Happy New Year…Again (3 February)

Today is the official Lunar New Year (Seolnal).  I thought that yesterday was the new year holiday so I sent text messages to all of my Korean friends while on the bus – if they only knew just how long it took for me to type that message in Korean! 

We wake to the sound of the emergency rescue team doing their morning warm-up exercises on the bunny slope in front of our hostel.  It’s interesting to watch them stretch and warm up, and it makes NZ2 and Catfish keen to hit the slopes as early as possible while the snow is freshly pressed and the slopes are quiet.  After my slide yesterday, I’m not quite as keen to ski all day.  We head to the cafeteria in search of breakfast before returning to our room for Catfish and NZ2 to collect their respective gear for the slopes.  This is when we notice that they are inadvertently ‘couples dressing’. 

Couples Dressing 

Couples dressing is extremely popular in Korea.  Since public displays of affection – beyond holding hands or hugging – are generally frowned upon, couples tend to dress in identical clothing to ‘show their love to the world’. Some couples wear only matching colours or smaller matching items like scarves or beanies while others go full out and match their entire outfits.  Catfish and NZ2 have inadvertently hired identical snow suits which make them look like a couple.  While they pose for photos in their snow gear, I somehow manage to tie the shoelace of one of my sneakers to the strap of my bag which has also caught halfway through my scarf and accidently strangle myself somewhat when I attempt to stand upright.

With clothing issues sorted out, we head out to the slopes to take more photos of Catfish and NZ2 in action on their skis and snowboard respectively. The snow is crisp and the slopes are fairly empty that it’s almost enough to tempt me into getting my skis and joining them on the slops – almost.  Instead, at KiwiKat’s prompting, I attempt to make a snow angel on the compact snow which results in something that resembles more of an angry face than anything else. 

View From Below

Having said goodbye to Catfish and NZ2, KiwiKat and I head back to our room where she keeps herself occupied with various activities and I catch up on some sleep.  By midday, I’ve slept enough that I take out my Korean phrase book and attempt to study a bit of Korean.  YeonJeong, one of the awesome AK staff members on the trip helps me out by explaining a few confusing phrases to me.  She seems surprised to find me studying Korean but takes this in her stride and teaches me additional useful phrases from time to time. 

After only hitting the slopes for another 30 minutes, I resign myself to the fact that a natural skier – or even athlete – I will never be.  I’ve taken the gondola to the peak of the  highest slope just to take photos and then once again part ways with Catfish and NZ2 who ski down while I take the gondola back down to safety and hit the bunny slopes once more.  I feel a bit like a child being escorted by parents who are eager to do more advanced things than I can manage but don’t want to be discouraging either.  The day passes fairly quickly and I’m soon returning my ski gear and preparing to head to Blue Water Canyon, the water park attached to Phoenix Park.

Winter Waters

The water park feels like a sauna as we enter and the smell of chlorine cloys at our throats in an attempted suffocation.  Once changed, everyone seems to make a beeline for the heated pools where we have a choice of three variants: Aloe, something pink and something blue.  We warm up in the pools before heading over to the slide into the circular pool which leads outside too.  It’s a rather strange experience swimming outdoors in a heated pool in the middle of winter but it’s a pleasant evening of playing in different pools before moving to the jet pool for water massages.  The jet pool contains several jets at a variety of heights which makes it possible to direct pressure on specific muscles in your legs, backside, back and shoulders.  The male lifeguards on duty seem quite happy that there are several foreign women at the water park.  From their vantage points high above the water, they seem to be enjoying the view afforded to them by large chested bikini-clad women.  It’s ironic that Koreans will make unpleasant comments about excess body fat but don’t seem to object to a larger bust in general. 

The Start of a Late Night

By 20:30, we’ve moved onto the noryaebang where we once again spend an hour singing songs at the top of our voices while KiwiKat plays around with the pitch and speed controls while we sing.  We’re determined to make this an early night since we’ll be at an ice festival all day the next day.  Fate, however, has other plans for us.  As Catfish and I watch the night skiers from the windows in the stairwell, Seokjin greets and chats to us for a few minutes before inviting us to join him and the Korean staff downstairs for some drinks.  Sure.  We’re not huge fans of soju but we’re keen to drink with the Koreans. 

Downstairs we meet Seokjin’s younger brother who, at 1.82m, is an ex-national volleyball player and good looking too.  He’s hesitant to speak English despite Seokjin’s instructions that we make him speak English to us.  YeonJeong, KyungSu and Seokjin, however, are all lively talkers and our conversations are highly entertaining as we eat chicken and pizza and learn Korean drinking games which involve two rounds of parties since we’re not quite ready for bed after the first round when YeonJeong and SeokYun leave to go night skiing.  Round two of drinking with KyungSu and SeokYun, however, takes us to somewhere around 3:00am and very giggly by the time we reluctantly go to bed.

On the Slopes Again (2 February)

We’re up before dawn has even thought about cracking.  Slightly bleary eyed, we get ready to leave the hostel and make our way to Hongik station.  KiwiKat has already left for the Express Bus Terminal which is second pick up site and the one where, as an AK staff member, she needs to help round up the foreigners and get them on the bus.  NZ2 is impatient and leaves for the station slightly earlier than Catfish and I.  As I’ve said before, someone always has to be last and I don’t mind volunteering for this position most of the time.

We arrive at Hongik station, cold and tired, to discover that we’re the first people there.  Fortunately, the bus is already there and we’re told to get on where it’s nice and warm.  As we wait for the bus to fill up, I realise that we never emailed Seokjin to let him know that we would be changing pick up sites: We’d originally planned to stay at the jimjilbang at the bus terminal before hearing that the Kiwis were also on the ski trip.  Catfish texts KiwiKat to let her know that we’ve changed sites and there’s a slight confusion with her response which we understand to mean that she’s not impressed with us.  We’re disappointed that we won’t be on the same bus as her for the four hour trip to Phoenix Park Ski Resort in Pyeongchang but we’re on the same bus as Seokjin and ByungMin who we first met on the DMZ trip a month ago.

