a girl, a backpack, and an island

So, my trip to Jeju Island was, in one word: awesome!

At first, I was slightly anxious at the thought of traveling on my own. Traveling wasn't new to me: figuring out bus schedules, seeing sights, meeting people at hostels/guesthouses... but traveling alone was a new challenge. I viewed it as another way to push myself, to see what I was capable of.

The week leading up to it, I sort of kept "forgetting" about my upcoming trip. But soon, Thursday rolled around, and after getting the okay to leave work early after the kids took their finals, I headed home, finished packing, and went to the airport via express bus. My flight was delayed by half and hour, and after a cute text from Hyo Lee checking on whether I got to the airport okay (she's my Korean mom/travel agent) and a 45-minute flight, I landed in Jeju.

Jeju-si and Hallasan

Thursday night I stayed in Jeju city, which was about a 10-minute bus ride from the airport. Yeha Guesthouse was minutes away from the bus terminal (very convenient) and one of the best hostels I've ever stayed at. Everything was so clean and nice (showers were big/private, rooms were well equipped), and there was a living room/kitchen area, and free breakfast (with eggs!!). Before I even left the check-in counter, I had met a Chinese-British guy named Will who was looking for someone to eat Heoktweiji (흑돼지) with, which was a black pork, a Jeju specialty. Basically it was served Samgyepsal-style, but the black pigs were native to Jeju. At the guesthouse I also met two other Chinese people: Karen, who was visiting from Hong Kong, and Yi Yeom, who was a civil servant in China on some sort of exchange program in Korea. Yi Yeom spoke Mandarin, but Will and Karen spoke Cantonese so it was really interesting to hear so much Chinese!! The funny thing was that Yi Yeom and I didn't understand each other, so instead we communicated in Korean!

I had planned on hiking Hallasan (Mt. Halla - the tallest mountain in Korea) the next day, and Yi Yeom and her friend were considering going. However, it didn't work out (not only was the hike 8 hours long, but we had to get up super early for it), so instead I went with a Korean girl named Sohee (서희). We got up at 5:30am, caught a bus from the terminal, and began our trek at 7:30am at Seongpanak Trail, which was 9.6 kilometers long!! We stopped briefly for Kimbap and Ramen at a shelter, and arrived at Baengnokdam Peak (1,950m!!) before noon. On the way up we got to see some roe deer, and the view at the top was breathtaking. Currently it's monsoon season, so I didn't really see much blue sky the whole trip, but being up on the mountain with the clouds surrounding you with mist really made me feel like I was on another world. However, I didn't forget that I was in Korea, and in Korea cell phone service is everywhere, so I actually video called Hyo Lee from the top!!

Sohee and I at Baengnokdam, a crater lake at the top of Hallasan

To get back down, we hiked the Gwaneumsa Trail (8.7km) which took about another 4 hours. This trail had never-ending stairs, which made me glad I didn't hike this way UP. However, the view on this trail was definitely better than Seongpanak, we saw a ton of ridges and valleys and there were also some cool bridges along the way.

We finally arrived at the bottom at around 3:30pm... which meant we had hiked 18.3km in 8 hours that day. Pretty successful, I'd say! Ever since Jirisan it had been a goal of mine to hike the top three mountains in Korea, and so far, I've gotten to the peak of the top two! On the walk down, Sohee and I kept passing the same people, and one of the guys gave us and another hiker a ride back to Jeju-si. After splitting with Sohee I took a bus headed east to Seongsan-ri, to my next motel.

Seongsan Ilchulbong, Manjanggul, and Seogwipo

My motel was right at the bottom of Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak), which was one of the top sights in Jeju. However, when I got to the motel, it was nowhere to be found. There was so much FOG that I literally could not see it! If the guy at the front desk hadn't told me my room had a view, I wouldn't have known. Because of this, I wasn't anticipating much. I was also planning to hike at sunrise, since that was the popular thing to do, but the man had convinced me that I wouldn't be able to see a thing. So I slept in a little bit (much needed, after Hallasan), and didn't head out until 10am the next day. The crazy thing was, around 9am, I looked out the window, and there it was!! It was like freezing water in my face, such a shock how big it was, how cool it looked, especially considering the blanket of fog the night before! The hike was a short 20 minutes, and at the top was another crater. It was definitely harder to see than Hallasan, but I was glad I was there. Too bad it was so cloudy so I couldn't see the backdrop of blue sky and ocean.

The view of Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) from my room.

