Snow, Snowboarding, and Soju

This weekend was a blast. Dan and I went up to Muju with a bunch of friends to hang out, drink, and enjoy the Lunar New Year, or Seollal (설날). We met up at Club Davey around 11pm Friday night. From there we took two cars full of people, food, drinks, and clothes to ski and snowboard in. The group consisted of Rob, Renee, Yonodan, Pete and Gio in one car and Lizzie, Seth, Amanda and Dan and I in another car.

We headed north and stopped by a ski shop Rob had been to.  Here we got our rental gear and ski lift tickets for the following day. Then we went to our room in one of the many buildings at Muju’s resort. By the time we got into our room for the night, it was after 3 am. Crystal, a friend of Seth and Gio’s, was already there waiting for us. The rooms are pretty expensive but they didn’t seem to care that we were all staying together in one suite, so it ended up being just 45,000 Won per person for 2 nights!!

We unpacked a bit and got ready for bed. Some of the group- Dan, Seth, Rob, and Yonodan- were all planning on walking up at 5:45 to go snowboarding and skiing for the dawn and morning sessions. They ended up waking up on time (although Dan just stayed awake). I learned this night that I am a very light sleeper because their talking woke me up and kept me up until after they left. Rob and I had an ongoing joke over the weekend that I was in his head because I could quote things he said that weekend when he had no idea I was around to hear them. 

After the guys left, I made it back to sleep for a few more hours, until the phone in our hotel room rang. After about 3 rings I ran to get it, realizing nobody else was awake enough to really hear it. On the other end was a man from the rental shop telling me, in broken English and Korean that he was here with all of the rental gear for everyone still in the room along with our ski lift tickets. While on the phone, Pete and Crystal woke up so I recruited the two of them to go downstairs with me and bring up ours and everyone else’s stuff. It took about another hour and half for us to get everyone else awake and ready before leaving to take the shuttle to the mountain base closest to us.

We arrived right at 10am, with five and a half hours left to use on our ski lift tickets. Pete, Lizzie, Renee, Amanda and I took the lift up to the top of the closest mountain and then we strapped ourselves into our boards to get ready. Lizzie was the only one skiing in our group and she was a bit nervous because it had been a few years since she’d last gone.

Once we started heading down the mountain, we stopped every few minutes or so because someone had fallen behind or was tired. I liked going at this slow pace because it meant I wasn’t getting sore. It took us a while to get down and when we did make it down, Lizzie was pretty discouraged. She, Pete and Amanda headed inside to get lunch while Renee and I met up with Rob, Dan and Yonodan. The guys were just about to grab some food and head back to our room to nap but Renee and I convinced them to do one more run.

They told us about a run four miles up that had spectacular views and amazing snow so we headed up two lifts to get to the top of it. It was a lot of fun to board down. The snow for the first 2/3 was absolutely beautiful and great to be on. It was fresh and powdery. It had been snowing since very early that morning and was continuing to snow as we were heading down. Dan had his video camera out during this too. I think he was impressed by how I was doing; except for the way I still had to stop every so often, although a lot less than when I was with the other group. He was pretty tired from already being out there so long and not sleeping at all the night before.

 As we were out there, Rob talked to someone from the hotel and was told that we would have to change to a different room. Originally, we were going to head up to Muju on Saturday morning so we didn’t book a room for Friday night until Friday day, so due to the separate reservations, we had different rooms. That lead to Rob, Dan and Yonodan heading down the mountain much faster than Renee or I could and they took a shuttle bus back to the room so they could quickly pack everything up and take it conveniently to a room in a different building. :) What troopers! 

While they were busy taking care of that, Renee and I made it down the mountain and rode back up to come down again. Then we tried to meet up with the others we knew were still around somewhere. That proved to be a bit difficult and when we did actually meet up with Lizzie and Pete, they wanted to go snowboarding again. I was plenty tired from not sleeping well that night and from the snowboarding I’d already done, plus I was starving. So I offered to wait in Lotteria while they went down for another few runs. I knew I was tired but I didn’t realize just how tired I was until I sat down and waited for my friends after what seemed like an eternity. I actually almost fell asleep in the busy and noisy fast food shop. :o

When I met up with the others about an hour later, we headed towards the shuttle buses and made it to our new room. This place was a bit smaller than our last room, and double the price because it was on the weekend (and a holiday). It still had two bedrooms, one of which had a bed but the other was very small. Still, it worked out well for those who were not finished playing in the snow because this building was practically connected to one of the slopes. You literally had to walk out back five steps and you were ready to go down the mountain!

