Inspired by my trips to Japan and Hong Kong, I decided to look up some really neat wishing festivals. Since I haven't been to all of them, I blogged about it here on my personal blog ^_^
Hong Kong details are coming soon!
Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Monday, February 2, 2015
Aqua Planet
So it's winter, which doesn't involve a lot of warm outside activities, but I really wanted to see an Aquarium. I asked one of my friends, who has lived here for over three years now, and she mentioned a fairly new Aquarium: Aqua Planet.
Aqua Planet is in Ilsan, right next to the famous Singing Fountain, featured in many Korean Dramas, and it's about a 10 to 15 minute walk from Juyeop Station on Line 3 of the Seoul Subway.
It's a fairly big aquarium with two main exhibits, the ocean and the amazon.
Their mascot is a Walrus, because they have a Walrus!
They also had Penguins, Seals and Seas Lions!
Aside from salt water animals, they also had fresh water animals like Beavers:
And River Otters :)
We went there around feeding time, so the animals were up and about, waiting for their food.
We even saw the giant tank fish getting fed, which was quite a show! Two of the Manta rays kept hovering over the diver's head while he fed the smaller fish, and people were crowding the windows to watch the show. I waved to one of the divers who saw my camera and struck a pose ^_^
And they had an octopus!
There were so many other cool Ocean tanks:
I was amused by the upside down Jelly Tank:
But my favorite part of this Aquarium was the Amazon exhibit:
They had Lemurs!
And Jaguars!
And Parrots
It was a nice and clean building, and the workers were very nice. There's also a few fun activities for kids to do, like the starfish pool, and the Doctor fish ^_^
Saturday, January 3, 2015
A Peace of Mind
I found a really cool cafe online called Peace of Mind Book Cafe and Bakery, and my friend Rachel and I decided to check it out.
It turns out this place isn't too far from where I live. So I found another nice haunt to spend time in while I write.
When you walk in, you're immeadiately surrounded by books, and these books are in many different languages, but mostly Korean. There are so many cool props to accent the place.
I found an old victrola, a boom box, some old typewriters, lots of dinnerware from around the world, and so many other cool gadgets and gizmos.
The owner speaks perfect English, and he is very kind.
The atmosphere of this place reminds me of The Tattered Cover. The only difference is the books aren't for sale.
I enjoyed my visit here, and I will definitely be back ^_^
Thursday, January 1, 2015
Advice and reflections
So I have been teaching English in South Korea for seven months now, and I thought I would offer advice to those who are pursuing a career teaching English in another country, based on what I've experienced so far.
1. Do your research: I unfortunately did not, and I have to deal with many issues in the workplace that I have not adapted to very well.
2. Start a budget: When you are in another country, it's easy to spend a lot of money traveling, buying food and watching your money disappear.
3. Learn the language: I'm still working on this one, due to time and money, but it's important to talk in the country's language if you live there for a while.
4. Be yourself: Yes you will have to adapt to cultural norms in a new country, but that doesn't mean you have to change completely. You're amazing the way you are, and no one should tell you otherwise or try to change you.
5. Try new things: I'm braver now that I've stepped out into a new corner of the world. Being away from the familiar is an opportunity to be a bit more daring. I don't recommend doing something too crazy, but take a few steps out of your comfort zone for a bit. See what happens.
6. Keep up with your hobbies: If you love writing, painting, drawing or anything crafty, keep it up while you're here. There will be weekends where you may want to chill.
7. Enjoy it! Even if you are homesick, or having a rough time, do your best to enjoy being in another country. You're almost a long term tourist, and it's a lot more fun to go to other places on weekends.
Living in another country is quite an experience. There are times that you'll want a piece of home, especially during difficult times, and then there are times that you feel lucky to be in another country, and able to travel to other places so far from home.
You'll meet people from all around the world, and you'll learn so much about who you are and what you're able to do.
Like everything in life, there are ups and downs, but a positive attitude can help you get through anything.
It really is a life changing experience, and an important step in anyone's journey, regardless of their major or goals.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Christmas in South Korea: A photographic experience
A journey through Christmas Decor around South Korea ^_^
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Donggang River Village
So I signed up for an adventure trip to go to Donggang River Village in Gangwando.
The schedule was packed with caving, hiking, ziplining and of course, food.
My friend Megan had done this trip before, and she told me it was worth it, and the price was very reasonable for my budget.
We began the day by meeting the group at the Jangpyeong Bus Station, and we drove by construction for the new transportation center they are building to prepare for hosting the next Olympics Games.
It was pretty chilly, but we arrived at the village, which was very quaint and featured a bouncy bridge :)
Our housing was also very nice, and it even had a bathub! (A rarity in Korea). Our roommates were also really nice, and we got along great (which is very important).
We started the trip with unpacking, then lunch and after that we went caving.
Paengnyoung Cave (also known as White Dragon cave) was discovered in 1976 near the Dongang (East River). We weren't allowed to bring cameras into the cave, but they took pictures of us, and we should be able to see them soon.
