Family Filled Weekend

Besides Chuseok, it was a family-fun-filled weekend. Just to jog your memory, my homestay family is...

아빠 (Ah-ppa): father, a civil engineer
엄마 (Awm-ma): mother, part-time assistant for Ah-ppa and part-time housewife
종인 (jong-een=JongIn, on left): homestay sister #1, middle school student (my student)
선미 (sawn-me=SanMi, second left): homestay sister #2, college student currently studying for TOEIC, an English test, in Jeju City



Friday with Ah-ppa, JongIn, and SanMi
산굼부리=San-koom-boo-ri=Sangumburi
While Awm-ma was cooking for Chuseok, the four of us went to Samkumbori. All they told me was that it was "a beautiful place". Samkumbori is a parasitic volcano east of Hallasan that has been landscaped with walks. True to their translation, it was a beautiful place; from Samkumbori, we could see the many smaller hills and mountains on Jeju. Unfortunately, those pictures didn't turn out due to the cloudcast, however the 100+ other pictures (mostly people pictures) did! SanMi and JongIn love taking pictures and insisted on many: together, 'solo-portraits', walking, sitting, standing in the tall grass, etc. SanMi even asked for a picture with the European tourists we ran into.

닭샤브샤브=dak-shya-beu-shya-beu=chicken shya-bu shya-bu
After Sankumburi, we had a great 3-course meal called 닭샤부샤부 (see what I ate here! except the ramen). First was the Sha-bu Sha-bu, a hot pot dish, in which vegetables and thin slices of meat are cooked in boiling water then eaten with a dipping sauce. Second, we were serve an entire chicken, I believe also boiled. Finally, third, was a pea and rice porridge. This was my first meal dining out with the family. On the way back home, we stopped at a TV-set (opposed to movie set). A drama that had just finished airing, had shot mansion scenes on Jeju. The set was empty, now a curiousity open to the public. This lead to many more photo opportunities!

Saturday, Chuseok
새섬=Say-Sawm= Seh Island
After the Chuseok meals, the entire family and I went to Seh Island. The city has just finished building a beautriful pedestrian bridge (reminiscent of the Seogwipo World Cup Stadium) to the island which has a 1.3km walkway. Because of Chuseok, the bridge and island were teeming with people. I couldn't see much of the island at night, but I hope to go back during the day to get some pictures! The bridge, on the other hand, was the night-time attraction with all its rainbow lights.

Sunday, with Ah-ppa and SanMi
영실코스=yawng-shil kko-seu=Yeongsil Course
For the third time, I trekked up Hallasan, but this time up Yeongsil Course. This trail was much steeper and much more scenic than the Seongpanak Course. However, this trail didn't go to the top; instead, the trail flattens at the top with a nice view looking up at the crater. As is protocol, we had a warm cup of ramen at the trail end. Yeongsil course will be gorgeous when the leaves change color (soon!) and also when the Hallasan wildflowers come out in spring!

My bioengineering degree has prepared me for life on Jeju...
(the tender cactus chocolate is made with cactus powder through vacuum lyophilization)

To the top of Hallasan with 아빠

아빠 = ah-ppa = dad (my homestay father)

Hallasan's is the volcano that made Jeju Island and is also the highest point (1950m) in Korea--definitely a big tourist attraction. The trail we hiked was a gradual altitude climb, so much so that it took 4hrs up and 3hrs down. This post will be easier if I break this up into time slots....

Ahppa is a civil engineer with his own design or development company. When the family went to Pyosan for a family gathering, he showed me the stone walk along the beach, which is pretty nice. After we left, he then told me that he designed it. Out of all the family members, I see him the least. Like Ohmma, he also doesn't speak English, which limits our conversation abilities. But you don't need to know Korean to hike!

7:00am: Family breakfast. I've not yet gotten used to squid, especially for breakfast, so I don't eat much.

7:20am: I ask what I should take. Camera? Of course. Water? For sure. I think I'm set, but not so fast. 옴마 (ohm-ma) is asking about pants, gloves, a sports towel, and a jacket (I'm in shorts, tennis shoes, and a tshirt). I put all of the above in my backpack. Both she and 아빠 are in serious hiking wear: pants, long-sleeve shirt, hiking boots, hats, backpacks, and food.

