Here are some photos provided by the tour guide:
 |
| Pedro, our tour guide, is on the left |
 |
| "ISN'T THIS AWESOME??" |
 |
| The whole group |
 |
| Snack time!
We had a great day! This is something I might want to look into doing as a hobby! :)
|
Monday, October 8, 2012
Kayaking on the Seomjin River
This past Saturday, we went on a river kayaking tour! The tour was led by a Gwangju native, who goes by the name of Pedro. He leads a group called "Lonely Korea" in the city, and takes foreigners on tours several weekends every month. Usually they involve some sort of outdoor adventure compnent. This was our first tour with Pedro, but we will definitely be going with him again! We started the day with a drive through the beautiful Korean countryside. We drove about an hour outside of the city to the lovely Seomjin River. When we arrived, we were given helmets and lifejackets; we wondered what we had gotten ourselves into when we were given helmets, as we had thought the trip would be on smooth waters. However, we soon found out that the river had some very small rapids and at points went a little fast. However, it was definitely a great beginners level river kayaking trip. The tour guide got some great pictures of us as we floated down the river. It was a gorgeous day and though we both got soaked by the end, it was well worth it. I am glad we got to participate before the weather starts to get really cold!
Here are some photos provided by the tour guide:
Here are some photos provided by the tour guide:
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Chuseok and a visit to Seoul
Hello all, this is Carrie. Last weekend was Chuseok, or the Korean equivalent to Thanksgiving in America. They celebrate the harvest by getting together with family and sharing a meal. Also, some of my students said that they go to the tombs of their ancestors, clean them off, and have a ceremony offering them food and drink to remember them. Anyway, for us, it meant a 5 day weekend!! So, we decided to take a trip to Seoul, the capital of Korea.
We arrived on Friday late at night. On Saturday, we went to the War Memorial Museum, and learned all about the numerous conflicts Korea has been in. This place was HUGE and had lots of interesting exhibits. The most interesting for me was to learn about the Korean war and how the U.S. was involved. In the 1950s, communist North Korea invaded democratic South Korea, and the U.N. and many other nations responded by sending troops, supplies, and medical aid to South Korea. In the museum, there is an exhibit about the South Korean people's thankfulness to these countries, and they have made special monuments to each country throughout Korea. In addition, there was a movie and exhibit about the American General McArthur who commanded the forces in Korea, and who the South Korean's acknowledge as one of the main reasons they were able to drive back the invading North Korean army. It was different to see an outside view of America and learn about the conflict which I knew little of.
Next, we went to N. Seoul tower, an observation tower on the top of a large hill in the middle of Seoul. We hiked up the hill, which took about 30 minutes, and by the time we reached the top it was dusk and we got a BEAUTIFUL view of the city. We then rode to the top of the observation deck (in the worlds fastest elevator) and got to see gorgeous Seoul twinkling below us. We ate dinner at one of the restaurants on top of the mountain and it was just amazing!!!
Sunday was Chuseok, so we headed to the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the royal palace in the 1400s-1500s. There were lots of kids there dressed up in hanbok, traditional Korean costumes; this is something fun that parents enjoy doing to their kids on major Korean holidays! And they were cute! We learned that the whole palace was destroyed when the Japanese occupied Korea from 1900-1945, and they built their administrative offices on top of the site! It is so sad to hear what people do to eachother . . . but, since Korea became an independent nation, they have rebuilt much of the palace and are still working on parts of it.
Nearby there is the National Folk Museum of Korea, where they display outdoor recreations of what life was like in villages in rural Korea. They had special booths and performances set up for Chuseok, and we got to eat the traditional snack for the holiday, songpyeon, a special stuffed rice cake that is sweet. We also tried on hanbok ourselves! In addition, we got to see an AWESOME Korean traditional dance, that was just amazing! While we were watching it, Bradley and I both looked at eachother and said, "I can't believe we are here doing this!"
In the evening, we went to a show called Nanta (Cookin') which is a non-verbal performance of actors using hand gestures, kitchen utensils, and food to tell the story. There are 4 actors that are playing chefs who have to prepare several large meals for wedding banquets in a short amount of time. They use gestures, pantomime, and body movements to tell the story to the audience. They also use the food and kitcen implements as drums and musical instruments. Paula Levitt told me about this show, and we are so glad we got to see it, very funny and entertaining!
