Japan Day 1

My long awaited post about Japan! There is so much to say, Japan will be explored over a few posts.

After finally getting off work at 7pm Tuesday night, and knowing that I had to leave for the airport at 5am Wednesday morning, I had a choice to make - either go home, clean my apartment, pack, relax and get ready OR go out for dinner to a restaurant called Ashley's, that I had never been to before, with Chris and Ben and probably be home late. I obviously made the second choice and glad I did as it made for a great start to the holiday. Ashley's is a buffet style restaurant that has so much to choose from (several American dishes), and unlimited wine :)

Heading down into Ashley's, Ben striking a pose and a picture of the buffet area

 



 
 

 

The barrels of unlimited wine - they had two types of white and two types of red

 

I obviously had to get a picture with the sign 

 

 

 

After many plates of food and several glasses of wine, we headed out. Chris and Ben went off to find a Rockband Noraebong but I decided it was time to pack!

 

Once I did get back to my aprartment I spent more time talking to friends online (as it was daytime for them) than I did packing. Finally I got around to packing and literally closed my suitcase as I walked out the door, feeling like I probably forgot a few things. Needless to say I did not sleep that night but was feeling good still. Jessica and I met at the airport bus stop I believe around 5:30am. It's really convenient that there s a bus that takes us straight to the airport which is about an hour away without traffic, and that the bus stop is just down the road from our apartments - all for $7! Not surprising, as it was a holiday, there were many people there. Unfortunately that meant that there was standing room only when the bus arrived but we toughed it out. There wasn't much traffic so we made good time. I don't know if I'm just bad at showing up at the airport at the right time, because whenever I do go to the airport I basically check in, go through customs and then get on the plane without waiting too long. So it was very odd to me that after we checked in and went through security we still had basically two hours to kill. This is what I chose to do:

 

 

That helped pass the time and soon enough we were on the plane heading for Japan. We got the emergency exit seats so we had a lot of leg room, naturally I slept most of the flight. Only to be woken once to the sound and smell of food and had the "beef breakfast" - which for airplane food, the beef was delicious and tender, but an odd meal to eat for breakfast.

 

 

 

After passing through all the checks once we got into Korea, it was time to find our way to the hostel. We stood in line to purchase train tickets and through our lack of knowledge of the subway system and understanding of the directions to the hostel, we were given the priciest way to get there (about $30). But we go there and that is all that matters. We managed to walk right by the hostel while looking for it as the sign for the hostel (called JGH and was in Nishi-Kawaguchi) was small and white, and JGH was in silver. So, on a bright sunny day it was not very visible. Having experienced hostels in Miami, I was amused by this one but not shocked as many were. It was a very small place, with even small areas for sleeping and relaxing. Also, very makeshift. The rooms were separated by plywood and sheets, and some rooms you could see into looking over the plywood wall. There were several people during our stay who came and saw and left immediately, but I actually really liked the place and enjoyed my time there. It had so much character and was perfect for exactly what we needed - a place to sleep. The staff were so warm, welcoming, and helpful as well. I expected to have a locker to store my things, but this was not the case and got over it quickly. I realize how 'unsafe' that may sound, but Japan (and Korea) are both sooo safe! Besides, anything that important was in my purse on my person at all times. Here are a few shots of the place.

 

Below is my room, as you can see there was plenty of space for walking. I stayed in the top left bunk.

 

 

Front desk area

 

The only common area to hang out with others at the hostel

 

The owner had messages from people who had stayed there all over the walls, as well as currency from other countries.

 

Lydon (standing) and Jerome (sleeping) - getting another view of how awesome the rooms were.



 

People slept in the small space behind the green curtain.

 

The only downside to the hostel was that it was quite a trek to get to anywhere that you wanted to be, but the people made up for it and I don't regret staying there at all.

 

Originally we had planned to meet up with some old students of mine who I taught in Vancouver who recently went back to Japan, but somehow even though we landed at 11:30am, we didn't leave the airport until after 1pm and got the hostel in the late afternoon, so it just didn't work out. Once we got settled we decided to go check out Asakusa and two others from the hostel (Kyle and Matsuko, who both came to Korea alone, who both work in Seoul as well) decided to come along with us. We walked around a shopping area and stopped at a small restaurant to have pork cutlet - unfortunately the pork cutlet in Korea is much better but it satisfied our hunger. The older Japanese people who were in the restaurant were giggling at us as we tried to understand the different denominations of coin and bills we had. (Which I might add was confusing because 1,000 is the lowest denomination for a bill in both Korea and Japan, but in Korea it is worth $1 and in Japan it is worth $10 and it was hard to get out of the $1 mindset that we are so accustomed to now.) Afterwards, we stumbled upon a temple. From there we could see the famous Skytree Tower and decided to walk towards it - obviously looked closer than it was, but we walked anyways and crossed a few rivers to get there, but the walk was fun. We decided not to go up the Skytree Tower, instead took some pictures and ate some ice cream before heading back to the hostel. Here are some pictures from Asakusa:

