I'm going to have a visitor! :)

Tomorrow at this time, Martin will be here! :) He is going to be visiting for 2 weeks--we are going to take Korea by storm! We have lots of things planned, including a DMZ (de-militarized zone) tour (N. Korea/S. Korea border), a baseball game (I guess people go wild--I believe it to be possible), some hiking (not the Swiss Alps, I know, but I think he will still like it), travel within the country by bus and train, maybe an island tour (in the south), and a visit to all my favorite spots in Seoul! I will take lots of pictures and try to update when possible! I'm excited to have him here!

really random pictures...

This photo was taken near a temple...don't forget to take off your shoes before going in...


The Bachelor, Andy--I've never seen it, so I will probably catch a rerun here and there...might miss it too...actually, it isn't that interesting to me.


Friday night in the subway headed out to my friend Ryan's play. If we didn't know someone in the performance, I would've turned around way before this point! We moved at 2MPH and seriously not faster...oh the joys of living in a city of 11 million!


I wonder who can go in there?


These last two shots are at one of my favorite Saturday night hang outs--The Rainbow Room. It is a hookah place with random musical instruments laying around for people to play. Last Saturday night, my friend and I wandered into this place for a little while and happened upon an acoustic show! The guy in the picture played flamenco! It was so awesome!

As you walk into The Rainbow Room, you must remove your shoes, place them in a bag and find a comfy place on the floor near a wooden crate. You can order something to eat or drink, and of course, get some hookah... Fun times!

Sunday hike at Namhansanseong

I have a plane ticket!

I have a plane ticket home! I'm flying into the States on August 23rd! I am getting geared up! :) I mean, I am still going to be here for a couple more months--I'm just a little excited since I finally got the reservation!

Before moving to Korea, I had never...

-eaten rice and kimchi on a regular basis
-bowed to my boss
-owned suit jackets (plural)
-sung karaoke
-hung out naked at a public bathhouse
-cooked my own food at a restaurant
-paid $70 for a month's gym membership
-sat down at a dinner table with a roll of toilet paper at the other end
-not owned keys
-had students bow to me
-seen kimchi and sweet potato on pizza
-not tipped at restaurant
-used a subway to get to work
-been to an Asian country
-eaten stewed silkworm larvae (bondaegi)
-paid so much for fruit and veggies
-thought I would even remotely enjoy living in a city of 11mil (but I kinda like it)
-been nearly run over by a car on the sidewalk
-felt out of place on the beach in a bathing suit
-seen women hiking in stillettos
-been aggressively pushed by old people
-had fish eat the dead skin off my feet
-felt racially discriminated against (a good experience for me, believe it or not)

Mosaic

This idea came off of a friend's blog and it looked too fun to pass up. Does it reflect me? Cool, huh?

Wanna do this too? Here's what to do:

a. Type your answer to each of the questions below into Flickr Search.

b. Using only the first page, pick an image.

c. Copy and paste each of the URLs for the images into fd’s mosaic maker.

1. What is your first name? Bonnie
2. What is your favorite food? Mexican food
3. What high school did you go to? Little Falls
4. What is your favorite color? blue!
5. Who is your celebrity crush? Johnny Depp
6. Favorite drink? orange juice
7. Dream vacation? Argentina
8. Favorite dessert? ice cream
9. What you want to be when you grow up? an explorer
10. What do you love most in life? relaxing moments
11. One Word to describe you. wanderlust
12. Your flickr name. I don't have one.

Enjoy!

Special thanks to these Flickr folks for helping create my mosaic:

1. Bonnie&Clyde1, 2. the corner, 3. Call of the Raven (formerly Nature's Special Effects), 4. water droplets in the shower - o.k. bokeh, 5. Self Portrait, reflected. San Miguel de Allende, 6. Red Lemon, 7. Bar "El Chino", A Puro Tango..., 8. Winter had a bad hair day., 9. Intimacy, 10. Mallorca 2007 -- Waiting for summer to come, 11. wanderlust, 12. Ambiguous Heart

Bangbae screenprinted towels.

What kinds of gifts do you get from work? Anyone ever get a towel? How about three? These have been from different times of the year--the orange one is the newest. They commemorate different things, although, I'm not sure what. These school gifts are interesting--I've also gotten an umbrella, a set of his/hers socks, two fancy sets of chopsticks and spoons, and countless rice cakes!

