TaLK Farewell Reunion: Yeosu Expo 2012

It's finally time to start bidding farewell to TaLK, to Korea, to our foreign adventures, and to our friends. After 11 long months in dynamic Korea, the TaLK program took us on a final cultural trip to the Yeosu Expo with the other scholars leaving this semester. On July 5-6 (Thursday-Friday), TaLK excused us from 2 days of work, so we had a 4-day weekend. Was I excited? Oh definitely.

I was off to a rough start. You know how you have a high school reunion and you want to show up looking fabulous so that everyone who thought you were a loser before can look at you now and be taken aback? Well, I haven't had my high school reunion yet, and the thought of going doesn't interest me at all, but I can imagine this TaLK reunion is similar to that. Oh, and I was definitely not a loser during the TaLK orientation. But I was still excited to go and be on top of being awesome. Two problems. I was supposed to meet Joo and Joanne outside at 10am, but Joo's phone call woke me up at 10:06am. Oh hell. I may or may not have stayed out late the night before celebrating America's birthday, not packed, and overslept my 3 alarms. I jumped out of bed and ran around my room like a hot mess trying to pack and get ready at the same time. I went to the bathroom to wash my face and encountered problem #2. My right eye was puffy and swollen and noticeably smaller than my left eye. What the hell happened?! I packed my makeup, threw on my fabulous sunglasses, and ran to the bus terminal 10 minutes later. I arrived with minutes to spare before the departure of our bus. Joo kindly bought my ticket, brought me a banana, and waited there with Joanne. I applied my makeup on the bus as we debated weather my eye was an allergic reaction or a mosquito bite. (I later determined it was a mosquito bite. Why my eye, Korea? And why on the day of my reunion?!) Well makeup works wonders because no one noticed it at all until I pointed it out. The swelling also went down over the course of the day. Thank goodness.

We took a cab from the Gwangju Bus Terminal to the Holiday Inn, where most of us stayed for the night. Many TaLKers were already in the lobby checking in, receiving their 40,000won for meals, collecting their complementary TaLK t-shirts and hats, and socializing with friends and familiar faces. It was like Jochiwon all over again, but we all looked seasoned from teaching crazy Korean children for 6 months to 2 years.

We departed for the Yeosu Expo at 1pm. They provided us with sandwiches from Paris Baguette, chocolate bars, and water. It's a full service! I was starving. And I am long overdue for a good sandwich. At this point, a sandwich from Subway sounds amazing. Bread, hummus, mustard, cheese! I will do anything for a sandwich. I will do more for cheese.

Bus buddies: Shirley & Jasmine  ^_^v

Paris Baguette Sandwich for lunch

At 2:30pm, we arrived in Yeosu and were free to wander the Expo until 9:50pm. The magnitude of the Yeosu Expo exceeded my expectations: Tens of thousands of people from all over the globe walked about the premises like at a theme park sans the rides. Lots of foreigners, old people, couples, children, students on school field trips. People crowding to watch a traditional Chinese dragon dance outside of China's exhibit. Passersby snapping photos. Some lining up to enter Thailand's exhibit. Japan's exhibit. Singapore's exhibit. Others lining up to eat Turkish kebabs. The architecture appeared very forward-thinking and engaging, while the exhibits demonstrated fascinating use of cutting-edge technology. Each exhibit effectively transformed a space into a canvass for the theme of the expo: "The Living Ocean and Coast" --a celebration of different cultures and their commitment to the conservation of the sea.

What makes the Yeosu Expo special is that it does not just highlight the greatness of Mother Nature or insist on a return to nature. It shows how the ocean is connected to human civilization and how it has maintained harmony with people’s lives. Finally, we can learn that the ocean is the core engine that will guide us toward a sustainable world. (Korea Herald, 15 July 2012)

Cool fountain on the side of a building

This year, the Yeosu Expo averages 52,000 people per day!

A huge marionette with blinking eyes. Kinda cool,  kinda freaky.

On our way to the Climate & Environment Pavilion?

