When your friends leave Korea

Well, it happened.  Much earlier than I had anticipated, way earlier than I'd hoped, and so much earlier than I'm ready to understand.  It was bound to happen.  I had read many articles about it.  Most foreigner friends don't plan on staying in Korea for more than a couple of years, if that.  I just didn't expect my closest friend in Busan (in my neighbourhood, no less) to be leaving for good in 5 days.

So this (^^^) was my first my reaction when my confidante, cheerleader, and co-captain told me she was THINKING of leaving.  I can completely understand.  I won't go into detail on Hagwon horror stories, but I do encourage you to look them up if you're thinking of teaching here.  The Facebook groups are also a good way to see the dark side of working here.  I've been REALLY lucky and am really happy, but that's not always the case.  Vet your recruiter and the employer thoroughly before your arrival.

(This is how all of Hwammy feels about your news, by the way...)

My sad food isn't even good.  I went and got pasta (my go-to when I'm upset).  Tortellini isn't a thing here (too much expensive beef or cheese, I suppose) so I settled for "Cream Chicken Pasta".  I think the chicken may, in fact, have been creamed because the pieces were TINY.  The sauce was pathetic.  I tossed it in Pepper, Chili Flakes, and Frank's Red Hot to make it palatable.  

I'd like to go ahead and place the blame on Mercury in Retrograde: "Mercury Retrograde or Mercury in Retrograde started Monday, May 18, according to astrologers, and doesn't end until June 11. Astrologers who believe that planetary positions affect our everyday lives see Mercury in Retrograde as one of the few times a year when the planet Mercury rotates at a slower-than-usual pace, giving it the illusion that it's moving backwards. This backward-seeming illusion has its parallel in our lives, they say, creating problems in communication, travel and even technology, hence its reputation as the planetary troublemaker.

"Mercury in retrograde has became the default explanation of what’s wrong with our world," writes oneastrology debunker. "Don’t start a new job. Don’t close a deal. Avoid traveling. Don’t buy anything. Interestingly, Mercury’s retrograde is an illusion. This optical trick is a perfect metaphor for what astrology does to our brains: It gives order to a seemingly random universe. That doesn’t meant it’s real, however.""

I don't know if I'll feel this way when each friend finishes their contract and leaves, but if it doesn't get easier then this is going to be a brutal run.

I'll miss you.

xox

Haeundae Beach Holi Hai 2015

Last weekend we celebrated Sunday Funday at a Festival called "Holi" down at the famous Haeundae Beach in Busan, South Korea! 

"Holi (pronunciation: /ˈhoʊliː/; Sanskrit: होली Holī) is a spring festival, also known as the festival of colours or the festival of love.^[3][4] It is an ancient Hindu religious festival which has become popular with non-Hindus in many parts of South Asia, as well as people of other communities outside Asia.^[5]

The festival has, in recent times, spread to parts of Europe and North America as a spring celebration of love, frolic, and colours.^[6][7][8]

Holi celebrations start with a Holika bonfire on the night before Holi where people gather, sing and dance. The next morning is a free-for-all carnival of colours,^[5] where participants play, chase and colour each other with dry powder and coloured water, with some carrying water guns and coloured water-filled balloons for their water fight. Anyone and everyone is fair game, friend or stranger, rich or poor, man or woman, children and elders. The frolic and fight with colours occurs in the open streets, open parks, outside temples and buildings. Groups carry drums and musical instruments, go from place to place, sing and dance. People visit family, friends and foes to throw colours on each other, laugh and chit-chat, then share Holi delicacies, food and drinks.

Holi is celebrated at the approach of vernal equinox,^[5] on the Phalguna Purnima (Full Moon). The festival date varies every year, per the Hindu calendar, and typically comes in March, sometimes February in the Gregorian Calendar. The festival signifies the victory of good over evil, the arrival of spring, end of winter, and for many a festive day to meet others, play and laugh, forget and forgive, and repair ruptured relationships.^[5][12][13]"

We arrived at Haeundae Beach around 10 AM and decided to go ahead and register formally for the festival.  For KRW 10,000 we received a Holi cap, a bag of coloured powder, a soda, and 2 delicious samosas!  I had been craving some Indian spices and this was a great (albeit unconventional) breakfast we enjoyed wearing shorts and a t-shirt while sitting on the beach.  Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I was enjoying beach time mid-March!

