Sacrifice, Selfish and Selfless.
These are interesting words. When people hear them, myself included, I tend to think toward the negative. You know, sacrifice my shoes to walk in the mud, or a cow or pig sacrificed itself so that I could live. Some people don't understand that sacrifices could also be in the form of a parent saving the life of a child by giving a kidney, giving blood to someone who is in need, giving a needy person or family money that you would have blown on an I Pad, latte, or a trip to New York City.
We are feeling a bit like we are making a sacrifice in being in Korea. It isn't good and it isn't bad. It just is.
We feel like part of it is good because here we are in this great place, meeting very interesting people and doing interesting and fabulous things. We are paying off debt which we would never have been able to make a large dent in at home. We are traveling to fabulous and beautiful areas of the Orient and for a very good and inexpensive price as well.
We feel selfless in that we are here to pay off student loans and that's awesome. But...here comes the selfish part.
We want our friends and family back home to be able to share in our laughs here, our adventures (hello blog) and in our cultural experiences.
I suppose one could just as well call these feelings homesickness, but I think that is too general. Joseph and I don't really miss the material aspects of being home, but more the immaterial aspects such as our people. Although a good salad....yum. No olives though. Eww.
We can't just hop in the car and take a trip down I4 of I75 to whoever we want to visit who is no more than a few hours away. Everyone is over 25 hours away now by plane. To expect family and friends to put off events and to try and include us in these events that are taking place is ludicrous and we would never suggest such a silly and terrible idea. Everyone does what they do and that is great. We just really wish we could be there during these events and things going on. It would be so easy if we could jump on a plane and be there for a weekend thing and return by Monday at 1pm here, just in time for work.
Told you it was selfish. To not be able to hug our brother and sister in law, to not share in their joy, to not be able to celebrate Christmas or Thanksgiving with them or our grandmother, aunts, uncles and cousins. To not be present when my cousin comes for a visit. Makes me/us sad. This isn't even the end of the first year...
Please make no mistake, we are enjoying our stay here for as long as it will be. We are here and we will enjoy and are enjoying ourselves, regardless. We just wish for our loved ones, family and friends alike, to know that they are missed and that they are no less loved, talked about or thought about because we are not on the same continent.
To put this blog post in perspective, a friend knew I was writing a blog about this and copied this quote to me: "Being here feels like I've died and now I'm watching you all as you go on with life without me, and I'm baffled by your ability to do it." LOL. Made me laugh anyway.
So I leave it to the Reader:
Sacrifice, Selfish and/or Selfless?
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Moving to South Korea
These 4 words can put quite a bit of fear in some people and the spark of adventure in far more. In making this decision we looked at everything that was important to us to fully know and understand what we were going to do and what we should expect on our journey. This blog is for anyone interested in moving to South Korea to teach or simply interested in why this became a reality for us.
1. Pay
2. Taxes
3. Housing
4. Cost of Living
5. Possibilities for Saving and Traveling
1. Pay
Let's be honest, this was a large part of us moving to South Korea. Joseph and I are getting paid what we were getting paid as teachers in Florida.
2. Taxes
Taxes are taken out of our paychecks here just like at home. The difference? The amount. We have 3.3% taken out of our paychecks each month. Yes, you read that correctly. What about our paying taxes in America while we are here? From our research, we do not have to pay taxes on what we make while living in SK as long as we make less than $80,000 or $88,000 per year. We just need to document all international income to the US government, just like home, in addition to how much money we send home. As long as we tell the US government what and how much and can prove it, we should be fine.
3. Housing
By working in a Hagwon (private school) we receive free housing. This means our hagwon takes care of all of our apartment rental costs. We are in charge of electric, gas, etc. payments but the large payment of our housing is taken care of by our school. Yes, please.
Does this mean we live in squalor? Nope. This does mean we do not have a fabulously posh apartment; however, we do have a very acceptable although rustic apartment.
We live within 5 minutes walking distance to our school (lovely).
