Shit Korean Kids Say

Things have been a bit stressful at work lately. We recently had a teacher leave who wasn't replaced. This means more work for everyone. That plus some other major scheduling and staff changes have made things a little crazy around here. Luckily I've got some pretty adorable kids who make it worth it. Their humor can make any day fun.

I mean pop up cards ARE pretty amazing.

Semi racist activity in theme class

Semi inappropriate stickers in theme class

Should I be afraid?

This started as a charming picture of young Tony and me dancing in the rain. It ended with my death. I should definitely be afraid.

Number 2

I tried to explain Thanksgiving to my class. Mason's idea of Thanksgiving dinner -pizza, kimbap, and ramen.

And I saved the best for last!

Robin tells us about how he came to be...

Mudfest

Korea (semi)recently held their annual mud festival at Daecheon beach. Its basically a giant beach party with lots of mud and foreigners. I'd been hearing about mud fest since before I even arrived in Korea, and to top it off it happened to coincide with my birthday. So of course I had to check it out!

Cheonan is only about a 30 minute train ride from Daecheon so I decided to forego signing up for a group trip. Instead I headed down in the early afternoon with co-worker. Upon arrival we put our bags in a locker and headed into the already well established crowd to get muddy.

For a festival centered around mud, it was surprisingly difficult to get muddy! The main area with blow up slides, pools etc had a long wait for tickets followed by an even longer wait to get in. It seemed like just about evert foreigner in Korea was there! Some people I talked to waited over two hours total. They also had large basins that I assumed were supposed to be full of mud but they'd been mostly cleaned out before we arrived. I finally just went up to a Korean volunteer who kindly dumped a bucket of mud over my head. Thanks-uh!

Despite the long lines, mud fest was still a blast. Because I'm writing this post five weeks after the event, the day is kind of a big blur of craziness. The highlights include seeing pretty much every waygook I've met since coming to Korea, meeting new people, a K pop concert, and a tomato pit. It was definitely a great way to spend my first birthday in Korea!

Trip to the Philippines part 2 ~El Nido

Disclaimer: Although I have titled this post Trip to the Philippines part 2 ~El Nido there is a bit of Puerto Princesa in here too.

I organized part one of this post by days, but I'm not going to do that in part two. This is partly because the days blended together. I went island hopping everyday during my last three days so I think divided each one up would be redundant. Also, I'm feeling lazy.

On the fourth day of my trip I took a 5am van to El Nido. The van ride was definitely one of my least favorite parts of my trip -tied with sleeping in the  Manila airport on my last night (which involved a makeshift bed made from a damp beach towel and a sarong on the floor in front of a Philippino Victoria's Secret). It should be noted that the bumpy, gravel/dirt/mud path this 7 trip takes is sometimes referred to as 'abortion road'. I'm sure that anyone who's taken it can understand why. Not only was this ride uncomfortably overcrowded, but it was so bumpy I had to brace myself against the seat in front of me so as not to fall into the fat guy seated next to me.

In the end though, the trip was definitely worth it because El Nido is AWESOME! I arrived in the afternoon, checked into my guestroom, had a delicious lunch, and took a much need nap.

The Philippines had been having some rain so I spent the night with my fingers crossed for it to clear up the next day. The friend I met up with had had her island hopping trip cancelled the day before. I was very fortunate to miss most of the bad weather. It rained a bit at the very beginning of my first island hopping trip, but for the most part I spent the next two days snorkeling in good weather.

I can't really describe just how stunning the Philippines is. The beaches are powdery and the water goes from bright green, to sparkly blue, to clear depending on its depth. I saw beautiful fish and colorful corals. My words really don't do it justice, so I'm going to let the pictures speak for themselves (although I'm sure my phone camera didn't fully capture it either).

After two jam packed days of island hopping and snorkeling in El Nido, I took another bumpy van ride back to PP. I spent my last day in the Philippines with an island hopping trip in Puerto Princesa's Honda Bay. It was more touristy than El Nido's island, but still beautiful. The touristy thing can have its upsides -I got a $3 massage on the beach! Unfortunately, I forgot my phone on my last day so I didn't get any pictures, but I did manage to borrow a few from my snorkeling buddy Caitlin.

Happy hour at my guest house

Semi-posed snorkeling

 

Lunch! So delicious!

Boat selfie!

Michael Jordan in Honda Bay! He was kind of a dick...

The Philippines was a blast. Just what I needed after a stressful few weeks at work too! It was my first solo travel experience and I couldn't have asked for a better trip! I feel so fortunate to have had the chance to travel like this, and I don't think I ever would have had the opportunity had I not come to Korea. I highly recommend both the Philippines as a travel destination and Korea for teaching abroad!

Until next time!

The Streets of Palawan -Philippines Trip Preview

I'm currently working on my next few updates. In the meantime, here is a preview for my Philippines trip post. These are photos I took just walking the streets. Enjoy!

Trikes -taxis of Palawan

Convenience store

Trip to the Philippines part 1 ~Puerto Princesa

I  haven't updated in a while, but I've been super busy.

I've had an amazing, but packed few weeks. Korean schools recently had their summer holiday break, which means that the majority of English teachers had 9 days off (including weekends). Because Korea is such an easy starting point for travel in Asia, many foreigners used their break for international travel.

