July summarized :)

Wanted to do a quick update before I venture on my summer vacation to...THAILAND!! :) So excited!! Only today and three more work days until I am on a plane to China...with a layover for 8 hours lol, then finally to Bangkok! Sucks that I can't leave the airport in Shanghai (you have to have a China visa), which is why I'm bringing two books because I have a 10 hour layover on my return flight to Korea!

The past few weekends have flown by! The first weekend of July was what my last blog was about...hiking. The next one was spent in the rain on Jangsa beach. A few friends of mine and I decided to pay for this organized camping trip on a beach for the weekend. So that Friday night I had a sleepover with a couple of the girls in Daegu since that's where we were meeting to take the bus to the beach. Saturday morning we wake to pouring down rain! OF COURSE! But, despite the constant downpour of rain, we managed to make the best of the situation. We started partying on the bus on the way to the beach & continued the fun by dancing in the rain & sleeping in water filled tents. Lol, ok so that last part was a little bit of sarcasm, but we survived!

on the bus

 check out those rain clouds

 umbrella time on the beach

 love these crazy girls!

The next weekend I took it easy & chilled with some friends in their town. I need one of those kinds of weekends every once in awhile. It's really easy to get caught up in the non-stop party scene on the weekends here.

The weekend of the 23rd was my English camp for my middle schoolers. Since it was on a Saturday and Sunday I did get paid extra, so that was nice. BUT, I definitely earned every last "won"! No other teachers really consulted with me about what kind of activities to do with the kids. They gave me last years outline & said here...plan for 12 activities. So that's what I did & only two of five co-teachers talked with me about what I had planned. The result of this was that I was basically in charge of EVERYTHING! The budget they had wasn't that great so I ended up spending a bit of my own money, but that's the life of a dedicated teacher! :)

setting up for our "egg drop" project

 after our "egg drop"

 english camp is complete, yay!!

Overall, the camp was a great success. I had a few cheaters who spoiled a couple activities for the rest of the kids, but nothing too bad. Dare I say, I even enjoyed it! :) But, after two days of being a circus leader, Sunday had me exhausted!! And of course a few of the teachers wanted to go out for dinner and "a couple drinks." What time did I go to sleep that night? Sometime after midnight when I finally returned home from "a couple drinks" haha :)

Then there was another whole week of work to deal with after that tiresome weekend! Oh yea, I'm also crazy because I decided to take on an extra project for the summer. Since my summer schedule has me seeing each class about 3-4 times each for the 3 weeks of "summer term," I thought it would be a great idea to have them perform short skits from Aesop's fables!

Was it a good idea? Probably not the easiest, but most of the results I've received have made it worth it. Especially the groups who performed yesterday. They did awesome! Now today might be a different story because I have some lower level classes. Oh yea, did I mention I haven't had a co-teacher to translate for these 3 weeks?! Which is why I'm crazy for taking on this project. I've spent many hours preparing and organizing all of this with only the un-reliable "google translate" to assist me. Also, many students have been absent due to some other camps and academies that they had to attend, so I have taught my students the term "understudy." Except that the day of the performance I say "Candy for the first volunteer to play the part of the rabbit!" It works, lol :)

And finally to sum up my latest adventures, last weekend I decided to journey a few hours away (turned into almost 5 hours on the slow buses) to see a friend of mine. He lives in a small town, but it has a beach! I was so excited for sunshine on the beach & swimming. What do we awake to Saturday morning? Overcast & drizzling rain. I have NO LUCK when it comes to planning beach activities. If this is any hint of what Thailand will be like, I'm screwed! But, as usual, I still managed to have a good time. We still went swimming & even got to ride on this inflatable chair that was pulled by a boat. Pretty much like tubing on the lake, except this was a chair...in the ocean, haha! It could hold 2-3 people and you had straps that you had to hold on to for dear life as the boat driver tried his best to make us fly off into the water. So much fun!! :) But definitely made my arms sore!

On Sunday I met up with a couple friends in Daegu to shop for a few things for vacay. My backpack that I brought with me to Korea sucks & is already broken, so I definitely needed a new one! I found one that I loved, but it was $150. I settled for a diff one for $80. It should be perfect for packing for Thailand...I hope!

