무의도 (Muui Island)

I have a pretty solid group of girlfriends here in Korea that I don't see nearly enough. Between boyfriends, jobs, and living in different cities, girl time sometimes gets pushed to the back burner. This weekend we took a much needed girls only trip to Muui Island off the coast of Incheon. It was loverly!

When we got to the island on Saturday afternoon, it was quite overcast but still warm. The tide was way out. We cracked a bottle of wine (or many) and barbequed our little hearts out with the sunset. Met some cutie Korean kids and of course a few new friends, foreigners and Koreans alike. Common to lady gatherings, we stayed up way too late, drank too much, and got too little sleep. Though the sleep issue may have been due to our cheapness. We squeezed 7 gals into a 2 person beach hut (and were proud of it). Sunday morning was met with delicious BLTs and loads of sunshine. We were back in Seoul with our femininity reenergized by nightfall. All in all, a wonderful trip.

Financial Breakdown:

subway to Incheon International Airport: around 3000 won each way

bus to Muui Island ferry: 1000 won each way

ferry to Muui Island: 3000 won round trip

bus from ferry to Muui beach: 1000 won

beach hut rental: 7000 won/person

food and alcohol: 20 000 won/person

Grand Total: 35 000 won (about $30 Canadian)

Getting to Muui-do is cheap, but it takes a while. First take the subway or bus to Incheon International Airport. From gate 5 on the departures level, take bus 222 to Muui-do ferry. The ferry ride takes about 5 minutes. Then you can take another bus from the ferry to the beach (about 10 minutes). The whole trip takes about 3 hours from downtown Seoul provided you have reasonable connections.

Ashu

그냥 농담예요 (Just a Joke)

학교에서 선생님이 공기가 뭐냐고 물어봤습니다. 학생들이 그문제에 때해서 잠시만 동안 생각했습니다. 드디어 학생이 대답했습니다. 공기가 그냥 공기이라고 했습니다. 선생님이 맞다고 했습니다. 그 다음에 선생님이 다시 물어봤습니다. "물이 뭐예요?" 라고 했습니다. 학생이 생각하고 대답했습니다. "물... 물은 셀프입니다!"

ㅋㅋㅋ 좋은 이야기예요? 미용실에서 이 농담을 들었어요. 5분 동안 실소했어요. 정말!

*English Translation*

At school, a teacher asked "What is the sky?" The students thought about this problem for a moment. Finally a student replied. "The sky is just the sky." "That's correct," said the teacher. The teacher asked again, "What is water?" One student thought and responded, "Water... water is self!"

Is it a good story? I heard this while getting my hair done. I laughed for like 5 minutes. Seriously.

Note: In Korean restaurants, there is usually a big water cooler with cups and you serve yourself. Most restaurants have a sign by the water cooler that says "물은 셀프입니다" which means water is self-serve.

Ashu

무한도전 (Infinite Challenge)

Saturday nights, Boyfriend and I usually make a point to be home at 6:30pm, ready with a pizza to watch our favourite show, 무한도전 (Infinite Challenge). For you Canadians out there, picture Kenny vs. Spenny times a thousand. Well, a little different, but stick with me here.

무한도전 is a comedy variety show where 7 famous Korean comedians compete in challenges and try to do crazy stuff. When I first started watching it, I couldn't understand very much, but a lot of their humour is pretty physical and now I can keep up pretty well with Boyfriend's help. This is the first Korean show I've tried to watch without subtitles. Yay me!

I don't know how explain except that its a bunch of middle aged guys trying to outwit and humiliate each other. What more do you need to know? The only thing that could make this program better is if there was some kind of embarrassing punishment for the losers (as in Kenny vs. Spenny).

The cast:

노홍철

Usually sporting platinum blonde hair, he's nicknamed "crazy guy" or "psychopath."

유재석

The Leonardo (Ninja Turtles) of 무한도전. I think he's the kindest one and he's in a lot of ads.

정형돈

Cute, fat, and awkward. A triple threat in my books.

정준하

He looks like a giant compared to the others, but I also think he's really kind.

박명수

The Kenny of 무한도전.

하하

I don't know much about this guy since he was off the show for a while.

길

Not much to say about this guy either.

Check this show out. The humour definitely transcends the language barrier.

Ashu

내 사랑한테 8개 서약속 (8 Pledges to My Love)

I missed Korean class this week because of some stupid traffic. Guess I've got a lot of catching up to do before next week. Luckily I've got my secret weapon, native speaker Boyfriend!

Last week in Korean class we learned the grammar pattern "도록 하겠습니다" which is kind of like a formal promise of what you will or will not do. For homework, we were asked to write 8 promises to a love. So here are mine:

늦지 않도록 하겠습니다.

I will not be late.

화가 나오지 않도록 하겠습니다.

I will not be angry.

길에 걸을 때 오빠 손을 잡도록 하겠습니다.

I will hold your hand when we walk on the street.

