Hooray for a three-day weekend!!
So, let's start with this: David and I almost NEVER get to have the same day off, because my school will only allow vacations during scheduled breaks, and David's company just...doesn't like it when their employees aren't there. Apparently, they recently started allowing people to take week-long vacations (sure wish they'd done that for our trip to America last year, instead of giving him ONE DAY), but it is generally assumed that if you take a week off, it is because you have no investment in the company and are probably going to quit soon.
And you are basically on call your entire vacation anyway.
Now that I got that off my chest...
We got to have a three-day weekend together!
On Friday, we got up early to go to immigration and renew my visa. I had an F-2 visa last year, but they changed the marriage visa to an F-6 (an F-2 is now something you have to earn, either by making a lot of money, or having a Ph.D., being fluent in Korean, and/or making some significant contribution to Korean society), so they will have to issue me a new card.
They also told me that I will automatically be eligible for an F-5 visa next September! (That means, permanent residency.) However, I MIGHT also be able to become a dual citizen. I am not sure if I want that. I mean, then I can vote, and I will have a Korean ID number (which is required to sign up for basically everything, from health insurance to movie tickets that you buy online). But maybe I will have some other issues. For example, foreign-born Koreans who get dual citizenship are often penalized when they come to Korea. They have to fulfill their military service, and if they get teaching jobs, they are often paid lower salaries with longer hours. So, if my job prospects are going to get worse, it doesn't seem worth it.
Anyway, we also got to hang out with my old co-worker, Chris from Australia, who has apparently been gone for two years!!! Which is hard to believe. Time, it is going by faster and faster. David says it's because we are getting old. Hope it slows down a little when our kids are small though. I don't want to miss that.
We had those awesome make-it-yourself rice paper spring rolls at a Vietnamese restaurant. Does anyone know what I am talking about? You have all these shredded veggies, cooked shrimp and meat, and a couple kinds of sauce. You dip your rice paper into hot lemony water, and it gets soft enough to fill with veggies and whatever. You wrap it up, dip it in the sauce, and eat it. I love those things.
We couldn't hang out long, because Chris had to go meet another friend, and we had to drop by Emart (which now has Greek yogurt! Yay!) and then go home and pack.
We took an overnight train to the East Sea, where we were supposed to see the sunrise on the beach. Now, according to the Seoul forecast, the sky was supposed to be clear.
But in Jeongdongjin, not so much.
We spent several rather miserable early-morning hours trying to enjoy walking along the frigid, drizzly beach, before giving up and going to a convenience store for hot chocolate, and a small restaurant shortly thereafter for fishcake soup.
Oh, and we bought some really high-quality miyeok, which is the seaweed you need to make soup that you have to eat every day after you give birth. So I figure, if I have to eat the same thing every day, at least I can use damn good ingredients.
Anyway, after that, we got on the tour bus to the next stop, a traditional palace area with gardens and a forest. And the rain stopped.
We went to a cave exhibition after that, but to be honest, it was not that amazing. Having been to real caves in Jeju-do makes the plastic version a bit disappointing. There was an Omnitheater there, so we watched a presentation on caves. Or, I watched it. But it was so dark, the chairs were so comfortable, and David gets motion-sick from those kinds of things, so he just slept through it. I managed to stay awake for most of it, but even I was dozing by the time we got to the cave spiders...
After that, we dropped by another beach.
Then, off to see cool rock formations!
We were kind of sent off on our own for our meals, so we got to go to the best restaurant for soondubu jiggae (spicy soft-tofu soup). David's good friend from university met us there with her baby, who smiled a lot and didn't make one sound. Is that possible? Can babies really not cry all the time? That would be awesome.
So it was great to hang out together, and although I don't usually like soondubu jiggae, it was in fact really good.
Finally, and I cannot BELIEVE this was the same day, we saw so many things and the weather changed so dramatically, we went to a sheep valley!
And then, we dropped by Wonju for dinner (we were really tired by this time, so we just had bibimbap and mandu soup). And then back on the train (which was delayed, but not ridiculously so) and back home.
