My Korean Summer 2013: Day 7, Field Trip Day 2

[DAY 7]

After sleeping in an uber comfortable bed, we had to wake up very early to pack up, check out, and enjoy a Korean breakfast. We had rice, banchan, and a spicy soup that had kimchi, beef, and maybe some fish? I'm not exactly sure what all was it in but it cleared my sinuses quite nicely.

We also finally got to see the spectacular view we were promised upon arrival. The clouds had cleared (at least temporarily).

Next on the itinerary was Mt. Seorak. And of course a torrential downpour started as we pulled up to the cable car station. However, this did not dampen (haha) our spirits! We took the cable car up to the top and proceeded to hike the trail to the peak. It really did have some great views but unfortunately some were obscured by the clouds and fog.

Next stop was Naksansa Temple, we really enjoyed mother nature's continued down pour at this stop. After parking, we walked up a semi-paved dirt path to the entrance of the temple. A monk was there to greet us at the main gate.

Lunch was a dried fish specialty for this region. One of my teaching assistants bought a ton of the stuff at the store next to the restaurant.

Now, we were supposed to go white water rafting after lunch but the river water level had gotten too high from all the rain and the rapids were a little dangerous...so...we settled on zip-lining instead. I personally did not partake in the activity but many of my peers did. They said it was enjoyable. Some other friends and I set up camp at a picnic table with some snacks and beverages. It was fun just to kick back and relax not on the stuffy tour bus.

Dinner was at a rest stop and I must say Korea has the greatest rest stops ever. There are massage chairs, food everywhere, really big bathrooms, convenience stores, other little shops...it's great.

We got back to school early and I went to bed early because I was exhausted!

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My Korean Summer 2013: Day 6, Field Trip Day 1

[DAY 6]

I still want to write about my class but since my field trip is still fresh in my mind I'll pen this down before I forget! It is still monsoon season here in Korea and the rain had no mercy on us the entire trip. I don't think I've seen the sun properly since arriving in the motherland. Anyway, we all met up bright (not really) and early at 7:30AM to depart from school. Three large tour buses gaudily decorated with lace and pinkish curtains greeted us. I'm not sure why all the tour busses in Korea are seemingly decorated by the same person.

It wasn't long before we were off to our first stop on our itinerary: Samyang Ranch and Wind Plant. Apparently a decent number of Korean dramas and movies have been filmed here. We did not have ideal weather for seeing the views on the ranch (windy, cold, wet) but I did get to snap a couple of pictures in our very brief time there (maybe 10 minutes max at the view point).

After getting cold and wet we hopped back into the humid bus to go lunch.

With full stomachs we were off to Ojukheon and Gyeongopdae Pavilion. Unfortunately my pictures and memory have a hard time remembering which is which but here are some pictures of both (?) stops. Again, it was damp and windy. 

The hotel for the night was a brand new building of hotel suites at the DEL PINO resort. We had the option of using the water park/pool facilities or just enjoying the hotel amenities. A friend and I retired to the billiard room for a bit and stopped by the convenience store for ice cream. We later found the arcade and played a few games before having to return to our building for dinner.

Our tasty dinner at our fancy resort accommodations, romanized it is called "Bulgogi Jeongol". It is basically beef in a broth with a bunch of different vegetables. I enjoyed it!

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My Korean Summer 2013: Day 5 - Cat Cafe!

[DAY 5

I did want to post about my class and the format but since my time is limited I shall just talk about the cat cafe I went to. In Korea, there are many themed cafes. These include things like cats & dogs but also can include pop culture references. 

The cafe we went to was 고양이 다락방 which translates to "Cat Attic". You take off your shoes and get some house flip-flops to wear. After sanitizing our hands we were in to pay admission (8,000 KRW) and get our included beverage. It was very clean and didn't smell like cat at all. The worker there even mixed up a cat snack for us to give out to the kitties.

I now leave you with a bunch of photos and if I get time to edit all the videos I took there...those will be added later!

