Escape to Treasure Island

This past weekend I was fortunate enough to be invited on a trip with four others to Namhae.  Namhae is a small island of the coast of Korea.  It is about a 3 or 4 hour drive southwest.  There was a bridge built in 1973 so that it could become accessible to more people and cars.  There are two things that are very common on this island: garlic and fish.  There is a big fishing industry there and you can see all forms of fish farms and ways to catch fish.  Most of the ways are a little prehistoric.  Sometimes you would see a bunch of large old mangled pieces of wood sticking out of the water that formed a large "v" shape.  I believe that is one way they catch fish.  So, thats when you stare out into the sea, what you find on land are a number of rice patties and garlic fields.  There are many other things growing here too.  It appeared that there were mostly farmers who lived on the island and then some rich people who probably just come for summer.  There were some fun attractions like a German Village, and to our surprise and American Village.  They also have garlic festivals and many other random attractions.  Also, many of their public buildings and restrooms all were built to look like boats.  One thing i love about Korea is their play with architecture.  Buildings are all sorts of shapes and sizes, especially when the buildings are near any kind of water.

Also, since most of the people living here are farmers, they don't seem to make a lot of money.  I would say most of the people living here are on the poor side and some of the houses looked a lot like Haiti or Mexico.  Not so run down nor did they appear to be in despair, it was merely the shape and the way it was built.  I found it odd that the houses were so similar.

So, the group was rather diverse, but fun.  There were two guys and three girls.  Adam, (who is from the UK) was able to get a car from his work for the weekend so we were able to take a sweet little road trip!  Awesome!  And, then there is Franklin, who is Nigerian and goes to a university in Louisiana and is doing a research project here in Korea.  Then Elana, who you just met at the baseball game and Maggie.  Maggie has been in Korea on and off for about three years now, and is from Minnesota/Wisconsin.  Im definitely the youngest of the bunch.  Everyone else is in their early 30s or late 20s.  But i dont mind, it made for some great intellectual conversation.  I met them all from church.

Korea doesn't really have hotels (i will have to inform you more about that later).  But they do have pensions.  A pension is like staying in a condo.  It has a kitchen, a bathroom, a main room, and then one bedroom.  The place we stayed was super nice.  Here is a link to what the place looked like: swanky
It looked just like that except the colors weren't so enhanced.  Most of the time during the weekend, I had a hard time believing that this is really my life.  It was so beautiful and I can afford it even though Adam was more than generous to pay for it.  Please, don't get any thoughts, he's engaged.  But really, I was almost in shock believing that the weekend was really happening.  I might have to go on more mini holidays to get through the year.

So here are some pictures of our lovely retreat:

We went to go see some special rocks.  A man and woman rock.  On the way there were a ton of plants from home: mint, rosemary, aloe vera..... i wanted to take them all back to my apartment.  

I could have stayed all day.  The water wasn't too cold either.  

Adam, Maggie and Elana

Why, of course there is a pencil on the beach.  

ps: Franklin is the one in the green shirt in the background.

pictures don't do it justice

Me, Maggie, and Elana (shes much happier in person, i think its the sun)

Boat shaped restaurant.  This stop was incredible random, like so many others on the island.  And again, I can't get away from Solvang.  

From what i have seen, it appears that the shape of the light pole tell you what is special about that area.  They are different in every city.  For example: Ulsan has dolphin shape light poles.  Why?  i dunno.  I haven't seen a dolphin yet.    

they have garlic drying everywhere. 

Favorite picture :)

Oh, and apparently Namhae is really part of of an undersea mountain.  So we are really just seeing the peaks of a giant beast.  If you would like more info on Namhae you can read more about it here: click me

Baseball

Well, I've never been one to turn on the tv and watch ESPN.  Baseball, football, golf... i could really care less.  If I had to watch one I'd probably watch some soccer.  But  when you're in Korea, sports are totally different.  I went to a baseball game last week in Busan.  The stadium was huge and packed!  I got there late, it was a last minute plan.  They have cheerleaders at baseball games here.  And this whistle guy.  He is like the head cheerleaders/mascot.  He leads people in cheers and is utterly ridiculous.  The game itself was good.  Long, but good.  I had some Korean fried chicken, which is somehow a little spicy and has a hint of cinnamon.  Its pretty good, but different.  So here are some pictures from our day:

the Twins are white (Busan)

This is Elana.  She is a new friend.  She is from South Africa, but would rather say she is from the UK.

