Haeundae Sand Festival

1. One of my favourite school field trips happened this month when my school attended the Haeundae Sand Festival. I will never forget the looks of joy on my kindergarten students’ faces as they built Elsa’s castle from Frozen out of sand and shrieked as the cold ocean water rushed up over their feet. Oh, to be young., it sounds like so much fun.

2. My exercise preferences change like the seasons. For the majority of the year, I’ve been on the yoga bandwagon, save for a brief stint with Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred. This month, however, I began running at Daecheon Park with my fellow Jangsaner, Katie. The draws of running at Daecheon Park are simple: it’s a mere 15 minute walk from my apartment and has a 550m track wrapped around a tranquil pond. Katie and I have been running three nights a week, and I’m currently working up to a 5K race when I return to Canada. I’d forgotten how peaceful a quiet evening run can be, especially after a stressful day with 50 little troublemakers!

3. The beautiful return to Bijindo. A single visit to the beautiful island where “time stands still” was not enough, so I once again braved the long journey, this time with Steph, Mary, Nina, and Katie by my side. Since it was Memorial Day in Korea on the Friday, we had a long weekend to relax at Bijindo and I got my first real experience camping out on a beach. The best moment of the weekend was late Friday night, when Katie excitedly ran over to our tent and beckoned us out to the look at the now bioluminescent water. The entire sight was amazing; there we were, splashing around in this glowing, blue water, under the stars, on a remote island in South Korea. It really doesn’t get any more perfect than that.

4. Over the last three months, I have been (somewhat half-heartedly) growing out my hair; partially out laziness, but mostly out of love for the aesthetic. June was an exciting month for the follicles on my head because they can now be pulled together to make a respectable, albeit somewhat dinky, ponytail. The end goal is a Mulan style bun, (which will undoubtedly aid in my common, metaphorical usage of “defeating of the Huns”), and my hairdresser assures me this will be possible by the end of August. Prayers for my hair(s)!

5. Literally the moment I have been waiting for all year long: Ultra Music Festival. The highlights include dancing to Blasterjaxx at dusk, dancing on stage with M.I.A. in the late evening, and dancing the rest of the night away with Steve Angello. So much dancing obviously, and so much recapping after the jump here.

6. I love a good costume. Earlier this month, my kindergarten students frantically practiced simple sentences ad exchanges one might hear if they were sick for our school’s hospital play. They were then were responsible for taking turns as both doctors and patients. It was seriously so adorable watching the kiddies use stethoscopes on their friends and diagnosing them with “you’re dead”. I really do believe our children are the future.

7. With the exception of my friends and fellow teachers here in Busan, there will be no way for me to properly describe my experience in South Korea. Thankfully, after receiving a 5AM WhatsApp about a month ago indicating that there was a $600 round trip ticket to Seoul via Vancouver on DeltaAir, I subsequently received a visit from one of my best friends, Yusra! She ended up staying in Busan for six days, braving a ferry, two airplanes, a cross-country train, and multiple cabs. Without a doubt Yusra made the most of her time in Busan, visiting Gamcheon Culture Village, Jagalchi Market, Busan Tower and Yongdusan Park, Haedong Yonggungsa Water Temple, Seokbulsa Temple, Igidae Park, and Vesta Spa – all after completing a UBC Law exam! Seriously, what a trooper. A couple of my friends joked that she had seen more of Busan in six days than they had throughout their whole contract. While it felt incredibly bittersweet walking her to the subway, I am so grateful to have such a generous and adventurous friend like Yusra. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again – next time in Vancouver, Yus!

8. This month has been a big old throwback to my post-graduate life in Montreal, where the majority of my time was spent on my old apartment’s rooftop pool and terasse. Recently, my friends and I have been on a hunt to discover (and enjoy!) the rooftops of Busan. My apartment in Jangsan, as well as the commercial building beside it both have adequate rooftops, perfect for sunset beers and wine. Props to Steph for discovering both rooftops and cheers to July potlucks on the penthouse!

9. I’m very happy to announce that I’m officially a student in the Public Relations Postgraduate Certificate program at Humber-Lakeshore in Toronto this Fall! I officially paid my tuition fees earlier this month, which means a mere two and half weeks after I finish as “Dylan Teacher” and arrive home in Canada, I will be off to Toronto to begin another year as a student. I couldn’t feel more confident about this program and I’m excited at the prospect of going back to school after two years in the “real world”. It’s going down – I’m yellin’ Humber!

