I have a lot to write about.
I'm going to start with last Thursday. Ajuma, Hyun Gi, Oppa, and I went to Ajuma's sister's house and had dinner there. I was met with some of the nicest hospitality I have ever had! From the moment I stepped through the door, I was treated with such kindness, offered many types of food, and was able to talk with her two sons who are Oppa's and Hyun Gi's ages. Eemo(Korean for Aunt) was so kind to me, paying me many compliments, offering me lots of food, and taking every measure to make sure I was comfortable. I have learned that in Korea, foreigners are much more "foreign" than in the US. In the states, we are used to seeing people of different ethnicities and cultures just by the nature of our history as a nation. Also, at Cotter, we have lots and lots of "foreigners" and are very used to learning about their cultures and hearing them speak in their native languages. Korea, however, is a place of one ethnicity, one history, one language. Those who are not of this culture are very separate. Oppa made a comment to me once that he never thought a foreigner would be living in his house, and Eemo's oldest son said the same thing to me. It is interesting that I would be such a novelty to them, ME, a girl from Minnesota! Anyway, it was a really heartwarming evening and I had a great time.
Friday:
Friday was my birthday! Yay! The big 1-8! I was able to celebrate it in a very unique way this year. I got up early so I could see Oppa and Adoshi before they left for school/work. They leave around seven or seven-thirty every morning, so I don't usually get to see them. Then, Ajuma brought my entire breakfast into my room and set it on a table. Rice, fish, kimchi, soup, several other side dishes, and cake! Then, she demonstrated a traditional Korean practice. She knelt on the floor in front of the food, bowing three times, and then praying for me and my future. I asked Hyun Gi if this was a Buddhist practice (her mom is Buddhist) or if it was just a Korean tradition, and Hyun Gi said it is just a Korean tradition for birthday's, but that many households don't do it. I felt very lucky!
We then brought the food back to the kitchen table and enjoyed. One special food is a seaweed soup. This soup is traditionally eaten by mothers after they give birth, and Koreans eat it on their birthday's to commemorate this. We had cake and sang Happy Birthday in Korean, which was really fun!
I had my class as usual in Kangnam, and then I met up with Jisu, Ji Won, Ben Lee, Andrew Choi, and Hyun Gi for lunch. HG bought another small cake that we shared (so good!!). It was really really fun to see my friends! Everyone is so busy, so getting together like this was a real treat.
After lunch, HG and I met her dad just outside his company where his DRIVER picked us up and brought us back to their house. We were in a hurry because we had to go home, back our stuff, and head off to....JEJU ISLAND! Jeju is a small island directly south of South Korea. It is still a part of SK, but is it's own island and has its own dialect of Korean. It was absolutely GORGEOUS! We arrived on Friday night after an hour-long flight to an amazingly beautiful hotel. We unpacked our things and then met Adoshi and Ajuma's friends for dinner. Adoshi and Ajuma are really into golfing, so their real reason for coming to Jeju was to golf with their friends. Dinner was good- Lots of fresh seafood (abalones, sushi, fish soups...) When you live on an island, fresh fish is always at hand! Again, the food kept coming and coming and coming! I was so torn because I was absolutely full to the limit, but I didn't want to be rude and refuse any food. Fortunately Adoshi and Ajuma excused Hyun Gi and I to leave, and we walked along the beach instead. We were nervous because apparently a huge storm was supposed to his Jeju the next day, Saturday, but that night was really beautiful. We could see the stars!