I decided to go to the Philippines. The Philippines is often left off of many Southeast Asia travelers' itineraries because it can seem daunting to travel between its 7,000 islands. Having always loved the beach, and especially diving and snorkeling, the Philippines was a no-brainer for me. Some of the worlds best diving sites and Southeast Asia's best beaches are in the Philippines. White sand, clear water, diverse marine life -what more could I ask for?

Seeing as I only had a week off, there was no way for me to cover too much of the Philippines, so I decided to base my trip out of the island of Palawan. It is known for its great snorkeling and island hopping. It is also less touristy and crowded than the Philippines' popular party destination of Boracay. I traveled to the island's two most popular cities: Puerto Princesa (Palawan's capital city) and El Nido (Palawan's best island hopping area).

Unfortunately, it is monsoon season, so I wasn't able to go diving. I did, however, go on some AMAZING snorkeling adventures. I don't really know how to begin to describe how incredible this trip was, y'all. I met some great people, ate delicious food, spent my days on the beach and my nights in the company of the aforementioned great people. I had so many moments where I kept thinking 'is this real life?'.

Day 1
After darts, drinks, dinner, and dessert (the 4 essential D's) in Seoul on Saturday I crashed at a jimjilbang (Korean spa/bath house with sleeping areas) for the night.

On Sunday, I caught my very early flight to Manila for a 6 hour layover. I met another ESL teacher on my flight (shout out to Shelly) and we decided to hang out the next few nights.

I arrived on the Island of Palawan that evening to an unreal welcome of kids cheering, puppies running, music playing, and lights twinkling. I'm 99.9 percent sure it was for some much loved family member, but I choose to hang on to that 0.1 percent that they were truly ecstatic to see me.

I took a trike from the airport to my hostel. A trike is the Filipino version of a taxi (except in Manila were their version of a taxi is a taxi). It is a motorbike with a metal attachment allowing for passengers. It fits 1-2 passengers comfortably, but we managed to squeeze 5 in one night!

After checking into my hostel, I met up with my layover buddy at a local restaurant called Kalui for some delicious (and cheap) Filipino food and cocktails.

My Manila experience in one picture -all I saw of it except for a cab ride to the next terminal. But hey, McDonalds!

My first hostel experience! I loved it!

Day 2

On my second day in Puerto Princesa I did the underground river tour. It is a river that runs though a large cave system. The tour actually only take tourists just partway through. Only scientists are allowed to go the rest of the way. It was really cool! And it's one of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World. Since I'd already been to Jeju Island in SK, it was the second Natural Wonder for me. Nice-uh! 

Because the cave is so dark I couldn't take pictures inside, but it was really interesting to see (once you get past the bat shit smell). The cave ceiling was quite high at some points and our guide pointed out humorous rock formations.

After the tour our group stopped at Ugong Rock to do a little spelunking and to ride the fastest zipline in the Philippines. Another highlight!

Stereotypical tourist photo in my oh so flattering PFD.

Wild monkey!

Wild monitor lizard! Is this real life??

Cave entrance

Zipline over the rice paddies! I must be in Asia or something.

Day 3

My original plan was to travel to El Nido on this day, but I'd heard they'd been having bad weather (#monsoonseasonprobs am I right?) so I decided to stay one more day in PP. It turned out to be a good decision because I later heard from a friend in El Nido that her island hopping trip was cancelled that day anyway. Plus I had an awesome night (more on that below)!

I started off the day with what is now remembered as the greatest discovery of my life -the Filipino pancake! Now, I should say that part of its loveliness might have something to do with my having had only one other pancake experience since leaving the states 7 months ago. But even so, Filipinos know how to make a great pancake! Notice the use of the singular there. It's because you only need one -they are incredibly thick! They are also perfectly fluffy and as big as a plate. As a bonus they come in banana pancake form as well! I could go on and on about these suckers y'all! AMAZING! 

Anywayssss...

I decided to spend the day checking out the nearby beaches. My hostel owner told me there was a beach about ten minites away, but recommeded one slightly further away. In an attempt to avoid a 30 minute trike ride, I headed to the closer of the two -a decision I immediately regretted. This beach -ironically named Pristine Beach- was basically a rocky dirt road that lead to the ocean. I got about halfway down the path before I decided to GTFO of there!

I hopped in a trike and headed to the further beach. Despite the long ride and small entrance fee, it was a much better choice. There was a small rain shower when I first arrived, but I was able to sit under a cabana with a (free) glass bottle of coke and wait it out. The rain cleared and it turned into a great day! Best of all, I had the beach to myself -a perk of braving monsoon season in the Philippines. 

That night I went out with some fellow travelers. It was a great time. I tried crocodile sigsig -which was actually delicious! Other highlights include seeing the Filipino version of K pop and a Filipino/reggae version of wagon wheel. We ended up staying out all night -another questionable decision as I had a 5am van to El Nido to catch the next morning!

Banana pancake and a fresh pineapple shake -I have dreams about this meal!

Pristine Beach -not so pristine after all

Waiting for the storm to pass

My own little private oasis

Another storm rolling in -time to make my escape!

Crocodile! It's what's for dinner!

P pop -K pop's slutier cousin (or should it be F pop?)

New friends on stage attempting to sing the Beatles

Overall, Puerto Princesa was an awesome time, but the most magical part of my Philippines vacation was El Nido. Stay tuned for an update on the second half trip -coming soon!