Ultra Music 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 Korean Bucket List post. Check out the rest of my list here.

The day hyped up furiously for over 10 months FINALLY arrived this past weekend.

Without a doubt, Ultra Music Festival in Seoul was the item on my Korean Bucket List that I was most looking forward to this year. After Jess and Maddie regaled Mary and I with stories from Ultra 2013 over the course of this year (you can read about some of them here), we made a pact in the middle of September to attend together. We wasted no time purchasing our tickets during the early bird phase a few months ago, making our attendance official. Ultra 2014 was a go!

The weekend journey to Ultra started with a lot of transit. Steph and I opted for the cheaper six hour Korail train from Haeundae to Seoul that also stopped to pick up Mary and Nina from Gupo. Once we arrived at Seoul Station, it was a mad blur of grabbing a quick lunch, taking the subway to our hostel in Hongdae, learning our hostel hadn’t bothered to send an e-mail to inform us that they couldn’t accommodate us, and cabbing to a new hostel a few blocks away. Oy vey.

After 9 hours of stopping and going, we were finally settled. We checked our watches, and sure enough they read “Fun O’Clock”. We opened our respective bags of tricks, and out spilled cheap Korean beer, disposable cameras, glowsticks, and of course, face paint. Once we were appropriately donned in our best electronic music festival garb, we set off from Hongdae to the Seoul Olympic Stadium via cab. After some more stopping and going, (Ultra literally had five different check-points before entering the festival), we were finally in. Cue excitement!

Our first stop was the main stage for Blasterjaxx. The duo of Dutch DJs had already begun their set by the time the girls and I spilled into the stadium, and the energy of was truly electric. People of all nationalities were waving flags proudly and dancing joyfully in masks and face paint, and booty shorts and all-too-revealing tanks. The timing of our arrival at the stadium was pretty perfect, too – the sun was setting during Blasterjaxx’s set, changing a hazy day into a hazy night and our mental states with it.

Ultra had a variety of sponsors, including Carlsberg, Smirnoff, and Red Bull. Each of these three were serving up beverages, but it was clear that Red Bull had control of the market (read: Red Bull drink kiosks everywhere). The girls and I probably consumed about five Red Bulls each over the course of the evening. Steph grimly joked that she did not want to be that girl who drank too many energy drinks and passed out with heart palpitations, and she had a point. There was one point where I couldn’t tell if I was wired from the music and atmosphere or from the taurine in my veins.

Perhaps the best part of the entire night was M.I.A.’s set. My mind was immediately transported to my high school self, where I would cruise around good old Brockville blaring “Paper Planes”. Towards the middle of Mathangi’s set, she wondered aloud if she “could get some people onstage”. Immediately, members of the crowd began hopping the metal barriers, eager for a chance to dance with the Sri Lankan beauty. I managed to get myself over the barrier quickly, only to get my foot caught in between the metal bars and other scrambling concertgoers. Eventually, Steph and I found ourselves dancing at the front of the stage, awe-struck at the fact that we were actually there. I’ve been to a lot of concerts in my day, but this was easily my favourite live music memory. After the stage cleared, M.I.A. came back out to close with a few of her more popular songs, “Paper Planes” and “Bad Girls”. It was an amazing set that united swagger with its good friend, chaos.

Our last stop at Ultra Korea was the Main Stage to see Steve Angello, of Swedish House Mafia fame. By this point, I was completely blissed out. Despite a little bit of panic earlier when I lost (and found!) my alien registration card, and that fact that my back was aching from hoisting each of the girls on my shoulders (twice!), Ultra was closed out in a perfect fashion. Steve Angello’s set was filled with so much happiness and dancing. I felt so carefree and I think my mind was playing “Young, Wild and Free” on a subconscious loop. Towards the end of the night, Mary and I clasped hands and bounced up and down with maniacal grins on our faces, as if to say, “we made it and it was perfect!”

And it was. Perfect.