Another view of Seongsan Ilchulbong

A note on the weather: because it's currently monsoon season in Korea, and Jeju gets a TON of rain, it was supposed to rain the entire weekend. Luckily, outside of a few drops here and there, it wasn't so bad, and everything still looked beautiful to me. Some people mentioned what a pity it was that I was there during the rainy season, but honestly, this added to its charm. Yes, blue skies would've made for better photos, but the mist and fog was just a part of Jeju, it gave everything a sort of mysteriousness and other-worldliness that really made me feel I was somewhere else.

After Seongsan Ilchulbong, I hopped on a bus headed back west, toward Manjang Cave, which was part of the Geomun Oreum Lava Tube System - the longest lava tube system in the world. (If you haven't guessed, Jeju is a volcanic island, Hallasan is a volcano...) On the bus I met another solo Korean woman headed there so we went together. Her name was Jung Eun (정은) and she was from Seoul. Jung Eun's English wasn't so good so we conversed in Korean... by this time I was really enjoying meeting random people and finding out about their life/where they were from, etc. Manjanggul was really impressive, the entrance to the cave looked so small; halfway down the steps there is a HUGE temperature drop and once you get inside you realize how big the cave is. We were only allowed to go 1km into the cave, and at the end there was a 7.6m high lava column, apparently the largest in the world (I really like visiting things that have some sort of status as something-in the world...) Overall I was pretty impressed by how big and scary the cave was (there was really little lighting), and I could only imagine how much scarier it would be without the lights.

Entrance to Manjanggul (Manjang Cave)

After Manjanggul, Jung Eun and I headed back toward Jeju city - she was heading back to Seoul and my destination was Seogwipo, a city on the south coast of the island (Jeju city is on the north coast). Jung Eun and I split, and at Seogwipo, with walking instructions from Erica, a fellow EPIKer living in Jeju, I made my way to Jeongbang Waterfall.

Jeongbang was by far, my favorite part of Jeju. It was the only waterfall in Asia that went directly into the ocean, and after all the walking I had done so far, I took off my hiking boots and soaked my feet in the ocean water. It was sooo refreshing, and the waterfall was so beautiful. If I lived in Jeju I would go there SO often, just to enjoy the view.

Jeongbang Waterfall

After Jeongbang I was sort of short on time... I had the option of checking out another waterfall - Cheonjiyeon, and/or going to see the Oedolgae Rock. Since I'm actually returning to Jeju in a few weeks with my Taekwon dojang, and Cheonjiyeon was on the itinerary, I decided to check out Oedolgae. At Oedolgae I met a Korean family who was on vacation in Jeju, one woman and her son actually lived in Houston, and her son was born there. Oedolgae was pretty cool, except again, I couldn't see the view behind it, which was too bad. Oedolgae has a lot of stories associated with it, one about a general dressing it up to scare away invaders, one about it being an old woman..

Oedolgae

Jungmun and Sai Guesthouse

By now it was getting pretty late and I still hadn't met up with Erica, who was in the area. I caught a cab to my last guesthouse, called Sai Guesthouse, on the Southwest coast of Jeju. It was sort of in the middle of nowhere, but on an Olle Trail, which are scenic coastal walking trails that Jeju is famous for. The people at this guesthouse were so nice and friendly. Apparently they don't get a lot of foreigners, and since Hyo Lee booked it for me, she had called ahead and given them the heads up. So they were actually nervous about my arrival. When I got there, even the guests knew who I was, cause I guess the staff were talking about the foreigner who was coming that day!! They seemed a little relieved that I spoke Korean, and also I think not actually looking like a foreigner (aka blond hair, blue eyes) made them more comfortable.

Sai (사이) Gueshouse

Book cafe on the 2nd floor, Barista making coffee

I couldn't have dinner at the guesthouse because I had plans to meet Erica, so the manager of the guesthouse, Sang Sik, drove me all the way to Jungmun Beach (which was a good 10 min ride) where I met Erica, her Jeju friends, and we headed to a beach party for a surfing competition that was going on that weekend. The beach party ended almost immediately after we got there however, and so we got some fireworks and just lit them on the beach. One really funny/traumatizing thing was watching Erica with the fireworks!! She was having too much fun, haha, and played with them like she was Harry Potter. Soooo instead of pointing the stick up, she pointed it out, and almost set a tent and a car on fire in the process!!! We were laughing so much my sides began to hurt.

