Taiwan

Taiwan, Taiwan, where to begin! An amazing trip to say the least! This vacation came at a much needed time, right in the middle of my summer intensive courses. This was my first trip out of Korea since arriving and I was excited to get the hell outta here for a few days! Karissa and I wanted to go somewhere for vacation and we both agreed that we wanted to be on a beach somewhere with a drink in our hands....and that is how our trip to Taiwan was born. The theme of this vacation you ask?...well that's easy.. Bikini's and Booze! A girls getaway!

Day 1 - Karissa and I caught the 5:00 am bus out of Daegu for Incheon, aka Seoul's main airport. We arrived ahead of schedule so we went up to the ticket counter to get our boarding passes and the nice lady working the ticket counter upgraded us to first class!! AHH!! We were soo excited! I've always wanted to fly in first class and I've always dreamed about the day that I would get an upgrade! Needless to say, this vacation was already off to an amazing start! We stopped by the pharmacy to pick up some anti-anxiety something or another for my fear of flying. They gave me some oriental medicine or something that is supposed to help you relax! We made our way to the gate and before we knew it, it was time to get onto the plane! Now, this medicine came in two parts, one part was this little round container full of a bunch of brown balls that looked like BB gun pellets or something - probably like 10 or 12 and then it came with a bottle of liquid that you are supposed to chug after you take the little balls! When it came time to actually take it,  I started to feel a little nervous because who really knows what it was! I took all the little balls down in one gulp and then proceeded to chase it with the liquid stuff but it was the nastiest taste that I have ever had in my mouth! UGH! I could barely finish it! It was potent! We got to board the plane first because we were first class and just stepping into the first class cabin was like walking into luxury! We flew with Asian Airlines which is a nice airline and the plane we were on looked pretty new. We took our seats, and the flight attendants began waiting on us hand and foot! It was amazing! We got english newspapers, so many magazines to choose from, fresh squeezed orange juice, slippers...and that was only the beginning! As soon as we got in the air, Karissa and I decided that we were going to drink free booze until we couldn't drink anymore! They came around the cabin with the first round of drinks and we of course ordered champagne! After that they came around with the menu for the flight.. We had scallops and a salad for an appetizer, filet mignon for the main course, and tiramasu for dessert! Then they came around with a white linen service and actual silverware, it was great! The whole flight was just amazing, after lunch(breakfast for us), we continued with the drinking, we probably each had a bottle of white wine, then some baileys and coffee and some other special teas and such. It was only a 2 1/2 hour flight and we were sad to see it end but, I will say this, there was no fear on my part during the flight! Either the oriental drugs or the booze did the trick, or maybe it was a combination of both!!! After we got through immigration and such we caught a bus into Taipei and began to locate our hostel. It was in a great location, right in the middle of everything. After we dropped our stuff off, we were still on a luxury/booze high, we began to explore the city.

First things first...we visited this lovely peace park and then from there we saw the most amazing temples and gardens! Taiwan is so drastically different from Korea in such a good way. The temples and the details put into the gardens were just phenomenal! Each time we went from one site to the next, we were even more amazed at the beauty this city had to offer. This was also my first time actually visiting a temple. I've seen one here in Korea but couldn't go inside at the time so this was my first up close and personal Buddhist experience. We walked soooo much that day and it was unbearably hot outside! We were so sweaty! After visiting many temples and experiencing some Taiwan culture we decided to hit up the night markets - what Taiwan is really known for! Night markets are a huge part of their culture. It's basically like a night festival or fair with tons of food vendors, people selling junk, with a few other crazy things in the mix. We had scoped out this one night market where we heard you could drink snake blood and eat snake! We decided to check it out and the rumors were true! We didn't eat or drink snake anything but, I took some pictures and it was an unbelievable site to see! We saw some real freakshows that night. Here in Korea they don't really have freak-shows or crazy people, they keep them locked up and on the down-low, so it's rare that you'll have an encounter with a crazy. We also tried all sorts of excellent food. There was so much to choose from and we didn't really know what everything was but we just kept trying stuff until we were so full we thought we were going to burst! We also got bubble tea drinks because that's another thing Taiwan is known for and they were delicious! We kept seeing these massage places everywhere and this one guy named David, that was wearing this gaudy USA shiny shirt, drew us into his establishment where we had the best leg/foot massages ever! Considering the fact that we were already really tired and our feet were killing us, it was like heaven on earth! This lady beat the crap out of my legs, feet, shoulders, and neck! The entire 45 min massage only set me back $9 USD! CRAZY! After that we set about to find this drink called Whisby that we had read about in our lonely planet. We went into this one liquor store assuming it would be there and this nice guy that didn't speak much english took us out of his shop and all around the night market to help us find it! He went out of his way to make sure that we found what we were looking for! Taiwanese people are so hospitable! I had heard they were some of the nicest people but I wasn't really sure what to believe but, on more than one occasion on this trip people just wanted to help us and make sure we were having a good time! Something like that would NEVER happen in Korea! So anyways, we find the whisby at a pharmacy, purchase it, and being to indulge. It's a strange drink, like an energy drink packed with some vitamins and with a little extra boost of some liquor! It tasted almost like bubble gum and we thoroughly enjoyed it! After the whisby we tried some other liquor that was supposed to be Taiwan's main liquor - it was like drinking gasoline! We had maybe 2 sips each before we decided we couldn't drink it because it was THAT strong! I mean literally - like gasoline! Probably just as deadly too! We were a little buzzed throughout the whole day so the walk back to the hostel was an interesting one, at one point we had to stop and pee in a desolate parking lot...haha...Karissa had to stop midstream because someone was coming! Hilarious times! When we made it back to the hostel we were beyond exhausted!! We crashed and slept for a good 9 hours!

