Mask Festival

Big mask

Mask float

He's going to do something with a pig

Ceremony man

There's his pig!

Bigger mask!

Another big mask!

Can't get away, what is this, a mask festival?

Andong mask dance, a dance with...yep, masks!

Barely back from Seoul on Thursday night, worked on Friday, then woke up early Saturday morning to catch a bus to my next adventure. This weekend, I was off to the small town of Andong, for the 13th Andong Mask Festival!

I went with 4 friends of mine: 3 other foreign teachers and one Korean administrative assistant from my work. She was the one who helped us arrange the trip and accommodations. The 3 hour bus ride dropped us off in the middle of Andong, near where the festival was bustling. We walked around and looked at all of the large colorful masks decorating the festival grounds, watched the traditional mask dances, and found a booth where we could even make our own masks! We loved this booth and seriously stayed here for over an hour....5 twenty-something girls sitting amongst a bunch of little Korean kids making paper and clay masks, yeah buddy! We used these masks as props for most of the rest of the pictures we took on this trip :) 

There was a ton of stuff to see and do at this festival, but eventually we had to leave to catch a bus to another side of the town, the Hahoe village. That was where we were staying, and where they were going to have a traditional fireworks display. Apparently tons of people wanted to see these fireworks, because we crammed ourselves into the bus going over there. I learned that standing sardine-close to a bunch of foreigners on a bumpy 50 minute bus ride is not my cup of tea...but once we got there it was all worth it. The sun was just setting over the mountains and fields framing the traditional houses, and the last few rays of the day illuminated the lazy river that encircled the village. It was so pretty there that I didn't even mind that we were having trouble finding which hut we were sleeping in.....Wait, we're actually sleeping in one of the huts in the village?? A "mimbok", actually. When we finally found it (they kind of all look the same) it turned out that it's just a wood and paper door that lead into a small room, geared with a few blankets and a tv for some reason. No bed, sink, nothing. We could just barely fit all 5 of us on the floor to sleep....shoulder to shoulder to wall. The whole place was actually really cool! The bathroom hut and shower hut were outside of our sleeping hut, and they weren't so cool because they smelled pretty bad. But the experience overall was great! When else can I sleep in a hut like that??

River around Hahoe Village

Inside our hut

Toilet hut

Entrance to our mimbok area

Gorgeous morning!

Once we dropped off our stuff, it was about time for the fireworks so we found our way in the dark and sat on the sandy shore of the river. Across the river was a big cliff where they first had a spotlight on a Korean dancer. Then they began the traditional fireworks, which are not like your typical 4th of July fireworks. First there was a boat that was all lit up with candle flames, slowly floating down the river. Then there were "egg fireworks", or lanterns in the shape of eggs that floated on the water too. Then there were several cables that stretched from our side of the river to the cliffs on the other side. They lit the cables on our end and they started sparkling. That firework sparkle grew very slowly across the cables and eventually inched it's way across the river. It was so pretty to see because the sparkles were also raining sparks into the river. After the rope fireworks had grown to halfway across, the fourth firework started, which was fireballs that were thrown from the top of the cliff across the river. The fireballs were just thrown straight down the cliff into some abyss that I couldn't see since it was dark and far away. Meanwhile the full moon was rising up from one of the mountains. The whole spectacle was breathtaking and made me feel like I was back in another time period. 

See! Other ppl take pics of food too!

After enjoying the show, we went through the village area in search of a late dinner. Andong has a famous steamed chicken dish (I can't remember how to say it in Korean, sorry!) that we had to sample, and it did not disappoint!

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The next day we walked all around Hahoe Village and took tons of pictures of the gorgeous landscape littered with straw thatch roofs. In one area of the village was a huge tree that is over 500 years old. Millions of people from all over have visited this tree to write down a wish on a piece of paper and tie it to the branches. Of course I am not one to visit a 500 year old wishing tree and not do anything about it....so now I too have a wish tied to the tree :) After going through the rest of the village, we hoped on a bus back to the other side of town to the mask festival again, this time with a mission.