There was a person throwing out trash bags (the orange things on our heads, mine was ripped) once 3/4 of the game was over.  And, most of the people instantly made the bags into a cute bow head band, or bunny ears, or into a big round orange ball.  After the game was over you had a trash bag to clean up your mess with.  Saves the people working a bit of time and energy.  Great idea!  So, overall the game was a success: party hats, fried chicken, camaraderie,  and a victory!  

Yellow dust

So, in the Spring time especially during the month of April and May there is this stuff called "Yellow dust."  It kinda sounds bogus, but its true.  The winds pick up the dust from China and sprinkle it onto Korea.  I dont find this at all very nice.  Its quite disgusting.  After while you can see a good layer of dust on cars and tables and things.  After it rains you see this:

Its not from any chemicals, its actually the yellow dust.  Its awful.  I'm pretty sure this didnt help my sinus infection.  In fact, the doctor i visited told me a should wear a mask.  I didnt really say anything back to her.  I did not take her advice.  But it made me think...  why havent they created a mask with a mouth on it??  One that blends into your face.  All the adult masks are so plain.  Why dont they have some fun with them, since they love them so much? 

Rice cooker magic!

So a couple weeks ago a friend told me that another friend told her that you can make a cake in a rice cooker.  So, we asked her for the recipe and tried it out for ourselves.  I looked up other cake recipes and its no different.  And what do you know, it worked!  Incredible.  So, i have my self a little oven, i guess.

I then made some chocolate frosting.  

Its hard to make a dry cake in a rice cooker.  Its makes great cakes because they come out super moist.  I just made a big chocolate cookie and yes its quite delicious, but i will be excited for when i get an oven again. The top of the cookie doesnt get that thin hard top layer.  But for now it will make an awesome pazookie (big cookie, topped with ice cream, and chocolate sauce and whatever else you want).

Seoul Part 3 (finally!)

Here is a short video from the Lotus Latern Parade (it definitely gives you a little taste of Korea):

Our last day is Seoul we visited a Korean Folk Village.  It felt like a historical museum and a summer camp all in one.  It was really cool!  They had different performances like a man who walked on a tight rope, a traditional Korean wedding and a couple of others.  I took some videos of one of the performances so you could get a feel for it.  The picture is good but the sound quality is a little bad.  But here they are, make sure to notice the ribbons attached to their hats:

And another, he has a super long ribbon:

i love their hats! the ones with the feather pom poms can spin around like the ribbon guys.  

Katie, Breann and I

And here are some other photos from the folk village:

so many layers!  it also reminded me of how Solvang used to have these kinds of roofs

the weaver, he is using straw to make a mat.  pretty awesome

they made me put on the traditional back pack.  i thought it was going to be heavy, but it was pretty light.

ive seen people still use these today in Korea!  Its weird.  Instead of a woven sack they will put a "shelf" at the bottom and stack things on it.  People carry things on their back here, rather than lifting things in front of them like a dumb bell like we do in the States. 

the blacksmith.  the knives were for sale for cheap

the tight roper.

He would pretend like he was falling, and sit on the rope and bounce back up.  he did this a number of times.  It was a little entertaining. 

And that was my weekend in Seoul.  My favorite part was definitely the folk village, especially the music performance with the dancing.  I hope you enjoyed it all.  There are many more fun photos and adventures to come.  

Seoul Escape! Part 2

Sorry it has taken me so long to post.  Like i said, i am not very good at blogging. 

Our second day in Seoul was a whirlwind of a day!  We went to Dongdaemun, Seoul Tower, Gyeongbokgung Palace, Cheonggyrcheon, and then to another area to watch the Lotus Latern Parade.  And yes, i had to look up most of those names from my map.

