The Shades Are Off - Our 6th Month Mark

Hi Everyone!!!

Finally another post... I have been bad about updating, especially since we hit our “busy season”. Korean students get the month of January off for public school vacation, so the private academies get swamped with new and old students coming during their school time. Finally, back down to my normal work hours, so I will try not to neglect my blog.... as much. 

Scott and I are just one week away from having been here 6 months already! It still seems like I am that "happy tourist" from time-to-time, but in reality we are pretty much settled in now. But with the comfort of being "settled in" comes the discomfort of having to take my rose colored glasses off and actually see Korea.

The Gilded Age of Korea:

Right now, Korea has a booming economy; they are listed in the G-20 Major Economies. The Korean people are making good money compared to their cost of living. They are able to sustain their family on one income and live a rather lavish lifestyle. Women stay at home with their children until they are able to send them off to academies (5 years old) and school where they will remain until 9-10pm, which gets VERY expensive, but they can swing it. It is also common for them to live in nice, new apartments (houses aren't really a possibility here) and drive BMW and Lexus cars. 

This may sounds really great, but there are some real problems arising in Korea.

First, as implied before, Korean children push themselves very hard to be good in school. They study until those late hours because they want to succeed and make their parents proud. After graduation, some go to Ivy League in the US, Seoul University, Busan University or some other local universities and get their degree. However, the students coming out of college are where Korea is seeing a problem. All of those students that obtain that fancy degree don't want to "settle" for any job. It has created a bubble of unemployed University students. Many of my students want to get degrees in "global this" or "global that" but don't want to leave Korea. 

 I think that Korean's are becoming accustomed to a lifestyle that cannot sustain itself. They have had so much gain in the last 20 years that it seems that the bottom will never fall out and they are living that way. I think that anyone in the US can understand this, but it is eye-opening to really watch the whole thing happen. I was too young to really see or understand the economic crisis that we call the last 10 years, but now I think Korea is headed there and I am beginning to see it..... Did I mention the rose colored glass have come off?

****I named this section "The Korean Gilded Age" because behind that G-20 label and the BMW's there are some real social problems that are going to have to be dealt with, but Korea can't fit it in during their 60 hour work weeks.  ..... And..... I'm a history teacher at heart! <3 

Technology is become an epidemic in Korea.

A big social problem that I am seeing is my students' ability to "socialize". I can't count on your, mine... South Korea's entire populations' fingers AND toes the amount of times my father has lecture me on the decline of the American youth because of text messaging! Let me just reassure him and you now, IT CAN GET WORSE. 

While teaching in the US, students rarely were on their phone in class..... compared to Korean students. Korean students ONLY communicate to one another or their parents using texting (Kakao) or some kind of technology. 

You walk down the street, 90% of the people are on their phones!

60% of drivers in South Korea..... WATCH TV WHILE DRIVING! And they find that 'ok', just think about what else they find 'ok' to do while driving... Definitely includes texting! 

Women in Korea.

It may sound nice to sit back and be a stay at home mom—with no kids, but most of the time it came at a large price…. Their own careers. It’s not just the Korean men that go away to college and get those fancy degrees; more women are going to college in Korea than ever before. They aren’t just studying the humanities either; they are going hard after science and math and keeping the men in Korea on their toes. But, once they get to a certain point in their relationship where it’s marriage and kids or career, marriage and kids always takes the cake. This  problem has gotten progressively better, but women don’t have a fighting chance against most Korean men when it comes to jobs because Korean men HAVE to go to the military for 2 years, thus they get this “+” mark on their resume that sets them above any woman.

So, why not become a stay at home mom that holds a degree in “bioengineering for the nuclear age” and live off an allowance from your husband?!

******Disclaimer: They had a woman's movement about 30 years ago and they haven't really made any upward progression since then. So they have the ball rolling….

And there is me. I am a woman AND a foreigner… that’s 2 strikes already.  One of the most disheartening things that I have come into contact with is how some Korean MEN treat foreigner women. I have been yelled at, starred at, cat called, solicited for sex and  stalked.