 

 
 



 

 Kyle, myself, Jessica and Matsuko

 

 

 

When we got back to the hostel, there were people out in full force. Evidently, many people arrived while we were in Asakusa. Several introductions were made as we all hung out outside in the common area. There were several other teachers from Korea, as well as people from the US, Poland, Taiwan and a good number of  British people. The majority of people headed out that night to a nearby karaoke joint, but I opted to stay behind and had some drinks and played cards with some of my new British friends - Ellen (travelling by herself), Ben and Richard (travelling together with two other friends who were sleeping). Throughout the night we were joined by two other girls who arrived at the hostel late into the night and eventually Ben and Richard's friend Sam woke up and hung out for a bit as well. Below is the only picture from the night. Left to Right: Ben, myself, Richard and Meiko (the hostel owner - such a sweet lady who called us her children and hung out with us.)

 

 

 

Sam did an absolutely incredible magic trick that night that I will never forget and one that still blows my mind. He got us to pick a card from a deck we had borrowed from Kyle to play blackjack earlier as he stood around the corner so he couldn't see. After picking a card, we wrote down what it was on a piece of paper and folded it. When Sam came back, he took the folded piece of paper and lit it on fire. Just before it was completely burnt to the end of the paper he swiped the burning fiery piece of paper across his bare forearm several times until before our eyes the letter A and the symbol for diamond appeared/charred on his forearm in ash. MIND BLOWN! You could tell it was unpleasant for him to have essentially burnt his forearm but would not give away the secret. Thinking back to it, I am still amazed by it.

 

That night, I was up until around 5am and Jessica and I had planned to be up and ready to leave for 6:30am in order to travel and get to Disneyland when it opened. I was already going on very little sleep (essentially only the sleep I got on the plane) and wouldn't be getting much the first night either!







<3

Chuseok

Here in Korea we just had Chuseok holiday which is described as the Korean Thanksgiving. For this reason, we had September 18th-22nd off which made for a two day work week.

On Monday, the students came to school wearing their hanbok (traditional Korean clothing) and they looked so adorable!! We celebrated the holiday by making songpyeon which is rice cake filled with beans. It wasn't bad, I ate it but not something I would run out to have. I find it funny that a lot of the students don't actually like it, it reminds me of how traditions can change throughout generations or stay the same for the sake of tradition despite not enjoying it - if that makes sense. Here are some shots of the day.

From left to right: Sally, Grace, Sungwon, Olivia

 

Anie and Diana

 

The songpyeon I made :)

 

Me with Michael, Anie, Diana and Tyler

 

My class in their hanbok. Left to right, Sungwon, Diana, Tyler, Sally, Olivia, Grace, Anie and Michael.

 

Below are my ILP students, some kept their hanbok on, others took it off cause it was hot! Left to right: Kate, Sally, Anthony and Sohee.

 

 

<3

Korea Burn

Since coming to Korea, I have really appreciated food and eating out. I may have said this before, but eating out here is just so so good. I feel like no matter where you go, the food is amazing and there is just so much flavour. Every meal is just so delicious and I just really have come to appreciate it. Recently I went out with Chris and Ben to have Galbi and I just can't even describe how perfectly good it was. Every bite of every dish is just so satisfying. That is not to say shopping and cooking for myself is not frustrating, but eating out is wonderful.

I went on my first field trip with LCI. We went to a nearby Energy Plant and the students learned different ways to create energy and how to save energy. It was not the most exciting field trip ever, and I'm pretty sure they went last year as well, but they still seemed to enjoy it - but honestly, what kid doesn't like getting out of school for a day?! We left around 10am and piled into our assigned busses. I sat beside one of my students Anie. (Sorry for the blurry pictures, these kids can't stay still and move way too fast!)

 

Below is Sally and Olivia

 

 

This would have been a super cute picture of Michael and Tyler had it not been blurry!!

 

 

 Three of the classes learning about energy - they all wear LCI t-shirts and pants whenever there is a field trip - matchy matchy. But it does help to keep them all together!

 

 

 My class! They are really bad at smiling and Tyler has some weird hand gestures going on. She loves to sit on my lap though. Everyday at the end of class, I give them their stickers on their sticker sheets and she sits on my lap and watches and helps count :)

 

 

 

 Cuties - Michael and Tyler

 

 

 All of the little hands holding mine

 

 

Sungwon

 

 Anie and Sungwon

 

 

I know that they did learn a fair bit about energy, as they were all able to tell me different ways we can save energy when we got back to school. But I am looking forward to a more exciting field trip. I have heard we usually take the kids on a hike in October, so that would be fun. As well, on this field trip the guides spoke to the kids in Korean, so we couldn't even appreciate it much, not knowing what they were saying.

