Summer Updates

Gahh I'm so sorry I have completely failed at posting this summer. Time has completely gotten way from me- I can't believe it is already mid-September. Here is a recap of my summer adventures:

First up- celebrating the Fourth of July in Korea! Unfortunately, the actual holiday fell on a rainy Thursday, but I still managed to head into Seoul and get a hazy view of the fireworks from Yongsan military base. Yummy drinks, good friends, and an off-key rendition of the Star Spangled Banner made for a great night. The celebrations continued over the weekend as an enormous group of foreigners took over Muuido island near Incheon airport to celebrate with barbecue, fireworks, and all things American. A bunch of military guys came as well and brought a bunch of American food from base, giving the whole weekend a feel of a vacation from Korea.

Sparklers on the Fourth at Muuido!

A few weekends later a attended Boreyeong's Mudfest for a weekend. The name is pretty self explanatory: thousands of people descend upon a beach to slather themselves in "healing" mud, climb inflatable slides and obstacle courses, and generally just have a good time. I almost sacrificed my phone to the mud gods, but luckily a bag of rice saved it! I had a really great time and plan to go again next year!

Muddy times on the beach!

Friends at mudfest!

 Then I celebrated the wedding of my coworker Jessie! It was really exciting to go to a Korean wedding and note the similarities and differences between American weddings. Some interesting traditions in Korean weddings: 1) The bride is in a special room before the wedding so everyone can take pictures and give their gift. 2) Gifts consist solely of cash in envelopes or large flower displays. 3) The bride and groom cut the cake, but do it during the ceremony and no one gets to eat it. 4) There are crazy amounts of cameras, disco lights, and assistants running around during the ceremony. In fact, the audience was talking and moving about throughout the ceremony and not really paying too much attention. 5) The crazy amount of food at the buffet seemed to be the main reason everyone came to the wedding. Hands down, my favorite part was when the couple performed the bows to their parents and were welcomed into each other's families. All in all, a really great chance to compare different cultures.

Romp n' Roll girls at the wedding.

Brit and I with the bride <3

I attended another music festival, this time in the rain and mud. The Ansan Valley Festival was really cool, and I saw Yellowcard, Coheed and Cambria, Nine Inch Nails, Foal, and Fun.

Fun. at Ansan Valley Rock Festival

Enduring the rain and mud for the sake of music.

Then it was off for summer vacation! I headed to Hong Kong and met up with my friend Matt for a few days. I absolutely LOVED Hong Kong! I didn't have very high expectations and was surprised by how much I enjoyed myself. HK would be a great first "Asian" city; it has all the uniqueness of Chinese culture mixed with the conveniences of a Western city (English speaking inhabitants and signs, etc). I visited a couple temples, some great museums, and Disneyland! I had amazing weather (it kind of felt like being in Manhattan on Hawaii) and definitely plan to return!

The Big Buddha on Lamma Island.

"Chinese cemetery" in Aberdeen. It went on for ages.

Matt and I in Hong Kong.

Hanging incense at the Man Mo Temple.

Disneyland Fun!

 After HK, I met up with Jackie and Allie in Taipei for a few days in Taiwan. We definitely had planned too much to do with too little time, so we ended up spending a lot of time on trains. Taiwan was really cool and I'd love to go back and explore the country a bit more. We spent a day in Taipei, visiting Taipei 101, night markets, and the Chaing Kai Shek memorial for  a beautiful sunset. Then it was off to Sun Moon Lake, which was gorgeous but everything shut down really early so exploring was a bit difficult. The last day was spent in Taroko Gorge, a gorgeous national park in Haulien.

Taipei 101

The beautiful Sun Moon Lake

Sunset at Sun Moon Lake.

Amazing, non-filtered sunset at the Chaing Kai Shek memorial in Taipei.

Taroko Gorge

Suspension bridge fun at Taroko Gorge

Chingshiu Cliffs

August flew by in a blur of work and goodbyes. I had many friends end their contracts in August and saying goodbye was definitely tough. But, that also means a bunch of new people are coming to Korea bringing new friendships. We opened our second center last week, and the month leading up to it was insane! Getting our new teachers over, training them, ordering and organizing all the materials, and commuting to the new center resulted in lots and lots of overtime. However, I'm really happy with the new center and looking forward to opening 2 more this year! I officially move to the upstairs office next week to really get involved more in the franchises and cutting back on teaching. I will be staying in Korea for at least another year, but will be home for Christmas this year!!

My dad arrives in Korea today and I can't wait to play tour guide!