The older generations haven't had the education of the younger generations, they weren't taught English and get rather angry when being spoken to in English. An example, is when they can't explain themselves, they will just begin to angry shout at you. I think my next sentence in Korean that I am going to learn is: "Hey Bro, yelling at me in Hugal doesn't make me understand it better. I'm not yelling at you in English." I will see how that goes over....=)

Also, because I am seen as a foreigner woman, I get starred at by a lot of the men. (I am sure you are thinking, "get over yourself, they probably just haven't seen a blonde haired girl before" and let me tell you, that is the case 98% of the time.... However, when they stare/lick their lips/start to salivate, it's not just the "foreigner shock" anymore.) Some men will follow me and make "kissing" sounds or that sound you make when you are trying to get something out of your teeth.... It's creepy and they don't understand that just because I may not speak THEIR language, the creepy stalker language is universal.

From All of This Shidagae (trash in Korean) There is Gold:

I am sorry for having a post about the "bad" stuff, but this isn't to complain or to even "vent" about Korea. Anthropologically  I think it came out pretty well. I really have had rose colored glasses on and thought it was "okay" to be treated subhuman because I was a foreigner, but it should never be the case. Never have I been more aware of how my minority students must feel/felt. If I don't "learn" anything about lesson planning or how the public school systems works from coming to Korea that is fine with me, what I will have learned is a lesson in compassion, kindness and understanding… and those three are things that make the best teachers.

My next blog will be about the awesome stuff -- Shark Diving and Tokyo. I may have to make a blog2 so I can upload more pictures so stay tuned.... And I hope I haven't driven you away. 

Finally, a post!!!

IT'S MY BIRTHDAY WEEK... and I am spending it in SOUTH KOREA!! Looking back two years from now, I NEVER would have thought me, of all people, would be in another country!

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving, mine was a little rough. The only turkey we could find was at Quiznos on a turkey sub, and you best believe that was the best turkey sub of my life (9USD later)! But we are finding that traditions aren't as important as the person you are spending the holiday with. And a BIG shout out to everyone who has sent gifts and cards!! I can't believe how much mail I have gotten over here, it means the absolute WORLD to me that you all are so generous! Trust me, all the packages have come at just the right moment, when I needed that pick me up from home or that reminder of why I am over here. = ) YOU ARE ALL THE BEST!! *You know who you are*cough* Debbie, Kathy B, Aunt Carol, Melissa, Kayloni... MOM!*

To explain my lack of posts, I ran out of free picture room and I sometimes feel that pictures almost make my posts because it give everyone something to look at and then relate to my incessant jabber. But, I think I am just going to go through and delete dumb pictures of what I thought was "cool" at first and then realized that I was just NEW. haha.

To give a quick recap on my last month:

Mungdong Falls - November 3rd, 2012

Mungdong (water)Falls are about a 7,000 ($6.80) Won cab ride away (we weren't exactly sure how to get there, but now we know it's not too far from our house). I don't think we could have asked for a better fall day, it was chilly, but just enough to keep us comfortable on the hike and the sun was shinning through the falls colors, all-in-all... PERFECT! We started off our "hike" on the path provided, and then jumped on the path and climbed on the rocks. We were able to see all the little "falls" trickling down from the big fall and take gorgeous pictures of the different ones (see my Facebook for pictures.) When we finally reached the "fall" it was very...... lacking. We needed to go on a day after rain, but still waterfall none-the-less. After taking pictures at the bottom we climbed the stone path up to the waterfall. You weren't allowed to go out "on" the waterfall, it was gated off by a green fence, but we moosied our way around that fence and sat at the edge of the fall. It was stunning.

(later insert pictures here)

After sitting at the edge of the waterfall for about 15 minutes, Scott talked me into climbing the rest of the way up. I am NOT hiker, I LOVE nature. If I know there is something that I will get out of it, I am down, but just wandering up a mountain to see the same thing I just saw (less than I just saw)... Not my thing, but I climbed up there. I even was asked if I was "Miss Korea" on the way up... Nice old man!!
When we FINALLY reached the top, I was DYING, being the biggest baby, telling Scott, "OMG, I THINK I'M DEAD!" OMG WHY DID I LET YOU TALK ME INTO THIS!? .... And come to find out, one of the couples at the top of the mountain could speak English, they heard the entire thing! Just. My. Luck! And that about sums up our climb to Mungdong Falls. It was beautiful, something I had never done in my life and I would do it again in a heart beat! Honestly, one of my favorite places we have been so far.

