Vacation Season

We have entered the seasons of vacations which is nice but it is bittersweet since it is the herald of the end of summer and the start of the cold weather.  The weather isn't the only thing that is changing around here, actually our little English Village is morphing as well.  We recently bid farewell to our British friends who came to the end of their contract and are now beginning their new adventure being repatriated . 

It has been weird not having them around as they seemed like such a staple here in Korea, but that is the way of the temporary job.  Soon our Canadian friends will be going back home as well and it'll just be us Americans here.  I will miss the diversity. 
That weekend one of our korean friends took us out to a fantastic chicken restaurant in Chang-nyeong. I'll tell you what, I will be going back there again the chicken was so good. During the meal I decided to get a little crazy and try one of the little dried fishes they served us as a side dish.

I am definitely one wild and crazy gal!

The beginning of fall also brings Korea's biggest holiday, Chuseok (추석).  This holiday is comparable to the American Thanksgiving as it is a harvest festival but it is so much more than that.  Chuseok is a three day holiday that involves remembering the ancestors.  During the holiday Koreans travel to their ancestral hometowns.  Interestingly enough this translates to an abandoning of the major cities and a swelling of population for the small towns that dot the countryside.  The people then go and pay their respects to their ancestors who are attributed with granting a successful and prosperous harvest.  They then go to the grave sites of their next of kin to clean and maintain those sites.  Afterward they gather together for a feast of the harvest and family time. 

For us, though, Chuseok is a great long weekend.  We decided that we have been away from the beach too long , so we made reservations to stay near the beach in Busan.  Before the holiday though I spent some time and decorated my classroom because, dag-namit, it needed to be done.  Checkout the pics to see the transformation and the awesomeness!

It was so ugly before I started, you have no idea!

I painstakingly forced Nick to cut those suckers out and then hang them for me.  It was hard work!!

The finished wall! Ain't it purdy?

I also had Nick tack all those stars containing the state names and their Capitols claiming I was to short to reach that high.

We decided to leave Chang-nyeong on Tuesday night to try and beat traffic we thought would be worse on Wednesday. Once we arrived we hit the subway and an hour later we arrived at Haeundae Beach. We found our hotel, dropped our stuff off and went to the beach. It was so beautiful and the weather was perfect. We sat and listened to the ocean for a while.           

The subway ride was an hour long... we got bored :)

Our hotel was amazing! It offered free juice, water, popcorn, breakfast, slushies, and more. The only thing we had a hard time with was the bed because it was hard and uncomfortable.

           We explored a few new places near the beach. We went to Haedong Yonggung Temple. It was really beautiful! As we walked around we saw a Buddha, Nick told me to rub his stomach so I did. After, we walked around him we read the sign that he was the ‘Buddha of Granting a Son’. We both laughed really hard, but it will be hilarious if our first child is a boy!  We will have only our selves and our inability to keep our hands to ourselves to blame. The temple was so beautiful, but what made it so beautiful was the ocean

 Korea needs more of these monuments

 The infamous Baby Boy Buddha.

If you learn one thing from this blog it should be to not go around touching strange Buddha's bellies.

 And of course the obligatory billion stairs that are required at every temple! (Cursed stairs)

           After the temple we decided to explore a little. We didn't go back the way we came. We took an ocean side road that was BEAUTIFUL! We ran into men fishing and deserted beaches. We saw a lot of crabs and other creatures. We finally popped out and took a bus back to our hotel’s area.

Let's play Spot The Creature! Ten Points to the First person who can Identify the  mobile creature in the picture!

           The next day we spent the whole day at the beach playing in the waves and sand. Nick dug a huge whole which later turned into a small pool and he made two little friends. They played and dug together. The little boy spoke good English with his parents’ encouragement. The little girl was shy and didn’t say much. After the long beach day we went back and got ready for a date. We purchased tickets to go see Korean traditional music and dance. We loved getting more into the Korean culture as we watched the performance and although we don’t know most of what was being said, we still laughed with the audience and had a great time.

           The next day we went to the largest department store, Shinsegae Centum City. There we went cloths shopping and ice skating. Nick only fell twice, Lauren zero. After we went back to our hotel and did a bunch of nothing.

our "Do Nothing Bed"

 The largest "Department Store" in the World... It's really just a mall.

Nick Modeling some FABULOUS orange skinny jeans

 He could maybe pass for a European here

Nick being an uncoordinated penguin on the ice skating rink.

           Saturday morning we went shopping for some food at Home Plus and E-Mart then we headed back home. We really enjoyed our vacation time, but we especially enjoyed learning more about the Korean culture.

P.s. This blog was mostly written by Nick!