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My Korean Summer 2013: Day 1 & 2

[DAY 1]
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! The jet lag started to hit pretty hard on my first real day in the motherland. I met up with two of my friends for lunch followed by coffee...which I never drink. I was dragging by early afternoon and was encouraged to down a cup of joe to fight the urge to fall asleep on the cafe table. My friends enjoyed espresso while I settled for an iced mocha...it was full of the sugar and caffeine I needed to carry me through to evening.

Later that day I met another friend who is local to Korea. It had almost been a year since seeing each other! We did many laps around Hongdae just taking in the sites, sounds, and smells. For a snack we got something amazingly cheap and delicious. I wish I had taken a picture :( It was a small waffle with different flavors of ice cream folded into a sandwich. The grand total was KRW 1,000 which is less than one USD. The heat and humidity was getting to us so we found a cafe and got some iced tea and much needed air conditioning

After our iced tea break we started searching for something to eat for dinner. I chose chicken and beer which is quite a popular combination here in Korea. The large amount of chicken tenders and homemade chips with beer was less than $20.

[DAY 2]
Jet lag didn't let me sleep much that night and neither did my nervousness of taking my placement test for my language program (or the neighbors that talked really loudly at midnight...and 4am...). I caught the bus and walked through the pouring rain to the building where my orientation and placement test was. Turns out I know a lot less Korean than I thought...or the Korean I know is too fragmented. I get the placement results later this evening. The age range of the program participants is quite large but most seem <30 years old. My lunch was from the convenience store and cost maybe $3 total for ramen, triangle kimbap, and a soda!

I will start my adventure in the Level 1...I'm not sure what area of level 1 (maybe the beginning beginning) but we'll see how the first day of class goes tomorrow!
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My Korean Summer 2013: Day 0

My summer in Korea started with nothing other than a very long flight. The cheapest ticket I could find (without going through China) was one on Air Canada via Toronto. I got up mega early to make sure I was ready for my shuttle to the airport and to finish any last minute packing. I ended up getting to the airport before the gate agents started checking people in. After about 20 minutes of waiting I got my bag checked and grabbed a bite to eat. The small propeller plane to Toronto wasn't full so I got two seats to myself. I took an interesting video of the propellers. It looks like the propellers are actually moving very slowly but I'm guessing it has to deal with the frame rate of the camera. See that video below:

The next leg of my journey took me to Toronto for a short layover. The terminal I was in was very high tech. The larger restaurants had iPads for ordering your food and also had plenty of outlets to charge your device.

The flight experience was a little different than I expected. I ended having coffee spilled on me and then almost had hot food trays dumped on me. The coffee incident would have not been a big deal but the flight attendant was making it out as some sort of joke (at least that's what I thought). I don't even remember her saying sorry. Then later during one of the meal services, one of the carts got rammed right into my row, spilling about 3 hot food trays into the aisle. Another thing that irked me during the flight was that for one of the snacks, we were given instant noodles. This was fine. What wasn't so fine was that the flight attendant was automatically giving all the Asians on the flight chopsticks and didn't even ask them if they wanted a western utensil set. I watched him for 4 or 5 rows worth of people...maybe he asked later during the meal service (I doubt it though).

I got to Incheon airport safely where my friend picked me up. We then headed to dinner after I checked into my guesthouse.

More to come later! Stay tuned!

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Goodbye to my humble abode...

I lived in an apartment in downtown Baltimore for 4 years. I had contemplated moving after the first two but didn't like the options I found. Here we are after 4 years and due to my rent being inflated substantially to renew...I left. Below you will find a video walking through my apartment. I do call out some pros and cons of the place.

Basically this converted turn of the century warehouse was split up into one and two bedroom apartments. They are not quite what I would call luxurious but they are above your standard flat. The ceilings are very high (15 feet I think) and you get some perks on the grounds (fitness center, pool tables, half of a basketball court). 

There are some things that got on my nerves after the 4 year stint:

• Locals other than apartment complex residents mooching off of the amenities (neighborhood kids, other adults wanting to play pool or use the basketball court.
• Dogs...lots...and lots...of dogs...and with all those dogs comes a lot of their waste.

You may be wondering about pests...I didn't really have a problem with them...until my very last months there. If you are really curious drop a comment below or on the video.

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