2 day field trip - Kolon sauna, 68 Koreans, historical tombs, and a freezing ocean!

This workshop the supervisors decided to take all 64 Korean teachers, 8 Native English Instructors (including myself), and 4 staff members to the ancient city of Gyeongju. Gyeongju can be compared to the Kyoto in Japan full of temples, palaces, and other such historical sites. This trip was pretty interesting for the most part because I'll admit my knowledge about Korean is lacking but I sure did learn a lot. Many of the sites we visited we shocking just barren plots of land with a few stones here and there that kind of resemble walls. I know that Korea was invaded by a bunch of countries including Mongolia and Japan. However, I didn't know that literally most of the famous temples and palaces were burnt to the ground by these countries. So we visited a variety of sites were there were pictures representing what the place formal looked like. One of the temples was rebuilt in the 70s. It was really interesting. We went to a Buddha museum and I learnt about the various kinds of Buddhas. I'll admit, I didn't think there were so many. At one point our tour guide was describing how a woman (I forget her name) was visited by a spirit and told her she would become pregnant. I immediately turned to my coworker Ryan and we both said, 'hey that sounds a lot like the Blessed Virgin Holy Mary." Very interesting how Buddhism and Catholicism are very closely related to each other. Then the Korean teachers and a few of the Native English teachers had a debate about religion. It was interesting to hear there options about religion. Seokguram Grotto has one of the most famous Buddha statues in Korea. It is hidden under a giant hill so this is only a replica in the museum. At all the museum and sites, our tour guide kept saying, 'the original is in Seoul, please visit the National Museum'. Well at the Seoul National Museum is making a pretty penny!





At one of the palaces we went too there was a flock of crows circling above the site. I was bit scarred in that I was instantly reminded of Alfred Hitchcock's movie 'The Birds'. It was honestly a scene out a horror movie in which I waiting for the flock of birds either to attack or be a premonition of something bad to come haha Or maybe my wild imagination has got the best of me again!





Deareungwon Royal Burial Grounds are an area where the sacred tombs of royalty and their families were buried! If you honestly had no idea bout this area you would honestly think, wow there are a lot of hills in this area. Apparently the bigger the hill, the more prestigious the person was. There is an interesting correlation between the Egyptians pyramids and the Korean tombs in that each tomb was filled with treasures and valuable things. Believe it or not, it was incredible freezing on this day that literally I had some wind burn on my face.






In Korea and I have also noticed in Japan, people love photography. Most people have a camera on their phones, so they will just snap a picture on their phones. But for those people who are truly passionate about photography, they possess extremely large cameras and usual a tripod. I love it when these photographers take 5 minutes to set up their cameras just for one picture. I am more of a natural photographer in that I like to capture moments of life as it unfolds.





Cheesy restaurants are everywhere in Korea. In order to know you are eating at a Korean restaurant, you must have the following items: - long rows of tables that make you sit on the floor while eating - each table has 10-15 small dishes with a variety of fermented vegetables, roots, and plants. - A box with flat chopsticks and a tablespoons. Every Korean eats with a pair of chopsticks and a spoon. I have never seen any other country do this. Also if you are eating BBQ, then there is a pair of scissors at your table to cut your meat up. - a roll of toilet paper. Koreans don't really use napkins but instead there is always a roll of toilet paper at the table. - Everyone is drinking either Soju and/or Beer. Koreans don't drink water at a meal because it is bad for your digestion. However, it baffles my mind that liquor is okay to drink in large quantities during a meal. Mind boggling! - A communal eating area. If you are eating BBQ then there is one grill in the middle of the table. If your eating hot pot, there is one large boiling pot of soup in the middle. Koreans will always eat from the same dishes. If your a germaphobe, then I don't recommend you visiting Korea any time soon. So this photos is of the large paper mache display of making Kimchi. Oh Kimchi, it is Korea's number one pride and joy. I will eat some kinds of kimchi but the older the kimchi the more potent and smelly it is. When I first got to Korea, I noticed there was some interesting smells and I know I realize that it is of different types of Kimchi. haha it certainly doesn't smell like roses in Korea.





While I was on my way to the bathroom at the restaurant, I saw this by the bathroom. Some stuffed birds, mannequins wearing a Japanese kimono, and a stuffed sea turtle. I literally felt like I was possibly in a creepy antique shop with a bunch of random items. I didn't expect to see this in a restaurant. The restaurant also had a bunch wild birds in cages at the entrance. This place was bizarre with it's decor. If Gordon Ramsay was here he would flip out! It definitely was a kitchen nightmare!





