May Roundup

June 1, 2014 | Millennial Abroad

1. My wonderful (former) head teacher, Esther on her last day. She made the very brave decision – after four years at my hagwon – to set out on her own and blaze a new trail. I am wishing Esther all the best in her new adventures – school will not be the same without her!

2. Celebrating Children’s Day and Teacher’s Day at school was so perfect. Pictured above is the whole of my school’s kindergarten program after a riveting game of Corn Hole. I was absolutely soaked with sweat after running around to set up this game, subsequently garnering the new nickname “Wet Teacher”. You’ve got to love these children’s imaginations.

3. I began a new weekend routine in May: spending the entire weekend with my lovely ladies, enjoying the Busan nightlife on Saturday evenings, waking up, heading to the beach, eating Quiznos, getting a killer tan, doing headstands, going to Vesta Spa, and then finishing the weekend with some kimchi fried rice at my favourite local diner. It is a scientifically proven way to brighten life, and I feel so grateful that my last few months spent in Busan will be during the summer.

4. It’s back! Beach yoga began at Gwangalli during the first weekend in May. The last time I did beach yoga was in mid-October with Jess, Maddie, and our former teacher Amanda. Much like the seasons, my beach yoga crew has changed, but I feel so fortunate to be surrounded by the bendy and the zen. Even if I weren’t though, the view would more than make up for it.

5. You’ve got to love school field trip day. My school recycled the Daeyeon Arboretum (we already visited in September) as the location for this month’s field trip, but I still managed to have a lovely time in the great outdoors with my munchkins! I taught the kids to play classic childhood games including “What Time Is It Mr. Wolf?”, “Red Rover”, and “Duck, Duck, Goose”, and somehow, only one child managed to fall and scrape their knee. If you’ve ever worked in a school, you know that’s a small victory.

6. I spent a Sunday afternoon with a trio of my former middle school students in Jangsan, and it was a lot of fun. They recently left my school in favour of private tutoring and were very eager to meet up for lunch. They were initially so jarred to see me outside of a classroom setting! We enjoyed a nice meal at the Korean diner and played some arcade games before calling it an afternoon. God love these derps – middle school is a hard time, but they all have such good heads on their shoulders!

7. Life is nothing if you don’t fill it with the special ones. Pictured here is my “Bu Crew”: Mary, Katie, Steph, and Brandi, just missing our lovely Nina. There is certainly not a lot of time where I’m without at least one of them: Steph and I are basically attached to the hip every night after school; Mary and Nina make the long trek from Hwamyeong to Jangsan every weekend; I meet with Katie through the week to jog at Daecheon Park and have a nightcap at Thursday Party, and I’m so lucky to have sweet old Brandi as a co-worker. I’m truly #blessed.

8. It feels like I’m always saying goodbye! After ten months of shaping Korea’s next generation together, I bid farewell to my co-worker and friend, Brittany Teacher. My boss took all of the foreign teachers at my school to a dessert bar early last week as a thank you to Brittany for all of her hard work. She’s currently travelling around Southeast Asia for the next two months before plotting her next move. Best of luck, Britt!

9. Since I’m nearing the end of my contract and want to spend my last few weekends soaking up the sun, I was quite aggressive with my Bucket List (very typical). Amongst those that I was able to check off were Samgwangsa Temple, a Lotte Giants Baseball Game, the Oryukdo Island Cruise, and Bujeon Market. I’m so excited that I’ve nearly checked everything off of my Korean Bucket List!

10. I always love a good birthday party. Each month at my school, a birthday party is held for all the students celebrating that month. May has a solid line-up – five of my favourite students were turning a year older, and choosing which one to stand with in this photo caused me some serious anxiety. As per usual, Nina was the winner.

May was just as busy as its predecessor, April. It had long catch-ups on Skype with my friends back in Canada, lots of beach yoga and beers, meeting lots of new people – basically everything I could want as I usher in the summer season. I booked my flight to Thailand for summer vacation, my school booked me a flight back to Canada in early August, and one of my best friends, Yusra, booked a flight to South Korea for a visit in June! May had many hits and only a few misses and I’m happy that my sun kissed face broke into laughing fits easily and often. Au revoir, May!

Busan International Fireworks Festival

October 28, 2013 | Millennial Abroad

This is a Busan Ex-Pat City Guide post. Check out the rest of my list here.

