A Little Lost...

Since we've come back to America, I haven't been myself. It's like I lost myself somewhere along the way. The two years I spent in Korea were two of the best years of my life. Now that the dust has settled, the reality has finally hit me. Those years were a brief interlude but now I have to face the rest of my life. It's time to stop wandering and to become a real adult. The thought is scary, but it's something that every one of us has to face. It's really started to hit me that that part of my life is over. I think I've been in denial and I've been so overwhelmed. Today, it finally dawned on me. I'll never live in Korea again. That time of my life was beautiful, challenging and amazing but I can never go back.

In the past five months, I've gone through more changes than most people will go through in their entire lives. I've had a lot of ups and downs. I've stopped writing and taking photos. I stopped reading. It's like the happiness and joy I always had disappeared. I became a sad shell of myself. When I realized this, I was terrified. I didn't want to go from being someone who could go on adventures and live life to the fullest, to someone who went to sleep at 9pm because I couldn't deal with the reality of the day. I felt really bad for Markus because he had to deal with a depressed and emotional wife.

Dear readers, that person no longer exists. I made a resolution today. I will never be anything but myself. I will continue to write and blog. I lost that zest for life. I've always been a dreamer and that will never change. I can't be something that I'm not. I can only move forward and I'm really excited for what the future will bring. I don't know what it is, but that's always my favorite part, the unknown.

Creepy Camping Photos | Gyeongju, South Korea

Previously, I posted about our disastrous camping trip. It was quite the adventure, but an experience I will always cherish. So many crazy things happened, but I do think it was worth it. If you read about it, then you know how unprepared we were. While we were setting up the tents, we realized that we didn't have a light source. I guess we assumed we could sit by the campfire the whole time. 

When we went to the mart we were able to buy two cheap little LED lights. We spent the rest of the evening eating Korean BBQ and playing cards. Before we went to sleep, we took a few creepy photos. I think they look like pretty cool and I wish we had time to take more. At least I have these and I can always remember that unforgettable trip!

Goodbye Korea Series | Annie and the Boys

It's been a while since I've been able to post about Korea. I feel like that was such a distant time in my life. It's unbelievable but I still have a lot to post about Korea. Before we left, one of my adult students, Annie, wanted to take us out to dinner with her husband, Woo. I've met with her before but it's always just her, but this time we were able to meet with the whole family!

She took us to this amazing buffet that overlooked Gwangan Bridge. It was inside a really classy hotel and when we walked in, I was so impressed. I couldn't believe the views and the quality of food. My mouth is just watering thinking about it.

In my first year of teaching at the library, I didn't even know what two of my favorite students were her sons. When I finally found out, I realized that it all made sense. Her sons, Rex and Caley, had the best manners and really studious. I always told her that her sons were amazing and that I hope that one day my kids are just like them!  I was so happy that we were able to meet with the whole family one last time before we left Korea.

Adventures in Camping | Part 2

Last week, I posted about our first camping experience. It was definitley a whirlwind and it only gets better. I can't wait to share the rest of the story with all of you! In case you missed my Korean camping misadventure, you can read part one here.

Last I left you, we finished setting up camp and realized that we didn't have any food. Before setting up our tents, we drove from Busan to Pohang and from there to Gyeong-ju. Basically, we spent most of the day in the car and were pretty exhausted. Despite our feelings, we needed to fill our empty stomachs, so we all jumped in the car and searched for a place that would satisfy all our shopping needs.

We had many issues on this trip as I stated before. Our main problem was our location. We were far into the countryside and we missed our chance to go to a mart. On the way to Gyeong-ju, Gwang-jin missed the exit for Costco and instead of turning around, he decided to keep going. After driving for another 45 minutes we finally found a Mega Mart in Eonyang and we were able to get all the food we needed. We happily stocked up on all the essentials and headed back to Gyeong-ju..

Once we finally made it back to the campsite, we realized that we didn't have a table, seats or even a way to cook the food. By this point, I was beyond frustrated and just went with it. Thankfully, they found an old table and rented a grill. We didn't have any seats so we just found big rocks and sat on them. The boys also realized that they didn't have any way to start the fire. A nice Korean dad at the tent next to us came over and started the fire for us. I think he took one look at our "beggar" style camping and decided to help. I'm pretty sure we wouldn't have been able to eat if it wasn't for him.