And it's only Sunday now! So we have just been hanging out and doing minor chores. David was reading a book in our kitchen swimming pool.
Did I mention that we put a kiddie pool in the kitchen?
It's awesome.
Have a great day, everyone.
And you are basically on call your entire vacation anyway.
Now that I got that off my chest...
We got to have a three-day weekend together!
On Friday, we got up early to go to immigration and renew my visa. I had an F-2 visa last year, but they changed the marriage visa to an F-6 (an F-2 is now something you have to earn, either by making a lot of money, or having a Ph.D., being fluent in Korean, and/or making some significant contribution to Korean society), so they will have to issue me a new card.
They also told me that I will automatically be eligible for an F-5 visa next September! (That means, permanent residency.) However, I MIGHT also be able to become a dual citizen. I am not sure if I want that. I mean, then I can vote, and I will have a Korean ID number (which is required to sign up for basically everything, from health insurance to movie tickets that you buy online). But maybe I will have some other issues. For example, foreign-born Koreans who get dual citizenship are often penalized when they come to Korea. They have to fulfill their military service, and if they get teaching jobs, they are often paid lower salaries with longer hours. So, if my job prospects are going to get worse, it doesn't seem worth it.
Anyway, we also got to hang out with my old co-worker, Chris from Australia, who has apparently been gone for two years!!! Which is hard to believe. Time, it is going by faster and faster. David says it's because we are getting old. Hope it slows down a little when our kids are small though. I don't want to miss that.
We had those awesome make-it-yourself rice paper spring rolls at a Vietnamese restaurant. Does anyone know what I am talking about? You have all these shredded veggies, cooked shrimp and meat, and a couple kinds of sauce. You dip your rice paper into hot lemony water, and it gets soft enough to fill with veggies and whatever. You wrap it up, dip it in the sauce, and eat it. I love those things.
We couldn't hang out long, because Chris had to go meet another friend, and we had to drop by Emart (which now has Greek yogurt! Yay!) and then go home and pack.
We took an overnight train to the East Sea, where we were supposed to see the sunrise on the beach. Now, according to the Seoul forecast, the sky was supposed to be clear.
But in Jeongdongjin, not so much.
We spent several rather miserable early-morning hours trying to enjoy walking along the frigid, drizzly beach, before giving up and going to a convenience store for hot chocolate, and a small restaurant shortly thereafter for fishcake soup.
Oh, and we bought some really high-quality miyeok, which is the seaweed you need to make soup that you have to eat every day after you give birth. So I figure, if I have to eat the same thing every day, at least I can use damn good ingredients.
Anyway, after that, we got on the tour bus to the next stop, a traditional palace area with gardens and a forest. And the rain stopped.
We went to a cave exhibition after that, but to be honest, it was not that amazing. Having been to real caves in Jeju-do makes the plastic version a bit disappointing. There was an Omnitheater there, so we watched a presentation on caves. Or, I watched it. But it was so dark, the chairs were so comfortable, and David gets motion-sick from those kinds of things, so he just slept through it. I managed to stay awake for most of it, but even I was dozing by the time we got to the cave spiders...
After that, we dropped by another beach.
Then, off to see cool rock formations!
We were kind of sent off on our own for our meals, so we got to go to the best restaurant for soondubu jiggae (spicy soft-tofu soup). David's good friend from university met us there with her baby, who smiled a lot and didn't make one sound. Is that possible? Can babies really not cry all the time? That would be awesome.
So it was great to hang out together, and although I don't usually like soondubu jiggae, it was in fact really good.
Finally, and I cannot BELIEVE this was the same day, we saw so many things and the weather changed so dramatically, we went to a sheep valley!
And then, we dropped by Wonju for dinner (we were really tired by this time, so we just had bibimbap and mandu soup). And then back on the train (which was delayed, but not ridiculously so) and back home.
And it's only Sunday now! So we have just been hanging out and doing minor chores. David was reading a book in our kitchen swimming pool.
Did I mention that we put a kiddie pool in the kitchen?
It's awesome.
Have a great day, everyone.