Unfortunately, I had to leave pretty early since I didn't know if the guesthouse had a curfew. Back at the guesthouse, I drank a bit and chatted with the people who were staying there. This is my favorite part about traveling in Korea: meeting people. Its an awesome opportunity for me to practice my Korean, which was why I preferred staying in Korean guesthouses as opposed to ones that were meant for foreigners. The people there were so nice and friendly. With almost everyone I met that weekend we exchanged e-mails or phone numbers.

The last thing I did in Jeju was head to Hyeopjae Beach Sunday morning. It was way too foggy to see anything, but it was nice and relaxing to walk around. I went there with another guest from Sai, who wanted to introduce me to his cousin in Seoul, haha.

Before I began this trip, I wondered if I was going to get bored or lonely. While there were a few times where I was bored, it was surprising to see that I never really felt lonely. It was really fun wandering around alone, with just your backpack, and interacting with strangers. I had also never packed so LITTLE for a trip before!! I think I really enjoyed the life of a simple backpacker. I didn't want to leave Jeju by the end, I just wanted to keep going, see what else there was to explore! It was a sad wake-up call to remember that I had a life to get back to. The weekend truly felt like a dream, like I was in another country completely. While I was sad to be leaving, I have the trip with my Taekwon dojang to look forward to, and I'm so glad I'll get another chance to go back.

Backpacker Kat? Haha

i couldn't tell you why i haven't been able to keep this blog going. maybe it's because i've been so busy this past year, with teaching, meeting friends, taekwondo, salsa, yoga, hiking. the fact of the matter is that i do have enough time on my hands to write in this blog. so why haven't i?

i've done a lot of reflecting and experienced so many things... some i try to jot down in my private journal, some i bare for all in slightly vague ways through my facebook and twitter accounts. but i haven't done the detailed update, breaking down all the different places i've been and things i've seen. when i was in greece i detailed everything (unfortunately), in both my private journal and my public blog. i think the difference here is that im not so much a traveler... as i am simply, a resident. i'm living and working here, and in the same way that i assume my daily life in boston or new york may not be so interesting, maybe i think that of my daily [korean] life.

however, no matter how mundane a day in my life here can be, ive also done things and challenged myself if ways i've never thought of before. is it possible to be walking down a street in a city you've lived in for over 10 months now, and still be so surprised at where you are that it takes your breath away?

some days i know i'm ready to return home. i miss my family, i miss my friends. but other days i am reminded of how much of this world i have left to see; i think about the people i've met that i'm not yet ready to part with.

tomorrow i will begin an incredible adventure. i'll be traveling to an island off the south coast of korea, alone. no matter how many countries i've been to, how many things i've seen, there hasn't been a time that i've traveled somewhere completely alone (barring a 24 hour trip to macedonia to invalidate my visa). i am half excited, and half scared for this journey. i know it will be incredible, and i'm looking forward to the challenges that will be presented to me as a solo traveler. no doubt i will meet people on my journey, and i even have plans to meet up with a friend. but for most of the trip, it will literally be me, the island, and a backpack. not to mention the tallest mountain in korea..

so far, my time in korea has been wreaking havoc on.... my feet.

in taekwondo class, we practice barefoot. all the "stepping" (bouncing up and down) and kicking we do... i am starting to get calluses!! and in salsa i spend about 2-3 hours dancing in my (slightly tight) salsa shoes doing spins and whatnot. and to top it all off, i have to stuff my poor feet in HEELS on weekends!!! luckily i don't wear heels so much anymore. but lately, my feet are definitely not looking pretty =(

it surprises me sometimes just how happy i am with my job. there are some bad days.. but most of them stem from the work environment, the colleagues, the communication problems, and simply the differences in culture. but one thing has never failed me, and that has been what i feel when i'm with my students. yes, there are the handful of "bad" kids... the ones that give me grief, the ones that are rude, the ones that don't listen, the ones that no matter what, i'll never be able to truly help. even these kids hold a place in my heart. at the end of the day, it is because of these kids that i want to become a teacher.

im somewhere between a "teacher" and a "friend" to these students. they dont see me that often so i dont have to discipline them, i don't have to give them grades, and i don't have to be mean (even though i choose to. i dont like leaving the discipline up to my coteachers). maybe to everyone at this school i am not considered a "real" teacher. maybe not even to myself, at this point. but sometimes it surprises me how attached i get to these kids, whose names i can't pronounce or don't even know. when i think of them my heart fills up, and when i think of the future i wonder what theirs will be. i wonder if they will ever visit america, will they ever think to contact me if they're ever in new york. and i hope deep down that they will. that i won't become a faded memory in their lives as time goes on, because they won't be a faded memory in mine.

