Jeju Island and gifts from home

When I arrived to work on Thursday, I learned almost immediately that classes had been cancelled on Monday due to Chusok--Korean thanksgiving--leaving me with a four day weekend. Throughout my work day, I wondered what I would do all weekend, hoped I wouldn't get bored. I had Oobang Land plans with JiMin for Friday, but wished to use the holiday as a chance to travel. (I think amusement parks lose their amusement when you get older.)

At 9 p.m., Eli called me with an invitation to join her, Tharene, Elise and Rob for a trip to Jeju Island-- the "hawaii" of South Korea. The island emerged as a result of volcanic activity thousands of years ago. The volcano is no longer active, but the land mass bursts with energy brought by tourist attractions.

"When are you leaving?" I asked, doubting the possibility that I could attend. Eli told me they were getting ready to purchase plane tickets online and would meet at their apartment at 10 a.m. the next morning. I wanted to go so bad but feared disappointing JiMin.

"This might be the only four day weekend you'll have," she persuaded. Guiltily, I explain the situation to Jimin, hoping to make myself understood and free from culpability. She didn't seem to care and said t

he trip to Oobang was supposed to be for me anyway. So if I wanted to go to Jeju, then I should go. Like a child on Christmas eve, I showered and packed my bags with excited anticipation.

We flew into Jeju Island on Friday afternoon and took a taxi to the other side of the island, settling on Sugar Beach pension as a reasonable accommodation. Generally, tourists must loosen their grip in order to enjoy weekend vacations to sandy beaches like Jeju. But the weekend convinced me of financial benefit of traveling in groups. A $30 taxi fee becomes $6 per person in a group of five. A $100-per-night pension with Korean-style bedding, two bedrooms, a clean bathroom with family-sized amenities, a kitchen area with refrigerator and stove top, and a location that's a decent proximity to the beach is only $20 per person.

On Friday night, we walked down to a local market to purchase breakfast groceries, snacks and soju.

Tired from a day of travel, we hit the hay early after watching a Chinese kungfu comedy on our cable television (also included in the pension stay.) The picture above is Eli, Elise, Me and Tharine (L to R) on the porch of our pension at Sugar Beach. The picture below is us at the first beach we went to. I can't remember the name of it.

Saturday was a whirlwind of sights to see. Families celebrated Chusok by dressing their little ones in Korean hanbok and eating chop-che and songpyeon. We celebrated the four day weekend by visiting a stunning waterfall and a sandy beach, playing hide-and-go-seek in a life-sized bush maze (more challenging than you might think,) eating Korean barbecue, and experiencing the shameless nudity of a Korean spa. (Don't worry! Rob went in the men's bath. He was a good sport about the whole idea.)

We went first to a sauna, which was co-ed and required clothing and then to the bath areas, which were separate and required nakedness...you know what I mean. Koreans, especially older women, say it's good for your skin and your health to sweat all the toxins out of your body and then rinse them away with a hot bath. As Americans, we wondered about the sanitation of having dozens of sweaty, naked women in the same steamy pool. (I hope this post doesn't embarrass anyone.)

On Sunday, we took a taxi to the northern half of Jeju and settled into a sketchy but cheap hotel. Ten bucks per person! It was what Tharine would call "dodgy" in her cute, South African accent.

We went to Samyeong Black Sand Beach to see the famous black sand. Koreans also say black sand is good for your skin, and according to one of the signs I read, it helps with obesity. Eli said they actually sell the sand in little black bags for people to buy.

The beauty of the dark lava rocks, teal water, blue sky and grayish powder between our toes made me feel like I was in a movie. At any moment, I might turn around to find a mermaid propped up on one of the boulders.

Elise had been craving a crab dinner only to find out from one of our taxi drivers that there were no crab restaurants in Jeju. She got a fair share of mini crabs on Samyeong Beach, though.

In addition to the black sand and the crabs, I couldn't help but notice how much of the debris washed up on shore looked like something I'd seen on a plate or in a bowl of soup. Hmmm...

