Volunteering my service @ Amsadong

One of the things on my wish list was actually to volunteer, or at least participate in some sort of cultural interaction etc. So I searched the net and found an interesting site relating to volunteering. (http://www.icworld.or.kr)

"ICI-Volunteers are a group of volunteers from all around the world who both learn about Korea and experience Korea, too.

We have had over 200 volunteers help with us, and usually have around 25 active members at any one time.

We do things such as; meet up, talk about what volunteering opportunities are out there, learn about Korea, and once a month engage in some kind of cultural activity like learning how to make traditional Korean food, or folk art.

If you are interested in joining, whether it be just one time, or once a month, 

just email Logan on edu@mariestory.co.kr for a registration form."

Alternative e-mail:
*자세한 사항과 신청은 02-3210-3266  ici@icworld.or.kr로 문의 또는 메일주세요.
*For more information and an application form, send an e-mail.  ici@icworld.or.kr

I wrote in with my resume and was pretty excited about this inter-culture exchange/volunteer program.

It didn't take long for them to revert to me and I was being assigned to Amsadong Pre-Historic Settlement. The person I spoke with was Logan -- an extremely friendly and warm person!

My duty was primarily to assist a fellow Korean volunteer to bring Korean students around the site and explain the lifestyle of the people in ancient times. The Korean volunteer will be in charge of explaining the various historic values and lifestyle in korean, and I was to reiterate his/her explanation in english, highlighting some key words that the students can learn. Sounds interesting, doesn't it? 

More about Amsadong Pre-Historic Settlement

(from http://www.visitseoul.net)

Amsadong is in fact a 1.5hr subway ride from my place, but the expereince was well worth the time. 

(Well, it wasn't as smooth as I had planned it to be, but nevertheless - everything is an experience)

 Here are some actual pictures taken...

As I am a new volunteer, I was scheduled to go a day in advance for a pre-program session.

The weather looks foggy cos Winter is soon approaching and that casts a rather dreamy mood. 

 

A shot of the Chinese volunteer who ran through the program with me. 

She was really sincere and warm. 

Here are some indoor shots of museum, explaining the uses of different stone age periods depicted by the different discovery of rocks, weapons, tools and utensils in shapes of "pots" etc.

The Korean volunteer who spoke really good english!

The experience was not as smooth because although we were well prepared, the students who were suppose to turn up fell short of attendance and there was only 1-2 students of whom we did show them around, but the interaction was so minimal and the cross culture exchange opportunity was also minimal.

Still, I did enjoy this overall experience. Every experience is a lesson.  

Hanuel Park, World Cup Park, 월드컵공원

Worldcup Stadium Station, Line 6, Exit 1

It's coming to the end of Autumn and there is so much more to explore. Why did it take this long to realise that Autumn is the best season of the year to catch beautiful scenery?

Well anyway, my Taiwanese friend and I decided to visit a random location called Hanuel Park.

According to the tour book that i was reading, this is the description:
"Hanuel Park shows how the World Cup Park was born out of landfill and became an eco-friendly park of now. It sits on the place where a huge garbage mountain used to be after it was covered with thick earth. Due to its highest location in the World Cup Park it has been called Hanuel Park. It can hold 3 World Cup Stadiums in its 190,000 metre square site. Just 15-minute walk from the entrance will allow you to have a wide view of Namsan Mt, Yeouido & Bukhansan Mt." 

Seoul Best 100

I didn't plan to enter the directions to this place, so i really don't have a detailed direction to give - all i can say is that it's a 15-minute walk, in random directions. But, you will find your way there with a map. Don't worry, alot of locals hang out here for Autumn. You can easily follow the crowd and end up at the right lcoation.

This is an example of walking in random directions. I don't even know where i am walking to.

These Autumn leaves are the last I can catch (i think), cos they look like they will wither soon.

Huiwen, my Taiwanese friend. See, we were secretly following the couples in front of us. )

Yes, in order to arrive at the destination, we need to cross this stream (also out of nowhere).

Finally, we arrived at the "great bridge" where we will need to cross and we will get to our destination. 

Nope, this photo does no justice to the place cos the weather was too misty. i can imagine how the scenery would have looked if the skies were clear.

Anyways, this shot was a half-way shot whilst we were climbing up the stairs after crossing the bridge. 