The 'In' Crowd ^__^

Despite our best efforts, we fall asleep for the first half of the trip and wake up when we reach the rest stop.  Since we’ve been asleep for most of the trip so far, we haven’t seen the text messages from KiwiKat and NZ2 about us sharing a room.  We’d already assumed that the four of us would be sharing a room but we’re not sure of who the other three or four people in our room will be.  Catfish and I already know that we’re exceptions to most of the stereotypes governing foreigners so we don’t find it unusual that while most of the foreigners congregate with other foreigners only, we head for the group of AK staff members and all of the Koreans on the trip.  As we stand in the cold, warming our hands around hot drinks, we hear good news: We’re sharing a room with all of the AK staff! This really makes our day and, as we return to the buses, we know that this is going to be an amazing trip.

Traffic has been somewhat slow up to this point and we arrive at Phoenix Park after midday.  Our first stop is the ski rental place where we try on our ski boots, jackets and pants.  We’re not quite sure how to tell if the ski boots fit properly so we decide that if we can walk in them without too much pain, they must be the right size.  Hiring ski gear for three days is inexpensive as everything, including goggles, costs only 35 000 won.  Once we have our ski suits, goggles and boots, we’re told to check our skis/snowboards.  Again, we’re not quite sure what we’re meant to be looking for so Catfish and I pick up our skis, flip them over, shrug our shoulders and get back on the bus. 

From here, it’s a short bus ride to the actual resort where the rental shop will meet us with our skis and snowboards.  We struggle to balance our skis as we walk the short distance back to the buses to collect our bags and do an even greater juggling act as we attempt to cross the parking lot to the hotel without scratching all of the cars along the way.  By the time we make it into the lobby, we all but throw our things down as we wait for the room assignments.  We already know who we’re rooming with but have to wait for all of the keys to be handed out since the ‘staff’ room is always allocated last.

Learning to Ski

Once in our rooms, we quickly change into our ski outfits and head out to the Baby slope to learn how to ski.  I’ve only been skiing once and that was when I was an exchange student in France 15 years ago.  The experience did not end well so I’m a bit dubious about this weekend. Part of me is hoping that, somewhere over the past 15 years, my body has magically learned to co-operate with skis and I will be flying down the slopes in no time.  Before I can try flying down the slopes, however, I need to learn the one thing I never learned the first time: How to stop!

KiwiKat is our instructor and it’s interesting to see just how many adults are genuinely terrified of skiing when they first start.  It’s also a bit intimidating to watch small children as young as three or four years of age flying down slopes fearlessly while adults (mostly foreigners) peer at even the Bunny slopes with trepidation.  After two practise runs on the baby slope, Catfish disappears.  When she returns much later, she looks a little more patient and tells me that she’s just attempted the slope next to where we are standing which is actually an intermediate grading.  Although she fell down a lot on the slope, I admire her chutzpah for tackling such a slope within an hour of being on skis for the first time in her life.

Please Don't Run Over the Children!

Since I haven’t fallen down once yet, or run over any small children, I convince myself that I’m feeling confident enough to try out a proper Beginner’s slope.  There are almost no queues for the chair lift so we’re soon on our way up the slope and having lots of fun.  It’s only at the top of the slope that I suddenly realise that the only way to now get down the slope is to ski and I feel my confidence waiver for a moment.  I remember KiwiKat saying that the wider the inverted ‘V’ shape that we make with our skis, the slower we’ll go so I clench my knees together, stick out my butt as I bend my back to lean forward, spread my heels, take a deep breath and push away from the slope. 

As I slowly glide down the slope, I feel my confidence returning: I’m doing this! I’m coping well, I’m controlling my speed, I’m not falling over, I’m…picking up more speed than I’d like and, oh crap, I’m about to run over a child!  It’s this last part that scares me the most; after all, I probably weigh at least double that of the average Korean adult women so my running over a child would be the equivalent of someone being trampled by an elephant charging at 45 km per hour or more.  I attempt to swerve around the child and before I know it, I’m lying on my back with my arms above my head and knees still bent, sliding down the slope at the same speed.  I don’t panic because I know that, at some point, I’m going to stop; it’s just a matter of time even I never quite understand inertia and all the science talk about movement and stopping. 

It’s all good fun until I realise that my ski jacket has pulled halfway up my back and I’m actually sliding downhill bareback.  In addition, there’s a long orange fence that runs down the side of the slope to stop skiers from falling off the edge but it has mysteriously moved and is now directly in front of me.  The semi-conscious part of my brain registers that I need to stop myself so I lift my butt off the ground, pull my legs even further under me and turn my skis outward which has the same effect as a car using an emergency brake.  I’ve narrowly escaped potential injuries and can’t believe my dumb luck; when faced with situations I can’t fully process at once, my immediate reaction is either to cry or laugh hysterically so I burst into crazed laughter as I contemplate my narrow escape.  NZ2  appears behind me to ask if I’m okay and later tells me just how funny it was to watch me sliding and then do an emergency brake.

I take a moment to catch my breath as NZ2 continues down the slope.  Suddenly, a Korean man appears before me and offers me a hand to get up.  I tell him that he’ll end up sliding down the hill backwards if he pulls me up but he brushes this off with the assurance that he can ski backwards.  Show-off!  I’ve just slid halfway down the beginner’s slope on my back and here you are telling me that you can ski backwards.  Back on my feet, I’m once again on my way and, once again, sliding on my back when I attempt to dodge another child.  By the time I reach the bottom of the slope, I’m more than ready to call it a day and accept that I’ll never be a great athlete.  I head back to the room to change back into my own clothes and we’re soon heading off in search of dinner.

