Boseong Green Tea Fields

Took a trip to the Green Tea Fields in Boseong. Headed out there on a crisp, cool day. Blue skies, zero clouds. It was the perfect day to explore another facet of Korea.

Hiked to the top of the hill to overlook the fields. Beyond the pine-tree covered mountains, you could see the ocean on the horizon.

The green tea fields are the only tourist attraction going for Boseong. Aside from that, the town is pretty much dead. There are just a bunch of old people, some barely paved sidewalks, stores that would go out of business in any other town, and a hovering silence that would solicit a whisper or suggest that something is terribly wrong.

Last Week of Winter Camp

The weather is warming up --and by warming up, I mean above 32 degrees Fahrenheit-- and things are looking good. The days are getting longer, I don't wear my gloves or scarf as often (though I probably should), and Winter is almost over. Huzzah!

The school is on Spring Break and the new semester doesn't start until March 2nd. English classes are still an option, so I come to teach in the morning 9:00am-11:20am. Luckily for me, most kids are either unaware of the time change or think that all classes are on break, so I have only seen at most 5 kids in one day. Today, zero. I get home after noon, eat lunch, Skype, get buff at the gym, come home, shower, eat dinner, watch an episode of Glee or Gossip Girl or Modern Family or New Girl, lesson plan, sleep, repeat.

This Saturday, my friends and I are attending a Meet & Greet in Gwangju. The 8th gens wrap up their Jochiwon orientation and depart for their respective provinces today. I feel like we just got here, and now there will be new kids on the block. Crazy.

I listened to Whitney Houston until my ears started to bleed, so I found a new groove: Mariah Carey. I made a playlist, so Joanne and I have been listening to her a lot this week. Good stuff.

Song of the Week: "I Wanna Dance With Somebody"

RIP Whitney Houston

1963-2012

"I Wanna Dance With Somebody" (1987) performed by Whitney Houston

Seoul Mates: Day 5 of 5

05 February 2012 - Sunday

Last day in Seoul! Neither of us can believe how fast time flew, but we accomplished a lot and have the pictures to prove it.

A massive icicle seen outside of Grape Garden Guesthouse.
A vent blowing up steam turned into ice!

You can't say that you've toured Korea without eating Korea's version of Mc'Donalds: Lotteria. There isn't much noticeable difference, but I reckon that the beef is slightly better quality. They also use different sauces that are more sweet than they are savory --welcome to Korea-- and portions appear smaller. Michele tried the bulgoki burger. I ordered my usual: a squid burger. The squid burgers are great. It includes a deep fried patty with bits of squid nestled between two buns with lettuce and a moderately spicy sauce. They also have shrimp burgers, which are more of the same, minus the spicy flavor.

By the end of this trip, Michele's spicy face is plastered on,
even when foods are not spicy

We did a wee bit of shopping in the Hongdae area. Every shop had a sale.

We initially took the same subway, but after a couple stops, I needed to get off and transfer lines. Gimpo International Airport is in the opposite direction from the Express Bus Terminal.

Waiting for the subway

The last picture that Michele took. Good-bye Dunkin' Donuts!
Oh hey, and there's a sign for Nanta.
That pretty much sums up our trip.

Seoul Mates: Day 4 of 5

04 February 2012 - Saturday

The weather is not nearly as cold, and we take to the streets of Itaewon. The area is foreigner central and abundant in Eastern and Western eateries.

In foreigner central, Taco Bell is never far behind

After eating some Middle Eastern wraps, we headed to Baskin Robbins. It's never too cold (or too early) for ice-cream.

3 Flavors: Twinberry Cheesecake, Cappuccino, Almond Bon Bon
in a waffle cone with chocolate syrup, brownies, chocolate flakes

I like my hair in this photo

nom nom nom nom: Where to start first?

We explored the street vendors selling everything from knock-off wallets, purses, scarves, jewelry, socks, and underwear. Basically more of the same from Namdaemun Market. Then we headed to Apgujeong for our spa day at Hill Spa.

Can you spot the foreigner?

We were greeted with herbal tea.
Those plumerias are fake.

We each got full body massages for an hour and a half. It was alright, nothing life-changing.

Traveled back to Hongdae and shared a Korean pancake (파전). It was good!

We made reservations for a popular show called Nanta Cookin' at 8pm. It's like the Wicked of Korea meets Vegas' Blue Man Group. Nanta has been performed since 1997, making it the longest running show in Korean history. It's about a group of chefs, who must prepare a laundry list of meals in one hour. While they cook, they create music with their various kitchen utensils (pots, pans, and yes, even huge knives). The show plays everyday in several places in Seoul as well as Jeju Island.

Entrance to the theatre

During the show, the cast selected people from the audience to go up on stage. I didn't volunteer, but I was chosen to go up and sample some soup. A fellow audience member and I were incorporated into the plot as the bride and groom whose wedding the cast was preparing for.

The guy looked like he was a tourist from another Asian country like Vietnam or China. He seemed confused the entire time...

Nanta took a Polaroid and framed my wedding photo. Nice! 

Went out for another bite to eat, which concluded our last night in Seoul~

Seoul Mates: Day 3 of 5

03 February 2012 - Friday


Good morning, Hongdae!

We are waiting for Dos Tacos to open, so we can eat Mexican food for lunch.

What is with the caricatures at the bottom?!

I ordered a potato burrito. Michele ordered a veggie burrito. We split a Nachos Grande. The food wasn't authentic or remotely close to the real thing, but at least some of the flavors were there and it was still good for what it was.

Next we traveled to Dongnimmun to visit Seodaemun Prison. The prison was built during the Japanese occupation (1910-1945). The site witnessed the torture and execution of Korean followers of the Independence Movement. Inmates constructed the prison itself and served as labourers during the day. Methods of torture included using sharp needle-like objects to prick prisoners' fingers, pouring boiling water into prisoners' mouths, hanging prisoners by their feet and dunking their heads in water, and bodily mutilation. If that didn't lead to mortality, the scorching Summers and frostbite-inducing Winters did.

Our visit felt sadly poetic because we came at the heart of Winter. The grounds were covered in untrodden snow. The indoor cells were freezing, even with our thick / puffy jackets, hats, scarves, and several layers of clothing. It was quiet because there weren't many visitors. The largest group of people we saw were an older group of Korean photographers, who seemed more interested in taking artsy photos than learning about the history. I think they had been there several times before because one of them kept telling us which way to go. He asked where Michele and I were from. He was surprised that such young tourists were interested in visiting a prison/museum, probably because it's not centralized on the map. 

The displays were a little bit freaky. Wax figures + cold prison = no bueno. In one building, the prison cells were pitch black, but Michele bravely peered in and saw wax figures sitting in each one. She took a picture with her phone and showed me. I couldn't see anything from where I was standing, so I warily stepped closer to see for myself. Then Michele jumped at me and I let out a scream that scared everyone else in adjacent rooms of the building. We observed people in pairs huddled much closer together after that.

Afterwards, we headed to Namdaemun Market in Hoehyeon. The large traditional market supposedly dates back to 1414 and is one of the oldest continuing markets in Seoul and South Korea. We bargained in my crappy Korean and got some pretty good deals.

For dinner, we ate back in Hongdae. Chicken & Cheese Dduk-Boki (떡볶이).

It was really spicy for some people ...

And a breach of dietary regulations for others.