Classes, Classes, Classes....

My life so far in Korea has been classes, classes, and more classes. I am starting to go a bit stir crazy and ready to go explore Korea. I have been able to explore a little bit when classes are finished. So I will tell you about my highlights:

On Thursday night I had a wonderful time of spending time with my good friend Eun Young. I met Eun Young about four years ago at summer camp where we both were camp counselors in Washington. She was also the one who told me about Canadian Connections and got me to Korea. It was so nice being able to see her once again and this time in her home Country! We ate dinner at the hotel with the other Canadian Connection teachers and then headed to town. It was nice being able to spend time with someone who speaks the language and knows what to do (I felt like I didn't stick out so much as a foreigner with her). We had a great time exploring Gwangju together and ate some delicious Korean food (which now I know what to look for in a restaurant). 

Eun Young and I waiting for the bus

Saturday was our field trip day! We first went to the Cypress Healing Forrest in Janhueng. Supposedly this hike is know as a light hike up the hill but to me it was extremely hard. It does not really help that it was extremely hot and humid outside, and that I was wearing a light jacket (because I didn't pack any of my workout clothes… just teaching clothes). As you can see, I did not take very many pictures with me in them because I was kind of a mess after the hike. "^_^"  

Healing Forest (click on picture to view more pictures)

 After the healing forest we went to an authentic Korean restaurant. Our group consisting of about 76 foreigners piled into one room and sat on the floor to eat lunch. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was fun and a new experience for me. 

                               

Next, went to a Buddhist temple in Hwasun. Once we arrived, we were greeted by a monk and then hiked up to the top of the hill to look at the national treasures of Asia. We were then escorted into a building where we all given a piece of wood to paint. We painted a lotus flower on the wood. After we were done painting we were served lotus flower tea and rice cakes. I cannot fully describe the taste of the lotus flower tea but maybe like a mild black tea with a kind of flower taste? The rice cakes were pretty good but very chewy! They were filled with something sweet (like honey) and were colored with probably food coloring. I had a great experience at the Buddhist temple and loved seeing the intricate art work on the temples. 

Hwasun Buddhist Temple (click on image to view more pictures)

Later that night we went to a Korean BBQ restaurant. This place was rather kind of interesting. So when you walk in the first thing you see is tables with grills on them. You then continue on and go inside to where the food is. You pick out what side dishes you want and then you pick out what meat you want to grill. You bring it all to the table and then you begin grilling your meat right at the table. It was a fun experience but after a while I started getting really sick of meat. See, my sister is a vegan so for the past few months I was starting to get used to the vegetarian way of life. But being a vegetarian is not really an option here because there is meat and fish in almost every dish. I have also found that there is not that many vegetables in any of the meals and if there is it is either fried in something or put in the soup. I think my body and taste buds will eventually get used to the new type of food but at this point I have found that my appetite has become quite small (which is probably a good thing in the long run). *(^.^) 

I only have a few more days of orientation (Wohoo!) and then I will be heading to the place I will be living for the next year. I am so excited to start teaching and meeting all my students. I have encountered a few cute little kids at the hotel… each time I see them they say a phrase or greeting to us in English. They are just so cute that I can't help to smile when I see them! This next year is going to be so great I already know it!