Kaya Hotel Busan

Went to visit my friend in Busan, Rachel. She lives a 5 min walk from this beautiful beach (dadaepo, in case you wanted to google it!) and in a very hilly part of town. It's a good workout to live there! Friday night I went and met her and we went to a k-pop concert...mostly wannabes and new stars, but Baek Ji Young, who is a bit more of a big star here was also there! Very cool. It was neat to see the atmosphere of ...

... my muscles aren't as toned--needless to say....but....I still got it!! Oh yeah, I do! That was so much fun--just to play catch!! I was so hyped, that I even played a little half-court basketball afterwords--nothing hard core, but it was still fun! Hmmm...I guess exercise in the form of sports is cool.... Guess that's something I should look into again... :)

Anyway, enjoy the pics!

... dishes outside on the windows, we pop in, byp*ss the front counter *nd find * t*ble. I guess this is how you do it over here. Just find * pl*ce *nd plop. The l*dy comes over *nd throws (liter*lly) one menu tow*rds the t*ble. It hits the side closest to her *nd slides ne*rly the length of the t*ble. She w*lks off. While we *re looking, *n old m*n brings us 3 st*cked, TINY, met*l cups. And the dingiest w*ter I've ever seen, in * Tupperw*re type ...

... attempt to do this can be quite amusing at times; however, totally understandable if you put in the time and effort. Korea is worth the trip if only to dispel any stereotypes that you may have, and to share those with the world around you. Korea has so much to offer by way of culture, the people, food, and sites. You will not be disappointed! Getting there: South Korea is really easy to travel to! The main airports to fly into are Seoul or Busan. Be ...

... faculty... It was nice, but I leaned over to my CT and whispered "He's drunk..." She giggled of course.

Soon after that, when everyone was getting good red-faced, and sloshed (I was on good behavior mom--though the Korean's alcohol tolerance is significantly lower than mine), the cute PE teacher got up and made some sort of speech....which ended with a word very familiar to me being shouted over the mic, "MAL-LEEE-SA!!" As dread came ...

... frequent in South Korea. After Jinju I took a bus to Daegu, where I left my luggage at a left luggage and took another bus to Haeinsa Temple. This temple is one of the most famous in South Korea, because this where the Tripitaka Koreana is stored. This Tripitaka Koreana is an ancient book printed on thousands of woodblocks: it was quite impressive. Back in Daegu I was tired and I quickly settled into a motel next to the bus station. It was raining heavily the next day, but I had already ...

... to her again...), and I think takes pride in the fact that I come to her to buy my produce. It's really nice actually--it's like having a farmer's market next door every day.



One other thing I wanted to make note of... Yes, my 30th birthday is coming up... Not my point entirely, BUT!! In Korea, they start counting age at the day of birth. So...age in Korea is like 1-2 years ahead?? I don't quite understand how they figure it ...

... no one I know has ever said such a thing...." OMG So uncomfortable, AND to think that the science teacher (whoever that is, but is male) is telling students that I would say something like that!! Wow....... Oh well, they'll get used to me.

All in all, I think I'm going to be fine here. I miss home and my people a lot, but I'm doing ok. The food isn't so bad--good thing I'm not vegetarian... Dad, I think you'd really like the food. :) Mom, you ...

... a big deal until I had the brilliant idea of carrying her out to deep water. By the time we made it back to shore, I was so tired we both almost died. The other obvious highlight of Sokcho is nearby Soraksan National Park. In Korean, "san" means mountain. As is the case with most Korean National Parks, it is a large, gorgeous mountain. After entering the park and before you start ascending, you are greeted by one of Korea's largest statues of Buddha ...

... as well). i came to be a fairly regular customer at a mexican taco shop in haeundae (the main beach area of busan). it's a tiny little place with a counter and bar stools for about 6 people, run by a quiet spoken, genial and laid back korean chap, who has a very serene quality about him. this was one of my mainstay foods whilst i was there, and on a couple of occasions i travelled all the way across town (40+ minutes) just to have a burrito or a fajita. the second thing ...