no troubles, just bubbles

"Why am I not on a boat? I just want to be underwater. I wonder what the fishies are doing at this moment." These are constant thoughts trickling through my head at any given moment since the time I arrived home from my trip to Thailand. I am so confused.

This is going to be a hard blog to write. I don't know how to sum up my experiences this time. There are so many things I could say, so many stories I could tell or feelings I could try and put into words. 

Here is a little excerpt of writing I punched into my phone before falling fast asleep after a day of diving: 

Okay. As if things could get any better.

Okay, they could. I could have seen a whale shark with the majority of the other people on the boat. But I didn't. But it's okay. Maybe I will tomorrow. Maybe I will in a few years. Maybe 10 years from now. But I'm not losing hope. My time will come. However hard it is to not be a bit jealous of everyone else, patience is a virtue. 

Let's instead talk about ALL THE AWESOME THINGS that I saw and that I did. Richelieu Rock is phenomenal. The colors. The swarms of fish (and other divers). Things that I've only seen in pictures, now alive and thriving before my eyes. I still can't get those beautiful manta rays out  of my head. Being suspended, weightless, in the water with those three beautiful creatures circling me seems like it was a dream.

With each dive I am feeling more and more comfortable... But after our last dive today it became obvious. It was perfect. A "secret" dive sight. It's not on the maps. It's not outlined in any book or a stop for any tour group. The tour leader ended up diving this sight almost by accident. It's off the rocky shore of a quaint little island where some people will go to snorkel and sun bath and eat some food. But they don't take the food off the island with them. It goes straight into the water. 

Unfortunately these people have a hard idea distinguishing between left over rice and plastic utensils. 

Dive master flex explained that this dive wasn't going to have the purple coral and "appeal" as Richelieu. But what it had was character and a crap load of aquatic life. AND SEA TURTLES. 

This was probably one of my favorite dives. Not only did picking up the trash feel incredibly satisfying, but I loved playing around with my buoyancy to get me there. Before the trip, this is one of the things that I was most worried about. I wasn't very good at it during my certification. I finally figured it out though. I was up and down, weaving through rocks and picking up plastic forks like it was second nature. I was slightly impressed with myself. I didn't even smash into anything and only managed using a finger to push myself up once. 

The whole trip was perfect. Everything went as planned. From traveling to my time on the boat, I don't think anything could have gone any more right. We got where we needed to be, when we needed to be there. I got to catch up with my best friend, hear about her experiences being a nomad through out Thailand. Hug her and tell her how much I freaking love her. I got to wander around Khao Lak and drink cheap beer. I got to learn new things and meet new people (and new fish). I got damn lucky. That's for sure.

I spent three amazing days on a boat, diving and eating and swimming and being happy. Besides seeing the most unreal things under the water, there are almost equally unreal things going on above water. Hanging out with people between dives, chatting about life experiences and listening to music and eating food. Don't even get me started on the adorable Thai staff. From helping me get my gear on, to cooking meals for 15 people in a teeny tiny room (I'm talking Harry Potter closet under the stairs tiny), to smiling at me every time I encounter them. When I wasn't learning a thousand new things a minute about diving and fish and life under the water, I was soaking in the sun or chatting or reading and always eating. Relaxing. Gearing up for what was sure to be another incredible experience 20 meters below the calming waves of the Andaman Sea.

The first time I saw manta ray.
 

I wanted to scream, but screaming underwater is weird and I didn't want to scare it away. So I screamed in my head. Not like a "holy shit, I'm scared" scream. It was a "I can't believe this is happening, look at that thing, it's so big, I think I'm going to cry" scream. And as it glided through the water like the majestic creature that it is, I might have teared up a little bit.

To say we got lucky is an understatement. There wasn't as much as a ten minute gap where we weren't gawking at a manta ray. My first proper dive. How am I ever going to top that?

While I was sitting on the top deck of the boat that first night on the boat, looking at the stars and squealing with excitement at the arrival of any and every burst of heat lightning - I asked Karyn how I would ever be able to describe this experience.

There aren't words. It's too unreal. Too perfect. No matter how detailed I get in this blog, or how many pictures I take, or how awesome my compilation video turns out... This experience will only seem complete in my memory. 

Over years, memories will fade. I'll forget the little things. But I guarantee there is one thing I won't forget, and that's how incredibly incredible all the feelings that I am feeling feel.

