Lotus Lantern Festival and More

May is definitely a month of celebrating here in Korea. Parent's Day, Children's Day, Teacher's Day, and Buddha's Birthday are all celebrated this month. 

A few weeks ago, we celebrated Children's Day at ILS. During the month prior to this day, we handed out heart stickers to the students for good behavior. They in turn were able to exchange those hearts earned into ILS bucks. We set up a movie theater room, stationary shop, toy store, and a beauty salon. I was assigned to the beauty shop where I painted nails for days. It was the cutest thing! 

Amongst many of the holidays I've celebrated here in Korea, one of my favorite was Teacher's Day. Teacher's Day is celebrated on the 15th of May. I wasn't really expecting much from the day considering I feel that teachers in America aren't appreciated as much as they should be. As I walked into school at 9:50am last Tuesday, I was literally bombarded with gifts and smiles from meh babies. I received lots and lots of cookies, skin cream, candles, and flowers. I felt so appreciated!! 

That same evening my director had prepared a Teacher's Day BBQ. Us teachers set up chairs on our outdoor patio and cooked samgyeopsal. It was so tasty! 

Later that weekend, I attended Yeon Deung Hoe or Lotus Lantern Festival. This is a festival in honor of Buddha's Birthday which is on Monday. I first attended the Eoulim Madang (Buddhist Cheer Rally). This was really awesome to see! Imagine about 30,000 people in their traditional hanbok costumes, along with monks from all over the temples in Korea rallying together with laughter and dancing. There was even an old man who sat behind us who made sure we got off our rumps and danced. So much fun! 

After the rally we headed to get seats for the Lantern Parade. Lucky for us, we scored front row seats. Korea's pretty amazing when it comes to putting on events. When we arrived, there were chairs already lined up along the street for spectators. 

                                                             

The parade was so awesome! I wish you all were here to enjoy it with me. I saw thousands of lanterns that lit up the sky, monks for days, and many traditional Korean bands.

I must make a note about the generous hospitality I felt all day while I was celebrating Buddha's Birthday. At the beginning of the parade an older man greeted us and made sure that we had lanterns to light for the parade. Then, throughout the parade, those who could speak English would yell out, "Hello! Thank you for coming to Korea!" In addition, I was asked by several people that day to take pictures. I didn't really know why, but I loved. I felt like a celebrity! Korea definitely has got a way of making me feel welcome. I love you Korea!

Lucky for me and for Buddha being born on Monday, I get a three-day weekend. A much needed three-day weekend that is! I'm heading down to Namhae with some great girls that I KNOW will bring the fun. Also as a side note, I have booked a trip to Hong Kong in July for my summer vacation. I can't wait to experience more of Asia with Lauren! 

Miss you all! FOUR months!!! 
-Jenn 

xoxo

A Tour of the DMZ

I finally have some time to write about my tour of the Demilitary Zone (DMZ). Lauren and I had booked a trip through USO about a month ago to go up North and visit the DMZ, along with the Joint-Security Area (JSA). The DMZ is one of the most recommended places to visit in Korea and is the only place where North and South Korea can hold talks. The weather was cold and dreary, but made the experience THAT much better.

        

To begin I met Lauren in Seoul around 8am to cab it over to the military base where the USO office is found. We departed Seoul around 9am and made the 1.5 hour drive up North to our first stop which was The Third Infiltration Tunnel. This tunnel was the third tunnel found in 1978 and was built by the North Koreans for a surprise attack on Seoul. We weren't allowed to take pictures inside due to the extremely tight space. This was nothing more than an extremely long hike down to a cave that was almost impossible to hike up. 

Next, we made it over to the Dora Observatory. On a clear day you are able to see many parts of North Korea because this is the closest part of North Korea that you can see. Of course, as I stated, the weather was awful and extremely foggy. So instead of scoping out the North, we watched a movie. HA!

After our movie, we headed to Dorasan Station. This station once connected the North to the South to allow the shipping of cargo. They restored the station a few years ago to later close it due to political reasons from the North. We stayed for about 20 minutes and were able to get a ticket and tour the station, inside and out. 

By this time it was time for lunch. Our tour took us to a cafeteria where we had a Korean lunch and were able to purchase bottles of North Korean beer. I heard beer and HAD to jump on the chance to try it. I mean who ever gets to say, "Oh yeah! North Korean beer is so amazing or so disgusting?" Our tour guide told us we were not allowed to drink the beer on the tour so I brought it home to try with my friends. I'm still waiting for the right moment to open that bottle of mystery. To be honest, I'm a little scared.

After filling our bellies with kimchi and bibimbap, we headed to the absolute BEST part of the tour, the JSA. Our group was taken into a room on Camp Bonifas to be briefed on the history of the North and South. Before our history lesson, we were asked to basically sign our own death wish. The document below was just a little reminder that we were about to enter an area where we could be attacked at any time. This is when things really started to get real.

We were asked to leave everything on our tour bus except for our camera and umbrella. We then transferred to a military bus that took us in the JSA. Our tour guide for this part of the trip was a US soldier. He explained to us that the roads we were traveling on had minefields and explosive-laden cement walls that are designed to pretty much collapse where you are in the event of an invasion. He then proceeded to inform us that every bridge and highway in Seoul is built the same. At this point, I was beginning to think I was absolutely crazy for going on this tour.

