Summer

When I think of the word "summer" I think of beer, beaches, and BBQs. When I think of beer, beaches, and BBQs I think of P.E.I.. When I think of P.E.I. I think of all my family and friends back home. In light of this, I BOOKED MY FLIGHT BACK TO CANADA!!!
I'll be making a day pit stop on the way home and on the way back to visit Xandog in Vancouver. When I messaged Xandi about this idea she gave me a simple reply, "OH MY GOD OH MY GOD YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! WE WILL BE DRUNK FOR 24 HOURS!!!!! ...or we could do whatever you like haha. but a thousand times YES! come to me!" This is amazing in so many ways... A) I haven't seen Xandi since graduation which is apparently over a year ago :| B) I have never been to Vancouver before. C) It will be a good transition from an Asian population haha. The countdown is on and I'll be taking myself to the airport in 40 days! The night I booked my flight I felt pure ecstasy. I must have talked to Dad on the phone for a half and hour and he reassured me a steak and beer would be waiting for me upon arrival, maybe even some ketchup chips. How I imagine summer will soon become a reality but the fun in Korea isn't stopping anytime soon.

Even though its hard for me to believe its summer, I've been doing lots of summer activities. On occasion I get together with a bunch of foreigners and play soccer or beersbie (well, that was once and my team came in 2nd place haha). As much as I miss playing softball back home, the baseball season is in full tilt and I can't complain about a beer and a hotdog in a packed stadium of SK Wyverns fans. With the good weather comes the desire to get out of my dungeon of an apartment and travel... and what better place than JeJu Do? Jeju is a small island down south that Koreans consider the Hawaii of Korea. Jeju has palm trees, beaches, and are famous for their oranges and chocolate. Laura found out about an annual marathon that takes place there and we, along with Jackie and Caitlin, decided to mark it on the calender. Our flight and pension were booked and before we knew it we were headed off to Jeju to run in the 10km race. Our flight left immediately afterschool so we had to sneak out a few minutes (or an hour) early. As I'm sitting on the plane beside Caitlin I say to her how cool it would be if everyone on the plane was going to some huge event and all rowled up cheering and stuff. Not even five minutes later a planewide game of kauwi-bauwi-bo (rock, paper, scissors) broke out in support of Korea in the FIFA world cup. They also went around with funny wigs and hats for photo purposes, dream come true.

When we arrived it was raining and this soon turned into a thunder and lightning storm. This didn't stop us from having an amazing weekend get-a-way from Incheon though. We met up with Laura's friend Kyla (and her bf) and ate black pig (Jeju is known for it) then ventured to a bar for a few beer where we watch some of the world cup. The next morning it sounded like NK was attacking (bad joke) so I asked Jackie, "Is that thunder?" and apparently she wasn't awake, so she responded with a loud scream and a terrified face. Guess you had to be there. Anyways, Kyla treated us to breakfast at her apartment where Laura and I had this overwhelming joy come over us when we saw just how immaculate their apartment was. The thought of having an apartment like that in the same building together was just amazing. From here we finally met up with the twins, and their friend Ina, and ventured to Hallim Park. Here we witnessed turtles having sex, and went to a beach nearby where it felt like you could breath again. After a photo shoot we went to catch a bus but instead two nice korean men offered us a ride. It was 8 against 2, two of us with blue belts and no fear to use it. The language barrier was hilarious and we ended up near the twins' pension. It was now time for dindin and the runners decided to fill up on carbs with Domino's pizza and pasta. Afterwards we ventured to a nearby stadium to cheer on Korea in the world cup. Then, it was back to the pension for a good nights rest before the race.

The marathon atmosphere was spectacular and we all reached our goals, except for me. My goal was made clear at the beginning of the day, to not puke... and what did I do seconds from the finish line? puked. bananas and pineapples. That's finnneeee. We all still had really good finish times and were super pumped.It was Laura's Birthday weekend so we went for tacos, burritos (a rare commodity) and cake. Mashisoyo (it is delicious)! Before departing we made sure to buy out all the orange soju from a convenience store and managed to take it all on the plane in our carry-ons haha. Now its back to reality.

DeokJeokDo Past and Present

For two Korean holidays we chose to go to DeokJeokDo, an island just off the coast of Incheon. Chuseok, which was way back in the beginning of October is basically the equivalent of Thanksgiving. The second time around was for the long weekend of Buddha's birthday.

My first DeokJeokDo experience was much different than the second. The first time we went reliable Caitlin organized the pension and ferry tickets. It was our first real trip in Korea and also my first real encounter with Jackie and Tessa... but it sure
wasn't the last. Despite Koreans telling me that the water would be freezing, it was probably the same temperature as P.E.I. waters in the middle of August. We had a beach party, climbed a lighthouse for a photo shoot, went on a picturesque hike up a nearby mountain and most importantly, learned that you need to take plastic off of hotdogs before eating them.


This is also where I began to learn Irish from Muread and Nuge. They managed to create the line of the weekend, "Did ya get the shift!?" Translated this means "Did you kiss someone?" This would be the first of many new phrases that would soon be added to my vocabulary. Not only did I learn about the Irish, but I also learned about Americans. More particularly Seth and his strong passion for Chicago and his devestation when they didn't get the bid for the Olympics. No need to say more.

The second time around Helen and Geri were here!We decided to plan the trip on our own instead of going with a group because it would be much cheaper. However, leaving it until the last minutes proved a little stressful when the ferry company told us the tickets were all sold out for the weekend. While everyone else was either going with I.F.X. or camping, we were determined to get there. Thursday night we gathered at Laura's apt. for some wine and girl talk and at about 9:30, only minutes after Geri arriving from over an hour of commuting, we decided we were going to the ferry terminal in the morning as if we were going in hopes of extra tickets from cancellations. None of us were packed, but the plan was in place and soon we all scattered to our respective apts and before we knew it it was 7 am and time to head to the terminal. Geraldine was the first one to arrive and Helen shortly after. With the horseshoe that the twins have up their ass they managed to score us roundtrip tickets departing in the afternoon for only 23 bucks!

From here on in the weekend was absolutley fabulous. We got groceries and speakers before leaving, a pension upon arrival for 30 bucks each for the weekend and a tons of laughs. Even though it rained the majority of the weekend and we spent most of our time in the pension, we still managed to have a blast playing charades, cards, and would you rather. It was also extra special because we got to spend some quality time with Muread who would leave a few days later :(. The meal of the weekend this time was beans and weiners in a hotdog bun and the saying would have to be, "all dressed up with no where to go."