Kimchi Making @ Seoul Station & Cheonggyecheon Light Up!

Thanks to 언니, she is always giving me ideas on how to spend the weekend.

This weekend was really fun cos there was a huge gathering at Seoul Station to promote Kimchi-making. 

This event was only entitled to foreigners, without charges. All you need is to sign-up for it.

 (As part of the Korean Culture) 

 

We were assigned to our designated table once we registered our attendance. 

Each table was covered with HUGE cabbages and other kimchi-making ingredients.

The ladies in hanbok where our designated kimchi-making instructors.

We need to quickly take a picture before our hands got dirty!

And the kimchi-making began!

As the ingredients were all pre-packed, the process seems simple. 

 Everything was big. Big pots. Big cabbages.

Me cutting the radish as the instructor supervised me!

Then, it was just putting all the ingredients together in the big pot.

Work the ingredients in altogether and ensure all the radish has been coated with the paste!

Super chili red.! I can already feel the spice!

 

Time to add the big cabbages into the paste.

According to our instructor, every layer of the cabbage was to be well-coated. You need to spread the paste evenly to ensure a consistency. 

We coated them layer after layer.

Almost done!

 

All we need was a group picture to claim credit & pack them separately for take home!

We had to have a feast before the day ends & were sponsored with Maekgoli! 

Alas! All the participants were to form a huge circle in the big field, holding hands and singing "Arirang" - a classic Korean folk song. The feeling of camaraderie was really strong. 

As a foreigner, you feel accepted and integrated into their culture. It was a warm and homely feeling. Possibly also because the Korean instructor was like a mum - guiding you how to make, holding your hand and leading you along the way. Oh - I miss home! 

Final group shot before the session ended.

Since Cheonggyecheon was nearby, we hung out for dinner and were pleasantly surprised to see the stream lit up with colorful floats and lanterns. 

It was like Ching-gay parade on the water!

It was extremely crowded. People were packed both sides of the stream from the stream level to the ground level. (Stream was 1 level lower than the ground level, like a basement?)

I don't think romantic would be the right word to describe this. 

But it would have been nice for dating couples to hang out here.

I want to go for more of such outings!

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!