A shot from the top of the bridge.

Well the park was filled with these tall-looking "la-lang" lookalike plants. It somewhat reminds me of the scenes commonly found in dramas where couples go to romantic dating places and play hide-and-seek. (My imagination right?)

This is an example of the many paths created among the plants. It's really like a maze, cos every corner you turn into looks the same as the previous one. So ... 

This is the best shot i can get from the top.

I like this place, and though the sky was misty and unclear and i couldn't get good shots, the experience there was great. Totally enjoyed just walking around with no aim in mind and just soaking up the ambience and company.

My Next move...

It's 1255am and the time has arrived for me to face reality.... Should I extend my stay here? I have already made the decision, but yet, I m just afraid...

In my 5th week, I foresee that by the 10th week, I will such be somewhat inefficient with Korean language...yes, probably making simple statements like "how are you, have you eaten, what do you want to eat... are you working now? Where are you going?" etc wouldn't be a problem.

These however, are REALLY basic questions and rather superficial, so conversing this way only means you can converse on a very superficial level. I expect to be somewhat more able to converse in a deeper level - to talk about emotions, feelings, reasons etc. Can I achieve that if I spend another 10 weeks here?

I really dunno for sure, but according to my "research", a minimum of 6 months here would have given me good fundamental knowledge and I can take it off from there. Thus, I have have decided. Yes, I will stay.

Of course, there are many other doubts raising in my head right now, like what about the money? When will I start earning money? When will I start working again? More importantly, what about Christmas and CP's Birthday and NY and CNY without being with my family?

(According to CP, he said we have another 100 years to celebrate together cause he forecast that we will live over a 100 - amen to that!)

Can I really take it when it gets sooo cold, not only in terms of temperature, but also in emotions having next to no physical kin next to me?

And the most realistic question- what will I be using this knowledge for?

I guess there will always be doubts when you take a leap for anything. But it's always better to take a leap at something than being stagnant, even if it means you may fail or fall. After all, experiences are what we are made of.

As per CP's words to wisdom (as I would presume, after living with him for the past 3 years): Think so much for what? Just make the decision and go!

Cheonggye-san 청계산

So..I told my buddy that i wanted to climb some mountains and he willingly obliged me bringing me to this mountain called "Cheonggye-san".

I have not read about this mountain from the tour book, so it must be somewhere only locals know and go to... and that assumption was RIGHT - cos i didn't spot any foreigners there.

Because there was a "guide" (my buddy), i didn't make any effort to remember the route and directions there. I just "tagged along". That's probably why one would probably learn alot more when they are travelling alone - you have to find your way in, and out and the process helps you to remember. Once you have someone to depend on, you just "depend on" them.

The only thing i remember would be that the mountain was somewhere near Gangnam? Hah!

To be frank, i think i am really quite "slow" to realise that autumn is the best season to climb mountains.

By the time i had that revelation, autumn was already coming to an end, and therefore, the pictures taken were only mediocre. Nevertheless, i did enjoy the first mountain-climbing trip. I guess a huge part was because i had a korean friend to go with and he is also pretty entertaining.

This was taken at the entrance of the mountain. 

The vegetables looked so fresh and colorful!

 My very kind buddy. Blessed me!

During this trip, i learnt a new term called "hope torture". The lesson was conducted by a "stubborn apple".

Why?

Buddy brought an apple and it seems like a trend that people use their bare hands to split an apple by "breaking" it from the core. (I saw my classmates do that in class too)

So "stubborn apple" refused to be broken, but my very "fit" and equally "stubborn" buddy was very determined and finally, we saw some "cracks" in the middle.

Perhaps "stubborn apple" did not like my buddy and after trying for a while, it remained in a "cracked" state and did not split open.

So i offered to take over and "lo & behold", it split open!

"Stubborn apple" must be a male apple since it liked girls more! haha

And there, buddy said, this is called "hope torture"... the apple was leading him on!

An entertaining buddy isn't he?

 

After climbing the mountain, we headed to my buddy's house for a BBQ dinner which i really enjoyed and appreciated! 

 

The food was nice, but the company of his parents was even nicer! :)

I love the way they are so hospitable and friendly & regretted not taking a picture with them. 

Sad. (Busy eating...) 

I truly enjoyed myself & thank you buddy!