Even though we all had a long frustrating day, the minute we started cooking, all our worries disappeared. We were all a bit annoyed with Junnie, but we know he meant well. He kept saying that he wanted to give Markus and I an unforgettable experience. How could I be mad at someone so sweet and sincere? We spent the rest of the evening stuffing our faces full of delicious barbecued meats and playing games. It was actually a fun night and it was like the stressful day didn't even happen. Around 11pm it started raining, so we all went inside our tents. We played a few more games and then around 1am we called it a night.

I would like to say that we slept through the night and woke up the next morning and made breakfast.  You would think that after all the stress we already went through that the camping gods were done toying us, but you would be wrong. Oh so very wrong.  It rained through the night and at 3am Markus and I were startled awake by something cold and wet. We sat up and realized that our whole tent was flooded with water. We woke up the boys and they told us to go sleep in the car. I slept for about 30 minutes but then woke up to metal hitting metal. When I looked outside, the boys had taken down both tents. They decided that we would either find a motel or go sleep at Junnie's grandmother's house in Pohang. Markus and I didn't want to stay at his grandmother's house so we decided on a motel. Although, we still had to go to Pohang to drop off the tents. After dropping them off, the boys again decided that we would skip the motel and drive the extra hour and half to Busan. At this point, all I could think about was my warm and dry bed. So, I readily agreed. When they finally dropped us off at our apartment, I looked at the clock and realized that it was 6am. We didn't even camp for 24 hours. We were out for only 22 hours! We waved goodbye to our friends and sought solace in our warm beds.

So this concludes, my first camping adventure. I know it was a crazy and unbelievable experience. Just writing about it, brought it all back. It's funny though. When I think back on it, I don't remember how annoyed or frustrated I was. I remember how much fun I had. I remember all our inside jokes and getting to know one another. It's one of those stories that I'll tell my kids when I tell them about my time in Korea. It'll be the time that mom and dad went camping in Korea and had the time of their lives.

Celebrating Ten Years at Vitos | Busan, South Korea

I can't believe that our ten year anniversary was only two months ago. It feels like our time in Korea was another lifetime. I'm so glad that Markus and I were able to spend our ten year celebration somewhere amazing like Busan. It's not every day that you can celebrate a decade with the same person and in a great place like Korea. I never would've thought that my life would end up like this! 

 

For dinner Markus found this great Italian place, Vito. It was in the heart of Seomyeon and had great reviews online. Vito, the chef, trained in Italy and makes all of the pasta fresh everyday. Koreans love Italian food, but they tend to add a Korean touch to all international food. I was really eager to eat authentic Italian pasta. The ambiance of the place was nice and cozy. It was a lot smaller than I thought. There were only a few tables and the restaurant probably only sat 15 people. People were always waiting to be sat, so I knew we made a good decision.

When we ordered, we both decided on pasta dishes. Ever order came with a complementary appetizer of cream soup and mushroom crostini. Both were really delicious and I wish they gave us more. I can't really remember the names of the dishes, but I do remember how they tasted. I had an olive oil based pasta cooked with garlic, basil and tomato. It was so good. Markus had a creamy shrimp pasta. His was also really yummy. When the plates came out, I was worried that it wouldn't be enough food, but it was the perfect amount. After dinner, they gave us complimentary tea to finish off the meal. I remember we chose Vito because we missed the taste of home. Now that I'm home, I miss the taste of Korea. It's really funny how that works.

When we left Vito, we walked around a bit and looked for a cafe. We decided that since it was a special occasion we should be a bit more adventurous and find a new spot. We finally found a great cafe called, Cafe Verre. It's a bit hidden, which is perfect because less people know about it. It was super cute and had lots of nice brick-a-brac. We sat at a table next to the window and people watched for a bit. We both ordered an Americano, our favorite drink, and a raspberry tiramisu. We really enjoyed the cafe and we went back at least a dozen times before we left Korea. It was a great find and one that I was glad to experience before we left. I'm so glad that we were able to have a nice memorable anniversary and I wonder where we'll end up next year!