Old School Field Trip
My hapkido instructor, Master Yoon, periodically organizes trips around Korea for whomever is interested. This time, the excursion was to Andong, a city 3 hours north (via 10 passenger van) of Busan. The highlight of Andong is the traditional folk village, which is so authentic that KBS television even films some of their old timey shows there to look real.
We hopped in Master Yoon's van at 9am, and I was only 5 minutes late! Yes, everyone else was already sitting and waiting for me, but since I had just gotten Lauren and Nadia off in a cab twenty minutes prior, and on 2 hours sleep (debatable), I'll count that as a monumental success. The drive was scenic, but as we started winding up in the mountains, I ended up with my face in the window, greedily sucking down fresh air. Curse you, motion sickness! So yes, I made a great first impression on a few people. Ha.
We make it to Andong, and go to a museum about Korea's history. It was small, and all the plastic mannequin people kinda freaked me out, but it was interesting. Then we went for a wonderful lunch of halibut fish and shark! It was so so good! I guess Andong is known for their halibut. Then we went walked on a pretty bridge. Short. Then we left for the village. We entered our room, which was just a hard floor with a pile of blankets in the corner. They really go for authenticity, can't deny that. But don't worry, Koreans heat the floor and it was real nice.
We explored the village for a while, and I enjoyed looking at all the flowers that were starting to bloom. Then at one end they
were selling handicrafts made from straw and other natural fibers (I am clueless as to which ones). I carefully examined bowls, hats, and miniature huts with everyone else, and nodded intelligently as they were explained. Which did I buy, you ask? None of these! Instead, I bought a puppet and a SLING SHOT!! I was thrilled, and so was Haley, who also bought one, and we went down to the water to play with our toys. I promptly broke mine on the second attempt and sat in a pout until someone fixed it for me. Why am I an 8 year old? Umm. Second admirable impression of the day.
Then we wandered back to our rooms and had a nice dinner, which was cooked on the premises. Master Yoon went out and bought us soju, beer and chips. He is such a generous man, and always looking to our comfort. He really goes over and beyond any expectations - love him! Everyone was smart and brought games to play, so Haley and I played a mediocre game of
Scrabble; I think it took us 5 rounds each to make a word with more than four letters. Wow. Third great impression.
It started to rain and so we went into our hut and someone hooked up a movie on the TV (we are so advanced in this age, you know?). The boys decided to make a horror movie, and were anticipating some good ideas from their cohorts, but all I could manage was a grunt and then I fell asleep. I do believe I make an appearance in the feature as "the dead girl" at the end. Fourth great impression.
We woke up early and went had a few stops on the drive home. These included a Soju Museum that as supremely disappointing - it was just giant plastic food and empty bottles. Puh. Then we went to an old shrine/Confucian school that was pretty, but a tad boring, and then a WIN
E TUNNEL! That was neat and spooky. Former train tracks were transformed into a cave for wine. No idea why, but there were many people wandering around. I tasted the persimmon wine, which tasted a bit like sweet Reisling. Not too bad. Then we drove the last hour home, which seemed to take forevveerrrr, and I passed out against the window and woke up drooling on myself. Hence, the last and, I'm sure, the pinnacle of my everlasting impression on my poor van-mates.
We hopped in Master Yoon's van at 9am, and I was only 5 minutes late! Yes, everyone else was already sitting and waiting for me, but since I had just gotten Lauren and Nadia off in a cab twenty minutes prior, and on 2 hours sleep (debatable), I'll count that as a monumental success. The drive was scenic, but as we started winding up in the mountains, I ended up with my face in the window, greedily sucking down fresh air. Curse you, motion sickness! So yes, I made a great first impression on a few people. Ha.
We make it to Andong, and go to a museum about Korea's history. It was small, and all the plastic mannequin people kinda freaked me out, but it was interesting. Then we went for a wonderful lunch of halibut fish and shark! It was so so good! I guess Andong is known for their halibut. Then we went walked on a pretty bridge. Short. Then we left for the village. We entered our room, which was just a hard floor with a pile of blankets in the corner. They really go for authenticity, can't deny that. But don't worry, Koreans heat the floor and it was real nice.
We explored the village for a while, and I enjoyed looking at all the flowers that were starting to bloom. Then at one end they
were selling handicrafts made from straw and other natural fibers (I am clueless as to which ones). I carefully examined bowls, hats, and miniature huts with everyone else, and nodded intelligently as they were explained. Which did I buy, you ask? None of these! Instead, I bought a puppet and a SLING SHOT!! I was thrilled, and so was Haley, who also bought one, and we went down to the water to play with our toys. I promptly broke mine on the second attempt and sat in a pout until someone fixed it for me. Why am I an 8 year old? Umm. Second admirable impression of the day.Then we wandered back to our rooms and had a nice dinner, which was cooked on the premises. Master Yoon went out and bought us soju, beer and chips. He is such a generous man, and always looking to our comfort. He really goes over and beyond any expectations - love him! Everyone was smart and brought games to play, so Haley and I played a mediocre game of
Scrabble; I think it took us 5 rounds each to make a word with more than four letters. Wow. Third great impression.It started to rain and so we went into our hut and someone hooked up a movie on the TV (we are so advanced in this age, you know?). The boys decided to make a horror movie, and were anticipating some good ideas from their cohorts, but all I could manage was a grunt and then I fell asleep. I do believe I make an appearance in the feature as "the dead girl" at the end. Fourth great impression.
We woke up early and went had a few stops on the drive home. These included a Soju Museum that as supremely disappointing - it was just giant plastic food and empty bottles. Puh. Then we went to an old shrine/Confucian school that was pretty, but a tad boring, and then a WIN
E TUNNEL! That was neat and spooky. Former train tracks were transformed into a cave for wine. No idea why, but there were many people wandering around. I tasted the persimmon wine, which tasted a bit like sweet Reisling. Not too bad. Then we drove the last hour home, which seemed to take forevveerrrr, and I passed out against the window and woke up drooling on myself. Hence, the last and, I'm sure, the pinnacle of my everlasting impression on my poor van-mates.
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