I wrote this last week but didn't publish it. Here it is:
This past weekend we found this island, Jungdo, to camp on. We had to take a two-hour bus ride, then a ferry across from the mainland. The ferry was about a four-minute ride; we probably could have swam. Before we went we looked at a bunch of different websites, and called the tourist hotline, and the park itself, and everyone gives conflicting information. It can be frustrating. Some places said no dogs allowed, some said it's a great place for dogs, and our friends Lisa and Jonathan just got a puppy, so they took a gamble by bringing him. It worked out fine, thankfully. Some websites said you need a reservation to camp, some said you could go "bush camping," and just throw down anywhere. Una's co-worker told her that summer season doesn't officially begin until next weekend, so why on earth are we going now? None of the amenities would be open. It turned out fine. We were able to get a campsite, there were badminton courts available, and the store on the island was open. Sometimes you just have to go and figure things out on your own. Even getting our bus ticket there was confusing. The website said that there are buses starting at 7:40am, and there are nine buses throughout the day. But we wanted to be sure, so we went to the bus station and bought tickets in advance. The two times the woman offered us were 6:00am and 9:00am. We bought tickets for the 9:00am bus, then walked ten feet away and read the sign listing all the other times buses leave for Chuncheon, none of which were 6:00 or 9:00. Why would they put up a sign if none of the information is accurate??
Jungdo is an island in a reservoir, and we wanted to go swimming. The water is a little mucky by the shore, but someone had an inflatable raft, so we paddled out a little way and jumped out and swam around. It's so nice to be able to swim in non-salty water, though I did have to keep my head above water (no swimming under water for a month after laser eye surgery.) We were out there swimming around for a while until a guy came and blew his whistle and told us to get out of the water. There were no signs saying no swimming, and there were people in banana boats, jet skis, and wakeboarding. They all fall in the water sometimes. There's no free-form swimming in Korea. It all has to be organized and sanctioned. There's no free-form anything in Korea, for that matter. But we did get a while swimming before Whistle Man came, so it could have been worse.
I was happy to get a good weekend adventure in while we could, because we have to work the next three Saturdays in a row. Our hogwan is affiliated with three kindergartens, and I teach at two of them, Brady teaches at all three. We are doing open classes, which is a time for the parents to come observe us teaching a class. But most parents can't make it during the week because they have to work, so we have to teach special classes on Saturdays. Three weeks in a row, at each of the kindergartens. We were pretty upset when we heard about that. There is a short window of time between when the weather gets warm and the rainy season begins, and we wanted to spend that time being outside, not working through the weekends. And we don't get paid for any of this time either. And...arrgh, I was so annoyed, because we have to make these special "resources" for open classes. Little games and activities to play with the kids. I needed posterboard to make mine, and we don't have any at the school, so I have to buy it on my own. And I give the receipt to them to be reimbursed, but they don't reimburse me. I think they will, eventually, but I have to harass them about it, like I had to harass them to pay me for overtime. It is very frustrating to have to pay my own money to make a resource so that I can work on Saturday without pay. Brady just had to buy new dry erase markers the other day, because ours were totally used up, and they don't get new ones. And it's not for lack of money. We even have this supplies list on the wall of the teachers' room, where you can write what you need. Once a month the list disappears and a new one is posted. But materials never show up. I don't know if they literally just take the list down and throw it away, but they don't seem to order the things we need.
Anyway, it will be nice to stay around Suwon, I guess. We've been looking for some fun day-trips we can take from here on Sundays, and thinking of other ways to fill our time. Brady's been practicing his sweet guitar picking skills, and we've decided to run a half-marathon in September, so there's training for that to be done.
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Saturday, June 2, 2012
Woraksan, eyeballs, half-marathon
We went back to Woraksan a few weeks ago. It's really pretty there, and not very crowded yet. May isn't officially camping season in Korea yet, and Koreans don't like to do things outside of the designated season. Even though it's lovely and warm already. It takes four hours to get there, from our door in Suwon to the campground. We left early Saturday morning, and got to our campsite around 10:30. The campground is right next to a stream. We set up camp, then went for a hike. There are a bunch of hiking trails, and we took the one that goes by a Buddhist Temple, Doekjusa. The hike was pretty steep, but nice and had pretty views. When we were about two kilometers from the summit we came upon a helicopter landing pad, and we also realized that the last 2km were straight up some rocks, so we decided to lie down on the landing pad and enjoy the sun. The Koreans were very amused by this. It was a beautiful day and lying in the sun is awesome, but they tend to be....more structured. They wouldn't just lie down on the ground, ever.
After the hike we went back to the campground. Brady's friend Stefan had come from Seoul with his friend Tonya to meet up and camp with us. We spent the afternoon soaking our feet in the stream and drinking beers, then made dinner. The next day we had our coffee on the rocks by the stream. It's just so nice to get out of the city. Then we went for a run. Not together, Brady's much faster than me, but we both went running, then when we were hot we jumped in the stream to wash/cool off. Then we got some lunch at a restaurant. That's one of the good things about Woraksan: there are plenty of stores and restaurants nearby, so we don't have to pack in all our food and drinks. We left in the afternoon. The buses were a little tricky. We were waiting at the bus stop in the park, but the schedule wasn't clear. At one point there were four private bus drivers crowded around, making calls and trying to help us figure out which public bus to get on. We made it home eventually.