I met some cool people, including a few fellow Avatar fans, and we talked about TV shows and stories for a while :)
It was an interesting experience. We saw a lot of different stalactites and stalagmites along with a cave flower that looked like a snowflake. The path itself was an adventure with twists and turns, places where we had to crawl and other step areas. At the end of the path we reached a big hole where we turned off all the lights and exprienced total darkness.
We were pretty hungry after the cave hike, and the lady at the fron office gave us some sweet potatoes for the trip back.
Once we arrived back at the village, they split us into two groups, and my group did ziplining. I skipped the sky jump part, because I really didn't want to jump off a building. But the zipline was fun, and we got back in time for barehand trout fishing. Megan caught two fish, and Whitney caught one :)
We went back to the food hall for dinner and I met a lot of cool people. I had an awesome conversation about the Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, webseries, movies and books with a really cool guy from New Zealand who was also an English major and studied film :)
The night wildlife safari was the ridiculous part. Veronica saved me by letting me borrow a head warmer and thick hiking socks :) We bundled up and headed outside in little cars, with flashlights and radios, and we tried to find animals, in the freezing cold. Our group saw a bunch of red eyes that the tour guide said were Wild boars, but I wasn't sure. The stars were beautiful at night, and when we got back, we ate the fish that everyone caught along with hot sweet potatoes.
A telescope was also set up outside to view the stars, but they couldn't figure out how to use it.
We looked up the instructions in both English and Korean, but I think we made the guide mad, and we gave up. I did see about five shooting stars, which was amazing, and it's really fun to walk over a bouncy bridge at night.
After stargazing, we hung out with the guys and played a game called 12. It was really fun because you count to tweleve and the twelveth person replaces a number with a rule, and you go around again, but you're not supposed to repeat the rules. It was fun when people forgot the rules, including me, which were mostly made by me and Whitney. (I am so using this game in class with my older kids- without the drinking of course)
The next morning was a much more relaxed schedule. We went for a morning hike, which was a bit slippery with the leaves everywhere. I felt like a little kid trudging through them :) It was a beautiful view, and I made a few wishes on the rock towers by the trails on the way up.
When we got back it was lunch time, and the rest of the day was up to us. I made friends with a cute dog named Dong Ga, who looked a little chilly and bored outside the general store.
After that we headed to the aquarium which was a nice way to end the trip. We looked at the fish, and they had a really strange 3D cartoon about a river fish who saves his friends from a monster fish by bungee jumping off the waterfall and somehow not suffering from breathing in air. At the end of the movie, a river fairy, or goddess or something spoke and they recived crowns, like leveling up in a video game. It was very interesting.
We saw some really cool river fish, and they had a really big catfish in one tank that barely moved.
Upstairs they had Doctor fish who ate your dead skin. It was really fun, and it tickled when they bit your fingers.
They also had a really addicting computer game where you basically tried to keep your aquarium fish alive by saving them from aliens and demons. It would be the perfect mobil cell phone game to replace Angry Birds.
The bus ride back was fairly straight forward. But all in all it was a fun trip. I met a lot of cool people, and I had some time to write while I was there. I recommend this trip, maybe closer to summer and fall, but it was really cool, and it's a reasonable price.
Sunday, October 19, 2014
강촌유원지 - Gangchon Waterfall
Not far from Chuncheon, a short train ride away, a picturesque hike and a quaint little village awaits weary travelers in the mountains. Fall is a great season for hiking, and many people gathered at the entrance to this area, as my friends and I made our way up the steeper trail.
When we went, the weather was perfect, and it was an ideal opportunity to see the leaves change.
Since I'm from Colorado, this trail felt closer to home, and it reminded me of Kenosha pass near Breckenrdige. This was the perfect area to admire the trees and the beautiful view on the way up the mountain.
One difference between this hike and many hikes in Colorado is the fact there are stores, restaraunts and many other attractions at its entrance, a pretty rare find in Colorado.
You can also make a wish before you go on the trail by picking a rock, and balancing it on piles of rocks in difference areas marked "Wisdom", "Heart", "Wealth", "Professional" and so on. I found a rock and made a wish:
It was pretty cool seeing these tributes everywhere:
The trail itself isn't very long, and you can choose from an easy trail or a more difficult one. We went up the steep route, because we were hikers. I ran into one of my students, who was happy to see me as we hiked up the hill. A few fellow hikers spoke to us in English, saying things like, "Beautiful Day!" and "Hello there," which made the hike more fun. After we reached the top, we stopped at a nice restaurant in the village and ate chiken stew and acorn jelly salad. All of which was delicious!
On our way back, we reached the waterfall, and took a picture at the balcony overlooking the leaves, waterfall and the giant rockface.
It felt good to go hiking again, and this place felt more like home. My poor phone almost ran out of room becase I took a lot of pictures!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)