Summer in SK

These summer days are hot. Like next level hot. A hot day in Canada can get quite hot, but this heat is unrelenting. The humidity is through the roof and there is no reprieve whatsoever. This is rainy season. It's apparently a dry rainy season. And even when it does rain, it's still insanely hot. It's hot even at night and early morning. It's always hot. We have air conditioning in our apartment, and for the most part at school also, so I can't complain with regards to that, but the heat that hits you when you leave is something else. We're still managing to get out on walks and do some exercise (we mostly exercise in our apartment now because the gym has yet to use AC so we cancelled our memberships) but it's certainly not comfortable!

We've also been planning our upcoming trip to Japan! From the 5th to the 16th of August we'll be visiting Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, Okunoshima and Hiroshima! We have a pretty full-on itinerary and we're keeping our fingers crossed for good weather! We've heard though, that the heat is just as intense, if not more so, in Japan.

Below are some random photos from the past couple weeks, none of which I will explain. Enjoy!

Gwangju 2015 Universiade

This past weekend we went to Gwangju to watch the Gwangju 2015 Universiade (or World University Games). It’s touted as the biggest sporting event outside of the Olympics. This is because there are athletes from all over the world competing and there are lots of events. The quality of competition is pretty high as well, but with the Pan Am games going on at the same time back in Canada, the teams from North and South America wouldn’t have had their absolute top university athletes. To qualify for this event, you must be between 18 – 28 and enrolled in at least a single, 3 credit course within the nearest semester. It’s been going on since the 4^th and we’ve even been able to watch it, in English, on television. We were pretty excited to get down there and soak up the atmosphere.

As usual, the travel was the biggest hurdle. There’s a brand new KTX (high spped train – 300km/h) station in Gongju (well between Buyeo and Gongju and so we could take that train to Gwangju and it would only be 50 minutes, as opposed to 4 hours! We had no idea how to bus to the KTX station however, and so we had to take a taxi. The taxi cost 40,000 Won. STEEP! The train tickets were 21,300 each for ‘economy class’. The trains were nice, similar feel to flying. We arrived in Gwangju at 8:34AM and headed out to the street to figure out how to get down to the main stadium where we could watch the athletics events. Right outside the KTX station there was a tent set-up with helpful ladies that gave us busing information, and then requested a photo with us. We got on the bus they told us and while it went in the general direction, as it got somewhat close, it made a series of unfortunate turns that led us in the opposite direction of the stadium. After a number of the turns, we gave up hope and jumped off. We got a taxi to the stadium, another 8,000 Won. When we finally got to the stadium and paid our 5,000 Won each to get in for the day, we were surprised at how poorly attended it was. It was a Saturday after all. It was such a big production to put on with many venues and organization, it seemed like a bit of a disappointment. Nevertheless, we got settled in right in front of the action. We were literally standing at the railing watching the long jump competition from 20 feet away. It was awe inspiring to watch their preparation and execution. It must be a heck of a lot of pressure to come all the way to Gwangju, South Korea (from anywhere) just to take 6 jumps into a sand pit and hope you jump the furthest! What was also very cool about where we were watching from is that it was also where all of the coaches stood, so we listened in as the coaches and athletes discussed strategy between jumps. Admittedly, most were not in English, but the ones in English were quite impressive. The minute details and alterations they make from jump to jump gives a whole new level of appreciation. There was a mid-day scheduled break for 3 hours that allowed us to shoot over to where we were staying and drop off all of our stuff. We decided to take a taxi as it was raining. We got to the place and found our room without issue. We booked the place with Air BNB and so you’re renting from an individual, so your place can be in any sort of building. Ours was a small apartment building. He gave us the code to get in and we were more than satisfied with the place. It had everything we needed and then some! A full kitchen and laundry even!

After dropping stuff off, we caught a taxi back to the stadium, where there was also a Lotte Mart. It’s a big department store with a full supermarket, so we headed in to get some lunch and snacks for later. It was quite busy and a very multicultural affair which was cool to see. Our snacks were kimbap, a salad and a variety of nuts and dried fruits. We got back to the stadium in plenty of time to see the events kick off again at 4:00. We stayed until it ended at just after 9PM. We weren’t bored for a minute. Lots of running events, steeplechase, hurdles and most field events also. There were a few Canadians to cheer on, but not as many as we would have liked! The time flew by and at the end of the night we walked a part of the way back to our place, but the rain really picked up and our very mediocre umbrella wasn’t cuttin’ the mustard. We caught another taxi, got in, cleaned up and passed out.