FEELS.

Footage

I've been doing pretty poorly keeping up with my blog. To be honest I had my previous post written out for a whole month but never got around to adding pictures to it. Took me a month! Psssh.

Anyways, I put together a video of some of the things I was able to capture during my first 6 months in Korea. I love my gopro and am thrilled it has been put to good use. Next on the agenda: Scuba diving in Thailand - I will get to cross something of my life list! (check the experiences page if you haven't yet! )

I am exciting to have these memories for when I am a little old lady and want to relive and share all the amazing experiences I've had in life.  Or even in 5-10 years, when this all seems like a distant memory. I am so lucky to have these memories embedded onto YouTube, hopefully forever.

6 month Koreanversary

It's difficult to think about the past 6 months of my life. I can't conceptualize how fast - and slow - time has gone. When I really sit back and think about it... I've accomplished and experienced so damn much.

The pace of life here is so... different. It was incredibly easy to settle into. After being thrown into a new country with a new language and new food and new people and new everything, I had to just get on with it. Things that are NOT normal (as per American standards), seem extremely normal. Like, squid air drying on the sides of houses and fish being sold out of trucks that make their rounds in my neighborhood advertising through loudspeakers.

It's hard for me to not walk down the street without being in complete amazement of how lucky I am. Whether it's the sweet ajummas feeding me hotteoks or ajusshis exclaiming their love to me, someone or something is always providing me with an extremely Korean experience

Aside from these lovely every day occurrences, I've also been working full time. Adjusting to the life of an English teacher in Korea has been, interesting. I'll say one thing, it is nothing that my degree in Education could have prepared me for. Compared to the way the system works in the states, educational philosophy is just plain different here. I have finally realized the most crucial thing I can do for these kids is TALK TO THEM. And holy crap, it is so much fun. Boyfriends and girlfriends and pizza are my favorite things to talk about. And studying, unfortunately, is a hot topic. It's pretty much the only thing these kids do.What are you doing this weekend? Studying. What are you doing on Christmas? Studying. What do you do when you get home? Study.

There was a day when I had only one student in a higher level middle school class. My director made it clear to me how excited Kelly was to talk to me. I thought that meant she was excited there were no other students. I brought in a few holiday crafts for us to do, since it was the day before Christmas. She immediately started asking me QUESTIONS. Really damn good questions. We spent the whole time talking, about everything.

We talked about how, in Korean high schools, kids study until 10pm and THEN go to after school programs. I asked her is she was afraid of high school for this reason, dreading having to do so much work. She seemed so nonchalant about it, replying that "...everyone has to do it, so it doesn't seem like that big of a deal." When I told her high school students in America get out of school at 2pm, she didn't understand what I was saying. I had to repeat it several times. She was baffled.

She asked my about my favorite place in Las Vegas, and I was so excited to tell her about Red Rock. Whenever I tell kids where I am from, they always exclaim "Casinoooo, teacher! Blackjack!" I  told her how annoying this is and how beautiful the mountains are surrounding Vegas.

Aside from getting a better understanding of the ins and outs of my student's lives, I've been learning how to speak English. Or, really, I've been learning how to explain why things are the way they are, grammatically speaking. One thing that I will always love about being a teacher is the opportunity to not only teach others, but to expand on my wealth of knowledge (or lack thereof) in the process.

Speaking of speaking English... speaking Korean is much more difficult that I would like to admit. I have been trying, really. I know some key phrases and some not so key phrases (which are the ones I use the most). The group of little ones that I teach, the ones who are just beginning to learn English, absolutely love when I use any Korean. Ah, Chincha (아진짜) is used the most, hands down. And, of course, Baegopa (배고파) - I'm hungry.

There are so many positive things that I've accomplished so far, and even more to look forward to. I've made so many great friends, and I have a friend from home who makes me feel sane in this crazy Korean world. I am fulfilling my desire to discover things about this world, travel, and explore - all while working and adding experience to my career repertoire. I'm getting a lot of bang for my buck.

It's wild to think about what this next year has in store for me. For the past few years, I've been lucky enough to keep topping the "best year of my life." Not that one year is necessarily better than another - but I continue building different aspects of my life up and in turn, life just keeps presenting itself as more and more amazing. 