Geoje Flower Festival - November 10th, 2012

The following weekend, Ellie (our EX Korean teacher... a zillion sad faces!) asked us to come to her house to see the Geoje Flower Festival. I was super excited because I thought we had missed it, but it was also being held that weekend. So we hoped on our #120 bus (everyone smelled like egg salad sandwiches... so I about barfed!) and 40 minutes later we were at Ellie's parents grocery store. Her parents are so kind, her mom will give us present after present of groceries. This time it was cinnamon! I couldn't find cinnamon ANYWHERE so he mom gave us a BIG bag of cinnamon stocks.... they smell absolutely amazing and we "chop" them up as best as we can to get some cinnamon in our tea.
Remember me bragging about our amazing weather the weekend before? Well, this weekend was FAR from the same scenario. It was very cold and very windy when we showed up to the festival grounds. Even the flowers weren't impressed. We all really enjoyed the flowers, but it was almost too cold to fully enjoy them. There were tents upon tents of just beautiful flowers, in every shape, size and color.

(Insert flower pictures)

 Also, there was an Entomology exhibit. At first, I thought it was just of the insect in South Korea, until we happened upon the spider collection. I nearly fainted thinking that there were all these HUGE spiders living in Korea, and then Ellie informed me that it was from all over the world. That I would not be snuggling up to any scorpions while camping or having Scott kill taranchulas in our house ANY TIME soon. Big relief!!

(Insert bugs pictures)

When we all were frozen to the bone and ready to go eat some good grub, we went back to the grocery store and had samgyupsal (pork belly). Scott absolutely LOVES samgyupsal, it is growing on me. My body doesn't react well to the meat to fat ratio, but again, they were all so kind for having us over and spending the money on the samgyupsal. Eating any kind of meat over here is fairly expensive. Chicken is the cheapest (YAY!!) and beef is by far the most expensive. 1/4th of a kg of ground beef (half pound) is roughly 10USD!
We eat A LOT of chicken and pork... or ramen! = )

After Scott had stuffed himself with all the samgyupsal he could get his hands on, we took the barf bus back to our house and watched WALKING DEAD.... (we have to wait until the Saturday after it premiers in the US, but it is a nice way to spend our Saturday nights together!).

BUSAN - November 17th, 2012

We had officially been in Geoje for a little over three months and had not visited the second biggest city in Korea, Busan (which is only a 40 minute bus ride from Geoje). Friday night, Scott finally MADE the decision that we were going to Busan the next morning.

We woke up and were out the door by 1pm. We caught the 1:20pm bus and arrived in Busan at around 2pm. Busan has an awesome subway system, it runs right to the bus terminal. We did not need to us taxis or intercity buses for anything, just used the subway.

First, we took the subway all the way to Haeundae Beach, an expansive sand beach boarding the East Sea. It was too chilly to take a dip, or even put our toe in, but we walked the boardwalk and watched all the people feeding the seagulls! It was nuts to see all of the seagulls be so daring, they would come take the food right out of people's hands!! After watching that for a short amount of time, the fear of being pooped on steered us inward. After wandering around Haeundae, visiting the market and eating Chinese food, we hopped on the subway and headed toward Centum City.

(Insert beach picture)

Centum City is the "Worlds Largest Department Store" according to Guinness Book of World Records. On the bottom floor, Chanel, Gucci and Louis Vuitton line one side, while the raw fish man sold his fish on another. I found that quite comical, myself! Centum City was jam packed full of people! We were able to make it to the H&M store and we bought a few "Western size" clothes. We finally made it all the way up to the 9th floor (they skip the 4th floor... so only 8 floors in total, BUT they were JAM PACKED full of people and clothing racks!) It isn't like the department store we think of in the US, actually different brands rent out square sections of the floor (no walls) so it is really a maze trying to get through the Billibong section to get to the other side to visit the Bear Paw section. Very confusing!

(Insert Mall picture)

We rode the 30 minute subway ride back to the bus terminal and ACTUALLY caught an earlier bus (most people miss their bus from Busan because the bus leaves whenever they fill up... irregardless if you are on the right time bus as your ticket, I guess we were those people!) All-in-all, it was a busy day. It may  not seem like much, but we did a lot of walking around and sight-seeing, we slept well that night.

Last day of November.... Technically the first of December - November 30th-December 1st, 2012

I'm not going to go into any details, but I experience my first "all nighter in Korea". The bars over here don't close until the last person leaves. A group of us foreigners started at the Hollywood bar after work, had $12 work of pitcher beer a piece (I think like 10ish pitchers)... and switched to SOJU!! BAD IDEA!! We then traveled to a bar called "O Bar" and stayed there until 6am just having a good old time. It's exactly like the casinos in Las Vegas, where there is no clocks and no windows, that was O Bar. I had no idea it was 6am until getting into the taxi to go home. I can now say I have done it and experienced that "part" of Korea. A mature, grown-up form of me would tell you that it won't ever happen again, but... It was good to feel young again!!