i know that kids back in the states wont be the same way. there is an innocence about these students, a lightheartedness, a different type of relationship they have with their teachers that maybe doesn't exist in middle schools in brooklyn. here, teachers give students a ride home after school. they take their homeroom out to a movie on the weekends. students have their numbers and text them freely in the evening. a teacher in korea, means more than what happens inside the school building. the profession is well-respected (and deservedly so). a teacher can even take away a student's cell phone privileges for an entire month. of course there are some things about the school culture i may not understand and may not even agree with. but as a whole, being in this environment, seeing these kids every day, seeing them remember something i told them weeks before, seeing them make the effort to say something to me in english, and watching their eyes light up when they understand something... this is what i get up for every morning.

these days, i've been thinking to myself: if i never went to korea, i would never know what it feels like to miss it. it's like knowing a huge storm is coming except the storm is in my heart.

oh, kpop.

why must you be so catchy?

even though i don't understand your lyrics, i find myself singing along to you every time your tune creeps into my head.

and half the time it's not only in my head, but playing on the street!!

being korea

According to Wikipedia (and many other, more reputable sources), there are three phases of culture shock.

Honeymoon Phase. "OMG!! Look at the TREES! KOREAN TREES! WOW, even their toilets are different! Check out all the lights! Noraebang, HELL YES!! This place is AWESOME!!!!!!!"

Negotiation Phase. "Ugh. Why can't my teachers just be upfront instead of speaking so ambiguously? How come no one actually PLANS AHEAD in this school? Why can't these scooters follow the damn traffic signals!"

Adjustment Phase. "Ah, you don't know the difference between annyonghi kaseyo and annyonghi kyeseyo? Tsk, tsk, newbie. You gotta get somewhere? I can tell you exactly how to take the bus, what to tell the taxi driver, and no fewer than three landmarks nearby. Dude, you just squat and pee, that's all there is to it..."

We talked about culture shock before I left for Greece, and we talked about culture shock after I arrived in Korea. Whether or not I truly felt it, I'm not sure. Yes, I've experienced all three emotions, but not at strong levels. When I get annoyed at something, it's not simply because it's different from America, but because it's annoying. If it happened to me in America, I would be just as annoyed.

There are supposedly three outcomes after the adjustment phase:

• "Some people find it impossible to accept the foreign culture and integrate. They isolate themselves from the host country's environment, which they come to perceive as hostile, withdraw into a ghetto and see return to their own culture as the only way out. These Rejectors also have the greatest problems re-integrating back home after return. Approximately 60% of expatriates behave in this way."
• "Some people integrate fully and take on all parts of the host culture while losing their original identity. They normally remain in the host country forever. Approximately 10% of expatriates belong to this group of Adopters."
• "Some people manage to adapt the aspects of the host culture they see as positive, while keeping some of their own and creating their unique blend. They have no major problems returning home or relocating elsewhere. Approximately 30% of expatriates are these so-called Cosmopolitans."

I don't like to categorize myself or generalize my experience, but I can safely say that I am neither a rejector nor an adopter. I am not yet sure if I am a cosmopolitan. However, one thing I've noticed about my relationship with Korea, is that I am extremely patient with it. Where some native teachers would complain about bureaucracy and the constant changes in our contracts, I passively wait for them to sort it out, and go from there. I'll say it again, I passively wait. I don't remember being this passive before, ever in my life (Okay, maybe when I was younger, but definitely not when I was in college). Maybe it's because I am strikingly aware that we are guests in this country, that we have no right to demand anything from it, or to declare that we deserve something simply because we are "better." I sympathize with my co-teachers, who have to deal with us, and have so much requested of them from higher authorities; people who don't know what it takes to control a classroom.

Not that I don't still get annoyed, which I do. But I am actively trying to find a compromise. Instead of bitching and moaning about something, I try to find a way to move forward and still be happy.

When people complain about something authentically "Korean," I think, "this is the way it is, there's no point in arguing about it." Life is life no matter what country you live in, and just because you're "Western" and feel worshipped by your school and the government, doesn't mean that you have the right to say what should and shouldn't happen in a country that's not yours.

Do these opinions make me an adopter? or a cosmopolitan? Either way, I am continuing to feel lucky for this opportunity to immerse myself in a country that is not my own, to see that while some things change from culture to culture, other things are true no matter where you are. Let's revel in our differences, be happy that they exist, and try to value each other for it.