Day 2 -We got off to an early start around 9. The first thing on our list to see was Taipei 101. It was officially ranked as the tallest building in the world since 2004, BUT since the Burj Khalifa in Dubai opened last year, it can no longer claim that glory to fame. It's the tallest building I've ever been in so that has to count for something! When we first arrived we checked out the amazing food court that we had heard about in the basement level. It was literally one of the best food court's I've been in. They had everything to choose from and Karissa and I had the hardest time trying to decide what to eat! We finally settled on sushi and mandu. After that we bought our tickets and rode the fastest elevator in the world to the top of the building! It was pretty cool if I do say so myself! Once atop, we took pictures, looked out all the windows, and browsed around the gift shop where I bought my first pencil since being in Asia! :) What an accomplishment, right!? We then took the elevator back down and walked around the huge mall that comprises the first 5 stories of the building. It was similar to walking around  Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, designer stores everywhere filled with nothing that I could afford. Fun to window shop nonetheless. After Taipei 101 we headed over to the Jade and flower markets! Two semi-indoor markets one filled with tons of Jade, (some real, some fake I'm sure) and then the Flower market which was just lovely and colorful! We spent a good amount of time here and then proceeded to do some shopping. We were pretty unsuccessful because we kept getting lost and eventually we gave up and headed back to the hostel for showers before hitting up another night market!
After regrouping, we decided to go to Taiwan's most famous night market, Shilin Night Market. We spent the evening here stuffing our faces with the most amazing food I've ever tasted! We had beef noodle soup, tons of delicious fresh fruit, dumplings, shrimp, so many different kinds of meat on a stick, stinky tofu, and so much more! The food was by far the best at this night market! We also did a little bit of shopping. This market was more of a free for all whereas the other one had some structure to how it was set up, including actual buildings and a designated area. We also enjoyed the younger crowd at this market as compared to the night before. It wasn't long until we were exhausted and took the subway back to the hostel and passed out.

Day 3 - Beach and Spa day! We really wanted to have a day at the beach so we picked one of the many beaches out of our book and got on a bus! A bus to Jinshan to be exact. When we arrived in the town, we had to ask for directions at a  7/11 and this nice guy told us how to get there, so we started walking and then next thing we know, he is picking us up in his elementary school bus van! He drove us down to the beach and after we realized what a trek it could have been we were relieved! Such a nice guy! Like I said, the people in Taiwan were all so nice like this! So helpful! So anyways, we get to the beach and there is literally not a soul in sight! It was kinda nice! We assumed that most kids were in school because it was a Monday but still, we were the only ones there! The beach was ok, not exactly what we were expecting, but nonetheless it was still nice to be relaxing on the sand staring out at the ocean.. After the beach we changed and decided to find the hot springs that were supposed to be nearby. We wanted to visit this resort that we had read about in our book so we went to the main tourist building and they called us a cab and he took us to this GORGEOUS 5 start resort in the mountains! It was unbelievable! We paid maybe $20 USD to use the facilities all afternoon and evening! It was basically a hot spring resort and they had at least 20-30 different hot spring pools for us to relax in. They came in all flavors and temperatures - hot, scalding hot, cold, coffee flavored, lavender, green tea, you name it they had it! They also had an infinity pool looking out over the mountains with water massage chairs which were fabulous! It was such a relaxing day and by far one of the best spa experiences I've had! We were sad to leave. After lounging around all afternoon though we were starving and sat down for what turned into a 10 course meal at the resort! 10 courses and all you could drink draft beer for like $15 USD! Amazing! The food was great and shortly after that we had this sexy guy working the hotel front desk call us a cab so we could get back to the bus station! The bus ride back was an adventure in itself. SCARY! We were going really fast around these hairpin turns, it seemed very dangerous. We crashed pretty early after talking to a girl at our hostel about what we should do the next day...

