Happy Chuseok!

Just two weeks after I arrived was Chuseok, Korean Thanksgiving (more or less). I was pleasantly surprised to find out the teachers got to celebrate with a 4-day weekend! Not a bad start to my Korean employment J Like Thanksgiving, traveling during Chuseok is not recommended since everyone is trying to get home to visit family and everything else is closed. With that in mind, we were able to arrange a mini-vacation to a nearby island, Seokmo-du.

The journey there was half of the adventure. The group met a few subway stops from my place, where we hopped on the first bus that took us about an hour outside of the city. From there, we caught a second bus for a quick 15-minute ride to the ferry! The ride itself was very short, but it is always fun being on a boat. Once we docked, there were a few shops lined up with delicious squid and plenty of other mysterious seafoods for us to ponder while waiting for yet another bus (the only one on the island!). From there, our pension (basically a B&B) was just up the hill. The pension was really pleasant, with a swimming pool, garden, picnic tables and an awesome view! We spent the first day just hanging out by the pool and relaxing after the scavenger hunt to get there.

   

The next morning some adventurous ones ventured back to the bus stop on bikes to get water and breakfast. I decided to take it easy and was happy that I did when they returned over an hour later dripping in sweat and exhaustion. The island is a little hilly and the ride was not as easy as they anticipated. 

When lunch time finally rolled around I was feeling up to an adventure, so Rob, Bill and I set out to the same bus stop… only our plan included taking the bus there. While we were waiting by the road a truck came by and I figured it couldn’t hurt to try to hitch a ride. I held out my hand but they just drove by. Luckily, they stopped right after and backed up to meet us. We hopped in the back, grateful for the ride and the up-to-date Tetanus shots J He dropped us off right next to the bus stop where we found a pizza place still open, despite the holiday. Since our order was quite large, the pizza guy offered us a ride home. Overall, a great first experience in the world of hitchhiking!

Later that afternoon, the group ventured out for a little temple visit. It was my first temple experience and it was AMAZING! The best part was the outcropping up on the hill that had a Buddah carved into it.

  

A short climb to the top left us with another amazing view of the island and some insight into how seriously people take their worship and prayer.

On a totally different note, I also had my first Korean squatter experience! The picture should answer any questions that statement might leave you with…