The Chuseok Hike: An experience I will always remember

Today’s article is written for the Reach To Teach Teach Abroad Blog Carnival, a monthly series that focuses on providing helpful tips and advice to ESL teachers around the globe. I'll be posting a new ESL related article on my blog on the 5th of every month. Check back for more articles, and if you'd like to contribute to next month's Blog Carnival, please contact Dean at dean@reachtoteachrecruiting.com, and he will let you know how you can start participating! 

Topic: Tell us about an experience you've had while traveling that you will always remember.

I have only been in South Korea for about a month and a half. In comparison to most people I have met here, I have done very little traveling.  Many people I've met here have been all around Asia, Europe, you name it.  I haven't been many places yet, but within my first month of being abroad I have already managed to see some incredible things and gain some unforgettable memories.  

Over Chuseok break last month, I went to Ulsan to visit some of my friends form orientation.  The first night I was there, we had a great time enjoying the nightlife and were out until 5 AM.  This would have been fine, except that we had already established plans to go hiking the next morning.  

After four short hours or sleep we rolled out of bed, still determined not to change our plans. We slept until the last possible minute, but we still made it on time to meet up with a bunch of other EPIK teachers and head to a mountain about an hour outside of the city.

While we were on the bus, we met another group of westerners who were headed to the same location for the weekend.  The difference between their group and our group was immediately apparent. While we were just a group of twenty-somethings looking for a little nature, they were going for a full on weekend in the woods.  They had backpacks filled with food, water, and camping supplies.  They had all the fancy equipment that only LEGIT outdoorsy people have.

We started talking to them a bit on the bus, and when we reached our destination one of the girls offered to show us to a short hike to a waterfall.

Now, everyone in our group was tired on account of the four hours of sleep we got the previous night. Some people in our group (and thankfully, I was not a part of this group) were still feeling the effects of the alcohol they consumed the night before.  

The girl told us that it would be about a 40 minute walk to the trail from where we were, and another 40 minutes to the waterfall.  

Now, to a group of over-tired and somewhat hungover people who had not exercised since arriving in Korea, this sounded like the PERFECT day for us.  We could do a little hike, see a nice view, and be back in the city by a reasonable hour.  We were thankful to her, and assumed that since she had been there before (and had all the legit hiking gear to boot), she must know her way around.  

We gladly accepted her offer to show us to the waterfall, and started to walk along the main road of the mountain.  

And then we continued to walk....

And we walked some more.....

And more......

The "40 minute walk" quickly turned into an hour, but we thought we HAD to be close to the trail. Every time we got to the stop of a particularly steep part of the mountain, we would tell ourselves we MUST almost be there.

If we were just walking along a flat road, this hour probably wouldn't have seemed so bad.  Of course, we were climbing up a full-fledged mountain in the blazing hot sun, on hot pavement.  As cars passed by us, we could see their faces in dismay as they wondered why the group of foreigners was walking up a road that was CLEARLY not meant to be walked along. 

At the beginning of what we thought would be a short hike

At least we had a beautiful view!

Unfortunately this picture really doesn't capture the hill....

As we continued to walk, an hour turned into two hours, and we had no idea when we would even get to the trail.  As we were walking, our group got split into two main groups.  Somewhere along the line, the girl who was supposed to show us the way got in a cab with one other girl to get to the entrance of the trail.  

WHAT?!  Our guide had left us and we had no idea where we were.  Needless to say, we were not thrilled.

However, we had no choice but to keep walking up what seemed to be the steepest and most excruciating hills in Korea.

After two and a half hours, we finally approached what we thought was the entrance to the trail.  Yes, that's right, our "40 minute" hike turned into two and a half hours.  

Much to our dismay, we still had to climb up another road made entirely of pavement.  This road was potentially even worse than the main road--it was so steep that it almost seemed like Korea was playing a cruel joke on us.

Second round of hills when we were finally getting closer to the entrance of the trail

After about another 45 minutes, we finally made it the trail.  Needless to say, we all rejoiced when we were FINALLY WALKING IN THE WOODS!  It had never been so hard just to BEGIN a hike.

The hike to the waterfall was indeed only 40 minutes, and when we got to the waterfall, it was, as promised, beautiful.  

It took a lot of work to get there, but the waterfall really was beautiful

I was in the first group to get to the waterfall, so we sat back and enjoyed the beautiful scenery for a while.  The second group was about 30 minutes behind us, and the people in the first group wanted to get headed back home.  However, the girl I was staying with was in the second group, so I stayed behind to wait for them.  

Eventually we were all reunited at the waterfall, and after relaxing for a while, we headed back to the bus station.  