Down Time

There are several options for dinner and KiwiKat tells us that PopEye’s Chicken is the best so that’s where we devour our food in hunger.  Once again, we realise that lunch was forgotten in our excitement for the day’s trip.  After dinner, we explore the resort options and head to the Family Mart for some drinks which we end up drinking in the cafeteria while a resort employee stands near us and speaks randomly into his walkie-talkie.  We obviously don’t understand what he is saying and I’m not convinced that we’re actually allowed to drink alcohol in the cafeteria so we start making up comments like There are four waegooks drinking in the cafeteria and How do I say, “Please don’t drink here”?.  I’m constantly amazed at the things we do for self-entertainment.  In all honesty, and just to set the record straight, we only had ONE drink in the cafeteria; we were not drinking excessively.

We consider going bowling but discover that there’s an hour’s wait for a lane so we head to the noryaebang instead.  I’m excited by this as I haven’t yet been to a noryaebang in Korea.  There’s nothing quite like singing songs at the top of your voice, amplified by a microphone, with the misguided belief that being in Korea has mysteriously made you a talented singer.  Of course, this misguided belief and confidence only applies in Korea.  We end the noryaebang session an hour later, with rather hoarse throats, and make our way back to our room where we watch the night skiers on the slopes before us.  It’s inspiring and we go to bed dreaming of an entire day of gliding down the slopes gracefully.

Happy New Year (31 December)

It’s New Year’s Eve and hopes are high

     Kiss one year in, wave one goodbye…

Engaging With A Cute Doctor

Once again, my day starts with an acupuncture appointment with the cute doctor (last photo on the linked page).   I now know what to expect and where to go so I’m not really paying attention as I enter the Oriental Medicine section.  Out the corner of my eye, I see someone else approaching the department from the opposite direction but I’m busy sending a text message to the international coordinator to let her know that I’m at the right department so I’m somewhat surprised to realise that the person opposite me is in fact the cute doctor who is now greeting me.  He seems to have come in early just to fit me in this morning because I’d said that I’m leaving for Seoul this morning.

We’re soon going through the now familiar steps of the acupuncture procedure and I get the feeling that the cute doctor and the coordinator are talking about me.  I’ve understood a few random words to know that he’s asked what I do, where I work, where I’m from and the usual five questions I’m asked on a regular basis.  He occasionally throws in an English word or two for my benefit which I appreciate so, when he excuses himself to attend to another patient, I ask the coordinator how to say “Doctor” in Korean.  She tells me and, having asked his name the previous day, I practise saying “Thank you Dr Kim” in Korean. 

The final step of the procedure is a somewhat chiropractic manoeuvre that apparently is intended to re-align the spine or something similar.  Usually, the coordinator is with me each step of the way but, for some reason, she has excused herself from this final step and drawn the curtains around the cubicle in which I am now alone with the doctor.  When Dr Kim finishes this part of the treatment, he seems uncertain as to what to do next since he’s not comfortable speaking in English and, as far as he knows, I don’t speak or understand any Korean. 

I Don't Understand!

I’m determined to thank him in Korean because he’s the first Korean doctor who has actually treated me as a person and not a non-entity which I truly appreciate.  I hastily jump up, bow and say the line that I have so diligently been practising for past twenty minutes.  I’ve barely finished speaking when I hear several women laughing just outside of the cubicle. Dr Kim resembles a deer caught in headlights and I’m surprised to see him blushing furiously. He seems too shocked to say anything more coherent than “Oh” at first and seems to quickly think of something else. “Enjoy your party,” is all he manages before fleeing, leaving me more confused than ever. 

I hear voices outside amidst the laughter so I quickly grab my coat and bag and step outside to see what’s going on.  The coordinator seems to have rounded up all of the female staff in the Oriental Medicine Department because they’re all standing there talking and laughing at Dr Kim.  He’s in the middle of saying something to them when he sees me, blushes even more while re-enacting the deer-caught-in-headlights look and literally runs out of the room, across the hall and into his office where he quickly closes the door.  The only response from the women around me is to laugh even more and point out how much I’ve made him blush.  The head of the department, and Dr Kim’s immediate supervisor, asks me if I’m happy with the treatment I received: I’m very happy with the acupuncture but very confused as to what is currently happening.  Clearly, I’m missing a vital piece of information. 

While I talk to the head of department and a nurse, the coordinator goes across the hall to Dr Kim’s office and, while trying not to laugh too much, tells him something that I don’t understand.  I understand that I seem to have embarrassed the cute doctor but I don’t understand why so I step into the hall to wait for the coordinator.  Dr Kim’s eyes seem to widen further and further each time he sees me so the coordinator quickly takes my arm and ushers me out of the department as the laughter follows our departure down the hall.  When I ask her to explain what just happened, she simply laughs and tells me that I made him blush – I already know this; what I don’t know is why.  As she ushers me through the accounts section and to the front door, the only answer she seems willing to leave me with is: He’s worried about how much Korean you understand.  Instead of reassuring me, I leave the medical centre wondering what he could possibly have said that would make him blush so…..

Hello Again...

I head straight back to my apartment to meet Freddy so that we can meet Catfish at the bus terminal.  We’re soon on a bus and heading to Seoul where we’ll meet up with NZ2, his friend and KiwiKat in Itaewon.  The subway isn’t nearly as busy as it was the previous Friday but thanks to slow moving passengers, I’m the only one who manages to get onto the subway before the doors close – Catfish and Freddy simply wave goodbye from the platform and I mime getting off at the next stop which is Jamwon…and completely deserted.  We quickly communicate that I’ll get on the next train and either find each other on the train or at the station where we change lines. 

