Flying Home!

Friday, August 3^rd

First off, if you are still reading, THANK YOU!!! It has been a great experience documenting this trip for family, friends, colleagues, and students.  I have plenty more stories and memories to share with each of you. 

This trip has been amazing!  I am sitting here on the plane right now flying across the International Date Line with a little over 7 hours of the flight to go.  I was hoping to sleep some more in an attempt to get back on Eastern Standard Time but I have a feeling it’s going to take me awhile. Since I can’t sleep, I figured now is a good time as any to give you some final thoughts on this experience and trip. 

The experience of learning with and from Taiwanese teachers and students is an experience I truly cherish.  I made so many wonderful friends in Taiwan.  Thank goodness for Facebook so we can keep in touch!  Andre (Claudia’s husband) asked us each the other night what each of our positives and negatives where of this trip.  There are so many positives, so here the ones that come to mind first - 1. The hospitality of the Taiwanese people (I have never met kinder people on earth), 2.  The food, 3. The friends I’ve made along the way, 4. The opportunity to immerse myself in a culture and a country.  I have traveled to other countries and met people but to be able to spend four weeks in a country and learn so much from the people and experience so much of their culture was unforgettable.  Another positive, was seeing so many historical and cultural sites in Taiwan, China and Seoul.  I will never forget the hot springs with Alice, sky lanterns in Pingxi, the Wu Sheng Monastery, frying in the hot sun at Yehliu Geopark, my host families in Taiwan, the Great Wall, Tiananmen Square, Mao’s mausoleum, the Terracotta Warriors, and the overall atmosphere of Seoul.   I am sure I am missing some that I can’t even remember now!  Honestly, I can’t think of any negatives.  I always try to take a negative experience and turn it into a positive learning experience.  Besides, I am so thankful for this opportunity.  Who else gets to spend their summer traveling around Asia?! 

I have become very adept at using chopsticks over the past six weeks and it’s going to be weird to transition back into a fork and knife.  I will say though that I will be happy to have a hiatus from rice for some time.  I have never eaten so much rice in my life!  I look forward to scoping out the best Taiwanese, Chinese and Korean restaurants in the Washington, D.C. area though.  I am proud of myself for trying so many new foods.  I don’t really consider myself adventurous when it comes to food, but I think I really challenged myself by trying so many different foods.  I think the key is not asking too many questions.  Eat first, and then ask later otherwise you probably wouldn’t try it!   

Every country we went to was so unique and you could really see differences within the cultures and social norms among Taiwan, China and Seoul.  Traveling really opens up your eyes and makes you more understanding of our world and the cultures around us.  I feel privileged for having the opportunity to participate in the teacher exchange and then to travel afterwards.  I am very excited to share my experiences and observations with family, friends and my students.  I have a new travel goal – travel to all the countries I teach in AP Comparative Government.  I think Russia is next!  Who’s with me?! 

Again, thank you for reading! 

Namdaemun Market and Itaewon (Translation: Shopping and more shopping!)

Thursday, August 2^nd

Seoul, South Korea

Today is our last day in Asia so we decided to just spend the day walking around Seoul checking out various markets and shopping areas.  Before heading out, we stopped at Crown Bakery at the end of our street to have some breakfast.  Their pastries are divine.  I couldn’t decide what to have so I ordered two pastries – a cream filled almond pastry and a pumpkin croissant.  Both were delicious!  I also had a green tea latte.  I am a huge fan of green tea now. I am bringing some home, but I hope I can get it as easily at home as I can here. 

After breakfast, we strolled down our street in Insadong and found some beautiful scarves from one of the street vendors.  Then we headed to Namdaemun Market, which is one of the oldest and most traditional markets in Seoul.  The place is a maze.  There are small entryways that look like a small shop but open up into a huge mall of vendors.  We walked into one that sold every kind of jewelry you could imagine. I actually went to the bathroom there and got lost in the store trying to find Valerie. A lot of the shops are wholesale, so you could by 25 of everything.  The market sold everything – jewelry, clothing, socks, shoes, fruits and vegetables, fish, cleaning supplies, purses and handbags, candy, paper goods, and sunglasses.  It was crazy!

Next we decided to do some shopping in Itaewon and I wanted to try the Bulgogi burger from McDonald’s that one of my students told me to try.  We figured that we would definitely be able to find a McDonald’s in Itaewon since it’s so close to the U.S. military base. 

We were right and found the McDonald’s quickly and I ordered the Bulgogi burger.  It was really good!  (Thanks for the suggestion, Gabrielle!)  Gabrielle, my student, also told me to find a Rotiboy dessert shop and bean-filled bread fish, so I was on the hunt for all three today. 