To get back to the bus station, we had to walk through an area that seemed pretty much completely stranded.  We finally found the bus stop....when the people in the first group called to tell us that we had just missed the last bus.  

Normally the bus would still be running, but it was Chuseok, so the buses were running on a different schedule.  

So there we were.  Completely exhausted, wanting to do nothing more than to take a shower and sleep, but we were stranded in the middle of nowhere.  In Korea.  Where none of us speak the language.

Where we were stranded after missing the last bus

Luckily, the bus stop was right next to a convenience store, which thankfully was open.  We had to use our best gesturing to ask the store owner to call a cab for us--we had no idea where we were, so trying to explain where to get picked up would have been impossible.  

Thankfully, the store owner called us a cab, and we waited for about 30 minutes wondering how we would get back home once we got to the bus station.  

The cab ride was an adventure of its own, and for a bit we were convinced we weren't going to even make it to the bus station alive.  Driving rules in Korea are pretty much non-existent, and our cab driver apparently thought it was a good idea to drive down the mountain in the middle of the road at approximately 100 MPH.  

Our cab driver eventually brought us to the bus station (after ALMOST taking us to the KTX station....), and we met up with the other members of our group.  

Alas! We were happy to be a bit more in civilization, but we still had no idea where we were or what bus we needed to take to get back.  We spent about the next half hour trying to use our minimal Korean skills to figure out which bus we needed.

As we were standing in the bus terminal, a bunch of people got off of one bus.  One of the men that got off the bus was obviously extremely intoxicated, turned to the wall of the station, and started to pee only about 10 feet away from us. 

It really just added to the atmosphere of the day.  

After he relieved himself, the drunk man started to talk to us, and needless to say we were beyond thankful when our bus arrived and we could escape that situation. 

We hopped on, and eventually got dropped off at the center of the city.  From there it was another half-hour drive back to my friend's neighborhood.

It goes without saying we all couldn't be more excited to take a shower and get some sleep.  Originally we had planned to go out with friends at night, but it was past 9:00 by the time we got home, and there was no way we had an ounce of energy left to do anything. 

We went to bed at 10:00 and slept straight for 11 hours.  I slept on my friend's floor that night, but I think it was still one of the best nights of sleep I've ever gotten.

This day was obviously far from perfect.  In fact, just about everything that could have gone wrong, did.  It wasn't the day any of us had imagined, however it is a day that we will all NEVER forget.  

Since I've been in Korea, I've had days that have gone perfectly.  There have been trips where no issues arise, and there are no surprises.   

However, when you travel, sometimes things do go wrong.  Sometimes you seem to get the worst of luck, but that's just part of life.  The surprises that come along the way are what make traveling exciting and unforgettable.  

While this day way trying and exhausting, it is in the toughest situations where your character is tested and you learn just what you are capable of.  Sometimes it's great to have a day where everything goes perfectly and comes easily, but in the end, days like the one of this hike are what really test what you're made of and make you appreciate all of the accomplishments of the day, whether it be climbing up the side of a mountain, or finding your way back home.

When I was younger and I had tough moments in life, my dad would always tell me that "it builds character."  This used to infuriate me, and I used to tell him I didn't need any more character.  However, now that I am older, I realize that he was right.  Without the tough moments, life would be boring.  I'd much rather live an interesting life where I am learning from challenges, than an easy life that it boring. 

Chuesok Part 2: Omija and Grasshoppers

I was totally exhausted when I got back from Ulsan on Friday.  I spent the rest of the night taking it easy because the next day I knew I wanted to go to the Omija festival.

Omija are fruit that are native to Mungyeong (which in case you've forgotten, is the area I live in). If you read anything about Korea, you'll quickly learn that Koreans love festivals.  When I was first researching life in Korea, I was amazed at the number of festivals that are held here throughout the year.  Every area has it's signature foods and items and to celebrate these things, they have festivals where they have tons of food, beverages, and souvenirs.

I went to the Omija festival with some of the other teachers from Jeomchon.  It was about an hour bus ride (well, it actually took us longer on the way there because we hit so much traffic) and we rode through some pretty rural areas that I had not seen yet. It was quite the contrast to the city life I saw in Ulsan.  The cities in Korea are some of the most modern in the world, but there are still many extremely rural areas...it's quite the mixture of lifestyles.

Once we got to the festival there were tons of food stands where you could buy pretty much anything.  We had just grabbed some food and omija beer when we got stopped by some people from a tv station. Obviously the group of waygookins stood out, so I guess that we were good subjects for a quick little interview.  It was pretty entertaining, but apparently this happens at pretty much every festival.  Gotta love being the foreigners!

