3 Month Abroad, 2 Months in China, 1 Week in South Korea

I love when things just happen to work out. Two weeks before the Mid-Autumn Festival, my classmates and I booked tickets to South Korea. I didn't realize it at the time but our tickets were for the day after the Mid-Autumn Festival. The festival is traditionally spent celebrating with family. I am grateful I got to eat dinner with my host family (and extended host family) before heading to South Korea with three of my classmates for the week-long national holiday.

An estimated 340 million Chinese people traveled during the holiday. Many Chinese people take this time to hit up tourist attractions. We decided to skip the crowds and take advantage of the opportunity to go to another country.

The night before we left, we didn't know whether our tickets were for a train or airplane and then when we figured that out, the company told us our train tickets had already been used. What? How is that possible if the ticket was for the next day? I still don't quite understand. The next morning, we ended up leaving for the train station at 5am in case we ran into problems to with our tickets. We got our train tickets without a problem. Whew. Things happened to work out.

After taking a train to Shanghai, we flew into Busan, South Korea. The cheapest tickets we found had us flying into Busan and out of Seoul. We did not do much planning before we left but somehow managed to pack our days with interesting and activities.

I have gotten accustomed to traveling alone and had to adjust to going along with the things other people wanted to do. My group's version of Busan and Seoul was much different than how I would have experienced South Korea if I was alone.

I insisted on going to the Jagalchi Fish Market because I heard you could eat octopus that was so fresh it was still moving. Success. A fishmonger pulled an octopus from a tank, chopped it up, and threw it on sesame seeds, soy sauce, and green onions. The tentacles were still moving the entire time it took us to finish it. The suction things on the legs made the tentacles stick to the plate and then the inside of our mouths. It is quite an interesting experience. I recommend it if you get the chance. The fishmonger asked where I was from and after I said Texas he told us how he is a Texas Rangers fan. Small world, eh?

We also went to The Busan Aquarium but my favorite attraction was The Beomeosa Temple located on the edge of Mt. Geumjeongsan. Do yourself a favor and look up photos of the temple. I am having technical difficulties and cannot create a hyperlink. This temple has the most gorgeous view. Chinese people love the juxtaposition of mountains and water and this was just perfect.

After a quick day and a half in Busan, we took at 5am train to Seoul. We happened to buy the last four tickets on the train right before it sold out. See? Things just work out sometimes. It was nice to get into the Seoul so early that we had that entire day to spend there. One of my classmates is on the skiing team at his school. He saw that Seoul had indoor skiing so the first day in Seoul, we went skiing. In September. Indoors. Crazy.

The next day we signed up for a half-day tour of the DMZ. I was particularly excited about this and it was my main motivation for going to South Korea. I am interested to go to North Korea, but every time people tell me that they say "Sure, you can go. You just can't come back." We did walk a section of the third tunnel that connects South and North Korea. North Korea claims they dug 20 tunnels but South Korea has only found four. Creepy.

We also happened to be in Seoul for Psy's free Seoul Style concert. We partied with 80,000 Koreans. I had no idea what he was singing about or saying, but the energy was electric. He was so humble and appreciative of his fans. He was in awe of the crowd that showed up to watch him perform. Man, I wish I could have understood what he said.

Originally, we were going to go to South Korea with our Korean-American classmate. Because he changed his plans, we ended up traveling around without a translator. It was my first time going to a country where I do not speak the language at all. I only knew three phrases. I learned how to say "Do you want to die?!" and "Do you want me to hit you?" from My Sassy Girl and in college my friend taught me how to say "Come here, pretty boy." I was told these three phrases would not be very useful. I just about died laughing when I heard someone yell "Do you want to die?" in Korean at the Psy concert. 

Not many people spoke English and I felt like such an asshole for not speaking their language. However, I did have some fun playing charades. I attempted to act out anti-inflammatory. Yeah, that one didn't quite work. Although, I was able to use charades to bargain. Mom, you should be proud of me. I am learning to bargain and you are right, you can bargain anywhere and everywhere.

Being in South Korea for a week was a nice change of pace. It was quieter -- I appreciated that people rarely used their car horns. We didn't get run over and squished to death on subways. The passengers getting on the subway let the other passengers exit first. There was no pushing and shoving (besides at the Psy concert.) I would love to go back to visit. I have also been researching how to visit North Korea. Whenever I say I want to go, people tell me "Sure, you can go. You just can't come back." As an American citizen, it is possible! Just tricky...and expensive.

I am still unable to post pictures to my blog, but I will put them up on Facebook.

Three things I am grateful for:
1. My teacher told me about a program in Guangzhou that has everything I have been looking for. I was about to apply for a well-respected and well-known program and I went to talk to my teacher to ask for a recommendation letter. I happened to ask him about other programs and the one he recommended is not only less than 9,000 yuan (1440 USD) opposed to 13,000 USD (81300 yuan), but I can simultaneously take Cantonese and Mandarin classes. The class is tailored for people of Chinese descent that grew up in other countries.
2. I am constantly learning about Chinese customs. This is one of the main reasons I am in China. Growing up in the U.S., I missed out on being surrounded by Chinese culture. I was in the program director's office and I noticed there was a shrink wrapped egg. I just learned that when Chinese people are expecting, they give out eggs to their friends as a way of spreading the good news. Also, my friend passed a graduate school entrance exam and she was giving out lollipops. She told me it is custom for people to give out candy when they get good news or something good happens to them. I love this idea of spreading the love.
3. Chinese friends have been helping me purchase things online. Online shopping is cheap and convenient but you usually need a Chinese bank card. Also, the amount of Chinese and the amount of stuff you can buy on TaoBao intimidates me.

You know the feeling where you are in a stupid happy mood for no particular reason at all? You know how sometimes out of nowhere a smile seems to just creep onto your face?

There is nothing like having a goofy grin on your face--feeling happy not because something good just happened but smiling just because you feel happiness bubbling out of you.

I hope you have a wonderful day!