If a foreign person works at a public school your housing will also be paid for. At a University however, you will need to speak to the individual institutions for this information. Some institutions will have a few apartments for you to chose from and some will make you find your own apartment but give you a stipend/housing allowance each month (think of it as an extra $300 or $400 each month).
If a couple works at different locations one person might have an apartment provided by their school and the other would be wise to find a job with a housing allowance.
4. Cost of Living
The prices of living in South Korea are very low--for Joseph and I and for anyone. We have a budget and we live off of 1/4 of our paycheck each month. What happens to the rest of our money? We pay student loans and save. How do we travel? How do we have money to go out? There are two of us, how is this possible? Do we have any fun?
We are able to do all of the above and have a small amount left over... sometimes. We do pick and choose what we would like to do but we are able to do just about everything we would like to do on our budget.
What about your electricity, gas and other housing bills? These are very low. Our gas bill (during the winter it is higher than usual) runs about 90,000W [this is the winter price] and our electricity is approximately 40,000W. Not too shabby. These are taken directly out of our paychecks and we do not have to worry about paying these directly. Each school differs though so make sure you speak to your school about this as soon as you arrive and are awake enough to engage this conversation. You do not wish to have a nasty bill 3 months in.
We do not live off of ramen and in fact have not eaten this much since being here at all. We usually spend about 10,000W a day on eating alone. We eat normal Korean foods--the more you stick with Korean food the cheaper it is. The second you go to Outback or another foreign restaurant the price skyrockets.
What if you need to eat something familiar? It is possible! Cook your own dishes (get food from the local markets as it is cheaper than Home Plus, Costco, or Emart) or if you have to get something from a particular restaurant or foreign shopping center, don't purchase a large amount if you are trying to budget. You can also go to foreign and familiar restaurants. Go with a friend (a group is better) and share a meal.
5. Saving/Traveling
This is hard for us not to spend the money on travel. We love to travel. We pay ourselves first then pay our bills and last we have fun with the left over amount. We are two people and are able to manage quite well on what we have each week to live off of. We do pick and choose what we wish to do and we plan our events, especially the larger ones, with care of how much money we will need. Joseph and I would much rather have pictures to remember our adventures by than a house full of dust collectors--although a few choice ones would not go unloved or unnoticed.
Bottom line? It depends why you are here. If you are here to lower your debt or pay off debt--most foreigners are here for this very purpose--you will be able to do so and in the same turn, have a rockin' good time. Just plan accordingly.
South Korea is also the highest paying Asian and European country. The Middle East pays some of their foreign English teachers up to $5,000USD (in US dollars as well) a month but that is another story in itself.
1. Pay
2. Taxes
3. Housing
4. Cost of Living
5. Possibilities for Saving and Traveling
1. Pay
Let's be honest, this was a large part of us moving to South Korea. Joseph and I are getting paid what we were getting paid as teachers in Florida.
2. Taxes
Taxes are taken out of our paychecks here just like at home. The difference? The amount. We have 3.3% taken out of our paychecks each month. Yes, you read that correctly. What about our paying taxes in America while we are here? From our research, we do not have to pay taxes on what we make while living in SK as long as we make less than $80,000 or $88,000 per year. We just need to document all international income to the US government, just like home, in addition to how much money we send home. As long as we tell the US government what and how much and can prove it, we should be fine. 3. Housing
By working in a Hagwon (private school) we receive free housing. This means our hagwon takes care of all of our apartment rental costs. We are in charge of electric, gas, etc. payments but the large payment of our housing is taken care of by our school. Yes, please.
Does this mean we live in squalor? Nope. This does mean we do not have a fabulously posh apartment; however, we do have a very acceptable although rustic apartment.
We live within 5 minutes walking distance to our school (lovely).
If a foreign person works at a public school your housing will also be paid for. At a University however, you will need to speak to the individual institutions for this information. Some institutions will have a few apartments for you to chose from and some will make you find your own apartment but give you a stipend/housing allowance each month (think of it as an extra $300 or $400 each month).
If a couple works at different locations one person might have an apartment provided by their school and the other would be wise to find a job with a housing allowance.