Day 4 - We decided to go to the very end of the subway line towards the north to a town called Danshui? Something like that maybe. We really weren't that impressed because nothing was open! We contributed this to the fact that it was too early.. around 10 - not early by western standards but in Asia - this is early. All we wanted was some breakfast for once! We walked around forever and it was already so hot! We finally found this little cafe with actual american style breakfast food, we had never been so thankful! We stuffed our faces and got back on the train to see this temple. The temple was quite a sight to see, very lavishly decorated and we saw so many different buddhist statues at this place of all these different gods. There were just hallways packed with them! They looked pretty cool though so I snapped some photos! hehe After the temple we attempted to find the Beitou hot springs. We took the train to the stop, walked all around the area, finally found them and then they were closed for the next 45 mins! UGH! We were so mad and hot and thirsty that we just gave up and headed back to the hostel because it was almost time to leave! I think we were overheated and just wanted cold showers honestly. We got just that and then caught the bus back to the airport. We didn't get to fly first class on the way back, but we still got to booze it up in economy for free! We threw back some wine with our in-flight meal, which was actually good and in combination with my other dose of oriental medicine, it was a smooth ride. We made it back to Daegu around 2 in the morning because the first bus from Incheon was booked so we had to wait another hour.

A few things to note about Taiwan: I really enjoyed this country, the people are very hospitable, always willing to lend a helping hand and we really appreciated that! What a great country for tourism! Also, I noticed almost everyone spoke some amount of English and most people, spoke it very well. Their subway or metro system called the MRT, is very cheap and efficient and they even had these special waiting areas for females after dark with cameras and help buttons. Seriously, what a great idea! They also have these lines on the floor for people who are going to enter the subway to line up on, then when the train comes, people exit in one direction and you board almost single file onto the train in the other direction! So efficient! All metros need this system. Even though Taipei is a huge city the air quality there, compared to the air quality here in Daegu, was drastically different, much cleaner and it actually felt like a city as composed to a large suburb full of apartment buildings. We also noticed that we didn't get as many stares as we do here on a daily basis! Not very many people stared at us at all actually, it was quite nice not being noticed for a change! One thing that we loved about Taiwan was the amount of mopeds or scooters! They are everywhere and there are so many! We decided to call them scooter gangs! Overall it was a great trip and I would love to go back to Taiwan for the food, the people, and the beautiful scenery (handsome men included!).



On a side note - Karissa and I discussed the weight limit issue for airlines and how they make fat people buy two seats now and blah blah blah....we came to the decision that for every one person you should be allowed 250 lbs. of weight. Including yourself! This means that if you weigh 200 lbs. than you are only allowed 50 lbs. of luggage. Therefore, if you weight 150 lbs. you are allowed 100 lbs. of luggage. Etc. This is such a grand idea! It might also help American's think about the next big mac they are about to shove down their throat's....do you wanna take those jeans on vacay next week or do you wanna eat this sandwich bitch!? hahahahaha Brilliant - a new way to a skinny America! :D


Up next... the Philippines! Stay tuned!

Summer's Brutality

It's been a while to say the least...almost 2 1/2 months to be exact. I had an excuse there for a while but recently I've just been boycotting this blog. I'm not exactly sure why that is, I seem to just keep putting everything off until another day...this is a terrible attitude to have about things...so I'm no longer going to procrastinate because like they say, there's no time like the present! Here it goes...brace yourself..