I have a feeling this year will be no different. As long as I continue to accept challenges, open my mind, change my perspective, explore, and inspire - all with a great big smile - my resolution to be the best person I can be will prevail! 

Here's to 2015! 

Independence Rings

This years Fourth of July tops the charts for the best one I've had in a while. After Karyn and I got off work around 9 Friday night our adorable Korean coworker, Claire, took us into town where we met up with some of Karyn's friends at a bus terminal. Two cute girls, who were not American, seemed almost more excited to celebrate the holiday than myself. Andreas from South Africa and Rizza from the Philippines. One of my favorite parts about traveling is the friends you have the opportunity to make from around the globe - not just the country you're visiting.

After the hour long bus ride to Busan. We were ready to get started. Busan has a huge foreign population. It's the second largest city in Korea and there are loads of English teachers and military guys. I'm not a big military guy fan, but they were excited to be celebrating our national independence so it made for a fantastic night out, especially since most places were playing very typical American music in honor of our holiday.

At The Wolfhound Karyn requested the bar to play the national anthem for us, and they gladly abided. It was really, really cool to see everyone stand up and drunkenly belt out The Star Spangled Banner. I'm not extremely patriotic, but goosebumps lined my arms regardless.

We bar hopped around Busan until we were properly drunk, and then made a stop at a convenient store which conveniently sells cheap Roman Candles year round. We bought a few sojus with a chaser and made our way to Heaundae beach. 

There was the most adorable group of Korean boys playing music in the sand when we arrived. We all settled down on the large steps and enjoyed ourselves singing along and dancing. One of the guys spoke English very well and congratulated us on our holiday and we had a quick little conversation before they continued their show. 

The rest of the night is a big blur. There were fireworks and adventures to find a bathroom, getting down with dancing Koreans at a bar, and a hookah lounge that I fell asleep in. 

The goal of the night was to need our sunglasses since we would be partying until the sunrise, and we did just that. 

Trying to stay hydrated, the morning after

                             

The next morning I have zero photos from, except the one above from Rizza. My phone was left with Andrea and we somehow split up at the end of the night.We ate hangover soup for breakfast - haejangguk (해장국). Super Korean and super delicious, made with pork bones and blood. YUM. Then we lounged on the beach until Karyn's boyfriend, Q, came to retrieve us and play your guide around Busan. 

He took us to a traditional Korean restaurant, I couldn't have been more excited. You don't order, they just bring you out loads of side dishes called banchan (반찬). Would you believe me if I told you the picture above doesn't even show the entirety of our meal? I couldn't be bothered to take the time to snap another photo because I was so ready to dig in and start eating.

My favorites were the two soups in the middle (one with tofu and the other a soybean soup) and the dish to the left, chapchae (잡채) which are transparent noodles stir fried with deliciousness. 

After, we ventured on to Haednong Younggungsa Temple (해동 용궁사) - My first temple visit in Korea, and certainly not my last. This temple was situated right on the water. There were market stalls leading up to it selling souvenirs and food (including larva looking bugs). The colors were incredible, and the view was unreal. I felt very relaxed here and could have easily spend hours wandering around and looking at all the statues, temples, and mini Buddhas that filled the place.

                   

The only downside was the amount of tourists, it felt very crowded. It did make for fun people watching. There were so many families with the cutest children. From what I have seen, Korean men have a really good time being fathers. Thy tend to be the ones carrying the babies in backpacks and playing with the kids while out in public. 

There was also an elderly man who seemed as though he probably frequented the temple. He had no legs. One was longer than the other, but they were both stubs. He climbed the hills of the temple grounds by laying his torso on a contraption with wheels and pulling himself where he needed to go. It was quite sad, although I had a sense that this fact probably saddened me more than it did him. It was humbling to see, that's for sure. 

Pinch me

 I couldn't imagine a more perfect place to live, and I've only been here a few days.

Love at First Sight

1. You can camp practically anywhere. On the beach, in the park, over here and over there. Everywhere.

2. Deawangam Park is next to Ilsan beach, a mere 20 minute walk away from me. The beach turns into a mountain park paradise. Green and trees and rocks and beach and the ocean all in one? I was tickled pink when I found this place my first morning here. I probably looked crazy to all the ajummas (little Korean women speed-walking around). I was giggling the whole time because I was so unbelievably happy that this was my new home - it was almost a joke. An awesome joke. 