When we got back to the room and took all of our cold weather clothes off, we ate and lounged around the TV for a while. Then we started drinking. Some had beer, some had soju, and some had wine. I had Kahlua and Pepsi.  We played all of our regular drinking games with cards and when we ran out, some people made a run and brought back small cups to play flip cup on the edge of the coffee table.

Dan and Seth went out for skiing from 10:30 till 12:30. By the time they got back, EVERYONE was in bed asleep or about to be sleeping. It was pretty surprising and funny at the same time! However, they figured they should get in bed too since they and a few others were planning on waking up around 6am again for the dawn and morning ski sessions.

Sure enough, they woke up, a bit sleepier than the morning before, along with Rob, Yonodan, and Renee. They made it out a bit later but they still got in lots of great runs. It wasn’t snowing anymore, and the skies were crystal clear making for exceptional fun. All weekend they were recording with Dan’s video camera and Seth’s Go Pro camera. I spent a good majority of my Monday night and Tuesday morning (ok.. afternoon) pulling snapshots out of those videos and I compiled a 200 photo album of the excitement onto Facebook.

While that half of our group was off on the slopes, the rest of us were slowly waking up, cleaning up and then checking out. Last time we were in Muju, Pete’s car needed to be jumped twice and what’s a trip without car trouble? Surprisingly, it was not Pete’s car that had trouble, but Lizzie’s. When she put the key in the ignition, it would not turn at all, so after we tried several things, we had the receptionists help call her insurance company. Shortly after, a man came out in a bright pink truck to assist us. After fiddling with the car for a few minutes, he turned to Lizzie and said, “No.” We had no idea what he meant. At first Lizzie thought he was saying he couldn’t help us and was just going to leave, but it turns out he was saying that he’d have to call another, bigger truck out to tow her small car to the nearby shop. Pete and Lizzie drove off with the mechanics while Gio, Amanda and I waited in the downstairs lobby, with a great view of the slope.

Less than fifteen minutes later, Pete returned and informed us of the situation. Yes, we had all looked like huge incompetent idiots, but that’s nothing new in a country where we can hardly communicate with the locals, but more importantly, Lizzie’s car was fine. Apparently, when driven into the shop, the man there took the keys and started it right up with no problems, so we are not really sure what was wrong. We just know we didn’t have any more trouble with it afterwards. 

Once we got back to Gwangyang, Dan and I took our stuff home and laid around for a while until we met up with the others for pizza at Mr. Pizza. We were all hoping to eat hajeongook, but it was closed, which I had expected, seeing how all of the Korean restaurants were closed as Dan and I walked back. Plus I remembered how they usually are off during their national holidays, like Chuseok.

Dan had Monday off, so we spent that together and when he left that evening, I began working on this blog entry as well as pulling pictures from the videos. You can see some below:

L to R Gio, Crystal, Yonodan, Rob, Lizzie

Seth, Dan, Rob, Yonodan, Renee

I love when Dan takes video's where you can see us both like this, such a cool effect!

Rob looks AWESOME!!

Dan and Yonodan on a ski lift

Dan making it look easy!

Taken from Dan's video camera, no one we know but a gorgeous view!

In short, it was a very entertaining way to celebrate this important Korean holiday. I haven’t spent a lot of quality time with the people who were on this trip so it was great to see their faces and meet a few others. It was a fun group of people and I’m definitely glad I was a part of it!

Until next time, stay warm and happy!

The End of the Holiday Season

Getting back to school was great. I missed the kids and I was ready to see them again. Of course, the two weeks off were also great, even though I didn’t leave the country and I spent most of my time off in Gwangyang, where I live. It's just that I was really itching to get back in the classroom with my students. I was in such a hyper, happy mood especially those first few days back!

