Myan on the wobbly bridge
From there, the two of us headed to Jeongbalsan, an hour away. By the time we got there the sun was setting so we sat down by the water. Myan had been here before too and knew of a fountain water show that is put on nightly so we decided to check that out. We began by going the wrong way, unsure of where the show was and finally asked someone for directions. By the time we got going in the right direction, we could hear the show music already starting so we ran the whole way ... in flip flops. The water fountain show was put to music, both English and Korean songs. The best part though was the adjectives they chose at the end when they announced that the show was over: "Thank you for coming to the glorious spectacular water fountain show!" That night we ate at a place called Mad for Garlic which is delicious. Since coming to Korea, I have become pretty mad for garlic.
Early October, Mel, MJ, Kristine (my new coworker) and I went to the Gwangmyeong Mine Cave through Meetup.com. It was neat walking through the cave and really made me miss playing minecraft. We went to a market afterwards and tried live octopus (it was awful) with some of the vouchers we received. I left early as the others shopped as my eye was really bothering me. When I got to the eye doctor, I found out I had a small scratch on my eye, so I'm glad that I went in right away. My wonderful friends picked up some food for me though! I have now tried persimmons and quite like them. To me, they are a mix between pumpkin and tomato and are best enjoyed slightly defrosted after taken out of the freezer.
Mel, Kristine, MJ and I
I met up with the group later on and we went to Hello Nature Cafe (the Sheep Cafe)! We enjoyed some bingsu and played with the sheep. They were so cute and super soft. Of course, since we are in Korea, the country obsessed with Frozen, the sheep were named Elsa and Anna.
Trying to get into the Halloween spirit, one night a bunch of us got cozy in Noelia's apartment with take-out and snacks and watched Beetlejuice. We also went to Everland (Korea's own version of Disneyland" which was Halloween themed for October. We went through one of their horror mazes which left us with some good memories. Mel took one step in and decided to not go through. Maynah or Tatiana got down the first hallway and wanted to give up. We were put into a cage and a guy came in to scare us. But in an effort to not get freaked out, Tatiana just started to talk to him "Want to do shots with us?" and he finally broke out of character to ask us how old we were. I think it could have been scarier but it was still fun. My favourite ride was the rollercoaster.
Kristine, myself, Tatiana, Mel and Maynah
Our "scared" picture, Maynah and Kristine did not catch on though
Mel and I also joined MJ at the pool last weekend. We went to the Olympic Swimming Pool at Olympic Park to swim laps. It was 6,000 won for 3 hours. A couple things I found interesting was that you have to wear a swim cap (and everyone also wears goggles, although that's not mandatory but are extremely useful). Also every 50 minutes past the hour bells ring that indicate you must get out of the pool and there is a mandatory ten minute resting time. On the hour, bells ring again to indicate you are allowed back in the pool. Mel and I have never taken swimming lessons before, we just swim in our own way. MJ on the other hand is a swimmer. She really helped us learn how to swim freestyle and now we just need practice! I was really happy because I conquered my fear of putting my head in water without plugging my nose. I really have been wanting to go underwater without having to plug my nose especially since I am diving more. I think it will be an important skill to have.
Somewhere along the way, I also went to a Drum Festival... which I don't think I posted about!
And there you have it, tidbits from the last two months <3
And there you have it, tidbits from the last two months <3