4. Cost of Living
The prices of living in South Korea are very low--for Joseph and I and for anyone. We have a budget and we live off of 1/4 of our paycheck each month. What happens to the rest of our money? We pay student loans and save. How do we travel? How do we have money to go out? There are two of us, how is this possible? Do we have any fun?
We are able to do all of the above and have a small amount left over... sometimes. We do pick and choose what we would like to do but we are able to do just about everything we would like to do on our budget.
What about your electricity, gas and other housing bills? These are very low. Our gas bill (during the winter it is higher than usual) runs about 90,000W [this is the winter price] and our electricity is approximately 40,000W. Not too shabby. These are taken directly out of our paychecks and we do not have to worry about paying these directly. Each school differs though so make sure you speak to your school about this as soon as you arrive and are awake enough to engage this conversation. You do not wish to have a nasty bill 3 months in.
We do not live off of ramen and in fact have not eaten this much since being here at all. We usually spend about 10,000W a day on eating alone. We eat normal Korean foods--the more you stick with Korean food the cheaper it is. The second you go to Outback or another foreign restaurant the price skyrockets.
What if you need to eat something familiar? It is possible! Cook your own dishes (get food from the local markets as it is cheaper than Home Plus, Costco, or Emart) or if you have to get something from a particular restaurant or foreign shopping center, don't purchase a large amount if you are trying to budget. You can also go to foreign and familiar restaurants. Go with a friend (a group is better) and share a meal.
5. Saving/Traveling
This is hard for us not to spend the money on travel. We love to travel. We pay ourselves first then pay our bills and last we have fun with the left over amount. We are two people and are able to manage quite well on what we have each week to live off of. We do pick and choose what we wish to do and we plan our events, especially the larger ones, with care of how much money we will need. Joseph and I would much rather have pictures to remember our adventures by than a house full of dust collectors--although a few choice ones would not go unloved or unnoticed.
Bottom line? It depends why you are here. If you are here to lower your debt or pay off debt--most foreigners are here for this very purpose--you will be able to do so and in the same turn, have a rockin' good time. Just plan accordingly.
South Korea is also the highest paying Asian and European country. The Middle East pays some of their foreign English teachers up to $5,000USD (in US dollars as well) a month but that is another story in itself.
First Snow, Last Snow?
It is snowing. Again. We are not sure if we are tired of it or not. Daejeon is a secluded part of Korea in that the weather is more mild than it might be elsewhere. Yes, it snows but it does not pile up like it does an hour away at the ski lodges.
We have truly enjoyed our first winter season in South Korea. It is a nice change to experience four complete seasons instead of warm, warmer, hot and hottest.
It has been a really nice winter and we are looking forward to Spring!
Lots of enjoyable and fun adventures lie ahead!
A group of us came across an article CNN wrote about 50 Beautiful Places to Visit in South Korea. We are taking it upon ourselves to visit each and every one of these locations with the additions of a few other exciting places. Fifty places are a lot to plan and visit thoroughly in one year so we have decided to divide them into seasons we want to visit them; some are prettier in spring, etc. and then to see how many we will be able to combine into the same weekend trip. To view the link click here.
There are many more exciting places to visit as well as the 50 in the article, of course, so we will be visiting those places also. Places such as the World Expo (World Fair) taking place in Yeosu. Click here to learn more about the World Fair. At the top right of the screen is the English option.
We are excited to be able to attend and you can look forward to many blogs documenting the events, locations and adventures we will take part in the next few months/years.
We have truly enjoyed our first winter season in South Korea. It is a nice change to experience four complete seasons instead of warm, warmer, hot and hottest.
It has been a really nice winter and we are looking forward to Spring!
Lots of enjoyable and fun adventures lie ahead!
A group of us came across an article CNN wrote about 50 Beautiful Places to Visit in South Korea. We are taking it upon ourselves to visit each and every one of these locations with the additions of a few other exciting places. Fifty places are a lot to plan and visit thoroughly in one year so we have decided to divide them into seasons we want to visit them; some are prettier in spring, etc. and then to see how many we will be able to combine into the same weekend trip. To view the link click here.
