What's Next?

I learned a lot while I was in Korea. I learned about myself, about teaching, about cultural differences, and a lot about being not just independent but also self-sufficient. I feel like I have grown up so much. But as with everything, there is a beginning and an end. As my time in Korea has now ended, my next journey starts. 

I recently accepted a teaching position as a middle school special education teacher. I am so excited. I am back where I started. I am going to be teaching at the middle school that I went to. I'm a wildcat again. It's weird to think about the fact that the whole adventure in Korea is done, but I think I am ready to be a special education teacher again. It's strange. I still feel like I'm a kid. Even when I was teaching abroad, I never felt like a real teacher. I have no choice now. I am an adult. I bought my first car all on my own. I'm paying my own phone bill. And in a few months, I am going to be in charge of my very own classroom. 

Thank you for everyone who read my posts for the last two years. 

I've had so much fun writing about my time during the last two years, I wanted to find a way to continue. 

안녕!

My Trip Home

On the first of April, I started my journey home. It was a long one, that consisted of a lot of emotion, exhaustion, and nervousness. 

Two days before I was set to leave, I had to say goodbye. I had gone to school the previous week and packed up all of my belongings, so the only people I still had to say goodbye to were the other foreign teachers in town. I met with them at a cafe in the afternoon and we talked and said goodbye. That evening, I had my farewell dinner with my host family, and my host siblings made a cute banner on the window that said "Bye, Kristy. We Love You." It was so sweet. We had pizza and cake and watched a movie. It was a wonderful final night. 

The next morning, I finished packing, and my host mom took me to Chuncheon to catch the bus to Incheon. That's right about when I started having more issues than necessary. The bus had been suspended, starting that day. No signs, not notice, just done. Great. Now I have to drag all my suitcases through the train system. I love trains in Korea but when I have a lot of luggage, I much prefer to take the bus. I started with the ITX to Seoul and switched to the Airport line. Then I found out I was on the limited train, which didn't go to Incheon, so I had to get off and get on the next train. The place I was staying at that night was right by the airport, so I got off at the airport station and carted my suitcases all through the airport to get to the shuttle buses. I then got on and had to pull my suitcases up this huge step because there was no storage underneath. One of the men on the bus was nice enough to help me when he saw my struggle. I got off at my hotel and it was really nice. I got checked in, had dinner, and got ready to go home the next morning. 

Because of the virus, I had to go through screening before I could even check into my flight, so I had to get to the airport even earlier. When I finally got to check-in, I found out that my flights had changed. I originally was going to fly to JFK and go to BWI from there. But I guess the flight from New York to Baltimore was canceled, so now I was flying to JFK to ATL to BWI. This made my trip even longer. 

Getting through security was relatively easy. I did accidentally pack a pair of scissors in my carry-on that got thrown away, but oh well. I was packing a lot. The last time I flew home, there were so many shops and restaurants that I could go to and waste time until my flight, but half the place was shut down. 

The long flight to New York wasn't too bad. The middle seat was empty, so I wasn't squished, and the food was decent. Once I got to New York, I just got more frustrated. I was a bit cranky because I didn't sleep on the flight. At the spot where I was supposed to transfer my bags, they told me that I had to drag them through the airport to recheck them at the check-in counter, just in case of flight cancellations. That instilled in me so much confidence that I was getting home. Then I had practically every one of my bags get flagged going through security again. They didn't like my camera, my bag of necklaces, or the food products I bought at the airport in Korea. Every one of them was opened, tested, and then rescanned. Then I got to repack them. Yay! If I thought Incheon had a lot closed, even more, were closed at JFK. I only found one place that sold food that was even open, and I found only one store that had snacks. 

When I got on my flight to Atlanta, I was surprised by how empty the plane was, I was put next to two people and squished into one row. That wasn't going to happen with so many open seats. I moved to another seat and was on the way of my second flight of the day. Atlanta was a lot nicer place for my final layover. There were several places to get food and far fewer people. My final flight had maybe 30 people on it. I got a whole row to myself! Though I did have a slight scare because I missed the announcement about my gate being changed and I thought that it might have gotten canceled. It didn't but I wasn't happy because I had been up for too long by now. I had my final flight home and even arrived early. I got through baggage claim really fast and before I knew it, I was in my mom's car, on my way home. Sleep.