7:30am: We drive to the trailhead.

8:00am: Arrive at the trailhead. My best guess is that we started the hike at 300-500m elevation. 아빠 (Ahppa)'s friend fro Jejusi is waiting for us. The two men start walking fast, leaving Ohmma behind. Not quite sure what's going on, so I keep up with them. It's foggy and damp, not too hot, but I start sweating. Remember, I'm in shorts and a shirt--they're in pants and long-sleeves. I think their clothing is more for protection from the sun the temperal comfort.

10:30am: We reach a resting point and stop for food. The food turns out to be a meal: cup o'ramen, fruit, soju, juice, crackers, and chocolate. 15min after we arrive Ohmma shows up. We all eat together and then split. Ahppa, Ahppa's friend, and I head for the top of Hallasan while Ohmma goes back down. It is prohibited to start hiking past the rest point after 12:3opm, so if you want to make it to the top, get an early start.

11:00am: A little bit later, while taking a short break, we talk to the other hikers resting. Turns out the other foreigner (the only one I've seen so far) is a Frenchwomen from Avignon. She's come to spend a month in Korea all by herself--pretty gutsy for not knowing Korean well. She's the first native French speaker that I've conversed with in months...and the first in Korea!

11:30am: We've reached the top (after 10km hiking)! The top of Hallasan is above the clouds. Unlike the forest at the beginning of the trail, we're now basking in the sunlight. I was actually hoping for no clouds and a clear view of the island, but no such luck. It's still pretty though; it's hard to see what's the ocean and what's the sky past the sea of clouds. And Ahppa has more food, kim bap, to eat. Way more food than I'm used to for a hike. We spend maybe 30min at the top, then it's time to head down...

12:20-2:50pm: All the way down Hallasan. For me, going down is always much harder than going up. At this point, I feel bad for wearing my running shoes; their cushions are getting ruined. The path is made of uneven rocks, so not only am I ruining my shoes, but I have to be careful of my footing or else I slip. We passed tons of people hiking up, almost a constant stream of people, who just made the 12:30pm cutoff time. On the whole way down I see maybe 10 causcasians, which is maybe 3% of all the hikers I saw that day (do the math....it was crowded!).

2:50pm: When we reach the bottom, Ohmma's there waiting for us. I'm surprised she waited and didn't take the bus back (less than $2). I more sleepy tired than sore. Once we get home I take a good nap....

Monday dinner: Ahppa tells me that next time we'll take a different course....next time.

The Best Yet: 삼겹살!

삼겹살 = sam-gyeop-sal (= deliciousness!)

I didn't know the quality difference between the cafeteria food and proper Korean till last Tuesday night, when I discovered samgyeopsal. It's the best meal I've had yet. Do not go for samgyeopsal if you're starving; if you do, you're in for a lesson in patience: you cook the meat yourself at your table.

Picture at right:
on grill
-fatty pork slices
-kimchi and sprouts
-mushrooms

in small dishes:
-sesame oil
-garlic
-sauce (soy base)
-red sweet chilipaste

also
-finely chopped cucumber
-lettuce and sesame leaves

And that's only the first roundof pork, since it all can't fit on the griil. We (5 of us) had about three times what you see in the picture!

Cooking 삼겹갈:
You cook the meat. I went with my language partner Seong Jun 성준, two other Koreans, and another ETA. Seong Jun took charge with the cooking: checking and turning the meat. When the meat is mostly cooked, it is cut with scissors. Seong Jun was very particular about this; one of the girls (Korean) starting cutting the meat while he held the meat with the tongs, but he took the scissors to cut the meat it himself.

Eating 삼겹갈:
There are several ways to enjoy 삼겹살, all delicious:
1. Just eat.
2. Dip in soy-based sauce.
3. Dip in soy-based sauce and eat with slice of cool crisp radish
**4. Wrap it!
-in lettuce or sesame leaf or both
-add meat (1 or 2 small pieces)
-add sweet red chili sauce
-add finely chopped cucumber
-add grilled mushroom and/or garlic (optional)
-wrap the lettuce/sesame leaf around to make a ball
-eat it (all at once)!

