Chuseok - Korean Thanksgiving!
This past weekend was Chuseok, which is the Korean Thanksgiving Day. Everyone goes on trips, so I did too! Thursday morning (after I frantically mailed my boxes home at the post office) I met my friends Marit, Chamil, and Liam to take the KTX (fast train) up to Dajeon, where our friend Joseph lives. It was a 2 odd hour trip that included Burger King whoppers and Long Island Ice Tea's to go from Marit's favorite bar beside the train station. Needless to say, it was a fast trip!
We raided Costco (yes!!!) and got the food for our trip before heading to a nice river side Korean food joint. We stuffed our faces with spicy food and washed it down with Cass, my favorite Korean beer. (I actually don't really like it, but it's the best out of Cass, Hite, and Max.) Then we went to a few bars, and danced til late in the night! A great time.
We woke up early. Well, everyone else woke up
while I groaned and refused to raise my head from the pillow. Hey, I'd spent 7 hours the day before packing and hauling boxes across town! I was tired! Liam was cooking sausages, eggs, and baked beans, so when it was ready I deigned to get up. Ha. After breakfast we loaded the car and started north towards Anmyeondo Island, where we had rented a pension for the night. Along the way, we realized that our two friends, Tori and Cindy, who were coming to meet us, were on the bus right in front of us! So we followed them to the station and then packed them into our car. Yes, 7 people squished in! Only in Korea is this legal, I'm sure!
Our pension was adorable. A really cute house with a loft and nice kitchen and outdoor dining area. There was also a lake nearby with
a little foot paddle boat that we took turns riding. We went on a walking adventure since the tide was so low and generally had a good time. For supper we barbecued burgers, had chips and homemade guacamole, veggies and beans. Right as we all sat down at the picnic table---crraaaaaack! We broke the table!! Hm, not made for 7 foreigners?! So sad. We spent the evening playing with sparklers and telling creepy scary stories about ghosts and other things that generally freaked me out. Something about the lonely pension on the quiet lake sure inspired us to act like we were kids at camp again!
We woke the following morning and decided to leave the pension and explore the island. We piled in and spent the rest of the day touring, stopping and exploring anything that caught our eye. At one point we went off-roading on this mountain road! I was seriously afraid ou
r car would bottom out, but the driver didn't seem to mind, so onward ho! Then we made it to this little town where there were lots of boats. Marit, our brave friend, managed to get us a boat ride around the harbor from this young Korean guy. Totally unexpected, and really nice. Eventually we took Liam and Chamil to the station to head home, and then the rest of us went in search of a minbak (cheap hotel where you sleep on the floor/mats). We had a great dinner of prawns. It was crazy, they put them in this big pot in front of us, live, and then started the fire. The prawns popped around in that pot like popcorn! I had never seen that before. But boy, were they delicious! Sorry, lil fellas.
The next day we went on another driving adventure, this time towards town, since we'd all be catching buses later t
hat day. Seoul for me, Dajeon for the others. We decided to drive up this mountain road. We went to the top and then realized we were entering a base. Oops! So we backtracked and got out of the car a hundred feet down to explore. We walked past a grandpa and his 2 grandchildren and headed up the hill. Then we looked over and saw a sign....landmines. Then a loudspeaker promptly started blaring at us. About face!!! Haha, we ran back to the car, staying on the path the whole time. I don't think there was any danger, since gramps was up there too, but they sure didn't like us parking the car in the middle of the road.
Halfway down the trail was a nice temple that had some images of Buddha carved into the stone. It was lovely and peaceful. Gramps had come too, so we chatted a bit, and he tried to make his grandkids talk to us, but instead they decided to repeatedly bop their heads on his stomach. Crazy kids. It was almost time for my bus at this point, so we went into town, got some pizza across from the station, and then said our goodbyes. Teary-eyed again, darnit! Then I ran to my bus, got the last seat and headed into Seoul!
In Seoul, I met up with Alicia at her apartment in Anam. We wandered around waiting for Carolyn to show up. Eventually she did and we all chilled on Alicia's rooftop, talking and sipping some Cass. It was grand! So nice to have my ladies from home to visit with! The next day Caro and I left early since Alicia had some plans, and went to her home in Incheon. She's in a temporary apartment, and it's swanky! Like 3 times the size of my apartment. She realizes she's about to lose out on the dream, haha.