Back to talking about my vacation this Saturday...I'm sooo anxious! The best part is that one of my bests, Ms. Jenna Schramm, is meeting me there! Wish Leigha could come too, but I will see her soon enough hopefully! Jenna's getting there Thursday so she will already be there when I arrive. My plane lands in Bangkok at like 1AM, so it kinda sux, but oh well. As long as I make it there! So once we meet up we will explore Bangkok on Sunday & then take another flight on Monday to the lower part of Thailand called Krabi to check out the beaches.

I can't wait for our elephant trek, rock climbing course, & snorkeling! We 're also gonna camp on the famous Ko Phi Phi island beach, where Leonardo DiCaprio's movie, "The Beach" was filmed. We will spend most of our time in this area, then ferry to another place to take part in the Full Moon Party! Google it if ya wanna know what it's about. Basically it's just an excuse for a massive beach party lol. The last part of the trip is to check out Phuket before we head back to Bangkok for our final night. My flight leaves on the 17th.  Jenna and I have been going crazy trying to figure out details and planning things, but ultimately we have no idea what it's gonna be like until we get there! Wish us luck! :)

That's all for now. I will update on my vacation as soon as I can when I return!

XOXO,
Amanda

Hiking Geumosan

"Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle and a victory." -- Ghandi 

The last few weekends have come & gone so quickly! Rewind to 3 weekends ago...I went to Daegu to do a bit of shopping & hang out with some friends who live there. 2 weekends ago, similar story...met up with a big group of people to hang out in Daegu. Both those weekends ended up with me getting back to my apartment in Gumi around 7 a.m. Crazy nights to say the least. 

THURSDAY PARTY BAR IN DAEGU

JEEEP BAR IN DAEGU

This weekend I decided to do something different with my weekend & enjoy other things that Korea has to offer. Well, I did go out Friday night to hang out with my friend Tracy for a couple drinks. Thought I didn't drink much...I mean we only shared two pitchers of flavored soju lol. Needless to say waking up at 8 a.m. was not the easiest thing to do. Considering I drank on an empty stomach the night before...it all caught up to me the next day.

TRACY & I @ CORONA BAR

Saturday's Adventure:
Hiking! Doing this with a slight hangover...hmmm...not the brightest idea!! BUT, I managed to survive! Just took a few extra breaks & got endlessly teased for my excuses along the way. As far as the scenery was concerned...it was AMAZING! The views from different areas of the hike were so beautiful. We left my apartment around 10 a.m. and walked to the base of the mountain. Not sure exactly what time we started up the mountain...but we made it back to my place around 6 p.m. Talk about a full day of working out!! My body is letting me know how out of shape I am today, lol. Looks like I need to increase my workout routine...running & biking isn't doing enough!

BEGINNING OF THE HIKE

One of the lessons I learned is that if I plan to continue hiking, I should invest in some hiking shoes. Nike's don't quite do the trick in the mountains. Especially with how steep Geumosan is!! There were parts where I just stared up in amazement, thinking..."How the hell am I going to make it up there?" But with encouragement from other hikers (mostly Koreans & a couple foreigners) coming down the mountain saying "fighting!" (which is Korea's term for "be happy" or "you can do it!" lol) and patience from Jürgen...we made it to the summit! I felt sorry for him during most of the hike...being an experienced hiker & having a newbie to deal with can be a bit annoying I'm sure, haha! Thanks friend! :) Of course the top was our main goal, but we took many detours along the way which turned out to be worth the extra hiking. I really loved the temple & the music they played as you walked around it. I also liked the cave & the path you had to take to get to it. 

PATH TO THE CAVE

 WATERFALL

 BUDDHA

 

Master your words.
Master your thoughts.
Never allow your body to do harm.
Follow these three roads with purity
And you will find yourself upon the one way,
The way of wisdom.
-- Buddha

BRIDGE @ THE TEMPLE

 VIEW OF GUMI-SI

 A BLOCKED OFF PART OF THE TEMPLE AREA

 STATUES ON THE MOUNTAIN

 ON THE HELICOPTER LANDING SPOT

AND THE TOP...I MADE IT!!

