One week ago was the American Holiday of Thanksgiving. I have spent the past 23 years of my life getting together with close friends and family to take part in festivities, a Thanksgiving meal, and of course to enjoy each other's company and be thankful for the time we have spent together. This year however was my first Thanksgiving living as an expat overseas. Not only was I not partaking in my usual family get-together but I am also living in a country which does not recognize this day due Korea having their own day known as Chuseok (the korean Thanksgiving day).
I took part in getting together with other foreign friends, recognizing the American holiday in my classroom and speaking to my students about it, skyping with my family, and making my own heart warming Thanksgiving meal. I actually really enjoyed my first Thanksgiving living overseas and utilized this time to reflect on my own life and what truly matters to me. I cam to find that it is my family and friends, those who I have come to love so dearly, that really mean the most to me. Life should not be measured in how much money we make or how many Pokemon cards we can collect....but who is by our side as we make that money and collect those cards!! heehee!
Without my family, friends, and loving pets; my life would incomplete. So this year I am giving thanks to all those near and dear to me heart.
A few weeks ago I took advantage of one of the last nice weather weekends here in South Korea to hike up Mt. Namsan and go to the top of Namsan Tower. It had been something I wanted to accomplish all summer but never found the time. But alas I did it and it was an amazing view from the top of all of Seoul and the surrounding area!
The following weekend was HALLOWEEN, my most favorite holiday!!! Not only did I get to celebrate in school with all my students but also hit up the nightlife of Seoul with my friends for a Halloween I will surely never forget!
A few weeks ago a few friends and I toured the highly militarized zone separating the North and South Koreas. It is known as the DMZ and is the most heavily patrolled border in between any 2 nations in the entire world. We partook in both the 'touristy' portion of the tour along the outskirts of the DMZ as well as ventured into the center and most dangerous portion, the JSA (Joint Security Area)
The DMZ has been the ground where clashes between the two sides have happened. Naturally, you would have thought that the DMZ would be one of the most dangerous place in the world given it’s history of hostility, so why they would even make a tour out of it still baffles me. The tour was an eye opener for me to learn about the history behind the division between South and North Korea. The tour also gave an opportunity to "step inside" into North Korea. Even though it was a long tour, it was very interesting and I would recommend it to travelers to Korea.
Ahh, the send of September and the beginning of October. To most people this represents the end of summer and arrival of fall. The days become shorter, the temps are a bit cooler, and the autumn colors and scents fill the air. Not always true for every environment, but the welcoming of fall often also means one thing- harvest time. This is true for Korea as well.
Along the cusp or October is the Korean holiday of 추석 Chuseok) or Korean thanksgiving. Chuseok is a major harvest festival and a three-day holiday in Korea celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. Like many other harvest festivals, it is held in Autumn and symbolizesharvest. Korean families visit their ancestral hometowns and similar to the American Thanksgiving, they have a feast of Korean traditional food such as songpyeon and rice wines such as sindoju and dongdongju. I would have liked to partake in some of the cultural relevant Chuseok activities, but I did not have many opportunities arise (that didn't require me having to find them!). However, since it was a long holiday weekend I took the time to go on a mini vacation with my close friends. We traveled to the southern beach city of Busan, the 2nd largest city in all of Korea. Busan is a historically important city as it is one of the few left un touched during the Korean war and is filled with gorgeous beaches, ancient temples, traditional markets, and beautiful architecture. The mountains that also surround Busan are equally as beautiful as the beaches - but I myself am much more of a coast dweller than a mountain climber!! (altho I do enjoy both). As discussed in the video, I spent three of my days during Chuseok weekend surfing, swimming, temple viewing, an exploring both of what Busan has to offer in the day and nightlife! It was a very nice holiday weekend spent with good people and great times. I thoroughly look forward to visiting Busan again and saying hello to those beautiful beaches! Here is a link to my FB album with all the pictures from my weekend in Busan(as well as my trip to the DMZ which will be my next blog entry). Enjoy! http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.4572170619341.187843.1144020019&type=1&l=8ca3ccf19d
Good Day everyone, and welcome to my second video for my South Korean Blog!
