Road Trip

As I bought I scooter recently David, myself, Chelsey and Ramiro decided to go on a bike ride around Changnyeong. It was a lot of fun! We went quite a distance. We started to head to Miryang (the next town over) but had to stop at a cafe up in the mountains because my little 50cc scooter needed a rest!

My little 50cc, David's 750cc and Ramiro's Motorbike!

The really deal!

Chuseok- Korean Thanksgiving

I had a week off in September. This was a nice break. I decided to spend my time relaxing and exploring Korea. When ever we have time off  from Changnyeong English Camp our boss likes us to write a report on what we have done with our time. Our reports are sent to the local county office. I am not sure if anybody reads them but I guess it is good that we have to write them because I can post them on here!

Chusok Thanksgiving Holiday

Rebecca Rhone

15th September – 19th September

Chusok, also known as the Korean Thanksgiving, is held on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month. Chusok means a great day in the middle of August. It occurs during the harvest season. Thus, Korean families take this time to thank their ancestors for providing them with rice and fruits.
The celebration starts on the night before Chusok and ends on the day after the holiday. Thus, many Korean families take three days off from work to get together with family and friends.
The celebration starts with a family get-together at which rice cakes called "Songphyun" are served. These special rice cakes are made of rice, beans, sesame seeds, and chestnuts.Then the family pays respect to ancestors by visiting their tombs and offering them rice and fruits. In the evening, children wear their favorite hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) and dance under the bright moon in a large circle. They play games and sing songs. Like the American Thanksgiving, Chusok is the time to celebrate the family and give thanks for their blessings.

Diary Entry

Monday15th September
Today I spent the day in Daegu with my friend David. We decided to take a trip to down-town on David’s scooter. I was extremely surprised when I saw that down town was tremendously busy. Most of the shops and restaurants were open for the holidays. We ate lunch at a traditional Korean restaurant. After lunch I thought it would be exciting if we spent the day at Woobang Land. I love amusement parks and I have always really enjoyed frightening rides. In the late afternoon I and David took the Sky lift to Woobang Tower. This was really nice as the journey to the Tower was incredible enjoyable because we were able to see a great view of the city. We had some drinks in the Tower’s main restaurant and decided that we would come back to Woobang Tower the next day to eat at the restaurant as we thought it would be pleasant thing to do.


Tuesday 16th September
I slept in till early afternoon today, which was lazy of me but I guess that’s what holidays are for! David and I went on a little explore around Daegu on Davids scooter. It was nice to get out of the city and see more of Daegu’s countryside. It was very pretty and the weather was lovely. After our exploring we decided to go back to Woobang Tower. The restaurant was closed but there was still plenty to see and do. I noticed that the Sky Jump was open and I became intrigued. The Sky Jump is a certified height of 123meters approximately 10 seconds fall. It has been described as “base jumping by wire.” I was incredibly nervous and extremely excited at the same time. Would I been able to go through with the jump? I decided to go up to the platform where other people were taking the jump. They looked exceptionally frightened but they also looked like they were enjoying themselves. I decided to pay for my jump. It was forty thousand won. Shortly after I paid I was given a jump suit and harness to wear. There was no turning back now. As I walked to the edge of the platform I suddenly was overcome by fear, no excitement just pure fear! I was absolutely terrified. Before I knew it I was falling 123 meters. The adrenalin kicked in and I was having a fantastic experience. As I reached the floor I couldn't believe what I had just done. It was out of this world and I can’t wait to do it again soon!

Wednesday 17th September
This morning I woke up at 10am. David had to go to work today so I decided to go shopping in Daegu and then travel back to Changnyeong. I spent the day wondering around the shops buying some essentials for myself and gifts for my   family.


Thursday 18th September
Today I woke up at 9.30. Chelsey and I decided to go to Busan. Cheslsey had not been to any beaches in Korea yet. I thought Haeundae beach would be the perfect beach to visit first as it is gorgeous. We arrived in Busan around mid-day. We headed straight to the Haeundae where we spent the majority of the day. We went swimming in the sea and built a couple of sand castles. When we realized we had gotten a little sun burnt we decided it would be best to have some dinner in the shade and then make our way back to Changnyeong.

Friday 19th September
Today all the staff at English Camp decided to go for a meal together in Changnyeong. The meal was delicious and we all had a great. Over lunch we all decided that were interested in buying scooters. I have wanted to buy a scooter for a while but have never seemed too got around to purchasing one. We decided that we all would shop for scooters together in Daegu on Saturday. After the meal I decided to spend the rest of Friday in Daegu. When I arrived in Daegu I met up with David and we decided to look at scooters. We went to a couple of scooter shops and had no luck. We decided to call it a day and to continue to look the next day with the other staff from English Camp. I was very excited with the prospect of purchasing a scooter of my own.