오빠의 농담 때문에 웃도록 하겠습니아.

I will laugh at your jokes.

오빠하고 한국어로 얘기하도록 하겠습니다.

I will try to speak with you in Korean.

항상 오빠를 돕도록 하겠습니다.

I will always help you.

한국 문화를 이해해 보도록 하겠습니다.

I will try to understand Korean culture.

일이 생기면 오빠한데 말하도록 하겠습니다.

If there is a problem, I will tell you.

I haven't shown these to Boyfriend as he's the kind of guy who will hold you to it all the time.

"I thought you promised you would laugh at my jokes!"

Ashu

중급4반 (Intermediate 4 Class)

Last month I decided I needed a more organized approach to studying Korean. Between working during the day and studying for my master's evenings and weekends, I started to seriously neglect Korean. You might say that's not so bad considering my full time job and grad studies, but Korean is important to me.

So I started taking a class at the Korea Foundation near City Hall. It's once a week for two hours and it's entirely in Korean. Just what I need (actually no sarcasm here for once!). I took a level test on my first day and got placed in Intermediate 3 which was much higher than I expected. I studied level 3 for three weeks and then took another test. By some miracle I passed and now I'm in level 4. Movin' on up!

I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue after level 3, since that consisted of a lot of grammar patterns and not much actual speaking practice. I haven't had a problem learning the grammar on my own. What I need is a chance to speak in an environment where it's ok to make mistakes so I can really get some practice and confidence.

Well I went to the first class of level 4 tonight and was happy to see a new atmosphere. My teacher is really funny. She continually picks on everyone to speak, and I've made some new friends that I can only speak Korean with (from Mongolia, Japan, and China). After just one class, I left feeling like maybe I'm not so hopeless after all. I always thought my speaking was really low, but I can keep up in the class, so I got a major boost to my confidence.

The only downer is that the class is on Wednesday evenings. Wednesday is my hell day at work where I work back to back classes from 9-6:30 with only two 30 minute off-periods. My Korean class starts at 7 and is on the other side of the river, so immediately after work I have to jump in a cab and fight traffic to get to my class on time. I'm usually 10-15 minutes late which I hate, but I really can't get there any earlier. My class runs for two hours and then I find my way back home, put some food in face, and pass out.

But I'm a nerd and I love it and it's worth it.

Ashu

서울이 좋아요! (Seoul is awesome!)

My plan for this past weekend:

Saturday: Get visas for China trip next month

Dinner at the lovely Miss Mel's

World Cup (Korea vs. Uruguay)

Sunday: Trip to Ocean World

Things that failed this past weekend:

Saturday: Wrong pictures meant no China visas this time

Sunday: Weather was crap so no Ocean World

Things I never planned to do this weekend but happened anyway:

* 2000 won burgers in Gyeongbokgung

* visit to beautiful Gyeongbokgung Palace - the best palace in Seoul in my opinion!

* visit to an awesome exhibit, "The Story of King Sejong" in Gwanghwamun - seriously, check it out. Boyfriend and I got to write our names in hangul with Korean calligraphy brushes!

* 60th anniversary of the start of the Korean war photo exhibition in Gwanghwamun

* walking up and down Namsan and a visit to Seoul Tower

* Indian feast in Dongdaemun

I didn't have to make reservations or plan ahead to do any of this. I found all these activities just from wandering around. It cost me 3000 won to enter Gyeongbokgung Palace. The Sejong exhibit, Seoul Tower, and the photo exhibition were all free!

SEOUL IS AWESOME!

불암산 수락산 (Buram Mountain Surak Mountain)

I know. I know. I'm a bad person. I'm sorry! Every time I say I'm going to keep up with blogging, but somehow I always get distracted with something else. Anyway, I'm back again with two months worth of updates and another empty promise that I'll keep updating!

First up, mountains! Spring has come and gone here in SK, not surprising since it was only about two weeks long. Spring and fall are my favourite seasons in Korea. The weather is warm, but not stiflingly humid as the summer. In spring you can witness the transient beauty of the sakura trees. In fall, the colours give a close competition to the Cabot Trail. It's also the best time to go hiking. Boyfriend and I did Buram Mountain in late April and then Surak Mountain in late May when my dad came to visit. These are two peaks of the same mountain range north of Seoul by Nowon.

It must be obvious by the amount I talk about studying and movies, that I'm not the most athletic gal on the planet. Actually I'm not even an athletic girl on the planet, but I do enjoy a good hike Korean style. Deck yourself out in over the top hiking gear, fill your giant backpack with snacks, soju, and makgeolli, find a pal and you're ready to go.

I'll leave the rest of the explaining to the photos. The Buram hike is more challenging, but if I can do it, you definitely can. We didn't actually make it to the peak of Surak because of a shoe malfunction, but the path did seem a little more friendly.

To get to Buram, take line 4 to Danggogae and then walk for 15 minutes to the park. For Surak, simply get off at Suraksan Station and then follow the signs to get to the park.