More mask dancers

The belly dancers we danced with

Little tae-kwon-do-ers :)

Tried to catch the board breaking!

The drummers we danced with

Us in our masks, I'm the far right

There were tons of arts and crafts booths where you could make various things right at the festival. We had so much fun making our masks (and wearing them, as you've seen) that we wanted to do more. So I made my own soap, make some bubbles, and I made a Korean letter, and I painted an ocharina, which is a traditional small clay flute thing. The whole time we were doing the activities, random Koreans continued to take pictures of us. On one of the performance stages we saw the Korean fan dance and a mask dance. Some Korean belly dancers pulled us 4 white girls on stage during their pre-performance audience participation bit! They were teaching the classic mask dance moves so we had to do that with them. As you can imagine, the photographers were going crazy with this, but we were having so much fun we didn't care! After that we were released and they did their performance. Then some little tae kwon do students did some demonstrations to music, complete with good old fashioned nunchucks and board-breaking! After all this, it was time to leave to catch our bus. However, as we were making our exit through the crowd, some drummers pulled us into their drumming circle for us to dance with them! So jig we did, for a few moments anyway. Then as we were inching out of that clump, an old man grabbed us and motioned for us to sit and eat with another large party. It looked like fun and he was so nice, it was hard to tell him that we needed to catch the bus. As we continued to make our way through these parties, someone grabbed my friend, Laura, and gave her a shot of soju for her to drink with him as he shouted, "Korean #1!" Upon finally exiting the grounds, we passed a dancing donut man.....he was literally dancing as he made his donuts. This is impressive because his man had been dancing and making donuts when we passed him to enter this morning. So what did we do? Well, naturally we had to have a farewell dance with him :)

Dancing donut man and his ladies!

By the time we got on the bus to head home, we were unanimously exhausted but extremely happy! I had no idea that Koreans could have so much fun!

SEOUL! (warning: long post)

I went to Seoul! I actually did it!!

In Korea, they have 2 major holidays..the Lunar New Year in February, and Chusok (like Thanksgiving) in September. Now, working at a private school like I do, my days off in the year are very few and far between. So when I found out that I was going to get 3 days off in a row (Tues, Wed, Thurs) for this Chusok business, I knew I had to make the best of it. My friend Laura, who is a fellow newbie at my school, wanted to do the same. So we planned out a trip to Seoul! For Chusok, all Koreans travel out of town and go to their hometown to their grandmother's house where the whole family celebrates. Since Seoul is a big city where no one actually lives, we would be actually going the opposite direction of the waves of people traveling out of the city for this holiday, so it's a perfect time to go to Seoul. We figured everything out: accommodations, subways, train there, all the attractions we wanted to see, etc. Planning the trip alone was a great bonding and learning experience.

Whoa!

Where did Seoul go?

Soggy tower entrance

After a 5 and a half hour train ride there, we arrived at Seoul Train Station and rainy Seoul. We made our ways to the subway and got to the stop around where our hostel was. However, when we emerged from the subway it was pouring rain, there was thunder and lightning, and the streets under a foot of rushing water! We had to take off our shoes and wade barefoot through the water to find our hostel 8 blocks away. Fortunately the water was only that high for 2 of those blocks, but the rain would not stop. When we arrived at the hostel they gave us towels and let us hang all our clothes to dry for a bit. There were so many things we had planned for that day, but they were all ruined by the incessant rain. Waiting for it to let up did not even help, so we just decided to go out anyway and at least walk around the city....we can't just sit all day in our hostel and waste a trip day...besides, I'm a Washingtonian for crying out loud, rain can't stop me! After checking out our part of the city and getting some dinner, the rain let up. So we hurried up the mountain in the middle of the city to see if we could try to get to the famous N. Seoul Tower and do at least one of the things on our itinerary that day. But when we got up there it was so foggy we could barely see the tower, and the rain started again. Ok Seoul, so you won today.