When I first arrived in Busan, a departing teacher from my hagwon mentioned her most unforgettable moments from her 16 months in Busan. “Oh, and do not miss the fireworks festival at the end of October,” she said, “it’s one of the best events of the year.” I eagerly stored this little nugget of information away in my travel notebook, added it to my Bucket List, blinked my eyes, and somehow ended up three months into the future, on a chilly October evening BECAUSE TIME IS MOVING AT WARP SPEED.

This past Saturday marked the 9th Annual Busan International Fireworks Festival, one of the most popular tourist attractions and busiest nights of the year. The fireworks show takes place at Gwangalli Beach, incorporates the second largest bridge in all of Korea (Gwangan), and leaves the general population of Busan in jaw-dropping, fly-catching awe. Having spoken to multiple people about what a sardine can the beach turns into every year, Jess, Maddie and I began to reevaluate just where we would go to view the show. The idea of being pushed and shoved and stepped on by hoards of ajummas was not super appealing to any of us.

Luckily, we stumbled upon a solution to literally elevate ourselves out of the masses: ascending 40 minutes up Mount Geumnyeonsan, a mountain chain offering a stunning panoramic view of Gwangan Bridge and the surrounding area (check out some visuals on Busan for 91 Days).

Unsure about exactly how busy the mountain would be, Maddie, Jess, and Mary got a head start and secured a prime area at the observatory atop the mountain. The latecomers, including Kendall, Terri, Claire, and myself followed about 30 minutes later. This turned out to be a blessing and a curse: not knowing any better, our foursome opted for more rugged terrain and took the path through the forest as opposed to continuing up the paved road. Given that I was in skinny jeans and brogues, I prayed to Meryl that the inevitable thigh chafing and baby toe blisters would be vindicated once our ascent was complete. However, the blessing: the trail was truly serene and offered fantastic views of Busan throughout the hike. Certainly a hike I would recommend with a professional camera.

Eventually, after nearly 40 minutes of our faux-barbershop quartet that panted, grunted, moaned, and snarled instead of harmonizing, we reached the observatory. Our little group of seven munched on snacks, rehashed evenings in Busan, gossiped, and hid our frozen bodies beneath blankets – it was essentially a sleepover atop Mount Geumnyeonsan.

After nearly 2 hours of waiting and several false alarms (read: test fireworks), the show began. Peering out from the lookout down onto the city, lit up and pulsing, was so awe-inspiring. It also put me in a very silly mood, although, this could be attributed to the mass amount of candy I consumed directly before. To give you an idea: I was that obnoxious foreigner “oooohing” and “ahhhhing” when shrimpy, unimpressive fireworks would go up and also the dude loudly singing the Bellas’ final performance from Pitch Perfect. At the end of the night, I had fun and that’s what matters, right? *silence*

Having watched The Busan International Fireworks Festival from what felt like the top of the world, my former coworkers’ attestation that this was one of the most unforgettable nights of the year was so incredibly authentic. The city is abuzz, whether on the beach, on the mountain, or from an apartment complex. If you happen to be in Busan in late October 2014, add it to your Bucket List, too!

Directions
To get to Mount Geumnyeonsan, take the Busan Subway Green Line (Line 2) to Geumnyeonsan Station (stop 210) Mountain Station. Walk straight out of exit #3, and turn right once you hit the McDonald’s, away from the beach. It is about a 15 minute walk from Geumnyeonsan Station to the base of the mountain. The ascent is about 40 minutes.

My pretty angels up on their cloud

My little Chico chicka and I all bundled up

Fireworks over Gwangan Bridge

Sitting with the best seats in the city

The Weeknd(s)

October 24, 2013 | Millennial Abroad

Guys, I have been having a time in South Korea.

I mean, I work hard during the week to shape the next generation of Korean minds, it only seems fair that I should play hard in the playground that is Busan, right?

And what a playground it is! If you suck at geography, Busan is located at the southernmost tip of the Korean peninsula and is the second largest city in South Korea with a population of about 3.6 million in the metropolitan city proper. The city is all beaches and mountains and Starbucks and gimbap shops on every corner and general delight.

But in actual reality: HOW HAVE I POSSIBLY BEEN HERE FOR ALMOST 3 MONTHS / 87 DAYS? It’s so absurd to think about.

