Well, this weekend is definitely one to put down in the books. First and foremost, I would like to iterate how good it feels to walk out of ECC every Friday night at 10:00 pm. That same feeling is probably what gets me through the work week-- the feeling of freedom, student-less, and the absence of "Teacher, Teacher! My homework is finisheeeee!" (I love my kids, but man, sometimes I just need a break). Friday night was just as laid back as I had assumed it would be. I invited ECC teachers over from work to have a few mekjews (beer) and play "Apples to Apples." We ended up having quite a large group for the adjective-noun card game. I know what you're thinking: "English teachers playing an English grammar game on the weekend? How cliche." You're right; it is cliche, but we totally dominate. Anyways, Caroline, Whitney, Jake, Devon, Steve, Miranda, Ian, Katelyn, Jay, Erica, and Monica all ended up coming over. We had a really good time. I'd have to say the highlight of my night was Monica ordering me delicious chicken and the food came in a pretty large Super Junior bag which I kept.
Whitney and Caroline-- and yes, that is Whitney's normal face.
Miranda, Steve, and Ian playing "Apples to Apples."
The next day, I got up and practiced some of my Korean. I'm really seeing some improvement on my reading skills. I can pretty much walk down streets and sound out the name of the stores, etc., but still, because of my minimal vocabulary, I don't know what the hell it means. Nonetheless, I don't care and I'm really happy with my progress. I'm getting through all of the writing tonight and then hopefully beginning Unit 1 which is due this Thursday for mine and Monica's second meeting. When they say that the Korean language, Hangeul, is considered the most scientific language, I believe it. It is easier to read but definitely more difficult to speak-- but that's coming from an English-speaker's opinion. Anyways, there is improvement in my Korean skills and I'm having a great time with it!
I met my fellow ECC teachers and Young-tae (who finally escaped Haenam) in front of ECC and from there, went to the bus terminal and made our way to Boseong where we would see the one and only "'green tea farm' and theme park." It was a very cheap trip, only costing about $30 the entire day, which included the bus ride there and back, admissions, and food. I went with Caroline, Whitney, Prairie, Monica, Carol (another Korean teacher at ECC), Steve, Miranda, and Young-tae.
Some interesting notes about the Green Tea Field in South Korea are as follows: green tea was originally cultivated in the Silla Dynasty in Korea, but were later ravaged in the Korean War. Currently, 5.8 million plants are being grown in the field which I saw, in an area that covers 1.7 million meters squared. They harvest five different kinds of green tea, all of which are used for green tea facials, soaps, shampoo, candies, and crackers. I bought some of the green tea crackers in the gift shop and they are quite the tasty treat! :)
The location of the Green Tea Field-- it's over an hour south of Gwangju.
I was highly impressed with the fields. I've never seen anything so GREEN in my life (as retarded as that sounds). The green tea spanned for what seemed like miles, and for a person who doesn't even drink tea, you'd think the fields would have repulsed me ;) But they, in fact, did the quite opposite.
The rows of green tea.
I think what impressed me the most, though, was how the land was cultivated. The rows were not just in a straight line like corn fields I've seen in Kentucky-- they were in rows up a very steep mountain. Maybe it's not that impressive considering I'm not a farmer or a cultivator or anything, but I thought it was extremely beautiful.
The rows of green tea went up the mountainside.
Thank God I wore appropriate "shoes" because I was definitely not expecting the exercise we had to endure! We hiked up one side of the mountain which was a pretty steep trail. While flip flops were not the best decision on my part, Monica wore what seemed to be 3" heels. She, however, managed to maneuver up the path better than anyone. But that's to be expected-- after all, she is a Korean woman.
The path up the mountain.
At the top of the mountain, we discovered not only the drive to take endless amounts of pictures of repetitive poses in what seemed like our own rendition of ECC's Kindergarden field trips, but also the true beauty of what South Korea has to offer. I can tell you right now is that one thing I have learned in my four months (my anniversary was yesterday) of living in South Korea is that A) it doesn't get enough credit as a country and B) Southeast Asia doesn't get enough credit for a continental region. Yeah, everyone's dream travel is Europe, but honestly, once you get a taste of Asia, it's really hard to get it out of your mouth-- kind of like kimchi and/or Soju :)
It's hard to see, but those are islands in the neighboring ocean.
The Boseong Green Tea Garden's were beautiful and I'd recommend it to anyone that ever travels South Korea. As I may have stated subtly before, this is Korea's only green tea garden which is quite impressive since green tea is a prominent consumer product in Korea, whether it be for beverages, personal hygiene, or snacks.
We ended having to wait for 45 minutes for the bus to take us back to the bus terminal in Boseong where we could catch the bus back to Gwangju. After stopping for snacks and realizing that the dimly-lit streets were perfect for a horror movie titled "The Bus Stop," we began to plan our own horror movie. We speculated who would die in what order, how they would die, and who would end up making back to Gwangju alive. While this may be a story you'd have to be there in order to find humorous, it was a funny moment of the day which finally ended with a safe trip back to Boseong.
Caroline, Carol, Monica, and Whitney waiting at the bus stop.
We made it back to Boseong safely but with only five minutes to spare before the bus left for Gwangju. My ingenious idea to sit in the very back of the bus with Young-tae, Whitney, and Caroline began very sleepily only to be turned into a Taylor Swift and Super Junior karaoke party via Young-tae, Whitney and myself. When we got back to Gwangju, we went and ate some delicious galbi near my apartment. Naturally, I over ate and regretted it afterwards.
Dinner with the Green Tea Gang.
We all went our own separate ways except Young-tae, Monica, Prairie, and I. We ended up going to HB, a bar near in my dong (Korean word for province). Ian went with us, too. After a few mekjews, Monica, Young-tae, and I hit up the noraebang where we did an hour of karaoke and then called it a night.
Young-tae and I karaoking.
I have nothing bad to say about this weekend. I got to hang out with people that I normally don't get the chance to, and I hung out with people that I could spend hours on end and never get bored. I am glad I got out of Gwangju for a few hours. Now, I am looking forward to China in less than two weeks, Busan in less than four, and my backpacking trip in the middle of November with Whitney and possibly Jake and Devon. I am wanting to go to Songnisan where there is a giant 90-foot Buddha statue and temple. No plans are definite, but you can never start planning too early! Overall, it was a great weekend and I know there are many more to come!
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