The next morning, Adoshi and Ajuma left really early, so HG and I didn't see them. We got ready, had the delicious buffet breakfast overlooking the ocean (there were American foods, too! Yay!), and then waited for our driver who Adoshi and Ajuma had hired to guide HG and I on our Jeju tour. As for rain, the morning was sunny, hot, and HUMID! So hot and humid, in fact, that we were sweating off the bat! Thankfully there was a pretty strong wind, so all was well. One of the first places our driver took us was to a movie museum. I was honestly really skeptical of this, and thought that if these were the places we were going to be going, it would be a very long day! However, the real reason behind the movie museum was the view behind it. We took many pictures of the roaring ocean and the rocky coastline and the beautiful hills. Jeju is honestly one of the most beautiful places I have ever been. We spent the day hitting up all the natural wonders of Jeju- the rock formations, the waterfalls, the mountains, the nature trails, and yes, even a dolphin show! The dolphin show was kind of lame, but I think our driver just took us there to get us out of the heat. It gets really really hot in Jeju as the day progresses, and the shade was a welcome relief. The morning had been hot and sunny, but as the afternoon progressed, the dreaded rain clouds were coming in. It rained on and off for most of the afternoon, but fortunately we had seen most of the really "scenic" things already and taken most of our pictures. One thing we saw later in the day were traditional Korean houses. I thought that they would be replicas, but they were real houses that had been built over 100 years ago. Really cool!
Hyun Gi ate lunch with our driver in a restaurant he suggested, and we got to know him a little. He's a 71-year-old proud grandfather who is even prouder of his physical fitness! He flexed his "pipes" for us to demonstrate his macho physique! He was a nice guy who had lived on the island his entire life, so he had a great perspective on things to see and do.
After our tour for the day, HG and I relaxed in our room and briefly saw Adoshi and Ajuma. They had had a good day golfing, missing the rain entirely, and were off for dinner with friends. HG and I ate at the hotel restaurant, again a delicious buffet with some western foods. I was happy!
Sunday:
Sunday morning was similar to Saturday. Ajuma and Adoshi left before we were up to golf. HG and I had the breakfast buffet, then met our driver outside. Sunday was a little cloudier, and we feared rain. Thankfully, it cleared up and we were able to tour. (We seriously had the best luck ever! It was supposed to storm really badly, and in Seoul, it was absolutely torrential downpour all weekend!) We stopped a few places, but our biggest stop was a small mountain created by volcanic activity thousands of years ago. This thing was an absolute beast to climb. Hyun Gi and I were both sweating profusely by the time we got to the top, but the view was amazing. We could see a huge creater beneath us that was created by the volcano, then gaze at the horizon and see the ocean all around us. The water here is a beautiful light blue color that is very clean and fresh. We stayed at the top of the mountain for about a half hour and then took the lengthy trek back down. Our legs were aching and we really wanted to rest, but we had over an hour before we would leave to meet Ajuma and Adoshi for lunch at the country club, so we hiked over to another daunting set of stairs heading downward towards the sea. I got really excited because these stairs let us to the actual OCEAN! The entire trip I felt I was missing some experience because I had really wanted to go swimming in the water. I learned quickly, however, that this was not a sandy, luxurious beach where tourists come and tan themselves. Instead, it is a beach of rocks and fishing boats and cold water and hard work. I was still excited nonetheless to take off my shoes and wade in the cold, amazing, BEAUTIFUL water! I was so happy!! After a while, we mustered the energy to hike back UP the stairs. I can't even explain how tired I was by this time. I was so thankful we didn't have any more stops to make and that we could just enjoy a nice lunch before heading to the airport.
Lunch was very tasty, and the airport was crowded and noisy and not fun. I was tired and ready to be home. We boarded our plane around five, but it was delayed due to a technical inspection. When we landed in Seoul it was maybe around six thirty, and raining harder than I have seen it rain anywhere in a while. Oppa picked us up and we drove to a very nice Chinese dinner. I was really hungry by this time- the hiking really tired me out! It was very tasty, and we all came home, unpacked, and relaxed!
Today:
I had class, and then Hyun Gi and I met a girl from Cotter, Chris Choi. We had a kimchi soup with noodles and then hit up.... Coldstone! So good!
Wow, really long blog! I'm sick of writing! Great birthday, amazing trip, wonderful friends!
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