We spent two nights at the Kolon hotel. Yes you literally say it like the word, 'colon'. So the teachers and I were joking about staying in a colon and other such jokes! haha The hotel had a wicked Western style breakfast buffet which made me go crazy. I forgot what it was like to eat a good variety of Western food! All the English teachers were going crazy!!! A few of the teachers (Lyndsey, Sloane, and Olivia) and I went to the Spa in hotel. It was relaxing to sit around and chat. A woman approached me in the spa and it turns out this little older lady was from Japan. She was on a vacation with a tour group. It was nice to chat about Japan and I gave her a chance to practice speaking English. She was so sweet and it made me miss Japan. After the Spa, the girls and I had hung out in my hotel room. We watch the channel 'onstyle' which is the best English channel on TV. I only get a chance to watch TV at hotels because I don't have cable where I live. My employers are too lazy to hook it up for us. grrr. So we watched some celebrity gossip, Oprah, and America top model. I am not a big fan of these shows, especially Oprah, but it is just nice to hear some English voices. haha It was such a girl night to sit around and gossip. It was great!





This is a famous monument that is placed on the Korean 10 Won coin. There are different layers in the statue that represent the different stages of Buddhism. It is pretty complex but really interesting.





A tradition of placing prayer stones on to each other to form a tower is popular. I made a little prayer and placed my tiny rock on to a pile. However, you are not allowed to knock over the tower or else it is bad luck!





Bulguksa Temple was burnt down when the Japanese invaded. The temple was rebuilt and it looks pretty good. There is such a strong hatred for the Japanese by the Korean still. One of the my Korean teachers made an extremely rude comment about the Japanese. I can understand there is still strong feelings because the Japanese never formally apologized for their invasion. Apparently many Korean women were raped and killed by the Japanese. I honestly didn't know there was such a strong resentment towards the Japanese still to this day!






This is the front of the temple from standing on the side of the temple. This was a popular site for photos and there were many people snapping away pictures. I just thought I would quickly grab a shot because it was very chilly out and I just wanted to go back to the bus!





There were a few guardian statues at the beginning of the temple to ward off bad spirits. I apparently made it through the gates without any problems! Thank heavens! After this, I was off to the bus. Just to let you know, one Korean tour buses they have a microphone and people actually sing on the buses. However, the Korean trainees had to do presentations about Korean culture throughout the whole trip. It was bad because a lot of trainees slept through the presentations. I was pretty bad too cause I would tune out and enjoy the scenery! It is crazy! Also there is a free coffee machine that dispense coffee by the cup at the front of the bus.





Our last stop of the two day trip was to the ocean to visit Underwater Tomb of King Munmu. I just fell in love with the lovely beach and thought to myself, man I wish it was summer. So the trainees and I all enjoyed the rolling in of the tides. It was still pretty cold out but I really enjoyed hearing and seeing the crashing waves. I enjoyed how there were old ladies selling dried squid. Koreans love squid. I will admit, I sure to eat a lot of squid (tiny ones to large ones) especially at my work in the cafeteria. My coworkers and I joke about how our institute must have a contract with a squid company!





Here I am looking cold and ever so Korean with my pose. I personally don't know where this pose came from because in Japan they do the same thing. So I am confused, who invented this pose first? The Japanese or the Koreans? haha This question would make the Koreans so mad!!!





Lastly, here is a video to enjoy of the ocean! The waves were great and there were some big ones too! I enjoyed how high the tide was and how the Korean teachers were afraid of getting wet haha