Monday night, a huge group of us went out for hajeongook, the delicious pig spine soup. It was a great way to welcome everyone back who was gone on vacation. The rest of the week, Dan and I mostly stayed in because I had to work and I get really cranky when I don’t sleep enough. :) Friday night was a fun night out.  We met at the Korean BBQ place we all love so much and then went to String afterwards. It was Rock’s birthday so there was a good crowd there. All of the regulars and a few out-of-towners were there too. 

On Saturday, Dan and I woke up around 11am, got ready and then took a bus to Daegu. He had to sign back in on post, as it was his last day on vacation. We raced around the city, going to the base he needed to sign in on and to the one he lives on. We also went to the PX where we randomly ran into a girl I went to high school with! I knew she was in the Army and she got in touch with me on Facebook when she got to Korea and realized I live here too. Such a small world! We were at the PX to buy a few things friends wanted as well as a few things for me. One of the things Dan picked up was a Go Pro camera for Seth. There will be more on that later. There wasn’t time to get fish and chips, which was a huge bummer, but as long as I get them a time or two more before he leaves, I’ll be more than happy. :) Plus, the PX has a Taco Bell and a Subway, so I ordered both to go. Yay for cheap, delicious fast food!!

We took a bus back to Gwangyang that night and went straight to the same Korean BBQ we were at the night before because Dan was hungry- he did not order delicious fast food as I did. It was pretty funny when we walked in because we saw Lizzie and Fritz sitting there. They were finished eating, but we sat with them anyway and ordered more food. Then we took our bags back to my room and met up with them and others at Fish and Grill. Fish and Grill, I think I’ve mentioned before, is a bar/restaurant with soju cocktails. They bring out pitchers of a fruity, slushy, juice drink that already has a bit of soju in it and we order an extra bottle of it to add in each pitcher. They come in lots of fruit flavors and they are quite delicious. 

Sunday was supposed to be a lazy day, and was until about 5pm. At that time, Seth came to tell us that a group of people were going out to play screen golf. Dan had never been and wanted to try it out. I’ve gone before and was rubbish, but I went to hang out. We were there from about 7 till 10 and then we went to Club Davey to make plans for this weekend; more on that later too. 

Monday was a regular school day. Dan was STILL here, which was great, but it made teaching a bit more annoying because I would have rather been at back home with him, still, it made going home great. Plus, my kids make teaching so worth it. For instance, Monday morning, I taught the 6 year old Kindergarteners two classes in a row, so we used that time to type up their presentation speeches which they will recite in front of parents, as a sort of recruitment tool to get more students at the end of February. This presentation, of course, is in English and my little 6 year olds were busy typing away for over an hour IN ENGLISH!! Mind you, they weren’t doing it very well, because they still haven’t learned how to type in Korean, and they really have no idea where the keys are. Still, this is only their second time, and they are already doing pretty well!

Tuesday was an exceptionally great day at school. Ivy told Kate and me the day before that we would be going to Gwnagyang Eup- the city next to ours- the following morning to go ice skating with our 9 kindergarten students. Since Dan was still here, I asked her if it was okay if he came with us. She said it was fine and Kate had the same idea so Tuesday morning, Kate and I walked to school with Dan and Seth. Dan was excited because he had never gone before and there was a “trip” to go near Christmas that fell through.

We got to school and the kids went crazy over my wolf hat/scarf/mittens combo as well as over the new people we brought. Some of the kids had seen Dan before, but it was still exciting for them to see another waygook (foreigner) so closely. Kate and I rode with Ivy and the kids while the boys rode with Big Mama, our boss (no we did not give her that name) and Brian. When we got to the ice rink, the guys were already there in light pink skates and Dan even wore a matching helmet. It was quite a site, but it got better. 