Anyway. I had originally planned this blog post to be about my first two weekends in Busan and then that gradually stretched to include the first five… and now 6 weeks later this blog post is feeling a little moot BUT it’s half-written and I am not a quitter and WOW my writing has taken a dip LOOK AT THIS RUN-ON SENTENCE. Okay. Proceeding now…

Weekend 1 (August 2nd-4th)

After a week of adjusting to the minor culture shock I experienced upon arriving in South Korea (read: naively thinking that a large metropolitan would have more (proficient) English speakers than I actually encountered) and exploring Haeundae-gu, I met up with some beautiful McGill friends also teaching in Busan, Jess and Maddie. It was the most surreal experience greeting (and bear hugging!) them outside of the Gwangan metro station. Although I haven’t been nearly as culture shocked as I was in Europe three summers ago, it was definitely nice to see some familiar faces!

The girls and I headed to a cute little Korean BBQ place in Gwangan called Sorrei, and Jess was sweet enough to cut and cook our entire meal. This dinner was also supremely educational, as the girls schooled me in Korean culture. Highlights include learning to yell “yeogie” (which means “here”) at any server in your general vicinity when you need more food or water, and the girls’ mantra of “Just Get Weird in Korea” (i.e. Saying “saranghae”, which means “I love you” in Korean, to cab drivers/total strangers, smiling like escaped mental patients at small children in the streets, etc.) Accepting that I’m essentially a zoo animal for the next year in Korea has been quite liberating actually, and I’ve found that there’s nothing better than making a happy little ajumma or ajusshi beam with your silly antics in the streets or on the subway.

After my education and an extremely heavy meal at Sorrei, we proceeded to drink at the 7/11 across from the beach. This may sound bizarre, but 3 months later I still love it (despite the cold). The girls concocted a delicious jungle juice, comprised of Cass beer, various Korean brand energy drinks, and soju, a native Korean liquor similar to vodka but made from rice, wheat, or other starches. After some McGill-based gossip over two Dixie cups of jungle juice each, the girls and I headed over to the Kyungsung University (KSU) area (big foreigner hub) surprisingly tipsy. Our first stop was Eva’s Ticket, where I met new friends David and Dylan (henceforth known in this and all future blog posts as “Chocolate Milkshake” and “D-Emu”) and subsequently destroyed their undefeated regulation beer pong record with Jess. It was a momentous occasion, that I apparently celebrated by buying flaming shots for everyone in my general vicinity (I completely don’t remember this, but I did eventually pay the $60,000 (KRW) tab for it like a good boy).

After some stunning digestive pyrotechnics outside of Eva’s (I hope you all get this reference from my favourite 90s film) and A MELON POP (otherwise known as the best popsicle ever invented) we headed to dance at a club called Blue Monkey and ended the night with a shwarma reward in the heart of KSU. A successful Friday night in Busan…

… Followed by a throbbing head and severe dry-mouth Saturday afternoon. The girls, being such little smarties, took me to Spaland for some much needed rejuvenation. This being my first time in a jjimjilbong I had no idea what to expect, and was even more confused when Jess and Maddie dropped this line: “Oh, just get completely naked in the baths. Like.. you’ll look weirder if you don’t. Okay, bye! We meet you in the lobby in 45 minutes.” Following the girls’ clear instructions, I stripped down and followed the (naked, Korean) masses into the baths where I was greeted by well, nudity. Slightly jarring at first, but you sort of just slip into the baths (either sodium bicarbonate or sodium chloride) of varying temperatures and make uncomfortable eye contact. Despite the flopping genitals you’ll encounter at every corner, it’s actually supremely relaxing to melt into the baths, close your eye, and let the flowing water heal what ails you (9 times out of 10, it’s soju).

Our Spaland regimen is pretty typical these days: The girls and I part ways to do the gender segregated baths for about 45 minutes, throw on our BALLIN’ Spaland outfits and meet in the lobby, then check to see what film is playing in the cinema room, hit up the massage chairs (which are $2 for 20 minutes?!?! It’s literally robbery…), maybe grab a drink or some patbingsu (aka the BEST DESSERT EVER INVENTED containing ice shavings, sweet red beans, condensed milk, ice cream, etc, etc.), hit some of the sauna rooms, foot baths, and sometimes dinner in the restaurant. Spaland is approximately $14 CAD to enter (14,000 Korean won) and then any purchase you make with the little bracelet key they provide you is paid at the fare adjustment bureau after you leave. These days patbingsu and the massage chairs are non-negotiable, so you’re looking to spend at least $6 CAD, so $20 altogether with the entrance fee. That’s like two drinks on a Saturday night y’all and at least I’m doing my body good, right?