Last weekend I got laser eye surgery. My appointment was Saturday afternoon, then I spend Sunday and Monday sleeping and listening to audio books. I got Lasek, which is a longer recovery process than Lasik is. We had Monday off for Buddha's birthday. My eyes were very uncomfortable on Monday. I could barely open them, and they felt swollen and burny. They felt much better on Tuesday, and I've had very little discomfort since then. It will take several weeks to a couple months for my vision to heal completely. Right now things are a little blurry, especially at the end of the day, but it's getting a little better each day. Last Sunday Brady went to meet with some of our friends at the beach, and had fun, but more on that is for Brady's blog.
Yesterday Brady and Stefan ran a half-marathon in Seoul. We went up Friday night and got a motel so we wouldn't have to leave super early on Saturday. The race started and ended at the World Cup Stadium. I took pictures and stayed and read while they ran. They both did very well. Brady finished in about 1:39, and Stefan in 1:33. We couldn't find official results for Brady, but we looked at the clock as he crossed the finish line, and it was just under 1:40. After the half-marathon Brady and Stefan went to a sauna to shower and soak in the tubs. I'm not allowed at a public sauna or pool until a month after my surgery, so I went to a coffee shop and waited for them. After that we went out to lunch at a brewery in Itaewon. There are a lot of foreigners in Itaewon. At the restaurant there were Americans at the tables on either side of us. It made me realize how nice it normally is to not understand what people are saying, because there was a lot of dumb stuff being said. On the other hand, it can be nice to be able to talk to people. This other American couple came with their dog, and we were talking about their dog, and flying home with him in a couple weeks. I like being able to talk to a stranger, I just don't want to always understand what they have to say. There's good and bad, I guess.
After lunch we met up with a few of our friends from Suwon who had come to Seoul for a gay pride festival. We hung out there for a while, seeing some ridiculous costumes and listening to music, and watching the parade start and end. Brady and Stefan were pretty beat, so we didn't participate in the actual parade, we just watched. After that we went to our friend Kat's friend's rooftop BBQ. A lot of apartment buildings here have roof access, which is SO SO nice, and we are very jealous of. At our apartment, there is a rooftop area, but only the people on the second and third floor can access it, and we're on the ground level. It makes me sad. So we grilled some food and hung out there, and met some nice people, then headed home. Today (Sunday) we're going to have a picnic. There is a park near our house, and rumor has it there may be some live music there, so we're meeting with our friends Enda and Una.
After the hike we went back to the campground. Brady's friend Stefan had come from Seoul with his friend Tonya to meet up and camp with us. We spent the afternoon soaking our feet in the stream and drinking beers, then made dinner. The next day we had our coffee on the rocks by the stream. It's just so nice to get out of the city. Then we went for a run. Not together, Brady's much faster than me, but we both went running, then when we were hot we jumped in the stream to wash/cool off. Then we got some lunch at a restaurant. That's one of the good things about Woraksan: there are plenty of stores and restaurants nearby, so we don't have to pack in all our food and drinks. We left in the afternoon. The buses were a little tricky. We were waiting at the bus stop in the park, but the schedule wasn't clear. At one point there were four private bus drivers crowded around, making calls and trying to help us figure out which public bus to get on. We made it home eventually.
Last weekend I got laser eye surgery. My appointment was Saturday afternoon, then I spend Sunday and Monday sleeping and listening to audio books. I got Lasek, which is a longer recovery process than Lasik is. We had Monday off for Buddha's birthday. My eyes were very uncomfortable on Monday. I could barely open them, and they felt swollen and burny. They felt much better on Tuesday, and I've had very little discomfort since then. It will take several weeks to a couple months for my vision to heal completely. Right now things are a little blurry, especially at the end of the day, but it's getting a little better each day. Last Sunday Brady went to meet with some of our friends at the beach, and had fun, but more on that is for Brady's blog.
Yesterday Brady and Stefan ran a half-marathon in Seoul. We went up Friday night and got a motel so we wouldn't have to leave super early on Saturday. The race started and ended at the World Cup Stadium. I took pictures and stayed and read while they ran. They both did very well. Brady finished in about 1:39, and Stefan in 1:33. We couldn't find official results for Brady, but we looked at the clock as he crossed the finish line, and it was just under 1:40. After the half-marathon Brady and Stefan went to a sauna to shower and soak in the tubs. I'm not allowed at a public sauna or pool until a month after my surgery, so I went to a coffee shop and waited for them. After that we went out to lunch at a brewery in Itaewon. There are a lot of foreigners in Itaewon. At the restaurant there were Americans at the tables on either side of us. It made me realize how nice it normally is to not understand what people are saying, because there was a lot of dumb stuff being said. On the other hand, it can be nice to be able to talk to people. This other American couple came with their dog, and we were talking about their dog, and flying home with him in a couple weeks. I like being able to talk to a stranger, I just don't want to always understand what they have to say. There's good and bad, I guess.
After lunch we met up with a few of our friends from Suwon who had come to Seoul for a gay pride festival. We hung out there for a while, seeing some ridiculous costumes and listening to music, and watching the parade start and end. Brady and Stefan were pretty beat, so we didn't participate in the actual parade, we just watched. After that we went to our friend Kat's friend's rooftop BBQ. A lot of apartment buildings here have roof access, which is SO SO nice, and we are very jealous of. At our apartment, there is a rooftop area, but only the people on the second and third floor can access it, and we're on the ground level. It makes me sad. So we grilled some food and hung out there, and met some nice people, then headed home. Today (Sunday) we're going to have a picnic. There is a park near our house, and rumor has it there may be some live music there, so we're meeting with our friends Enda and Una.
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