After our tv experience, we continued on and ate and drank more.  All in all, I had a really good time at the festival and I can't wait to go to more!

When we got back to Jeomchon, some of us decided to stay out and hang out for a bit longer.  We ended up going to a place that serves grasshoppers....and we got a nice big plate of those bad boys.  I don't think eating grasshoppers is particularly common in Korea, but when I decided to come to Korea I knew I had to willing to try (just about) anything.  So, I figured this was one of those times when I had to take the opportunity to do something completely different.  I mean, when else will I ever get the chance to eat grasshoppers?

The grasshoppers were really crunchy, but didn't taste bad at all.  They were cooked in plenty of good stuff so they were really pretty tasty.  Never try, never know.

Such a kodak moment. 

After the grasshopper adventures, we stayed out for a while longer...ok, a lot longer.  We went to noraebang and on our way out the lady that was working there stopped the other girl we were with and myself to take pictures with us....seriously, being a foreigner in Korea is unlike anything else.

After noraebang we hung out for a little longer. I don't even know what time it was once I actually got to bed, but I slept until 2:30 this afternoon, so I know it was late! Yikes!

All in all, I had a great Chuseok break.  I am absolutely loving getting to see and do so many new things.  I obviously came to Korea to teach, but I also came to travel, and I'm really glad I got to see some of the country this weekend. 

Korea isn't usually at the top of most people's lists for places they'd like to go visit, but the more I see of this country, the more I am amazed by how beautiful it is.  The mountains are everywhere, and they are breathtaking.  Never mind the coast, rice fields, and temples that you see on the regular in this country that are just as amazing.  People don't tend to think of Korea as a "must-see" country, but I'm feeling incredibly blessed that I AM seeing it with my own eyes because as many pictures as I take, I can't quite capture the beauty of this country.  It's sometimes frustrating that the pictures I take can't really capture what I'm seeing...but then I remind myself that is part of WHY you travel.

I know I'm still in my honeymoon stage of living in Korea.  I have done my research into culture shock, and I know it doesn't really hit until about 3 months into your time in the country.  However, I am currently loving the honeymoon stage for all its worth.  I know it won't take long until the things I find intriguing about this culture start to annoy me.  However, for now I just want to take in the constant awe that I've been experiencing.  I know it won't last, but that's all the more reason to take it all in and enjoy it while it's here.  

Beautiful mountains...they are everywhere in Korea!

Chuseok Part 1: Ulsan

Hello again!

As many of you know, I only had to go to school on Monday and Tuesday this week.  This week was Chuseok (although I think only Thursday was the actual holiday?), which is similar to Thanksgiving in the US.  This is one of the biggest holidays in Korea, and everyone travels home to celebrate with their families.  

Tuesday I only had to teach one class in the morning because the kids had their physical tests at school (they had to do running, sit ups, etc)  So basically, this meant that I sat at my desk for the remainder of the day and attempted to focus on writing questions for the mid-term (which is really hard to do when I've really only been teaching for two weeks).  Regardless, I was really tired, and staying awake was extremely challenging.  I"m not brave enough (yet) to attempt a desk nap like I see the other teachers do, so I sat there for the remainder of the day trying to do everything in my power just to stay awake.

Around 3:00 the vice-principal came over and said something in Korean to my co-teacher, and she then told me that we could go home.  Apparently in Korea the administration can just decide to let everyone go whenever because all the kids got to leave as well.  I'm not complaining!

I rushed to the bus station because although I had been planning to take the 5:40 bus to Ulsan, there was one that was leaving at 3:45.  I had heard plenty about how crazy it is to travel over Chuseok, so I figured the sooner I could get out of here the better.  

I was a little nervous about navigating the buses because I haven't traveled on my own yet, but it didn't take long until I saw tons of my students there as well. Many of my students are from outside Jeomchon, so they had to take buses to get home to their families.  They were so adorable and made sure I got on the right bus--have I mentioned I love my students?

The bus ride to Ulsan took 3.5 hours, but I slept through most of it, so it was fine.  When I got to Ulsan I met up with one of my friends and we got some dinner and waited for everyone else. I was pretty excited to get my first burger since being in Korea, and the bar had PRETZELS, which I also have not had since I've been in Korea.  I'm a huge fan of pretzels, so I was pretty pumped to say the least.  After a while a bunch of other people from our orientation met up with us and it wasn't too long before we moved onto the next bar.  