Jeon-ju

Jeon-ju is an outskirt area, known for it's Hanok Villages (Traditional, old-style of Korean houses) which are still being occuppied by residents and their Bibimbap.

Tourist to Seoul can book a bus ticket and get a free transfer from Seoul to Jeon-ju. Be prepared to sit in the bus until your ass hurts. (My Taiwan friends did all the booking, so all I did was to show up on time)

Being the usual me who enjoys "vacuum-packing" -by that, I mean I like to fit our travel itinerary to the "tighest" possible! I decided to bring Chanpeng on this outskirt tour... we headed for this folk village out of Seoul.

We took a time-wasting 3 hours to get there and another time-wasting 4 hours to get back (due to bad evening traffic)...

Left at 8am, arrived at 11am, roamed about randomly for 5 hours before we departed at 4pm and only arrived at Seoul at like 8pm...

Luckily the bus ride was free, otherwise, we would have effectively wasted both the TIME and MONEY...


Jeonju is a location out of Seoul which consists of a cluster of traditional hanok village. Most are still ocuppied with residents and people do really make a livihood there... small businesses, some trading to and fro Seoul erc... it's a simple and very much preserved location. (Which explains why it lacks "entertainment")

Since it was a sunday, most of the shops were closed. It's a folk village and so, those shops are those tradition "auntie/uncle" shops - like mama shops in singapore.

Even the famous bibimbap shop was closed (Jeonju is known for its bibimbap, which is a dish where you have rice and various veg and a half-cooked egg all mixed together like fried rice)...so we settled for the only one opened and that just tasted like any other bibimbap. (See top picture on bottom left-hand corner) Either that, or i just have no comments since "food" has never really been my subject...

According to some other more well-travelled friends, they mentioned that Jeonju has alot more things to do. Perhaps we really should have done our research early!

The next interesting thing i spotted was a "walking-trail" which seemed like the best thing to do other than walking to nowhere and in circles round similar-looking villages. But, i faced objections when i suggested the trail, so we didn't do it. It was have been a peaceful and serene walk into nature (since it is already ulu as it seems) haha!

If you look on the bright side of things, that place is indeed good for spending quality time with each other since there is really nothing much to do but talk to each other!

Then we spotted some sort of a palace and explored it... Over there, there was this bamboo grove in which we took many idiotic pictures. Thank God for self-entertaining talent. This way, no matter where i go and can be kept entertained!

No doubt the trip was a little boring, but Cp and i managed to spend alot of quality time with each other. (We had nothing better to do than to look at each other! hahah and take silly pictures!)

Banpo-Bridge, Rainbow Fountain

Express Bus Terminal Subway Station, Line 3,7 or 9, Exit 8-1.
Go straight for 250m, and turn right at the Express Bus Terminal 4-way intersection.
Continue going straight for 400m and cross the street at the crosswalk.
Go straight through the underpass to arrive at the park.

In the 6th week of my "expedition" Chanpeng came over to Korea - though it was just a 4-day trip, i really appreciated it!

There is this one romantic place which I would really like to hang out at. So I brought him there!

If you watch BOF, there is this part where Jin Cao thanked Ji Hoo for being her "fireman" before she ran-away... In the background there was this bridge which had a rainbow fountain "spewing" from the edges of the bridge... is this the right way to describe that bridge? Who cares? (That bridge it is actually an expressway across Hangang)

Anyways, this is a good spot for dates cos the ambience is pretty romantic... so romantic that there are couples spotted all over the place... that is the only not-so-romantic part about it... Ironical.

Thankfully, Chanpeng was there with me, otherwise, I would have felt very much like a fish out of water!

So here is the compilation of the photos I took...

Before we went to Banpo Bridge, Cp and I had a yummy BBQ (what else?) dinner with my buddy and his best friend... Cp does look young doesn't he? He is 13 years older than my buddy and 12 years older than me... 

either that or we all look old!

Well, actually, the pictures don't do much justice to the place cos
1. It is in the night and since I am not so professional (in fact, mu photography skills are bad), I failed to capture a good shot.
2.  The flowing water is a moving object and that's hard to capture! (enough excuses for wanting to post only 1 photo!)
3. OK, fine, I admit. I forgot to take pictures of the directions to the place. My bad - but if there's a will to go there, there is always gonna be a way!