Too Much Food.

Over the past few days I've been spending a relaxing time on campus reveling in my temporary access to a full kitchen by baking a ton, eating a massive ton, and socializing with friends. 

On Saturday night we threw a dinner party. It was simple enough - we just made pasta. But the addition of good friends and booze made it a fun night. 

Also over the weekend I tried my hand at making Japanese wagashi using this recipe. It was really simple to make and they taste great warmed up with tea.

I also made some banana bread using this simple but extremely delicious recipe. And due to the lack of canned pumpkin in Korea, I adapted my favorite pumpkin bread recipe for sweet potatoes. My British friends told me the concept of eating something savory like pumpkin or sweet potato in a dessert disgusts them, but after trying the bread they had to rethink their views on gourd-based sweets.

Sweet potato bread

And FINALLY, a chance to be extremely fashionable in our fleece Korean pajamas. HOTTAYZ -

Manjanggul Lava Cave and Jeju Hedge Maze

Lava Caves - CHECK. One more thing knocked off my Jeju Island bucket list. On Saturday we started our winter holidays and for the next three weeks I am FREE. On Thursday I leave for Thailand, but before that I have a few days to bum around school, explore the island, and cook/ bake/ drink wine with friends. 

On Sunday we got up relatively early, bused up to Jeju City, and then took the 700 bus east for about 40 minutes to the Manjanggul stop. After walking a few kilometers, we made it to the lava tube entrance. For a mere $2 ($1 for those under 25 years old), you can enter the cold, damp tubes and walk in for about a kilometer. 

We made our way down many stairs into the tubes and I could feel the temperature drop slightly the farther we went. At least during the winter, the temperature difference between the surface and the cave wasn't that different. Mostly it was just moist and cavernous down there...

The footing was a bit sketchy, and the floor was moist and puddle-y. There were dim lights lining the path, but still it was quite dark.

Entrance to the tube

Reading the sign about "Lava Toes."

End of the tube

We walked about a kilometer in, which is as far as the path goes. According to some signs we read, the tube stretches much farther in either direction, and only that one kilometer is open to the public. I know there are other lava tubes on the island, but I've read that the geographical features they house are so delicate they are not open to public viewing.

After the caves we stopped at a Korean restaurant for lunch and then walked to another nearby tourist trap - a hedge maze. It cost less than $2 each to enter the maze, which kept us occupied for longer than expected.

At first we were all gung-ho that we weren't going to use the map they'd given us to find the exit. I had a theory that I'd seen somewhere: As long as we only took right- or left-hand turns we'd make our way out of the maze. This was sort of true in that we made our way back to the entrance, which I guess is technically an exit... but it was also not where we were trying to go. The goal was to reach the middle of the maze and ring the bell. We must've wandered the hedges for an hour before finally giving up and mapping our way out.

We followed the mapped route and within ten minutes we made it to the middle, climbed the stairs, rung the bell, and went home.

SUCCESS after cheating our way out of the maze !!

Jeju Loveland

**Disclaimer** There are dirty pictures in this post. Grandma, avert your eyes :0

On our day off Anna and I planned a trip to Jeju Loveland, an erotic statue park. To be honest, I've been wanting to go to Loveland since I learned that I'd be living on Jeju Island. Where else in the world would I be able to go to a place like that? 

We took the bus into town and then taxied down to Loveland. For a mere 9,000 won we were granted access to the site for an extended photo session with various pieces of suggestive statue art. 

ON OUR WAY !! Bus fare from the GEC

Arrived !!

Wonderful sidewalk art guided us around the park

Inspired statuary 

Some may be confused why a park like this exists. What's the point of two acres of land covered in sexy statue art? Two reasons. First, Jeju is home to an almost infinite number of random attractions including and not limited to teddy bear, chocolate, glass, dinosaur, mini landmarks, and elephant museums/ theme parks. Next, Jeju is a hugely popular honeymoon destination for Korean newlyweds. Apparently this park may provide some helpful advice and encouragement, or even just a few awkward laughs, for couples visiting the island. EWWWW. 

