Hanwa Eagles!

Collin, my lovely, amazing co-worker and friend LOVES baseball! Ever since I met her she has told me about the games. I loved my volleyball games here, so I figured "why not" (in the words of Collin) Off we went! We got tickets in the cheering sections! I yelled and danced and sang all of the cheers! Each player has their own cheer. So there I am in Korean.. well trying.. singing all of their cheers! They definitely kept us entertained. We ate chicken and drank beer, then later had hotdogs! It was a full game with 12 innings. We were tied all the way up until the end where we lost in the twelfth inning. Feeling pretty good (many beers later) We were ready to go! It was a great memory and we all had tons of fun! Thanks Collin!

Konichiwa!

Tokyo! Literally the city that never sleeps. Either they are up partying, eating or working, it is always bright and full of people. We went for Buddha's Birthday. We had a long weekend and our friend Lauren is living there. Sarah was also there! Who would have imagined that the 3 of us would meet up in Tokyo!

At Serendipity bar drinking Ball Ice Serendipity drink!

I didn't realize how different it would be. But, it really was! Tokyo has so many more foreigners and it super expensive. Tokyo is definitely more intense and each neighbourhood was totally different. I found them more beauty conscious than Koreans! (if that is even possible!) They have these photo booths that make your eyes look bigger! Of course we tried it!

Here are the highlights!

1. Eating Nabe: Japanese Hot Pot (soup and guts) very delicious!
2. Going out on the town: Serendipity Bar and Kareoke Kan! We sang the night away!
3. After sending Sarah off, Lauren took us Akihabara - Electric Town! We went into a "Maid Cafe" think PG strip club. You pay the girls who are dressed in maid outfits to play a game or serve you. I played Jenga.. and lost in the last second. (Yes, it was a timed 5 minute game!)
4. Going to Ueno park, we saw temples and walked around. 
5. At night we saw the Sensoji temple! It was stunning! 

Sensoji Temple!

Monday we were off to Enoshima. It is an island off of Tokyo. It is a a beautiful place for hiking and site seeing. No wonder Lauren said you could stay forever there. It was so peaceful and serene. We hiked around and got to see old shops and ended up on the ocean. IT was so nice, all rocks and the waves crashing around us! From there we sealed our love by ringing the love bell at the top of the island! We got to see a Big buddha on Buddha's birthday! This one had a different pose than ours in Cheonan and we got to go inside of it and see how it was built, which of course Jay loved! We went off to Kamakura, where the original capitol was. There were so many temples and we found a  bamboo forest. They were so tall and beautiful. Jay and I made a wish for our friends and families and hung it up for years to come!

Our last day, Tuesday; Jay and I got up at 3:40 am to go see the Tsukiji Fish Market. Let me tell you, I was not looking forward to getting up and was resenting Jay for making me do it.. but we were so glad to do it. It was definitely a site to see. These men come and bring these HUGE tunas and auction them off. The tunas are about the size of baby whales! We got to stand and watch the whole action happen. Then we were able to stroll through the market and we purchased freshly made green tea leaves and which I thought was dulce for my grandpa... which is soup stock.. I tried! We got sushi freshly made and ate happily!  We were back at Lauren's for 8:30 am! We took a nap and met up with Lauren to go to Harajuku.

We were so happy to go and Lauren was extremely welcoming! I am so happy to have the chance to see where she lives and where she works (the local starbucks is her office!) and see the life she has been living! I am so proud and amazed of her doing it and learning the language and making the most of it!  Of course she would, it's Lauren, and anyone who met her would know she does not let a moment of experience past her! She is a true free spirit and loves adventure. I am so lucky to have her as a friend, to learn from and confide in her so many times in my life! To Lauren; Domo Arigato Gosaimas!

May: the Month or Reunions!

In May we had Cheryl and Sarah visit!

We were so proud of Cheryl for coming all of the way by herself! We were so excited to show her our life here in Korea! She stayed for 3 weeks and I think got to see a real taste of what it is like in Korea!

We took her to so many places! Here are some of the highlights!

1. Taking her to a Norebang! We sang our hearts out with our friends!
2. Taking her to Gyengyu to see the Seokguram Grotto. Her first hike here, it was a steep one!
3. Gangwando Biking trip - it was a bit tougher than we expected (60km, mostly uphill) but an amazing day! We biked along the DMZ barbed wire fence and stopped to look into North Korea!

