Signing Off

This is the last post that I'll write on this blog. I feel like a chapter is closing in my life, and with it, I'd like to close this blog as well. After 3 years in Korea, with a lot of travel and adventure squeezed in the middle, I've landed myself back in the homeland, the good ole U S of A.

To sum up the summer: Ali and I spent a couple of weeks in Malaysia after our final farewell from SoKo, after which we headed to England to spend some time with his family. Malaysia was HOT. And I learned a very important lesson about traveling while bouncing from one dirty hostel to another: I don't like dirty hostels anymore. But it was a country with a lot of beauty and culture, and it was also the last time we'll travel in Asia for awhile, so I soaked up every last temple, shrine, and bowl of rice. Oh, we also spotted a shark just a few feet away from our tiny little kayak in the ocean. Man, I'm gonna miss feeling scared for my life. I soaked that up, too.

England was a welcomed change in climate. Who knew that England in the summer is so awesome? It was cool (I was totally under-prepared with my sundresses and flip-flops...), it was light all the time, and Ali's house is not a dirty hostel. In fact, quite the opposite. I spent 2 weeks there, then said farewell to Ali for the time being and headed to Chicago. After 2 weeks in Chicago of apartment hunting, I'm now back in Iowa visiting my parents. I'll go back to Chicago next week, where I'll meet Ali (student visa approved!) and we'll both start grad school at Columbia College Chicago this fall. It's surreal that we're finally entering a new chapter in our lives. It took 3 1/2 years, but we're finally going to be together in the west. (Happy sigh of relief.)

This blog has logged so many memories of travels, adventures, and life abroad. So although this is my final entry, I'd like to keep the blog up for my own keepsake, and also for those who may find my experiences helpful in their own travels.

Thanks for reading. It's been fun. :)

Carolyn

Hard to Say Goodbye

I took this picture early in the morning on my way to the DMZ. I think it says more about why I'm sad to leave this country than my words ever could. Korea's so...so...ya know, like, awesome.

Peaking into North Korea

I spent my first official day of my last week in Korea waking up at 5am and heading into Seoul to join a tour group going to the DMZ (that's the only way you can go.) It was really interesting to take a look into North Korea and learn more about the war and the tensions between the two countries since. It's mind boggling that just feet away from where I was standing was a different country with the same people as the one I live in now, except that they're trapped, poor, and forced to praise an insane leader.

Half way down that blue building, North Korea starts. That big building in the back is guarded by North Korean soldiers.

The train that leads to Pyeongyang, which isn't in use now, but they hope it will be someday.

Beautiful rice fields on my early morning ride north.

Breakfast in Tiffany

Yes, I know that isn't the title of the movie. But that was the name one of the breakfast dishes at brunch last Monday. Oh, how I'll miss the almost correct English phrases here...

I love brunch. I'm leaving in 4 days. Holy cow.


Oh, and we squeezed in a sneaky little bit of shopping afterward...brunch and shopping! Yay!

Final Hollywood Kids Presentation

At the crack of dawn tomorrow morning, I'll be boarding a plane to head to Gwangju on the other side of Korea for my last ever Hollywood Kids presentation. I cannot even tell you how excited I am for that moment that I'm finished and never have to have weeks like this one again. I'm presenting first and last at the seminar, which is about the dumbest thing ever. I have to be completely caffeinated up and ready to go at 10am for the Song and Chant presentation and then sit around until 4:30 in the afternoon to do Hollywood Kids, the last presentation of the day, which means that the audience will inevitably be completely not wanting to be there anymore. Sigh. Oh well. It's my last one! Hallelujah!

Here's one of the videos I'm showing tomorrow. It's called the "Hollywood Warm-Up." Gets the kids moving and practicing the lines in a fun way! This is the warm-up I did for my class that has just started "The Frog Prince." Check out the homemade golden ball!

Alphabet Sounds

This is how Deer Class remembers the sounds of the alphabet:

Ajummas and Ajusshis

Before I leave Korea, I feel the need to give a shout out to the Ajummas and Ajusshis that rule this country. Yes, it's true, most of the time I feel more like I want to shout at them, but nevertheless, Korea would not function without its Ajummas and Ajusshis. Who would push and shove when getting on the train? Who would buy all of the hiking gear at the endless mountaineering shops? Who would shamelessly spit all over the street? Who would stare at foreigners unflinchingly for hour long train rides?

Yes, Ajummas and Ajusshis are definitely...er...characters. (As my dad would say.) But really, who can blame them? If I had been through a treacherous war and seen my little Asian homeland turned into a Western metropolis overnight, I'd feel like I had the right to do anything I wanted, too.

So, what are they?

An Ajumma is an older Korean woman
who scowls a lot, wears visors or some
form of large hat, never lets an inch of
her skin see the sun, has the right to stare
into any person's shopping cart at the
grocery store to see what they're buying,
will yell at foreigners when they j-walk,
and must be the first one on anything,
everywhere. Don't get in their way.













