It's a Sido thing...

corona advert eat your heart out

street food, island style

color

low tide

clam diggin'

i found one!

a day in the life of the kuntry folk

Lee's sculpture park

the hot mess that was I

riding tandem through chile pepper farms, vineyards, and rice patties

biggest bowl of soup ever

Session two came to an end on Wednesday and we teachers were given a much deserved four day weekend.  Laine, Jin, Kay and I snuck off to some tiny islands off the west coast of Incheon and had ourselves a genuine experience of life in Korean countryside. 

It was quite a trek getting to Sido- after an hour and a half on the subway, a bus ride, two ferry rides, and another bus ride, we found ourselves 4 hours outside of Seoul in a majestic and quaint agricultural/fishing village. The fog sat low over the green rolling hills, and we were surrounded by tiny islands every which way we looked. Sido's perimeter is fewer than 4 kilomenters and its population can't be more than 100. 

We rented tandem bicycles and cruised around vineyards, chile farms, and rice patties. Not long after, we found ourselves caught in a typhoon and managed to salvage a few inches of dryness after picking up some fancy ponchos on the beach. Surrounded by dragonflies, we cycled up and down rolling hills in the pouring rain.  The island was completely silent except for our laughter which was so uncontrollable, it's likely to have transcended the waves of the Yellow Sea and reached our counterparts in Seoul.   

We ate the most delicious meal of homemade kimchi (the freshest I've tasted since my stay in Korea), seafood soup with homemade noodles, and spicy tofu soup. After a lengthy nap, we ventured out again on our bicycles and made our way to another island- Modo. I managed to take a massive chunk out of my toe riding tandem downhill in a typhoon in flip flops. Bloodshed only made this trip more exotic. We found ourselves jaw dropped when we reached an erotic beach-front sculpture park.  This made me think of Tim and miss Tanner and family that much more.

The rest of the day was spent telling stories, reading, laughing about girly things, and overall having an appreciation for the day and for life.

The following day we hitched a ride, bussed it, took several more ferries, another bus, a taxi, and another ferry to a larger island called Muido. The tide was low and we were able to walk across a sandbar to another island and submerge ourselves in mudflats where we hunted for clams for lunch. We found three in total and I proudly found the largest and most beautiful clam, although it was hardly enough for four...

More of my blood was shed tripping on rocks of all sorts. I was a hot mess.

Our big finale was buying beer and fireworks and sitting on the rocky beach (on Laine's playboy bunny towel that was purchased by her boyfriend while doing UN work in Kosovo) as we waited for our final transportation home. We felt like fraternity boys laughing hysterically on the beach, drinking beer, dancing with sparklers, and shooting off fireworks. We drew quite a crowd of amused cheerers-on. 

Boryeong Mud Festival

THIS WEEKEND WAS SO MUCH FUN!

For the first time, I didn't think about work. I feel completely rejuvenated, a new soul ready to conquer my remaining 5 weeks in Seoul. We met at the express bus terminal at 8am Saturday morning. There, we hopped on a coach and drove 2 hours through the countryside to the Yellow Sea. The drive was gorgeous. Korea outside the city is lush and majestic; I stared outside the window for the entire two hours listening to the pitter patter of rain and gazing at the low mist trapped by the rolling green hills.

Our first stop was not Daecheon Beach, but rather the location where all the mud for the festival is gathered- miles of mud flats, as far as the eye could see. To our surprise, we were given the option to run the annual 5k Boryeong Mud flat race. We stripped down to our bikinis and hopped into the crowd, just in time for the starting gunshot. Running 5k in knee deep mud was brutal, but the glory when all was said and done was completely worth it. 

After the race, our tour group arranged a handful of mud related activities, which of course included mud wrestling. We were divided into coed teams "A" and "B". Needless to say, Laine and I dominated the mud wrestling field. Unfortunately we only have scratches (no photos) to validate our victories.

We quenched our thirst with some Cass then headed to our hotel room (with a view of the Yellow Sea!) Laine, Yerin, Annes and I dropped our backpacks and sprinted into the waters of Daecheon beach. Sand between my toes and salt water up my nose never felt so awesome.  I felt prodigiously awake and aware of life.

The rest of the afternoon was spent painting our bodies in mud, dancing, mud sliding, swimming, eating tempura corn dogs, socializing, and drinking soju/aloe cocktails. The debauchery didn't stop at sunset; around 10pm I headed to the main stage mosh pit and danced to the beats of live Korean hip hop (AMAZING!) Meanwhile, Daecheon Beach was caught in the middle of a typhoon- you can't even imagine the spectacle...

There is simply too much to be said about this weekend and my words could never do the high I experienced appropriate justice.

More photos to come in the next few days...

The bright side of the moon

Tomorrow is Friday and I feel like I'm on top of the world.  My morale is finally on its way back up.

Last night I had my teacher evaluation conference regarding the results of my biology class; allegedly I made the high scoring record book. :)

Today I ate MEXICAN food after work! It wasn't the best, but it was MEXICAN! The evening could not have been more stellar. The clear blue sky afforded a stunning contrast with the high-rise horizon. Beautifully juxtaposed was a substantial, full, and yellow moon.

This weekend I'm heading to the mud festival on Daecheon beach. Wrestling to ensue... 

Tuesday, really?

I think this is going to be the longest week of the entire summer. It's only Tuesday and I'm absolutely knackered.

This Monday I was crowned "teacher of the week" which served to boost my morale ever so slightly.  This evening I also had a meeting with my boss to review the feedback from the student/teacher surveys. My kids loved me! I managed to score significantly above average in nearly every category from "my teacher is knowledgeable" to "my teacher inspires me to learn".

I almost cried today because all I wanted was to sleep, and that's really not an option at this time...