Out the corner of my eye, I glimpse a coat that seems familiar but my brain registers that it’s not who I’m looking for so I don’t pay closer attention. As I look up and down the carriage for my friends, I hear an incredulous voice say, “I don’t believe it!” and I look up to find myself looking at the man Catfish found herself inadvertently nestling against on the overcrowded train on Christmas Eve.  He then asks me where my friend is and I quickly text Catfish who thinks I’m making a joke about the subway being too busy.  Little does she know that I’m actually standing next to Mr Pillow man which is precisely what I clarify when we finally find each other at the station where we change lines.

From there, it’s a smooth trip to Itaewon where we stash our belongings in a locker at Itaewon station (a very convenient and cost-effective overnight storage option!) before heading to What the Book? to meet the Kiwis and co. Along the way, we encounter high school students who need to interview English speakers as part of a winter camp project so we happily volunteer our services. After a quick look around What the Book? where we purchase two incredibly funny Korean books that read like bad romance novels (Making Out in Korean and Dirty Korean), KiwiKat shows me the ‘Plus Size’ store in Itaewon where she buys all of her clothes and introduces me to the woman who runs the store.  When I hear that the store will be open the next day, I tell her that I’ll be back then since we’re going straight to the party and we’re once again on our way so that Freddy can have a haircut, I can look for new gloves, and we can all do general errands that are just so much easier in Itaewon. 

Countdown Seoul

With our errands complete, we head to Yeongdeungpo where the concert is being held in Seoul’s Times Square (Kyungbang) which is basically a large shopping centre.  We discover that we need our reference numbers (which were emailed at time of booking) in order to collect the tickets.  KiwiKat has the reference numbers for the three tickets that she booked but Catfish hasn’t written down the numbers for our tickets.  The solution: We head to Starbucks where people are working on personal laptops and she approaches a Korean man and asks if she may borrow his computer for a few minutes to write down the reference numbers.  Fortunately, he agrees and we’re soon heading back to the ticket counter where we discover that we will not be able to collect our tickets for another hour.  Not to be deterred by this, we decide that a proper dinner is in order and head back towards the subway and on to TGI Friday’s for some western food. Unfortunately, too many people seem to have decided on this and we’re not able to wait an hour for a table which is how we ended up eating KFC for dinner on the last night of the year…

Our hunger semi-sated, we stop by a local bookstore to look for cardboard and markers to make Free Hugs and Kisses signs.  We leave with no cardboard but a new confusion about the "Elglish" language section as we once again head back to Times Square to collect our tickets.  Catfish and KiwiKat get into the queue while the rest of us fool around and tell them to hurry up since we’re cold.  I surreptitiously attempt to take a photo of a cute Korean guy standing in the queue (much to the amusement of my friends) but, after several failed attempts, I give up. Tickets in hand, we head inside and find a spot to take over while we orientate ourselves with the layout of the venue and the schedule then we get ready to party Korean style…

…or maybe not!  We head upstairs to the club room since the performances downstairs will only start at 22:00.  Upstairs, we’re treated to the sight of a handful of people standing in the centre of the dance floor bopping only their heads to the music, and most people sitting on the chairs along the wall.  If this is Korean style partying, we’re bound to be disappointed.  We commandeer a table in the centre of the room and proceed to pile all of our jackets and bags on top before getting our first drinks.  It doesn’t take long for Catfish to meet a cute guy…much to the disgust of his girlfriend who seems to be watching Catfish very carefully.  Each time we encounter Alex and his girlfriend that evening, she is quick to move him along and discourages any conversation.

Will You Kiss a Fish?

 

The DJs who start off the evening’s entertainment aren’t too bad even though one resembles an elf in his beanie and looks like he’s not even legally old enough to drink never mind be the entertainment in a bar.  We seem to be the only foreigners in this section but that doesn’t discourage us from having a good time and soon, more people have joined us on the dance floor.  By 22:00, almost everyone has arrived and we move down to the first floor where the main groups are going to be performing.  Catfish and I end up somewhere in the middle of the crowd where before we know it we are preparing to count in the new year.  Catfish has been chatting randomly to some Korean girls next to us and so, with the knowledge that the new year is only minutes away, she turns to them and asks if there are any single men.  The entire group start laughing and pointing to one guy who is blushing furiously and slowly starts backing away and we’re soon counting down the last 10 seconds (in a combination of English and Korean) to midnight.

In America, Catfish tells us that the New Year’s tradition is to find someone – anyone it would seem – with whom to make out.  This is precisely what she’d been hoping to do but, unfortunately, ended up with only me with whom to welcome in 2011 while balloons and paper confetti fell from the ceiling.  When she tells KiwiKat this tradition, KiwiKat leads the way determined to find someone for Maggie to kiss.  They find random Korean guys and ask if they’ll do the honours: two of them happily agree and the second guy even agrees to having the kiss photographed when his friend enthusiastically takes out a camera prompting KiwiKat to follow with her camera – and issue instructions ensuring the moment is captured perfectly even if it requires more than one take.

By now, the excitement of the new year has worn off and I’ve realised that I’m simply too old to still be attempting an all-night party – plus the current DJ is truly awful making it even more difficult to stay awake! The only act that I still want to see is 2PM. A K-pop band that is fairly popular with older teens and young adults, 2PM is not really one of my favourite groups but I ‘m hoping that having seen them perform live might just improve my street cred with my students.  Staying awake until they perform, however, is a far greater challenge than I’d anticipated and one that I ultimately lost as I wake just in time in the corner in which I’ve curled up to sleep. 

2PM @ 2AM

There is a significant irony in the scheduled performance time for 2PM although it’s a stroke of genius from a marketing and management point of view.  2PM is half of the group that split up in order to form two new bands: 2PM and 2PM; together, they form A Day (I don’t actually know if that was the original group’s name but it makes sense!). 2AM is apparently slightly more popular but 2PM was actually pretty good.  It’s ironic, however, that 2PM performed at 2:00am for 20 minutes but a stroke of genius in that it was the one truly big name performances and after the subways had closed for the night which ensured people would stay at the countdown until 5:30am when the subways re-opened.

