A Very Happy Chusok! (so much to be thankful for!!)

I know a post is long overdue, but I just returned from an absolutely FANTASTIC vacation. 3 friends and I rode our bikes around the perimeter of Jeju Island, a volcanic island south of mainland Korea (essentially, Korea's Hawaii). Not only was this vacation completely meant for me, but we were blessed in so many ways along the journey. We left not really having a definite plan at all, but God provided for us and took care of us every step of the way in crazy ways; like getting my only flat tire a block away from a bike shop, or like when we wanted to eat pizza but nothing was open because of Chusok and when we finally found a restaurant open it was a delicious locally-owned pizza place, or like staying at a golf resort and not paying a cent when we expected to be staying a budget hotels and jimjilbangs all trip. I have many more stories about how amazing the trip was, and I am going to give you a day-by-day overview. I'll try to be brief, but if you don't want to read it all, be sure to check out the pics that document the incredible views we saw as we circled the beautiful Jeju Island!

Day 1--Saturday, Sept. 18, Daejeon to Mokpo to Jeju
- 4:00 AM we packed our bikes into a school van and drove to Mokpo
- 9:00 AM we boarded a ferry (that was also more like a cruise with restaurants, souvenir shops, karaoke rooms, saunas, massage chairs, and an upper deck to view the surrounding islands) to Jeju.
- 1:00 PM we arrived in Jeju and called the bike rental shop, who came to the terminal to pick us up.
- 3:20 PM we set out for Yesol Jung's (a TCIS 10th grader) grandma's green tea farm with our bikes all loaded with our luggage
- 5:00 PM we arrived at an organic green tea farm, but not Yesol's grandma's! They gave us directions and helped us find our way.
- 6:00 PM we arrived at Yesol's grandma's (할모니 we called her), who had an incredible meal prepared for us. We tried some new things, too, like abalone and fried green tea leaves. Seriously, if we would have been paying it would have cost at least 100,000 per person!
- 8:00 PM our translator took us to a golf resort and explained to us that 할모니 has gotten a room for us here to spend the night and that he will pick us up again at 8:30 the next morning. Wow! It was so nice. We showered and watched TV before heading to bed early and getting a full night's sleep.

Day 2--Sunday, Sept. 19, green tea farm to Pyoseon.
- 8:30 AM our driver came to get us and asked what we wanted to breakfast. I decided on cold green tea noodles. It was good, but I couldn't eat that much food after such a large supper. While it was cooking, we took a tour of the green tea farm. It was really beautiful, and 할모니's house was on a big hill in the middle of the farm. From the top you could see Halla Mountain (the highest in Korea) and the ocean.
- 9:00 AM we had breakfast with 할모니. She told us not to eat too much because next she took us to a cafe in a cave and gave us green tea cookies, green tea ice cream, green tea muffins, and more! I think there we about 50 things out on the table! We ended up taking the treats to go and eating them for breakfast the rest of the week.
- 10:00 AM we got some directions from 할모니 at her house and drank some water out of super expensive bowls from the Silla Dynasty (!!!). Then we said our good-byes and left. What a nice lady!
- 10:30 AM Jana got a flat tire about 100 meters away from the green tea farm. Luckily, our translator saw and drove her to the bike shop while the rest of us went on. What good luck!
- 12:00 PM we were all reunited at the next destination...the Lava Tube Caves. They were really cool and we walked in them for about a kilometer. The cool air in the cave felt good, too.
- 2:00 PM we went to a maze very close to the caves. Sarah and I beat Rob and Jana out so they bought us some ice cream before setting out again.
- 3:00 PM we started riding again and came to shore road for the first time. The view was unbelievable. And we got to ride along this route for most of the trip. We all agreed this is the most beautiful scenery we had ever had on a bike ride.
- 5:30 PM we arrived in Pyoseon and find the Kask's on the beach. We found a super cheap motel right on the beach, get settled in, and then met up with them again for dinner.
- 6:30 PM we ate a tasty dinner of black forest pork (apparently a traditional Chusok meal) with the Kasks and their friends from SFS. Mmmm!
- 8:00 PM we all returned to the Kasks 6-star hotel (Haevichi) and use the awesome indoor/outdoor pool and hot tubs. It felt great after a day of riding.
- 9:45 PM we returned to our hotel for another night's rest.