The Craziest Weekend

Late one Friday night, I got the email that I had been dreading. The US had raised the travel advisory to Level 4: Do Not Travel. This translated to a full suspension of the Fulbright program and sending all grantees, who were still abroad and could leave, home. I was being sent home. The voluntary departure was becoming a mandatory one. This was so hard for me. I knew I wanted to stay, but I don't think I knew quite how much until I read those words. I started to cry immediately. I talked to my host mom, called my parents and I just sat with the news as I laid in bed most of the night trying to figure out what was next. 

24 hours later, my sadness turned into confusion. On Saturday, I was given something that I thought was gone. A chance to stay. They told us that because of the control that Korea had over the virus and how it was looking like it was getting better, the ETAs were getting special permission to go back to voluntary departure status. Now I am going crazy. I had just gotten it in my head that I was going home. I thought about it and wrestled with this decision for the next day. I barely slept. I knew I wanted to stay, but now with the travel ban, I wasn't sure if that meant I wouldn't be able to get home on my new grant ending date of June 30th. I also was trying to decide if it was even worth staying. We still hadn't started school yet. And with the projected school start date, I would only get a solid three months with my kids, provided the date doesn't get pushed again. 

As soon as I had come to the decision that I wanted to stay, another email came through. They told us they were sorry, they had made a mistake, they weren't able to give us the choice to stay. We all had to go home. If we wanted to stay, we would have to do it on our own. Meaning, get new visas and become a foreign teacher in Korea, without the protections and support that Fulbright provides. Now I had to decide if this new choice was worth it. I never planned to stay in Korea beyond my second year. I had already started the application process for a job back home. Is it worth all the trouble of getting a new visa, negotiating a new contract, and doing all the other requirements in order to say for only three more months, even though I had no idea when we were going back to school? After a long night with little sleep for the third night in a row, I had to decide.

I'm going home. 

I just hope I'm making the right decision....

Coronavirus

I have mentioned in a few recent posts about the Coronavirus (Covid-19), but I haven't really spoken about how it has impacted me and my interactions with the changes in the society around me because of the virus.

My first realization about the virus and how it was spreading was when I went to Busan. This was mid-January time. I was hearing about it getting bad in China but Korea had maybe three cases at the time. I really didn't think about it yet.

I knew it was something I needed to really lookout for when I was traveling to Japan in early February. I was going to Seoul the night before and as soon as I arrived, I realized the atmosphere felt different. Given, the fine dust levels in Seoul are usually high, so there are always people wearing masks when I go to the city. But it was different this time. Because of the high pollution levels and the virus, everyone was wearing a mask. To the point where I actually felt like I had to wear a mask. I was getting strange looks from people. Truthfully, I always get strange looks from Koreans. It comes with being a foreigner in a very homogeneous country. I did buy a mask though. I knew I would be going through the airport the next day, and I should have it. I really hate wearing masks. They make me feel like I'm suffocating and whenever I have to talk, I feel like I have to shout.

In Japan, I began noticing everywhere I went, I would see signs saying that the staff is wearing masks to protect themselves and the costumers from the virus, as well as big bottles of antibacterial hand gel at the entrance of most of the places that I visited.

The airport wasn't as scary as it seemed like it would be, considering the virus has been mostly spread by traveling, but both in Korea and in Japan, everyone had to go through this additional screening room when entering the country, where you would pass through a sensor that was trying to detect a fever, I think. It was a little intimidating, as it was just a big white room, with not much in it, but I made it through easily of course, and I know it is there for everyone's safety.

Not too long after returning home, it started to get pretty bad here. The number of cases here began to rise very quickly, and it became really serious for a lot of people, especially in Daegu. There are several ETAs whose placement is actually in Daegu, so that is kind of scary. None of them were infected, thankfully.

Now, it seems like the whole dynamic of the country has changed in the last few weeks. Festivals have been canceled, the government has advised people not to go to religious events or worship, and the start of school has been postponed almost a month.

