Bali - Part 1

We arrived late Saturday night in Bali. We negotiated a taxi to our hotel and finally got to sleep around 4 am. We woke up in time for the free hotel breakfast, slathered ourselves in sunscreen (we both forgot our shins and paid!) and headed for the beach. Kuta is the main tourist beach and surfer hang out. It also very close to the airport, which is why we went there. 

The beach itself was nice and the ocean was as warm as a bathtub here, but we could hardly enjoy it because of all the touts. Touts are people constantly bothering you and asking to buy their chintzy stuff or pay for whatever service they are willing to offer. "You want massage. I give you cheap price." Below is a Matt being touted by a guy selling temporary tattoos. 

Bali is the only other predominantly Hindu area outside of India. They leave these offerings literally everywhere each day. You often see women sitting around and making these little grass  boxes. They are placed in front of shops, in the street, on the sidewalk, and even on the hoods of cars. Then once placed, they are left alone and are often eaten by birds or accidentally kicked by someone walking by. 

From Kuta we headed inland to Ubud, a city know for cultural performances and its lush surroundings. Ubud also has great eating. We never ate so well as we did in Ubud. We chose a hotel at random and found this place, called Warsa's Bungalows. Below is our private walled bungalow for only $25 a night. We were immediately wowed by the exterior and it was only later that we realized that it lacked basic amenities like toilet paper, soap, and towels. It was still a really nice place to stay. 

All over Bali are temples that you can just wander into. 

Monday night, we saw a Lembongan dance performance. These dancers were really highly skilled. All of their movements are highly controlled from their fingertips to their eye movements. This was set in the Ubud Palace with a live traditional Balinese orchestra. 

On Tuesday, we set out on a walk around the outside of Ubud. We started in the Monkey Forest. This place is full of little rascally monkeys. They will find food if you have it on you. We thought we were safe, but it turns out that monkeys also like sports drinks. One jumped on Matt's back to pull his drink out of the side pocket of his backpack. That continued to open the bottle with his mouth. Tricky smart buggers. 

This is the main temple in the Monkey Forest. Some temples require that you wear a sarong. 

Then we did a long walk through villages outside of Ubud. Here is an entire road devoted to drying grain. The chickens are having a smorgasbord. 

Also, in Ubud I had my first real massage. It was pretty amazing and only $12 for a full body, one hour massage. You can get even cheaper ones, but I "splurged" and went to a nice spa right next to our hotel. Matt was too sunburnt to participate and sat at the pool reading The Economist- sucka. 

Tuesday night, we saw a different dance performance called the Kecak dance. I've read that it was originally invented by a movie director in the 1930s for a movie, but it seems to have been incorporated into existing traditions. Kecak has no instruments, only a chorus of 100 men making a variety of noises that often sound like "kecak". 

Part 2 of our trip coming soon. Meanwhile, look at photos of our trip here :

Bali Bali

More Bali

February Update

Last Saturday was Valentine's Day. Matt and I went out for a nice dinner. I ate so much raw red fin tuna- it was delicious! Thursday night I made Valentine's for everyone at work. It was fun to get a little crafty and I can't remember the last time I made Valentine's. My Korean co-workers were really surprised! In Korea, it's a holiday for kids and young couples, which isn't that different from the states I guess, but no one really gives valentine's - only chocolates. 

Also, Matt recently departed with his mop. Justin came over and groomed Matt with his clippers. 

Matt couldn't resist leaving one little curl hanging over his forehead. He kept it overnight and wore it to work to shock the Korean teachers. He then promptly buzzed it before class started. He had grown quite fond of the curl and , if I dare say, rather vain!

In other news, we're off to Bali on Saturday! Only two more days of teaching stand between me and beaches, tropical drinks, delicious food, and beautiful temples and forests! I'll update when we return next Sunday!

Good Junk

Korea is full of good junk. When people don't want some of their belongings anymore, they simply discard them on the street or in abandoned lots/houses. Why give something to someone who may need it or a second hand shop when you can just put it on the street! While it may be more timely to find good junk in a second hand shop, it is much luckier to find good junk the Korean way- you can only happen upon it. Matt and I found our best good junk yet a couple of weeks ago- an orange vinyl couch!