Learning As I Go...

What I have learned 2 months in:

1. There are no trash cans..... ANYWHERE. You made the mess, you dispose of it in your own way. Thus Korea has trash everywhere. 

2. No forks. Using a fork is looked at as "childish". -- You should see my sick skills at chopsticks though!

3. The hospital's used needle container... Wide open, no lid, waiting for your toddler to just stick their hand right on in there. 

4. People are drunk and on the streets 7 days a week and they will pass out where ever they feel it it. 
For proof check out: http://blackoutkorea.blogspot.kr/

5. The crazy drivers!! Stop signs/lights/blinkers are just advisory, you really don't have to abide by them. Already, I have not driven for over two months and I can't say that I am missing after seeing all the accidents over here! 

6. Korean showers have no doors separating the shower from the sink/stool. The whole bathroom is essentially the shower, FINALLY I am able to pee in the shower!! ... Just kidding.... Get it? ; )

7. We play charades EVERY DAY, 10 TIMES A DAY! When someone doesn't understand Scott and I will try to act it out. We look like idiots 100% of the time, but I would say it has a success rate of about 70%

8. Two words: Metric. System. UGH! 

9. One word: Celsius. DOUBLE UGH!!

10. Woman urinals. No joke. A urinal built into the floor (which you are not allowed to flush your toilet paper down). 

11. Soap on a stick. They don't use liquid soap in bathrooms, just bar soap on a metal rod.I feel dirtier after using it. 

12. Taxi cabs are super cheap! And they don't charge by distance, they charge by electricity used because they are hybrids. = ) 

13. HomePlus = Korean Walmart. Everyone loves HomePlus... Including Scott and I. 

14. All the women wear high heels all the time! And they wear them like champs! We went hiking the other day and I would say 1/10 women we wearing high heels. = |

15. I about pooped the first time I had one of my students whip out an X-Acto knife in class to sharpen there pencil. NEVER in the US public school system would that happen! 

16. The Korean language does not have the sound or letter 'V', 'F', or 'L'. The odd replacement letter that they give to these letters. Fishing = "pishing", Office = "oppice", Over = "Ober" Fall = "Parrr". We're working on it! 

17. I LOVE the word "service". When someone says, "service" it means you are getting something for "free". At a restaurant you may get a Pepsi for "service" or better yet.... SOJU!

18. SOJU! It is similar to vodka but it doesn't make you want to die while drinking, however, it does still make you want to die the day after drinking it. 

19. More strip clubs than Vegas over here! Scott and I almost took our Co-Teacher to a bar called "Banana Bar" thinking it was just a fun bar, but she informed us it was a strip club.... WHOOPS! 

20. Advertisement, Korean style. Certain big chain electronic shops will hire girls, dressed up like school girls, to dance in front of their store as a promotion. It grosses me out. 

21. It is bad to write people's names in red. I wrote one of my student's names in red marker on the board and he informed me that he does not like to have his name written in red. When I asked him, "Why?" he explained that before computers, the registry office would write your date of birth in black and your death in red. It is bad luck to write Korean's name in red. My bad.

22. I get stared at, A LOT. The odd thing is, it is mainly by babies and small children. I remember in sociology we were taught that children aren't born with the idea of race rather that society instills it in them.... but I am pretty sure that is NOT true. 

23. So women wear high heels all the time, but they also are also dressed up like they live in Manhattan. I feel like a slob over here. Korean women dress impeccably. BUT Korean people also feel less remorse on spending large sums of money on impulse buys. In the US, only 20% of people say they DO NOT feel bad after spending on large ticket items, while in Korea nearly 80% of people DO NOT feel bad after spending on large ticket items. BIG difference! 

24. Street food. Scott has found his home, literally! Corn dogs, Bimbimbop, potato on a stick, meat on a stick, spicy chicken are all available from street vendors and are super cheap. (I eat spicy chicken and it is only 2,000 Won = 1.70USD!! Scott usually eats corn dogs. A double breaded corn dog is usually 2,000 Won as well, he is in heaven!) 

25. I finally figured out the WON system of money.There are four bills: 1,000; 5,000; 10,000 and 50,000. And before I would hand people 10,000 instead of 1,000 or a 5,000 instead of a 50,000 until I found out that their money goes in increasing size for increased amount. = ) Finally, I don't feel like a silly American girl when giving them my hard earned Korean Won! 