Of course, I don’t understand most of the lyrics in K-pop and I couldn’t see very much of 2PM considering I was standing near a human mountain but overall, their performance was good and their dancing energetic.  It was interesting to see that their dance routines are exactly the same as those of their music videos.  In addition, they would stop between each song and chat onstage which meant that they only sang a couple of songs. Catfish and KiwiKat were lucky enough to be standing very close to the stage where they could get fantastic photos and even decent videos of the performance.

With 2PM’s performance over, we all felt age taking it’s toll and decided to catch some shut-eye until 5:30am when we could finally leave in the bitter cold.  Dozing in and out of sleep, I was aware of various people standing near our group and can’t help but wonder how many embarrassing photos random Koreans probably took of us sleeping on one of the biggest party nights of the year….

Post-Christmas Awe (26 December)

Considering what a late night we had had the last two nights – especially after an extremely eventful Christmas Day – I’m surprised to find that I’m not too tired when I wake up the next morning, dress and head down to breakfast.  Catfish has already been to breakfast and goes for a walk on the beach so I head down to a very quiet restaurant where KiwiKat and NZ2 are on breakfast duty.  The Kiwi breakfast looks good and it’s really entertaining when Seokjin comes along with his chopsticks to eat fried eggs.  With breakfast out of the way, we’re herded onto the bus and soon on our way to our first sight for today, Jeju Circus World, where we’ll watch a Chinese Acrobatics’ and Motorbike Show.  I can’t say I’m terribly enthusiastic about this particular activity but I’m blown away by the incredible performances that all end too soon.

Chinese Acrobatics and Motorbike Show

From the dancing girls with their spools and ropes to the acrobatic couples on the hoop suspended from the ceiling, and the tumbling acts, the performances seem to just keep getting better and better. By the time the three contortionists re-appear with several candlebras that they proceed to balance in various awkward positions while moving each other, we’re sitting on the edge of our seats.  The next act with the spinning fans is equally impressive and we’re all marvelling at the flexibility and dexterity of the performers when the next act starts. 

It involves two adult males and two kids (the girl is apparently 15 years old as we later discover).  It’s a tumbling act and the two men tumble and juggle these kids with their feet.  The strength required to do this is unthinkable and it really is an impressive act.  When both kids are juggled until they’re balancing on the legs of just one of the two guys where they all strike a pose, I can’t help but utter a semi-sarcastic, “What? No juggling!” much to the amusement of those around me.  The big finale is the motorbike part.  The act starts with a single biker who zooms around inside of an enormous sphere. Slowly, more and more bikers are added until there are a total of seven in a sphere that seems to have suddenly decreased considerably in size.

Green Tea Not Green Leaves...

Our next stop on the itinerary is O’Sulloc Green Tea Farm. As we arrive at the farm, it starts snowing rather heavily creating the impression that we’re part of a giant snow globe that’s just been shaken up.  Since it’s so cold, it’s probably the only time I’m ever going to see 30 plus 20-somethings, who genuinely like to party, head straight for the museum!  The rows of tea look beautiful in the snow and a group of us head up the road to take photos of “THE tree”.  I’m still not really sure why this particular tree is so important but it’s a beautiful sight nonetheless and we have a lot of fun taking lots of silly photos.  At this point in the trip, all of our cameras seem to be common property with several people happily snapping random photos on different cameras.  By the time we’ve finished taking photos and we head back down the road to the museum to have a quick look around and hopefully find a hot drink.  On the way, however, we’re easily distracted by the red berries on a tree and stop to take a slew of posed photos before finally heading indoors. 

Apart from seeing some of what looks like my art work on display, the museum doesn’t take very long.  Catfish and I need little encouragement to head back outdoors where it is once again snowing beautifully.  We spot some reeds in the garden which prompts another short photo shoot with some fantastic results.  We then spot the snow that has built up along the path – enough to start an impromptu snowball fight with each other.  Two Korean kids nearby see us throwing snow at each other and decide that it’s okay to join in which leads to Catfish and I chasing them around the garden in an attempt to throw snowballs at them.  The kids squeal in delight as they fly over the snowy grass – that we later realise is actually a roped off section on which we’re not meant to walk but it’s great entertainment at the time.

After all the snowball fights, we’re starving so we’re happy to arrive at the Greek-decorated Korean restaurant where we have a delicious buffet lunch.  Lunch is gulped down rather quickly and Catfish, NZ2 and I are soon back outside and rubbing the nose of the hallabong at NZ2’s instigation.  Koreans believe that rubbing its nose will make you have a boy baby.  We then take a short walk past mini-land where there is a miniature Eiffel Tower and Statue of Liberty among other things.  We also pass this rather self-satisfying (or self-gratifying) lamp!

Gone With the Wind on Songak

Since Mt HallaSan is closed due to the heavy snow, Seokjin decides we should go to Songak Mountain where we can see Cow Island and more beautiful scenery.  Like most Korean parks, this one has an outdoor gym – a concept which I particularly like since the equipment is all equivalent to actual gym equipment without the cost and guilt associated with a gym membership that only gets used twice a year.  This particular climb is fairly easy but the wind makes me feel like I’ve entered the moors in Wuthering Heights or some other Jane Austen novel and the people with whom I’m walking turn back fairly soon under the mistaken understanding that we need to be back on the bus earlier than anticipated – spot the English teachers who don’t listen to instructions!

Raise Your Hand if You're an English Teacher Who Can't Read

From there, we head to Hallim Botanical Garden where, once again, my friends and I apparently don’t understand clear English instructions (or signs) so we start the tour path from the exit and spend a frustrating 30 minutes trying to figure out why we have to keep climbing over fences and through bushes in order to get to the path that leads to the lava tube caves.  Feeling adventurous, Catfish pauses long enough to purchases Cactus juice which is reminiscent of cough syrup and tastes far worse. 