On the Sunday, the girls took me to Haeundae Beach for my first time, introducing me to a couple of new friends, as well as Mr. Haeundae who is somewhat of a Busan celebrity. He sports a banana hammock, is absurdly tanned, and is constantly surrounded by a swarm of ridiculously ripped Korean dudes who are more oiled up than my pores post-Spaland sauna.

The minor culture shock I had experienced only 6 days earlier had dissipated almost as quickly as it had set in after this first transitory weekend into Busan life, thankfully. To close the weekend out in ~lols~fashion, we hit TGIFridays, “just because”, with a few friends and then headed home for an early night before my first official day of school the next morning!

Weekend 2 (August 9th-11th)

After my first week as “Dylan Teacher”, I was ready for some rest, relaxation, rejuvenation, and raring fun. I met the girls before their YogaGLO at Gwangan Beach, and rented a small umbrella since Mr. Golden Sun was sizzling. This was an incredibly exciting weekend because it is when I met the lovely Miss Rose Duggan for the first time! Rose is Jess and Maddie’s friend (first, chronologically) who, at this point, was trekking across southeast Asia and decided to stop in to Busan for a quick hello. We grabbed lunch at Sharky’s on the beach and were served by the epically awkward/causally rude Aussie dude who will forever be a reminder that “just drinking water isn’t going to pay his daughter’s tuition”.

After the girls left for yoga, Rose and I got the opportunity to get to know each other, our mutual acquaintances in Montreal and Toronto, and general derpy stories (more from me than little Rosiepoo, but you know). In addition, we saw some spectacular Busan beach wear (read: a Speedo, paired with an ascot and arm sleeves only) and a Korean couple taking a romantic, late afternoon walk… with their pet snake. This is Korea, y’all, where the motto is “BECAUSE, WHY NOT?”

Later that night, we headed to Seomyeon (another large nightlife hub in Busan) to predrink at Chocolate Milkshake’s stunningly large, well-stocked apartment. The Grey Goose and soju was mightily flowing, to say the least. Afterwards, we headed to Haeundae for a little Thursday Party action, before heading to my first Korean club, Tao. Club Tao is situated just off of the beach, nestled in behind the Paradise Hotel. The actual club is a series of multilevel platforms packed with the claustrophobic and “two left footers” combined, winding balconies with wallflowers perched upon them, watching the festivities unfold, and the heart of darkness – the club’s epicentre, where the girls and I obviously positioned ourselves for a night of fun. Despite being told otherwise, the girls and I kept on climbing on top of the platform at the front of the club, entered numerous VIP lounges and helped ourselves to drinks, and generally wreaked havoc. I could tell you more about this adventure, but for those of you who know me, simply ask to see my iPhone camera reel the next time I see you.

Sunday morning is now known as “The Day I Woke Up In An Elevator In A Building I Didn’t Live In”. That’s pretty much all I have to say about that. The weekend ended as all the best weekends do: declining an invitation to lay hungover at the beach with friends, eating ice cream, hungover, with the Real Housewives of Vancouver in bed. YOLO.

Gwangbokjeol (August 15th)

After only 8 days of properly teaching English at my hagwon, I was surprised with my first (of many) Korean public holidays, Gwangbokjeol, which is Korea’s Independence Day from Japanese colonial rule.

The girls and I headed to Songjeong Beach for what was intended to be a day of some rest and relaxation in the name of Korean liberation under the sizzling sun. Instead, we unleashed our inner contortionists and performed some acroyoga for the locals. This was my first time doing any sort of yoga and was pleasantly surprised by the results. This is undoubtedly the weekend which sparked my interest/obsession in/with yoga.

Weekend 3 (August 16th-18th)

My third weekend in Korea was spent with the girls in Seoul. Given that this was my first real experience travelling in Asia, I was excited to say the least. Not so excited, however, to arrive at the KTX train station but 6 minutes before our train left (sorry again, Jess and Maddie). Once we arrived, we headed straight to Myeongdong, one of the primary shopping districts in Seoul (Fun fact: Myeongdong apparently houses the only Forever 21 in all of Korea. Neat!) In Myeongdong, we met up with Chris, another McGillian, who was visiting his brother and the homeland.

