Assignment 20 - my trip to Jejudo
Going to Jeju Island was a wonderful and much needed break although I went when the students were testing. The idea of going all began with my co-teacher who suggested I should try visiting that place while we were munching on clementines from Jeju. I prefer calling the clementines, mandarin oranges but for some reason it offend the Koreans if you refer to them as mandarins. I set out to ask the other teachers from NEIU if they were available and able to go. There were a few issues, but 2 others (CR and JJ) were able to join me and they made the trip more worthwhile. We set out on December 8, Saturday and it started off with a bit rocky. The night before we had met up with a few others to have dinner together and then plan out what places we would like to check out. We did not stop to think ahead, while we were nearby the bus terminal, to find out the times of when the buses go to Gimpo Airport. We aimed to get the bus at least 2 hours before our departure ... and soon realized that we would have to pay for another ticket due to being late for or flight. Yet, when we managed to get to the counter, Jeju Air informed us that we had not missed our flight and that it had been delayed for an hour. That was a miracle in itself as we were over 20 minutes late to our flight. Thus, we flew out on our reserved flight.
When we arrived, we decided to swing by the hospital first as one of the teachers wanted to pass on a message from his church to a patient (as he and his church knew the patient and her family through missionary work). I and other teacher remained in the waiting room and I picked up how many stares we were getting from others. Interestingly enough, we were not scolded for coming in during the non-visiting hours. The hospital rooms are sliding doors, but the waiting room is a regular door which both CR and I thought was very odd because it was a hassle for those wheel-chair bound to maneuver through. After the visit we headed onwards to find the guesthouse we would be staying at for a few days. That too, took some work to find as the cab driver did not know where it was located. One of the staff from the guesthouse was kind enough to hop out, meet us, and show the way to the place. Once we were settled in we went for dinner, which was "Mexican" food that had a reminiscent taste of Chipotle, right next door. This day was spent relaxing and getting our bearings.
I must say, Jeju is quite windy, similar to Chicago in a manner. The palm trees all over the landscape were strange to me as I have never truly stayed/ visited a tropical place. On top of that were the groves and groves of clementine trees dotted around places. The next thing we did was watch, "The Guardians" movie (yes it was in English) and from the few times I have been to the movies ... it seems like every 2-3 kids manages to spill their popcorn. The thing that really strikes as amazing is that they will go find a dustpan and broom, and then proceed to clean up their mess. There is a custodian, but the thoughtfulness of keeping the place clean with no prompting from any adults is astounding. I wish my students at one of the schools I teach at would be as good as these kids were. This was basically our 1st day in Jeju and we also chatted with the guesthouse staff to find out what they considered good places to see. One teacher wanted to check out the island from a local's perspective, in which the others (including me) did not mind doing that so it took awhile to find someone who was a local for the staff member helping us had only been working for a month on the island.
Next day, we woke up early, had breakfast, and proceeded to meet our tour guide/ driver. Most guesthouses or hostels offer: bread, eggs, jam, peanut butter, juice, and coffee for breakfast which becomes a valuable staple to a severely budgeted traveler. Our guide called himself, Shinee, as one of his guesthouse customers had named him that (he owns a guesthouse too). Our journey started off at the Mysterious Road (Dokkaebi Doro), which is an illusion in where things go upwards. Our guide turned off his car and let it drift upwards with no power what-so-ever. We even saw a bus going up with no power either. This phenomenon made all of us wonder what physics went into this and I wondered how people from long ago handled this. We visited many places and found out that this is the same route Shinee takes for those who hire him for a tour.
Throughout this journey, JJ learned from Shinee that Shinee's Guesthouse was in a financial bind. Thus, we peppered him with ideas to help gain his place recognition (he asked). While doing this all of us realized that he seemed very focus on the monetary issues. JJ mentioned that more and more he has been encountering Koreans here that put a higher value on that then caring for others. It is saddening and while Shinee was guiding us through the tour, I believe he started to learn that is not what is important. We all go through hard times, but if you constantly worry and stress over it, no joy will come out of it. Plus, with my previous journal on appearances ... many Koreans after hitting their 20s seem to have forgotten to have fun like a kid. All 3 of us proceeded to act childish while we were exploring but with care as well. Something as simple and joyful as sliding across the ice, you won't see an older Korean do too much. JJ actually got someone to do that as he realized if there is nobody nearby they will give it a go (as long as someone else does it first). I would have liked to scamper around a bit more, like JJ, but my knee injury from the past week was interfering with me. The nature on the island is beautiful and it is utilized in almost everything, so there was a LOT of lava rock sidewalks.