• The highlight of July was Mudfest - this huge festival that I went to in Boryeong, South Korea. None of my co-workers seemed interested in going so I decided to join this tour group thing on facebook and I ended up meeting lots of foreigners living here in Daegu on the journey. Basically it was like spending a weekend in a frat house! We left really early on Saturday morning on 2 buses for the 4 hour drive up the eastern coast of Korea. Boryeong is known for it's mud and it's mud is known for it's healing properties! It's supposed to be amazing for your skin, and the city just happens to be on the beach, which was a definite plus! So on the bus ride, people are already drinking heavily at 9 in the morning. The bus ride was quite an adventure, it involved me having to pop a squat, in the pouring rain, along side the road at one point. Lesson learned here - never drink on a bus again! Our bus also happened to be a norebong bus! So we sang karaoke the whole way there! It was crazy! We arrived around noon to this huge party house with lots of rooms and floor mats to sleep on, very common in Korea. From there, the heavier drinking began along with playing in the mud! It was amazing! The best way to describe this experience would be - a HUGE mud party! They had everything, you could get painted in different color mud, mud massages, mud facials, mud baths, mud everything. They also had tons of the big blow up things that you see at fairs and such with the slides and instead of water, they were pumping out mud down these things! Mud was flowing a bounty! After you got muddy enough then you ran and jumped in the ocean to rinse off before going back at it again! It was a very unique experience and definitely one of the coolest things I've ever done! I posted pictures on facebook if you want to have a peek... After an exhausting day of drinking and playing in the mud everyone showered and got ready for the huge house party that our group threw! I did my first ever keg stand that night even though I hate beer and I met a lot of cool people.  It was like being at a frat house...the party went on into the wee hours of the night and then the next day I woke up, hung out at the beach a little bit, and then we headed home on the bus. This 4 hour ride was sooo peaceful and quiet! No drinking, no norebong..just silence because everyone was drained and hungover!
• Another highlight from July, we added two new teachers to the Hanvit family, Hayley from the US and Elspeth from Canada. Both arrived within one week of each other so we got to throw 2 welcome dinner parties at our favorite Galbi restaurant in Manchon! They teach at the Beomeo branch so I don't see them on a daily basis but we all hang out together after work, on the weekends, and such. 
• I finally moved in July also and what an interesting experience that was! My apartment finally sold so I only had to commute to work for 1 week luckily. The movers arrived at my house at 8:00 in the morning and although I had packed up most of my things, they came in with boxes and packed up everything else. It was chaos, they arrived and within 1 hour they had completely gutted my apartment. In Korea, they take EVERYTHING, the washer, the stove top, the refrigerator, and they even ripped the air conditioner off the wall! I'm surprised they didn't bring the toilet! Gina, the lady that handles all of our company's finances and living arrangements, arrived around 9 to pick me up and take me to my new place. When we arrived, I was surprised by how big and nice it was! We hung out for a while waiting for the movers. 20 mins. passed, then 45 mins. passed, then 1 hour 30 mins. passed before we both started to wonder where the movers were? It was also a little awkward sitting there with someone who doesn't really speak that much English. I was getting desperate. Gina called them and you're not going to believe this one...they STOPPED for BREAKFAST in the middle of my move! Holy shit! ONLY in Korea would something like this happen! WTF, who stops in the middle of a job? Not only that, but everything from my fridge was on the back of these two pick up trucks spoiling! I was livid! They eventually made it and when they found out that I was on the top floor they weren't so happy anymore...2 men carried everything up these stairs! It was quite the site to see! They put everything where I wanted it and before I knew it, I was all settled in to my new place. It was an interesting culture experience but moving sucks nonetheless, it's never a fun task. I do however enjoy my new neighborhood much more! I'm located close to the subway now, and I'm only two stops from downtown! It's very nice! The only thing my new apartment is missing is a bathtub! I've been missing my bathtub at my other apartment! 
• Also a highlight in July - more like lowlight - I taught summer intensive courses. It was brutal. They last for almost a month while the students were having their summer vacation. It consisted of me going to work at 10:30 every morning and working until 10:30 at night. 5 extra hours of work everyday! UGH, I was sooooo exhausted. I was relieved when it ended. I got paid extra for the work but when my paycheck finally came this month, it really didn't seem all that worthwhile. :-/ They last from like July 20th - August 18th. I did get a 4 day vacation during this time frame but I would blame the summer intensive courses for my lack of blogging. 
• The summer here was almost unbearable. I honestly don't know how these people can stand it. I've walked into so many shops without A/C and I just want to shake these people and be like "what the hell is wrong with you?" Thank goodness for air conditioning at my school. Being at work for 12 hours out of my day definitely kept me out of the brutal humidity of Daegu, which in the end, I'm thankful for. I'm so glad that fall has finally arrived. About 1 week ago it just cooled down over night and has finally leveled out to a normal temperature. Low 80's and sunny during the day with  cooler nights around 68. :) Heaven!