There is a funny English conversation I want to share a portion of with you... I won't include the whole conversation as it includes a lot of guessing on my part! The word in question is this: geeno poBEEah. What does it mean, you ask? Here are some clues my non-English speaking art teacher friend gave me: "Korea, no, Japan, no," "don't like," "Europeans, yes." Any guesses? The answer: xenophobia! We had a conversation about xenophobia today. I didn't figure out exactly what we talked about--sometimes those conversations are like that, we just both nod our heads yes as we continue silently down the road to the subway! :) If you have spent any time in a foreign country, you know what I mean!

Busan!

Last Wednesday morning, I boarded a cross-country bus and rode 4 1/2 hours southeast of Seoul. I was headed for Busan--the second largest city in Korea. If I look sleepy in the picture above, it is because I spend most of the 4 1/2 hours with my eyes closed!

I booked a room in an apartment/hostel for $15 bucks a night, dropped off my backpack and headed out into the city. There were only three lines on the subway (as opposed to about 12 in Seoul), so it was no problem getting around! I walked the first day for a couple of hours and found my way down to the pier. By then, it started to get dark and I didn't have a very good impression of the city (I made a mental note to cancel the third night at the hostel and go home early). The next day was much better though!


I met a few cool people at the hostel, so a Canadian girl and I decided to hang out for the day--we started at the fish market, went to the PIFF (Pusan International Film Festival shopping area--Busan is spelled with a 'P' sometimes), got a sushi lunch and headed to the beach! It was a fun day and I was sad that I had forgotten my bathing suit! Later that night, we met up with an Australian guy from the hostel and got $4 Galbi (BBQ pork) for dinner!


This sculpture seems out of place. Is it just me? Does anyone else have the urge to draw squiggle flowers growing out of it?


The next day, I left the hostel a little earlier and headed to the beach with my book. I finished reading "Mutant Message Down Under"--it was really a great book! I recommend reading it! Anyway, I brought my bathing suit, but didn't have anything to sprawl out on--sometimes this is OK, but the sand was, like, a million degrees, so I dug through my backpack and found a garbage bag I put in there to use as a poncho if it ever started raining while I was hiking. I tore it open, spread it on the sand, and carefully placed my clothes over the top to create a nice "Left Behind" scene! I got in the water a few times, but had some trouble drying off with my black, plastic towel. Another mental note: ALWAYS bring a beach sarong! My summer tan is coming along nicely with the help of some 38SPF sunblock! Gotta take care of my skin before I turn into leather! :)

During one of the 15 minute rest stops, I decided to get a snack and found this treasure! :) Anyone want to try some of these onion cookies? I opted for some french fried, boiled potatoes with sweet ketchup instead, and sat out on one of the plastic picnic benches away from the crowd (I was the ONLY foreigner amidst the hundreds of Koreans). A bus driver came over and purposely sat next to me (normally, people tend to avoid me and stare from a distance). He handed me a Pocari Sweat (an awesome Japanese sports drink) and told me in Korean that the potatoes would make me choke if I didn't drink something. He proceeded to ask me questions about my comings and goings in Korean and I answered him in English. When he finished his drink, he promptly got up and said, "OK, bye." It was a nice exchange.

More hiking...OK, OK, I'm addicted!

I went up to Bukhansan again this weekend--I love this hike, but unfortunately, so do hundreds of Koreans. It was pretty busy up there--we had to wait in a line in order to climb the precarious last few meters up to the summit. It was a beautiful view, but I have vowed not to return on a weekend! No more mass hiking--not cool! One great thing, though, is that it was pretty clear out and I was able to see the whole city from above--it is rare to see that!

Mad Cows

I don't know if you have read the news lately, but South Korea is in an uproar about the import of U.S. beef. There have been many protests lately--tonight there was one where a million people were expected to show up and protest. The biggest one yet. I decided to stay inside! :) Actually, no worries--the protests are mostly non-violent and take place down town. I live about 40 minutes from downtown. From what I hear, people are protesting for three reasons: mad cow infected beef (which, there is none), the new president, Mr. Lee, and America (I guess there are some with anti-American sentiment, though, again, no danger for me--I live a little further away and fly below the radar!). In my opinion, the whole thing is silly. I won't bore you with the details of the meat problems, and won't further degrade my current host country, but you are welcome to read up online (www.cnn.com has some stories and videos).

Dobong-san hiking!

Today was exhausting! Kara and I went up to Bukhansan National Park this morning to conquer another of the mountains in the park! We were there last fall, when we first experienced Korean mountain climbing and were amazed at how difficult it was! Today was no different--it was still difficult, but I think we can both thankfully say that our bodies are much more acclimated to this mountainous country!


