Camping and Climbing in Ganhyeon

Saturday morning at 9:00 am, Seb and I, loaded up with backpacks full of climbing gear and camping supplies, met up with some Koreans from our climbing gym, Camp4. By 10:00 am, we were on the road in the backseat of our gym owner's SUV, excitedly headed for Ganhyeon, a climbing mecca located on a little creek about two hours southeast of Seoul.


The Great Rock.

We finally arrived in Ganhyeon a bit after noon, and we immediately had lunch with our group, which consisted of about ten others, most of whom knew very little, if any, English. After a fabulous lunch of spicy chicken soup and fish, we geared up in our harnesses and chalk bags and made our way across a little bridge to the massive climbing wall.


I think the posted yellow sign reads "No Swimming," but that didn't stop me!

Upon arriving at the wall, we were pleasantly surprised to see many other foreigners, including a Canadian regular at our gym. Not that we have anything against Koreans, but it was refreshing to have a nice flowing conversation after a morning of speaking "Konglish." Once we made sure our harnesses were secure (mine was a loaner), we began to climb. At first, Seb ran my balay for me, but after I met a few other girls at my level, I bid him farewell so that he could go climb more difficult routes. Before I knew it, the sun had set, and Seb, two foreign girls, and I were the only ones left on the wall. We decided to finally call it a day and hit the showers.


Yours truly in action...

After we were freshly cleaned via icy showers, we gathered within our campsite with the Koreans from our group. They began serving us heaps of steaming rice, galbi meat, kimchee, soybeans, and other delicious Korean dishes. After stuffing ourselves, we sat around and did our best to communicate with each other. We were honored to discover that one of our fellow climbers scaled Mt. Everest a year ago!


Seb and I enjoying the evening's entertainment.

For the night's entertainment, an old Korean man who sat with us was belting out his Korean "Mountain Songs," eventually asking us to reciprocate with our own home countries' mountain songs. (The only one I could think of was "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain.") The entire time, we were passing around a huge pot filled with Makgeolli, a sweet Korean rice wine. Finally, around midnight, we crashed into our makeshift tent and fell asleep.


Old-Timer singing the blues...

Sunday morning we were up around 6:30 am for a champion's breakfast of peanut butter, fruit, and bread. We then headed back to the climbing wall, and it came as no surprise to me that my arms were much, much weaker today. I could barely hang on after only a few minutes of climbing. After just three climbs, we sat down for a lunch of Ramen noodles and tuna, I jumped in the creek for a quick swim, and finally we packed up our campsite and endured the depressing ride back to the city.

The final thing I must say about this weekend is that I am hooked! I absolutely love rock climbing, and I want to make every effort to go as often as I possibly can before I leave in November. I also am very excited about some of the great new friends I met this weekend! I have definitely found my new love!

June 13 - June 17: World's Worst Blogger

I have a confession...I am a slack! Okay, I am going to give myself a little bit of credit because I have been extremely busy lately, but no amount of excuses can really explain why I have been so terrible at upkeeping my blog! Last month I let it go for a few weeks before finally sitting down one night and knocking out about eight entries. All that hard work, and I just let it happen again! Only after a few harrassing e-mails from my friends out there did I decide to skip out on soccer practice and catch back up! I hope people are still reading this thing...man, it's alot of work!

Outside of being a Blogger Bum, I had a pretty busy week. Wednesday evening I had my first English lesson at the home of my new private student, Ryan. He's a terrific kid, and even though my spare time is pretty much nil already, I could not pass up the opportunity for an extra $250 a month. I'll be tutoring him on Tuesday afternoons and Wednesday evenings.


Level 3 Nicole (in white) with my little Level 1 babies.

Thursday was the monthly field trip day at Swaton, and we could not have taken the kiddies to a more exciting place: The Railroad Museum. I felt like I was back in the morbid town of Waycross, Georgia, but the day was beautiful and it was nice to be able to spend it outside.


Annie and I with our Level 3 Class.

Really looking forward to the weekend...Seb and I are going on a climbing/camping trip with some Koreans from our gym. It will be the first true test of my climbing skills (or lack thereof!), so wish me luck!

DMZ

Friday night was a very low-key evening at home, seeing as I had to be up and out of my apartment Saturday morning by 6:00 am. Somehow, I managed to do it, even meeting my friends Lindsay and Nicole on the subway around 6:15 am. Why in the world was I up so early on a Saturday morning, you ask? I was headed to an interactive history lesson...a crash course in the Korean War at the infamous DMZ.


The unspoilt land of the DMZ. 

We met our tour group, which consisted of numerous teachers like myself, as well as some quite obnoxious American tourists, at the USO. We boarded the bus and began the ninety-minute trek out of the city and into the less-populated area up north. We finally arrived at Camp Bonifas for a quick briefing. Before we had a chance to let the plethora of war-related information sink in, we were herded onto the bus destined for the DMZ.


