Round 2: Back to School

Today begins the winter semester for the Korean elementary school kiddies.  Half the school year is behind us and the next half is now officially under way.  It's raining today--although the kids don't seem to mind,  and honestly, I'm just relieved the weather is finally cooling down. 

It is also six months today since I landed in Korea.  Six months of experiences and six more still to experience.  My best advice for all future EPIKers out there, whatever expectations/worries you have, try hard to rid yourself of them.  Then when you think you're expectation-less, do it one more time.  Korea will not be how you picture it, the good parts nor the not-so-good parts.

A little tiny part of me was dreading back to school because vacation and the last couple of weeks have been so nice, so relaxing.  But as a wise person once told me, fear and worry is always a result of thinking about something in the future. When the moment comes, those fears and worries are gone.  And it's true--as I'm sitting here at my desk, co-teachers across from me, students running in the halls--that dread is gone.   Second semester will be as the first, happening one day at a time.

There seem to be no English classes today or, I've heard, for the rest of the week.  So next week will be full force back to the grind.  As for now I'll just sit here and enjoy the cool breeze coming through the windows and get myself ready for round two. 

Gwangju, Joa & Damyang

Day two of our trip took us to Gwangju where we met with my awesome friend and colleague who drove us to try some good food and to explore some of the more picturesque areas of the region.  

산재 비빔밥 or mountain vegetables bibimbap!  It was delicious!

It's kind of like a DIY type meal, you choose the veg and fill your plate.
This is DH's before he mixed it all together.

At the Eco Lake Park.

Korea is just full of mountains.  They are everywhere!  This park was huge and really beautiful, but it was just too hot to be outdoors.

In Damyang, at the bamboo forest.  Bamboo is really hard to photograph well, but you can get an idea of the size here.  Lucky for us bamboo plants, like most trees are really good insulators from the heat.  It was much cooler inside the forest.

Our gracious and beautiful host, baby bump, DH and me at the falls.

 We spent the whole day there before taking the bus back to Seoul around 7:30pm.  We were a little worried that we wouldn't make the last Subway to get us back to Banghwa once we arrived in Seoul, but everything worked out fine.  Destination Jeolla Province was a success, even without extensive planning.  

A new perspective on Seoul

This past Saturday began my unofficial vacation from school.  I say unofficial because although classes are finished for the semester, I still have two more days of school/deskwarming before my real vacation starts on Wednesday.  Nevertheless, I was super excited when school let out last Friday.  

To start off my summer holidays, DH and I decided to trek up Bukhansan, the "mountain north of the Han River".  The mountain is visible from many a districts in Seoul and is considered a pretty important landmark of the city.  Despite the 36 C (96.8 F) degrees weather at 66% humidity, we hit the trails at around 7:30am and managed to reach the top by around 10:30, with generous breaks.

There are a lot of good blogs out there with information about hiking up to Jaunbong (the peak of Bukhansan) like this one, this one or even this one.  If you want more specifics, those would be good places to look.  There doesn't seem much sense in repeating what is out there dozens and dozens of times already, but what I would add is that our experience differed from those previous hikers/bloggers due mostly to the time period we chose to hike it.  The insane Korean summers seem to keep hikers to a low so the climb up was relatively empty.

While the temperature was high, we found the hike totally manageable for two reasons 1) we started early (7:30) (we left Bangwha at 5:30) and 2) the mountain trail is almost entirely shaded by trees.  Ironically, the heat became unbearable only when we had to walk from the foot of the mountain through the city back to the subway station.

Overall an amazing hike with incredible views of the city and its surrounding area.  It is an experience I definitely recommend to all Seoul-dwellers who have the time to get there.

At Dongbongsan Station around 7am, our 'we're ready to take on this mountain' picture.

A view from the bottom.

About 2/3 up the mountain, an amazing viewing point where lots of hikers could rest and take in the sights of Seoul and the surrounding mountains. 

Our sights on the goal, Jaunbong peak.

Towards the end, we were climbing pretty steep inclines, we were literally climbing with our hands to keep our balance.

Heed the warnings of the bears.  Signs like these told us what to look out for.

You can't tell from this picture, but the only way to reach the peak is to pull yourself up on railings and ropes.  There are no stairs there and the incline was steeper than it appears.

But the view was worth it,  Seoul from the top.

A proud David with an incredible backdrop.

Who would have guessed that this is still Seoul?

Proof we made it !

Cold Noodles and Ice Cream

Man, this summer heat is brutal.  And it just doesn't let up.  It doesn't matter if it's 8am or 8pm, the humidity suffocates me.  Everywhere I go these days, no matter how short the distance, my face is dripping with sweat. It just puts me in a bad mood.  

Why, Korea? Why is your weather so extreme?!

Thank god for 냉면 (cold noodles)

and 아이스크림 (ice cream).

That's right, noodles sitting in an icy vinegar broth.  One of few reliefs from Korean summers.

Green Tea  팥빙수 , shaved ice with fruits and mochi.  Another gloriously cool summer food.

A Sneak Peak of Summer

The weather this last weekend was all sunshine, blue skies and warm weather.  I'm talking like 75 degree weather (Farenheit, my dear Celsius friends).  David and I hit the trails and went for a good old fashioned hike in the Fränkische Schweiz. Now if only the weather would stay this way.