The picture above is Samyeong Beach. Tharine was taking some pictures of her own.

We enjoyed a free history lesson at the Jeju National Museum and a not-so-free lesson at an O'Sollac Tea Museum, though our small fee included tea sampling at the end of the tour. Again, Rob was a great sport. He left shortly after the tour to catch his early flight back on the main land. The girls decided to go out for a night on the town.

Korean bartenders do more than mix drinks. First, we went to "Magic Bar." We were the only customers, but the bartender performed a couple of impressive card tricks for us with the help of Eli's excellent translations. Next, we went to "Island Stone," where the bartenders performed "cocktail shows" every once in a while. They twirled rum bottles like light and durable batons. They tossed them over their shoulders and caught them from behind, spinning and swaying to the music. One guy suspended a glass in midair while pouring the drink. Other wetted their fingers with strong drink and lit them on fire, and then blew fiercely to create a dragon breath effect. Another time, a bartender covered a small tower of margarita glasses with hot, blue flames. The color glimmered in the dark room and wowed us daringly.

We stayed out most of the night and slept only one hour before rising to meet our taxi to the airport at 5:30 a.m. It turns out our cheap hotel served us mostly as a place to hold our luggage while we savored Jeju Island to the last drop. It was a blast! I'm so blessed to have great friends in Korea!

I'm really blessed to have great friends at home, too. I was reminded of them when my package finally showed up via a less-than-happy FedEx man. Let me explain briefly. Angela thought it would be sweet to send me colorful reminders of Iowa autumn by putting a ziplock bag full of leafs in my care package. It was a great idea! I would have loved it, Angela.

But the people at Korean customs in Incheon Airport didn't think the bag looked so innocent. When I finally confirmed with them that the leaves were maple leaves, not tea leaves, and definitely not something more dangerous, then they proceeded to tell me that I would need to pay 30,000 won to hire a human being to reopen the package, which had obviously been opened once, and throw the bag of leaves away. At first, I think I actually told the woman on the phone that I thought that was ridiculous. After simmering down, I decided to transfer the money from my account, but the funny part is this whole process has lasted more than a week because I kept getting a busy signal when I called FedEx. Not only that, but each busy signal reminded me of the corporate hypocrisy with it's promising jingle:

WE'LL GIVE YOU 90,000 PEOPLE,EIGHT MILLION MILES A WEEK.
WE'LL GIVE YOU HEARTS THAT BEAT DEEP PURPLE,
AND A WHOLE NEW WAY TO SPEAK.
WE'LL GIVE HANDS ACROSS THE BORDERS, BIG CITIES, LITTLE TOWNS.
WHERE THE HUMAN RACE IS RUNNING WE'LL BE FOUND.
WE'RE THE BEST WAY TO SHIP IT OVER THERE...
... FEDERAL EXPRESS...
...FROM THE DAWN THROUGH THE NIGHT
WE'RE IN THE AIR...
...FEDERAL EXPRESS...
...WE CARRY CONFIDENCE
'CROSS THE CONTINENTS.

WE'RE THE BEST`WAY TO SHIP IT OVER THERE.
WE CARRY DREAMS AND PLANS TO A HUNDRED LANDS.
WE'RE THE BEST WAY TO SHIP IT OVER THERE

For several days, I called FedEx to no avail. My blood started boiling, but in my mind, I couldn't stop myself from singing, "We're the best way to ship it over there!" Jingles can be frustrating when you're trying to hate a company.

Anyway, I'm happy to say the package brought me much warmth through gifts and greetings. I can't wait to introduce my students to Amelia Bedelia and to reward them with "great!" and "excellent!" stickers. I think play dough will be a hit for the younger kids, too! I look forward to baking brownies and smelling the aroma of my mulled cider candle when I miss Iowa. Though I saw no bag of leaves in the mix, I laughed when I uncovered a plastic bag of FedEx pens. Haha!

I appreciate all of it! Thank you very much, brothers and sisters. I feel loved though I'm miles and miles away.