An Ajusshi is an older Korean man who drinks a lot of soju and may consequently be spotted at all hours of the day stumbling around trying to find his way back home. Or they are very likely stumbling around, avoiding going back home so as not to endure the wrath of their very scary wives (Ajummas). An Ajusshi wears hiking gear most of the time, even if they're not hiking, and has no problem hocking up loogies in places and at times in which one should never hock up a loogie. However, manners are not their top priority.

Ajusshis.

Ajummas.

They're tough, they're crude, and they're definitely a little scary sometimes, but despite their bad rep, I totally admire their bad-assness.

Sleeping Beauty

Here it is! The final performance you will ever see of Hollywood Kids. (Grab your tissues!) My 6-7 year old class and 8 year old class both performed Sleeping Beauty a couple of weeks ago. I really wanted to show the 6-7 year old class, but there were so many kids in the audience making noise that it's sort of distracting. So I'll show you the 8 year olds. This class is a little smaller, so we had to do some doubling up of characters, as well as rewriting the character of Queen Isabelle to King Ivan. I wish I could say I'm still sad about this being my last performance, but my last few weeks at my school are proving to be incredibly stressful, so at the moment, I'm just ready to be done. :) Enjoy! (And don't worry, all of those heads that are in the way in the beginning move eventually...)

The List: Progress!

I've been a busy bee, cracking away at that "Must Not Leave Korea Without Doing This" list. I'm impressed with my progress! Here's some of what I've crossed off the list:

Biking through the country roads of Ilsan. Korean farmers
wave to you just like they do in Iowa!

Picnicking in Lake Park.

I climbed to the peak of Bukhansan last Sunday, along with half of Korea. (Busiest national park in the Guiness Book of World Records!) A lot of it at the top was a very narrow, rocky, climb, so I held on tight the whole way up.

I feel the need to explain how I was feeling in this picture. Don't let the smile fool you: I. Was. Terrified. Standing on a tiny stone just a Korean Shove away from death is enough to make me freak out and start screaming that I need to get down. Which I did.

From the peak of Bukhansan! (Taken by Ali. WAY to preoccupied with
potentially falling off the mountain to be taking pictures...)

This was our view at lunch from the balcony at Agio on Saturday -- the temple
in the background is Gyeongbokgeong, where we had visited earlier that day.

Inside Gyeongbukgeong Palace.

Everyone in Korea dresses like this.

Hanging out with friends as much as possible! Like Mary Soo. :)

Walking along the stream through Seoul...lots of festivities
going on with Buddha's Birthday and all this month.

Hanging around Gwanghwamun Square, right in the middle of Seoul.

The Seoul Zoo!

As far as other things I've crossed off the list, not all were captured on camera. Like, for example, the jimjilbang. Hanging out in a hot tub with a bunch of naked Korean women isn't exactly a prime photo op. So you'll just have to trust me.

Kimchi and Things

Among the many things I will miss about Korea, Kimchi is not one of them! I never quite warmed up to this spicy pickled cabbage that Koreans eat with every meal. And I mean every. single. meal. I wish I liked it because it's been labeled one of the top 5 healthiest foods in the world.

I will, however, miss galby -- Korean barbeque. It's sooooo yummy.

But back to foods I won't miss: like bland noodle soup and dokbooki,
which are chewy rice cakes in, what else, spicy sauce!

And here's a food I will miss, but my poor tummy will not: Neck bone soup. It's neck bone meat with strange vegetables in a spicy broth that for some reason tastes delicious, but never fails to make me spend most of the following morning in the loo. What I will DEFINITELY miss is eating all of this with good friends. Here, Will,
Steph, Ali, and I are eating neck bone soup at the famous joint in Haengsin,
right around the corner from where all three of them live.

Children's Day

Something totally amazing about Korea is that every May, they have a national "Children's Day!" Why don't we do that? It's not only amazing because kids should most definitely have a day dedicated to celebarting them, but also because everyone gets the day off on Thursday. :) So to celebrate Children's Day at Feinschule, we invited the parents on a field trip to the top of Jangbalsan, the famous (and only) mountain in Ilsan. (In fact, Ilsan actually means "one mountain" in Korean.) Korens call it a mountain, when in actuality, it is a hill. Not even a very big one. But the kids enjoyed the nature walking, the games, the insect searching, the picnic, etc. And it was prime material for my new camera!

The Feinschule Kindergarten!

So proud of the ant Daniel found!

Roy!David showing off all the leaves he found.

Aiden thinks the leaf feels good.

Roy and family.

Jasmine!

Daniel and mom.

Angela and mom.

These were just some of my favorites, but I just uploaded the whole album to facebook, so check it out if you want to see more! It was my last field trip with my kids. Everything is so emotional lately! I'm gonna miss these little kiddos more than you can imagine.