10. The end of the month can only mean one thing – birthday party at school! This month could have easily been dubbed the “Derpsday Party”, given our roster of birthday kids (check the photo above), but as usual, it was a period filled with lots of singing, embarrassing photos, and of course, English speakin’. Happy birthday to Big Jaden, Pobi, Sophia, and David Y.!

I’ve been having a mild, and mostly latent freakout recently, as the end of June approaches. This was the month I had been waiting for – two holidays off of work, Ultra Music Festival, a visit from Yusra – and now it’s over. I only have one full month left in South Korea and it is already shaping up to be a busy one at school and at home. I fell a little bit out of my weekly routine, but I am looking forward to some home-cooked meals, evening yoga, journalling, and sticking to a strict blogging schedule. It’s time to get my affairs in order and wrap up my time here: bring on the month of “last” everything! See you in July!

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

“Just another manic Monday – wish it was Sunday.”

Nope, nope, nope – not today. I woke up this morning in an absolutely chipper mood. Why, you ask? Oh, just a casual Monday morning field trip to the beach for the Haeundae Sand Festival, that’s all!

The Haeundae Sand Festival happens every year on Busan’s largest beach, Haeundae. Despite Busan’s reputation as a coastal town and playing host to five major beaches, this is the South Korea’s only festival based on appreciation for sand (huh?!) Given that it only lasts for three days, my head teacher had to amend the regularly designated field trip day (Friday) in favour of Monday morning. However, this was the best possible outcome since the field trip took me from “totally zonked out” to “z0mg look at all of this energy, I’m the best teacher in the world!”

We arrived at Haeundae Beach mid-morning. I rode with my homeroom students – Aiden, Grace, and Sa-Yeon of Happiness Class. After informing the students of the “beach rules”, (“no eating sand”, “no throwing sand”, no drowning, etc.), we were off to look at the various sculptures scattered across the sand.

The theme of the 2014 Haeundae Sand Festival felt slightly garbled. Featuring Tarzen and Jane as the main players, the festival was (aptly?) named “Through the Sand Jungle”. While there were important elements of environmental awareness and protection throughout (Tarzan and Jane end up saving the beach through sand restoration – yay!), the entire backstory felt like it had been written by one of my fourth-graders and didn’t really add much to the beautiful scenery. I’m all for motifs, but in this case, the backstory was completely unnecessary; methinks a simple “here’s a sand sculpture of a gorilla” would have sufficed.

It’s always so refreshing to see the looks of wonder and excitement on the faces of five year olds. They absolutely marvelled at the giant sculptures featuring lions, rhinoceroses, and other jungle imagery. One of the cooler elements of the Sand Festival was the large sand hill at the end of the beach, towards Marine City. At any given moment, hordes of children could be seen clambering to its peak, only to be unsuspectingly yanked down the hill on a sand board by their parents. Other (admittedly unexplored) elements of the festival included a “sand theatre” where visitors could view short films and documentaries, a sand exploration hall containing seven differently themed rooms, and a sand maze. I silently wept upon learning that the sand maze was not on our itinerary for the day. I do love a good labyrinth!

Towards the end of our time at the beach, the kids were allowed to flex their creative muscles, (something seriously lacking from Korea’s hagwon system, in my opinion), by building sand sculptures and castles, themselves. After dozens of references to Elsa’s ice palace in Frozen, too many pockets filled with seashells, and wails of “teacher, there is sand in my eye!”, it was almost time to leave. My head teacher did allow the children to strip off their socks, sandals, and in my case, leather loafers, to run in and splash about ankle-deep in the ocean. Very wet, much fun, so smiles!

While I’ve heard rumours that this year’s festival was significantly less ostentatious than in year’s past, I thoroughly enjoyed it. The Haeundae Sand Festival is one-stop shopping for the millennial soul – one can marvel at the beautiful sand sculptures at one end of the beach before moving to the opposite end to enjoy a day in the sun. Sand, sightseeing, and sunbathing – Busan’s tried and true recipe for an amazing summer!

Directions
To get to Haeundae Beach, take the Green Line on the Busan Subway (Line 2) to Haeundae Station (stop 203). Go out either exit 3 or 5 and walk straight until you hit the beach (this takes approximately 10 minutes). The Haeundae Sand Festival happens every June for approximately 3 days during the first or second week of June. The 2014 Festival took place from June 6th to the 9th.