There are many more exciting places to visit as well as the 50 in the article, of course, so we will be visiting those places also. Places such as the World Expo (World Fair) taking place in Yeosu. Click here to learn more about the World Fair. At the top right of the screen is the English option.
We are excited to be able to attend and you can look forward to many blogs documenting the events, locations and adventures we will take part in the next few months/years.
 |
| Sunset over a field of azaleas, Youngchi Mountain, Yeosu |
Come visit South Korea!
The Brave Little Toaster
We have seen a few movies while in Korea: Harry Potter, Johnny English (we were desperate for an English movie), and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.
The movies are in English with Korea subtitles as expected. What isn't expected are the reactions of the Koreans while sitting in the theater.
The fun part is how the Koreans don't react to the movie. A car could explode, a couple could have the best meaningful conversation on the silver screen or the funniest joke known to man could be taking place and the Korean people do not react at all. Not a sniff, chuckle, laugh or gasp can be heard during a movie.
A group of us have decided this is because of our background knowledge of the situations and vocabulary taking place in the movies. If something funny happens and the foreigners laugh, there is almost a delayed reaction from the Koreans; almost as if they are thinking, 'They are laughing so it must be funny...let's laugh too!'
Just another "-ism" in lovely Korea!
The movies are in English with Korea subtitles as expected. What isn't expected are the reactions of the Koreans while sitting in the theater.
The fun part is how the Koreans don't react to the movie. A car could explode, a couple could have the best meaningful conversation on the silver screen or the funniest joke known to man could be taking place and the Korean people do not react at all. Not a sniff, chuckle, laugh or gasp can be heard during a movie.
A group of us have decided this is because of our background knowledge of the situations and vocabulary taking place in the movies. If something funny happens and the foreigners laugh, there is almost a delayed reaction from the Koreans; almost as if they are thinking, 'They are laughing so it must be funny...let's laugh too!'
Just another "-ism" in lovely Korea!
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Dear, Mister FBI
The distinguished FBI has deemed it necessary for all me-gook seram (American people) to have a background check for each and every year you chose to live on the lovely peninsula of South Korea. The beginning of the process is to have your fingerprints and FBI background check application sent to the FBI.
What they don't usually tell you when you reside in a different country you should begin this process at least 6 months before the end of your Visa to give yourself time to get everything you need together. From Korea (as well as America), it generally takes about 3 months just to have your background check completed and returned to you. Let's hope they are a mite quicker.
Awesome.
Today Joseph and I headed to our local police station to have our fingerprints taken. The post office, fire station and police station are located right next to each other with the police station being in the middle. It is safe to say that our being foreigners entering this police station did not go unnoticed. We doubt they have ever had a foreign person in their station before. Yes, this is usually the case.
Our police station was pleasant enough and about the size of the Dundee Post Office. In other words, picture a very small, clean but grungy room with a clear barrier between employees and others. We were immediately well received and had a lovely conversation with the man and woman who were there at the time.
Granted the entire conversation was in Konglish (think Spanglish). Questions such as how long have you lived here, where do you teach (because almost every foreigner is an English teacher) and how do you like living in Korea? This last is a favorite to ask of any Korean especially once they discover we are American. The Korean people (in our experience) love America and want to visit if they haven't. They don't really know Disney World (shocker?) but they do know California and New York. They seem pleasantly surprised when we tell them we love Korea-- as if we could never enjoy or like Korea because we are American.
The woman officer proceeded to make copies of our copies and by the time she was through we each had about 15 copies of our fingerprint forms when we actually came with everything we needed. We just needed them to take our fingerprints. Ha ha ha. Nothing is a simple as it should be in Korea. Maybe that is because we don't speak fluent Korean?
When we were finally able to communicate we simply needed our fingerprints taken we were handed an ink pad and we had to take them ourselves. Let's hope the FBI can't distinguish between who took the prints and let's hope they are acceptable. Hopefully between the three sets of prints they can put together what they need and we won't have to do it all over again.
