Just in case you ever go on a hike through Jirisan National Park with Koreans, here are some tips for you:
1. Don't.
2. There is not such thing as "it's downhill from here". If you say that, you've jnxed the whole group by having to walk another 6km uphill.
3. When someone says we only have to cross two mountains. What they are really saying is we have to cross two incredibly high mountains and many many small mountains. Get ready.
4. The scenery is the walking. No time for breaks.
5. Sometimes food comes last.
6. Bring a flashlight because the sun will go down when you still have another 7km to go.
7. When you pack, don't. Anything you bring, Koreans will already have waiting for you. You will likely return with much more than you came with.
8. If you do pack, remember it's not for you, it's for the group.
9. Remember there is a group, and you are a very integral part of it, no matter what.
10. You will be handfed food by many people. Especially the students. They will also take care of you if you ever need it. You look thirsty? There's a bottle of water in front of your face.
11. Students who don't speak in class, or speak very rarely will voluntarily strike up long conversations with you. Suddenly their English has become amazing.
12. Sleeping is for the weak. It just gets in the way.
13. The same cannot be said for eating. There will be a feast. It's not always good, but there is always plenty of food.
14. Stay away from the air-compressed ready made curry. Unless you like watered down sugar ketchup.
15. If it's 11:00pm and you've been hiking for 14 hours straight, there is not time to make a bed on the floor because it will get in the way of drinking soju with everyone during a barbecue feast.
16. Never say you like something. The amount you are given will never end.
17. One shot of any alcohol is never just one shot. Sometimes they will actually hand you the bottle, and if you don't pour, someone will.
18. If it's 2:30am and someone asks you a question in Korean and then follows with an English "Yes", never fall back on repeating yes. Yes, more often than not, turns out to be another bottle of whiskey.
19. Remember that Koreans are out to have a good time. Just roll with how they do things and you'll do just fine.
20. The more you complain, the more hindsight will kick you in the butt.
21. Even though the scenery may not be the key to Korean hiking, when you reach the top, your mind can't help but being blown.
22. Even though many Koreans will not stop for a break, take a stop at a lookout point and take it all in. When it hits you that you are completely isolated and scaling and entire mountain system, you may become slightly more humbled about the experience.
23. The sights may not be their prime interest, but Koreans love their natural heritage and love talking about it. Listen to them and you might learn a few things, albeit in Konglish.
24. Koreans love talking. And so should you. They will ask you questions, most of the time you will not know what it is, but try your hardest to answer.
25. Bring ear plugs. When you're in a room with 20 Koreans and trying to sleep, you might be better off outside.
26. This is the perfect opportunity to teach your students slang terms. They want to talk to you, but remember it's not school, and it should be fun. Joke with them and give them a few things that they can say to each other. They'll get a good laugh out of it.
27. Locals who are not part of your group will be very surprised to see a non-Korean hiking the trails. You will get stared at, but throw them an annyeonghaseyo and their curiousity or confusion changes into excitement pretty quickly.
28. It feels great to be able to stand on one of Korea's highest peaks. When you are at a peak after hours of trekking, try and hold back the "I'm the King of the World" shoutout, Koreans probably think you're weird enough.
29. It may be a long trek. Find out beforehand. If you go in blind, you may be surprised to find out that you still have another 30km to walk and might have to cross 6 or 7 mountains. But don't complain. The worst you can do is not soak it in. Remember everyone is going through the same thing. Being a Bitter Benny will only make things worse and will get you no where.
30. On second hand, you should go.
2012년 5월 22일 화요일
2012년 5월 1일 화요일
Oh hey there. Been a while. Yeah, it's been a while. It's been a while since I've shared some of my stories. I guess the last month and a half has been up and down. Following the St. Pat's adventures in Seoul came many many more trips up to Seoul. But, here's the first one. We travelled up to Seoul for some Seoul discovery and shopping because there just isn't enough in our province. Solid weekend out. Kept ourselves busy by exploring different sections of Seoul. I'm getting a real kick out of travel planning, seems I spend most of my time doing that now.