Day 3--Monday, Sept. 20, Pyoseon to Jungmun
- 8:00 AM rode local bus to Seongeup Folk Village and explored for awhile
- 11:00 AM checked out of hotel and kept riding!
- 1:00 PM arrived in Seogwipo, ate Chinese food. (I <3 Jajang!)
- Afternoon we visited many tourist sites in the area: waterfalls, World Cup Stadium
- 5:30ish PM arrived at Jungmun beach, the major resort area of Jeju. We "swam," aka watched the waves because the beach isn't open for swimming past August. Silly Korea!
- 7:30 PM we found a hotel, completely exhausted after a hilly day.
- 9:00 PM had galbi tang at a local restaurant. Delicious as always! Then went straight to bed.

Day 4--Tuesday, Sept. 21, Jungmun to Hallim
- 8:00 AM got an early start! It was much cooler...and flatter. :)
- 9:00 AM came to Mt. Sanbang and had an amazing view of the mountains and ocean from a smoke signal tower. We also saw a temple and large Buddha statue.
- 12:00 PM we had been riding along gorgeous coast line with really nice weather all morning. Unfortunately, I got a flat tire, but fortunately I was a block away from the bike shop so it didn't slow us down much. At noon we arrived at Gosan, a smaller town where we found some egg salad sandwiches for lunch and shopped at a large GS25 mart before setting out again.
- 1:30 PM we came to a beautiful white sand beach called Hapyeong. We swam there for a few hours and enjoyed a wonderful day.
- 4:00 PM left the beach and rode the last 5 km to Hallim where we met up with a family Jana knows. They let us shower at their place.
- 6:00 PM ate another incredible meal provided by the family. Galbi and fried pumpkin. Mmmmm!
- 7:00 PM watched the sunset. :)
- 7:30 PM rode to Happy Day hostel and met Korean women's professional b-ball player. We played cards, watched professional volleyball on TV, and rested.

Day 4--Wednesday, Sept. 22, Hallim to Jeju City
- 8:00 AM started riding early...2 days in a row!
- 11:00 AM grabbed a snack at a convenience store and ate it at a pagoda on Iho beach, just outside of the city.
- 12:00 PM searched and searched for a food place that was open. We really wanted pizza, but it got to the point that we would take anything open. Finally, near the bus terminal, down a side street, we found a pizza place that was actually closed, but the lady make pizza for us anyway.
- 1:00 PM found a nearby hotel and took a nap. We made it! :)
- 3:00 visited Dragon head rock
- 4:00 when the art center was closed, we walked to a small amusement park at rode the Viking (similar to the Galleon for you Iowans). 
- 4:30 returned Sarah's bike and my rack to the bike shop, and had a conversation with the cutest middle schooler ever. (well, after all mine, of course)
- 5:00 parked our bikes at the ferry terminal
- 5:30 caught a cab to a Mexican restaurant called Zapatas. It was delicious and cheap. Probably the best I've had in Korea.
- 7:00 we tried to see a movie, but none were showing in English so we went to a DVD bang and watched Heartbreak Kid with Ben Stiller.
- 9:00 returned to the hotel, got cleaned up, watched some TV, and called it a night.

Day 5--Thursday, Sept. 23, Jeju City to Mokpo to Daejeon
- 7:15 AM left the hotel to catch the 8:00 ferry. It seemed like plenty of time since our bikes were already there and everything, but we were almost late thanks to a long line at the terminal and another line for immigration (or something like that; we didn't need our passports). We did board the boat just after 8:00.
- 1:00 arrived in Mokpo and had lunch at Home Plus food zone

- 2:30 departed Mokpo for Daejeon.
- 6:30 arrived in Daejeon. It took so long due to some congested roads because of Chusok traffic.