• We also had a summer vacation break when the students did, right in the middle of summer intensives. I went to Taiwan with Karissa! It was absolutely fabulous and I will have to write another blog post dedicated solely to that. 
• On the weekends we attempted to do stuff as a group, we tried to go zip- lining once but couldn't find the right bus. It was a failed day. We also tried to go to Busan to the beach one sunday but it started pouring the rain as soon as we got there and continued to rain the whole damn day! It was awful. We don't seem to be having much luck recently with day activities. 
• I joined a new gym in my neighborhood, it's alright. It's not as nice as my other gym but it's cheaper at only 50,000 won a month and it has everything that I need!
• My sister Chelsea left for Africa sometime recently...I wonder what how she's holding up?
• The guy scene here needs some serious work....it's pathetic...
• Also, did you know, that Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world!? If I can remember correctly, they are #2, Japan is #1. I can definitely see why though. The asian societies put too much pressure on themselves. Especially when it comes to personal image. The only thing my students ever worry about is "losing face" - aka being embarrassed or a disappointment. This cultural aspect definitely shows in the way my students behave on a daily basis. It's so interesting to see how culture shapes a person and how they view the world. 
• Karissa's parents visited recently. They came to Korea for a little over a week. We all had dinner together one night last week. We, of course, ate gabli, traditional Korea BBQ. It was really nice to have some new people around and especially two adult figures. 
• There is going to be a huge concert in Seoul Oct. 9th, called Global Gathering. I really want to go but I'm not sure if i'll be able to afford it. One of my favorite DJ's - Armin Van Buuren is going to be there along with Justice, Fat Boy Slim, and some other DJ's I've never heard of. It's going to be a like a big dance party! Eeck! I hope I have enough money at the end of the month to go! I would kill to see him play! 
• There has been 2 typhoons this summer. Pretty interesting.
• Also, there are many atheists here in South Korea, I've met so many people that don't believe in anything! It's kind of shocking actually...
• I took a bad fall about 2 weeks ago on the sidewalk. It was around 12 o'clock in the afternoon and sadly I hadn't been drinking when it happened! I'm just blind I guess! It was pretty bad though, skinned up both my knees really bad and my foot. I almost lost it there for a min. but after I had regained my composure I was laughing hysterically at my own stupidity! haha
• My student loan payments are starting in 10 days and they will slowly be the death of me....someone I know..PLEASE win the freaking lottery! I can't suffer in this misery of the greedy american civilization just for some education which hasn't done anything I was told it was going to do.  :(
• I have recently developed a new punishment for my students. One day I got the bright idea to make them write sentences! I remember having to do this in the 1st grade one time and it was the worst thing ever! So, when they do something bad or forget their book or something I make them write a sentences about whatever they did bad! For example: I will not forget my book - maybe 50 times! It works like a charm! :)
• One of my students asked me the other day randomly that if the world was going to be destroyed tomorrow, what would I do? This caught me off guard, they were probably asking just to get me off topic but nonetheless, I stopped so we could talk about it. It was interesting to hear their responses. I said that I would probably go to Disneyworld because that was about the most appropriate thing I could think of at the time! haha
• Another interesting thing I am going to try out this week is this activity called "Draw your Habitat," you ask your class to draw a picture of their house and then you ask them to draw a picture of what a house is supposed to look like and see if there is a difference. I find this to be mind boggling because for some reason we all think that the house WE live in is what a house is supposed to be like. It's hard to think outside the box sometimes. I wish we could all come to this realization about things in our life, that maybe our way isn't always the right way...
• One of the foreign teachers at our branch, Robin, finally left monday! AH! What a relief, I wasn't sure how much more of her bipolar self I could take! It's so much more quite at work now!
• Some other exciting news is that I only have to work 4 days in the next 2 weeks! Chuseok, Korean thanksgiving, is this week. We have to work Monday and Friday but then we have Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday off from work. Then I have to work Monday and Tuesday next week and then it's off for another vacation while the students take their exams! Karissa and I have booked tickets to the Philippines and are going to bask in the glory of white sand beaches and cheap rum for 5 days! :D It's going to be awesome! We hope to go diving or snorkeling while we are there too! We're sooo excited!! I'm really glad I have her to vacation with everywhere, we make a good team because we are so much alike, especially when it comes to traveling! 

That's the best update that I can give for now.... it's been an exhausting summer and I'm so glad fall has arrived. I vow to blog more! It WILL happen! Good news is.. I've been here for almost 4 1/2 months! Time seems to be flying recently! Before you know it I will be almost half way done with my contract and then just another 6 months to go! I can do it!! :D 

BTW, thanks to everyone who has sent me a care package at some time or another since I've been here. I truly appreciate it more than you'll ever know. It's nice to get things from home! :)