But, discovering the different parts of Seoul came with meeting some local celebrities too. We met two, both were on some random television shows I'd never heard of (not that I'm caught up on my Korean TV-watchings. One was selling women's clothes...as much as it made sense why he was selling it, it was as weird as it sounds. That was in Itaewon which is the international district of Seoul. My first time in the area I got a kick out it, and thought it might have been my favourite part of the city. Maybe I'm becoming too accustomed to Korea but that spot was a little too foreign-dependent. It's nice to go there and get what you need, but personally, I'd much rather spend my time elsewhere. It is convenient that there are a few foreign markets, so anything I could want that I can't find in Korea is likely in Itaewon. And I'm pretty sure I went on about the Rocky Mountain Canadian Tavern in another post? If not, it is exactly what i sounds, so it was nice to go back to Canada for an hour. After that, we dove into the shopping district of Myeongdong. I dig that spot. Even though I'm a small guy, it can actually be hard for me to find some thigns that fit. Dang those Koreans and their super lean bodies. But Myeongdong has the solution. I can see another shopping spree coming on in the next little while. After Myeongdong shopping, why not hit the night life. So we jumped around Hongdae. This is an area close to one University, so it has a super active night life, although this time around it seemed rather quiet compared to the last time I came out. Still a fun time and I know there are still a ton of places I need to discover. Just researched a bunch of cool cafes to check out like the Hello Kitty Cafe, not my thing but how often do you get to have a waffle shaped like Hello Kitty?
But this trip to Seoul also led me into a sickness I could not fully shake for a month. I managed to get better only for Easter, which naturally brought me back up to Seoul where we indulged in an epic buffet of ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, tomato and mozzarella salad and I made a banana bread. For an Easter away from home, it was spent well.
Following that came my second round of sickness. This was a doozy. There was no way I could have shaken it. Should have stayed home from work, but the stubborn guy I am I went into school. The school should have just been quarantined. Many Koreans don't bother covering their mouths when they cough or sneeze, so I am in a constant dodge of bacteria. It doesn't help. I spent a few days cooped up inside curled in my bed and feeling nothing but suffocation and dizziness. Great way to spend the weekend. Especially since it was about 30 degrees. But, again, my stubborness got the best of me, so I decided to kick away from the sickness and go for a hike. Not a good idea. I felt like death immediately afterward. And for the next week. Blah.
But luckily I was nearly back to normal come around my birthday. Like always, I don't tell people it was my birthday, so a small group of us went out to dinner. But, good thing I mentioned the peanut allergy because over half of the meal had nuts somewhere inside it. For a four course meal it was a delicious salad. But, got my first try at screen golf. This is actually really fun. You get a room to your group, and there is a screen and a stage in front of you, and you play it like you would play golf. You swing a regular club and hit a golf ball, but it's all to a screen. I'm terrible (actually, even that is an understatement) but it was a great time.
And then the celebrations continued into the next weekend for...can you guess? Another trip to Seoul. This time around we went on a hunt to discover Wolmido Island. We were in Incheon which has become my second (third?) home. So I took some people on a tour of Incheon, well a bit of Incheon. Wolmido is an "island" (no longer coined an island since 1989 when it was connected to the mainland) off Incheon Port. It's actually a really cool place. The island is set up like a beach resort. It reminded me of home. They have a street called Culture Street which is filled with bars, restaurants, stores and stands all along the water's edge. And they also have live performances along here. Then they have two amusement parks. If you get the chance to visit Wolmido I highly recommend getting on the Apollo Disco. You want a rocky ride? You got it. Plus, when it comes to the DJ controlling it, he's going for laughs, so he will pick on you and make you his bitch. Before I got on the ride I was pegged by him since I was the only non-Asian in the park. Basically the ride is a circle and you are sitting along the edges with nothing to hold you in but your own hands on the railing. The ride will spin slowly or fast and along the way the DJ makes the ride jump, so you are flying in all directions. It's one hell of a ride. And it's not like back home where even the long rides are about 3 minutes. Expect a solid 10+minute ride. Your arms will hurt, and part of you will want to ride again. Another thing I would recommend is the fresh fish. We went to a fish barbecue joint near the water. For less than $50 you get more than enough seafood and it's all super fresh. Then after that and a dinner and walkaround in Chinatown, off to Bupyeong, Incheon's nightlife district. First time here and it was a really cool spot. American soldiers put a damper on the night almost immediately, but we picked it up after putting them in their place.
That brings me to now. Well, the Korean is coming along. I can write it now, and I can understand a little bit more, but I'm still having a bit of trouble separating words from each other, especially since Jeolla province is known for speaking a highly different dialect than the rest of the country. But I can read it and translate it now, so that's a start. Maybe conversation will come soon. Not too bad for not having an actual course.
Well that's it for me. I could have said a lot more, but maybe I'll save it. My biggest dilemma right now is the renewing of the contract. Stay or go or stay or go. One week I have my answer, the next it's something different. Ahh. Still a couple months away though. Hope you're all doing great back home!
