"To travel is to live"

A recap of the rest of summer! Bear with me, it's a bit long, but I'm trying to catch up!

The week before the Jeju excursion I had a fantastically entertaining time at an overnight middle school camp. It was three days in the middle of nowhere with four of my fellow foreign English teachers along with their Korean co-teachers and a few other teachers. It was such a enjoyable time working and hanging out with them. The middle school students were amusing to work with at the very least. Always having worked with elementary age students I was a bit apprehensive going in. However, after we were separated into our teams and I had my little group, It felt comfortable and we had a blast! Mostly, the atmosphere was that of a "typical" camp instead of an English educational-type camp. Each teacher was individually responsible for developing their own lesson as well as participating in all the other teachers' lessons. There were a variety of activities such as singing and dancing to pop songs, belly dancing, making tie dye shirts, doing yoga, paintball, etc. It was a wonderful 3 days filled with awesome people, fun times, delicious food, and unforgettable memories!

After returning from Jeju, I partook in an English camp for 2 weeks at my school. The first week I was by myself and did an Under the sea/Finding Nemo themed camp. I had a lot of fun with it, and especially enjoyed working completely on my own. I loved making all the ocean crafts with the kids, especially the sea creature activities; teaching them tons of new vocabulary, and of course watching some Nemo! Since my camp was finished by about noon, me and my friend Emily had the afternoons to hang out. For a few days that week I took her around Jeonju showing the sights such as the shopping/pedestrian street, the Hanok (traditional house village), the college area, etc. I also introduced her to several local treats and dishes as well!

That weekend we went to Gyeongju which I visited back in April because I knew she would love all the history there. As I mentioned in a previous poast it's known as the "Rome of Korea." It was interesting to see it at a different time of year, experience it by walking instead of on a bike, and to share the sights with her.

 The following week I had English camp with my co-teacher and another teacher who comes to school to assist with after school classes. We did mostly lessons related to picture books and reading, but had other fun times doing English related activities and games including playing with water guns, decorating tote bags, and making the delicious ice flake dessert I love so much, patbingsu! We had a national holiday one day that week, so Emily and I went to a nearby city Namwon (where I went for the love story festival).

The following weekend we went to the 2nd largest Korean city of Busan, located at the southeast tip of the country. I had taken 5 days for my Jeju trip so I used my other 3 vacation days to make it an extra long weekend!  Having only been there once back for the sand festival so there were still many new sights for me to see as well! The first evening we arrived, we had dinner and we then strolled around the area near our hostel. It was a really happening place with tons of restaurants, bars, cafes, street food stalls, and bright lights everywhere! We had some super yummy churros with four different kinds of flavored fillings inside. So heavenly...
The next morning we went to Jalgalchi Market, the largest seafood market in Korea. There were octopi, eels, and squids squiggling all around. There were fish of all shapes and sizes, and even places to eat raw ones on the spot. 
It was such a lively place to roam around. Across the street was a popular square with some street food stalls where I discovered what will now become one of my favorite new treats, as far as I know it's only found in Busan, sadly. :(
 That afternoon we went to the closest beach, not the prettiest one there, but still enjoyed some time in the sand and water while taking in the surrounding city view.

they passed out bags near the end of the game

That night we went to a baseball game! It was fun and a really cool experience watching an American game in another country. It was extremely entertaining to witness the crowds' chants, dances, cheers, and just the overall atmosphere of  the game!
The following day we first went to Haeundae Beach for just a quick look around. I wanted her to see the craziness of the most popular/crowded beach in the country along with the main street of the area.

After stopping by there we went to a lovely temple by the sea. In Korea most temples are tucked away in the mountains, so this is an uncommon sight. This particular temple was first built in 1376, by a great Buddhist teacher.  It consisted of a three-story pagoda, the great seawater Buddhist goddess, the main sanctuary, a shrine, and underground cave with sacred water.

 Leaving there we ventured back to the beach. This one was gorgeous with Caribbean clear-blue waters. I was so stoked by this stunning view and was grateful to have some relaxing time there! Savored some delicious ice cream, soaked up some sun, and cooled off in the calm water.

 Later we headed to the largest store in the world, Shinsegae, which I had visited on my previous trip. For dinner we sampled from the enormous food court, checked out the cool features on the different floors, and eventually returned to the beach we went to the first day and marveled at the colorful bridge and city lights.

Emily and I left the next morning to go home. However, the morning after that we headed out for Seoul. Once we unloaded our bags at our hostel, I took her to the foreign district for lunch at an Indian buffet. We then went on a mad search for this fish pedicure place I had read about a month or so earlier. After 2 attempts at locations that weren't there anymore (fun to see new areas of Seoul though), we finally made it!! Oh man! What an experience!! It felt so bizarre and proved a bit of a challenge for my ticklish feet at times, but definitely totally awesome! 