Anna and I didn't encounter too many couples. Mostly we just saw women walking around together in small groups and then the odd group of older salarymen poking their heads around that statuary ....UGH bad phrasing.... Thing is, I guess I can imagine going here on a date but it would have to be with someone I could have a really good laugh with. I'd prefer to go with friends.

Moving on. After viewing Loveland, Anna and I went back into the city for Indian food at Raj Mahal near Halla Hospital. This was my second time at this place and it's extremely delicious. I overate. 

Jeoji House Dinner

This past weekend my house, Jeoji, threw its first ever formal dinner party. We spent Saturday setting up and decorating the atrium for the meal by dragging in tables and chairs and covering tables in black and yellow paper. Everything came together looking very nice.

When we arrived downstairs for the dinner there were invitation place cards at each seat. Unfortunately some of the students think my name is Kristine..... It's alright.

The meal was provided by the dining services, but it was admittedly better than the cafeteria fare. We had three courses, with the main course being chicken. I overate. 

The staff on duty during the dinner party -- Looking dapper ;)

Jeoji Oreum and Beach Day with the House

Today the whole of Jeoji House took a trip to our namesake oreum and the Hyeopjae Beach. Once again the weather was wonderful -- clear and sunny, without a cloud in the sky. There was a slight cool breeze playing around us when we reached the top of the oreum for lunch and a rest.

The beach was also very nice, albeit windier. I went swimming in my clothes since I managed not to bring a bathing suit, but a lot of the students ended up doing the same. We had a recklessly fun time just running around through the water and sand. I felt so free, being off campus. It was nice to bond with some of the girls in the house outside of a boarding/ academic context.

To see more, go to our house blog.

Olle Trail #6

Today with the hiking club I went up the cliffs at the start of olle trail #6 on the Southern coast of the island. It was a pleasant day for hiking: the weather was warm with a cool breeze, and the day was clear and cloudless. We could see the outline of Mt. Halla very clearly from where we were situated. 

Only thing was that the trail we were on was quickly deemed the "Land of the Spiders." There were massive tons of the large, multicolored spiders that are often seen along the olle trails. I've never seen so many spiders in my life.

Unexpectedly, it was the girls who had no issue with the spiders. Instead, it was the boys who screamed bloody murder every time they saw one from a distance of 10 feet. Not gonna lie, it was pretty funny, but thank goodness no one came in contact with a spider or else we'd have a panic attack on our hands, I swear.

Birthday Weekend

I just celebrated my birthday this past Saturday and I had a lot of help from my friends here to make it AwEsOmEeEeEe! I got to go into town on Thursday and go shopping for a dress and makeup. We went to the underground shopping mall, but unfortunately it wasn't very big and they mostly sold sweaters and pants, so no luck there finding a dress. I did end up getting a lot of make up though. Then we went to an Indian restaurant for lunch and I gorged on lentil curry, naan, and rice. Wow it was delicious. I can't wait to go back there.

The next day my friend loaned me a dress and we went out on the town to celebrate my 23rd. Unfortunately Saturday I had to work, but I got the chance to go out for fried chicken and later in the night I did Scottish dancing with the year 9 students. I'd upload a video of it but it's too embarrassing how bad we were... Anyway, it was definitely one of the highlights of my birthday and a lot of fun.

On Saturday night, the girls in my dorm gathered together for registration and we also had birthday cake. As per the British style, I made a wish not when I blew out the candle, but when I cut the first slice of cake. The girls then surprised me with a big birthday card they made. It was so nice, I thought I would die of happiness :)

Birthday messages on the house white board!

Big, awesome Jeoji birthday card <3 <3 <3

Overall, a pleasant weekend :)

Typhoon winds and heavy rain are hitting tonight and into tomorrow. It's supposed to pour all day long and then get sunny later in the week. Two weeks until half term, woohoo!

O'sulloc Tea Museum

Yesterday my friend and I biked to O'sulloc Tea House, which is about a 10 minute bike ride or 30 minute walk from the school. We met up with some friends there and explored the place. It was my first time to the cafe and museum, which is based on a large green tea plantation. 

