Updates Galore

I realize it has been a long time since my last post and a lot has happened since. Where to begin.....

After Meredith left, it was strange to not have anyone at my house, I felt a bit lonely. It was so great to have visitors for so long and I'm so fortunate to have friends and family willing to travel half way around the world to visit me. Nonetheless, after my all my guests had left, life went back to it's normal, crazy self.

At school, we were getting ready for our Halloween party. Halloween is not a big deal in Korea but we wanted to show the kids how kids in America celebrate Halloween. Since the Korean's really didn't know Halloween, the party was pretty much the foreign teachers responsibility. Which was fine, except it's just another aspect of the job that gets frustrating. We are always expected to do a little more than is really possible. Nonetheless we took on the challenge and made a great Halloween party for our students. They all wore their costumes to school and had a day full of games, dances, haunted houses, a fashion show, and of course tons of candy. It was really fun to see the kids try "American" candy, like candy corn, for the first time. Things that are just second nature to kids back home, is a new revelation for these kids. It was fun to act like a kid, and to let the kids act like kids, for a day.

That weekend also brought the Chuncheon Marathon. Chuncheon is a town about 2 hours east of Seoul and the marathon is one of the biggest in the country. Chuncheon is a very beautiful city and the views during the fall months are supposed to be gorgeous, hence having the marathon there in October. Since I was injured, I got a stress fracture in my heel in September, I couldn't run. I was really bummed I couldn't run and it was hard to see all my friends from the Seoul Flyers posting their pictures on facebook. Since I was feeling a bit down, Jared, my Kiwi boyfriend, thought of a great way to cheer me up.....we decided to do a weekend bike trip!!!

(Quick update: Jared and I have been dating for about 4 1/2 months. He is a big cyclist and he's got me biking A LOT more than I used to. He even bought me a bike so we could bike together. He is from New Zealand and he has been in Korea on and off for about 6 years. The bike has been a god sent since I hurt my foot. Jared has also been very understanding of my injury and my need to stay physically active when I'm not running. And he will take every opportunity to go explore Korea on a bike. He also has a car, so it makes it much easier to travel and see Korean!)

Being a newbie at cycling, I wasn't sure what a weekend bike trip entailed. Here's the short story: We load the car with the bikes, drive to a city about 2 hours outside Seoul, park the car, load the bikes with everything we need for one night and two days, and take off toward our destination. I was very proud of myself that I could fit everything I needed for one night stay at a hotel and two days of cycling into a very small bag that hooked to the side of my bike.

We arrived at our taking off city at about 9am on a Saturday morning, took the bikes off the car, loaded them up, and took off. It was a beautiful day, little wind, sunny skies, and pretty warm for late October. We biked for about 3 hours before stopping for lunch. We stopped in a small town at a bibimbop restaurant for some grub. We didn't stop long, since we still had a long way to go, got back on our bikes and trucked on. After lunch the real fun began. Before lunch, we had rode about 50kms on relatively flat land, the route for after lunch was much different. We had about 50-60k's to go before we arrived in our destination town, but these k's were over mountains. I knew going into this trip there would be many mountains and it would be challenging but I was more than up for the challenge. Going up mountains is slow going, painful, frustrating, but so worth it at the same time. Especially where we were! The veiws were amazing! The fall colors were like nothing I had ever seen!! We stopped many many times for pictures, which does make the day longer, but that is what the trip was all about, seeing Korea. Going down mountains is also very very rewarding!! After all the up and up, the down is such an amazing feeling.

After a day of up and downs, we were finally getting close to our destination. The last few k's were relatively flat but the views were just as stunning. After 106k's and 6 hours of biking, we found our hotel. We showered quickly and set out to find some food. One of my favorite Korean dishes is called Dak Dori Tong, (Google it if you have never heard of it, it is delicious!!) and it is even more delicious after a day of biking. We found a place to eat, ordered our food and some Soju (Korea's version of Vodka). After dinner we strolled around the town for a bit but after a short while the excursions of the day started to really wear on us and we decided to get some rest.

The next day brought another glorious day and a wonderful day to add some K's to my bike! We hit the road around 8am for a short 60k ride back to the car (needless to say the 60k's would be over some more mountains). The views at the start of the day were wonderful, the fall colors were putting on a show that weekend. We took out time riding through the valley just taking in the views and enjoying the peace the country side of Korea brings. After a few short breaks, and refuling on snacks, we headed up the last mountain of the weekend. This "up" was much more challenging than the day before. Like I said before, going up a mountain is hard work, but going up a mountain on tired legs is even harder. But like all (or most) uphills, it is always worth it. Once we were on top, we could see mountains upon mountains. It was if they were layered in the sky, like nothing I had ever seen! Also, the downhill was pretty amazing. After the mountain, we had a nice easy 10k ride back to the car.

Once we got back, we quickly changed and found some food. After a wonderful lunch, so satisfying after a long day on a bike, we headed back home.

It was an outstanding weekend and something I never thought I would do. I learned a few things about myself in the process. First, that I can fit everything I need for a weekend into a very small bag. And second, that I am more than just a runner and I can push myself in ways I never thought I would. It was a great experience and more than just something I can now cross off my bucket list. It was something that is becoming a bigger and bigger part of my life. Stay tuned.....

More Visitors

Not long after Luke and Dana left, my cousin Meredith came to visit. Let's just say I have been quite spoiled here with visitors :) Meredith came the Thursday after Luke and Dana left so I wasn't lonely too long. Unfortunately I couldn't meet her at the airport so I gave her step by step directions on how to get to my place, and she found it like a champ! She was even more of a trooper and came to school with me the next day!! The kids loved it and it was really fun for her to see what my days consist of. She made it through my kindy schedule then she started to crash so she went home before the after school started. Once I got home from work, she had taken a bit of a nap and then we went to get some food. This was her first "real" Korean meal. It wasn't anything too special, just a typical bib im bop restaurant, but she enjoyed it. After that, she was pretty jet legged so we just had a low key night and got rested up.

The weekend was great because we got to spend a lot of time together and see Seoul. I took her to the great tourist places in Seoul, the great palace, a temple, and of course shopping!! It was a long day and we were both pretty tired by the time we got home. We were going to go back into Seoul for dak gaulbi but we were way too tired and we just hung around Bundang for the night. Sunday we got up and went to the Korean Folk Village, and even though I have been there 4 times, it is always fun! Meredith had a great time seeing the Korean culture and of course there was more shopping!

Since I didn't have a week off like I did when Luke and Dana came, she had to explore Seoul on her own during the week. She did a lot on her own and saw a ton of the city. She saw World Cup stadium, the Korean War museum, went to the DMZ, walked the Seoul Fortress Wall, and went to Olympic Park. I was really happy she got to do so much even though I couldn't be with her. Saturday came all too fast and it was time for her to go.

I couldn't believe how fast the time went by when I had visitors. It was so wonderful to have family and friends be able to visit and see what my life is like her. Sure, I can try to describe it and you can see pictures, but it's so different when you get to see it first hand. Once again, saying good bye brought lots of tears. I really think saying good bye the second time is really harder than the first.