I read a couple of interesting things about Korea last week...here they are: Korea is about 70% mountains--the same % as Switzerland, and, this one I can personally validate, Koreans are the best dressed hikers in the world! No kidding--everyone is ready to go with hiking boots, sports pants and coolmax shirts, darth vader sun-visors or fishing hats, grip gloves and walking sticks, small mats to sit on while resting and large mats to sit on while eating, and the list goes on and on!


The view from the summit was beautiful! I love the feeling of getting to the top of the mountain and being rewarded with an amazing view! Korea is turning me into a hiker! Even though I grew up in the flat mid-west, I have decided I need mountains in my life! :) If I don't live by them, I want to take trips to them and hike/camp for vacations.


A part of hiking in Korea is the Buddhist temples and hermitages. Each hiking path passes by at least one of these temples--I love the paper lanterns, the peaceful chanting, and the colorful temple rooftops.


Finally, this is Kimbap, one of my favorite Korean foods. It looks like sushi, but doesn't usually have any fish inside. Instead, Kimbap is loaded with vegetables, ham, crab meat and egg. Today, we were invited to share a meal with a group of Korean hikers we met along the path. First, they offered us Makgeolli (pronounced like 'broccoli'), a traditional, milky-white Korean alcoholic beverage. Then came the Kimbap, cherry tomatoes, apple juice, sunflower seeds, Korean melon and coffee! These guys came prepared! It was so nice of them to share with us--especially since they didn't even speak English! In my experience, this is pretty typical--Koreans are very generous and hospitable in this kind of situation.

We started the day at 9AM and got home by 4. Total hiking time: 4 1/2 hours.

I still...

I happened upon a blog the other day and was inspired by one of the posts. The girl wrote about change and how even through all the years, she hasn't really changed. I decided to do a mini-version of her post. So, here it is--things that I did/said/believed when I was 10 and still do/say/believe now:

I still...
...avoid the cracks on the sidewalk (even though I know it has no relation to my mother's back)
...separate my candies according to color, carefully saving my favorite colors till the end.
...love to go to the beach every chance I get.
...stay awake longer than I need to in the summer, because I feel like I'm missing out on something.
...like to hear the metronone of ticking clocks because it reminds me of my Grandma (sitting at her house for hours while my parents worked in the shop--her clock was so loud, but I used to compose music in my head to match the ticking).
...look forward to 4th of July fireworks and think it is the highlight of the summer.
...am a little scared of thunderstorms.
...dislike the color yellow.
...think lilacs are the best smelling flower--ever.
...am mesmerized and calmed by large bodies of water (lakes, oceans...).
...dread washing dishes and usually put it off as long as possible.
...think that it is a treat to go out for dinner or stay in a hotel.
...have many of the same friends I have had since childhood.
...can eat a huge bowl of popcorn--huge.
...wish my hair was curly.
...am a little uncomfortable with being too sentimental, and therefore will stop now. :)

Weird English...

There is a phrase that I heard again yesterday, which reminded me how much I really hate it! I re-met a uni student who just returned from 8 months in Canada (it was strange because we met briefly in the first weeks I was here). The first thing he said was "long time, no see." What does that mean anyway? Why do people say that?? It sounds like cave-man speak, or at least like my students who can't speak English! My students simplify their sentences to two-word utterances like this: long time..... no see..... It's not that much more difficult to add a few words and say something more sophisticated, like, "It's nice to see you again," or, "Wow, it has been awhile since we last saw each other!"

Nam-san + Botanical Gardens

Yesterday, my friend and I went hiking in the middle of the city! We went to Nam-san ('san' is Korean for 'mountain'). We walked up the hill to Seoul Tower, where we could go up 360 meters to see a panoramic view of Seoul. The windows were labeled with cities from around the world, so we could imagine we were looking at New York, Bratislava, and Buenos Aires (although, through the yellow sand, not much was visible).


A view from the top--I didn't get the whole story on these locks, but I think it is similar to the tradition in China, where couples 'lock in' their love for each other.


I manipulated this picture a little--actually, both the one above and below this text. I have been playing around with iPhoto. I've been wishing that I had more software to play with. It is kind of fun to change colors, shading and contrast.


After visiting Seoul Tower and hiking around Nam-san, my friend and I walked down the hill on the opposite side to see the botanical gardens. It was a huge park with flowers, trees, birds (!), and a reflexology walking path, where we took off our shoes and socks and let the stones massage our sore feet!