Long Weekend

I had a much-needed, long break from work the first weekend of this month. May 1 was labor day, May 2 my school was closed, May 3 and 4 were the regular weekend, May 5 was Children's Day and May 6 was Buddha's birthday, making for a fabulous 6-day weekend! It was incredibly refreshing to get away from school for so long. I traveled to Busan and Seoul, which was a nice change of pace from Daegu. It had been months since I had been to either city.

Thursday (May 1), I headed to Busan in the early afternoon, stopping first in Gwangalli Beach. It was the first time I've been. I wasn't super impressed, but it did seem to have a nice offering of restaurants. And I want to see it some time at night to enjoy the light show on the bridge. I didn't spend too much time there. Just walked the length of the beach and grabbed a late lunch at a Vietnamese restaurant.

I then headed toward Samgwangsa and met up with Meghan. We headed to the temple and enjoyed one of the most beautiful displays of lanterns in Korea for Buddha's birthday. The lanterns were impressive during the day, but they really shined (haha, I'm so punny) when they were lit at night. The temple itself was also one of the most interesting temples I have seen in Korea. Most of the temples tend to be a bit monotonous, but this one had a variety of unique features. It was really gorgeous, especially with the rows and rows of lanterns. After visiting the temple, I headed back home to Daegu.

The next day I got a lazy start and eventually headed up to Seoul. I arrived fairly late, so I just headed to Itaewon for dinner. I went to JR's Southern Style BBQ, which was pretty disappointing. I got a half rack of baby back ribs, but they were really tough and seemed like fairly crappy meat. Then I headed to my hostel. I stayed at Pine Tree Guest House near the Samgakji subway stop. It was a nice place with comfortable beds and lovely facilities. But I forgot how much is sucks to sleep in a dorm style room! I didn't get a solid night's rest while I was there, but that's just part of the hostel experience. 

Saturday I headed to Everland. It was very similar to Disneyland. There were a few rides, the themes were heavy and there were lots of characters and some parades. I thought it was a pretty nice place, but one day was definitely enough for me. I am more of a thrill seeker and roller coaster rider, so the theme park is not my favorite. That being said, there were a few good coasters, namely the T-Express, a wooden coaster with one of the highest drops in the world. It was a lot smoother than most wooden coasters I've been on. And another bonus was that they served beer (cans and draught) in the park. I just enjoyed that is was available there. But the park is such a journey from Seoul that I wouldn't say it is a must see.

I left my hostel around 9:15 a.m., took the subway to Gangnam, waited an hour at the public bus stop, rode the bus (number 5002) for an hour and a half, and finally took a 10-minute shuttle from the parking lot to the front gates of the park. All in all, the journey took about three and a half hours! Granted that was using public transportation, so driving on your own or taking a taxi would probably be much faster. But at about $3 for the one-way journey, it is hard to sacrifice the great price to save some time.

In the evening I headed back to Itaewon for dinner. I intended to try out Vatos Urban Tacos, an upscale Mexican restaurant, but the line was insane. One girl said they had been waiting an hour just to get a buzzer, let alone to be seated any time soon. So I debated what to eat instead and ended up at Taco Bell. And I'm glad I did. Taco Bell really is its own genre of food, and it is so tasty! It really hit the spot and was a nice treat.

Sunday I met up with Jenny and she and I headed to church. Before the service, we grabbed a delicious lunch at a small cafe. We each got a tasty panini and scrumptious, fresh-squeezed glass of juice. Then we went to Every Nation Church for their international service. It was amazing! That place is so filled with God's presence and love. I wept from the first note of worship to the end of the message. They weren't tears of conviction or guilty or sadness; they were tears of awe and veneration. I just felt so overwhelmed by His spirit. And the worship was beautiful. The lead singer had a lovely voice. And the message was powerful and so timely. It was all about being God's masterpieces and loving God and ourselves so we can love others. They showed this excellent skit, which really captured the essence of the message, check it out if you have time. I definitely plan to visit that church again any time I am in Seoul on a Sunday.
After church Jenny and I headed to Hongdae and grabbed a tea before splitting ways to meet up with other friends. I also found a hoop nose ring, which I have been wanting for a few months now! I'm so glad that I was finally able to find it somewhere in Korea. Hongdae really has a unique vibe from the rest of the country. It is such a diverse, artsy place. I'm a big fan.

