Neither Rain Nor Rain

Don't let the snazzy background fool you. I was annoyed.

That right there is the face of a survivor. Much like the USPS, neither rain, nor wind, nor rain, nor more rain...so much rain...was able to stop me. But really guys. There was so much rain.

It's been a busy couple of months, between 9 hours of Korean class every week and piles of lessons to plan for winter camp, so recently I decided to get out of Wonju for a bit and actually see those beautiful fall leaves everyone's been talking about it. So, on a Saturday, after 6 grueling hours studying Korea, I hopped in my car and set off for the lovely seaside town of Sokcho.

Naturally, I managed to choose the worst possible weekend on which to take a spontaneous trip. As I drove along the highway, the rain started to get heavier and heavier. Did I worry? Nah. I'm Pacific Northwest born and raised, so it takes something more than rain to ruin my nice drive. What kind of something?

My windshield wiper breaking. There I was, zooming along the foggy and rain-drenched highway at full speed when, in a matter of seconds, I was down to one functioning wiper. Because I'm blessed with the worst luck in the universe, that one, still-moving wiper was...of course...on the passenger side. Joy.

Fortunately, I was only a couple kilometers from a rest stop. So, I moved over into the righthand lane, leaning over to see through the half of the windshield that was still being wiped and trying not to have a panic attack.

Once safely in the parking lot, I just sat for a few minutes trying to collect myself. At this point I was more than an hour away from home, so I couldn't exactly phone-a-friend. Luckily, my windshield wiper hadn't entirely broken off and gone flying into the void as I'd previously suspected. It just had a screw...bolt...well something was loose, so at that point I figured all I needed was a wrench. In what felt like a stroke of genius, I got back into my car, wet as a drowned rat, and carefully maneuvered the car over the the gas station. Gas stations have wrenches, right?

Wrong. I pulled up and, rolling down my window, tried to explain to the perplexed 20-something manning the pumps that no, I didn't need gas, but that I was a damsel in distressing need of a wrench. He responded by telling me I needed to drive over to the next town to get it fixed at a car center. No matter how many times I explained to him how impossible that would be, the turnip-head didn't even think to look in the office for a wrench.

Finally, as I was trying to decide whether to start crying or wring his neck, a middle-aged couple pulled up next to me, so I went up to the man and showed him the issue. He spoke to the manager, and lo and behold, a wrench was found, and the offending wiper was fixed. All in all, it could have been much worse, but I was paranoid about the thing for the rest of the drive. 

I stayed the night in a cute little hotel right near the beach, with the most dramatic wallpaper, as you can see in my first picture. I was finally able to relax, eat some dinner, and hang my wet clothes up to dry.

The next day dawned...wet and rainy. Bit surprise. But I was determined! Armed with raincoat and umbrella, I braved the stormy coastline.

There's actually something enjoyable about the beach during a storm. The waves were crashing onto the beach, the wind sending spray to mix with the rain until my cheeks were salty--though the seagulls had the good sense to stay home.

A lonely spectator.

If I looked at the water through my umbrella I could almost pretend the sky was blue. Further along the beach I came across a secret little garden, and I wanted to explore, but my shoes were already soaked through at that point, so I didn't want to tramp around the wet grass.

Secret farm.

Rain and spray-soaked, I trudged up the road to get some lunch and hopefully give my shoes and chance to dry out. I always feel awkward eating alone in Korea, but the lady was really nice, and there was a hiker-gang of grandmas at the next table singing and chatting up a storm, so I got in some quality eavesdropping in while I ate.

Originally I'd planned to take a short hike on Seoraksan after lunch, but as the rain showed no sign of letting up, I elected instead to take a scenic drive. Much warmer and a lot less wetter. 

If you ever have a chance to visit Seoraksan, it's well worth your time. It does get pretty icy in winter, though, so be sure to wear correct footwear! I nearly slid off the edge of a cliff the first time I hiked there. At least I got to keep a fantastically large bruise as a souvenir!

I think it's important to get out of routines every once in a while. I get so caught up in day to day living, studying and working and stressing. Just one day away can make such a difference. A change is as good as a rest, or so they say.

Eating My Way Through Jeonju: Food Tour Part 1

Long time no see! Or not see, exactly, but...well...anyways. Sorry I didn't write for so long. I got my first bad cold of the season, and while it tried to knock me down, I got up again because, to quote Chumbawumba, "you're never gonna keep me down." I've been working on a longer post about my teaching style and serious stuff like that, but it's taking too long, so instead I'll take you on a food tour of Jeonju! Because who doesn't love food?

Jeonju is about 3 hours from Wonju by bus, but since I was traveling with a friend, I met her in Seoul on Friday night so we could leave together on Saturday morning. Her apartment is super tiny but really cute, and it certainly made me feel grateful for all the space I have to live in these days. 