3. Korea is called Land of the Morning Calm. I'm a morning person through and through.

4. The Market a few streets away gives me the chance to get delicious treats and eats for cheap, plus I can haggle! 

5. Koreans are active. They like to do things. Walk, run, swim, boat, fish, jet ski. 

6. Health is a part of their culture. They consider their food a source of energy. Their cuisine is filled with philosophy and science - it is traditionally meant to strengthen their minds and souls in addition to filling their bellies. There is so much food to try, but it's hard when I can get kimbap down the street from my school for a buck. 

7. They share. Bill splitting doesn't exist here.

8. The conversion rate between dollars and won is an easy 1 to 1. 5000 won is 5 bucks. Cake, much easier then when I lived in England.

9. Wifi is everywhere. All over. For free and you can usually find one that doesn't need a password.

10. There is a Korean man singing mantras on his morning walk behind me right this second. 

11. Respect is a priority in their culture.

12. Confucius. 

13. Hiking and camping are national pastimes. The majority of the country is covered in mountains. I LOVE MOUNTAINS.

14. Seafood. Korea is surrounded by water on 3 sides. They fish, a lot. Which is good for my belly. 

15. You can get coffee out of vending machines.

16. I think I see a jellyfish

17. My coworker/neighbor likes to do pretty much all the same things I do. Partner in crime? Yes please.

18. There isn't much crime here. Except for car accidents, I'm pretty safe.
19. Most things, as long as they aren't imported, are cheap.
20. Their flag symbolizes yin and yang and four trigrams which represent movement and harmony. It's beautiful, really. Every time I look at it I get an overwhelming sense of happiness.

I am right where I am supposed to be. That's crystal clear.

My neighborhood is awesome. I live in Dong-gu, which is a "newer" area of Ulsan. My apartment does not smell like kimchi. It's a bit out of the way of the city, but that's perfect for me. It's a quaint little block and I have everything I need close to me. On my first morning I wandered around the streets surrounding my home, checking out all the little hole in the wall restaurants and businesses. My first stop was a bakery where I found treats on treats on treats, all only 1000won (about a dollar). This little man pulls a cart around his waist collecting cardboard. I'll figure out his name one day. There are 7-Elevens everywhere. But no slushies.

Elderly Korean couple enjoying the view of Ulsan

The shipyards and industrial areas of the neighborhood aren't as menacing as I would have thought. It's actually pretty damn cool seeing all these giant ships being built along the coast and the ones already fit for water through the morning haze. Karyn, my coworker, and I are planning to your Hyndai soon. 

I am thankful for google translate and the fact that I learned the Korean alphabet prior to getting here. It's making things much easier. I spent some time my first morning translating all the symbols on my AC unit and washing machine. I WILL learn how to speak Korean, that's the goal. 

 

Oh, and they don't eat ALL the dogs. Most dogs hang outside of their owner's store front happily, like these guys that I pass every morning on my walk to the beach.

Hallelujah Hallstatt

Instead of heading back to Munich with Lillie after our day trip to Salzburg I decided to jump in a car with some friends who were embarking on a road trip through Austria. They had no place to stay that night and wanted to find somewhere in Salzburg. This was proving to be a lot more difficult than expected. While waiting near the river for our fresh waffles to be cooked to perfection a cute local girl started chatting with us, informing us of the Opera in town, her explanation as to why we were having trouble finding a room. Well crap.We watched the sunset and then made our way to the car.

We found a room in some random town and started driving. On our way there we passed a huge congregation of people eating and drinking, listening to music and having a grand old time. Of course we had to stop and check it out for ourselves. Still have no idea what they were celebrating, but we ate and drank and celebrated along with them until it was time to get back on the road.

We spent the afternoon out on a quaint little boat having good conversation and enjoying the fact that we were lucky enough to be here. The landscape was breathtaking. One of the most surreal places I've seen. The main street was lined with little touristy shops and restaurants. I wish I could have had more than an afternoon here, it would have been ideal to explore the surrounding area and get a better feel for the place, but time is time and I had a train to catch to get back to all of my things I left at the train station in Munich.

We did stumble upon the cemetery there. Let me tell you, the view was insane and the graveyard absolutely beautiful and peaceful. Next to parks, cemeteries are one of my absolute favorite things to visit while at a new place. They have so much character, history, and beauty - as morbid as it sounds.