I quickly realized how different city life is from life in Jeomchon.  First of all, there were Korean people our age everywhere, and they were extremely well-dressed (even the guys!)  I hadn't noticed that Jeomchon doesn't really have many Koreans our age until all of a sudden I was surrounded by super trendy 20 year old Koreans.  It was pretty shocking.  

Additionally, there are obviously way more foreigners in the city, and it was really weird to pass by another westerner and not know them.  I've met just about every foreigner in Jeomchon, so if I ever see a westerner here, I know who they are.  It felt really strange to walk by other English speakers and not say hello.

The city as a whole was also a lot to take in--there were bright fluorescent lights EVERYWHERE!

Also, people can smoke in bars...I never realized how accustomed I was to all the non-smoking rules in America.  Smoky bars are just really gross, and I felt like I smelled like cigarette smoke for the better part of the trip.

So many lights! 

After spending a while at a few bars, we moved on to a club.  And oh my, this was just an experience that is difficult to explain.  The music was SUPER loud.  It was completely pitch black except for a strobe light.  You really couldn't see much of anything except for bright flashes of light every few seconds.  There were Korean guys everywhere. I don't know where all the girls were, but I think I only saw a few the whole night.

Being a female foreigner in a club with a bunch of Korean guys is a recipe for an interesting experience.  Especially since their English mostly consists of only "You're beautiful" and "I love you!"

I still don't know how to accurately describe this portion of the night...I think it's just something you need to experience for yourself. If you're ever in Korea, check out a club.  It's worth it just for the experience.  

Another thing about going out in Korea....there is no last call.  In New Hampshire, the bars close at 1 AM.  I don't think we left the club here until after 3 AM.  Of course, we were hungry so we stopped at McDonalds (because where else would the group of waygooks go?)  It was actually my first time seeing a McDonalds since I've been in Korea.  We were there for quite a while, but don't think we were just those drunken Americans eating hamburgers (I mean, maybe we were a little...) but we somehow ended up having discussions about morality and religion?  Totally normal.

Anyway, by the time we got home it was at least 5 AM.  Which would have been fine, except for we had plans to go hiking the next morning.

Our alarm went off at 9:15....but we actually were feeling pretty great, so we got up and met with the others going on the hike. 

Now, this hiking adventure is a really long story in itself, so I'm going to make it its own post another time.  Let's just say Wednesday was one of THOSE days where just about everything went wrong.  We definitely had an adventure.

The Chuseok hike of 2013 will live live in infamy.  Crazy day, but at least we had some beautiful sights!

Thursday we slept in until almost 11:00...which will make sense once you hear about Wednesday.  We then headed toward the beach to meet up with some other friends.  It was an absolutely beautiful day....it really couldn't have been more perfect.  The sky was blue, there was a breeze, and it wasn't humid.  Definitely an overall weather win.  

A few of us went for a walk around a path with some really amazing views. I of course took a million pictures, but none of them really do justice to the views.

Absolutely beautiful day.
My pictures can't do justice to the views we saw!

As it started to get dark, we headed back to the downtown area.  We grabbed some delicious BBQ dinner before we met up with a bigger group of people and headed to a bar to celebrate the birthday of one of the guys from our orientation group.  

We all hung out for a while, then briefly went to another bar that was not so hoppin' before we decided it was time for some noraebang.  I hadn't been to noraebang since orientation, so I was pretty pumped for round two.  It didn't let me down at all, and it was a great way to end the night and my time in Ulsan.

We didn't get to bed until 3 AM, and I woke up today at 7 to get ready to catch a bus to the bus station for for my 10:00 bus.  Once I got to the bus stop, I saw on the schedule that the next bus that I needed wasn't coming until after 9:00.  Since it takes at least 45 minutes to get to the bus station, I figured it was way too risky, and I grabbed a cab instead. 

So in the end I got to the bus station way earlier than I needed to, but I'd definitely rather be too early than too late.  I slept a little on the way back, but I was pretty exhausted by the time I got back.

I had a great time in Ulsan, but coming back to Jeomchon was the first time I realized that this place really is starting to feel like home.  It was nice to be back in my familiar surroundings and in my own apartment again!   

PS

I finally got my Alien Registration Card today, which means I can finally get a cell phone! Well...almost.

One of my co-teachers took me to get a phone, but apparently now we need to change something with my bank account.  UGH! So close, yet so far.

Also, tonight I bought a ticket to go to Ulsan next week.  Next week is Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), so we have Wednesday-Sunday off from school.  I'm going to go see some friends from orientation, and I really just can't wait to see everyone and have some fun.

By the way, buying a bus ticket was quite the accomplishment...even if I had to point to a calendar to communicate.

It's the small victories that matter.