AGH! Upon further reflection of our paperwork we need to go back and have them sign and fill out some information. Luckily for us we will be remembered. *fingers crossed* we won't have to do it all over again! We might actually need those additional copies after all.
What they don't usually tell you when you reside in a different country you should begin this process at least 6 months before the end of your Visa to give yourself time to get everything you need together. From Korea (as well as America), it generally takes about 3 months just to have your background check completed and returned to you. Let's hope they are a mite quicker.
Awesome.
Today Joseph and I headed to our local police station to have our fingerprints taken. The post office, fire station and police station are located right next to each other with the police station being in the middle. It is safe to say that our being foreigners entering this police station did not go unnoticed. We doubt they have ever had a foreign person in their station before. Yes, this is usually the case.
Our police station was pleasant enough and about the size of the Dundee Post Office. In other words, picture a very small, clean but grungy room with a clear barrier between employees and others. We were immediately well received and had a lovely conversation with the man and woman who were there at the time.
Granted the entire conversation was in Konglish (think Spanglish). Questions such as how long have you lived here, where do you teach (because almost every foreigner is an English teacher) and how do you like living in Korea? This last is a favorite to ask of any Korean especially once they discover we are American. The Korean people (in our experience) love America and want to visit if they haven't. They don't really know Disney World (shocker?) but they do know California and New York. They seem pleasantly surprised when we tell them we love Korea-- as if we could never enjoy or like Korea because we are American.
The woman officer proceeded to make copies of our copies and by the time she was through we each had about 15 copies of our fingerprint forms when we actually came with everything we needed. We just needed them to take our fingerprints. Ha ha ha. Nothing is a simple as it should be in Korea. Maybe that is because we don't speak fluent Korean?
When we were finally able to communicate we simply needed our fingerprints taken we were handed an ink pad and we had to take them ourselves. Let's hope the FBI can't distinguish between who took the prints and let's hope they are acceptable. Hopefully between the three sets of prints they can put together what they need and we won't have to do it all over again.
 |
| Not too badly, is it? |
Sunday, February 5, 2012
6 Months in the South
Hello. We have been present and accounted for in South Korea for the past six months. We have had a blast and we have also met some amazing people. We are also missing our family and friends. Brothers, sisters, babies, Mom and Dad, cousins, Aunt's and Uncle's, and last but not least, grandmothers.
However through all of this we have come up with a list of information of things one should know for a visit or a longer stay in this lovely place.
1. forks are easier to come by than originally thought
2. Korean food is still delicious
3. "We are really in Korea" moments still happen
4. Have only cooked in our penthouse apartment maybe 5 or 6 times
5. Korean fashion is awesome
6. Going to dinner every night with friends is still fun
7. The bathroom is not bad but I won't use a squatter unless I have no choice
8. We like not having a car. Public transportation should be wider accepted and used in America
9. Korean debit cards sometimes don't work after midnight. Foreign ones do.
10. Cash is your best friend.
11. Always carry wet wipes and tissues
12. Bring personal items from home...
13. Getting stared at here is normal. Especially if you have blond hair and blue eyes
14. Chewing with your mouth open is completely normal (and still gross)
15. So is slurping noodles and soup
16. It is normal to hear F15 flying overhead every day. Nothing is going to happen
17. Always carry an umbrella. Period.
18. If you are trying to make a deal with a Korean, using the word "okay" binds the contract. Do not use "okay" unless you are prepared to do what you are talking about.
19. You will always get gimchi and/or yellow radish as a side dish. All of the gimchi tastes different at each location so if you have a yucky experience they are not all created equally. Try another piece somewhere else. The yellow radish is delicious and we have been told many, many times, "it aids in your digestion."
This is just a snapshot of our culture experiences in this first 6 months of living in South Korea.
We have had a million of them but these were just a few that stood out the most.
However through all of this we have come up with a list of information of things one should know for a visit or a longer stay in this lovely place.