I spotted this couch from our window in the old house that we call the Cat Castle because many stray cats live there. I knew it hadn't been there long because it had recently snowed and there was no snow on the couch. I went down to investigate and found it suitable for our apartment. I had to wait for Matt to come home, then we carried this heavy mother up four flights of stairs to our apartment. My forearms were sore for two days after, but it was worth it have a piece of furniture to sit on. Our "living room" was beginning to feel like its name instead of only a desk, a little table and floor cushions. Furniture can really make you feel like an adult! I am adult, I have a comfortable place to sit that isn't my bed.  The vinyl has a few holes in it, but we have craftily repaired them with the standard green Korean duct tape (duct tape only comes in bright green) and put a throw over that end of the couch only. 

 

Also, for your viewing pleasure- a view of my neighborhood, Bongseun-dong, from the ridge hike behind my apartment building. I knew there was a hiking trail up there, but I only just explored it this weekend. It's so close to my place and is a nice little escape. I plan to come back to the spot where I took this photo with friends and beers when the weather warms. It has a little pagoda for hanging and is only about 15 minutes walk from our building. I also plan to do lifestyle fitness there. 

I live to the left of the tallest buildings on the far left.  

Post Korea Plans- Vietnam!

Matt and I are solidifying our plans for when our contract in Korea is finished in May. We are headed to Ha Long Bay, Vietnam! Matt got a job working as a rock climbing guide in Ha Long Bay with SloPony. They're running an adventure/rock climbing/kayaking outfit based on Cat Ba Island in Ha Long Bay. I will teach SloPony's Vietnamese staff English and maybe others on the island who want to learn. I'll also help out and be a substitute guide if they need me to. We're going to live in a guest house on Cat Ba Island. Below is Cat Ba Town, a little town of about 8,00o people on the island. Here is a little video of people riding a motor scooter through the little town. 

This a panoramic photo of the harbor of Cat Ba Town, which you can see towards the left. 

This is also a neat video of the island and the bay shot on 16mm film. 

We're sad to be away from our family and friends for longer, but we couldn't pass this up. We're going to live on a little island in South East Asia!  Ha Long Bay is a natural UNESCO World Heritage Site, it's beautiful. Also, SloPony believes in and institutes a four day work week so that everyone has enough time for climbing, relaxing or exploring. I agree! We'll be there in June- come visit! 

Lunar New Year

The last weekend in January is Lunar New Year, which is one of the most important holidays throughout east Asia.  We had a long weekend so we went to Seoul with most of our friends from Gwangju. 



Readingtown had Friday off, but Avalon still had to work. Caitlin, Jesse, Shane and I decided to go up early to Icheon, which is a little town about an hour from Seoul. Icheon basically has two reasons to visit and we did them both. The first is that its famous for its pottery. We went to a little ceramic village and shopped around in more little pottery shops than I have ever seen in my life. The boys quickly livened up this trip by drinking big beers and wandering through ceramic shops. None of the owners seemed to mind. One adjumma even gave them snacks to go with their beers. It was extremely cold and we were basically the only shoppers there. Some owners weren't in their own shops, but hanging out in others because it was so quiet there. 

I bought these four tiny petal teacups and little wooden petal saucers. There were some really beautiful ceramics there, but I liked these little guys and figured they wouldn't be too much trouble to get home. 

Later that night, we went to the other reason to visit Icheon- the Miranda Spa. Korean spas called jim-jjil-bangs are really awesome! We have recently become enamored with jim-jjil-bangs and have been going to the one in our neighborhood a lot. The jim-jjil-bang is separated by sex and you cruise around from hot pool to hot pool or to a jet pool or to a sauna or to an herb bath totally naked. This may sound scary, but in Korean culture this is totally natural. Everyone goes from toddlers to women in their sixties or seventies- all naked. 

In America, this would never fly as it would probably attract weirdos and wouldn't be a place you would go with your sister, mother, daughter and friends to spend an afternoon or evening soaking, relaxing, exfoliating. In our neighborhood, it is only 4,800 won and you can stay as long as you want. There is a gym there too. The spa in Icheon was much nicer because it sits on a natural hot spring and there are outdoor hot pools. Caitlin and I sat outside in a hot yellow mud bath, drinking beer, and staying warm, but having ice-locks! Our hair was freezing out there. 

The next morning, we hopped on a bus to Seoul, met up with the Avalon folks who rode the train up that morning, found a hotel, ate Mexican food, and headed to a Canadian Brewery. Matt and Jesse decided that the Beer Tower would be most appropriate for their beer needs. 

