So THIS is the New Year

I don't feel much like writing but I feel I owe my loyal readers a lil' somethin somethin so I'll try to bust this out.

I went to Jeju Island with 4 Irish people for our vacation. They were good fun but some stereotypes hold true and when they were ready to "go to the pub for a pint" I was ready for bed. It was my vacation and I was hell bent on spending some time relaxing between the sight seeing. The hostel we stayed at was nice. I got my own room with a bathroom and everything so it was more like a hotel room. The bed had an electric blanket which felt AMAZING. I used to have one in New Zealand. There's nothing like crawling into a toasty bed on a cold night. It was warmer than it is in Daejeon; probably about 50-60 degrees during the day and then colder at night. If you were standing in the sun it was nice enough to be in a t-shirt and that was a nice change.

The first day we visited a waterfall near our hostel. I'm  a fan of waterfalls. Sitting back and looking at them is similar to sitting and staring at a fire. It's not entertaining but rather it's hypnotic and relaxing.

Next we took a bus across the island to a volcanic crater known as "Sunrise Peak." It's a 30 minute climb to the top and it was lovely.

While we were in the area we stopped for lunch at a nice seafood restaurant. We all got a stew with all kinds of amazing seafood surprises inside- clams, mussels, abalone, prawns, crab and who the heck knows what else. It was absolutely delicious! I think the abalone was my favorite but it's hard to pick.

Shell Discards

The next day my friends went to climb Mt. Halla. I enjoy a good hike but I just wasn't feeling it that way and while they got up at 6am I slept in and did my own thing. I visited a pretty beach and then walked around some nice botanical gardens.

And then there was the Teddy Bear Museum. "Why the hell would you visit a Teddy Bear Museum?" You might be asking. Firstly, it was in my Rough Guide to Korea book as one of the "25 things not to miss." Also, it's weird and I was in the area. It was pretty cool in that it was one of the weirdest/creepiest/funniest things I've ever seen. There was a history section where dioramas were set up to re-create moments in history... with teddy bears. In a lot of these dioramas of the past there was a teddy bear with blue goggles from the "Future - 2040 (?)" scene whom I lovingly refer to as "future bear."Observe:

There was also a bear garden and bears recreating works of art. It might haunt my dreams but it was worth it.

Teddy bears fishing for polar bears?

Yeah.

The last full day we visited a lava tube that went on for 1 km under ground. ...Meh. Then we went to a giant maze that was SUPER FUN! I've always wanted to try a giant maze and I finally got my chance! It took me and my friend Ali about 30 minutes to solve but eventually we got to the end to ring the silver bell. It was really hard!

Me and Colin in the cave

Ali trying desperately to solve the maze

It was a really big maze- this is only how far it went in one direction. It's not even half of it!

Me ringing the victory bell. The person to the right is trying to direct someone to the end!

So that's about it. Nothing too exciting, but it was a nice trip. I think on my next day or week off, whenever that is, I'll be sticking around Daejeon. I definitely need some down time. I've seen quite a lot in my 2 and a half months.

This Thursday all the Kindergarten classes are going on a field trip to go SLEDDING! There's no snow really left on the ground so I don't know how that's going to work or where we're going to go but I'm really excited about it.

In Jeju for New Year!

Celebrating Lunar New Year in style on Jeju island! Many pics to come- stay tuned.