Later in the evening I met up with Taejoon. I still think it's hilariously awesome that we randomly met in a hostel in Switzerland, but have kept in touch and hang out every once in a while. We grabbed dinner at a Japanese-run ramen place. It was so delicious! We each got the black ramen, which was in a nice mildly spicy soup and had two melt-in-your-mouth tender pieces of pork. It was definitely the best ramen I have had in Korea and is very similar to the quality stuff you will find in Japan. After dinner we headed to a beer garden place and chatted while drinking a few beers. I enjoyed a couple of Hefe-weizens and a Blue Moon (I can't even remember the last time I was able to get a Blue Moon, and it was so good). It was great to catch up with Taejoon.

Monday Jenny and I met up again for lunch in Itaewon at a Greek restaurant. I was hopping to enjoy their gyro lunch special, but it isn't available on holidays. It worked out well though, because we shared a Greek salad and each got spanakopita. It was really delicious and so fresh. We then headed to an international food store and bought a few items before finally taking the train back to Daegu. On the final day of my vacation, I lounged around at home and squeezed in a Costco trip. It was nice to take a lazy day to recuperate from my time away.

Little Adventures

Nothing too big has been going on lately; I've just been enjoying life with friends, food and fun. But I have had a few small adventures in the past few weeks (with the exception of a fairly significant outing this past weekend, which will be detailed in a following post!).

I've finally started attending Zumba classes here in Daegu, which I've been meaning to do for months! It has been so much fun and a great way to work out. I'm glad I got my lazy butt in gear!

I also went to see the Phantom of the Opera (live) with Jenny and Cynthia during the second weekend of April. The performance was spectacular! I got the chills when the orchestra played the opening music. I was very impressed with the company's performance (it was a Western group, so it was performed in English) and the orchestra. Though I wouldn't have minded if the phantom had a bit more of an ominous voice. Overall it was a quality show and fun to see such a classic.
The next week our church had a Seder dinner the Friday before Easter. It was my first Seder experience. I really enjoyed seeing the whole process from start to finish and partaking in all the traditions. We had to adapt it a bit to fit with the things we had available in Korea, but I was really impressed with how smooth and legitimate the event was. And the food, once we finally got to the feasting portion, was absolutely delicious. It was a great experience!
The next day was quite busy. I attended a wedding, went to an evening church service and danced at another bachata event (which was an absolute blast). My previous coteacher Eunji (은지) was sweet enough to invite me to her wedding. I was really excited to go, because I was happy for her and it was my first Korean wedding! I had been briefed by friends who've been to other weddings about the process before I attended, but it was still an interesting experience.

I would say the goal of a Korean wedding is efficiency and speed. The whole ceremony, including taking pictures with the couple, was finished within half an hour. And many of the patrons left after the bride completed her walk down the aisle. And the majority of those who stayed proceeded to have loud conversations throughout the entire ceremony. There was even a child with a barking toy dog running free in the back! Additionally, the lights were used excessively, flickering on and off for different parts of the ceremony while the staff ran around, instructing everyone about what to do. My favorite of whom was the lady, dressed in jeans and a baggy T-shirt, who kept adjusting Eunji's dress, making sure it was perfectly placed for each picture. It all seemed like a big show with an under-rehearsed act and an inattentive audience rather than an important celebration. But I guess that is just a difference in culture! And I was happy to show my support for my friend and enjoy the buffet meal at the end of the ceremony. I'm definitely glad I was able to experience a Korean wedding before heading home.
On Sunday a few friends went out to a traditional makgeolli joint after church to celebrate Vincent's birthday. It was a nice, relaxed evening of drinking and hanging out. And I was impressed we found the place, because it had been more than a year since we had gone previously, but we zeroed in on it in the first try.
The following week was pretty quiet; mostly just work and lounging at home. Though I am currently taking more advantage of having access to my roof. I started doing yoga up on my roof when the weather is nice, which has been more frequent as of late. My roof has a really great view! I can see much of the surrounding buildings, but also the mountains that hug the area. It is a nice, serene spot. I'm really loving spending time up there.
The next weekend I watched Captain America with Elizabeth and Meghan. The movie was definitely much better than the first one, but it was still a bit ridiculous. Though it was a fun movie to see and nice for a simple evening. After the movie, we headed to an all-you-can-eat barbecue place. I finally tried 곱창 (gopchang pig intestines) and 막창 (makchang, pig intestines/rectum). It wasn't too bad, but it's not something I need to eat often. It had a lot of fatty tissue, and I'd rather eat actual meat. But I'm definitely glad I finally tried them both.

The last Sunday of the month, we had a basketball tournament after church. It was so much fun and reminded me just how much I love playing the game. I was definitely not in basketball shape, but I still loved every second of it. I played last year as well and had a blast, but this year was even better, because the competition and skill level was significantly higher this time around. April was a great month!