Itaewon has a lot of shops and underground malls in “the cut” as Andre (Claudia’s husband) calls them.  The “cuts” a little alleyways that look like there is nothing down them but then all of sudden there is an entryway to a huge underground mall!  Valerie and I both bought some clothes from one of the vendors in the underground mall.  We then hit up the main street in Itaewon for some more shopping. 

Lastly, we met up with Valerie’s friend again for dinner near where she teaches.  Valerie’s friend teaches conversational English to businessmen in Seoul.  She works for a private company that offers various English speaking and discussion classes to adults.  After dinner, we walked back to our neighborhood and I found a street vendor selling the bean-filled bread fish.  They were really good.  The bread tastes like a waffle and the red beans are sweet so it’s a delicious dessert.  Red beans are very popular in Asia.  There is even a red bean green tea frappuccino at the Starbucks in Taiwan and Seoul. I’m guessing they have them in China but I don’t recall seeing them there.   Unfortunately, I couldn’t find a Rotiboy shop, but I am glad I got to try at least 2 out of 3 of Gabrielle’s suggestions. 

It’s too early to go to bed, so Valerie and I are hanging out a restaurant near our hotel. I am blogging and she is reading.  I still have a little a packing to get done, but it looks like I’ll be leaving with four bags!  I arrived with two – my backpack and suitcase and am leaving with my backpack, suitcase, a carry-on suitcase and a duffle-bag.  Unfortunately, I can only have 20kg per checked bag, so I am distributing the weight from my suitcase into the duffle bag.  For the record, I really only need three bags but due to weight restrictions I have to have four bags.

Our flight leaves Seoul tomorrow morning at 10:20am (Friday 10:30pm EST) and I arrive at Dulles at 11:20am on Friday morning.  See everyone soon!  I will send another post once I arrive back. 

Gyeongbokgung Palace, Bukchon Hanok Maeul and Insadong

Wednesday, August 1^st

Seoul, South Korea

I am definitely slowing down these days.  As happy as I am to be in Seoul and explore the city, I am hitting a wall.  We had a leisurely breakfast while I finished the blog and then headed off to Gyeonbokgung Palace.  On our way to the Palace, we saw a protest of some kind.  It was in Korean so we didn’t know what the protest was about, but there were way more police than there were protesters so I thought that was interesting.  I also noticed a lot more police today than the previous day but I am not sure if it was just because I was more aware or if something else was going on.  The other thing I noticed about the police is that they all looked 15!  I think they might have been trainees or something, because they were also only carrying nightsticks and whistles. 

Gyeongokgung Palace was the main palace of the Joseon Dynasty. 

The palace is a sprawling complex of buildings. 

Unfortunately, the palace has been reconstructed a few times due to fires and Japanese invasion.  However, viewing the main hall of Gyeongokgung with the mountains in the background is spectacular. 

I also thoroughly enjoyed the changing of the guard.  It’s one of the more elaborate changing of the guard ceremonies I have seen.  It starts with the banging of a drum and the new core of guards march into the courtyard accompanied by a musical procession. 

Then they march towards Gwanghwamun Gate, the main gate of the palace, to relive the others.  There are several different type of guards all wearing different uniforms and weapons.  It’s very colorful.  The other cool thing about the Palace is that is right in the center of the city, with one of the city’s main thoroughfares directly in front of Gwanghwamun Gate, so it’s an interesting contrast between the history inside the Palace and modern Seoul right outside the Gate, rising above the Palace walls. 

We ate lunch at a nearby Korean restaurant and enjoyed some bibimap. 

Then we walked to the Bukchon Hanok Maeul, stopping in at a local bookstore along the way.  I bought a book, Your Republic is Calling You, written by a Korean author about a North Korean spy living in Seoul for 21 years until unexpectedly getting called back to Pyongyang.  I look forward to reading it on the plane!  Bukchon is a historic Korean village with hanoks, traditional houses.  We enjoyed our stroll through the neighborhood’s alleyways looking at the houses.  I particularly like the doors.  They all seemed very regal.  It makes sense considering the village was reserved for the aristocracy back in the old days.  There were also so many boutique art galleries, shops and restaurants to check out. 

Finally, we headed back to our neighborhood, Insadong.  We spent some time walking down the main street, which is mainly a pedestrian street and then came back to our hotel for a rest before dinner.  Tonight we ate at Sanchon, which serves Buddhist temple cuisine (vegetarian) and has a traditional Korean dance performance every night.  I had read about it in my guide book and thought it would be a good place to try considering Valerie’s a vegetarian and it had a performance as well.   Our whole table was covered with food!  It’s a set menu and they came out with at least 15 different dishes for us.  A lot of the food was very spicy, but I particularly enjoyed the porridge of the season, the tempura vegetables, and eggplant.  I tried everything and half the time, I wasn’t sure what I was eating, but at least I know it wasn’t some mystery meat! 

We have one more day in Seoul.  I can’t believe this trip is coming to a close, but I am looking forward to getting back to home to see family and friends