Along the way, however, we witness an entertaining Iguana fight.  This particular iguana was just ‘chilling’ on the branch and his amusing expression was what made us stop and take photos of him.  Not to be out-photographed, the biggest iguana of all pushes his way across the branch, over the other two (notice how the smallest iguana is hanging from the side for dear life) and proceeds to initiate a fight with the first iguana by biting his tail.  This fight continues for nearly 15 minutes and is well-documented by us.  The end result: Big iguana is thoroughly peeved and the original iguana gets the prized spot once more.  We then meet up with Seokjin who asks us if we want to see the caves that we’ve actually been searching for for the past 30 minutes.

 

The caves are an interesting experience with several key points.  There is a living rock in the first cave and Seokjin explains this to me – since I don’t realise that there are actually signs that explain key points to idiots like us.  The living rock is a piece of rock that fell from the ceiling of the cave but continues to ‘grow’ in size due to the chemical compounds within the rock.  Consequently, it is now considerably larger than the original hole in the ceiling.  Next is the Ssanyong Cave where there are two dragon caves – that is, the shape of the caves resembles that of a dragon.  At the end of the cave, just as one would expect to find, is a “Merry Christmas” light display.

Unfortunately, time in the caves is short and we’re soon hurrying through the caves in order to do some quick memorabilia shopping before Seokjin once again rounds us up and shepherds us halfway across the botanical gardens to where the bus is waiting to leave for the airport to drop off half of our tour group who only had the weekend free.  NZ2 is among those leaving while Catfish, KiwiKat and I still have a third day of exciting – and, let’s be honest, exhausting – activities to look forward to.  But first, dinner is a priority….

Merry Christmas Korea (25 December)

 
An Early Start

Despite a late night and a very early start, we’re all in good spirits as we leave the hostel at 7:00am the next morning.  The sun’s not yet up and it’s really cold but, wearing our Santa hates, we’re eager to continue spreading Christmas cheer in a country where Christmas doesn’t seem to be as big a deal as it is in Western countries.   At Hongik station, we relieved to see that it’s relatively quiet and it’s easy to find people willing to take group photos of us and wish us a Merry Christmas.

On the subway, we continue the merriment and I somehow find myself standing at the end of the carriage singing Christmas carols and dancing while taking photos of my friends. The Koreans on the subway don’t seem to mind – they seem to find it all rather amusing – and KiwiKat cheekily takes out a 100 won coin and throws it in my direction in mock appreciation of my impromptu ‘busking’ on the subway.  This, of course, prompts much laughter and false protestations all around. 

Airport Antics

Before long, we arrive at Gimpo Airport where we are to meet the entire tour group outside of Starbucks.  We have approximately 30 minutes to have breakfast and I end up eating yoghurt and granola with impromptu chopsticks from Starbucks.  KiwiKat and Catfish play the sliding game while the group slowly increases in size and Seokjin, who runs Adventure Korea (the company through which we do almost all of our travelling), starts organising the masses.  We’re soon checking in our luggage and queuing up for the security check where KiwiKat’s friend’s bag is thoroughly inspected in a bid to find the scissors that are unknowingly hidden somewhere in her backpack and definitely strong contenders for the 2010 Hide-and-Seek Championship Award considering it takes three people nearly 15 minutes to search her tiny backpack. 

While we wait, we snap photos of Catfish in her ‘naughty Santa’ hat which is currently standing up straight like that of an elf.  We don’t even think about the fact that she’s standing right in front of security so an airport official tells us not to take photos but, strangely, doesn’t make us delete the ones we’ve already taken.  Either she’s realised we’re harmless and were only taking photos of our friend or she thinks we’re just downright stupid – either way, we don’t seem to pose any immediate threat.

The antics continue in the departure lounge where we attempt to get the perfect photo of four people clicking their heels in the air simultaneously which, naturally, is almost impossible.  These unsuccessful attempts make the time fly by and we’re soon boarding the most awful flight I’ve ever taken.  Although the flight is only an hour, the cabin pressure and constant fluctuations in altitude make me quite nauseous and I’m not in the best mood by the time we finally land in Jeju. 

Merry Christmas Jeju

When I see that it’s snowing and we’re having a white Christmas after all, however, my mood improves considerably and we’re soon laughing away on the bus as we head to the restaurant where we have a traditional Korean meal of Jeju’s famous black pork.  Lunch is a fairly quick affair as we hungrily gulp down delicious traditional food and the snow outside is just too perfect to resist.  It takes Catfish and I only a few minutes to discover a patch of undisturbed snow behind the restaurant and I need little encouragement to immediately make a snow angel that Catfish documents. 

Seokjin sees us making snow angels and having a mini snowball fight and shows us a flower that only blooms in the snow.  After seeing this flower, we resume our snowball fight which quickly escalates into a fight involved roughly eight people (naturally all six of us who are travelling together, Seokjin and one or two other people).  Not even the arrival of another tour group entering the restaurant stops this fight – they’re simply another obstacle not to hit and we continue pitching snow balls over their heads.  A snowman is even attempted by someone in our group.  After about 20 minutes, everyone has finished eating lunch and we’re soon back on the bus and heading to the Trick Art Museum where we spend an hour taking ridiculous photos that create a rather realistic effect.  In the cafeteria area, Catfish and I can’t help but chuckle over the “Phohibition of Taste” sign!

 

The rest of the afternoon passes fairly quickly as we have a very short horse ride and take even more cheesy photos followed by an “easy” walk (according to Seokjin at least) up Seongsan Ilchubong which is also known as Sunrise Peak.  There are several man-made caves here that were created by Japanese soldiers to store ammunition and weapons during the Japanese occupation of Korea.  I can’t help chuckling every time I see stairs leading up the side of mountains – it’s even funnier to see mini-restaurants set up half way up the mountain and I can’t help but wonder if the delivery guys hate having certain customers since they have carry all deliveries halfway up a mountain for this particular restaurant.  It’s even more amusing to find arrows at certain points along the path just in case we’re not sure which side of the path leads to the top of the mountain and which side leads down.

