Today is Sunday and after having nearly 2 weeks off for summer vacation I will return to work tomorrow. What a crazy time I have had the last couple of weeks, they went something like this...
Monday (2 weeks ago) was my last day of summer English camp. I was supposed to have nearly 17 girls every day for 2 hours. I ended up having at most 10 but usually 4 -6 girls in class where we would listen to American pop music and watch movies in English. My room was so hot that they had little energy (me included) to do much else.
I came home from work pondering what I should do for the next 2 weeks. Most of my other ESL teacher friends had gone off on exotic vacations and I didn't want to just sit around. Tuesday morning I had decided that I would go to Taiwan. Within 24 hours I had booked a ticket and hotel to a country I hadn't ever been to and hadn't really thought of going to before.
Weds am, I set off for the airport (about 2 hours away via car), I had planned on taking the buses as I felt fairly confident that I knew which to take... WRONG! Just when I think I have the public transport system down, the language barrier goes and messes that all up. So, after 2 taxi rides and 1 bus ride I arrived at the airport where I would wait for nearly 4 hours. I had taken into account that the bus would take longer but ended up taking a taxi. While in the airport I got to have one of my first non Korean meals... fajitas! YUM! I also happen to meet another ESL teacher from the States who was headed to Taipei too. Yay! A new friend and someone to hang out with on my spontaneous adventure.
Amanda and I shared a taxi from the airport to our respective hotels. I could not have gotten a nicer hotel. It had a/c, tv, HUGE bathroom and most of all a HUGE comfy bed! I was in heaven!
The trip was full of wonderful food... I got to have an awesome cheese tray with brie, cheddar, Gouda, fruits.... it was divine! By day Amanda would do her thing, seeing as she had been planning this trip for quite some time, while I would lounge around just enjoying being somewhere new. The people in Taiwan are WONDERFUL! Very helpful and genuinely happy to help a stranger.
We went on a pretty cool night tour of Taipei which included: a Mongolian BBQ dinner, going to a Buddhist Temple, 2 night markets, and Taipei 101 (the 2nd tallest building in the world, the first being in Dubai.). The night markets in Taiwan are AMAZING! So many people, food, clothing, and oddities... reptiles, fruits that I had never heard of nor seen. I am glad I got to experience them one time because that is about all that I could handle.
One of my favorite places was the jade market. I am not a huge fan of wearing a lot of jewelery however I did indulge on some pretty cool pieces. The market is huge and vendors have everything from inexpensive simple rings to pendants, earrings, stamps and custom made pieces. Another cool place, Modern Toilet.... you have to see it to believe it. A restaurant where you sit on toilets, and are served out of smaller toilet bowls. We didn't' eat here because we had just eaten at TGI Friday's and didn't realize that it was nearly next door. I did get a couple of pics and souvenirs.
A few things of note: There are scooters everywhere! Also it is a fine not to wear a helmet so everyone has them. China still rules Taiwan so it isn't its own country. There are over 7400 7-11s which means Taiwan has the most per capita in the world. I also had my first movie theater experience since leaving Oregon. Here in SK and Taiwan they give you assigned seating at the movies. Almost all of the dogs that I saw out for walks had been shaved and their owners left shapes on their sides like hearts or smiley faces. SO FUNNY and of course I didnt' get a pic!
For not having planned this trip it turned out to be quite a good time. Making new friends, exploring a new country, and having wonderful food and drinks. I highly recommend that if given an opportunity one should def make the trip to Taiwan.
One of the stranger things, at least for me, is that I didn't bother to take my good camera and only packed my backpack for the 5 days I spent there. Anyone who knows me, knows that packing for 5 days usually requires at least 2 suitcases and several shoes! haha :) And as my mother can attest to, I tend to take HUNDREDS of photos, so not taking my camera was a BIG DEAL but I still managed to get some pics on my fabulous phone. :)
Here is a link to the pics that I took.
Taiwan Pics
19 August 2012
05 August 2012
Good times with new friends
It's been a few weeks since my last post which if you read my blog is about how things go for me. Since then I have managed to get out and have quite a bit of a social life. A couple of weeks ago went out with other EFL teachers from New Zeland, South Africa, and Canada to a bar called USA 99. The drinks in bars here are far more expensive than in the states unless you are having a beer but with the conversion rate they end up being about the same. Instead of serving pretzels or popcorn, many of the bars serve what look like Fruit Loop balls that are slightly stale yet quite addictive if you like that fake fruit taste. Believe it or not it goes quite well with the beer. After several hours in Songuri drinking we headed back to Pocheon where we did a bit of Noreabang (karaoke).