The next part of the tour was probably the eeriest part for me. We arrived at a building where we were separated into two lines and reminded of our rules. Our rules were basically to make no contact with the North Korean soldiers. As we walked through the doors to the backside of the building, I felt my body become stiff with fear. I was looking at a North Korean soldier literally less than 50 yards away. 

At one point I remember asking Lauren for a reminder as to where I was not allowed to take pictures. Naturally, Lauren began to point. I quickly slapped her finger down as I was afraid of being shot or something. 

Our group was next directed into a building that had many tables and chairs, along with two South Korean soldiers. We all gathered around a table in the center of the room. Our guide then informed us that some of us were in South Korea and some were in North Korea. After finding out that I was in North Korea, I became a scared little baby and was ready to run for the hills. The flagpole and microphone on the table in the picture below shows the line that seperates the Korea's. This is the only place where the North and South can be in the same room.

I took pictures with these two soldiers below. We were instructed not to stand too close, for they may break us into pieces. Each South Korean soldier has a master in taekwondo (hence is why they are standing in these stances) and another form of martial arts. 

We then hopped back on to our bus and went to another over look. Here we were able to see many parts of the North. First is North Korea's fake village. This was a village built specifically for show. Not one person lives in this village and every building is empty inside with no floors. 

The flagpole below is the largest flagpole in the world. It weighs close to 600lbs. and takes about 30 people to put up and take down.

Next is the propaganda tower. This tower was used to send propaganda to Camp Bonifas to try and lure the American and South Korea soldiers.

As we departed the JSA, we drove past The Bridge of No Return. This bridge was used for prisoner exchanges after the Korean War.  

This was such an amazing trip to experience. I'm so happy that I was gutsy enough to go and visit an almost war zone. This really put things into perspective for me in knowing that the war between North and South is very real. After going on this tour, I definitely feel as though I'm always being watched though. I do strongly recommend this trip to any and all people who visit Korea.

Visits and So Much Catching Up

I apologize for my terrible slacking on posting, but these past three weeks seem to have magically passed me by. To let you all know, I'm in the midst of doing my write up on the DMZ tour I took with Lauren a few weeks ago. I'll be sure to take some time this weekend to sit and write about it. I have so much to catch you all up on, so here it goes...


From the daily reminders to my friends to the ridiculously excited facebook statuses I was posting, I'm pretty sure almost everyone and their brother knew that Tania and Lauren were gracing Korea with their presence. I was nothing but thrilled to have them here .I've been really homesick lately and having a little bit of home was just what I needed. Unfortunately, I was unable to get any time off during the weekdays to visit. However, I still had such an amazing time.



During the day, as I was at work, the girls went sightseeing and I met up with them for dinner. They were really interested in trying all kinds of Korean food. Thanks to Nadine, a friend/co-worker,she even introduced me to lots of new foods and restaurants. One day we went to a very traditional Korean restaurant in the Bundang area. This place was so amazing! The lady who owned the restaurant brought us out almost 10 courses. We had several different soups, vegetables, bugolgi, and tea.

Thankfully, I was able to spend a full weekend with the girls. We decided to spend the whole weekend in Seoul. I booked a room at a hotel in Sinsa-dong, which a very ritzy area of Seoul. It was perfect! We went into Seoul and visited Dr. Fish.

 

Sinsa-dong

Dr. Fish

After, we headed into Hongdae to see another B-Boy show. Nadine was so kind to get tickets and invite us.

Of course being in Seoul, we HAD to check out the club scene. We made our way over to Club Ellui. This club has a reputation of being "bad-ass" and is the second largest club in Asia. After dancing the night away, we packed our cute little butts in the cab and headed back to the hotel.

Our baseball game plans failed on Sunday because of sold out tickets, so we decided to head over to COEX. COEX is basically a huge indoor shopping area with an aquarium and museum. We shopped for a bit before making our way outdoors. As we walked a few blocks, we accidentally stumbled upon Bongeunsa Buddhist Temple. This made our day! It was so beautiful with all the flowers in full bloom. I couldn't have asked for a better mistake.

The following Thursday, I had to say my goodbyes to Tania and Lauren. I wish I had more time to spend with them while they were here, but I had such a great time with these ladies.

That weekend my friend/co-worker, Sarah, and I decided to head into Seoul for the Seoul Friendship Fair. I bought some cool stuff from Laos and Morocco, as well as, eating my little heart out with food from all over the world.

Seoul Plaza

Thailand

playing in  the water fountain

making nan bread

me in a hanbok

With Seoul being so big, it's easy to run into many festivals in one day. Of course this is what happened. As we were walking around, we ran into a festival on the Cheonggyecheon.

The next day I met up with a few people to attempt to go bike riding in Seoul. I say we attempted, because only one of the four people who went were able to rent bikes. But, we made due with one bike long enough to just take picture.

It has been a crazy last few weeks with so much going on. With the weather changing and summer approaching, I have so many trips planned that I can't wait to share with you all. Not to mention, I'll be home in 5 MONTHS!! I can't wait for the big ol' hugs from so many people.

Love you tons!

-Jenn

xoxo