You don't say??

Bigger girls in hanbok!

Little girl in hanbok at Hanok Village

Hanok village festivities

The next day was much better though...it was sunny and we were super productive. First, we hit up the Korean Tourist Org, where they had a bunch of Chusok holiday activities going on. There we played traditional Korean games, checked out the exhibits, and even got to try on the authentic Korean dresses they wear for celebrations and holidays, called the hanbok. The one I'm wearing is the style that the king's wife would wear..yep, darn straight, hehe! After having fun there we checked out a stream nearby that, on non-holiday days, would have performances and various events all along it. Hopped back on the subway to go over to the Namsangol Hanok Village. There laid traditional houses, and tons of people doing various Chusok holiday celebrations. All of parents brought their little kids all dressed up in tiny hanbok dresses and pants, it was so cute to see! I kept taking pictures of the little kids, hope they don't think I'm creepy :) There were stands where you could make a few arts and crafts. Laura and I carved a flute, but I couldn't figure out how to play it. Still trying to learn that one. After we got our fill of flute making and picture taking, we grabbed some street food and hitched the subway again. By the way, the subways in Seoul are interesting because they have emergency kit all around and signs and videos showing what to do if we were to suddenly be bombed. It was strange because having these safety notices all around made it seem so matter-of-fact, yet made me wonder if the thought of danger is always in the back of their minds....

Instructions on what to do if bombed

Korean War Memorial Grounds

Missiles and rockets

Computer fish tank, with electric eels!

With that note, next stop the Korean War Memorial. It was amazing!! The building and the grounds were absolutely stunning, and you could see the N. Seoul Tower in the distance. There were several statues, and so many real tanks, planes, trucks, rockets, and a missile boat all right there on the grounds outside for you to see and touch. From there we hopped on another subway to go to the COEX mall. Laura's friend who is also teaching in Korea was in town as well so we had agreed to meet them there. The COEX mall had a huge aquarium in the lower level, so we all went and enjoyed the interesting exhibits there. They had a section with cool different fish tanks such as a telephone booth, a laundry machine, a lantern, a fishy sink, hehe, that was my favorite section. They had some huge sea turtles, sharks and sting rays. Once we cleared through there we went to Itaewon, the foreigner district, and got some dinner....accidentally at a foreigner military bar. Nothing happened, but it was just weird when we looked around and realized there were a lot of white guys with shaved heads in there. That night we went back to our neighborhood and joined Laura's friends for their friend's birthday night on the town. The Seoul nightlife was pretty amazing, and there wasn't even all of the people that would normally be there since many were out for the holiday!

Jogyesa Temple, prayer house

Buddha 

The next day we woke up early, packed our things and rushed out of the hostel to see the changing of the guard at the Deoksungung palace. Unfortunately, when we got there we were told that they don't to the guard thing on the holidays...but the grounds were open for wandering and taking pictures, which was still nice. Next was the Jogyesa Buddhist temple. There we did a temple life tour, which is where you are taken on a tour of all of the different temple buildings on the grounds and they explain the beautiful paintings and statues. We then got to make lotus flowers, and experience tea ceremony and a meditation session. The Buddhist way is very slow and appreciative of every detail, even in the methodical task of pouring tea. I learned that I really suck at meditation...my mind kept wandering to think about other things rather than concentrating on breathing and the all around "who am I". But I really enjoyed this part of our trip. It was one of those moments where I really felt like I was immersed in Korea, and it is in those moments when I feel most alive here.

City center (one of the many)

Bye for now!!

From the temple we grabbed a bite to eat, and were off to catch our train home. Despite all that we did, there is still a ton of things that we didn't get to! So we will definitely have to make another trip to this massive city, and I can't wait till we do!

All Food Must Be Korean...Or at Least Served with Kimchee, hehe!

