Back to where it all began! (or sort of). Andong and the hike at Cheongryang-san.
Category: Korea
Seoul Style
Lately…
Lately, Kyle and I have been busy, like always, but we’ve had a dash of fun thrown in here and there.
We did sell our scooter, so no more zooming around.
Kyle had a friend visit, we snuck into a big concert, judged an English contest, went to a Thanksgiving celebration and hosted another one, and put up our Christmas tree. Good times, fast times (even without the scooter). I hope everyone had a lovely and grateful Thanksgiving.
Blog Neglect
It’s easy not to blog, I’m not that interesting in day-to-day life! So the blog has been neglected. I have not been up to much – just work, home, work, home…so nothing much to write about. Kyle went to Hong Kong this last week so I thought I would get a lot done, think of some things to blog about but I found out the Real House Wives of Beverly Hills is on T.V. here (Yes, I’m slightly ashamed) and relaxing were much more interesting and easier. All in all, pictures will come with the next fun things I do but neglect may have to take over for a little while longer.
Busan and the Beach
Busan is the second largest city in Korea and is a popular beach destination. This weekend Kyle and I were able to hit up three beaches. We took the train to Busan because it is more relaxing than the bus and we were even able to get first class on the train because we’re classy like that (or because it was first class tickets were only six more dollars and neither one of us had ever ridden in first class anything before). I felt like this trip was a warm up to an actual vacation (probably not with first class though).
We found a bar looking over the beach and holed up there with some friends since we got the window table – perfect!
We also went to the aquarium:
Then to another beach.  There was a sand castle festival going on but far too many people in one place (especially the beach) for me.
Then we snagged a ride with a friend who has a car (this is a big deal!) to the third beach about thirty minutes away with a lot fewer people. It was a beautiful drive along the coast.
I “heart” Weekends
Here are some quick pictures from last weekend. We went on a “walk” at a festival in a nearby town. Despite the amount of people it was very relaxing and beautiful. The weather was great and I am now declaring it summer! This weekend is Korean memorial day so we have Monday off, so Kyle, myself, and some friends are off to Busan for some good food and beach time. XO!
Daejeon and beyond
Kyle, myself, and a couple of friends went to Daejeon this weekend for a professional conference (KOTESOL).
Daejeon is the fifth biggest city in Korea and is about a two-hour bus ride away. Here we ate some good food, went to the currency museum (which Kyle thoroughly enjoyed), and went to an art museum. It was a beautiful weekend to experience “big city life”.
And the coolest sculpture at the museum:
Bikes!
I’m Famous!!!!
A banner on the University and around town promoting our extra “STEP” classes. Embarrassing!
Scenes from the hood
Since our job provides housing Kyle and I moved from the newest neighborhood in Andong, Ok-dong, to the oldest neighborhood in Andong, Yongsang-dong, before we started our new job. I thought I would dislike the new neighborhood because it’s older, the grocery store here is not as good, and it is not close to the bars and restaurants. Luckily, I really like our new digs. I like the apartment better even though it is older. It is more homey with a separated kitchen, living room, and bedroom whereas our old place was a two bedroom and we didn’t fully utilize the second bedroom. Also, our new place is a shorter walk to the river and is quieter. Granted, there are very few good places to eat around us but some good food is only a short taxi ride away and with the oven and more regular hours Kyle and I have been cooking more. I have been meaning to take some photos of our new neighborhood as it is filled with old style houses and interesting architecture – and I do have a few but they aren’t that great, my apologies!
My University Was Not Like This…..
Korea can be a funny place. I went to work on Monday morning taught two classes and then was informed that the students had orientation so they may not come to class. This was okay with the teachers since it meant that we just had to check our classrooms to tell the three students that came to class that it was canceled. We had to check each class so the teachers stayed at school, but the funny part was that we then spent the remainder of the day on our balconies watching the students sitting on the lawn drinking Makkeolli and playing drinking games……and, this was totally normal. The only bad part was that there was a good amount of students who were either very hung over on Tuesday morning or did not make it to class.