothbrushes, and a large bottle of water! This was just one of several examples of the people of Yeosu being incredibly kind towards us.

The next morning, we ventured to the World Expo. This year's theme was conservation of the oceans, and every country present provided information about their roles with the ocean. Most countries did a great job of making me want to visit, and some countries like Cambodia, Vietnam, and Angola had highly entertaining musical performances, but only one country (United Arab Emirates) mentioned anything about their roles with conserving their marine habitats. All the other countries just seemed to brag about how much fish they catch and trade with the world. All in all, I had a lot of fun with my friends there, but the event itself was slightly underwhelming.

We caught a bus to the nearby town of Suncheon that night to avoid the madness of finding a motel again. This time, we were successful in finding a jimjilbong to stay in. This was my first time in a jimjilbong, which I'm glad I finally had, since it's such a staple of Korean culture. It was a large building with a men's bathing room, women's bathing room, and a large co-ed common room where people sleep on floor pads. My guy friends and I were commenting, as we were soaking naked together in a pool, that a bathhouse would probably never work in America, since our society is so uncomfortable with showing our naked bodies to strangers, and even to our close friends. In Korea, however, this is nothing embarrassing or awkward.

Monday morning, we took a bus to the Sucheon Bay Ecological Park, which was located at a marshland. We walked along wooden walkways, winding through the tall grass of the marshes. It was a pleasant and peaceful experience. We then took a path up to the top of a mountain where we enjoyed hazy views of the marshes and nearby rice fields. While on the top of that mountain, we noticed a sign that said "Beach 4km", so like a moth to a flame we were drawn to the beach. We didn't realize that the trail became somewhat vague, and that the beach would not be sandy but muddy. On the way, I ended up sticking my whole foot into the mud, and then my friend Mary fell thigh-deep into the mud. We proceeded to wipe mud on our faces like tribal folks, and continue on our trek to the beach. Because of the mud, we realized we REALLY needed to find this beach to be able to wash off before catching a bus back home.

After walking along a very muddy coastline, we finally found a pier that we walked to the end of and jumped into the water. It was pretty mucky water, and several Koreans tried telling us not to get in the water, but we needed that mud washed off our bodies! I would normally listen to words of caution by locals, but since most Koreans don't know how to swim, I figured I could take their warnings with a grain of salt.

From there, we returned to the bus station and headed home. It was a long weekend of a lot of hiking, riding in buses, bonding with great friends, and sleeping communally. As I write this 24 hours later, I still feel completely wiped out and ready for a good, full night's sleep!

And in a few more days, the next adventure begins: The Busan Sand Festival, camping, and climbing on the coast!

The Fortress in Busan