Dongdaemun

This place is the fashion center.  There is a whole street devoted to selling textiles.  There is one store we went in that is 5 stories and a labyrinth of textiles, zippers, buttons, jewels, and many other things that require the creating of any sort of clothing or linen.  On the 3rd or 4th floor there are hundreds of booths that you can purchase many different beads, chains, feathers, charms and any other kind supply to get your craft on.  You can also purchase handmade jewelry there for super cheap.  Also any sort of head band or hair pin.  Koreans LOVE giant ridiculous bows and what not for their hair.  I ended up getting some supplies to make some earrings for my boss for her birthday (which she enjoyed! yay!).  I also got some more supplies for earrings for myself.  Its crazy and a little overwhelming in this place. but pretty fun!  I could have a field day given enough time and enough money.  So thank God we had many other things to do this day!  Heres a glimpse of what the place looked like (disclaimer: these 2 photos are not my photos, they are a friend of mine's):

Can you find the person?

Seoul Tower:

Seoul Tower is near Myeong- dong.  You have to walk up a hill to a cable car that takes you even higher up the hill.  You could hike to the top, but none of us felt like doing that.  its a good hike.  So we jumped on the cable car and went up to the Tower.  There is a large area around the tower.  There is a burger joint, Cold Stones, teddy bear store, and a gift shop.  There is an area where they will sometimes do live performances.  There is also this guy:

This guy is kinda like Seoul's mascot.

They have these love lock trees.  Couples come here, buy a lock, write something on it, put it on the tree and throw away the key!  I caught a couple in action.  

Koreans love anything coupley.  

Seoul Tower.  

Now we take a super fast elevator all the way to the top.  In the elevator they play a movie on the ceiling that shows us going so high that we are actually in outer space.  pretty awesome!

They have these stickers that say what city is in the direction you are looking and how far away it is.  I found something close to home ;)

They say the tower has the best view in all the world.  The men's bathroom is better, cuz they actually gets to stare out the window while they go. ha!

Oh, the girl on the left is Jamie (we stayer at her place) and the other is Breann.  She lives in Ulsan with me!

go TOMS!

We came from down there!

and then we take the cable car back down!  

Gyeongbokgung Palace:

So this Palace is kinda a big deal and a tourist/ young family mecca.  The Breann and Katie both know about the palace because they have been teaching their kids about it.  However, i teach kindergarten so i had know idea what this place really is.  I still havent done much research, so bare with me.  Its super important and is rich in history.   The palace was built in the late 1300s.  They kept adding structures to the area as time went on.  Some of it was destroyed in the Korean war in 1951, but they rebuilt it.  So, the entire area is acres large and has building after building.  Some buildings are for worship and some are for living, one for the king, one for the queen.  Heres a map to show you the size of this place:

           You enter up there       ^        and if you walk straight to the back  you will find the "Blue House"which is where the Korean president lives.  Like the White House, but it is called the Blue House because it has a blue roof:

But before you get into the palace you have to pass these armed guards:

i was scared to get close, he had a giant sword right next to me!  I thought i would be serious like him, but i guess i should have smiled, more ironic. 

Here are some photos of the palace.  I dont know which one is which or what the customary things are so just enjoy the beauty and impeccable details the the different buildings have to offer.

these little guys are on almost every building.  on every corner.  Im thinking they may be gardians??

outside

inside

inside a different place

 And somewhere near the back they have sculptures of all the different animals that make up the chinese calendar, like the rat, dragon, horse...etc.  So since i'm a tiger i guess i should look like one:

grrrrr?

Now to 

Cheonggyrcheon

I have absolutely no idea how to pronounce this.  Your guess is as good as mine.  This is an area where Korea built a place for the river to flow through town.  There is the road on either side of the river, but the river is built down a story.  So you forget that you are in the middle of the road.  You could Wikipedia this area and im sure you would learn a great deal more than i can share with you.  There were a ton of different lanterns and art around for Buddah's birthday, which is a big deal here.  So again, enjoy the beauty and fun!

We had a break and had CPK!  Boy was i excited!  I wanted everything from the menu!  After that we ventured to the Lotus Lantern Parade.  We heard the parade was 2 and a half hours.  We only stayed for about an hour and half.  It reminded me of the Rose Bowl Parade, except instead of flower floats they had huge sculptures that lit up!   Here are some photos:

I have many other photos, but i must go to bed now.  

more to come soon!