On Monday, we went to the Seoul grand park zoo. It was a very nice zoo, with the most active animals I have ever seen. We soon discovered why; while there are many signs posted asking you not to feed the animals, nobody follows the rule. We saw bears rear up and beg as people tossed them popcorn, and monkeys stick their hands out of cages for a treat. It was cool to see the animals so active but also not, because we all know that stuff isn't good for them . . . we decided not to feed the animals, but we got some great pictures!
Tuesday was our last full day, and we went to the headquarters of the largest sect of Buddhism in Korea. They had huge golden Buddhas, the largest indoor Buddha statues in Korea. It was so peaceful and beautiful on the grounds.
At the end of the day, we walked around our hotel's neighborhood, trying some of the various street foods for dinner. Some you wouldn't think of seeing in Korea, like corn dogs, and others, such as dried squid, which I wasn't brave enough to try! Maybe next time; there are street vendors all over the place in our city of Gwangju as well.
Wednesday morning, we took the 4 hour bus back to Gwangju to prepare for class the next day. We had an AWESOME Chuseok, and Seoul is an amazingly beautiful city.
From the War Memorial:
Hike up to the N. Seoul tower:
We had a great time!!!!!!!!
We arrived on Friday late at night. On Saturday, we went to the War Memorial Museum, and learned all about the numerous conflicts Korea has been in. This place was HUGE and had lots of interesting exhibits. The most interesting for me was to learn about the Korean war and how the U.S. was involved. In the 1950s, communist North Korea invaded democratic South Korea, and the U.N. and many other nations responded by sending troops, supplies, and medical aid to South Korea. In the museum, there is an exhibit about the South Korean people's thankfulness to these countries, and they have made special monuments to each country throughout Korea. In addition, there was a movie and exhibit about the American General McArthur who commanded the forces in Korea, and who the South Korean's acknowledge as one of the main reasons they were able to drive back the invading North Korean army. It was different to see an outside view of America and learn about the conflict which I knew little of.
Next, we went to N. Seoul tower, an observation tower on the top of a large hill in the middle of Seoul. We hiked up the hill, which took about 30 minutes, and by the time we reached the top it was dusk and we got a BEAUTIFUL view of the city. We then rode to the top of the observation deck (in the worlds fastest elevator) and got to see gorgeous Seoul twinkling below us. We ate dinner at one of the restaurants on top of the mountain and it was just amazing!!!
Sunday was Chuseok, so we headed to the Gyeongbokgung Palace, the royal palace in the 1400s-1500s. There were lots of kids there dressed up in hanbok, traditional Korean costumes; this is something fun that parents enjoy doing to their kids on major Korean holidays! And they were cute! We learned that the whole palace was destroyed when the Japanese occupied Korea from 1900-1945, and they built their administrative offices on top of the site! It is so sad to hear what people do to eachother . . . but, since Korea became an independent nation, they have rebuilt much of the palace and are still working on parts of it.
Nearby there is the National Folk Museum of Korea, where they display outdoor recreations of what life was like in villages in rural Korea. They had special booths and performances set up for Chuseok, and we got to eat the traditional snack for the holiday, songpyeon, a special stuffed rice cake that is sweet. We also tried on hanbok ourselves! In addition, we got to see an AWESOME Korean traditional dance, that was just amazing! While we were watching it, Bradley and I both looked at eachother and said, "I can't believe we are here doing this!"
In the evening, we went to a show called Nanta (Cookin') which is a non-verbal performance of actors using hand gestures, kitchen utensils, and food to tell the story. There are 4 actors that are playing chefs who have to prepare several large meals for wedding banquets in a short amount of time. They use gestures, pantomime, and body movements to tell the story to the audience. They also use the food and kitcen implements as drums and musical instruments. Paula Levitt told me about this show, and we are so glad we got to see it, very funny and entertaining!
On Monday, we went to the Seoul grand park zoo. It was a very nice zoo, with the most active animals I have ever seen. We soon discovered why; while there are many signs posted asking you not to feed the animals, nobody follows the rule. We saw bears rear up and beg as people tossed them popcorn, and monkeys stick their hands out of cages for a treat. It was cool to see the animals so active but also not, because we all know that stuff isn't good for them . . . we decided not to feed the animals, but we got some great pictures!