 The next day we went to a palace I hadn't visited yet, Gyeongbokgung Palace. Gyeongbok means "greatly blessed by heaven" and gung means "palace." It was first constructed in 1395, after being burned and abandoned for about 3 centuries during the Japanese invasion.  It was rebuilt in the late 1800s, and is considered both the largest and primary palace of the "Five Grand Palaces" built during the Joseon Dynasty. Unfortunately, it was destroyed by Imperial Japan during the early 20th century and has now been restored to its original structure.
We also went to the National Folk Museum, which was within the palace grounds, which was really interesting! We then walked around the streets near the Hanok Village that were lined with cute cafes and shops, then wandered through the village for a bit.
After stopping at the popular souvenir street,we made our way over to Namdaemun Market, the largest traditional market in the country.  Roaming around there we discovered an underground market which was for the imported goods. This was my favorite part! Oh my goodness! It had an incredible amount of foreign/American products, along with samples at every station. We ate our way around there a couple times! Wow so good! Not far from there was Namsan Park. We rode an outdoor elevator that goes about halfway up (didn't want to do the cable car to the top), but still had a somewhat decent view.

 That pretty much sums up the Seoul highlights. The following morning we journeyed to the airport where Emily made the lengthy trip back home to North Carolina and me to my home in Jangsu. Summer was now officially over. It was a crazy, busy, wonderful, delicious, gorgeous, exhausting, marvelous, extraordinary, exciting, and most definitely an unforgettable one!

"Island of the Gods"

I had the opportunity to go to beautiful Jeju Island. My friend Emily, from home, came to visit Korea for a month and this was our first adventure and trip of of my summer vacation! After about a 40 minute flight we were ready to start exploring!

Day 1: We arrived in the evening, so that first night we checked out a fish market, an underground market, and had a yummy dinner of naengmyeon (a cold noodle dish) near our hostel in Jeju city in the the north part of the island.

Day 2: We went to Manjanggul Cave, a totally awesome lava tube. A UNESCO World Heritage site which is one of the finest lava tunnels in the world. It is also a designated natural monument. Only about a half mile is open to the public for walking. It was a nice chilly escape from the summer heat and fascinating to wander through.

Following the cave, we strolled on up the street to a somewhat challenging maze park. The actual maze is the shape of Jeju island, and has several different symbolic images or landmarks that can be seen when overlooking it. There is a serpent, an object of worship until the mid-70s; the native horses of the island; a famous ship wrecked on the island; and dolmens from the Bronze Age. We received a map and meandered through the twists and turns for some time until we reached the stairs that approached the lookout. Once here we rang the bell to signal our success in making it to the end.

That afternoon we went to the other main city of the island in the south called Seogwipo. Here, after dropping our bags off at our new hostel, we walked down the street to one of the three famous waterfalls of Jeju. It was a charming area.

Day 3: We explored the harbor area. There was a bridge to cross over onto a tiny island.

Then we walked a ways to a magnificent waterfall. It is the only waterfall in Asia to flow directly into the ocean! Pretty cool! 

 
That afternoon it was beach time! The water was so bright and such a vivid blue! The waves were enormous and a bit intimidating! I had never seen waves so big. I managed to conquer the crashes and get in a couple times, but it was a bit too rough to stay in very long.

 Day 4: First we ventured to Seongsan Ilchulbong. Over 100,000 years ago this giant crater rose from a volcanic eruption under the sea. It was quite a strange sight to see. We hiked up to the peak where we were greeted by an incredible view of the sea and nearby city. It was awesome!

 

Next, we went to Seopjikoji. This a scenic area right along the coast. There's rocky cliffs, stunning views, green fields, and a short little lighthouse at the end of the path.

Later that afternoon we went to beach again, just for a little bit, then scooted to some nearby cliffs. These cliffs were formed when the lava from Mt. Hallasan erupted into the ocean so long ago. The sea vista and stone pillars of the cliffs were quite a breath-taking sight!

easy start to the trail

almost to the top!!

Day 5: Hiking day!! Yay!! Today we conquered the highest mountain in South Korea. This mountain, a dormant volcano, is what truly is Jeju Island. You can't go there and not hike this! I loved it! Everything from the trails, stunning scenery, lush green forests, deep valleys, ever-changing terrain, and especially the peak overlooking the island and out to the sea! Just spectacular!

At the summit, clouds were blowing in and around creating a mystical land in the sky. Unfortunately, the crater lake was dry, but climbing around the peak still provided a captivating view of everything. It was a gorgeous day and a rewarding accomplishment to end our vacation on this incredible island!