We caught the 8 AM bus out of Central City and napped for the first couple hours, if only to escape from the Most Depressing TV Program Ever. We were close to the front of the bus, which is usually a great location, because you can watch the TV that they always have going in front. I usually entertain myself by trying to guess the plots of random dramas without hearing the dialogue. This time, though, it was a curse, because for the entirety of the 3 hour bus ride they were showing a program about different places where volunteers go to help people in terrible situations. Causes included: starving children in Africa, homeless people in Seoul, and a little girl whose skin was so fragile even just water touching her felt like alcohol on an open wound. So yeah. That was wonderful to watch.

On the way, we stopped at a rest stop for a bit of leg-stretching and snacking. Korean rest stops are amazing, at least compared to what I've experienced in the states. There is real food, freshly cooked, and lots of different snacks to try. We only had 15 minutes, though, so Joon suggested we get some potatoes. Best. Decision. Ever. 

I'm drooling just looking at this picture.

Maybe it was because I hadn't eaten any breakfast and was starving, but these potatoes were amazing. I nearly choked on one because I was eating too fast. It was really embarrassing. What's great about this snack, though,  is its simplicity. It's just roasted potatoes with salt, but on a chilly November day it's perfect, and at only 2,500 won it's a steal. If you're ever at a rest stop in Korea and you need a snack, you should definitely try this.

As you can see, we chose the perfect time of year to visit. The leaves were all shades of red, orange and yellow, the air was cool and crisp even with the sun out, and all that delicious food was waiting for us to enjoy it.

There were long lines in front of just about every restaurant, so we chose based entirely on length of line. Luckily, we chose well.

Dramatic angles make food more delicious.

Tteokgalbi (I had to look this up) is made from short ribs (galbi) and pork. The meat is mixed together, then shaped into a sort of rectangle before being grilled over charcoal. You can either just eat it straight off the grill with a bit of salt, or dip it in some spicy sauce. If you have the patience you can even make a lettuce wrap with rice and kimchi. Much like the potato snack, I really enjoyed how simple this meal was. 

Beautiful presentation.

Since no meal is complete without soup, we finished off with some nengmyeon, delicious cold noodles. I went for the spicy version, which sadly wasn't actually all that spicy. Still great though!

For dessert we planned to go to Manil Manil, a cafe famous for it's patbingsu. Sadly, they were out of red bean topping for the day, so we had to make a new choice. 

The name of this cafe sounds like "choose me", so we did, and we were not disappointed. It's hard to see in the picture, but flavors ranged from the basics like strawberry and mango and chocolate all the way to grapefruit, blueberry yogurt, and wasabi, I panicked when I got to the front of the line and ordered the first thing I saw, which was strawberry. No regrets. There were slices of real strawberry embedded in the sorbet, and the flavor was just right. Not too sweet, very smooth, just...perfect. 

Just because it's winter doesn't mean I can't eat popsicles.

While we enjoyed our dessert we waited in line at PNB, a famous bakery that's been in business since 1951. While they bake all sorts of things, they're most famous for their chocopies. I didn't know chocopies could be fancy, but I guess you learn something new every day. The line stretched a couple blocks down the street, and each person could only buy 5, for a whopping 8,000 won. After trying one, though, I can see why they're famous. 

For one thing, they're pretty big-- bigger than your usual packaged chocopie. Nice rich chocolate, slightly crisp cake, classic marshmallow filling, and a bonus: strawberry cream! I managed to eat only half of one before I was full, but I could easily have shared it with two other people. The line maybe long, but I'd consider this delicious treat to be worth the wait.

Finally, a museum that caters to my interests.

After all that eating we decided we had to walk around a bit before exploding. All this food was located in the middle of a Hanok Village, which meant there were plenty of beautiful buildings and historical things to poke around in and look at. We also stumbled across some kind of performance, elementary school dancers and also some great drumming. 

For dinner, Joon's friend recommended a less well known but delicious beef restaurant. Beef is pretty pricey in Korea, but hey, we were on vacation! What better time to splurge a little?

What dreams are made of.

All this for 35,000 won! NOT BAD, if I do say so myself. A selection of beef to grill, a mountain of side dishes, and some extra vegetable soup that our nice server gave us for free. Speaking of our server, she was the most adorable thing ever. The moment we sat down, this tiny middle-aged woman came over and, upon seeing me, started throwing out random bits of English that she knew. I may have been the first foreigner in the restaurant, based on her reaction. She even mentioned that her daughter studies English in some hagwon. Maybe trying to impress me? I don't know. It was pretty cute.

For dessert we got ice cream macaron sandwiches and then stopped for some bitter and very healthy-tasting tea; the perfect end to a long, delicious day. Stay tuned for day two, which includes famous patbingsu and a series of unfortunate bus events.