So when I first moved to Korea 7 months ago, I knew that the one things I really wanted out of this life event of mine was to experience the Korean culture by completely emerging myself. The only way for that to happen was for me to do just what I mentioned- completely relocate my life to Korea where I knew no one, could not speak the language, and had no form of security or stable living environment. I was so incredibly excited, nervous, scared, and anxious to by in a foreign world completely alone. However, I did do my research and felt as if I was strong enough and dependent enough to make the daring life decision.
Boy did I ever make the right decision!!
As mentioned in previous posts in my blog as well as on Facebook, accompanied with my photo albums, I have documented all of the unique and one of a kinds experiences I have partaken in since arriving in Korea. Not only have I experienced the culture first hand via performances, dining, learning the Hangul language, trips to the tourist hot spots in Seoul, and small home-stays with native Koreans but I have also had numerous travel experiences and made great friendships which have brought even more wonderful social memories of my time here in Korea as well.
Not all of my experiences were planned, and I actually did not even know half of them existed until arriving here and learning from word of mouth, but I have since concocted a so called 'Korean bucket list". I have been slowly but surely checking off each experience, activity, location, food, and other various items off my list while adding more and more each week it seems! This past weekend, I was able to accomplish one more 'need' on my list, and that was to visit a Traditional Korean market. I took a solo trip to Garak Market, which is a very old Korean Farmers Markert located just south east of Seoul. When I say Farmer's Market tho I don't mean a few stands and some corn on the cob...I mean BIG GIGANTIC PLETHERA of fresh home grown fruits, veggies, seafood, meat, and other various items. It really was the largest famers market I have ever seen and something I had heard/read about doing since I moved to Korea. I'm really glad I made this trip to Garak Market and I go into further detail about it in my video.
So, as I mentioned, I have made 'bucket list' for Korea...here are the things I have done thus far:
-Toured Korean Museums
-Been to Gyeongbukgo, Kyongju Palaces
- Stayed in a Jimjilbang (korean bathhouse)
-Visited Itaewon, Gangnam, Hongdae, Dongdaemun (all hot spot neighborhoods in Seoul)
-Biked the Hann River (many times)
-EATEN SOOOO MUCH KOREAN FOOD!!! ^_^
-Taken part in Buddha's birthday celebration and made a buddhist lantern
-Toured Pulguksa Temple while on my Cherry Blossom bicycle tour
-Shopped the streets of Insadong and Myeongdong Markets
-Went to Mudfest on the west coast (a drunken mess of foreigners...)
-Been to a Nooribang...and plan on continuing to go!!! (Korean Karaoke)
- Been bicycling and hiking on the beautiful Syeonudo Island
-Went Deep Sea fishing on Namhae Island
- And Seen a Korean Baseball Game
-Oh yea...not to leave out that I visikted Beijing, China for 5 days! ^_^
(there are many more small experiences that I have had I am sure...but cannot recall them at the moment.)
Here is what I still WANT to do:
- This weekend, 9/22/2012, I will be camping on Muido Island
- For Chuseok Holiday, 9/28/2012-10/1/2012, I will be on a beach vacation in Busan, South Korea.
- in 2 weeks I will be taking a tour of the DMZ (known as the scariest place on earth)
-Visit Seoul Tower and the 63 building ( famous landmark buildings in Seoul)
-Take a Korean 'skill' type class (probably a martial arts class)
- Visit the city of Suwon, South Korea
-Enjoy a PROPER Korean massage ^_^
- Spend a weekend at a Temple Stay (living and learning the life of Buddhist Monks alongside them)
- Continue to learn the basics of Hangul Language ( I can read already, and spell basic words...but I need to learn more vocabulary and get better at speaking)
- Hopefully take another overseas trip during winter break!!!
So there ya have it...my bucket list for Korea...which continues to grow each time I complete something new and exciting!!
I'l be sure to keep ya'll updated and as always, Take Care! Peace Out!
So as you most likely know, this is a blog kept by me, Patrick, on my adventure to South Korea to work as an English Kindergarten teacher.The main goal of this blog was to document the details of my life such as my work, living, cultural, travel, and social experiences while living in Korea and to inform my friends and families of what I am up to/how I am doing.