Tuesday was our last full day, and we went to the headquarters of the largest sect of Buddhism in Korea. They had huge golden Buddhas, the largest indoor Buddha statues in Korea. It was so peaceful and beautiful on the grounds.
At the end of the day, we walked around our hotel's neighborhood, trying some of the various street foods for dinner. Some you wouldn't think of seeing in Korea, like corn dogs, and others, such as dried squid, which I wasn't brave enough to try! Maybe next time; there are street vendors all over the place in our city of Gwangju as well.
Wednesday morning, we took the 4 hour bus back to Gwangju to prepare for class the next day. We had an AWESOME Chuseok, and Seoul is an amazingly beautiful city.
From the War Memorial:
Hike up to the N. Seoul tower:
The view from the top of N. Seoul tower:
N. Seoul tower looking up!
At the palace
Palace guard: He stands there like at Buckingham Palace, no movement!
Around the Palace:
I asked some of the kids if they would take a picture with me in their hanbok:
At the National Folk Museum, Bradley with one of the performers
Here is a video of the beginning of the performance. Sorry for some of the bumpiness!
National Museum: this is a tomb marker to a scholar
Putting on hanbok!
Street food . . . YUM
We rode the sky lift at the zoo. Beautiful!
For my Mom!
More zoo pics, animals asking for food!
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Guess what we bought and our trip to shrine!
So, I am attaching to this a review that I did for the local international center about this trip that we went on, so I can remember where we went and what we learned!
On September 22, the GIC headed out to Yeongam. The group included both Koreans and
foreigners, and was led by GIC tour guide Warren. It was a great day for hiking, learning, and
enjoying the beauty of Korea.
We began the tour by traveling to Wulchulsan, or Moon
Rising Mountain. At the base of the
mountain lies the Historic Site of Dr. Wangin, a famous Korean scholar who is
known for bringing Korean culture and Chinese lettering to Japan during the 3rd
or 4th century. The current
site in Yeongam dedicated to him is important for two reasons; it provides
Koreans with a sense of pride in their history, and also helps in fostering and
nurturing the relationship between Korea and Japan. At Dr. Wangin’s Historic Site, we saw two
exhibit rooms detailing Dr. Wangin’s life, and then walked the beautiful
grounds, where we saw the shrine to Dr. Wangin and the site where tradition
says his childhood home was located. We
also walked to a nearby spring; legend says that Dr. Wangin’s mother drank from
this spring when she was pregnant, and the waters endowed Dr. Wangin with his
intellect. Everyone took turns drinking
from the spring, in hopes that we would inherit some intellectual prowess or
perhaps will pass it on to our children. My husband and I both drank from the
spring, so look for a Nobel Laureate with the last name Levinson in about 30
years. J
Climbing higher into the mountain, we followed a trail
to reach a cave; legend has it that Dr. Wangin would study here before he left
to Japan. Due to this legend, hundreds
of years ago many students would come to study in this cave, and at the
entrance is a large, 1,000 year old carving of Dr. Wangin. After exploring the cave we climbed a bit
higher to reach the summit, and take in the beautiful view of Yeongam.
After climbing down the mountain, we travelled to a
local restaurant where we enjoyed a delicious meal of farm raised local
chicken. The first course included a
local delicacy; raw chicken breast chopped with vegetables and served in a sauce. While the idea of eating raw chicken made me
somewhat wary, we were assured of the health benefits and it actually was quite
good! The remaining courses included a
chicken stir fry, and delicious rice and chicken porridge.
After rejuvenating ourselves with the meal, we headed
to Dogapsa Temple. This temple is famous
for its large stone Buddha carved entirely of one piece of stone, and the
temple entrance is an original dating back to the 1400s. The temple grounds were peaceful and quiet,
and all of the participants had some free time to explore on our own.
On our way home to Gwangju, we made a final stop at a
local fig stand. Yeongam is famous for
its figs, and they did not disappoint; they were sweet and delicious. Many participants purchased a box of figs to
take home and enjoy.
Look at the satellite on the old building.
This is a statue of Dr. Wangin, a famous Korean scholar who
lived in the 4th century and brought the Chinese lettering system to
Japan. This statue is at a shrine
created in his honor.
Just a pretty picture of our trip to Dr. Wangin shrine.
This is a painting of Dr. Wangin. To show respect to his spirit, visitors can light
incense at the shrine. Sometimes they
have special ceremonies to honor Dr. Wangin.