Just beyond the concrete line on the ground lies North Korea.

The DMZ (Demilitarization Zone) is basically the stretch of land running along the border between North and South Korea. Since the no-fire agreement back in the 1950s, this parcel of land has gone completely untouched by humans. It is absolutely gorgeous, and is a remarkable sanctuary for many types of animals and plants that can be found nowhere else in this over-developed country. I was quite impressed to see birds other than pigeons.


Mr. ROK soldier guarding the back door to North Korea.

One part of the DMZ is the JSA and the Military Armistice Commission...whatever that mumbo-jumbo means. We entered a massive granite building that was built for reunions between families separated by the country border. Unfortunately, this building has not served its intended purpose, thanks to Mr. Kim Jong Il. Through the back doors of this building was the higlight of the trip. A row of very small, unassuming squat buildings were lined up side-by-side, and beyond these rooms was another massive granite structure much resembling the Reunion Building. Running parrallel between the two matching structures and completely intersecting the pint-size buildings was a hefty strip of cement, measuring about a foot wide and a few inches high. This, my friends, was the famous border between North and South Korea.


The country border...NK on the left, SK on the right.

We had strict rules not to point in the direction of the North Korean buildings (which is like telling you not to look at a car crash) and were allowed to snap all the photos we wanted. We then entered one of the South's little buildings where huge meetings take place...I crossed the room and was technically inside North Korea! I felt quite liberated, to tell the truth.


The Bridge of No Return.

After the JSA area we rode by Checkpoint 3, which was the sight of the gruesome 1976 axe murder of several American GIs by North Korean soldiers. We then headed past the "Bridge of No Return," the only bridge connecting the two Koreas. Our next destination was lunch at the Panmunjon Cafeteria before viewing North Korea's Propaganda Village from the Dora observatory.


There's something about men in uniform...

The story behind Propaganda Village is quite amusing. It is a little town built up with lovely apartments, homes and streets, overshadowed by a massive 600 pound North Korean flag, the world's largest. Here's the catch: nobody lives here. The lights are turned on at night and shadows are painted in the windows to give the appearance that it is a thriving community. Until just recently, large loudspeakers would blast Anti-South/Pro-North announcements towards South Korea. The whole point is to show South Korea and the rest of the world what a prospering country the North is...pretty amusing concept considering the country's GDP per capita is $1,400.


Propaganda Village.

After checking out Propaganda Village (as well as South Korea's competing "Freedom Village," which, might I add, pays its inhabitants $62,000 a year to live there!) through the eyes of our telescopes, we headed to our final stop: the Third Tunnel. Here, we donned hard hats and descended into the depths of the earth through one of the many tunnels built by North Korea to launch surprise attacks on the south.


World's Most Dangerous Golf Course, complete with mine field hazards!

We finally made it to the end only to turn right back around for a butt-blasting climb back out of the tunnel. We boarded our bus and headed back to Seoul. After climbing off our bus, I made a quick trip to the foreign market in Itaewon (for none other than my peanut butter addicition) before eventually meeting back up with Lindsay and Nicole on a cafe roof. We enjoyed the cool evening weather for a bit before heading to a terrific Thai restaurant nearby. By 11:00 pm, the long day was finally catching up with me, so I caught the last train home.

Sunday was another soccer game...this time over an hour away by subway. And surprise, surprise, I got zero play time this game...even though we were ahead 3-1 towards the end. (According to my coach a few weeks back, I would only get play time when we were either ahead 3-1 or behind 3-1...how's that for a boost of confidence?!) I am very ready for the season to be over, to say the least...I need a break from my water-girl/cheerleader duties!

June 6 - June 10: I can read!

With Monday being a national holiday, this past week was a breezy four days of teaching and trying to recover from my vacation. By Tuesday morning, I was anxious for the weekend to come as quickly as possible. Fortunately, the kids were good and nothing crazy was popped on us by our increasingly tyrannical boss.

Wednesday afternoon I decided to opt out of eating lunch with the kids and went downstairs to my favorite little Korean restaurant. As I was waiting for my bibimbap to arrive, I found my eyes wandering over the massive Korean-only menu that is posted on the wall. I was delightfully surprised to find that I could read most of the items on the menu! About all the time I have put aside to learn Korean since I arrived is a scattering of ten-minute sessions with a language book over the last seven months.

Until Wednesday, I had not really even tried to read anything, but now that I know I can, it gives me confidence to learn more of the language. Not knowing much Korean is definitely one of the most frustrating elements that I am dealing with as of late. When I first arrived, it did not bother me that I knew zero Korean...I let everyone else do the talking for me and figured I would learn soon enough. However, I am going on eight months of being here, so I can no longer play the "newbie" card. Most of my new friends have been in Korea for just a month or two, and they all seem to know more of the language than I! That's all the motivation I need to get myself further educated!

Hey, if I am going to allow my English language skills go to pot, might as well replace it with some decent Korean!

