Jeju-do

I recently went on a trip to Jeju Island during South Korea's Memorial Day weekend. Jeju is arguably most gorgeous place in Korea with it's volcanic rock, black sand beaches, and bright blue water. I've been told that it's the Hawaii of Korea. It was an amazing weekend filled with beautiful places and people.

Boseong Tea Fields
We kicked off the weekend with a stop at Boseong Tea Fields. It was a great way to kill some time before our late afternoon ferry to the island. I even got to enjoy a taste of green tea ice cream!

We arrived in Jeju later that evening and checked into our rooftop pension. We then treated ourselves to a delicious bbq dinner of Jeju black pork before spending the night hanging out on our rooftop.

Beaches, Cliffs, and Waterfalls!

Most of the following (and only full) day was spent packing in as many fun adventures as I could. It was tiring, but worth it.

Black sand beach

Catching crawdads

 

Jusangjeolli cliffs formed by volcanic activity

Penis ice cream 

Jeongbang waterfall -it flows right into the ocean.

Loveland

We finished up the day with a trip to Loveland. It's Jeju's penis park. There's really no other way to put it. It's a park full of statues of penises and sex. It's especially strange to find a place like it in a country that can be so conservative about sex. I guess it's supposed help newly married couples get ideas for their honeymoon or something? Whatever. We just took funny pictures there!

Sunrise Peak

On the way home we stopped at Sunrise Peak. It's bowl-shaped mountain top is one of the most well known sights in Jeju. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to make it to the top. It was still a beautiful area though.

Ignore the spots -that's a jimjilbang story for another post

It was one of my favorite weekends I've spent in Korea. The only complaint is I didn't have enough time. You really need at least 3 full days here, but it gives me an excuse to go back!

Waiting for the ferry. Byeeee Jeju!

May Highlights ~playing catch up part 2

As I write this I'm sitting on a ferry in beautiful Jeju Island waiting to go back to the mainland after an awesome three day weekend. Life is so hard here in Korea, y'all! Just kidding, it's clearly awesome. Everyone should try it if they can. More on that in a later post! In the mean time, I thought I'd use my ferry time to finish catching up on posts. So here you go!

Daecheon Beach
In the last month I've taken a few day trips to Daecheon beach. It's just under an hour away on the train. And it's probably my favorite train ride. The views are great!

Dujeong-dong

Although I typically spend most weekends in Seoul or some trip, a few weeks ago I decided to stay in town. I ventured out of my neighborhood with a group of my fellow teachers into Dujeong-dong. It was a much more lively area of Cheonan. We played some street games (which I kicked ass at) and went to a few different bars. 

Street food. A nice Korean man gave us one for free! 

Making 'friends' in Seoul

Everyone was their favorite 'late night' (read drunk) food. In college mine was Pita Pit. In Korea it's the gyros in Hongdae. I LOVE them! A few weekends ago we made friends with the gyro guy.

So there you have it, folks. I'm all caught up. We'll see how long that lasts! Keep an eye out for a post on my Jeju trip. I'm hoping to have it up this week. Byeee!

May Highlights ~playing catch up part 1

I can't believe it's been over a month since my last update! I am so behind on my posting that I don't even know where to begin, and I don't even want to try! But I don't want to look back on my posts and forget all the great things I've been doing either. It seems counter-productive to spend the next month trying to catch up only to fall further behind as life goes on. So this will be the first of a 2 part post featuring the highlights of the last 5 weeks. Enjoy!

Paragliding Trip

I went on a paragliding trip with Seoul Hiking group. I got about halfway there before I remembered I'm terrified of heights and had a mini panic attack before backing out. Luckily, there was a hike for us who prefer our feet on the ground. And we did some beach walking!

Clearly not me

'Waterfall' hike

Geoje Island

I spent the four day weekend break for Buddha's birthday in Geoje Island with Seoul Hiking Group. It was probably the most chill and relaxing trip I've been on here in Korea. And it was just what I needed! I spent the 4 days walking on the beach, riding ferries, hiking around, and relaxing with new friends.

Becoming a cat lady?

Soooo, I got a cat. Good idea? Bad idea? The jury is still out on that one. I've been missing my dog a lot when I heard about some kittens found abandoned in a park. Most shelters here are kill shelters and they were just so freaking adorable that I got sucked in. As you may or may not know about me, I've always loved a good cat pun and I even own a cat shirt or two. However, I could always deny my cat lady-ness since I didn't even own one. Guess that excuse is out the window! (It probably doesn't help that I post pictures of help that I post pictures of her and take her for walks with me.) I'm pretty sure I'm about 5 cats away from full blown cat lady-dom.

Oh herro Penny!