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."