So now, I am pretty much just biding time here in my little town until school starts. We've been advised not to travel outside our placement cities, so most days I've been hanging out at home working on anything that will keep me busy, like my teaching application for back home, my Korean studying, and a bunch more, as well as hanging out with my host siblings who are also stuck at home. It gets a bit tedious and boring at times, but I know I'd rather be doing nothing here, and eventually get to teach again, then go home to do nothing, and be done with my grant here altogether.I'm hoping the situation will improve within this month, so we can return to a semblance of normalcy,, and I can start going around the country again on my weekends and finish out my grant with a bang.

Also, if I can't travel for the rest of the grant, then this is going to be a pretty boring blog for the next few months.

For anyone that is worried, where I am is pretty safe. There are very few cases in my province, lets hope it stays that way.

Should I stay or should I go?....

It's no secret that the coronavirus has gotten much worse in Korea, especially in the last few weeks. Barely a week ago, Korea raised its status to red. It has told everyone not to travel unless it is essential, and lots of festivals and events have been canceled. The idea is to limit people's contact with each other.

But, up here on my little mountain, it doesn't feel quite as real. I know when I go into town, everyone will have a mask on, and there won't be a single soldier in sight as they have all been restricted to base, I think.

It got more serious, to me personally, with an email. Recently, all of the Fulbrighters in Korea have been given the chance to decide if they want to go home early and end their grant.

I don't know what to do, or how to go from here. I knew when I received my grant that there was always this possibility that is something happened in our host country, that we could be sent home. But it never occurred to me that it would actually happen. I just wish that they would just tell we have to go, instead of making it a choice. I don't want to make that choice. A lot of people are telling me that I need to think about my safety and put myself first, but I have this life here. I've already come to terms with my whole Korean adventure ending in July, and I am ready to go home and start my next chapter, but I don't want this chapter to be cut short.

I suppose what I can do for now is just keep an eye out and make my decision if it gets worse. Luckily this isn't a one and done choice. I will get other chances if I do change my mind, but for now, I'm going to stay. I'm going to try, at least, to stay for as long as I possibly can.

Wish me luck!

Japan Part 3: Nara

Day Eight

My final full day in Japan. It was a good day. It was sad to think about how it was coming to an end and that the next day I would be returning to Korea and I will no longer be in vacation mode, but it was also exciting because I really wanted to visit Nara and for several days I had been going back and forth in my head on whether or not I would be able to go, but the day before I didn't have enough things to do in Osaka to warrant doing another full day of exploring, so I decided why not? It's for that reason that I am actually really glad that I decided to solo travel to Japan this year, instead of giving in to my fear and nervousness and going with someone else. Traveling by myself, I was able to make last-minute decisions and plans and it didn't matter what anyone thought except myself. 

I tried to leave relatively early enough in the morning to arrive in Nara around the time everything was opening up. I think I ended up getting there at a pretty good time. Quick advice, unless you know exactly what you want to do, it can't hurt to go to the visitor's center. At the station when I first arrived, I went into an information center because there was a sign that said there were tourist maps. I figured that it can't hurt to get a map, even though I already had a bunch of things highlighted on my phone. When I went in and asked for a map, the sweet lady that worked there both gave me a map and actually walked me through a recommended route, highlighting things that are really worth going to and are often overlooked. She also gave me a little origami deer that I complimented too.

Nara, if you don't know, is very famous for being the origin spot for a lot of Japanese culture and history. It was once the capital of the country and several other things, but the city is probably most widely known for its deer. There is a whole park where deer just live and roam wildly around people. They are smart too. You can purchase these little deer biscuits for them and they know when you have them. They watch you. But they also safely cross the street and will even bow. It's so cute. If you bow to them, they will bow back. They are so polite. 

So I was recommended to go around the park first. Inside the park are a bunch of temples, historical buildings, and other attractions. My first stop was Kohfukuji Temple, the five-story Pagoda and the Central Golden Hall (which is only open at certain times to the public and I was able to go in). The five-story pagoda was probably the most interesting to me in that it had burnt down eight times, and the most recent reconstruction was actually finished in this century, not often what I think about when I see historical buildings. The top of the pagoda also has a small sphere that is said to hold some of the Buddha's ashes. 

