It's been a while since I've posted!
Let's do a general update first.
I am currently enjoying work a million times more with our new manager. She is super organized, really sweet, and helpful. It feels like a different job then when we came in during (what I have begun to call) Lynn's reign of terror.
Personal life-wise, Ben and I have a crazy chunk of weeks coming up with my art show and our school break. It's all good traveling, but by the time it is over I will have been traveling for 4 weekends straight. Next next weekend is the art show in Seoul, which I am pretty excited about. I am also getting a tattoo that weekend. Whoop. It's also my birthday weekend. GOOD THINGS ARE HAPPENING PEOPLE!
Next Wednesday Senti (for those of you who don't know, she has been a friend of mine since I was 10) and her boyfriend Angus are coming to Korea. They will be staying with us for a week. We are also going on our summer vacation with them to Busan. I can't wait for them to arrive. Their arrival does herald the exodus of Jack and Kez, who we have been close to for a good chunk of time. But fear not, I have a friend dungeon I plan to put them in. I will treat them humanely and feed them upon many foods and beer. They will grow to love their captivity.
Soooo let's talk about Jirisan.
As one of their final trips in Korea (they think, muhahahahhaa), Jack and Kez wanted to hang out near Jirisan for a while. It is certainly one of the most beautiful places I have seen in Korea. The group was me, Ben, Jack, Kez, Amelia, Lacey, Nate, a new friend June and our delightful Korean friend (who kindly does much of the organizing) Iris.
We decided camping was the way to go, and after some fidgeting, we ended up at a campsite near a big ole' river. After setting up we splashed around for a while before setting to work on heavy duty grilling.
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| Our Glorious Crew (Iris' Photo) |
We had a great night. Lacey and I went to sit on a rock in the middle of the river for an hour or so and drank wine while talking predominately about Narnia and Madeline L'Engle. There was star watching, and a decent amount of eating.
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| Rocks by the river with Iris and Kez (Kez's Photo) |
The following morning after breakfast some of us went on an easy hike. It was really gorgeous and full of spots to stop and look at waterfalls and running water.
The rest of the day was spent swimming and sitting on giant rocks before heading back to Gwangju.
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| Happy water Adele (Iris' Photo) |
The following weekend was Kez's birthday. She opted to visit Iris at a beach near her house for some more camping. However, the weather looked crappy so we went for a pension. I realize to those of you not from Korea that sounds very strange. A pension is usually a single room that you rent. It generally has a bathroom and stove, and you get floor mats and bedding for sleeping.
This trip was comprised of myself, Benjamin, Jack, Kez, Iris, and our Korean co-teacher and friend Blair (who also thinks she is leaving at the end of the month, but is in fact going into the friend dungeon).
We dropped our stuff and headed to the beach for some cloudy day swimming. The water was surprisingly warm and we spent much of the afternoon swimming, attempting to teach Blair to float, and throwing a frisbee.
I made huge burgers at home to share, and I grilled those up for dinner. We also had bacon, cheese, and hot dogs. June also sent Iris with a bag of marshmellows with enough sugar to kill a grown man, So many marshmellows. It was Blair and Iris' first time having a s'more!
We pretty much spent the rest of the night at the picnic table eating (an absurd volume of food), talking, and playing phase ten.
The next morning we ate a glorious breakfast from Jack Bacon Fingers, and packed up. Then we went to check out Iris' apartment before heading back to Gwangju once again!