However, for those of you that follow me regularly you may have noticed that keeping and up-to-date blog really isn't my forte. I thought that it would be rather easy to submit and entry once a week/every other week, but the matter is is that most of the time I don't feel like writing lengthy blog entries describing everything to a T, whether it be about work, living day to day, a cultural experience, or my weekend travels. I do love to write and I love to share...but only when I want to and when I am in the correct mood and frame of mind. Half the time I wound up leaving out important details or not going the full mile in depicting my life here due to me not being fully engaged in my writing (in fact I'm not even wanting to write this particular entry right now). I have come to realize that I am a much more verbal than transcriptive person.
That said, I have decided to begin vide blogging! Hooray!! Not only will this be easier and quicker for me, but it will also result in more frequent entires. I believe I will be going into greater detail of my life in Korea and also will (possibly) video record short segments of some of my future experiences and past favorite places which I plan on returning to.
Of course I do still plan on writing from time to time and will always add small blurbs with each video entry I post.
This first video is just a brief introduction to my new video blogging segment and is pretty boring except for the fact that you have my gorgeous face to stare at. I plan on figuring out my editing program and adding more bells and whistles thus making my videos more exciting to watch! Until next time (which will be soon), peace out and take care!
It is nearing the middle of August already, and I am marking my 6 month anniversary (I guess you could call it that) of relocating to South Korea. So far Korea has treated me very well- I've written about the countless historical and cultural sites, day trips, weekends adventures around the southern part of the country, the food, the music, the culture, and even my workplace. I have seen and experienced so much here in Korea and as time has gone on life here seems very 'normal' and feels like my home away from home. And it truly is just that.... Anyways tho, working in a year round school supplies me with very little lengthy Holiday time, but more so my work schedule is riddled with random public and government days off of work throughout the year. About once a month I receive a day off work usually due to a government Holiday. For instance, today is Red Day (the Korean Independence Day from Japan) and I was given the day to myself. Altho I didn't do much of anything except go out with friends to my favorite Bundang bar and did some grocery shopping today, it is still very nice to have a 4 day work week :) There are many other 1 or 2 day Government holidays that I am given off throughout the year, and next month I actually have a 5 day weekend for Chuseok, the annual lunar new year marking the celebration of harvest. My good friend Nicola and I are in the works of planning a trip to Busan, one of the most sought after beach locations in all of Korea. the long white sandy beaches will be a nice way to spend 4 days and we are really looking forward to our escape from the hustle and bustle of the city life. However, that is still over a month away...but did you happen to know that a 2 weeks ago my school had it's summer vacation...and that on my summer vacation I went to Beijing, China! I went to Beijing with the same group that I arrange most of my weekend trips here in Korea, Adventure Korea. This trip was their very first international trip but I heard it is just the beginning of them taking adventure seekers throughout all of Asia. Now I usually like to go on Adventure Korea trips because they offer many activities and guided tours but also allow for a lot of free time and relaxation. However, due to this being a 4 day trip to Beijing and it being only a small group of 19 people, the group all stuck together with a Chinese tour guide (who was a blast!!) My 3 friends, Hannah Matthew and Sean, and I went together and really enjoyed our time there. altho everyday was jam packed with activities and traveling through Beijing traffic (terrible) it was still one of the best decisions I have made for myself. Beijing was wonderful! Never in my life did I think that I would actually be able to witness and experience all the great wonders, historical sites, treasures, modern and ancient sites and cultural activities that I did while on my 4 day trip in Beijing! I would honestly love love love to write a very long entry about my vacation in Beijing but I honestly have so many details, visited a plethora of beautiful ancient and modern sites, and experienced both touristy and everyday Chinese life I feel as if I could write 2 or 3 blog entries on my trip! So...instead here is my itinerary of what I did each day and also a link to my Facebook album created for my vacation in China!
On Monday, July 30th I met my group bright and earl, at Incheon Airport and after a couple of hours in the air we arrived in China and started the touristy stuff straight away.