Our tour ended at Loveland which we found the place to be quite a contradiction to how conservative Korea is. Our thought as teachers here ... is that it would serve as a good sex education field trip for students otherwise; it would barely last in the U.S. I was not too comfortable in that place, but the reaction from the You & I Guesthouse owner was great. The night before, he had given us tips on what was good to check out and what was not. When we showed him Loveland, he proceeded to mark it with a "!!!" and that got us laughing. That night, dinner was a Jeju specialty, black pig. We ate at a restaurant that was 2 stories and was massive in size. I believe what also won us over was the amount of salads that we were served for side dishes. It was a great day and as we were visiting the island for an experience, even though we did not stick entirely to our plans, all of us thought the day had gone by fine.
The next day, was a lazy one as we were quite tuckered out from yesterday's outing. I believe we finally came out of the guesthouse around 12:00 AM. We only visited 1 spot, the Manjanggul Cave, due to many places closes because of the fading sun (other place we meant to go to was the Kimyoung Maze). It is a good place to check out once, but we could see a bit of tourism happening there in making something more "special" by giving it a name. Did not like that too much, but I believe it happens everywhere. The nice part of this place was that the caves were made via lava so it was a wonder to behold. My running thought while walking through the opened part of the cave, was what lay beneath my feet immersed in the lava. The rest of the day was spent roaming the streets of Jeju. During this, I bought a handwarmer because a few times I have noticed the landlady has forgotten to turn on the heat so I wind up in my blankets and winter coat but am still freezing. It was particularly bad for me this past weekend because the next day icy rain came down. I was shivering pretty badly upon reaching my place. Hence I am very thankful for getting the warmer while in Jeju. These nifty handwarmers come in all shapes and sizes. The one I bought is plushie shaped and all you need to do is nuke it in the microwave for a few seconds. They give off this sweet smell, but keep your hands toasty warm for at least half an hour.
The last day, the 3 of us found ourselves at a shrine dedicated to a legend. We found this strange considering all of this is based on a legend. I did not know of the story but the other 2 teachers did. While checking out the process of how Korea came to be I came across a ceremony that was similar to what was done for the opening of the new cafeteria in the girls' school. As a result, mayhap the legend has some truth to it?
Overall, my trip to Jeju consisted of much nature sightseeing and I loved seeing the wild horses. Even got to see a mountain pheasant shoot out from some bushes. The tethered sheep to the mountainside at some parks was very random though. I did note, that nearly all these animals were fenced in areas so I am guessing there is some sort of protection for them. My co-teacher mentioned a quote in that "a horse goes to Jejudo (Jeju Island) while people go to Seoul." I tend to love animals so I was happily mentioning what animal I spotted. Another thing to note is getting the chance to pick my own clementines/ mandarins for it was fun and positively delicious. The 3 of us learned that many Seoul-ites come to visit Jeju and many end up staying, while those from Jeju, it's the opposite. It was a wonderful trip and I am glad my co-teacher suggested this to me. The 3 of us were grateful for having some time to relax considering that when we go back, this will certainly not be the case.
This comment is totally off comment, but due to the recent events and not being home to support people, my heart goes out to those affected by the Connecticut shooting. I learned of the news via friends on Facebook but it did not sink in until later of how devastating the outcome was. Many say it is and was very surreal; I agree. Being in Korea, I wonder what happens to the many NETs who are affected directly in such situations. On top of that, not being able to communicate fully of why you are upset. Just this weekend I was discussing this with one of the NETs in Hongseong and it is a trial to be understood here. Many times, we have learned that Korea is generally nice to us but other times completely forgets that we're human too. In addition, that we have our reasons and that we would like some effort on the parts of our co-teachers (especially those who don't do this) to learn about us and understand our situations. It has been quite the experience living and teaching here. Today I informed my girls that I only had 2 weeks left and they realized how quickly time flies. I managed to grab many of the class’s attention through this and also by teaching them how to make chenille teddy bears along with 3D snowflakes. I got them to practice their English through small methods such as explaining how to make these crafts and if they wanted a certain color, I would only meet it if they said it in English. I am very happy that I managed to get many of the students attention (granted not all) even those who usually sleep in my classes.