At noon the festivities truly began, and after some Makgeoli we headed over to the area where we would be throwing the powder.  There was a countdown then boom - colour everywhere!  

I was very glad to have my sunglasses on because the powder went everywhere: down my shirt, in my hair, in my mouth (I had green teeth for a bit...), and could have well gone in my eyes.  The vibe was like an outdoor club - EDM playing, people dancing, and everyone having fun.  I was nervous to head home on the subway after the event (I had coloured powder and sand all over my clothes), but I had strength in numbers as a friend of mine from Hwamyeong was heading into the subway at the same time as me so it was nice to have a friend on the ride home.

Makgeolli, Monster Craft, and many good times!

 

Sunday night is Curry night in Hwamyeong-Dong!  Monster Craft Brewing makes a cheep, cheerful, and incredibly delicious Japanese-style curry with your choice of mushrooms, chicken, or pork cutlet with the option to add more meat for KRW 2,500.  I had the mushroom curry and added chicken (their chicken is fantastic on its own or in the curry).

The dinner came with a really tasty soup (broth and green onions), a cabbage salad (which I promtly mixed into the curry for a crunchy texture), and a form of kimchi I was too stuffed to try.  Monster Craft is a great spot to hang out, have a beer, some food, and watch cats go by in the alley (when we went there was a family of calico cats that reminded me of the cat I had growing up - shout out to Angel).  The house beer is KRW 3,500 (about $3.50 - $4 Canadian), and the curry came to maybe KRW 9,000 for a meal I certainly couldn't finish!

After dinner we met up with the boys and went to a Makgeolli bar across the street from where we live.  There's the option to head upstairs (take your shoes off!) or sit at a table with chairs Western-style (we opted for that so we could play some card games).

Our hostess with the most(ess?) showed off the menu, and we ordered Pajeon with Kimchi, Mussels, and what I believed to be Scallops but that may have just been more onion or cabbage.  The Makgeolli (the Korean rice wine pictured above) was blended with some sort of powdered fruit mix.  Since this evening, some coworkers have taken me out for some proper Korean food and different kinds of Makgeolli.  The phrase "do you drink well, Kate?" came out on a few occasions, but I like to think I kept it in check!  

Have you tried Makgeolli?  What kind is your favourite?

Nampo-dong and Jagalchi Market

Last Sunday's start was a bit confusing!   Like the picture above (taken outside exit 4 of Nampo Station), there were many directions we could have taken to meet our friends in the "shopping district" of Busan, Nampo-dong.  I snapped that photo just as we had exited to street level and was excited to see both Vancouver and Toronto represented.

The shopping street is a bit tucked away from the main street (take exit 7 if you choose to go!) so we went to the mall by mistake.  They run a water show so as we entered the mall the William Tell Overture was playing and water was falling from the ceiling.  As we tried on Dior Sunglasses (at a kiosk, no less) the show was approaching its finale.  We couldn't get wifi at first, so we wandered around enjoying the changing LED lights and the Sam Smith-themed apparel.

While the mall was pretty cool (and offers a viewing deck on the 12th floor that we'll need to go back to) we finally got wifi and finally met up with the other two. 

 We immediately headed into a Green Tea shop where there were various Green Tea lattes and Green Tea flavoured foods like the Green Tea pesto grilled cheese I had for lunch.

I'll definitely need to head back - they had some great (and inexpensive) clothes, a huge street-food market, and an Art Box shop (with great household appliances/ cutlery, etc. makeup, and school supplies).  I bought a shirt and a wallet as well as some Hotteok ("Hotteok is a variety of filled Korean pancake, and is a popular street food of Korea. It is usually eaten during the winter season.")

 Busan Tower

Street Performers

 I'll have to head back for Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream!

 Yes - that is a Taekwondo uniform for dogs.

They sometimes spell city names wrong...

After lots of walking around, window shopping, snacking, and sight-seeing we headed back to Hwamyeong visa the Jagalchi Market Subway Station (Jagalchi and Nampo are linked through an underground path).  I'll definitely be back to this area soon!