The next morning we were determined not to take a taxi. We were heading to another venue and managed to stumble across a subway system! It wouldn’t have helped us the day before, but maybe we should have researched public transportation in Gwangju before actually arriving. We got out to the Taekwondo venue in good time and settled into our seats to watch the actions. Those seats just so happened to be beside the ‘Team Leader’ of the Canadian Taekwondo team. It was great to chat with him and get some insight into the team and how it all works on the international level. The action was great, with three matches going on at any given time. Just watching closely, you can learn a lot about the strategy of Taekwondo as well as how the event is run. I love learning about these sorts of things! We spent the entire morning there and decided that we’d leave Gwangju a little earlier than originally planned. Around 1:30 we headed back to the subway and out to the KTX station on the other side of the city. We got tickets for the 2:24 train back to Gongju station and Julia grabbed a snack of Tteokbokki. This time though, we couldn’t get seats together and so we were on our own for the 50 minute ride home. Arriving back in Gongju we still had to figure out how to get back to Buyeo, and were determined not to take another taxi. We asked about buses, but as our luck had gone most of the weekend, the next bus to Buyeo was in 3 hours. We went out to the bus stop anyways to try and read the schedule. Maybe we could go to Gongju and then take an express to Buyeo, which run fairly often. While standing there, looking confused, an SUV drove by and then stopped a couple hundred feet past us. A minute later they back up and asked ‘Where you go?”. We said Buyeo. They said get in. We asked ‘Are you sure?’. They said yes. We got in. They were going to Gongju but still drove us all the way to Buyeo. Wow! Talk about our luck turning for the better! We tried to tell them that we lived in Buyeo and were teachers. That didn’t work so well, so after a while we just played up their assumption that we were tourists. They dropped us off right in front of Busosaeng Mountain (3 minutes from our place) and even gave us snacks! Talk about KINDNESS! This ride may have been the highlight of the weekend.

Home in late afternoon on a rainy day. Time to chill out.

A weekend on Muuido

We spent this past weekend on an island called Muuido with some great friends that we met at EPIK orientation back in February. Muuido is just off the backside of Incheon airport, which itself is on an island. Just getting to this island, and the beach where we were staying, was an adventure in and of itself. We woke up a bit early to catch the earliest bus to Incheon. It left Buyeo at 7:10 and took 2.5 hours to get to Incheon. We (I) assumed that it was going to Incheon airport. I don't know why. I guess I don't think of Incheon as being a legit city, just the place where the airport is. Boy was I wrong. We got to Incheon's main bus terminal and were still a ways from the airport. We managed to find an information desk in the terminal and asked how to get to the airport. We got so some information and knew where to go and which bus to get on, but quickly decided that it would take way too long to get out there. Our friends (Nick and Lanie) took a cab and we decided to also. The cab itself took around 40 minutes (and was ~$70) but took us right to the ferry, which was another bus ride from the airport. We then bought our $3 return ticket to take the ferry to the promised land. Once on the island, we caught a $1.50 bus ride across the island to our final destination, Hanagae Beach. In a word (or 4), it was worth it. The beach was great, not too busy, nice sand and the weather was absolutely perfect. Hot enough to make a day at the beach the ideal thing to do, but not too hot that we could enjoy ourselves.

We were met by Nick and Lanie as we arrived and we quickly and easily rented our hut. It's 30,000 WON ($35 CAD) per night. It's super basic, but had linens and pillows which I wasn't expecting. We dropped off our stuff and went for a walk before finding food. As the tide was out, (WAY OUT) we could walk pretty far and find some cool sea life along the way. Mostly crabs and sea slugs of some kind, but also jellyfish. Lunch was Pajeon. The rest of the day involved good conversation, playing in the water and a quick down the zip line. As it was the 4th of July, there were plenty of foreigners there to party, and did they ever. Lots of drinking, singing and fireworks. ALL NIGHT. It was a bit annoying as none of us could sleep all that well, but we managed. On Sunday morning we killed time until the convenience store opened at 8AM and we grabbed some snacks and drinks, while we waited for the bibimbap restaurant to open at 11AM. It was a long wait (and they opened late) but it was soooo worth it While waiting we went for a walk up the beach and Lanie found exactly 28,000 WON randomly in the sand. Lunch was exactly 28,000 WON and that is no coincidence, that is fate. While up at the far end of the beach, we found a huge pool of soft, slippery mud and Nick couldn't help but go for a full dip, and so I naturally HAD to follow suit. We were absolutely filthy but it felt incredible and was pretty darn hilarious. We cleaned up and headed for our free lunch. After lunch we hung out for a bit and then made our way out to make the reverse trek home. It was the same, but in reverse and this time we could split the cab fare with Nick and Lanie. We got to the bus terminal and their express bus home to Andong left in about 45 minutes, while ours left in 3 hours. Luckily the bus terminal was attached to a huge department store that had an absolutely incredible food court. To kill time, we ate and did groceries at EMart. We hopped on the bus at 6:00PM and immediately fell asleep for nearly two hours, only waking up when the bus stopped in Gongju and all but 4 of us got off.

Finally getting home around 8:45PM, completely exhausted but completely satisfied with a fun weekend.


The zipline was pretty short, but well worth the $16 or so we paid. 

 
 

 The mud was awesome, but absolutely filthy. Took a while to clean up after our dip!

These little pieces of sushi were something like 75 cents each. They were fantastic and were the perfect food for the long bus ride home.I got these at EMart. The selection was pretty awesome.

 Julia's dinner at the bus terminal. A baked squash, stuffed with a rice, bean mixture.

My dinner was a couple of these delicious Korean traditional dumplings. Stuffed with some meat, rice and veggies.