Goeje Island

Wow! What a terrific weekend! With Monday being a national Korean holiday, I decided to make the most of my first three-day weekend in Korea by getting the heck out of Seoul. And what better way to spend my time away from Seoul than at the beach with a couple of my favorite people?!

Kelly and I had been planning for months to enjoy a bit of sand and surf, but we did not realize just how lucky we would get. Kelly's friend's aunt (got that?) lives on a little island just off the major city of Busan in southeastern Korea. Kelly mentioned that she would like to come for a visit, and Aunt Ida insisted that even though she would be out of town that weekend, we should come down and make ourselves at home in her condo. We jumped at the chance, and Saturday morning, Kelly, Seb, and I were on the early train south (I overslept and caused us to miss our first train, but let's not get into that right now...!).


Okpo Harbor. 

We arrived in Busan around noon, just in time to hop aboard the ferry that would take us to our final destination: Okpo City in Goeje Island. Upon arriving, we met Aunt Ida's neighbor to retrieve the condo key and stuffed our bellies with Vietnamese Pho Soup before meeting our new home for the next three days. The apartment building was humbly titled "Beverly Hills II," and it was bursting at the seams with foreigners. As we soon discovered, Goeje Island is the home of a huge oil rig and shipbuilding yard where many foreign contractors work.


The view from atop "Beverly Hills II". 

We made our way up to the rooftop pool, enjoying the scenery before finally deciding to get ready for dinner...and what an experience that was! We knew we wanted to try some fresh seafood, but we had no idea what was in store for us. Goeje is quite a small, family-oriented island, so it was difficult finding a restaurant that would serve us after 9:30. However, we finally got lucky, and inched our way through a mucky, bloody, fishy entrance into a brightly-lit room packed with awestruck Koreans and low-lying tables. We plopped down, checked out the food on the surrounding patrons' tables, whipped out a bit of pointing, grunting, and various Korean words, and, Voila!, we had ordered. The food that came out of the kitchen consisted of a delicious fish soup and assorted unknown side dishes. All in all, it was a most excellent meal!


Seb and I preparing for some dodgy Korean seafood. 

After dinner, we ventured into a few local hangouts, played some pool, and eventually made our way back to the Bev Hills. We stayed up chatting and listening to music (I even went for a midnight swim on the roof!) before finally succumbing to our exhaustion and calling it a night.

Sunday morning we hopped in a taxi which took us to Gujora Beach. It was a lovely day, and the beach was nice, but it certainly was not the powdery white sand beaches from Florida...even Santa Monica Beach looked pristine compared to this. However, it was a beach, and I was not about to complain! We spent the afternoon soaking up rays and trying to understand why Koreans go to the beach fully clothed...Seb even had the guts to swim in the freezing waters for a bit. As the sun began to set, we headed back to Okpo.


From our spot on Gujora Beach. 

We decided to play it safe and avoid the seafood for Sunday night's dinner. We opted for a meal of dakgalbi (barbequed chicken, cabbage, and rice cakes) and made our way back home for another relaxing night in the condo. Monday morning we awoke to the sad realization that our fantasy weekend was coming to an end. We squeezed in a few more tanning hours on the roof before catching our ferry back to Busan and our train for home.

I am so happy to have gotten the chance to really get away from the high rise and concrete madness of Seoul for the weekend! I wish every weekend was three days long!

May 30 - June 3: Stupider by the Minute

I have now lived in Korea just over seven months, and it is slowly dawning on me how dense I have become. Now, of course my common sense has done nothing but improve since I arrived, but my English speaking and writing skills are pathetic...I basically have zero vocabulary.

Allow me to elaborate...recently I was chatting with some friends about some debatable topic, and as I was putting in my two-cents' worth, I came to a complete stand-still. I could not for the life of me think of a particular word. I sat there for nearly an hour wracking my brain, but to no avail. Upon awakening the next morning it finally struck me...I should be too embarrassed to admit this, but the word for which I was so desperately searching was...brave. Pretty sad.

Anyway, I consider this loss of vocabulary as the reason why I have been such a slack at posting blogs every week. It is simply depressing to sit and stare at a screen, trying to put together meaningful sentences! I have no idea what I will do when I no longer have to speak on a kindergarten level to everyone, even adults!


Saying goodbye to some new friends... 

This week was pretty uneventful...I am reading a new book with loads of emphasis on the beauties of a vegetarian lifestyle and swore up and down that I was going to start the transition by immediately cutting red meat out of my diet. Yeah, that lasted all of three hours before I had a lovely Galbi (beef barbeque) meal Wednesday night. Oh well, fools do rush in. Also, said my final farewell to Ronan from my soccer team and his girlfriend Patty...they left Friday and have no plans to return!

Looking forward to a weekend away...Monday is a national holiday, so Seb, Kelly, and I are heading down to Goeje Island Saturday morning for some beach time! I can't wait!