Chuseok 2013!

Chuseok, Korean thanksgiving, seems like a long time ago now. While it was less than a month ago, the warm weather and possibility of going swimming seem like a far away dream. Yesterday marked the first day that we really needed to wear a sweater or coat and today marks the first day that my hands got a little purple and cold while lesson planning. So it seems like a great time to reminisce and to keep my fingers moving by typing.

We went to Tongyong, a small port city on the south, east coast of Korea. Our friend went there and loved it, it was cheap to get to, Derek wanted to see it for historical reasons and our friends Alyssa and Jeff wanted to go to. Decision made! We got on a bus and went early and spent 3 days 2 nights there. 

First we saw the street art on a hill that it's famous for. The owners of (previous) shanties painted their walls to prevent the city from bulldozing their homes and it worked! 

Translation: I love so-mech (A mixture of beer and Korean liquor soju)

 Derek and me!

 This reminded me of the 90's and my sister, I think she had a shirt or shorts like this.

 his hero

Here are some views from the top:

 Next we went to the sculpture park. Pretty much everything was about time and space, but there was one cool interactive sculpture.

I don't know why, but I like the picture yelling at Derek for something or other.

Then onto the first underground car tunnel in Asia, not used for cars anymore. It was built because cultually you aren't supposed to build over the dead. Many people died during wars in the port/ocean so out of repect they built it underground instead. We also had a tour guide we met along the way, Jack. Jack should probably be paid by Tongyong's tourism department because we ran into him 3 times, he is super nice and I've heard from other foreigners that he has helped them too. 

 The next day we went to Bijindo. An island off the coast that has a decent beach and some treacherous hiking. First we woke up before the butt-crack of dawn and hopped on a ferry.

Then we spent some time hiking with creatures that probably could kill us. I may be exaggerating but even though the others didn't show they were worried, you could tell everyone was because we all took baby steps after realizing we were surrounded by giant black and yellow spiders, crabs, centipedes with strange coloring and other unknown.

I don't really have good pictures of the creatures, I thought it better to keep moving rather than notice even more creatures. 

 The lost boys

Then it was time for the beach! My kind of time :) (Except there were these clear water bugs that started biting me in the water)

I'm Ariel!

 Alyssa is a better Ariel!

Derek's a ...monkey?

The final day we started of with a bike ride for two. I have been nagging Derek to tandem with me and he finally did! He even had fun and I think can be convinced  that it's a good idea to own one.

proof

And lastly, if you made it this far... the turtle boat. I don't have many pictures and if you want the history I encourage you to go to Derek's blog here. 

Happy Valentine's Day

I still have 2 more cities from Japan to post but I thought I would interrupt with what I ate yesterday. So yesterday I went to Homeplus, the equivalent to a Target or Walmart here, and bought some comfort food. American goods are hard to come by but Homeplus does a somewhat decent job of acquiring Western food. I was so excited for what I bought, I ate a bit of everything!

Valentines Dinner Menu

Appetizer 

Dill Pickles

Plain Yogurt

Main Course

Chips and Salsa

Rice Crackers

Petite Bowl of Cereal 

Broccoli

Dessert

Kit Kat

Dark Chocolate

A very healthy meal indeed.

Pepero Day!

Today is Pepero Day! Pepero Day is kind of like the equivalent of Valentines Day in the US, at least in terms of the fact that it's a made up holiday. On 11.11 people in Korea buy Peperos for their loved ones and friends. Why? Because 4 Peperos look like the date 11.11, of course.  Lotte makes Peperos and is one of the largest companies in Korea. Lotte makes food, have grocery stores, cinemas, shopping malls etc. Peperos do 55% of their business in November every year. Oh, and did I mention they're delicious? Well, they are.

Pennsylvania Quilt

I forgot to post the most important moment of Pennsylvania, buying my new holiday quilt. I'm in love!

U.S.A!