Nori Bong night out and Gyeongbokgung Palace

I had never heard of this and when my fellow staffers and I decided to go out one Friday, they were kind enough to introduce me to the infamous Nori-Bong! It's kind of like karaoke except every group that comes to the nori-bong gets their own private room in which you're able to sing along to the lyrics on the tv. They even provided free popcorn and ice cream?? awesome!

 Popcorn, ice cream, beer = :)

 All of my awesome fellow staffers!

 Jeznin controls the songs on the tv with this remote.

The nori-bong was fantastic, although if I remember correctly you're technically not supposed to drink in the nori-bong, however we did and it wasn't that hard to. Bear that in mind if you decide to give it a shot, because some places might be more strict than others. We were also extremely loud and the only foreigners there so we got a bit of a harder time!

 So the next morning as I pulled myself out of my post-nori bong hangover, I decided to do something cultural and educational so I decided to visit Gyeongbokgung Palace in the NW part of Seoul. If you are visiting Seoul and would like to visit, the palace is extremely well mapped out and you literally walk out of the subway onto the palace grounds. This picture above is actually the view I got after I walked up the steps out of the subway!

 Gyeongbokgung Palace means 'Palace of Shining Happiness,' and if i'm not mistaken is the largest in Seoul. It is actually quite old, I believe about 700 years old and is under construction because the Japanese tried to burn it all down in the 20th c.

 Some of the amazing architecture. This was one of the doorways that led to another courtyard.

Some of the palace guards standing watch before the changing of the guard ceremony.

My trip to the DMZ!

So a few weekends back I went with a group to the DMZ (De-Militarized zone) which is the 2kms south and 2kms north stretch from the N-S Korean border. We arrived at the Dora observation deck and came across heavily guarded fences, watch towers and command posts.

 So I went closer and took pictures :) Only I am now noticing the troop int he command post looking at me through binoculars :s

 These are ribbons with messages written on them by S. Koreans who have family in the north.

 We went to a local grocer who provided North Koran products!! So I picked up a few N. Korean beers and a bottle of vodka. Interesting point the guide was telling us: look at the vodka label and it looks so different to the ones we buy in S.K. or anywhere else. The label is very simple with a name, alcohol percentage, ml amount and a bar code. There is no need for flashy labels or advertisements as there is no competing brand to sell to consumers!

 On the was back from the DMZ we learned that this 'Christmas tree' was lit during the holiday season and is so heavily lit with thousands of lights for a point. What would be on the right side of this picture was the river and then North Korea. It was intentionally deliberate for the North Korean villagers and command posts to see this Christmas tree, as it was intended as a sort of bragging right from the South that: 'we have electricity and you don't.' Petty politics.

 This was taken at the small museum at the DMZ. We learned that these were N.Korean secret spies that tied flippers to their legs and attempted to swim past the border down the river approaching Seoul. The died en route as you can see in the photo. We also learned from the guide that every summer when its warm enough there are usually about 2-3 bodies every summer that are fished out of the river that have floated past the border into the South. These are due to floodings, intentional defactors, or apparently even assassinations.

At the Dora observatory we could only take pictures behind this 'photo line.' Past that the photos are prohibited and you can only look through the binoculars and see North Korea from there. That is where we  saw the N. Korean 'propaganda village.' Where soldiers disguise as civilians and wander about amongst fake, hollowed out buildings and houses to give the illusion of a good life. Not to be outdone, S. Korea has their own rival propaganda village facing it on the other side of the border.

Mt. Cheonggyesan: My first hike!

So today I successfully completed my first mountain hike! It started off in really nice weather but once we reached the summit at 2200 metres it started snowing so hard unfortunately there was barely a view to be seen! It took 6 hours to hike the mountain and at some points seemed to drag on for ages. My crampons came in handy when some people in the group were sliding down the trail, I had a firm grip on the ground and didn't fall once! Which I am happy about because I am already sore enough as it is!
It was a tremendous workout and by the time we reached the summit we were covered in snow and could barely see the view in the distance. We stopped for a half hour lunch break at a Buddhist temple in the woods at the top of the other side of the mountain when we began our descent, here are some photos!

 This was the view at the summit. It was difficult to see in the blizzard but the mountain in the distance was apparently very large and we were above that. I hope the next time I hike it's a clear day for photos!

 A huge statue of the Buddha in the background!

This is me at the Chonggye Buddhist Temple in the middle of the woods on the slope of the mountain where we stopped for lunch.