All in all, I'd say it was a successful weekend! Now it's nearly Sunday evening and I should be working on lesson planning for the upcoming weeks of work. Looks like break time's over! Hopefully I will be blogging about more hikes in the future!


XOXO,
Amanda

can't get enough of the beach!!

"Babies don't need a vacation, but I still see them at the beach... it pisses me off! I'll go over to a little baby and say 'What are you doing here? You haven't worked a day in your life!'" -- Steven Wright

Daejin Beach

*my favorite pic of the weekend (we chilled the beer in the ocean, then decorated!)*

I google searched "beach quotes" and the one above is what I found, lol. Thought it was funny :)This past weekend I went on a spontaneous camping trip, in a city called Yeonghae, with a new group of friends I met last weekend in Busan. I'm trying to save money for Thailand right now, so my trips from now on will be minimal...but I couldn't pass up on a chance to go camping on the beach! It was about 2 1/2 hours from Gumi & the cost of the bus fare wasn't too bad.

Our first task upon arrival was wading through a part of the ocean, carrying all of our supplies, to get to our camping site. We later discovered a bridge to use...but what fun is that?

Next we discovered a Korean man riding inside the front scoop of a tractor. Of course a few of our group had to give it a try as well!

The next task was to set up the tent...it claimed it could sleep 25 people, but there were only about 15 of us and not everyone slept in it anyways. However, most of us failed to bring sleeping bags or blankets. In my attempt to "pack light" I also forgot to bring pants or a decent sweater to keep warm at night. All that was on my mind was the beach & sun, lol. We survived the night by huddling together in a pile of people and warmth :)

Later in the evening, after lounging around in the sand, we decided to go out for dinner after the sunset. I didn't care for the raw fish salad everyone else ordered, so below is what I had for dinner, lol. The shell thingies were super chewy, but I forced them down. Afterwards we came back for soju, smores, music, and campfire.

The following morning, it was a bit overcast, so I lacked the common sense to put on sunscreen. After laying out & swimming for a bit in the ocean, I discovered a nice red tint when I got home. However, I did need some color! :)

I had a student ask me today "Amanda seonsaengneem, seontaen e-suh-yo?" Meaning, "Amanda teacher, did you get a suntan?" I replied, "Ne, haebyeon eseo seontaen iss-eo!" Meaning, "Yes, I got a suntan at the beach!" The whole class freaked out because I was able to understand her & even replied in Korean. However, now they assume I am fluent in Korean and keep asking questions. Maybe this will help with my Korean!! (Or just get really annoying) lol.

Overall it was another great weekend! I can't wait to join these group of people for more adventures sometime soon. What I liked most about the weekend was that the beach was not crowded like the ones in Busan. Sometimes it's better to go off the map a bit with a good group of friends. I think it makes for a more enjoyable experience!

Anyong!!

XOXO,

Amanda

reflections...

Time...it is a funny thing.

It creeps by slowly when you want it fast,

 and speeds on by when you ask for more.

Time...it caters to no one.

More understanding, I wish it were,

for in this moment, I need more.

Talk about time flying! This week will be 4 months that I have been living in South Korea. When I think back to the hard work & time it took to organize all the paperwork & mentally prepare myself for the move...I am glad I had the determination to see it through! During college, I had this false image in my mind that I would graduate, get a teaching job in a fun town near my family & friends, eventually buy my own place (maybe even meet a guy & get married...haha!), and life would be how I wanted it to be. Actually in high school my image would have put me married with atleast one kid already. Oh, how far away from that I am!! No offense to anyone who is on that path, I've just sort of took a detour for a bit. :)

Now if you ask me what my plans in life are...I can honestly say I have no concrete plan. Deciding to teach abroad has opened up so many windows of my life that I can hardly begin to describe how thankful I am that I chose to do this. I can remember the day that I sat at my parents house discussing how frustrated I was getting trying to find a teaching job in Austin. I had my laptop in my lap...browsing the words "teaching abroad" and scouring the loads of information I was finding. I looked into all possible countries & could find no other country more beneficial (money & lifestyle wise) than S.Korea. Mentioning to my family the idea of teaching there brought many small chuckles & "Oh, that sounds great, but I'm sure you will eventually find a job here." I don't think either of us thought I'd really do it...it just seemed a bit out of my nature. I've always been a "home-body" and family is what my world is revolved around. But the "independent" side of me also played a role in my decision to branch out...across the world...literally.