Seth brought along the Go Pro camera Dan picked up for him and he took lots of fun footage of our Kindergartners trying to learn how to skate. Both Seth and Dan were very helpful with the kids, taking them around the rink and being great sports about everything. Because of this, the school paid for their rental tickets and Big Mama left her car for us and Brian to take back to i-Sponge when we were ready! We went to leave a few minutes after the kids left, but then Seth decided to ask if we could use the go karts they had set up just in front of the skating rink. After we paid, we hopped in go karts, which of course, was also filmed. It was pretty fun. While Seth filmed, we took turns shouting “GO PRO!” into the camera and Dan had fun pretending to be The Stig (Top Gear reference). 

That night, Dan took a bus back to Daegu. He has three days of easing back into Army life before coming back down to Gwangyang Friday night!

This weekend is Lunar New Year, and since most Koreans spend this time with their families, much like Chuseok, we were told the slopes would be pretty empty. With that in mind, we decided to take a trip up to Seoul and head to Yongpyong, where the 2018 Winter Olympics are set to be held. Because of the holiday, we get Monday and Tuesday off, so we figured it was well worth the trip north. Unfortunately, we received misinformation. Maybe that’s true for the actual holiday days of Monday and Tuesday, but EVERYWHERE was booked up. We thought we were safe trying to make reservations just a week in advance but we were sadly mistaken. We even tried having some Korean friends ask for us. :( 

The new plan is to drive up to Muju EARLY Saturday morning and hit the slopes there all day Saturday till Sunday afternoon then come back to Gwangyang. We will have two or three cars full of people so it should make for an interesting trip! Plus, Dan will have my new camera by then so I’ll get to play with that! As for Yongpyong, it was a huge bummer to us all, but maybe we will be able to squeeze it in one weekend. Since we’re getting back on Sunday, there should be time to unwind and relax before going back to work on Wednesday. 

Of course, I’ll let you all know how that trip goes! I'll also have my new camera so prepare yourself for far too many pictures!! :D Until then, stay warm!

Why, Hello 2012, I didn't see you there!

Since Christmas, life has been mostly tame. Dan and I spent the week after being SUPER lazy. The only productive thing we did was cook better dinners for ourselves and go to HomePlus to buy a shelf to put next to my bed. Besides that we really just hung out with Walter at Lizzie and Iain’s, while they were away, and watched way too many movies and TV shows.

I learned about this awesome website called Pinterest from my cousin, Jade, a few weeks ago and that also ate up a lot of my time these past two weeks. I’ve already spent HOURS on it! It’s amazing! It’s like virtual inspiration boards you can make on anything, recipes you want to make or try, clothes you like, wedding ideas, gift ideas, crafts and do-it-yourself projects, ways to stay organized, teacher resources, books, TV shows and movies you want to watch, products you love or want to try, etc, etc.  I made Dan look through all of things I pinned so far and he refuses to really get into it. He says it’s a girl’s website and I can’t say I totally disagree with him. Still, I think it’s a great way to share fun ideas with people you know and with strangers. I think it is replacing Facebook for me. I used to spend uncountable amounts of time on Facebook and more and more of that time is being devoted to Pinterest. It’s definitely worth checking out!  

But enough about that.

On New Year’s Eve, Dan and I went out to eat with Seth, Pete and Fatemeh to a fun chicken restaurant called HooLaLa’s. They had yummy fried chicken and these delicious plates with all different types of French fries! We got two of those. :) After dinner, we went to a GS25 (convenience shop) and each bought a beverage to drink while we walked to String. Seth and Fatemeh hopped in a taxi when we had already walked ¾ of the way there. They missed out too because even though they beat us by a few minutes, Pete, Dan and I saw a bright, breathtaking shooting star! We were all in awe and it was a great scene to see that night.  

When we finally got to String, it was about 11pm. It was pretty crowded, but mostly with Koreans. We found this to be surprising since it’s our foreigner bar. There wasn’t anywhere to sit, so we all just chilled behind the bar like cool people. Jeff and a few others took turns playing guitar and singing solo. Then Rock and his band played some songs to ring in the New Year. As midnight drew nearer, we foreigners were trying to figure out how to have a countdown, so we just brought up the time on Rock’s desktop and counted down to that time. Not totally accurate, but it worked nonetheless!