Definitely a good meal, and very cheap--only 6,000won (~$5) each.


This is Seong Jun (English name Stephen), my language partner. He's studying for the TOEIC (Test of English for International Conversation) so that he can be placed on an American base for his military service (all Korean males are required to serve 20 months) so that he can improve his English even more. He's a freshman business major at Kangwon University. Sometimes we hang out, sometimes we study, and sometimes we get 삼겹살! There's more English than Korean conversation, as I can hardly string together sentences, let alone interesting ones. He's always at the dorm and loves to correct homework, mine and the other ETAs.

Songnisan (속리산)

Songnisan means "leaving the mundane chores", which was the purpose of this past weekend (July 17-19). No studying, just relaxing. From Chuncheon, Songisan is a 4hr bus drive. We arrived around 1pm, had lunch with Ms. Shim and the KAEC Office staff, then began our weekend in Songnisan. We all stayed in Lake Hill, a tourist hotel; some of us had Western accomodations (beds and shower curtains), while other (i.e. me) had Korean accomodations (mats on the floor and no shower curtain).

Ms Shim: One test this weekend was using correct Korean etiquette. Ms. Shim is the KAEC (Korean American Education Commission) Fulbright director, our ultimate authority. Correct etiqutte includes insa (the bowing greeting) at every meeting, lots of thank yous, 잘 먹겠습니다 (chal mawk-kuess-seb-ni-da='I will eat well') before all meals, and 잘 먹었습니다 (chal maw-kawss-seb-ni-da='I ate well') after all meals. The OCs (orientation counselors) continually stressed that we show our respect to Ms Shim and the office staff. As one out of 70 ETAs, Ms Shim knows me as 'the first one in the [Fulbright] facebook ("Easy to remember!")' and "double A number 1" (there's three AAs); she also instructed me on correct chopstick hand positioning.

Friday-Bebjusa Temple: After lunch, we were given a loooonng and disjointed talk about some aspects of Buddhism by an American monk who has spent the last twenty years practicing in Korea. What I enjoyed more was the brief tour he gave us of Bebjusa, an ancient but still operating Buddhist temple. The temple was built in the 7th century AD, rebuilt in the 17th century, and once housed 3,000 monks (compared to 60-80 monks currently. The temple is home to Korea's largest rice pot cooker, which was used to cook lotsa-lotsa rice to feed those 3,000 monks. The temple is also known for the large 33m high, 160 ton Buddha statue and its wooden pagoda. At 6:30pm, we got to watch the evening prayers, during which 4 instruments are played, to 'calm and soothe' sentient beings: a large drum for landwellers, a hollow wooden fish for ocean dwellers, a cloud shaped ironboard for the heavens and winged animals, and a large bell for all those suffering and/or in hell.

Saturday-hiking in Songnisan National Park: Saturday was our free day to relax, which for me meant a 16km hike. With two other ETAs, I hiked to Manjangdae Rock (1054m), then across the ridge to Cheonhwangbong Peak (1057.7m), then back down. Koreans take their hiking seriously! While, we wer outfitted with the basic shorts, shirt, tennis shoes, and water bottle, the other hikers we came across had boots, walking poles, hats, proper hiking apparel, lots of water, food, etc. To give them credit though, the hike was pretty strenuous; some parts of the trail were almost straight up. We were hidden in the trees until we reached the first peak at Manjangdae Rock, where we had a great view of the mountains, which are covered with vegetation. Both peaks were incredibly windy, enough to make you nervous about the height. In total, we covered 16km in 5hours--quite relaxing! ;)

Sunday-back to Chuncheon: And we're back to the dormitories and cafeteria food! These coming two weeks are going to be much more busy than the first two. Camp Fulbright, an English camp for us to practice teaching, has started. In addition to Korean language class, TKD, and cultural workshops, we're lesson planning, observing, teaching, and playing with the kids. We're being kept to busy to get homesick....

If you click on the pictures, a new tab/window should come up with the larger/actual size picture.

topics to come: food, living in Chuncheon and Kangwang Univeristy, laundry, Korean language/etiquette culture...