Our first stop was the Summer Palace. These palace grounds contain Longevity Hill, with many houses and buildings positioned in sequence, and central Kunming Lake, a man-made lake. The soil that was removed to make the lake helped build Longevity Hill. The landscape of the Summer Palace grounds is considered a masterpiece as nature (the lake and hills) combined with pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges come together harmoniously. And lastly, on this very busy day, we visited Wangfujin Street This shopping street is mostly for pedestrians and has been a commercial haven since the Ming Dynasty.The streets are filled with traditional shops and eateries...and this is where I bought and ate Scorpions and Snake on a stick! It was surprisingly good...not crunchy, nor slimy....by very almost meaty feeling.....
After the Palace we visited a tea and pearl shop for some refreshing tea and learned all about the pearl harvesting process and how to tell the difference between real and fakes. It was actually really neat and I enjoyed this stop more than I though.
In the evening we went to watch a Chinese Acrobatic show only to be followed by a Chinese foot massage and a dinner of authentic Beijing Duck and a 'famous' Chinese resturaunt. I actually....didn't like the duck...but the side dishes were wonderful :)
On Tuesday we made our way to the centre of the city to visit the third largest square in the world; Tiananmen Square, with it’s long cultural and political history for China. It’s main purpose was as a massive meeting place. Several important events in China’s history took place here, including political events and students protests. The most commonly known is the protest of 1989 where soldiers opened fire on protesters killing several hundred unarmed civilians. Today this wide open space is heavily monitored by police and surveillance cameras. From the square you can see the Monument to the People’s Heroes, the Mao Zedong Mausoleum, the National Museum of China and the Great Hall of the People along the fours sides of the square.
Following the square we toured the Forbidden City. This old Chinese Imperial Palace was home to emperors for almost 500 years during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. There are 980 buildings in this huge complex, we obviously didn't have time to see them all, but our tour guide made sure we saw the most important and beautiful buildings.
After The Forbidden city and our not-so-hot chinese buffet lunch ,We went to the Temple of Heaven. This complex of religious buildings is situated in the southeastern part of central Beijing. This area was visited by Emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties for harvest ceremonies each year. While here we got the chance to visit several buildings includingThe Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, which is a triple gabled circular building, almost 40 meters high.The Imperial Vault of Heaven, another small circular building surrounded byThe Echo Wall,that can transmit sound over large distances, andThe Circular Mound Altar, which is an actual altar three levels high.
On Wednesday we made the long bus ride to the THE GREAT WALL! :)
Once at the wall we rode a cable car up near the wall then walked the rest of the way up and along the top of this ancient marvel. Built as a defensive wall to keep out invaders from the North. This huge construction stretches for miles in both directions. The Badaling area is the most well preserved section of the Great Wall. We could check out the outposts and the view from the wall as we were be up around 1000 metres above sea level. It was truly as beautiful as all the photographs I had ever seen!
Following the great wall we visited Beihai Park. This park was built around the 10th century and is the largest Chinese garden. The various structures and landscapes were designed to represents some of the most beautiful places in China. Inside the park there are palaces, temples and a huge lake that is over half the size of the entire park.
Then we will traveled around the Hutong district by rickshaw. A rickshaw is the men who ride their bicycles while pulling two people in covered wagon :) It was a fun way to see the area and the alleys we traveled through are formed by lines of traditional courtyard houses. Joining several houses together, forms a close neighbourhood or Hutong. It was really interesting to see how the 'real' people of Beijing lived and what their homes looked like.
This night, instead of going back and hitting bed, my new friends and I stayed up and sampled some Chinese liquor...lets just say it was a good last night in China :)
On Thursday (the last day) we actually went to the 2008 Summer Olympic Park. It was pretty awesome! I got to see the birds nest stadium and the Swimming 'Cube' where Michael Phelps fist debuted as a swimming superstar! following Olympic Park and before heading to airport, we were given a few hours free time to explore more around the area of Wangfujin street.
Sadly, we then made our way to the Airport to say goodbye to China. I am not sure If I will ever return to China, as in all honesty it was never at the TOP of my lis of places to go...but if the opportunity ever arises I for sure will take it because there is so much more that I never got a chance to see during my short visit! Lastly tho, here is a link to my album featuring all the wonderful sites and memories of Beijing :)