Located by the sea

One example of cutting-edge technology and design

Joanne, Shirley, Jasmine, Hallie, Paul

Ukrainian men on stilts

Americaaaaaa! (Next to a Dunkin Donuts.)

Traditional Chinese Dragon Dance by China's exhibit

Opening graphics for Singapore's exhibit

Images came to life on 3-dimensional building blocks

Singapore cities at night

Paper fish dangling from the ceiling

"Let's play our part for a better tomorrow.
A sustainable Singapore. A sustainable world."

In the display above, we each wrote down a wish on a piece of paper, embossed it, acquired a blue stamp, collected drops of water to bleed the ink, then tied our wishes to the wall.

Talking mermaid at introduction of Thailand's exhibit

Talking mermaid

The figure on the left is a real man "hanging" by one arm!

We wandered between exhibits choosing the ones with the shortest lines. Yeosu was overcast and humid, so the only escape from the heat and occasional drizzle was inside of the buildings. The aquarium had one of the longest lines, but luckily for us, the TaLK program reserved a time for us to enter without waiting. Like VIPs, we simply flashed our TaLK name tags and walked in. Playful otters, chilly penguins, dancing beluga whales, diving harbor seals, beady-eyed hammerhead sharks, blue & orange starfish, and elegant jellyfish. The aquarium was teeming with ocean life. The aquarium was also swarming with old Korean people in their quintessential hiking attire. I swear, that's all they wear. Older men and women impatiently pushed and shoved and pressed their bodies up against us as if that would make the human traffic between exhibits go faster. It took every ounce of strength not to punch someone in the face.

Penguins

Beluga whales ... I'm sure this exhibit made the old Korean people hungry
(partially kidding)

Seals

Seal

This glass bridge gave us a bird's eye view of the tank below.

View from the bridge

View of the tank from below

Shark tank

me, Hallie, Joanne

whoaaa a giant sea turtle!

We got hungry around 5pm and decided to take a culinary cultural tour. The Russian restaurant served sweet and savory crepes/pancakes, though they were called something else in Russian. I ordered a pancake wrap filled with tuna and vegetables. It was basically a 7,000won crepe filled with tuna. Not that big, not that exciting, not that filling either. What Joanne ordered was even smaller. A second dinner was a must!

Tuna crepe or something like that

Walking to find more food. We found a KFC.

Digital LED ceiling

Some guy decided to take a nap.

Doing the robot in front of the German restaurant

Back at the Holiday Inn, Joanne and I shared a king size bed in a luxurious hotel room. We were finally living the high life with carpeted floors, curtained windows, furniture higher than our waists, a shower room, and a heated toilet. A heated toilet! Where was my heated toilet when I was freezing my arse off in my deskless cubicle?!

King sized bed at the hotel, motel, HOLIDAY INN!

Flat screen tv with many channels and a mini fridge. Yeahhh!

Our view of two parking lots and a rice paddy.

I think every building in Korea has a view of a rice paddy.

The next morning, Joanne and I woke up at the crack of dawn to eat breakfast downstairs. Breakfast was amazing. The simple things like Swiss cheese, smoked salmon with capers, seasoned potatoes with ketchup and dijon mustard, a veggie omelet, and more cheese reinvigorated my palette with the flavors that I've been missing for the past year. Every bite triggered the realization that non-Korean food does exist in this world, and it's wonderful.

The Farewell Reunion Ceremony lasted about 2 hours. Graduating scholars shared farewell speeches and videos. Our special guest speaker was a middle-aged white man, who works for a magazine in Seoul. He's been happily living in Korea for 14 years. He's certainly a rare breed.

Mokpo Girls: Joanne, me, Lauren

Peace out, TaLK!

Farewell Questionnaire

Old Mokpo pals: Joanne, Lena, me  :)

Jochiwon buddies: me & Zyna
My homegirl is moving to Cali, can't wait for our next TaLK reunion!

Before we knew it, the reunion was over. Kinda wished we had more time to hang out. I really miss being around people my own age, where I am at liberty to speak my mind and actually understand everyone around me. It's like I was briefly released back into my natural habitat. Looking forward to rediscovering that environment in 2 weeks. Yerrrrrp.