Hiking & Holidays

I survived the hiking trip in case you were wondering. No need to worry about me anymore!

The two day trip included: Me, about seven teachers, and 180 high school boys hiking up Jili Mountain, Korea's second tallest mountain (second only by 35 meters).

                                                        Yes, that's me.

Late-night Ramen party with some students and my co-teacher (Co-T)!!!

The hardest part was the length. The hike never felt dangerous --except when students were jumping/running full speed down the side of the mountain. Boys will be boys. It was a total of 10 hours of hiking. That takes stamina! Another teacher in his 50s went the following weekend with a few buddies of his and did the hike in ONE DAY! I was impressed.

The View from the Top (1)

TVT (2) --I counted about 16 "layers" of consecutive mountains, one behind another...incredible view!

TVT (3)

Fortunately we had great weather! Clear skies day and night, with brisk weather in the morning that warmed up as the day went on. Also, the stream water was in fact "Mountain Fresh!" and the blisters I got from soccer before hiking were not an issue. Thank you Boy Scouts for teaching me how to properly wrap using gauze.

The students were awesome! They had a lot of fun, I think, despite all their complaining.  I was amazed by the energy level of some students. After hiking they still ran around crazily chasing each other and tackling each other. Some could not finish the hike and so they turned around the morning after we stayed in the cabin. According to my Co-T many students are prone to getting hurt these days on excursions like this since all they do is study for exams; there is no time for sports and physical education is definitely second as a priority in school.


The week following the Jili Mountain hike was short. I taught one class on Monday, had a holiday break Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and taught again on Friday.

What, you may ask, was the holiday? It's Chuseok [Choo-sawk]! It is a national holiday in Korea that allocates three days a year for Koreans to stop their busy lives and gather with family in order to pay respect to those family members who have passed away. Many people here say it is similar to the American Thanksgiving, but I fail to see much overlap. There are specific foods eaten on Chuseok, one being Songpyeon, and Thanksgiving also has regular foods (turkey being just one). Chuseok, though, has an array of special ceremonies that go along with the holiday. I unfortunately did not get to see any of them. I highly recommend reading my friend, and fellow Fulbright Grantee, Josh's blog if you want another perspective and a few more details on the holiday. It's a great read, please check it out!!

Anyway, my holiday time was split between Seoul and a SMALLLL farming villiage called Hampyeong [Hahm...similar to speaking with a British accent & saying "ham"...okay?...so, Hahm-pyawng]. In Seoul I had an a GREAT time because I was fortunate enough to meet with my friend from U of I. He currently lives in the east coast in the U.S., but he came home for Chuseok to see his family (he is Korean). I spent one night visiting with him and his parents, while enjoying life in the big city for about 36 hours. It is nice to see a familiar face every now and again while abroad!

Jinyoung and his parents. The kindest people! It was a very rejuvinating break from my day-in, day-out life here!

After Seoul I took a train back to my dwellings in JeongEup City where I met up with my host family. We drove together to Hampyeong where the host mom is from. It was such a small town, and the contrast was emphasized after coming from Seoul. It was great though. There were rice fields (dry...not paddies) and farms all around. I was able to meet the host mom's family. I met her mom, dad, sister, two brothers, and her nephews/neice. It was a blast walking around her neighborhood, petting cows, seeing her parents' gardens and rice fields, and hanging out with her family. We ate some food (squid, songpyeong, rice...), had a few drinks (mulberry wine), and sang a little Karaoke (the host mom's dad owns a karaoke machine...that's right folks! It was epic to see the 80ish-year-old man break into song).

I went to work the next day ready to take on any challenge the students may have thrown my way (there ended up being no challenges...they were all so wiped from their vacations).

The host mom, me, nephew & neice (they are siblings), the host brother, and the little guy with a shocked look on his face (due to the passing train) is another nephew:

The Karaoke King himself (the host mom's father):

Well, this week I have big plans again. On Thursday I will be heading up to Seoul again, but this time I am attending a Roots and Shoots lecture. Jane Goodall is in Korea right now, so I am making sure to attend one of her lectures. I was co-president of Roots and Shoots at U of I, so it's great to have another familiarity find me here in Korea. Luckily I do not have to rush back for work after the lecture either....I will not be working on Friday due to a Fulbright conference being held in my favorite city in Korea: Gyeongju. It is a very historical city. One of my close friends lives there, so I'll be visiting his parents this weekend. I last saw them in 2008 when I first came to Korea...they were my WONDERFUL hosts at the time. I am extremely excited to see them again!!

Have a great week and thanks for keeping up with my travels!