After the temple, I went further into the park until I got to the Nara National Museum. This museum was showing a lot of the Buddhist history that was facilitated through the country through Nara in one exhibit and in another that I saw, showed Nara through the years and through various historical periods. 

Next was a massive temple, the Todaiji Temple. There is a massive Buddha in this temple. Also, quick tip, never feed the deer outside of this temple. They are the most aggressive in the whole park. 

Just before the temple is also a huge gate called the Nandaimon Gate. 

After going through the gate and the temple, I started making my way uphill to see the Great Bell and the Nigatsudo hall. This was a very beautiful structure, but even more than that, it also gave me a view of the whole city. It's right on the back end of the park. 

I made my way around the backside of the park by the Wakakusayama Hill, where I found the deer a lot nicer to feed, all the way to the Wakamiya Jinja Shrine. Another beautiful testament to Japanese culture and architecture. 

After making my way out of the park, I started walking towards another temple that was in the middle of town, but by this time, I was tired and when I walked past the Nara Visitors Center, I got curious. I saw that they had free cultural activities, like writing your name in calligraphy and origami, and I figured I could go in and do something and give my feet a bit of a break. I got so much more out of the place then I expected. 

In the center, the workers were all proficient in different languages, and the English speaker was a really kind man. He told me about different festivals in walked me through making the origami deer, but I think the best thing I got out of it was I found out about an event, where they were only doing twice, and the day I was there was going to be the second and last time they did it. It was a performance of Noh (traditional Japanese theatre) with about an hour beforehand where they explained the history, characters, and instruments they use in the shows. We were provided with an English translation of the script and after the show, we got to actually try to play the different drums. I think it is such an interesting twist of fate in that I could have walked right past that center and not found out about it and not have gotten to see traditional Japanese theatre at all during the trip, despite the fact that I was really interested in it ever since I learned about it in my world theatre class in college. 

It was getting dark by the time the performance was over. The two temples I had wanted to visit both closed at five, so I couldn't go. I did know there was a lighting festival going on in Nara park after dark, so I went and got dinner, saw the lights, and made the long train ride home. 

Overall, I am so glad that I went to Japan. I have always wanted to go there and I'm super glad I got the chance. I am definitely not done yet, though. I really hope to get the chance to go back one day. There are some places I didn't get to go and some things that I never got the chance to do, that I want to do someday. But for now, I am really glad I went. I'm really proud of myself for going alone and I am proud to say that Japan is the first country I have ever visited that I didn't live in.

Japan Part 2: Osaka

On day five of being in Japan, I packed up my suitcase, said goodbye to Kyoto and got on the train to Osaka.

Osaka was a lot more modern and I'm not sure exactly how I felt about it. I arrived at my hostel a little early for check-in, so I dropped my bag off in the lobby and had a look around.

I found on the map that the Tennoji Zoo was not too far from me, so I figured it was a good a start as any. It seemed strange to me that there was a zoo just in the middle of a park in the middle of a city, but I love animals and figured it was a good way to kill time as any. The zoo was definitely small and I felt sad for some of the animals being in such small habitats. But there were several signs on some exhibits that the animals went 'home' after a certain time, so it made me feel a bit better that they didn't spend all their time there. There were also a lot of really cute animals, including a little monkey that was less than a year old!

I checked into my hostel, got some dinner and went out to explore some more.

Near where I was staying, was the Dotonbori area. This has a lot of shops, restaurants, nightlife and is also where the famous Gilco sign is. I just wondered around that area, did some shopping, and explored until I was exhausted enough to go back and get ready for my busy days of exploring the city.

If you are going to Osaka for the first time and want to go to most of the touristy places for a free or reduced-price, I highly recommend getting the Osaka Amazing Pass. I got the two-day pass for a decent price. I can see where some would think it would be too expensive, but if you plan your day out, it can be well worth it. I got to go to most of the places over those two days for free or a discount rate and rode on the local train for free. I was having so much fun. I used this pass for days 6 and 7 of my trip.

Day Six
My first full day in Osaka started at Osaka Castle, which has an observation deck and a museum throughout its floors. It was really cool to learn the history of the castle and the battles that were fought there. Afterward, I got to take a boat ride on the moat around the castle. It was an interesting insight into the history and a closer look at the walls that made the castle look instructable.