 

Now for Korea burn - My pick up location had been changed to Jukjeon Tollway Bus Stop and I had no idea where that was. Despite looking at maps, I felt pretty hopeless about finding it. Luckily, two of my coworkers Nate and Chuck were also going (but on an earlier bus) so I tagged along with them when they went to find the stop. We found it with some help from random Koreans on the street. We parted ways, and I headed back to my apartment to finish packing for the weekend. It's really hard to pack when you need to be completely self sufficient for an entire weekend. There is no possibility of running to a store if you forget something. Although it seems I always find it hard to pack! But really - what does one bring for food knowing you probably don't have access to anything that you can cook food on? How much water do you bring to last you Friday through Sunday? I ended up bringing some bread, peanut butter, ramen, zucchini, cookies, protein bars, candy, and oranges. Along with a 2L bottle of water, a 2L bottle of Gatorade, and 2 bottles of Soju. Keep in mind that previous to this weekend, a group of us discussed what to bring and brought different things to share. I was a little bit nervous when I got to the bus stop because I was the only one there (and had assumed others would have been picked up at my stop too). Several older Korean people arrived who were clearly going on a hiking trip and not going to Korea Burn. Eventually the bus showed up (late) and I found out they made a special stop in Jukjeon just to pick me up :) I walked onto the bus to everyone saying "Hi Ashley" and found my spot next to Emmalee (and behind Molly), two of the girls I had planned on going with. We left Jukjeon around 11:30pm and drove several hours, making various stops for the bathroom and to pick up more beer to drink on the bus and to stock up on last minute supplies for the weekend. It had been raining an incredible amount all day Friday and I'm sure that one of the convenience stores we stopped at has never sold so many ponchos before!

 

We arrived at Cheongpo Island at 2:30am and hauled our things a good 15 minute walk to the entrance of the beach/entrance to Korea Burn. The rain had let up just in time for us to set up our tents and the group we tented with conveniently brought tarps! Emmalee and I ended up borrowing a tent from one of her friend's friends which was awesome. There was one big camping area to set up tents in. Shortly after putting our tent up we ran into my coworkers, Nate and Chuck, as well as Elliot (the teacher I took over for). We had drinks and went over to the DJ tent and danced the night away covered from the rain that started once again. It was sooo wet! At one point Emmalee and I decided to go put on our bikinis as although it was raining, it was still warm and we decided it was better to get wet in clothes that were meant to get wet in. So we spent the rest of the night in our bikinis and a rain jacket. At one point we ended up at another theme camp that was making and serving grill cheese sandwiches (probably one of the best things I ate all weekend). We had already met a bunch of people that night but decided to head to bed and get out of the rain around 4/5am. Only that wasn't the case - it had been raining so hard that everything in our tent was already soaked. We 'slept' on soaking wet sleeping bags with puddles in our tent but tried to stay positive about the weekend. Below is a picture of Emmalee and I on the bus to Korea Burn, and Elliot (making a lovely face) and I during the first night of dancing. Elliot is a fellow Vancouverite and Emmalee is from near Toronto if I haven't mentioned that in a previous post.

 

 

Waking up the next morning was a mix of excitement, frustration, disappointment and frozenness. We woke up to the continued pouring rain and our clothes had soaked up more rain that ran into our tent. I decided to go survey the situation and this is what I saw:

 

It was a bit hard to stay positive about the weekend at this point, but at the same time you couldn't do anything but laugh. A lot of people were already piling into cabs or considering heading back. I ran into Chuck and he was heading to a nearby pension to see if they had any rooms available. This sounded like the best idea to me (especially considering if it were to stop raining, our things would still be drenched for the next night). We ended up getting the last room at the pension (for way more than we should have paid) and made new friends and piled 10 of us into the room. Wow was it ever amazing to have a dry space and blankets! This also gave us a small kitchen to cook in and two of our own private bathrooms and showers.

We spent that morning napping and playing drinking games and then finally the rain subsided! The sun came out in full force and we got ready to head out. We stayed in the pension with my coworkers and a group of teachers from Jeju. One of the girls, Brenna is very talented at face painting so we all got done up.

Below Top: The finished product of my face being painted & Nate getting his done.
Bottom: Elle and I with matching suns and Glenn done up in face and body paint.

 

 

 

 

The rest of the day was filled with so many different things I can't even begin to go into details on everything. Emmalee and I wandered around and met new people. We played beer pong, we shoe jousted, we danced, we went on a handmade seasaw, we tried pickled soju (pickle juice and soju together), we did a dare for free pizza and beer, we had friendship bracelets made, we sang, we burned sparklers, we watched the burning man burn down, we watched a fire show, watched burlesque. We were free.

PIP - Partners in Pink 

 

The Manifestation Station - You were supposed to write something on a piece a paper that you wanted to manifest or to let go. All of the papers would be burned and set into the universe with the burning man at night.

 

Someone painted this by hand during the weekend, just amazing!

 

 

Two guys had a graffiti battle and came up with this.

 

 

The next day we spend swimming and tanning on the beach. We also regrouped with Molly and the rest of her friends and made an amazing lunch. It was such a good end to an amazing weekend. I can't even put into words how good the weekend was, but it was so good and just what I needed. I am so lucky to have spent it with such amazing people!