It really was a wonderful trip! My travel buddies were great, so adventurous like me! The weather could not have been better, and the people of Jeju were so friendly and hospitable. I would not have wanted this trip to be any different, nor can I think of a better way to spend my Chusok break! And I didn't even have to leave Korea. :) Again, check out the pics here!!

Month 1 Update

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated you all on my adventures in Korea. I was having camera issues and was waiting to get them solved so I could post the pictures when I posted to the blog. Anyway, Month 1 has been great! There are lots of new people who are willing to try lots of Korean things so my roomie and I have been having fun showing them around. We went to the jimjilbang, doctor fish, movies, various restaurants, bowling, the baseball game, and more!

Korean Wedding
One week after school started we went to a Korean wedding for my friends Christine and Scottie, both of whom work at TCIS. The wedding was held in a fancy hotel here in Daejeon, and the majority of TCIS staff attended. It was a great event, Christine looked beautiful, we had great food, and I learned a lot about the traditional Korean wedding. I have posted pics on facebook so be sure to check them out. 

Hanwha Eagles Baseball Game
The Hanwha Eagles are the professional team in Daejeon. They are having a really bad season and hardly ever win, but on Saturday a group of us decided to check it out. We arrived and learned we could get in for free. They also gave us a free towel (which doubled as a napkin while eating fried chicken and a towel to wipe away the sweat). The stadium was packed! I had only seen it that full one other time on Easter Sunday. Like always, there was lots of chanting and energy. At the 5th inning stretch, we noticed that this wasn't a normal game when about 12 police motos escorted a fancy car onto the field. We all were like, "Ooh, there must be someone famous here," because everyone was waving the towels at whoever it was. Then, the announcer came on and said something about Koo Dae Sung, who is a relief pitcher for the Eagles, but also a parent of a TCIS 8th grader. We soon learned that the entire celebration was for him! Apparently he is a national hero. There was a little ceremony and then Koo Dae Sung and his family (Including Eric!! We were trying to get his attention by yelling T-C-I-S, but it was so loud in there he didn't hear) took a couple laps around the stadium in the fancy car before exiting and the game resumed. It was so cool...I feel like I kinda know someone famous. :)

Volleyball
An update on volleyball, which has officially become my life for the next two months. We had our first game Saturday morning against a division 2 team (a smaller school than us) and it was a lot of fun. Both the boys and girls teams won, but better than that was we had the chance to take some risks and practice running some of our plays. Most of the guys had an least 1 good kill, so hopefully they will have a bit of confidence (but not too much!) as we head into our first conference game on Wednesday vs. Daegu American. 

Yeongdong Grape Festival
Yesterday 5 of us went to Grape Festival in Yeongdong, which is about 1/2 an hour train ride from Daejeon. It was like a grape-themed county fair, complete with grape exhibitors, lots of free samples, and grape games. You could even stomp grapes and squish them into grape juice/wine. At the same time in the same place was the Korean Traditional Music Festival, where we learned how to play various traditional Korean instruments. It was a lot of fun. I have pictures of this posted as well. 

September
I know that September will be a really busy month, not only because I will be coaching a lot of volleyball, and traveling to and from Seoul a lot for games, but also because in just two short weeks we have our first school break, Chusok, the Korean harvest holiday. This year Chusok is on a Wednesday so we have a week off school. My friends, Sarah and Jana, and I are going to Jeju Island (like Korea's Hawaii) and spending about 5 days biking around it. Each day we are planning to do 30ish miles and then spend the rest of the day relaxing on the beach or visiting the sites. Things are going well at school (not sick of it yet :-P), but I can't wait for this vacation!!

I hope things are going just as well for you all, wherever you are!