After some lunch, we explored Myeongdong and then headed to the beautiful Cheonggyecheon Stream. We listened to some Koreans playing guitar, watched children running around carefree, and had some heart-to-hearts. This was such a serene moment and definitely my favourite memory of Seoul.

Afterwards, we met Chris’s brother, Justin and their mom for dinner in Insadong. The food was delicious (the Im family knows how to pick incredible dishes) and we got to talk to Mrs. Im about her experiences growing up in Busan and how it has changed.

Once parting ways with Justin and Mrs. Im, Maddie, Jess, Chris, and I headed to Itaewon for some casual drinks and stumbled across a Canadian bar with some incredibly obnoxious patrons. We ended up just playing Heads Up! for the majority of the evening, and hopping from pub to lounge to pub.

At the end of the night, we said goodbye to Chris, and headed to Jess and Maddie’s favourite jjimjilbong in Korea, Dragonhill Spa, slightly inebriated. We stayed the night in the spa because yes, you can do that at select spas in Korea. This turned out to be the worst nights sleep for me, but it was way cheaper than a hostel, so, pick your battles. We woke up and did the baths and then headed back to Busan on the fast train at midday. Given that I was only in Seoul for about 30 hours, I am looking forward to heading back in 2014 at some point, likely for Ultra Music Festival!

Weekend 4 (August 23rd-25th)

After three weekends in a row of late nights and “living while we’re young”, the girls and I agreed that a little geriatric living was in order. On Saturday morning, in the pouring rain, we headed to yoga in Seomyeon. This was my first proper yoga class and I was slightly worried about being that sweaty guy, that gassy guy, that uncoordinated guy. Luckily, I was only 2/3 (I’ll leave you to guess which). This is also the first time I met our beautiful yoga instructor, Amanda, who is the sweetest woman alive. She has offered free yoga classes for the last five months, is sweet and encouraging, and always comes to massage everyone, no matter how sweaty they are (read: me) during savasana. She is sadly leaving Busan this Saturday to head back to America, but Amanda, if you’re reading this, I love you and am going to miss you an absurd amount!

We ended up grabbing sushi at Sushi Berry in Dongbaek with some fellow yogis, Nate and Kat, who will be joining the girls and I in the Philippines over Christmas break! Afterwards, we headed to a DVD bong, which is a private screening room with blankets and pillows and likely the bodily fluids of Koreans who have used it before you because APPARENTLY these rooms are used for hookups frequently. After the DVD bong, we met with Nate and Kat once more at a delicious hibachi chicken joint called Tango. After too many breadsticks, salad, chicken, and pickles, we called it a night.

To be frankly honest, I don’t remember what we did on the Sunday. There’s a pretty good chance though that it was the beach or Spaland. When in doubt, you know?

23rd Birthday (August 27th)

My birthday fell on a Tuesday here and I really didn’t feel like making a huge thing of it so I kept it hush-hush from my co-workers. After feeling a little gloomy, I told my kindergarten class and they freaked out and started singing happy birthday to me which melted my heart into a thousand pieces. After work, I headed to Hwamyeong, where Jess hosted Maddie and I for a Mexican fiesta. The girls then surprised me with a delicious mug cake (Jess’s special recipe!). Even though my birthday was low-key, I really felt the love and bless from the key players (read: PLAYAS) in Busan. ~mush~

Weekend 5 (August 30th-September 1st)

The last weekend I shall record in this blog was the weekend we celebrated my birthday. The girls and I headed to Gwangan for our regular 7/11 patio times with jungle juice and hung around by a couple of the bars there. The night took a turn for the weird when we were introduced to a guy who shall only be referred to as “Crazy Egg”. Like so many foreigners here, he wasn’t fantastic at picking up on social cues and couldn’t tell that we were trying to escape his wrath for the majority of the evening. Eventually, Demu, Jess, Maddie and I escaped back to Hwamyeong at 6AM.

In the morning, we attempted to fall asleep in a DVD bong with lunch. Our mistake was selecting The Chronicles of Narnia: The Dawn Treader which has the LOUDEST SCORE KNOWN TO MAN, making it impossible to sleep. Another Sunday had come to a close.

Now that you’ve been caught up on these cultural things that I do on a weekly basis and these neighbourhoods you’ve never heard of, I will unceremoniously bid you adieu because the ‘i’ key on my keyboard has fallen off and is boiling my blood. Keep an eye out for LOTS of blog posts this week. Annyeonghi haseyo!