So much to do, so much to see during these lovely spring days! And certainly not enough hours in the day left to blog. My apologies. A lot has happened so I'll just briefly hit on each exciting event.
First and foremost, I'm now a master sailor! Sounds impressive, eh? It is! Hmm, do you think I can I add that to my resume? Anyway, I signed up for sailing lessons so I could properly research for the next article in Busan Haps (the English magazine I wrote the book review for). I was asked to write about Busan's expat sailing club and was offered free lessons in the taking. Duuuuh, of course I'd do it. I wasn't sure what to expect but it was a blast! So much so that I decided to sign up for the Master's sailing class as well. On the last day of the Master's class we sailed to a nearby beach, coasted right up to shore, "parked" the boats, enjoyed lunch together then sailed back to the marina. It was so lovely! Minus the part when my boat accidently came in contact with some old Korean man's fishing line resulting in much angry yelling directed at me. I felt a little bad but seriously, who fishes right on the beach?! Crazy man.
Another weekend was spent out of Busan when a group of us went to Boseong to see Korea's green tea plantations. Boseong is in the Southern most province of Korea and is mostly all countryside...aka beautiful. It was so refreshing to see houses and farms! And to walk through "downtown" and only see a few other people. Yulpo beach was nearby as well. We enjoyed a walk on the beach a dusk, it was stunning! It reminded me of Thailand as the beach area was fairly undeveloped and peaceful. We almost spent the night in an adjuma's house but decided against it for fear of being too noisy and making her mad. If I've learned one thing here in Korea it's this: you don't want to make an adjuma mad. So we stayed in a room above some restaurant, Korean style, meaning all of us snuggled up on the floor for the night.
May 4th was Sports Day at my school. It was hysterical. All the students (1st through 6th grade) out on the playground doing various competitions at the same time. Parents came to watch, the sun was shining brightly and all I did was put up a few flags when I was told to keep track of points. The next day was Children's Day. That equaled a day off school. The weather was gorgeous again so that warranted a hike around Beomosa temple, Busan's most famous temple. It was my first time there which is pathetic for having lived in Busan for nearly 6 months. But in my defense the majority of those months were spent hibernating during winter. Kate, Chaz, Kat, Markus and I hiked to a fortress, along the Great Wall of Korea and over to a cable car to take us back down the mountain. The views of the city below were spectacular. We did it up Korean style packing gimbop and machali to enjoy along the hike...delicious! Lots of families were out because of the holiday, it was great to see but the trails were a bit crowded. I'll have to go back some weekend to do it again.
Last week I went to my first Lotte Giants baseball game. Lotte is Busan's baseball team and everyone looooves them. I went with the cultural exchange group (ICEA) so I got the full experience--bringing in tons of food and beer, learning the cheers, watching the dancers, wearing the bag on my head, shaking a newspaper pompom, etc. Sound ridiculous? It is. But tons of fun. I can't wait to go back again soon. Also last week there was Busan's International Short Film Festival. I love living in a big city like Busan because there's all kinds of festivals like this going on. I went to one showing that included short films from Korea, Singapore, Austria, France, and Romania. A few of the directors were there so after the showing we were allowed to ask questions to them....it was so interesting!
This past weekend there was a German festival at a university nearby. German beer, German sausages, German music, German clothes, German dancing all put together by Korean students. It was hilarious to go there with Markus and his friends (fellow German exchange students) to see their perspective on it. I enjoyed seeing Korean students in lederhosen dancing in a very Korean style to German music.....ahhhaha many laughs that afternoon.
Friday is Buddha's birthday in Korea which means a three day weekend! I will spend it island hopping. More on that when I return! Annnnd next week is my birthday! Holla, hollaaaaa