Overall I had a fantastic week and I am very grateful for the extra vacation. I was able to go and sight see and do activities that I have been meaning to accomplish for a while. I also feel that this extra free time allowed all the staff at English Camp to become more comfortable and relaxed with one another. As well this vacation allowed me to recharge my energy batteries which were inevitably needed! Thank you once again.  

Daegu

Seoul

August, Seven months...

Hummm….. What have I been up to?  I have been to Boryeong Mud Festival on Daecheon Beach it was really 'fantastic' I had the best time.

I am now a brown belt is Taekwondo so only 2 more belts till I am a black belt! I feel that our Taekwondo instructor is pushing us onto new belts because he is afraid we will become bored and quit, as a lot of the other foreign teachers have!

Laura , Lenny and  Rooks are leaving on Friday. Boooooo... It has been fun working with English people. The next group of teachers will be from America. Maybe my boss thinks the English drink to much? I am not sure but I am VERY excited to meet the new staff. It will be fun showing them around Changnyeong and the surrounding cities etc.

I realized the other day that I have been here for seven months, already! It was gone soooooooooo fast and I am sad because I am over the half way mark. I don’t want this experience to end! I will have to figure out what I want to do when my contract is up. I may consider working in Korea an additional year.

Weekend in Busan

THAILAND!!!

*I didn't keep a diary when I was in Thailand so I will just have do my best and try and remember….

I arrived in Thailand safe and sound. My flight went by really fast. I arrived on Ko Samui Island on Saturday morning. My hotel was really nice. I spent my first day on Chawng beach. In the evening I got a boat to Ko Pan Ngan for the full moon party. I met some people from my hotel who where going to the party. We all got a mini bus to the port together.  The party itself was really good. I met some more people that evening. They were from Canada. They are teaching in Thailand. They were interested to know about teaching in Korea but I think they have a better deal! Later that evening, well early hour of the morning, I went back to Ko Samui. I spent the next couple of days here before moving back to Koh Pan Nyang. When on Ko Samui I also went jet skiing canoeing in the sea. 

My next destination was Koh Pan Nyang Island. Here I went on an over night trip. It was really good but there were a lot of bugs! I really liked the elephant trekking. I met a girl  from Denmark. She was travelling on her own too. We decided to move to our next destination together. This was nice as the journey was pretty long so it was good to do it with somebody else. 

On the 27th July I travelled down to Phuket on the night boat and bus. Overall the journey took 15 hours but it was fine because we travelled through the night so it went really fast! When In Phuket I said goodbye to the girl from Denmark as we wanted to explore different areas. That night I stayed at a REALLY fancy hotel and there was a bath next to my bed...very cool! I stayed there for 2 nights. I met a couple from London. They were travelling around Thailand for 3 weeks. It was nice to exchange stories.

My next location was Phi Phi island. I was having loads of fun BUT THEN I got bitten by a monkey!!!!! YES THAT IS RIGHT, A beach monkey. I had to go to the hospital and had a rabies jab. I have to have one every 3 days for a week! I got bitten on my leg and butt!

My next and final destination was Bangkok. I decided to get a plane rather than the night train, just to save time. It was a little more money but I think it was worth it to get an extra day in Bangkok. In Bangkok I went on a lot of day trips and I met a lot of people. I went to Tiger temple and got my picture taken with a cute tiger cub. It was good but it was also raining so it was a bit disappointing. I also went to the floating market, which I loved!

I loved every minute of my solo adventure. It was a little strange being by my self.  Although, I did always find people to talk too, it was sometimes hard work.

Hmmmm where to next....?

Summer Time...BBQ

Teaching

June (4 months already)

I think you are due an update! Lets see… well all in all I am really happy here at the moment. I am working in English Camp again. I did get moved back to Cyber Camp as a few teachers left abruptly so the staff got moved around again. All is okay now as I got moved back last week. YIPPEEEEEE

I have booked my flights to go to Thailand in July for 2 weeks. I can't wait! I am going by myself which is very daunting but I can't let that stop me from exploring. I did come to Korea by myself after all!

All of the teachers went to Seoul a few weeks ago for Laura's birthday. It was great as it was my first time visiting Seoul.

I am going to Boryeong Mud festival in 2 weeks, it is on Daecheon Beach and by the sounds of it you just drink all day and cover your self in MUD! 

I went to visit Dave Moxon in Daegu at the weekend. (He is a friend I know from University. He started working in Daegu in May.) It was great. I definitely have an advantage knowing somebody close by, as he has introduced me to a lot more people and invited me to some fun days out! (I am helping him out as well!)

I am now a blue belt in Teakwondo (Belt 4) The next belt is brown then red then BLACK!!! We have started to fight in our lessons now. I have been paired up with my boss Suzie, as we are the same height. This is a bit strange….fighting my boss! She really goes for it and kicks REALLY hard. I always let her win though!