I Just Packed a Box

It's my first one. Box, that is. I don't know why I thought that would be a good idea. I suppose I thought I was getting a head start on things. You know, start packing things away bit by bit so that I don't feel so overwhelmed at the end.

There was a huge thunderstorm all night, and I opened my window so that I could hear the rain and the thunder while I started a big pile of things on my bed to ship home. Winter coats, sweaters, the bowl we got from Tokyo, some of my Hollywood Kids books, bits and bobs that I won't miss in the next 7 weeks...and I was feeling so organized! I felt so happy! The thunderstorm was pounding outside of my window, and I was all..."Wow, Carolyn, look at you go. So on top of things!"

But now I feel terrible! That lonely little box is just sitting in the middle of my apartment, all packed up and ready to go, the rain is still falling, and I'm all alone in my apartment, staring at the box and the small gaps it made on my shelves and in my closets, and I feel so restless and so...so...blue! I know I said I wasn't going to think about the daunting realization that I'm actually going to leave Korea, but how can I not? That irritating little box is just looking me in the face saying, "Carolyn, it's going to happen. The 'Era of Korea' is ending. It's almost time to say goodbye."

Shut up, stupid box.

Will not be doing any more packing for awhile.

The Final Countdown

No! I don't want to think about it! Don't make me! Ok, so I'm not thinking about the fact that I'm leaving Korea in (eeeek!) less than 8 weeks. However, what I am thinking about is all the Korea-ness that I want to soak in before I go. So this week, I made my "Must Not Leave Korea Without Doing This" list. It's extensive. It's ambitious. But I'll give it my best shot. And to keep me motivated, I'll try to post my progress.

The "Must Not Leave Korea Without Doing This" List

1. Hike to the peak of Bukhansan (Bukhan Mountain).
2. Visit Changdeok Palace.
3. In one day, visit the contemporary art museum, the zoo, and Seoul Grand Park (they're all really close together).
4. DMZ!
5. Do an overnight temple stay.
6. Spend a weekend in Muiido (an island off the western coast) with as many friends as possible and stay in the little huts on the beach that we fell in love with during Chuseok a year and a half ago.
7. Hongdae Night Out: hit up our old time favorites--Agio, Misses Mai, Gr8 Hookah, and Club FF.
8. "Seoul Photo Shoot" -- a one day Seoul "walk-about" to take as many pictures as possible! Ok deep breathe...Gyeongbeokgung Palace, the Blue House, Samcheongdong, Insadong, Jongo Stream, Dongdaemun, and Dinner at Everest (our favorite Nepalese restaurant). Yes, we can do that in a day.
9. Spend a Sunday night at the Lake Park Musical Fountain, just like Ali and I did almost 3 years ago on Ali's first night in Korea. As we walked up through lake park, we heard music in the distance and started running toward it and suddenly, we broke through the trees and heard "All you Need is Love..." playing as the musical fountain put on a colorful dance routine to the song. We turned to gaze into each other's eyes and knew instantly that...Love really IS all you need! (Cue audience: Awwwwwww!) Yes, that really happened.
10. And speaking of the musical fountain, spend an afternoon at our little grassy spot we always sit at in the summer and have a picnic.
11. Bike along the Han river.
12. Bike around the countryside of Ilsan.
13. Get a manicure! (Because I won't be getting one for a loooooong time after I leave Korea. Unless the States are now offering top grade manicures for $1o as well...)
14. Afternoon outing: coffee at the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf followed by movie at the CGV (this is for sentimental value.)
15. Beers at the GS! (The GS is the name of the little corner shops in Korea with plastic chairs and tables outside.)
16. Go to the Yangsan Electronics Market. I don't know why this is on my list, because I HATE that place. There's nothing I find more agonizing than heckling with a little Korean man for a good deal on an electronic something or other. But I do need a new hard drive, so on the list it stays.
17. Revisit the top of Namsan Tower, followed by yummy beers at Craftworks Brewery.
18. Jimjilbong! (Korean Sauna) At least once more.
    

Cherry Blossom Festival

Our very exciting camera purchase on Sunday was conveniently made right before we headed to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Yeouido. We headed there in the afternoon, very thrilled to try out our new camera! I've lived in Korea for 3 years and have never managed to make it to this festival, mostly because I never wanted to brave the pushy Korean crowds. But since I may never have a chance to see the Cherry Blossoms in Korea again (sniff, sniff), I thought it would be worth the effort.
It was! The blossoms were beautiful! I LOVE Spring. (Another thing I loved when I was 10 that I still love...that theory is proving to be true of most things, it seems). The cherry blossoms come and go in the blink of an eye -- most of them will be gone by this weekend already -- so I was glad we could catch them in their prime blossomy-ness.

I can't explain why, but I love this picture (below). Our new camera
makes everything look so...cool!As many people as cherry blossoms. Korea's so small that when something cool
is happening, everyone is there.

Our first photo shoot with the new camera was exhilarating! So happy!