Carolyn and I spent time exploring her area, getting errands done, doing a mini hike, and going out! I tried to give her as much of my limited Korean knowledge as I could in 3 packed days, so she'll be good if she retains only 3 or 4. Half the fun of Korea is learning stuff along the way. We had a fabulous time together, and I'm so happy I was able to see her for a short time before I head out. I guess it'll be another year until I see her. :-(
I love Thanksgiving, regardless of country!
We raided Costco (yes!!!) and got the food for our trip before heading to a nice river side Korean food joint. We stuffed our faces with spicy food and washed it down with Cass, my favorite Korean beer. (I actually don't really like it, but it's the best out of Cass, Hite, and Max.) Then we went to a few bars, and danced til late in the night! A great time.
We woke up early. Well, everyone else woke up
while I groaned and refused to raise my head from the pillow. Hey, I'd spent 7 hours the day before packing and hauling boxes across town! I was tired! Liam was cooking sausages, eggs, and baked beans, so when it was ready I deigned to get up. Ha. After breakfast we loaded the car and started north towards Anmyeondo Island, where we had rented a pension for the night. Along the way, we realized that our two friends, Tori and Cindy, who were coming to meet us, were on the bus right in front of us! So we followed them to the station and then packed them into our car. Yes, 7 people squished in! Only in Korea is this legal, I'm sure!Our pension was adorable. A really cute house with a loft and nice kitchen and outdoor dining area. There was also a lake nearby with
a little foot paddle boat that we took turns riding. We went on a walking adventure since the tide was so low and generally had a good time. For supper we barbecued burgers, had chips and homemade guacamole, veggies and beans. Right as we all sat down at the picnic table---crraaaaaack! We broke the table!! Hm, not made for 7 foreigners?! So sad. We spent the evening playing with sparklers and telling creepy scary stories about ghosts and other things that generally freaked me out. Something about the lonely pension on the quiet lake sure inspired us to act like we were kids at camp again!We woke the following morning and decided to leave the pension and explore the island. We piled in and spent the rest of the day touring, stopping and exploring anything that caught our eye. At one point we went off-roading on this mountain road! I was seriously afraid ou
r car would bottom out, but the driver didn't seem to mind, so onward ho! Then we made it to this little town where there were lots of boats. Marit, our brave friend, managed to get us a boat ride around the harbor from this young Korean guy. Totally unexpected, and really nice. Eventually we took Liam and Chamil to the station to head home, and then the rest of us went in search of a minbak (cheap hotel where you sleep on the floor/mats). We had a great dinner of prawns. It was crazy, they put them in this big pot in front of us, live, and then started the fire. The prawns popped around in that pot like popcorn! I had never seen that before. But boy, were they delicious! Sorry, lil fellas.The next day we went on another driving adventure, this time towards town, since we'd all be catching buses later t
hat day. Seoul for me, Dajeon for the others. We decided to drive up this mountain road. We went to the top and then realized we were entering a base. Oops! So we backtracked and got out of the car a hundred feet down to explore. We walked past a grandpa and his 2 grandchildren and headed up the hill. Then we looked over and saw a sign....landmines. Then a loudspeaker promptly started blaring at us. About face!!! Haha, we ran back to the car, staying on the path the whole time. I don't think there was any danger, since gramps was up there too, but they sure didn't like us parking the car in the middle of the road.
Halfway down the trail was a nice temple that had some images of Buddha carved into the stone. It was lovely and peaceful. Gramps had come too, so we chatted a bit, and he tried to make his grandkids talk to us, but instead they decided to repeatedly bop their heads on his stomach. Crazy kids. It was almost time for my bus at this point, so we went into town, got some pizza across from the station, and then said our goodbyes. Teary-eyed again, darnit! Then I ran to my bus, got the last seat and headed into Seoul!In Seoul, I met up with Alicia at her apartment in Anam. We wandered around waiting for Carolyn to show up. Eventually she did and we all chilled on Alicia's rooftop, talking and sipping some Cass. It was grand! So nice to have my ladies from home to visit with! The next day Caro and I left early since Alicia had some plans, and went to her home in Incheon. She's in a temporary apartment, and it's swanky! Like 3 times the size of my apartment. She realizes she's about to lose out on the dream, haha.
Carolyn and I spent time exploring her area, getting errands done, doing a mini hike, and going out! I tried to give her as much of my limited Korean knowledge as I could in 3 packed days, so she'll be good if she retains only 3 or 4. Half the fun of Korea is learning stuff along the way. We had a fabulous time together, and I'm so happy I was able to see her for a short time before I head out. I guess it'll be another year until I see her. :-(
I love Thanksgiving, regardless of country!
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