The Sarah came! We also jam packed her stay aswell! It was such a breath of fresh air having her here! I was over the moon that she came! It just solidified our friendship, because we can be apart for months on end, and when we see each other it was like no time had passed! I felt like she had been here forever! I missed her so much and it was so nice to just see her again! If you are reading this, you truly are an amazing friend and I am so happy to have you in my life!

We took them out Friday night to Wine Bar, California Bar and Kokamo to get the full night life here! Then off to Seoul the next day! We kept them really busy!

1. First stop Seodaemun Prison where the Japanese kept Koreans who were trying to separate their country from Japan
2. Gyeongbokgung Palace - absolutely stunning! The grounds were surreal and the palace was huge, just sitting in the middle of Seoul!
3. We had a very traditional meal in Insadong - bibimbop, bulgolgi, pajeon and ofcourse all the kimchi you could eat! It was a lovely time
4. We shopped till we dropped in Insadong! 
5. Off to Itaewon to have a drink
6. Namsan tower - where we met up with Sarahs old friend Jihye (Jessica) that did an exchange and stayed with Sarah's parents. That was when Sarah was in Grade 5! IT was such an experience. As were walking up the mountain, she pulls Sarah's arm out of nowhere! We were supposed to meet them at the top! How Crazy! JEssica and her boyfriend were just lovely and I am so glad I got to meet them! They treated us to dinner in a restaurant which overlooked Seoul! It was the perfect way to end a fantastic day, I got to see some more sights and make new friends! 

Sunday we were off to Big Buddha and Taejosan Park for a picnic. Sunbin took us to Taehaksan, where we saw a Buddha carved in Rock! IT was another successful day!

Sarah and Cheryl both left on that Tuesday following this busy weekend! We were sad to see them off, but excited we would see them soon! We were so over joyed to have people from home, it really shake any home sickness that we had! Love to you both! 

LADY GAGA!

GAGA FOR GAGA!

OMG THE BEST CONCERT EVER!
*again my wonderful boyfriend got me tickets to see Lady Gaga in Seoul! What an experience! She was unreal! The dancing, the set the lights! It was a sea of pink and blue and purple glow sticks. To top it all off it was a open stadium! As she was singing her heart out, along with us.. The sun was setting! What a perfect night!

Mokpo

Jay and I got a big group of friends to go down to Mokpo, the South West of Korea. We were supposed to go down and stay in a huge pension on the beach. We would take a quick ferry from the main land to the island and have a nice relaxing weekend.... However, it pored rain, so the ferry was closed. So we had to make alternative plans on the spot... Which had to include Kip! :)

We quickly went searching for a love motel, and with our broken Korean we managed to find one with enough rooms, and cheap for us to stay in. We went and had lunch which we discovered Vietnamese Shaboo Shaboo! Delicious! It was stocked piled with veggies and to top it off it was pumpkin rice at the end!

Later, I was getting frustrated sitting in our room with all the rain so I suggested a hike.. and everyone was up for it! Off we went, the group of us splashing in the rain and found ourselves a nice little hike that looked onto the Gatbawi Rocks. They are meant to be a son and father who had died and rocks rose from there.

The next day we followed the original plan and went to Yudulsan Park. There was botanical gardens and a sculpture park. We all felt like we were in the secret garden, it was stunning!

Turned out to be a great weekend despite all the rain!

Busan!

So, it has been awhile... Jay and I apologize, but to be fare we have been uber busy with travelling and hosting.. and I  guess our job!

In April, Jay took me to Busan for my birthday! He had planned the whole thing! It was a great birthday present!

We took the KTX then the subway over to Beomeosa, a beautiful temple and the start of our never ending hike. Jay loves the adventure of a hike, and from the book it looked doable and lengthwise fairly good. Were we ever wrong, turns out it was super steep, and for 6 hours we hiked and hiked and exhausted ourselves. We hiked up Geumjeongsan hoping to get to another temple at the end, but by the time we got there (now 7pm and getting dark) it was closed, we plan to return. However the hike was beautiful and we pretty much hiked from one side of Busan to another. We followed an old fortress wall and saw so many beautiful sites.

By the end we were exhausted and sore and ready to fall asleep in the love motel... well somebody (Jay) didn't print off the address to our hotel.. and the main area where we were staying is packed. So we spent probably about another hour walking around asking people. Some people were really nice, pulling out there phones and locating it, trying to tell us directions, when finally one man googled it, and told us to get into his car and drove us there! It was so nice of him!

We slept like babies! The next day we got up and headed to Haeundae beach. It was foreigner central! I felt like I was back home. We taxi'd over to Yonggungsa Temple. It is located right on the ocean. IT was so beautiful and peaceful.

It was a fantastic trip and we hope to return!