After the castle, I went to several different museums. Including the Museum of History, Museum of Science, and Museum of Oriental Ceramics. The history museum was by far my favorite of the three.

Next I went to the Umeda Sky Building. Which is actually two buildings that are interconnected on several floors and have a Floating Garden Observatory. Which was beautiful. The ride up included see-through elevator and escalator as well. It was a bit cold at the tippy top since it was roof-top, but the floor below was inside with windows on all sides and a cafe, so you could sit and just take in the view. Which was really cool.

Afterward, I checked out another little shopping area near the Umeda building and actually found myself really close to the HEP Five building, which was on my list because there is a Ferris wheel on the top of the building that I could ride for free, with my pass. So I did. Why not? It was another interesting view of the city, especially because by that time it was dark, so I got to see the city by the lights.

Day Seven
This day started a bit later, as I walked around the Dotonbori area again, checking out hidden temples and stuff until the show started. I went and saw another show called GOTTA, which was about singing food that fought evil spirits? It was confusing, and honestly not my favorite show that I saw during this trip. But after the show was over, it was time to head to yet another temple, Shitennoji Temple. It was really nice, lots of beautiful buildings and felt very peaceful.

After this, I went to the Museum of Housing and Living, which sounds really boring, but actually was a full life-size reconstruction of Osaka during the Edo Period and more modern early 20th century Osaka. You could also rent Kimono and wear it around the reconstructions to take pictures, but I didn't do that. It was actually kinda cool being able to go inside this mock-village and see how people lived during these times.

Then I took the train to the other side of the city to the bay area. My next stop was the Osaka Aquarium. This place is known as one of the largest aquariums in the world, and I could see why when I was there. The place kinda spiraled around this central tank that was several floors deep that had sharks and rays and other types of fish in it, and on the other side, there were several different habitats with seals and sea lions, dolphins, and various other fish and sea creatures. There was also a whole floor for artic type animals like penguins. So many penguins. It was really cool to go and see. I even got to pet a fish and a stingray.

Just outside the aquarium was the Tempozan Ferris Wheel, which is huge! It was also on my pass, so I figured, let's check it out. It was just started to rain so I actually didn't have the best view, but it was an interesting one with the rain, and I was just glad I wasn't walking around in it since I didn't think to bring an umbrella with me.

Another thing that I just happen across was just inside the building next to the wheel was this little petting zoo? animal cafe? I'm not exactly sure what they were, but there were animals, and I could go in and pet them. There were three areas. The outer area had rabbits, guinea pigs, and my personal favorite, turtles. The second room had dogs and cats, and most of the people. And the third room was more interesting. It had an alpaca, a kangaroo, a couple birds, a snake and a small monkey that I, unfortunately, couldn't pet.

Once I was done here, it was starting to get late. I had one more place on my list, but at this point, I was tired and wasn't really that interested in going. So I found my self a cafe and hung out for a bit, and figured out what to do the next day, before heading back to my hostel.

When I was traveling around Kyoto, I kept thinking that if there were just as many places to see in Osaka, I would never make it to Nara, which was another city I wanted to go to. But I actually seemed to luck out and while I didn't go to all the places in Kyoto I wanted to go, I did make it pretty much everywhere in Osaka that was on my list. So as I sat at that cafe, I started to plan out my trip to Nara the next day.

Japan Part 1: Kyoto

I finally made it to Japan. I really wanted to go to Japan last year during winter break but it ended up not happening. I really wanted to go with another person or a group, but my schedule is a little different than a lot of the other ETAs because the bulk of my vacation time is when most of them are going back to school to desk warm. And, I didn't really feel that comfortable going solo. I was just starting to feel really comfortable traveling around Korea by myself, and I can (sorta) speak the language. I wasn't so sure about going to another country where I didn't speak the language at all. Though it ended up not being as difficult as I had originally thought.