Saturday the girls and I headed to anther city to go clubbing. After having some yummy pasta and Korean pizza (like American but the crust is more like a tortilla), we headed off to enjoy the nightlife in Uijeongbu. This is a larger city south of my about an hour by bus. There are several Army & Air Force bases close by so this is where the soldier boys come to let loose. As one of the older people out for the night, I had a great time watching these "kids" party. Seriously I am a good 13 years older than the girls I go out with but one wouldn't know by my actions! haha
Here in SK one can walk around with an open container drinking and having a good time. I am not sure that they actually have public drunk laws if they did one would never know. I find it funny that the construction workers at my place have a refrigerator with beer and Soju that they drink throughout the day instead of water. Fun was had by all as we drank, got free drinks and danced the night away... well at least until 12:30 when we had to catch our bus. The bases have curfew here which is at 1 am. So the soldiers have to be back on base or in a private residence. The clubs start to die down around 12:30 because of this.
This past weekend I had plans that just fell through and was quite disappointed. So I ended up in "The Bu" (Uijeongbu) again, this time I was alone and a bit peeved and sad. What did I decide to do? Find the closest bar and drink of course! haha Well this isn't as easy as one would think especially when one does not read Hangul. I even went to a taxi driver and asked for him to take me to the closest bar, but without an address he wouldn't. <sigh> I eventually just got in a cab wich drove me to a destination unknown. I told him to stop when I thought I was somewhere familiar (it wasn't!). I ended up just walking almost aimlessly until I remembered there was a Dunkin Donuts near the area I had been to before. Thank GOD for my cell phone!
I found a 7-11, where you can sit outside and drink or whatnot. I went in and bought a KGB while noticing a couple of Army guys inside. While I was drinking outside I noticed them playing a Korean game, one of those claw games that you try to get a prize, and they were not winning a thing. We eventually struck up a conversation and they invited me to hang out with them for the night. What a great night! They are my age, married and been here about the same amount of time as I have been. We hit up a couple of bars and eventually I even got McDonald's!
After having talked to them for several hours, I have an even greater appreciation for what our soldiers do and go through. Even as cooks they are required to do what ever other soldier does. These men and women do something that us civilians will never comprehend. I give them much appreciation and many thanks that words can never express. To my new friends... Thank you OC & E! I also have a new hook up for getting from from home! YAY!!!!
Saturday the girls and I headed to anther city to go clubbing. After having some yummy pasta and Korean pizza (like American but the crust is more like a tortilla), we headed off to enjoy the nightlife in Uijeongbu. This is a larger city south of my about an hour by bus. There are several Army & Air Force bases close by so this is where the soldier boys come to let loose. As one of the older people out for the night, I had a great time watching these "kids" party. Seriously I am a good 13 years older than the girls I go out with but one wouldn't know by my actions! haha
Here in SK one can walk around with an open container drinking and having a good time. I am not sure that they actually have public drunk laws if they did one would never know. I find it funny that the construction workers at my place have a refrigerator with beer and Soju that they drink throughout the day instead of water. Fun was had by all as we drank, got free drinks and danced the night away... well at least until 12:30 when we had to catch our bus. The bases have curfew here which is at 1 am. So the soldiers have to be back on base or in a private residence. The clubs start to die down around 12:30 because of this.
This past weekend I had plans that just fell through and was quite disappointed. So I ended up in "The Bu" (Uijeongbu) again, this time I was alone and a bit peeved and sad. What did I decide to do? Find the closest bar and drink of course! haha Well this isn't as easy as one would think especially when one does not read Hangul. I even went to a taxi driver and asked for him to take me to the closest bar, but without an address he wouldn't. <sigh> I eventually just got in a cab wich drove me to a destination unknown. I told him to stop when I thought I was somewhere familiar (it wasn't!). I ended up just walking almost aimlessly until I remembered there was a Dunkin Donuts near the area I had been to before. Thank GOD for my cell phone!
I found a 7-11, where you can sit outside and drink or whatnot. I went in and bought a KGB while noticing a couple of Army guys inside. While I was drinking outside I noticed them playing a Korean game, one of those claw games that you try to get a prize, and they were not winning a thing. We eventually struck up a conversation and they invited me to hang out with them for the night. What a great night! They are my age, married and been here about the same amount of time as I have been. We hit up a couple of bars and eventually I even got McDonald's!
After having talked to them for several hours, I have an even greater appreciation for what our soldiers do and go through. Even as cooks they are required to do what ever other soldier does. These men and women do something that us civilians will never comprehend. I give them much appreciation and many thanks that words can never express. To my new friends... Thank you OC & E! I also have a new hook up for getting from from home! YAY!!!!
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