Rock, rockin' out... ha ha ha

At midnight, we all shouted a loud, “Happy New Year!” which happened to be in the middle of one of their songs, and we hugged and kissed, as is our tradition. It was a fun night. Rob and Renee were out, along with the group we came with and Kate and Matthias. Most people were still out of town on vacation or back home but we still had fun!

Dan and I at String on NYE, copied Kandee Johnson's NARS Smokey Green Eyes look: http://youtu.be/82SJd7nR0AI?hd=1

New Year’s Day was a very lazy one for Dan and I. We packed to head up North the next day, but that was about it. On Monday, we took a bus to Dong Seoul and then another to Bears Town, which is a resort in the suburbs outside of Seoul. It was much less busy than Muju which was great. We originally planned to stay until Wednesday afternoon but ended up staying until Thursday instead. We took a few pictures and videos of where we were staying and of each other, but Dan accidentally lost my camera somewhere on the slopes or off the ski lift. No more pretty blue Olympus for me. :( But that’s okay. I’m getting a Fujifilm S3200 in exchange and although it isn’t as tough or pretty as my old one, it should take much better pictures, not that I was complaining about the picture quality before.

Old camera :)

New camera! :D

When we got back to Gwangyang Thursday night, we did laundry and packed food right away. We also went to visit Lizzie and Iain who were back from the UK. I’ve been learning to play cribbage, a card game, and I finally beat someone! Haha Friday afternoon, Pete and Seth came over to meet with us and head up to Muju. We stayed in the love motel attached to Muju Ski School, the shop we rent things from.  Friday night, Dan and Seth hit the slopes while Pete and I stayed in. We left only once, to get some dinner and beer. The boys took Pete’s car over to the mountain and didn’t realize that the light by the rear door was left on. This would present later problems that night/morning.

WARNING: If you drive your own car in Korea, beware that if your car needs jumping, you better have your own jumper cables, because NO Korean has them.

This is what Dan and Seth discovered between midnight and 2am on Saturday. When they got back to the car to head back to us that night, they discovered that the car’s battery was dead. They called the ski school to get the English speaking guy, Lee, to call them a tow truck that could jump the car for them. This ended up costing them a few hours of their time as they went back and forth between waiting for the tow truck and calling to make sure someone was actually coming to help them. They made it back around 2am and then we all slept in the sweltering heat of the floor beds because we couldn’t figure out how to turn off the heat (Korea uses floor heating).

The next day, we had to check out because we didn’t think it would be busy enough to need reservations and apparently the place we stayed at that night along with EVERY OTHER motel in the area was booked. So Saturday morning, we rented our stuff, had the car jumped again (much faster this time around when the Korean helping us could tell with certainty exactly where we were parked), and made our way back to the mountain.

We went to eat at Lotteria, a burger place, and saw Ivy and Sherly! We also saw them on the ski lift and at the rental shop when we were returning our stuff before heading home.

Seth wanted to try out snowboarding, which he had never done before, so we stuck together all day, until I decided to sit and wait for the boys to finish. Seth picked it up right away, which was pretty disgruntling for Pete and me. Dan just bobbed back and forth between us taking pictures and videos of us and trying to have fun while going slow. Haha I managed to stay standing almost the whole time, but I went really slow because now that I know I have balance, I’m scared to try going sideways because that builds speed and I’m sure I’d fall a lot more going that way. Lol

Here are some pictures from the day:

See me behind Dan!? :)

Seth snowboarding for the first time EVER... not fair haha

Seth and Pete



Dan's shadow.. I thought this was pretty cool :)

 Since we had nowhere to stay that night, we came back to Gwangyang, unloaded our stuff from Pete’s car and then ate dinner at our favorite Korean BBQ place. Afterwards, Dan and I came back, watched Independence Day and called it a night.

Today was a day of cleaning, reorganizing and enjoying my last day of vacation. Tomorrow morning, Kate and I will be back at iSponge, which I must say, I’m excited about. Don’t get me wrong, being off of work made for a nice break, but I miss my kids!! Dan is here for another week, so that’s exciting too! Kate’s back from the Philippines and so I’m sure we’ll be having more fun nights soon!