In many traditional religions, a spirit needs a vessel to rest in during
ceremonies. The tablet in front of the
picture is the spirit vessel for Dr. Wangin when they hold ceremonies in his
honor.
This is where tradition says Dr. Wangin’s childhood home
stood.
This is a carving of Dr. Wangin that is 1000 years old. You had to hike up the mountain to see it J
We also visited a Buddhist temple. This is some of the beautiful architecture on
many traditional Korean Buddhist temple buildings.
These steps to the temple entrance were built in the 1400s.
More beautiful architecture.
Some more beautiful architecture from the main building at
the temple.
This statue was made from one piece of stone.
An awesome bridge.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Almost a month!
Hello everyone, Carrie here. We had a good week, though nothing new to report. Kids are still good, school is still great. Each week we get more used to our schedule and now it seems pretty easy to handle. I am typing this from our apartment, even though it is Monday at noon, because school was cancelled due to another typhoon. Can't say I was sad about that . . . :)
This past weekend we went on another hike at Mudeungsan mountain, this time a different trail, and we had a beautiful view from the top of the whole city. Unfortunately, we don't have a camera yet, but we got paid today so we will be buying one tomorrow and will soon have pictures to post of our beautiful city. We went on the hike with several people who worked with our recruiter, so it was nice to meet some new friends and we look forward to more fun with them!
In a couple weeks we will have a five day weekend for the Korean holiday of Chuseok. I have been told it is like Thanksgiving, a time to get together with family, remember ancestors, and have a big meal. We plan on heading to Seoul and will visit some palaces where the city is hosting Chuseok activities.
I can't believe we have been here almost a month already. Everyday it feels a little bit more like "home;" we are definitely better at navigating the bus system, getting groceries, telling the taxi driver the directions to our apartment, all those little things that you do daily that suddenly seem much more difficult in a different country. Everything is an adventure here!
Next post I will hopefully have some photos to show you!
xoxoxo Carrie
This past weekend we went on another hike at Mudeungsan mountain, this time a different trail, and we had a beautiful view from the top of the whole city. Unfortunately, we don't have a camera yet, but we got paid today so we will be buying one tomorrow and will soon have pictures to post of our beautiful city. We went on the hike with several people who worked with our recruiter, so it was nice to meet some new friends and we look forward to more fun with them!
In a couple weeks we will have a five day weekend for the Korean holiday of Chuseok. I have been told it is like Thanksgiving, a time to get together with family, remember ancestors, and have a big meal. We plan on heading to Seoul and will visit some palaces where the city is hosting Chuseok activities.
I can't believe we have been here almost a month already. Everyday it feels a little bit more like "home;" we are definitely better at navigating the bus system, getting groceries, telling the taxi driver the directions to our apartment, all those little things that you do daily that suddenly seem much more difficult in a different country. Everything is an adventure here!
Next post I will hopefully have some photos to show you!
xoxoxo Carrie
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Weekend events
We had a good first week of school. Bradley and I both did introductory/getting to know you games for each class, so it was pretty simple (and even a bit boring after the 20th time introducing myself). We are ready to teach out of the books next week, lesson plans are in place and we are excited to see how the students do.
This weekend we decided to check out some sites around our city. On Saturday, we went to Mudeung Mountain, which is a very popular hiking area and easy to get to from the city. Our 4 mile round-trip trail led us past a Buddhist temple in the mountains. It had beautiful buildings and shrines, and when we arrived there was a service going on. We stayed and listened to the monks chanting for awhile, then continued on the trail up the mountain.
One of the first things we noticed while hiking was the attire that all the Koreans wore while hiking. They all have very expensive-seeming hiking boots, jackets, pants, hats, backpacks, and those walking sticks that look like ski poles. At first we felt out of place and thought the walking sticks were a bit over the top, but by the time we were half-way through the trail we were wishing we had the walking sticks. It was uphill the whole way and very tiring! On our way up, a Korean man stopped to talk to us in English and told us how he walked the trail every morning at 4 am, then got to work by 8, for the last 36 years, and he was 64 years old. We definitely felt out of shape then! However, we kept going and the view from the top made it all worth it.