In every hike, someone has to be last so I usually volunteer.  It takes me nearly an hour to get to the top of the mountain and I can’t even remember when I last saw someone from my tour group.  At this point, I’m puffing up the mountain solo completely oblivious to the fact that I’m all alone wearing a Santa hat which many Koreans seem to find amusing.  The views up Seongsan Ilchubong are incredible and it’s definitely worth the workout to get photos from the top.  I proudly take the last step, ecstatic that I’ve finally made it to the top and can now start looking for my friends when NZ2 and his sister greet me with: “You made it! Time to head back down or we’ll miss the bus”. 

Party Time!

Back on the bus, we head to our hotel where we sort out the room assignments and head straight to dinner and the Christmas Party that Adventure Korea has been kind enough to organise.  We have a proper turkey Christmas dinner, with cranberry sauce, and various more Korean side dishes – all eaten with chopsticks, naturally.  Our table is lively and Christmas cheer is all around.  Unfortunately, 'domestic violence' ensues between NZ2 and Catfish who, after only 24 hours of marriage, file for an immediate divorce!

  After dinner, it’s time for the gift exchange which involves each person choosing a gift, table by table, from under the Christmas tree.  Since our table is the last one to choose gifts, we’re allowed to ‘steal’ gifts that other people have already opened and that we like.  Catfish decides to steal the bottle of wine someone received and can’t conceal her smugness over this minor coup.

Once the gifts are all gone, it’s time for Karaoke.  The OzKo (Australian-Korean) and I kick off the karaoke with a few Christmas carols and proceed to line up several more before handing over the microphone to the people standing nearest us.  Catfish is looking rather glum at this point and sitting at the piano which is located on a very cool looking alcove above the bar.  Before long, we’re sitting side by side at the piano, singing along to the karaoke below us at the top of our voices.  Each sip of wine makes us a little happier and a little happy but, hey, it’s Christmas and someone has to liven things up from time to time….



It’s Christmas Time, There’s No Need to be Alone (24 December)

I’m not really prepared for anything when I arrive at school this morning.  I’m tired, I still haven’t packed for my Christmas trip to Jeju Island and I have no clue what is happening at school today other than the pop song contest.  I calmly head to the auditorium with my camera where I’m greeted enthusiastically by several of the Korean teachers, principal and vice-principal.  I’m also greeted by name by most of them which is a novelty – it seems attending last night’s event at school has earned me major brownie points and elevated me from a ‘non-entity’ to ‘actual person’ status in the view of my colleagues.  Whatever the reasons, I’m thrilled!  I’m not so thrilled by my principal always bowing so deeply to me, however, since it means I have to bow even lower every time – I’m waiting for the day when I bow and just tumble head over heels in my attempt to bow lower than him in greeting.

A Korean teacher shows the kiwis and I to move closer to the front of the auditorium when the MC announces a language competition.  Since the only vacant seats at this point are the very first row – where the principal and vice-principal are seated – we sit here and I’m suddenly aware of what an enormous faux-pas this appears to be. As if this discomfort is not enough, it quickly becomes clear that we actually did not need to move since this is a speech competition for Spanish, Japanese and Chinese! I hurriedly excuse myself with the pretence of needing to use the restroom where I encounter my co-teacher; she informs me I’m meant to be judging the pop song contest so I have to return to the auditorium where another teacher then fills me in on the details. 

JFLHS Pop Song Contest

The pop song contest is extremely entertaining and, for perhaps the tenth time in 24 hours, I’m left somewhat amazed by the students I have the privilege of teaching.  Despite clearly being exhausted, they’re enthusiastic and completely committed to the task at hand.  One of the classes performs “Summer Night” from Grease much to the enjoyment of the audience while another sings “Mony, Mony, Mony” complete with props and over the top actions.  I find myself laughing through all of the songs and genuinely enjoying myself so much that I forget to grade some of the performances.  I leave the auditorium as soon as the last song is over and rush back to my office where, miraculously, the pastries that I ordered on Wednesday have actually arrived.  One of the Japanese teachers in my teachers’ room helps me to hand these out around school and the remaining ones are randomly handed out to students who happen to walk past me at that moment.

Getting into the Christmas Spirit

With school officially over, I rush back to my apartment to pack for the weekend and then NZ2 and I meet Catfish at the bus terminal.  Due to miscommunications on our part (NZ2 and I both assumed the other person had confirmed the meeting time with Catfish), Catfish has been waiting at the bus terminal for over an hour and is chomping at the bit to get going to Seoul.  We just miss the bus and it’s so cold that the water in the faucet at the bus terminal has frozen solid but this doesn’t dampen our spirits and so silliness naturally ensues while we wait for the next one.  We’re the only foreigners in the terminal and, enthusiastic about our upcoming trip; besides, no matter what we do, we’re foreign and we’re going to stand out in a crowd – three of us is just upsetting the foreigner ratio so we get caught up in our own enjoyment.  Somehow, this leads to NZ2 and Catfish getting “married” which turns into a running joke that lasts for the next 24 hours.

Once on the bus, our merriment continues and we chat happily for the first half of the trip.  After the rest-stop, however, we calm down and make the most of this opportunity to get some sleep before arriving in Seoul.  It’s Christmas Eve, a Friday and it’s been snowing quite a bit so traffic is fairly slow.  By the time we arrive in Seoul, we realise it’s peak hour on the subway and the next part of our journey is probably not going to be pleasant.  As we head for the escalators, Catfish comes to a sudden stop as she realises that we’re standing outside of the jimjilbang where we spent a night nearly three weeks ago.  We pause for a moment to take a photo and make a mental note that not to walk around the entire bus terminal looking for the jimjilbang next time since we now know where it is, before plunging back into the sea of people heading for the subway.  What follows is only just short of a horror story…

The Nightmare Before Christmas

Disclaimer: If you scare easily, please skip to the section “Arriving in Hongdae”.

