WEEKEND IN BUSAN (caption contest)

WEEKEND IN BUSAN

Busan is the second largest city in South Korea. Its right on the coast and luckily for me much cooler (temperature wise) than Changwon. I went with 2 friends I had made in Changwon, Lucas and Kelsey. A couple from Wisconsin/Michigan. Kelsey had a friend in  Busan so we were able to stay at their friend’s place in Busan.

Kelsey and Lucas

We took a bus from Changwon to Busan for 3,700 won (under 5 bucks). It took about a half hour or less. Then once in Busan, we took the subway for maybe 40 minutes to Haeundae beach, which is one of the more popular beaches in Busan.

Changwon Bus Station.
The Korean Word for Bus Station is: Bus-oo Ter-nin-nuh

On the bus to Busan

Busan Subway 

Busan Subway

There we hung out on the beach for hours, drank a little, swam in the ocean and were visited by a surprise visitor. (caption contest for surprise visitor)

Haeundae Beach

Haeundae Beach

Haeundae Beach

Iron Man on Haeundae Beach- Caption Contest

Haeundae Beach

After the beach, as we were leaving we saw some street performing rappers. The Korean crowd wasn’t into it, so we gave them some support.

Also, there was a street festival with a dance group and maybe a crowd of 2 to 300 orderly onlookers.

Dance Group

For dinner we had Boodae Jigae, aka. Military Stew. This food is a hybrid Korean American food in which American soldiers, nearing the end of their rations would cut up their rations (hot dog, pepperoni) and put it in a Korean soup to make their food for further,

That night we met with Kelsey’s brother, a teacher at a local university and proud dog owner of a Shih tzu named Dodo, and some other familiar faces.

Dodo

After a night of Norae Bang, we all stayed at Kelsey’s friend’s studio apartment. 7 people, 1 cat and 1 dog.

The next morning we went to a Mexican restaurant near the beach. They do margaritas, nachos, burritos, tacos, all of it (very rare in Korea). I got a chicken burrito. It was missing beans and rice, but it was just what I needed.

Mexican food- the white whale of Korea

Luckily Kelsey’s brother has a car so he was able to drive us to a subway station. I sat in the back area of the car because we had a crew of 7.

Leaving Busan

MEDICAL EXAM & FOREIGNER DINNER

MEDICAL EXAM & FOREIGNER DINNER

I had my medical exam. A medical exam is required of any foreigener who wishes to get an Alien Residence Card (like a green card). The benefits of an alien card include: the ability to get a cell phone, bank account and to join the city bike share program. My boss, Mr. Park, picked me up, drove me to the hospital and accompanied me through my tests. In Mr. Park’s car, much like many Korean’s cars he has a GPS console that you can also watch live television on. He also told me about Korea driving. Koreans use their hazard lights all the time when they drive for all sorts of strange reasons: back-in parking, driving on the shoulder, etc... Mr. Park explained it to me, "Koreans use their hazard lights to say 'I’m sorry (but I’m about to do something dangerous).'”

Mini-TV on the Dash

Initially I was very surprised by the hospital, particularly the staff. In America, most hospital administrative positions are staffed by large, dumpy, frumpy fat women. At the hospital all the admins were beautiful little Korean women. Also people walk around with IVs a lot. I don't know what thats all about.

My medical exam featured many tests. They tested my blood, they tested my urine, they x-rayed my chest, they tested my sight, they tested my hearing, they weighed me, they examined my teeth, They had my fill out a questionnaire about family and personal medical history. One question was: Have you smoked 100 cigarettes?  (Me: Ever? Like totaled up? Mr. Park: I guess that’s what it says.)

I passed my test with flying colors. As an extra perk, Mr. Park treated me to lunch at McDonalds (y’know because I’m American). It was the first McDonalds I’d had in Korea and I got to say there was something unexpectedly comforting about that Quarter-Pounder with Cheese.

I thanked Mr. Park when he dropped me off at home and told him I’d see him at work in an hour.

After work I was invited by some foreigners to come out to dinner with them. We a Korean BBQ place where you cook your own meat places (there are tons of them in Changwon). They give you the meat, maybe about a dozen small sides and lettuce to wrap it in. Or is you prefer a sesame leaf. They give you garlic and they give you scissors to better cut the meat. That copper hose is a vent. You walk into the restaurant and every table has one above it. The foreigner community has made me feel entirely welcome. It’s a special thing to be here only 2 weeks and feel like I have some people to hang out with.

Cook your own meat at Korean BBQ

Supposedly Americans are biggest in numbers in the foreigner community although I feel like I’ve met more Brits and Australians.

Foreigners Stick Together

HIKING AROUND ON MT. JEONGBYEONG

HIKING AROUND ON MT. JEONGBYEONG

After a very raucus Saturday night (Read: First weekend in Changwon) it was time to have a calmer more peaceful Sunday so I hiked around on Mt. Jeongbyeong.

Mt. Jeongbyeong

It was about a 40 minute walk from my apartment. Along the way I walked past the Gyeongnam Art Museum, some lovely parks and Changwon University. The trailhead is right behind the university.

Gyeongnam Art Museum

Gyeongnam Art Museum

A cool building on campus

On the way to the mountain

Also along the way, a sidenote about Korean culture, I walked past maybe 8 outdoor clothing/gear retailers. As I’ve mentioned before, Koreans are very active, and physical activity, such as hiking, is very much a shared cultural value. So is shopping, fashion and accessorizing. So with all these retail shops, the idea is not as much about really “gripping it and ripping it” and being fully prepared and geared for your outdoor experience. It’s about looking good while you’re doing it.

It was a perfect day for a hike. Some clouds and some moisture but it never rained. It wasn't too hot. I was entirely by myself in the woods and didn’t even see a single other hiker.

There were a lot of interesting mushrooms that I came across. The soil is very soft and almost like clay. There were also intermitantly along the trail some lawn areas that I think were small burial grounds. I came across a a few stream areas.

Small burial ground

 

Small  burial ground

On my way down I stumbled across a chicken farm in the woods.

But the highlight of my hike: I made a frog friend!