But, discovering the different parts of Seoul came with meeting some local celebrities too. We met two, both were on some random television shows I'd never heard of (not that I'm caught up on my Korean TV-watchings. One was selling women's clothes...as much as it made sense why he was selling it, it was as weird as it sounds. That was in Itaewon which is the international district of Seoul. My first time in the area I got a kick out it, and thought it might have been my favourite part of the city. Maybe I'm becoming too accustomed to Korea but that spot was a little too foreign-dependent. It's nice to go there and get what you need, but personally, I'd much rather spend my time elsewhere. It is convenient that there are a few foreign markets, so anything I could want that I can't find in Korea is likely in Itaewon. And I'm pretty sure I went on about the Rocky Mountain Canadian Tavern in another post? If not, it is exactly what i sounds, so it was nice to go back to Canada for an hour. After that, we dove into the shopping district of Myeongdong. I dig that spot. Even though I'm a small guy, it can actually be hard for me to find some thigns that fit. Dang those Koreans and their super lean bodies. But Myeongdong has the solution. I can see another shopping spree coming on in the next little while. After Myeongdong shopping, why not hit the night life. So we jumped around Hongdae. This is an area close to one University, so it has a super active night life, although this time around it seemed rather quiet compared to the last time I came out. Still a fun time and I know there are still a ton of places I need to discover. Just researched a bunch of cool cafes to check out like the Hello Kitty Cafe, not my thing but how often do you get to have a waffle shaped like Hello Kitty?
But this trip to Seoul also led me into a sickness I could not fully shake for a month. I managed to get better only for Easter, which naturally brought me back up to Seoul where we indulged in an epic buffet of ham, turkey, mashed potatoes, tomato and mozzarella salad and I made a banana bread. For an Easter away from home, it was spent well.
Following that came my second round of sickness. This was a doozy. There was no way I could have shaken it. Should have stayed home from work, but the stubborn guy I am I went into school. The school should have just been quarantined. Many Koreans don't bother covering their mouths when they cough or sneeze, so I am in a constant dodge of bacteria. It doesn't help. I spent a few days cooped up inside curled in my bed and feeling nothing but suffocation and dizziness. Great way to spend the weekend. Especially since it was about 30 degrees. But, again, my stubborness got the best of me, so I decided to kick away from the sickness and go for a hike. Not a good idea. I felt like death immediately afterward. And for the next week. Blah.
But luckily I was nearly back to normal come around my birthday. Like always, I don't tell people it was my birthday, so a small group of us went out to dinner. But, good thing I mentioned the peanut allergy because over half of the meal had nuts somewhere inside it. For a four course meal it was a delicious salad. But, got my first try at screen golf. This is actually really fun. You get a room to your group, and there is a screen and a stage in front of you, and you play it like you would play golf. You swing a regular club and hit a golf ball, but it's all to a screen. I'm terrible (actually, even that is an understatement) but it was a great time.
And then the celebrations continued into the next weekend for...can you guess? Another trip to Seoul. This time around we went on a hunt to discover Wolmido Island. We were in Incheon which has become my second (third?) home. So I took some people on a tour of Incheon, well a bit of Incheon. Wolmido is an "island" (no longer coined an island since 1989 when it was connected to the mainland) off Incheon Port. It's actually a really cool place. The island is set up like a beach resort. It reminded me of home. They have a street called Culture Street which is filled with bars, restaurants, stores and stands all along the water's edge. And they also have live performances along here. Then they have two amusement parks. If you get the chance to visit Wolmido I highly recommend getting on the Apollo Disco. You want a rocky ride? You got it. Plus, when it comes to the DJ controlling it, he's going for laughs, so he will pick on you and make you his bitch. Before I got on the ride I was pegged by him since I was the only non-Asian in the park. Basically the ride is a circle and you are sitting along the edges with nothing to hold you in but your own hands on the railing. The ride will spin slowly or fast and along the way the DJ makes the ride jump, so you are flying in all directions. It's one hell of a ride. And it's not like back home where even the long rides are about 3 minutes. Expect a solid 10+minute ride. Your arms will hurt, and part of you will want to ride again. Another thing I would recommend is the fresh fish. We went to a fish barbecue joint near the water. For less than $50 you get more than enough seafood and it's all super fresh. Then after that and a dinner and walkaround in Chinatown, off to Bupyeong, Incheon's nightlife district. First time here and it was a really cool spot. American soldiers put a damper on the night almost immediately, but we picked it up after putting them in their place.
That brings me to now. Well, the Korean is coming along. I can write it now, and I can understand a little bit more, but I'm still having a bit of trouble separating words from each other, especially since Jeolla province is known for speaking a highly different dialect than the rest of the country. But I can read it and translate it now, so that's a start. Maybe conversation will come soon. Not too bad for not having an actual course.
Well that's it for me. I could have said a lot more, but maybe I'll save it. My biggest dilemma right now is the renewing of the contract. Stay or go or stay or go. One week I have my answer, the next it's something different. Ahh. Still a couple months away though. Hope you're all doing great back home!
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