Having grown up in a home with a Dad who only entered the kitchen to fill his drink, I never really imagined knowing a man that would know the difference between chopping and dicing, or maybe I should say 다지다 and 썰다. If learning a second language has taught me anything, it's that proper and even failed communication leads to full bellies. Okay that's not entirely true, but my life in Korea has been consistently filled with people trying to feed me. Needless to say, having an in-house chef has been a lot of fun.
0 Comments
The majority of my experience walking Olle trails has been a solo venture. The trails have always been a place for me to clear my mind, absorb and appreciate the beauty of Jeju, stretch my legs, and disassociate from being an adult. Recently though I've developed friendships with a few lovely individuals who share my passion of nature and happen to enjoy my company. The trails have allowed us to disconnect from work and technology, instead filling our time with conversation and contemplating what's next in these lives which hold so many choices and opportunities ahead of us. I was able to fit in a few trails on the warm days of December, before temperatures dropped and snow dotted the island.
Since moving to Jeju I've been curious to see how the winter would treat me. For anyone who knows me, you're well aware that this is my least favorite of the seasons, and if it were to last about a month I would be a very happy human. I've seen pictures of snow in Jeju so I knew that was a possibility, but I didn't completely believe it happens, after all - there are palm trees here.
This post should have been written a good 2 months ago, but apparently my motivation to write went into hibernation over the winter. With sporadic daily highs in the 50's and sunny blue skies I can feel a tingling of my old habit to share, and there is a lot to catch up on. We'll start with the obvious - a new olle trail, good food, and preview of the boy who keeps me well fed and taken care of.
I will still utter the phrase, "I don't need coffee, I just like the taste" and whether or not that statement is made in denial I am no judge. Half the time I'm drinking instant coffee, so does that even count, I vote no. The fact of the matter is, I'm an early riser, my body wake with the sun, but my work does not support this. Finishing around 10:30 p.m. with half the week spent 'on call' meaning that my 30-something motherly instinct to sleep with one-eye-open kicks in, I'm always tired. I wake up refreshed, usually, but hit slumps around 10 a.m., 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. give-or-take. Not only that but coffee is well, delicious, oh and I did I mention Jeju has about 100,000 cafe's to visit. Honestly, if I had to chose a life problem, this would be high on the list, caffeine addiction fueling, let's go.
October 14th, where does time go, honestly. Time has been consumed with the 10,0000 things floating around in my mind - but I'll leave that for a different post, to be short - work, school, future plans, creating a new community of friends and nature therapy. The later of which is why I'm here. With temperatures hovering in the perfect range (high 60's to high 70's) I've been more excited to get out and explore the Olle trails - the original spark of my love affair with Jeju island. I had planned to do one or two while housesitting here a few weeks back (lies - that was over a month ago), but I opted for soaking in the joys of home. A few weeks ago I finally did get on the trails, and have since crossed 8, 14 and 11 off my list. Let's see how much and how fast I can recap - keeping it at least mildly interesting.
With the school year underway we're all adapting to the odd hours that is the life of a boarding don. With mornings off, and the weather still beautiful I feel compelled to be outdoors as much as possible. I'm still adjusting to the fact that I live here, and will thus have plenty of time to get out and explore, remembering that spending some of my free time from work at home relaxing, reading and blogging is okay too. Before purchasing a car being outside mostly meant walks around the GEC, not wanting to spend half of my free time on a bus, but with a car though the door to possibility opened and everything is a quick 20 minute drive away. Last week Monday I decided to test my balance of work and play with a morning at the beach.
This past Friday I completed a new milestone for my life in Korea - I bought a (new to me) car! I'm sure I've spoken in the past about my love for public transportation in Korea and while that still holds true on the mainland, life on the island is a bit different. Especially where I'm living, in this English education city bubble, it is really hard to move around the island (in a timely manner) by bus. I knew when I took the job that securing a car would be at the top of my list of priorities and the $3000 I saved after my last stint here in 2020 was a nice nest egg for such an expense. The timing was perfect as well, my friend Miyoung - who I first met in Bali nearly 10 years ago, was in Jeju for the weekend leading a yoga retreat, which she graciously invited me to join.
On my first "weekend" I wanted to get out of this bubble I live in and decided to take an easy trip and stay in the city for two nights. This was influenced heavily by my desire to get a haircut, and the opportunity which arose to see a car. I'm pretty sure my days of hostel staying (at least in shared rooms) are long gone, especially considering that my current living conditions are basically a glorified hostel. Instead, a booked a simple room on AirBnB in Shin Jeju (the new half of the city). There were a handful of things I wanted to do, a little shopping and hopefully meet up with new friends, connections made through language exchange and dating apps - what a weird technological world we now live in.
Coming off roughly two weeks of full on social interaction I knew that I was ready for some time alone, not to mention getting away from the GEC. I'm grateful that I'm working at one of the international schools on the island, but the placement of all four in one neighborhood, greatly secluded from the rest of the island, is quite inconvenient. Despite knowing that it would be hot and humid I decided to test my endurance and venture out to one of the Olle trails surrounding the island. I had it in mind that I would start inland, winding up at the beach for an afternoon swim, and trail 16 fit that plan. I woke up later than planned and knew that would mean an even hotter endeavor, but went for it anyway. The trail length was about 16 km in total, but not even 1/4 of the way in I was beginning to regret my decisions for the day. A quick check of my phone told me it was 87 ~ feels like 103, the beach was sounding more and more appealing by the second.
|
AsiaKoreaWhere to start. After living on and off in this country for nearly 10 years I have memories, experiences and stories galore. I'll now always be a bit partial to the Land of the Morning Calm. Filled with delicious foods, beautiful nature and friendly people, I'm always happy to return. Archives
June 2023
Categories
All
|