1. forks are easier to come by than originally thought
2. Korean food is still delicious
3. "We are really in Korea" moments still happen
4. Have only cooked in our penthouse apartment maybe 5 or 6 times
5. Korean fashion is awesome
6. Going to dinner every night with friends is still fun
7. The bathroom is not bad but I won't use a squatter unless I have no choice
8. We like not having a car. Public transportation should be wider accepted and used in America
9. Korean debit cards sometimes don't work after midnight. Foreign ones do.
10. Cash is your best friend.
11. Always carry wet wipes and tissues
12. Bring personal items from home...
13. Getting stared at here is normal. Especially if you have blond hair and blue eyes
14. Chewing with your mouth open is completely normal (and still gross)
15. So is slurping noodles and soup
16. It is normal to hear F15 flying overhead every day. Nothing is going to happen
17. Always carry an umbrella. Period.
18. If you are trying to make a deal with a Korean, using the word "okay" binds the contract. Do not use "okay" unless you are prepared to do what you are talking about.
19. You will always get gimchi and/or yellow radish as a side dish. All of the gimchi tastes different at each location so if you have a yucky experience they are not all created equally. Try another piece somewhere else. The yellow radish is delicious and we have been told many, many times, "it aids in your digestion."
This is just a snapshot of our culture experiences in this first 6 months of living in South Korea.
We have had a million of them but these were just a few that stood out the most.
The Cupcake Experiment [Jan. 13-15, 2012]
Other than Joseph's birthday extravaganza, this weekend was the best we have had since living in Korea.
Friday Night:
A group of us went to see the movie: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Joseph declined seeing this movie, so it was myself, Amy, Lee Ann, Giselle, Danny and Jeff. Lee Ann was the only one of us who had read the book and also saw the Swedish version of the movie. If you haven't seen it, you should. It isn't a feel good movie, and something funny about it is the Korean translation: The Girl Who Hates Men. That will give you an idea about the movie. Despite that, it's a pretty intense movie yet all of us would recommend it.
After the movie was over the girls had a sleep over at Amy's. All of us girls are 30 or 31 so our version of a sleepover was a bit different than 20 years ago. By the time the movie was over it was already 2:30am so we got a snack from around the corner and took it back to Amy's, ate, talked and went to sleep. That was the extent of our sleepover. Nothing cool like pillow fights in our undies, putting make up on ourselves and dressing up, crank calling the boys or anything else that would be as much fun. Alas...
Saturday
The next morning we woke up around 9am (see? not a normal sleepover since we went to bed at about 6am) and in between sleeping, talking, eating real bagels and watching TV until we finally got ourselves together and out of the apartment by 1pm.
The Cupcake Experiment. This experiment began when Amy and I were walking around one day just chatting about wanting to take a cooking class. We didn't care what kind, we just wanted to take one while we are here. Enter The Flying Pan. This restaurant has 3 levels and on the top level is a Cooking School. You can take Korean cooking classes and learn how to make traditional dishes (coming soon) or make Cupcakes. Yes please!
We signed up for this and invited Lee Ann, Joseph and Lily!
We had a blast as the pictures clearly show. The cupcakes were already made and our job was to simply decorate them but we didn't care. It was a great time.
After cupcakes we went back to Amy's and put our cupcakes in the fridge then went to eat around the corner at a Chinese Restaurant (not like home and delicious). Lee Ann's foot had been hurting for a few days so she decided she wanted her foot to be checked out because we were going to the DMZ the next day. The 3 of us trekked to the nearest hospital to get her checked out. It was laughter from the word go. The taxi driver woman didn't want to drive us 5 blocks so cussed us out all the way there in Korean and broken English and it didn't help when we laughed. We arrive at the hospital and the entire hospital world is different than in the USA. You are seen very quickly, and taken care of very quickly. Everyone is treated in a general room/area and beds have the curtains for privacy. Traumas and other emergency patients have actual hospital rooms but the ER is a wonderful experience compared to home. Take notes America. Our laughing fits continued not only because of how Lee Ann was being treated but somehow we found something to laugh at. We were not laughing at the patients, that's terrible; but we were laughing at how the meds were delivered to the ER (think the drive through bank tubes!!) and at the other equipment being being used on various patients. We all have great imaginations and between the 3 of us couldn't even come close to guessing what they were for.