Finally some wildlife! A rarity in a city the size of Seoul.

My first trip to Busan!

Yesterday I went to Busan with my recruiter Ellie and she introduced me to an awesome American teacher named Ada, and although it was freezing cold near the water, I HAD to check out Haeundae Beach: the famous tourist spot in Busan. These are just a few of the pictures I took!

 Ellie, Ada and I were sitting on the patio of a second story coffee shop overlooking Haeundae Beach. In the distance you can see small mountainous islands. It was absolutely gorgeous!

 These are more views from the balcony and to the right you can see downtown Busan.

 On Hauendae Beach. Even though it was freezing by the water I had to take at least a few pictures. It was so beautiful! This is Ellie and my new American friend Ada from Colorado.

 Ellie and I on the beach!

Ellie, Ada and I having dinner after we went to the beach! at a local tiny restaurant. It was delicious, and I forget what the name of the whole meal is called but it was bbq pork which you put in a lettuce leaf along with all the different type of vegetables they brought to us. We also sipped on Soju, the cheap Korean drink!

 This bar was about 100 feet from the beach. We stopped in for some jello shots. Really cheap! 3 for W5000! Which is about 3 shots for $4.50!

Ada and I in the bar! It was really cool. Can't wait for the warm weather to come!

Busan was such a cool city and when the weather gets warmer Ada and I decided to do as many water sports as we can on the weekends! Can't wait for the next trip!

Itaewon on a night stroll

Tonight I decided get out and get some exercise since I haven't found a gym yet nearby, so I decided to walk around and try and take some nice pictures of Itaewon!

The welcome gates of Itaewon.

The foreign book store.

Apparently one of the the best places to go to catch the Superbowl! Which of course I can't see live unless I watch it at 5am.

Welcome to Itaewon!

 On my way back home I can use the North Seoul Tower as a guide!

 The US Army Garrison looking creepy at night.

 My local food store/stand where I pick up vegetable and my new favorite..green pumpkins!

Street meat...Seoul style outside my place.

My classroom in Hannamdong

So I have officially begun teaching this week. Today was my second day and I teach six 5 year olds who are incredibly cute and who I will eventually put up pictures of but for the time being I want to get to know them a bit better first!

 This is my classroom!

Our board!

Our message board that has a new message everyday for the kids to take home and then I mark them the next day to make sure they wrote it correctly.

The school is incredibly clean and new and the staff are very nice and helpful. The majority of the students come from quite affluent families which is a bonus for us because it means for the amount they pay everyone means they can afford an entire kitchen staff to prepare all of us free and delicious food everyday, so to my surprise I am eating a lot better than I thought I would be.

I only teach for some 4 hours a day and the rest is lesson planning for the following day and serving them food at lunch before we serve ourselves. At the end of the day I have to get their outdoor shoes on and zip up their coats and walk them hand in hand to their designated bus.

An interesting aspect of Korean teaching standards is that they consider a child 1 when they are born. So in actual fact I am teaching 5 year olds in grade 1, as opposed to a North American standard that would have 5 year olds in kindergarten. I have some kids who were born so late in the year that by North American standards they are actually 4, and I am teaching them subtractions already!

For the most part the students have English names, however some have Korean names which I find difficult to pronounce. They of course find this very funny and have also adopted me my own nickname in the midst of trying to pronounce Robyn, so now many students call me 'wobaband teacha.' Yes, I am rubber band teacher.

Today we played games at the end and I introduced them to duck-duck-goose. They didn't know what a duck or a goose was, but they liked it! Once the kids are gone at 3pm I have 2 hours to myself in the teacher's lounge for lesson prep for the next day.

Myself and the staff went for a pint at Wolfhound Pub in Itaewon after work. An awesome Irish pub because it was 2 for 1 fish n chips night tonight. It began snowing heavily but I managed to get a few pictures on the way home from the pub.

 It was so cold my hand was shaking when I took this photo. It is supposed to be of the North Seoul Tower but even though it's blurred I think the light pattern looks good!

 And then it started snowing.. a lot!

Kind of creepy but this is the wall to the Yongsan US Army garrison at night and these line the outside perimeter some 2 minute walk from my place.

Hopefully when the weather gets better I can take much better and clearer photos of the area. At the moment Seoul seems to be experiencing more snow than apparently it has had in years, so when it clears up I will venture out further and take some more interesting pictures of the city!