Later that night we went a party called "Four Rooms", which meant that four (well really three) bars in one building threw a party together. One bar had a lingerie show and a Wii. One was a Canadian themed bar and one was called "Owl Bus". This was by far my favorite. It was the perfect bar for Kathleen. It had a design theme that was at the same time industrial, bohemian, and full of OWLS! It was pretty small and cute and a some DJs for a little dancing.  I don't have pictures from this night because I put all my things in a locker. 

On Sunday, we went out for more Mexican food! Then we tried to find a museum with a William Blake exhibition. We traveled long and far to get there for it only to be closed! The boys couldn't take this museum fail and re-gathered themselves by lying on the sunny ground. 

From there we went to Namdaemun market. I heard there was a large wholesale jewelry market there and I was right, but this was also closed! Museums, markets, lots of things shut down for Lunar New Years. Sunday was mostly a bust besides the good food we ate. We went to an Indian buffet for dinner. Below are Jesse, Matt, and Simon testing the lady's race car wares at Namdaemun.

Matt and Shane had some fun playing crazy on the subway all weekend. Lisa looks to me for help, but I can give her none. 

Monday was much less of a fail! We split up into smaller groups for people with different agendas. Matt, Lisa, Shane and I headed to Gyeongbukgong, the largest of the Seoul palaces. Most of the weekend, the holiday was a burden because of closings, but not at the palace! It was open and there was no admission fee! There were also lots of traditional Korean  activities happening. 

One of the fun activities was dressing up like a palace guard! For free! The boys didn't want to, but Lisa and I waited in the short line. I think they gave me the child's outfit. All the other ones had long sleeves and were longer in length. 

The ponds in the palace were totally frozen and people were allowed onto one to play a spinning top games and to be pulled on little wooden ice sleds, but the children had a pretty good monopoly on those. 

The palace was close to my favorite non-alcoholic beverage establishment of all time. The Old Tea Shop filled with antiques and live birds! We went there on our last trip to Seoul and I don't know if I can visit that city without coming here. 

Then we were on a bus home with still one more day of the long weekend to relax. We went to our local jim-jjil-bang and cooked a fish dinner at home. Matt makes a delicious fish!

Korean Cutes

January is Intensives at ReadingTown. This means that the kids are on vacation from their regular schools, so they now they have more time for English academy! These kids never get a break from school- pretty much ever. During this month, the kids come everyday instead of two or three times a week. It makes for a long month for teachers, but during Intensives we can have a few fun events. This is Shane and I taking our jobs really seriously. 

The pictures below are from our Trivia Contest Day. Koreans call it a Golden Bell contest.  I've selected a few of my students for your viewing pleasure of cute Korean kids. 

Ok, well this isn't exactly a cute Korean kid. It's mean trying to explain something that involves the number eight- note the finger visual aide. (PS- I'm not pregnant even though this picture makes me look that way!)

This is James. He is not cute in your traditional sense of cute, but he reminds me of a baby lion and is very sweet. He tries very hard in class. 

This is Jessica, but her Korean name is Min-kyeong. She's in my class called "Little Stars", which is a group of younger kids whose English is much better than most other kids their age. I think she is one prettiest little girls... in Korea... or maybe ever. She's quiet and likes to draw. 

This is Dora. She is also a little star and quite spunky. This girl has sass and is really smart. I'd hang out with Dora if we were the same age. 

This kid isn't even a student at our school, but his older sister is and he is always running around. Their mom sits in the lobby while his sister is in class. 

This is Hero and Stuart. They are smart and rowdy. They can hardly keep the answers in their mouth before they raise their hands. 

This is Yoony. I almost kidnap her everyday! She is just so sweet and cute- smiles like its her job. 

This is Andy. He's a handful and I'm sure he drives his mother nuts, but quite a character. He thinks I'm thirty. He thinks I'm so old that my parents couldn't possibly still be living. His jaw dropped when I told him that not only are my parents alive, so are my grandparents.

Watching the kid below do what one of our Korean teachers described as a "sexy dance". We were shocked when he said that- we'd have all been fired at home for saying a kid was going to do a sexy dance! This kid put his shirt in his teeth and did a belly dance! 

New Year's Day Ice Skating

Happy New Year from Korea! We spent our New Year's Eve drinking too much and walking around in the snow trying to get a cab. However, the next day after we'd recovered a bit (well most of us) we went ice skating! I hadn't been ice skating in probably ten years. I don't think I've been since middle school. It was fun, cheap and pretty crowed- like any fun activity in Korea.

 

Matt is getting passed by tiny Koreans. 

This is my cool ice skating trick.