I am beginning to find that anytime you find a food here that is not traditionally Korean, then rest-assured that is has been Korean-ized  :-)

I went with coworkers to a pizza place the other night, called Mr. Pizza. They have all kinds of pizzas with the most random combination of things on them. They had a lot of shrimp pizzas, seafood pizzas, pizzas with pickles, corn, bulgolgi  pizza, etc. We got the potato pizza. It has a regular crust, sweet marinara, mushrooms, cheese, corn, potatoes, I think some tortilla chips, maybe a few sprinkles of meat, onions and some kind of white sauce. The outer crust was stuffed with a sweet potato mouse and had cheddar cheese on top. It did not taste anything like pizza as I know it, but I thought it actually tasted pretty good, hehe!

I've also been to a "Vietnamese" restaurant, which is really Vietnamese-ish Korean food, and I've been to a sushi place to find that the Koreans think that some sushi should have strawberry yogurt drizzled over it. I haven't been to many US chain restaurants, but someone told me that the chicken at KFC here is saucier and has Korean spices or something, and that at McDonalds you get a bulgolgi burger instead of a Big Mac, hehe! I don't think I will try those since I don't really eat there even in the US, but I will have fun trying other actual Korean foods! Like potato pizza :-D

Funeral at the Source

The father of one of the directors at my school passed away yesterday. We found out about it when we got into work that afternoon. My head teacher informed us and then said to wear black today because we were all going to go pay our respects at the hospital after work. Now, I didn't even know that my director's father was in the hospital, I didn't know why we were going to pay our respects at the hospital if the father was already dead, I didn't know if I should bring anything or chip in for a gift, I didn't know how I was getting to the hospital, or what hospital...you probably get the gist....once again, I had no idea what I was getting into. 

A few of the Korean teachers have cars, so we all carpooled after work to the hospital on the other side of town. We went through the floors of the hospital until we reached a corridor that was lined with flowers and scrolls (with names of the recently deceased). At the end of the corridor was the room that had a picture of the director's father and a shrine below that with various fruits, special water, alcohol, and candles were arranged all along one wall. No body though, good. We all crammed into that room and faced the wall and our director. Someone went up to the little alter and did something with the water. I then followed everyone as we knelt down and bowed our heads all the way to the ground. Then we stood up, and then knelt down again for another formal bow. Then we stood up and did a standing bow to our director and his family. They said thank you and seemed very appreciative to us. At this point all of the Koreans gave the mourning families envelopes of money. 

Then we were ushered into the room right next door and we all sat on the floor at a table. People immediately started putting little dishes of food and condiments all along the table. They brought soda, water, and a sweet rice drink. I asked a Korean girl what we were doing, and she said that now we eat. Oh yeah, this is all happening inside the hospital. Apparently they just have their memorial services right there in the hospital so that the people can have the services immediately after the person dies. Apparently they have the room and food service open all day and night for 3 to 5 days after the person has passed, so that all of your family members, friends, coworkers, relatives, etc. can come and pay their respects, and you can feed them to show your appreciation. The job of the guests who come is to not be too sad, but to bring happiness. They believe that the soul gets to move on if you are happy when it passes. If you are sad then the soul stays and mourns as well. 

It was a very interesting night, because I have not had a lot of exposure to Buddhist customs before. And I was surprised that the whole funeral service was offered right there at the hospital. I never thought I would get the chance to experience a Korean funeral while I was here. I wanted to take pictures, but I didn't out of respect for the occasion. Hopefully my description gives a descent idea of what went down. 

More on Where I Work

View from my window to the right

My Desk

I wanted to show off some of my work facilities! At the school I work at, I have my own desk, a laptop, all of the books and notes I need for each class I teach, and a lovely view of the mountains just beyond Changwon. I finally remembered to take a picture of it on my break the other day. Our school is on the 5th and 6th floors of this tall building downtown. I work on the 6th floor and I love the view. 

When I look out the window to the right I see a few tall buildings of the city area. Then when I look to the left out the window, there is a clump of buildings that look like they are growing out of the beautiful green mountains. It's nice to plop down and look out the window for a moment if it has been an exasperating day with the kids :)