Today, Sunday, we went to another local site, the 5/18 Democratic Uprising National Cemetery. In May, 1980, there was a protest by students here in the university who were rallying agains the corrupt military regime that had seized control of South Korea. In response to the peaceful rally, the Korean government sent in thousands or troops and massacred hundreds of demonstrators. The demonstrators then armed themselves, and held control of the city for 5 days. During those five days the city was cut off from all surrounding cities. However, there was no looting, grocery stores gave away food for free, and thousands of people donated blood at the local hospital in order to aid those who had been injured in the massacre. Unfortunately, the military eventually surpressed the uprising and many civilians were tortured, put to death, or imprisoned for treason. While the students' revolt did not lead to immediate democracy in Korea, it influenced uprisings over the next few years that eventually paved the way to democracy in South Korea. Eventually in 1997 the national cemetery was built, and a museum was created on the grounds to educate people about this important event. The museum was absolutely amazing, and had lots of video and photographs of the uprising. It was so inspirational to see how the citizens of this city rallied together and fought, even though the odds were stacked against them. You can really tell that the residents of Gwangju have a lot of pride in their history and the bravery of the students and civilians.
As we left the cemetery, an older Korean man began talking to us in English about what we thought of the site. He told us that he did not live in Gwangju at the time of the revolt, but heard about it on the radio as it happened. He said for a long time many cities did not even know about how many hundreds of people had been killed, because the government controlled media reported that there were only military casualties and that the rioters were all communists. He also told us about how he served in the Korean War and was sent to America to train before returning to Korea. It was very interesting hearing his story.
We had a great weekend. This Tuesday we start Korean language lessons. I am looking forward to this and hopefully I will be able to read signs soon!
Having fun here in Korea!
xoxoxo Carrie
This weekend we decided to check out some sites around our city. On Saturday, we went to Mudeung Mountain, which is a very popular hiking area and easy to get to from the city. Our 4 mile round-trip trail led us past a Buddhist temple in the mountains. It had beautiful buildings and shrines, and when we arrived there was a service going on. We stayed and listened to the monks chanting for awhile, then continued on the trail up the mountain.
One of the first things we noticed while hiking was the attire that all the Koreans wore while hiking. They all have very expensive-seeming hiking boots, jackets, pants, hats, backpacks, and those walking sticks that look like ski poles. At first we felt out of place and thought the walking sticks were a bit over the top, but by the time we were half-way through the trail we were wishing we had the walking sticks. It was uphill the whole way and very tiring! On our way up, a Korean man stopped to talk to us in English and told us how he walked the trail every morning at 4 am, then got to work by 8, for the last 36 years, and he was 64 years old. We definitely felt out of shape then! However, we kept going and the view from the top made it all worth it.
Today, Sunday, we went to another local site, the 5/18 Democratic Uprising National Cemetery. In May, 1980, there was a protest by students here in the university who were rallying agains the corrupt military regime that had seized control of South Korea. In response to the peaceful rally, the Korean government sent in thousands or troops and massacred hundreds of demonstrators. The demonstrators then armed themselves, and held control of the city for 5 days. During those five days the city was cut off from all surrounding cities. However, there was no looting, grocery stores gave away food for free, and thousands of people donated blood at the local hospital in order to aid those who had been injured in the massacre. Unfortunately, the military eventually surpressed the uprising and many civilians were tortured, put to death, or imprisoned for treason. While the students' revolt did not lead to immediate democracy in Korea, it influenced uprisings over the next few years that eventually paved the way to democracy in South Korea. Eventually in 1997 the national cemetery was built, and a museum was created on the grounds to educate people about this important event. The museum was absolutely amazing, and had lots of video and photographs of the uprising. It was so inspirational to see how the citizens of this city rallied together and fought, even though the odds were stacked against them. You can really tell that the residents of Gwangju have a lot of pride in their history and the bravery of the students and civilians.
As we left the cemetery, an older Korean man began talking to us in English about what we thought of the site. He told us that he did not live in Gwangju at the time of the revolt, but heard about it on the radio as it happened. He said for a long time many cities did not even know about how many hundreds of people had been killed, because the government controlled media reported that there were only military casualties and that the rioters were all communists. He also told us about how he served in the Korean War and was sent to America to train before returning to Korea. It was very interesting hearing his story.
We had a great weekend. This Tuesday we start Korean language lessons. I am looking forward to this and hopefully I will be able to read signs soon!
Having fun here in Korea!
xoxoxo Carrie
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