Sunday:
DMZ
This was simply an amazing trip. It was not scary and we had a wonderful time with Lee Ann and Josh. Our day began at 4am and after coffee, Joseph and I met Josh downstairs (who hadn't been to sleep yet) and went to the train station to meet Lee Ann. Took the slow train north to Seoul and got a bite to eat and were on the bus to the DMZ (3rd Tunnel) by 9:30am. To learn more about our trip please copy and paste the small print at the end of this blog into your Word program as I made it small print to save some space. I would like to mainly show pictures on the blog about the DMZ.
Friday Night:
A group of us went to see the movie: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Joseph declined seeing this movie, so it was myself, Amy, Lee Ann, Giselle, Danny and Jeff. Lee Ann was the only one of us who had read the book and also saw the Swedish version of the movie. If you haven't seen it, you should. It isn't a feel good movie, and something funny about it is the Korean translation: The Girl Who Hates Men. That will give you an idea about the movie. Despite that, it's a pretty intense movie yet all of us would recommend it.
After the movie was over the girls had a sleep over at Amy's. All of us girls are 30 or 31 so our version of a sleepover was a bit different than 20 years ago. By the time the movie was over it was already 2:30am so we got a snack from around the corner and took it back to Amy's, ate, talked and went to sleep. That was the extent of our sleepover. Nothing cool like pillow fights in our undies, putting make up on ourselves and dressing up, crank calling the boys or anything else that would be as much fun. Alas...
Saturday
The next morning we woke up around 9am (see? not a normal sleepover since we went to bed at about 6am) and in between sleeping, talking, eating real bagels and watching TV until we finally got ourselves together and out of the apartment by 1pm.
The Cupcake Experiment. This experiment began when Amy and I were walking around one day just chatting about wanting to take a cooking class. We didn't care what kind, we just wanted to take one while we are here. Enter The Flying Pan. This restaurant has 3 levels and on the top level is a Cooking School. You can take Korean cooking classes and learn how to make traditional dishes (coming soon) or make Cupcakes. Yes please!
We signed up for this and invited Lee Ann, Joseph and Lily!
We had a blast as the pictures clearly show. The cupcakes were already made and our job was to simply decorate them but we didn't care. It was a great time.
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| Lily, Amy, Joseph and Lee Ann |
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| Serious Students |
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| Real icing! |
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| I did it! |
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| Dedicated... |
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| Voila! |
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| Rock those cupcakes! |
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| Pretty in Pink (and Blue) |
After cupcakes we went back to Amy's and put our cupcakes in the fridge then went to eat around the corner at a Chinese Restaurant (not like home and delicious). Lee Ann's foot had been hurting for a few days so she decided she wanted her foot to be checked out because we were going to the DMZ the next day. The 3 of us trekked to the nearest hospital to get her checked out. It was laughter from the word go. The taxi driver woman didn't want to drive us 5 blocks so cussed us out all the way there in Korean and broken English and it didn't help when we laughed. We arrive at the hospital and the entire hospital world is different than in the USA. You are seen very quickly, and taken care of very quickly. Everyone is treated in a general room/area and beds have the curtains for privacy. Traumas and other emergency patients have actual hospital rooms but the ER is a wonderful experience compared to home. Take notes America. Our laughing fits continued not only because of how Lee Ann was being treated but somehow we found something to laugh at. We were not laughing at the patients, that's terrible; but we were laughing at how the meds were delivered to the ER (think the drive through bank tubes!!) and at the other equipment being being used on various patients. We all have great imaginations and between the 3 of us couldn't even come close to guessing what they were for.