This year I was determined to go. I'm not missing out on my last opportunity to go where it's only a two-hour flight and barely 200 dollars for a round trip ticket, including taxes and fees. What I didn't know was going to happen when I bought the tickets, was the Coronavirus, or Corvid-19, outbreak. The virus started to become a problem while I was in Busan, but it hadn't really come to Korea. There were only one or two cases, and they were only at the airport. So when it came time to go to Japan, only a week later, there was a lot of nervousness going on. But this was not something I was going to miss.

I stayed in Seoul the night before since it was a morning flight. While I was there, I actually went and saw another comedy show, like the one I saw back in October. It wasn't quite as good, but I enjoyed it, and it was a good way to spend the evening.

The next morning, I got up and went to the airport. It wasn't too difficult to go, and I was also flying out the Gimpo, which is the smaller of the two airports in the north, so that was good. The flight was short, and before I knew it, I was in Japan. Kansai Airport to be exact. I made my plan to have the first half of my trip in Kyoto, which is a more traditional city, known for its temples and shrines and lots of culture, which I was really into, then the second half of my trip to be in Osaka, a more modern city with a touch of the traditional. I know, I know, 'why did you go to Tokyo?' Well, the truth is, I'm just not that much of a city person. I'll go back one day with another person and we can go to Tokyo, but for now, I was perfectly happy just going to these smaller cities.

Kyoto- Day 1
Once I arrived in Japan, got my phone data all figured out, and made my way to Kyoto from Osaka, I still had a few hours before I could check into my hostel, so I hung out at Kyoto Station (which is huge), and then decided to go to Kyoto tower and a temple that were both just across the street from the station. The tower was pretty cool to be the first thing I check out in the city because it gave me a panoramic view of everything I was going to see in the next several days.

The Hostel I stayed at was fantastic and the man who owns it is super nice. It really seemed like he really cared about the place and he was really easy to talk to. He even rented me a bike on my third day of exploring for much cheaper than the places nearby.

Day 2
My plan, the whole time I was on vacation, was to not waste the day away. I knew I was going to get to sleep and relax plenty when I got home, so I got up at the same time as I do for school the whole time I was there. Besides, most of the places I wanted to go seemed to all close at 5pm so I had to try and get as much as I could get in, in the time that I had.

My first stop was Nijo Castle, which had a lot of history, as it was an imperial palace for a while. and inside was also Ninomaru, home of the Nightengale floors. They were named this by the sound that they make when you step on them.   This place was a significant place in Japanese history.

After Nijo, I went to the Kyoto Imperial Palace, which was much more expansive, and included several more buildings. This was the home of the Emperor when Kyoto was the capital, and until recently, was the sight of each emperor's coronation. Even in the middle of winter, the garden in this area was so beautiful.

After a quick break for lunch (and my legs), I headed to the Heian Shrine. This is a famous shrine that was built for the anniversary of moving the capital of Japan from Nara to Kyoto and is recognized by the massive red tori gate.

Nearby, there were several other temples and shrines located in and around Okazaki Park and Maruyama Park. Each of these was relatively small, but what I found significant about these and a lot of the temples that I visited is that they are actually still active. One that I visited was actually holding service as I was walking by.

By this point, most of the cultural places were closing, so I walked around some shopping areas like Hanamikoji Dori, Pontocho Alley, and Shinkyogoku Shopping Street.

Day three
Today actually started a little late because I actually had signed up for a class and tour at a local Ninja and Samurai Museum. I got to throw ninja stars, try on a samurai outfit, watch a samurai demonstration and learn a bunch about their history.

After this, I went to Fushimi Inari Taisha Shrine. This is probably one of the most recognizable places in the city because of the lines of orange gates going up the mountain. I actually walked most of the way up the mountain but decided to turn back because I wanted to get to some other places before they closed, and I knew I was going to be climbing up a mountain the next day as well. But it was beautiful all the way up.

Next, I went to the Kyoto National Museum briefly. They had a lot of the history of the city but also had a lot on Buddhism in Japan, with a whole room dedicated to Buddhas.

The last place, which was probably one of the more beautiful natural places I visited was Ginkaku-ji. This is also called the Temple of the Silver Pavillion. I didn't have much time there, as they were just closing when I left, but it was small and beautiful and I'm glad I went.

