Buddah's B-day in Busan

Last weekend we had a three-day weekend for Buddah's Birthday.  It seemed to be a big deal here, although none of my kids (including my second graders) knew who Buddah was when I told them it was his birthday.  We headed down to Busan on Saturday morning, taking the 5-hour slow train there.  We booked a jimjilbang (Korean spa) to sleep in, since everywhere else was booked and it said they would have bunk beds reserved for us.  On Saturday we walked around and saw a UN memorial graveyard from the Korean war.  I had no idea there were so many Americans who had died in that war.  Then we went for a long walk to a beach just to hang out, even though it was too late to go swimming.

Me, Christine and Meghan walking around a random park

A wall of flowers

Strange little doggie by the beach

After that we went to a bar called Fuzzy Navel that overlooked the beach which was beautiful.  I ordered a raspberry daquiri, which came in a martini glass without any ice crushed up in it.  I learned my lesson not to order fancy drinks in Korea, since my daquiri was like drinking syrup.  A little bit later the bartenders put on a show of tossing bottles and twirling fire, and ended with setting part of the bar on fire (on purpose).  It was very entertaining!  It was also some guy across the bar's b-day, so they made a tower of glasses with a flaming shot on top for him.

The b-day guy looking at his shot being made

We went out to some bars in Busan that night and when we got back to the jimjilbang, Korean people had taken over our "bunk beds," which were really just sleeping cubbies with the same mats and hard square pillows that everyone else had.  We ended up having to sleep on the floor in the middle of everything with bright lights on the whole night and people walking by all the time.  I was not so happy to say the least.  It was also super hot in there so we were all sweating the entire night.  We ended up getting a small refund because of the bunk bed situation, and the next night we all ended up getting cubbies.  It was still really hot sleeping in the jimjilbang so we were all sticking to our mats the whole night.  Next time I hope to plan ahead and book a hostel, but hey it was an experience and we got through it.  

On Sunday we headed out to haeundae beach, which is the most popular beach in Busan for everyone to go to.  I guess in the summer it is crazy crowded and the beach is literally filled with huge beach umbrellas, since Koreans don't like the sun because they want to be white (you always want what you don't have, right?).  This time it really wasn't too crowded, probably because the water was freezing like Lake Superior.  There was a man standing by us that just stood in his little speedo-shorts swim suit facing the sun all day.  He ended up to be nice and took our picture for us, but I still thought it was strange that he choose to stand the whole time.  There were also jet ski people patrolling the shore line, making sure nobody went out too far.  One older man on a jet ski was only wearing a green thong which was really disturbing.  It was so nice to hang out at a real beach; I miss it so much!

Us about to leave the beach-I wasn't ready to go!

After that we headed to a temple that was all decorated with lanterns for Buddah's B-day.  It was pretty amazing with all the different colored lanterns everywhere you look.  

A happy golden Buddah

A sea of lanterns

Me and Tristan riding elephants

The next day we went to the Jagalchi fish market and ended up choosing a nice crab and a couple of eels to share.  The way it works is you walk along all the different sellers and choose what you want from the tank, and then they bring it upstairs and cook it for you.  The crab was so delicious!  The meat came off in strips and was the best crab I've ever tasted.  The eel was pretty tasty too, but it had way too many bones in it to be very enjoyable.  

The guy cutting up our eel while our poor crab waited on his back

After our meal, we decided to get a baby octopus since most people had never tried live octopus before. I already tried live squid in Seoraksan, so I didn't really need to try octopus.  I had a little bite still, since the plate of squirming tentacles was right in front of me.  Everyone had a couple of pieces and that was enough haha.  The guy running the place, Jackie, was really funny and showed us pictures of him on the news and in magazines because he was so proud of it.  

Live octopus

Us and our new friend Jackie

Overall it was a great weekend, and I definitely want to go back to Busan!

May in Korea

Wow I can't believe that time has started going even faster than before!  May has been beautiful weather here, so we have started going out and doing more things on the weekends which has been making May fly by!  I can't even remember what I did and when, but that's why pictures are a great memory keeper.  I do remember that Sam and Tyler came to visit a while ago.  They came out to ladies night with us on a Friday night, but then Tyler woke up really sick in my apartment.  It turns out he's really allergic to mold, and I guess my apartment must be infested with it.  It was too bad that they had to go home early because of it.  Also, I'm now a bit paranoid of the mold infestation, but I'm only here for three more months so I think it will be fine.

At one point, Wendy had her birthday party.  I would say she is my smiley-est student, and is so cute.   I had never seen her so excited as before her party, and haven't seen her that excited since.

We also went on a field trip to a car museum.  The kids enjoyed walking around and there were different activities for them to do.  I wish we could go on a field trip every week, but I'll settle for once a month.

My kids in front of the 'funny car'

Then, for Children's day we went on a small hike.  My kids were a lot better at hiking this time, and only fell down a few times.  

Amy and Yule playing in the pine needles while Christine Teacher consoles her student Cedrick, who thought that she had left him behind.

We also had a song contest, and I had my kids do the song 'Dynamite' (the kidz bop version, of course).  We got second place, and my class was soooooo excited!  They were very cute, but I don't think I can post the video here because it's in HD and it didn't work last time.

On one of the weekends, Meghan and I went to Daegu to visit her friend.  We went to a large market that reminded me of the markets in Seoul and we walked around the city a bit.  Then we went out and experienced the Daegu scene, which was pretty fun.  I wish we had cocktails in a bag here!

Delicious intestine street food in the market

A pretty temple with lanterns in the city

Last weekend we went to a lantern parade in Seoul.  I kinda thought it might be a lot like the lantern festival I went to back in the fall, but it was way different and really awesome.  Although it was weird to go to a parade that didn't have ANY candy, it was still really enjoyable.  

Some monks carrying lanterns

Here's a couple of videos I took with my new point-and-shoot, if interested.  My six-year-old point-and-shoot camera finally decided to stop working, so I got a new one that takes decent (non-HD) video, even at night.  The pictures are still way more grainy than with my SLR, but that is to be expected.  

Dancing lotus flower lady with lots of lanterns following her

The dragon!!  He was my favorite.

We also went to Everland last weekend, which I'm sure if I remembered Disney World better it would probably be similar to that.  It was like a magical fairyland, and if I was a small child I'm sure I would have gone crazy.  They had lots of good rides for adults too, including the world's steepest wooden roller coaster.  It was a lot of fun!  It's also a popular spot for dates.  There were soooo many couples dressed alike there that I was determined to get a picture because I think the US should adopt this custom (haha not really).  I finally got my chance while waiting for the bus home and I ended up finding three different couples.

Same-same!!  Except for the shoes.  These guys were slackers.

The day ended with buying a bunch of bulk gummy candy (which is very difficult to find in Korea!) and I was therefore very happy.

May has been great, and it's not over yet thankfully!  I don't want Korea to go by any faster.  I will post additional pictures on facebook sometime soon:)