It's your road, and yours alone.

Others may walk it with you,

but no one can walk it for you.

-anonymous

The changes I've experienced since being here have been tremendous! I decided on the title of my blog before I actually got to Korea, and I cannot think of any better way to describe my new life. I truly am "altering the color of my mind." I see things so differently than I did before. Experiencing a new culture, lifestyle, & meeting so many people has opened my mind to new questions & dreams. I have met people from England, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and of course many from the states. I believe all the friends I have gained here have had a major influence on my life so far. I have a couple good girl friends who I can talk about anything with, I have a group of guys that make me feel like I'm back at home with my brothers, and yes, I've even gone on a couple dates. Overall, I'm enjoying learning about everyone's life, their views on both teaching and traveling, and of course their friendship & company. I've linked up with many different groups on random adventures & trips across Korea. And yes, to my friends back home...I do miss you dearly! If I had my way I'd have you here as well so you can experience everything that I am right now! 

As I walked into my apartment this evening I thought to myself..."What should I do today?" Every week day I work from roughly 8am to 4:15pm then I come home to my apartment. It was today that I realized I have so many options of what to do with my time from 5:30 until whenever I decide to go to sleep. I can ride my bike, work out, take a walk, hike a mountain, read (inside or outside), work on my Korean, work on my poetry, surf the internet/Facebook/Skype, cook dinner, go to the sauna, get a massage, watch T.V. shows online (nothing is ever on Korean T.V. lol), work on lesson plans, clean my apartment, go out with friends for dinner, or just be plain lazy & sleep! You get the idea! My point to this is back home I never had time for half of this stuff!! And some I didn't even have the option or money to do! 

Here in Korea, I find I enjoy my alone time whether I'm inside my apartment or out. I hang out with students & staff all day long so it's nice to just come home to my own place & relax. On the weekends I usually choose to get out & about with everyone else. The balance of this has reduced the stress in my life greatly! Some days I think about what my next step in life is...but that is when I stop & remind myself to not think so much & just enjoy what I have been given in this moment. This moment now is enjoying being healthy and alive & soaking in my new lifestyle in Korea. What come next will happen just as naturally as my choice to take on this challenge was. 

I do have to thank my family for the enormous amount of encouragement they have given me in this process. Thanks to Facebook & Skype, I am able to keep connected with them on almost a daily basis! I know that they love me & want whats best for me...and if Korea is what I want right now...then that's what they want as well.


I know most of my blogs have been about my experiences & adventures, so I felt it was time to actually post some of my thoughts & reflections of my time here so far. So to all my readers, thank you for following me & I hope I keep you somewhat entertained. Until next time...

XOXO,
Amanda

Busan Beach Extravaganza

FRIDAY
Now to discuss my June 4-day weekend adventure! Original plan was Jeju Island, but it booked up super fast due to the Korean holiday on Monday. The reason I had 4 days was because my school's birthday (foundation day) was on Friday! :) Perfect for me!

 Arriving to Busan Train Station (the fountain lights up @ night)

Since I was planning on a solo trip on Friday, seeing as no other friends were free, I decided it was best to stay in a hostel. For my friends back home who don't know what a hostel is...it is a house/building with dorm-style rooms. You can stay in all girls, all boys, or co-ed. Doesn't make a difference to me so I chose the co-ed room with 4 beds in it. Luckily I got the bottom bunk! Now, from what I've heard from friends who backpack alot, hostels are the best places to meet new people and make friends. This is exactly what happened! :)

Indy House Hostel

During the day, I was the only one at the hostel so I ventured out downtown towards Gwanganlli Beach. My hostel was 5 minutes away, which was super convenient! First mission was to tan on the beach....however I was the only foreigner out there & didn't feel like getting stared at in my bikini. So instead I grabbed a couple beers, laid down my towel, and relaxed while reading my new book on the beach.

My first interruption was by an old man asking to take my picture. He had a polaroid style camera, so in other words, he was trying to make money by taking pics and selling them. End of story...I now have 2 polaroids of me on the beach, lol.