Day four
This was my last day to really tour Kyoto, so I decided to bike everywhere today. That seemed like a good idea until I really got started. I'm not sure why I chose to bike on the day that I was going the furthest away.

My first stop was Kinkaku-ji, also known as the Temple of the Golden Pavilion. And it was really golden. I walked around the temple for a bit but then I moved on. When I left this temple, I actually was really happy to have the bike because most of the roads between where I was and my next few stops were downhill. That was fun.

On my way to Arashiyama, I went by Ryoan-ji temple which is famous for its zen rock garden. There are several larger rocks and no matter what angle you look at the garden, it is arranged in a way that there is always one rock out of sight.

The Arashiyama area was something I was really looking forward to. There was the bamboo grove, which was pretty, but I was really excited about the Monkey park.

The Arashiyama monkey park is up the side of a mountain where wild monkeys roam free without cages and are cared for by the park workers.  It's about a 20-minute hike up to the main area, and you are given a card you can read on the way with the rules of the park. You can't look directly into the monkeys' eyes, get within 2 meters (it's okay if they come to you), pet them, feed them, or squat to take pictures. Apparently, they would think a lot of these things are acts of aggression. They did have an indoor area where you could indirectly feed them through the safety of some fencing.

When I got up there, I made it just in time for the feeding frenzy. It truly was a frenzy. It was really cool to watch. When I finally turned around, the view from the park was also so beautiful, it made it okay that I didn't get all the way to the top the day before.

Leaving the park wasn't the last thing to do that day, though. I did go to one more temple in the area, then I rode the bike all the way to the other side of town to watch a nonverbal comedy show, called Gear. It was actually phenomenal. I enjoyed it so much and unlike the ones I've seen in Korea, this actually was completely nonverbal.

By this time, I was exhausted, and after getting something to eat, I went back to my hostel to get ready to go to Osaka the next day and look thought the multitude of pictures I had taken over the last few days.

To Travel, or Not To Travel

Being okay with not traveling is probably one of the hardest things to learn when you are living in another country. When you are living in a place where half of the reason you are there is to experience everything you can in the time that you have.

Every time I open up Instagram, I can feel it. The thoughts in my head are telling me that I need to be doing something, experiencing something. Otherwise, I might as well be home with my friends and being a part of their lives back there. I feel guilty when I decide that I want to spend time at home. I wonder if I would be different right now if I had decided to move into an apartment this year instead of another homestay. I wonder if I would be different if I had chosen to move to another city. One that is a lot closer to the other ETAs or just the cities that I haven't yet gotten to see. 

I know I made the right decision to stay for a second year and I know I made the right decision to stay in Hwacheon with my homestay. They are fantastic and I am having a fantastic year. 

But then again. I see other ETAs going on these fantastic trips, doing all these things that I could be doing if I wasn't at home. Right now is winter vacations. Unlike in the US, winter vacation is the break between school years, so it is a bit longer. After school finishes and I have my winter camp, I am free to do whatever I want until school starts in March. This ultimately gives me about a month and a half off. 

Now the total amount of time given to each ETA varies. Some get the minimum, and some get more. I am lucky in that I get a bit more. And in this month and a half long vacation, I only planned two trips. Four days in Busan and Nine in Japan. And while they are fantastic trips and places I have really wanted to go to for a while, its hard to compare to the multi-country, several week-long trips that the others plan. 

I know, I know. I shouldn't compare myself to other people. But it is hard. 

While I am very happy with the trips I made for myself and extremely proud of how brave I  feel to solo-travel both of the trips, I can't help but feel like I need to fill up the rest of the time I have on vacation. 

Last year, I was working towards my black belt test so every day I went to my lesson. I didn't really travel much at all, so I suppose the amount of traveling I've done so far this year is great comparing it to myself. 

But at the same time, I also know that unlike last year, I'm not coming back next year. This is my last chance before Korea is going to be a very expensive plane ride away. 

It will be okay. I know it will. This is just where I am because I've spent the last three days in my house. 