As we descend into the bowels of Seoul, I can feel my eyes widening as my brain begins to process just how many thousands of people are currently cramming into the subways.  This is the busiest I’ve ever seen the subway and I’m almost terrified enough to turn around and head straight back to Gunsan!  Instead, spurred on by NZ2 and Catfish, I find myself pushing forward into the masses and praying that we don’t get separated.  It’s quickly agreed that, in the horribly likely event that we are separated, we’ll wait for each other at the next subway stop.  This plan makes perfect sense – in theory; when we can actually see the platforms; tonight, it probably isn’t going to work.  We wait for two trains since there are so many people and when the next train arrives, we’re swept onto it by the people behind us.  I’m the last person on and the doors are starting to close but, incredibly, another 15 or more people managed to push me further into the centre of the carriage so that they can get on the subway too.  We’re packed so tightly that even the subway were to suddenly brake, we wouldn’t move.  All around me, I can hear people moaning and struggling in the overcrowded carriage. 

I can hear NZ2 but I can’t see him.  As for Catfish…she’s carrying a duffel bag that is slung across her shoulder and has now been caught under the arms and bags of other passengers causing her to shrink about four inches.  She’s standing right in front me although she is physically bent over at the waist and resting her head of the chest of the Korean guy next to her.  For some reason, this is hilarious to us and we’re laughing uncontrollably.  Incredibly, Catfish manages to raise one of her arms, with camera in hand, and take a few photos much to the amusement of almost everyone around us.  From somewhere nearby, NZ2 can be heard asking rather incredulously: “Where did you find a free arm?”

Each time we reach a new stop and the doors open, we’re in danger of being swept off the subway by the masses of impatient commuters and separated beneath Seoul.  To combat this, we take turns calling out “Marco” and “Polo” to check that we’re still, somewhere, on the same carriage.  Catfish and I have managed to stay together, despite our awkward positions (and probably because we’ve decided to form a human chain), but NZ2 seems to be moving further and further away from us.  In reality, however, he’s only standing about a metre and a half away but with at least fifteen people between us.  The Koreans around us are clearly confused to be hearing this English conversation happening around them without being able to see the foreigners doing the talking.  When the time comes for us to change lines, we’re relieved for the brief respite in the subway attack.  It’s only once we’re off the train and adjusting all of our belongings that we realise one of my gloves is missing – one of my leather gloves that Catfish offered to hold for me. Dismayed, there’s nothing more for us to do but head towards the next line which is just as busy.  As we take the escalator to the next line, Catfish takes a photo of my “Did we seriously survive that?” expression.

Arriving in Hongdae

The next line is just as busy and I beg and plead with NZ2 and Catfish to wait longer for the next train instead of trying to fight our way onto the current carriage.  Unfortunately, being Christmas Eve and a Friday night (and the fact that this is a really popular line!), the reality is that no matter how long we wait, each carriage is going to be just as busy as the last and it’s best to simply brave the current one.  We manage to get onto the same carriage once again and, once again, we’re pressed close together.  The final trip seems interminable but we survive and we’re soon being introduced to KiwiKat (NZ2’s sister) and a friend of hers.  The trip from the express bus terminal to Hongik Station in Hongdae takes just over an hour and, incredibly, our only casualty for the evening is my missing glove.  We’re tired, hungry and eager to reclaim our Christmas spirit so we head over to Bebop Guesthouse where we’ll be staying tonight. 

Christmas Eve Dinner and a Sexy Santa

Having dropped off our bags, recovered our composure and dug out a few more warm clothes, we’re soon off to a Mexican restaurant for dinner.  It’s freezing outside but we’re in high spirits although eager to get indoors and eat.  Seoul is enormous but the foreigner community clearly tends to populate certain areas because we encounter several other kiwis (two of whom live an hour south of Gunsan and whom I met on the bike trip I did nearly two months ago) in the Mexican restaurant.  When the food arrives, we attempt to photograph Christmas Eve dinner but we’re clearly dealing with a hungry Catfish who just wants to eat her burrito.

With our hunger sated, we head over to Starbucks where KiwiKat spies a Korean guy dressed in a Santa suit complete with red sack.  Deciding that a photo with Santa is necessary, she and Catfish head over to his table to take photos with him.  He promptly pulls out a white beard and a santa hat to complete the look and happily poses as they each take a photo with him.  He then looks for his own camera and asks his friend to take a photo of him and the two waegooks.  His friends takes the photo and then asks the woman who is also sitting with them to take a photo of the four of them together.  This is one of the thousands of things that I love about Korea.  We’ve barely sat down at our table again and drunk half of our hot chocolate when KiwiKat sees someone standing outside of Starbucks wearing a rabbit head  mask.  Two Koreans, in funny masks, are standing outside handing out ‘free hugs’ so we promptly take advantage of this before continuing on our way. 

We’ve barely walked a hundred metres when we meet up with Santa from Starbucks and his guitar playing friend.  When Santa sees us, he strikes a cheeky pose.  Our response is to whip out our cameras and start taking photos.  He strikes two more poses to our encouraging cheers of “Sexy Santa” before running out of ideas and courage.  Two women are selling santa hats a few metres away so we all buy hats to wear around Seoul.  We then meander around Seoul and do a bit of shopping before heading back to the hostel to try and get an early night.  Once back at the hostel, however, we get involved in further conversations that result in a rather late night and it’s clear that we’re going to have a fantastic weekend in Jeju.