I would like to say that in my two months I haven't experienced culture shock, but in some ways I have. It is difficult, by any standards, to be plopped in the middle of a country that speaks a language all of it's own that you are not privy to. But, in all honesty, I think I am doing pretty well for only being over here two month. = ) 


Much love to all!

-C 

"It's good for your health"

Hakdong Pebble Beach:

During our Chuseok vacation, Scott and I visited Hakdong. It is located on the eastern bottom half of our island, Geoje. We had an enjoyable couple of days and couldn't have asked for a better precursor to the Chuseok holiday.  

Walking barefoot on the pebble beach is said to be good for your health in Korea. People come from all over Korea just to walk on these pebbles. Well let me tell you, walking barefoot on the stones may be, some how, in some way, good for my health, but it hurts like hell! I guess this is also the country where EVERY woman wears at least a 2 inch high heal at all times, so they are probably used to this kind of foot pain. I, on the other hand, was just hoping that it would cure this bout of clumsy toe syndrome that I see to be ailed with..... (which the magic pebbles did not cure, the next week I took a gouge out of the same bum toe). hmmphh...  So is life. 

Despite my toe troubles, I had an amazing time at Hakdong. Upon getting to Hakdong (after an almost mishap of a bus taking us to Busan rather than Hakdong) we checked in, and headed down to the beach. The sounds of the waves against the rocks was something that I will never forget. The waves splash against the rocks and as the waves returns to the sea, it makes this sound of dragging pebbles with it. I think if anything was "good for my health" that was it. 

After sitting at the beach and watching the waves for nearly an hour, Scott and I wondered to the CU and bought ourselves a beer and some snacks and sat and enjoyed the view. We walked along the boardwalk and Scott picked out a fish restaurant (our course) where he had a great meal and I, ate sticky rice. That night we went down to the beach and laid on the rocks. We made silly games and threw rocks into the ocean for about 3 hours. 


Day two was filled with no plans, no appointments, no having to be anywhere at any certain time... and it was amazing. We were able to sleep in, mosey down to the boardwalk and get some snacks to have (yet another picnic) on the beach. When we sat down to have our picnic we were surprised by one of our students, Jin Hee, and her mother. They invited Scott and I to have lunch at their restaurant (of course, it was seafood) and we obliged. Scott said he had the best bimbimbop he has had since being here (I think it was because they treated us, everything is better when it is free) but he enjoyed the RAW fish that was in it. I on the other hand, picked around the fish and ate the rest of the meal. We thanked them (too many times to count) and departed for another stroll down the boardwalk. 

We got sidetracked by Scott forgetting something in the hotel so I sat down at the GS25 and grabbed us some beers while I waited for him. The view from that convenience store store was the best view in all of Hakdong. I could have sat there for hours!! However, Scott is much more ADD and when he got back, finished his beer, he wanted to hike up these rocks. I of course tagged along, but convinced him to take the intended hiking path so nicely made of wood.  Again, being the busy boy he is, the hiking trail was not enough and he wanted to go off roading. I couldn't let him just go alone (or he would have broken his neck) so we climbed over the railings (near a sign that had a big 'X' over EXACTLY what we were doing), shimmied down this cliff and perched on these rocks over looking the ocean. And I stood corrected, that was the best view in all of Hakdong. 

Scott wanted to continue on with his hike and all of you know me and I am not much of a hiker so I went back to an area he passed over. It was absolutely amazing. Up in this area were huge trees, some of them extending out over the cliffs and looked like they were about to fall into the sea. I climbed out onto one of the large trees and I was literally out over the sea and the only thing holding me up was the tree. It was a rather exhilarating feeling. After that, I wondered back down and ran into a creepy man from Busan who talked at me about his life until Scott FINALLY came and rescued me. The one thing about meeting new foreigners is that I like to hear their story and more often than not people WANT to tell you their story, but somethings are better left unsaid (especially if you look like you might have kept dead bodies in your crawl space back in the states 8 years ago and make unwanted advances to a year 20 years younger than you.... just saying). 

On the last night, I was finally able to eat something more than just street food and sticky rice and we went to a Korean BBQ. They had a gas grill (we have been used to the coals) so things cooked a lot faster than what we imagined and we SMOKED the place up. I was so embarrassed!! There was an old man with his family (who I assume was drunk) and he couldn't get enough of watching Scott and me, and to make random commentary. 