And if I had been away the last few days, I would have missed a spectacular fireworks display and a regular playdate with my host brothers building houses and towers with my Jenga blocks. FOMO (Fear of missing out) is hard but a smart person told me that the best way to fight FOMO is to give yourself something fantastic to do instead. Even if that is just a movie night with the host fam or mental-health veg out session with Netflix and some tea, and that is exactly what I plan to do. Give myself some weekends to go on short trips and some weekends to hangout at home. As for the rest of my vacation? I don't know. I guess I will just have to wait and see. 

Busan!!

After a year and a half of living in Korea, I finally made my way down to the second-most populous city in Korea. Busan. Now, Hwacheon, if you don't know, is located at the top of the country, and Busan is located at the very bottom. They are both on the eastern side, but it is still a bit of a treck to make it all the way down there.

Since it is such a long trip, I made the decision last year to go down for several days during my winter vacation. I would get to see a lot more then if I just went down for the weekend.

So, as soon as I was officially free from school, I left. I had four days planned to see the city from Monday to Thursday the week after winter camp. I didn't want to stay any longer than that because Friday started Lunar New Year and it would be an absolute nightmare to travel. Note to anyone who is going to come to Korea, don't plan to travel on public transportation very easily on Chuseok or Lunar New Year. Everyone goes home for those holidays and it is an absolute nightmare.

My trip was mostly condensed to two and a half days because of the time it takes to get from home to Busan and back.

Monday:
After finally arriving at my hostel, I decided I still had a few hours to see the sights. So I went down to Haeundae Beach, one of the more famous beaches in Busan, and I went to the Sea Life Aquarium. I got there pretty late, so there weren't many people still there. After I finished, I walked along the beach and looked at the lights they had laid out. I got dinner and decided to see a movie, just because I didn't feel like going back home yet.

Tuesday:
Since I had the whole day, I was going to take advantage of it. I got a hostel right next to Busan Station and what I didn't realize was there was a hop-on-hop-off bus that started right outside of the station and took me to a lot of the places I wanted to visit.

My first stop was Taejongdae. This is a natural part. I wasn't exactly sure what to do there but I figured I would wander until I found something. Or I guess something found me. As soon as I got off the bus, there was this guy, who I thought worked for the park, telling me and the older Korean lady, who was on the bus too, about a boat cruise and he had discount tickets. Now, I will be honest, I only sorta knew what was going on, but it seemed good and the lady was okay with it, so they transported us to this little cove where there was a boat waiting for us. Some other people straggled in after us while we waited for the cruise. It was a 20-minute ride in the water that was nice and had good views of the water and the traditional fishermen. It would have been a bit more interesting, had I understood what the recording was saying, but it was a nice first adventure.

After Taejongdae, I took the bus to Oryukdo Skywalk, which was an observation deck that overlooked a bunch of islands known as the Oryukdo Islands. And this, I found out, literally means 'five or six islands' because depending on the time of day and tide, there are either five or six islands.

Songdo beach was my next stop. I know, there are a lot of beaches and water for January, but it wasn't too cold out and it's part of the appeal of Busan. I walked around the beach and the observation deck pathway before taking the cable car over the beach and water to a nearby cliff.

After this, I went to Busan Tower. This tower overlooks the whole city. It was actually pretty cool seeing all the places I had been today and the places I had planned for tomorrow. The tower didn't take too long, so I decided to add on to my itinerary and hit some close by places next, like the Busan Modern History Museum, Bosu Book Street (an alleyway several blocks long, lined on both sides by little book shops), a few markets that were close together like Bupyeong Kangtong and Gukje Market, before deciding that my legs were killing me and it was time to grab some dinner and rest for the evening.

Wednesday:
Even though my legs still ached from Tuesday, it was full steam ahead as I went to Gamcheon Culture Village. A huge village that was built like stairs into the side of the mountain. The idea is that no one's house would intrude on the view of the sea for another house. I spent a fair amount of time there, even though it was drizzling the whole day. I briefly went to Jeonpo Cafe Street, which really reminded me of the Myeongdong area in Seoul, and finally ending at Centum City. This is a huge shopping complex and is recognized as the largest department store in the world. There is even an ice skating rink there on the 4th floor.

While I only had a few days there, I do feel like I got to see everything I wanted to see and it was fantastic. I really enjoyed my trip and I am glad I got to go.