Sunday:
DMZ
This was simply an amazing trip. It was not scary and we had a wonderful time with Lee Ann and Josh. Our day began at 4am and after coffee, Joseph and I met Josh downstairs (who hadn't been to sleep yet) and went to the train station to meet Lee Ann. Took the slow train north to Seoul and got a bite to eat and were on the bus to the DMZ (3rd Tunnel) by 9:30am. To learn more about our trip please copy and paste the small print at the end of this blog into your Word program as I made it small print to save some space. I would like to mainly show pictures on the blog about the DMZ.
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| 3rd Tunnel Location |
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| Lee Ann and Elizabeth Freedom Bridge behind us |
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| Slow train to Seoul Joseph and Josh |
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| Seoul subway Joseph, Josh and Lee Ann |
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| Bus in Seoul to the DMZ |
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| Imjingak North Korean Money |
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| Imjingak Souvenirs |
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| Freedom Bridge (kinda) |
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| Freedom Bridge (kinda) |
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| Freedom Bridge |
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| Elizabeth, are you sure this is okay?? |
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| See? It's the Freedom Bridge |
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| Hello North Korea! |
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| Opps? |
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| Our tour group All of the food we ate was made in the village here |
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| Pretty river we crossed to get to the 3rd tunnel |
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| This is where our food came from in the restaurant |
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| Joseph, which one are you hiding in? |
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| 3rd tunnel museum |
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| Anti climatic 3rd Tunnel entrance |
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| Photo bombed Lee Ann's photo She had no idea what we were doing and each of us didn't know the other was doing it either. |
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| See the guard towers? Soldiers and hard core gunnery present |
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| Where you can view and take pictures of North Korea but do NOT cross the Yellow Line! |
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| North Korea is behind him |
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| There was actually a train coming... We were getting yelled at to move |
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| Train taking workers back home |
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| Customs area ready to go! |
| ImjinGak Imjingak is as far as civilians can go to the North by themselves without permission Imjingak was built to console those who had to leave their homes in the North. It has Manngbaedan, an altar where those who cannot go back to their homes get together and pray for their ancestors on the New years day or Chusok Korean Thanksgiving day. Peace Bell was put with starting New Millenium 2000 for wishing a peace and unification between two Koreas. In addition, you can walk on the Freedom Bridge, the discontinued Kyongui Line, where the sign says, “The train wants to run". The Freedom Bridge also used to exchanging the prisoners after Korean War, so its been called "Freedom Bridge" The suspended Kyongui Line will be reconnected within 2001. The 3rd tunnel The 3rd tunnel was first discovered in 1978, was dug by North Korea to infiltrate into the south It is 2m in width, 2m in height, 1,635m in length, and 435m from MDL. Visitors descend about 300 meters at a 14∼15 degree angle before reaching the North Korean infiltration tunnel, which is 73 meters below the surface. Its almost like 25∼30 stories building. The floor of the tunnel (interception & infiltration tunnel) is covered with rubber mats and the wall with charcoal which was applied to give some possibility to the North Korean claim that the tunnel was part of an abandoned mine. This tunnel would allow about 10,000 armed or 30,000 unarmed soldiers to invade Seoul within one hour. Dora observatory This allows visitors to get a view both of the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) and of the Kesung city the second largest city of North Korea. You can also see a "Propaganda village" Kijongdong designed to give visitors the impression the North Korea is a prosperous nation. Visitors can see the Daesungdong, freedom village of South Korea. The village has got some benefit from the government such as free of tax, exemption of Military service. Also visible from the observatory is a head of train, which used to run between the North and South Korea. The National Ministry of Defense built it in 1986. Tongilchon (unification village) There are two villages inside DMZ. The first one is Daesongdong just near the Panmunjom and the other one is Tongilchon. You can notice the life of the people who live near the border. The thieves cannot sneak into the village. Therefore each house doesnt have any gates and addresses. The village is famous for rice, soybean, Jinseng especially the rice and Jinseng are popular among the people. The villages been holding "Soybean festival", every November (since 1987). If you want to take part in it, come to Imjink with your passport or ID card issued by south korean government | |||||
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