There are two cafes on site. The first cafe is more popular with the tourists, and there I had some of their green tea ice cream. The second cafe is a bit more removed, and we took time there to sculpt natural soap and eat lunch. I had mugwort and red bean buns, which are more desert than lunch but still delicious. 

Can't wait to go back and try the sausages. 

Camping on Udo - Day 2

Below is a picture as the sun was rising on Thursday morning, the morning of Chuseok. All through the previous night, the wind blew constantly, making the tent flap around, making sleep impossible. Many of us were up at around 3 or 4am, since it was quieter outside and the temperature was surprisingly mild. 

We had a lazy morning before hitting up the ATV/ scooter rental shops to rent some transport to see the island. Took us a few tries to find a place that would rent to us without international licenses, but finally we came across a place that set us up with a couple ATVs and scooters.

We used our two hours to see a lot of what must've been the southern part of the island. We stopped off at a small tourist town and went down countless steps onto a black sand beach. There were a lot of people around, so we just followed the crowd of people heading into a cave on the beach called called Dongangyoeng 동안경굴 cave. The footing was rocky and hard to navigate, but we made our way up a small pile of rocks, through the cave wall, and into the huge black cavern.

Next we rode across a bridge and parked near a pier with a lighthouse. Brad's up there in the picture. Pretty sure climbing the lighthouse is not allowed. Once he came down the ladder, though, all of the other Korean tourists swarmed around the base and tried their hand at climbing up...

We returned our ATVs and scooters and spent the rest of the day relaxing on the beach and swimming. There were TONS of tourists around for Chuseok, and it was a little overwhelming. We would go into the water to swim and when we came out onto the beach there would be a load of tourists exiting a bus and standing there taking pictures of the beach (and therefore, us).

That night we played cards and were joined around the our fire by Sean, a Canadian man who teaches English near Pusan. He was camping around with his dog, Alley, for the Chuseok holiday. Some other people wandered over to our fire as well. We met a Korean couple and their two daughters, who instantly bonded with Jen after she gave them OJ and dried pineapple. Another visitor included a pregnant woman and her slightly intoxicated husband, who were both really nice.

That night we shared our campsite with at least three sets of other campers, but despite the noise, the smells from their cookstoves, and the full moon illuminating the landscape, the wind had died down, and weighed down by exhaustion I fell onto my sleeping bag and had a much appreciated full night's rest.

Camping on Udo - Day 1

Happy Chuseok! Aka Korean Thanksgiving. All of the students have left campus and that leaves gap assistants and staff members to get up to whatever we think is fun. Nine of us from the gap program chose to go camping for two nights on Udo Island, and so we left on Wednesday, early afternoon, and took the 3 hour long bus trip from the education city to Seongsan Harbor and then the fifteen minute ferry ride to Udo.

Once we got there, we walked for about 15 minutes along the shoreline road until we came to Hongjodangoe 홍조단괴해변, a coral sand beach, where we were able to set down our gear and set up the tents we borrowed from the school. We were so lucky - our campsite was situated right on the beach next to a small town with a CU store and cafe, along with other conveniences. The biggest and best surprise was that there was a bathroom with working toilets right across the road from where we camped. Such a lifesaver.

It took a while to get situated and set up camp, but once everything was pretty much set up, I took a dip in the ocean and we watched the sun set over the sea.

It was then that I realized we were in paradise and we are some of the luckiest people around. Even though I wasn't too hungry, I decided to go along with some of the group to eat BBQ, and I'm so happy I did. We walked along the road for a bit until we came across what looked like some guy's deck with picnic tables and grills set up. There were people eating grilled meat and fish and drinking bottles of wine and soju.

I think it must've been some kind of illegitimate restaurant off of this guy's deck. Anyway, he grilled us up some of the best pork I've ever eaten and we ran down to CU to get some beers and stuffed our faces for the next hour. Then, the guy pulled out a saxophone and started serenading the whole group with old school easy listening that sounded a bit like the Korean version of Enka.

 

That night we built a fire on the beach and gathered around for hours, just chatting. It was so nice to feel like we were finally in Korea, and it felt so good to get away from everything at the school, if only for two days.