On Monday, we got on our bus and headed back to the Gohyun Bus Terminal and to HOME. It was a spectacularly relaxing weekend, but all I wanted to do was get home, jammie up and take a nap! 

DAY ONE (SATURDAY):

If you ever have the chance to go to a pebble beach.... GO! 

 

 In total, the Hakdong Pebble Beach stretches for a little over a mile. And we walked that thing probably 10 times during our first day, just enjoying everything and taking it all in! 

Families and friends came out to spend the day on the beach.

You are allowed to picnic, build a fire, and camp all on the beach if you wanted to.

(Personally, I would avoid the camp out on those pebbles, youch!!)

 

Along the beach on the board walk was lined with hotels and SEAFOOD RESTAURANTS! Fishing is a big part of this Geoje's economy and nothing else reminded me of that more than going to Hakdong and having to eat street food or sticky rice because there was NOTHING BUT SEAFOOD! = P

Sign welcoming people to the Hakdong Beach.

 Oedo Island, we had gone there prior to our vacation with some friends we met.

 (That reminds me, I should probably put those pictures in my blog!)

DAY TWO (SUNDAY):

View from one of our student's mother's.....(seafood).... restaurant. 

Before leaving for Chuseok vacation our student Jin Hee told us she would be in Hakdong. On the second day we ran into her with her mother and they invited us to eat at their restaurant (for free). 

It was such a nice gesture and they had such a beautiful location. 

Scott absolutely loved the (raw fish) ricey meal, I ate around the fish. = ) 

 I love these pictures. It pretty much describes our time. Just hanging out on a pebble beach on the East Sea surround by mountains. Couldn't be better! 

Bad thing about being the camera person, you only gets snaps of everyone else or your feet. 

One day my grandchildren will ask about me in Korea and I will only be able to say my feet were in Korea. 

 Stopped by the GS25 on the second day to have our refreshments and to enjoy the view. I think that the store had almost the best view of everyone on the board walk. 

Again with my feet.... but no one in the world has those customized CeeCee's, so I guess I have proof that it was actually me! 

 

Raft used for fishing (top)  

Ferry boat that shuttled people to and from Oedo Island. 

It can't really do it justice, but what a view!?

While sitting on the beach, Scott says, "Let's go climb that rock!" and I say, "Or even better, let's use the wooden hiking trail intended for hiking!" 

And we head off... 

We get about 10 minutes into the hike and Scott wants to get off the path and head down the steep cliff to the rocks.... and I say.... "Sure........ = S"

View of the cliffs, it looks less scary than what it REALLY was...

View up toward the meant to be used hiking trail that we were no longer on. (left)

View directly down off the cliffs. (right and below)

Our triumphant pictures of our off road hike.

(let the record show, I went out farther than Scott did... He is a worrier!) 

Scott continued on the hike and I stayed back to go and look at this off path that I had seen earlier.

This tree actually stretches out over the cliff and rocks and is just hanging by it's huge roots. 

(Insert something inspirational about endurance or something here).

Op, here I am!! Too bad the sun was in my eyes. 

There were benches to sit on and you could look out and enjoy the sea

 while also being a part of this forest.

View from my bench. My kind of hiking! <3

I am not for certain what these are, but they reminded me of fall. 
<3

A really disappointing aspect of Hakdong Beach was the way people treated it.

Litter and garbage was all over the beach and even this dry stream was covered. 

An announcement was made over the intercom (in Korean) that pleaded for people to pick up their trash and any trash around them. Only knew the word "trash" and "area" "please" .... getting there! 

When people were done camping, they would shake off their blanket (as if it were covered in leaves rather than trash) and head back to their cars. Not even thinking about picking up their garbage = ( 

No longer "pebble" beach, straight up STONE beach on the edges. 

I wonder which is better for my health?

Sun setting on our second day.

 These two girls were still in their Chuseok dresses. It was so cute to watch them play and run while trying not to mess up their fancy dresses. 

Chuseok is always during a full moon. Scott and I were not able to see the sun rise from where we were, but we got a gorgeous view of the full moon coming up! 

Night time in Hakdong.

Picking out his meal for the night.... Just kidding, but you could if you wanted to. = S

Sand fish! 

Zebra fish (top) and HUGE snails (bottom)

My students tell me that my "so called Zebra Fish" are very delicious and only their grandpa's eat snails. 

Love to all,

-C 

September 29-30, 2012