Next was a Korean man in his 40's holding a book who wandered over towards me and politely asked if he could ask me a question. This question led to us having an intense conversation about life and why we were put on this earth. I was highly impressed by his English language skills, so I didn't mind chatting with him for awhile. He eventually sat down next to me and we traded books for a bit.

The last person to join in our conversation was another elderly man...maybe in his late 50's, who could also speak English pretty well. However, all he wanted to talk about was Chicago. I tried to explain that I had never been there before, but he kept asking me trivia type questions about it (because if I didn't know the answer he would say...well, I know where that is because I've been there!) lol. I eventually had to excuse myself and told them I was headed back to my hostel. When actually I went to the restroom, then went back to the beach, a ways down from where I was previously. Sounds mean, but I really just wanted to relax on the beach & enjoy my book!

After returning to my hostel to change clothes, I looked on the map they had given me and noticed a place that had Thai massages. I figured I would atleast check out the prices, so I changed & headed towards my destination. When I got there, I had a bit of a language barrier, but eventually I figured out what they were trying to say. For one hour I received an amazing full body massage...for less than 50 american dollars. What makes it a "thai" massage is that you lay on the floor and they concentrate on each body part one at a time. They make sure they fully stretch out each part as well. It's kinda like having a spider monkey crawling all around you, lol. I felt super relaxed afterwards! The only thing that hurt was when she massaged where my bruise was located, lol. I decided to just grin and bare it! :) The pic below is obviously not me, but gives you an idea of what the massage is like.

Back at the hostel I discover a new roommate, a Korean-English girl who says she is in town visiting her boyfriend. However, she never left the hostel. In other words, she didn't seem too amped to talk or want to go out. As I head downstairs to charge my I-pod in the "living room" area, I see a large group of people checking into the hostel. When I return to my room I meet the other two people staying there. The end result of this was that they invited me to go out with them. Turns out they live in the city next to me, Daegu, so now I have new friends to hang out with when I go there. :) We also ran into more of their friends when we went out for drinks, and we ended up hanging out on the beach talking with them for quite awhile. I ended up running into that group of girls the next two days as well! The end of our night provided entertainment in the fact that the Ruairi and Alecia (the two sharing a room with me) and I, ended up getting lost on the way back to our hostel....for about 45 minutes to an hour! The first 30 minutes was funny because we were still in a great mood, but after awhile we were just ready for bed! My head hit the pillow around 4AM! Of course the hostel was on the one road that we all agreed "didn't look like the right one because it was looked too dark" haha! Had we walked a bit further we would have found it on the first attempt, but alas, we had an interesting journey! Here are some pics of the beach at night:

SATURDAY

The next morning I headed towards my next adventure...Haeundae Beach, where a sand festival was taking place. This is where I met up with my friends from all over Korea. Two of the good friends I made at orientation stayed with me in the hotel I had reserved for the next two nights. Once I made it to the hotel, which was 30 minutes from the beach, I put my stuff away, changed, & headed towards the beach. The weather was pretty windy, but the sun was shining, so most of the day was spent lounging about the sand. After a late dinner, and venturing back to the hotel, Lea, Jen, and I decided to call it an early night.

SUNDAY

The weather was much better! :) We arrived at the beach sometime after 1PM and set up towels to work on our tan. However, the amazing weather brought many more people out!

Jen & I

Lea & I

Tons of people!

Jürgen & I

Jen & I as "angels" lol

Here are a few pictures of the awesome sand sculptures that were on the beach. They also had an amateur section...it was cute to watch the little kids playing in the sand.

SUNDAY NIGHT

After a fun day of tanning, relaxing, & tossing around a football, us three girls headed back to the hotel to shower & get ready for a night of fun downtown. We returned to the beach area where there was a DJ playing on a stage and people dancing everywhere. However, that ended around 10pm, so we ventured towards an area where people were salsa dancing. Next we headed to a bar that some of my friends had gone to the night before. However, since it was early, not many people were there. We eventually found a place called Rockn' Roll Bar & turned it into our own little dance club.

Grant & I

Overall, the weekend was a success! Sometimes I wish I lived in a city near the beach, but knowing that Busan is only a couple hours away by train works good enough for me! I cannot wait to go back! :)

XOXO,

Amanda