Western style New Years in Korea

New Years. This year was an interesting one. Phil, Ryan, Victoria, Lyndsey and I hopped the good old 225 bus to Gwangju despite the fact it was snowing very hard. May I add that it has only snowed 2 days the whole time I have lived here. When there is snow on the road or anywhere, Koreans go crazy. They literally do not know what to do what so ever! It is pretty funny! Once we arrived downtown, we walked around trying to find a restaurant that everyone could agree on. I like how Gwangju literally only has 5 options: Korean Food, Japanese/Korean Food, Chinese/Korean Food, Italian/Korean and Western/Korean Food. Notice how Korean is attached to all the different types of food?? No matter what, Korean influence will be in any type of cuisine. At any restaurant ever, you will always get a side of Kimchi (different kinds) and a bowl of sweet pickles. Koreans believe that if you eat pickles with any meal it will cut down on the grease while eat. awwww okay?!?!? Plus, Kimchi is apparently good for treating every aliment known to man. The other day in the cafeteria, I did not take any kimchi and a Korean man said to me, 'Kimchi is good for you. You are a woman and Kimchi is good for your skin. It also prevents cancer'. Are you kidding me? That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. I then argued that there is more to the world than Kimchi to prevent cancer. ugh! Anyways, we had some Korean/Italian food which wasn't bad. I will admit that is the only thing Koreans can not mess up and make it taste bad. Western food here is pretty gross. For example, if you eat a fruit salad they will cover it in mayo. Yup, mayo. They love mayo while I do not!

After eating a massive 6 person set menu meal between the five of us for a very good price, we then went to Paris Baguette for some coffee. Paris Baguette, just like many Korean coffee shops, are rather inefficient. What I mean by this is that literally there is two people working and they will take one persons order in a line. Then they will leave to go and make it together and leave everyone waiting in line. This also happened at McDonald's when my coworker and I ate breakfast. My order was taken and then the lady went to go make it for 5 minutes and then after took my coworkers order. Would the logical thing not to take both orders at the same time and then go make it???? This is a candid shot of me enjoy my caramel latte. Yum Yum.





Here is the snow falling in the streets of Gwangju after we had a great conversation over some coffee. It was nice to chat and get to know eat other better. The oddest thing is that Koreans use umbrellas when the snow falls. It was super odd. Koreans are obsessed with appearance and will do anything to protect their perfect hair and makeup. It is interesting to see everyone always made up anywhere you go. The other day I got some passport photos done and I was a hat on my head. When I took off my hat, my hair was a bit disheveled. The photographer, pointed at the mirror with a bunch of beauty products surrounding it. I tried to adjust my hair the best I could and he just looked at me and shook his head in disgust.

The other crazy part of this story is they airbrushed my passport photo. They cleared up my skin, made my eyes, glossy and for some reason my nose is smaller. They love airbrushing photos so everyone looks perfect. Goodness gracious!





High heels for every season in Korea. I also noticed this phenomena in pretty much every Asian country I have been too. The really kicker is that high heels are sold in only 4 sizes: small, medium, large, and x-large. I barely fit into an extra large. So many women will buy shoes that are too big or too small for them and it looks silly! I have seen women wear high heels while hiking, walking in the snow, and really everywhere. Clothing is the same in Korea. Considering this country is rather homogeneous, they are able to have most clothing stores really carry one size. So if your larger or tall, well tough luck honey! Being a Western in Korea is difficult when it comes to clothing shopping. I even have a hard time fitting into Korean clothes! Lyndsey doesn't even try.





We ended up going to a German bar run by a Korean man who lived in German for a beer or two and some chatting. It was too cold to wonder the streets of Gwangju. Also prior to coming to this bar, we bought some fireworks in the downtown area. There was a street New Years party set up. Any who, I bought my fireworks and being the occasional stupid girl that I am, I turned to show Ryan and Phil my lit firework and at that instant a firework shot out to them standing about 10 meters away. It missed their heads by 3 feet but man it was pretty shocking. They started to laugh while two Korean men where yelling at me in Korean. I didn't think that would happen and then they grabbed the firework and pointed it into the sky. Ohhhhhh... whoops! After having a round at the German bar, we proceeded to the Speakeasy, the foreigner bar of Gwangju. There we counted down the evening, dance a bit, and had some not so bad times. I will admit the assortment of people in this place wasn't really my cup of tea.


My last point goes back to restaurants. When you go to a restaurant you usually get an extra bonus dish of food known as service. Usually I have noticed that service food is really odd in that it tries to be cutting edge in food technology. For example, this salad on the left in the picture was drizzle in corn, beans, sweet pickles, shrimp wound in fried noodle, and chicken bits sprinkled on top while drizzled with an odd dressing. It's pretty gross. The nachos in the right of this photos were something lyndsey and I were super excited about. These $11 nachos each were covered in a very sweet but spicy salsa, a slab of processed cheese, and I think there was some mayo. I was sooooo disappointed because all I wanted was some good old nachos. Conclusion, when it comes to eating Western food in Korea, don't even waste your breathe. It is totally not even worth it! Just wait till you get back to North America!