and then that's...that's the final

Hi,

Well, this could be my final blog from Korea. I have yet to decide if I'll continue the blog after I leave, if I do it'll need a name change! I think it is more likely I'll shift to a photo blog, if there is such a thing. What I mean is I'll upload photos and leave captions on them. I've already joined Picasa so I can store photos from my SE Asia trip on there, so once I start doing that I'll put a URL on here.

Since I last blogged things have moved along at a frantic pace. There have been 4 weekends between then and now, with every one filled with some activity of sorts. The final weekend of April was reserved for my 'Open House' sale. I spent a lot of time making posters (in Korean and English), attaching Post-It notes to everything and tidying the place up, but in the end only a few folk showed up. I got rid of a few things on the day, and in the last few weeks I have managed to sell other bits and pieces too. The final large item was the sofa, which was picked up today. The flat is starting to look a bit bare, but there is still a lot of tidying and cleaning to be done before I move out on Friday.

On the first weekend of May Lisa, a group of her friends and I headed to some islands further down the West coast. Due to my working hours, we couldn't leave on the Friday night, so instead it was up at 4:30am, and into Seoul to catch the KTX down to Iksan. From there we took a bus to Gunsan, and then a ferry from there to the islands. The main island was called Seonyudo, and is regarded by some as the "Polynesia of Korea". I wouldn't go that far, but it was nice. Here's a couple of photos, and the usual Facebook link.

One of the rocky hills that made up the islands.

Group shot as the sun went down.

The two main modes of transport were bicycles and golf buggies, mainly due to the roads being too narrow to manage lots of cars. All the older Koreans got ferried about on the golf buggies while the young things (like us!) pedalled our way about.

The rest of the photos: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=422944&id=777495416&l=db3b52672

Despite the long journey time there and back (even the direct bus from Gunsan back to Incheon took over 3 hours), it was worth it. The scenery was beautiful (from the Korea I have seen, 2nd only to Jeju in terms of beauty) and I enjoyed spending time with Lisa and some of her friends.

The following weekend it was time for my farewell dinner. I decided on that weekend as it seemed to be one where most folk were available, and although a few people couldn't make it, it was still great to say bye to some of the great people I've met during my time in Korea. We went for dinner in Seoul, at a Mexican restaurant that Lisa introduced me to. The food is great, and the service is superb too. Here's a shot of us all around the dinner table.

After dinner we headed over to Hongdae for a few drinks. First stop was a nice (but pricey) rooftop bar, then into one of the Gold bar's (not as fancy as it sounds!) then a cool place that sold Margarita's in crazy glasses (see photo below) and then finally to Jane's Groove, one of the original places we used to go in Hongdae (back in the 'dae' ahaha). It was a great night, and although I don't miss the Seoul nightlife these days, it was nice to have a final taste.

On the Sunday, I headed up to Munhak Stadium and met Neil, Craig, Callum and Sumi to watch my final Incheon United game. They were playing FC Seoul, one of the 'local' teams, so it is probably about as close to a derby as you can get. FC Seoul were about 4 places above Incheon in the league, and historically are the much stronger team. After 85 mins of 0-0 but some good play, Incheon finally broke the deadlock and scored. The crowd, including us, went wild. It was a great end to the game and I was very happy that my final Incheon game ended in victory for the home side. Although the standard of play is usually questionable, I will miss my trips to Munhak.
My Pride, My United.

Photos from the Farewell dinner and Incheon game: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=425580&id=777495416&l=15994eeffa

On my final full weekend (the one just passed), we headed out to Deokjokdo, an island about an hour from Incheon that I have visited several times before. We left early on the Saturday on the slower car ferry, which stopped at a few other islands en-route before finally arriving at Deokjokdo about 2 and a half hours later. Once we'd got ourselves from the ferry over to the beach, we found a motel room and dumped our stuff, before heading to the sand. It was a bit cloudy at first, but the sun soon came out, and we had a Girls vs Boys game of Hitty-Canny (throw a baseball and try and knock some empty beer cans over......simple but great fun).

Here's a video of the action. The boys won of course!

Craig also managed to persuade Neil and I to go for a swim. It was absolutely FREEZING, but I suppose in hindsight it was good to have a final swim in Korean waters.

Us after the swim......chilly!

In the evening we got hold of some meat and rice, and cooked it up on the balcony of our hotel, accompanied by generous amounts of beer and soju.

The next day, it was back to the beach for a few hours for some sun-bathing and more Hitty-Canny, before catching the ferry back to Incheon. Another great trip, and thankfully I didn't get as burnt as the last time I was on Deokjokdo! Here's the rest of the photos link:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=428455&id=777495416&l=e8f52842fc

So, that's all the weekends up to speed. The weeks have been pretty uneventful, a few open classes at GnB (where the parents come and watch), and Sunny's GnB had a fun day for the kids the day before Children's Day (5th May) where I was tasked with doing the children's quiz. We had Children's Day off, so Lisa and I headed into Seoul and had a game of Crazy Golf on top of Yongsan station, which was good fun.

As I am leaving GnB this week, my boss has hired a new teacher, and so he has been sitting in on my classes to see how things work. Today, my 2nd class couldn't have gone much worse. They are only little, and so have a tendency to lose focus quite quickly. They also have trouble staying on their chairs, and are constantly dropping things off their desks and then diving underneath to retrieve them. Today, we had all of this plus one girl got quite a severe nosebleed, and then several others, in a freak coincidence, managed to break their red pens which resulted in yet more red liquid being smeared onto hands, books and desks. I was already too hot from the lack of air-con, but the preceding events pushed the temperature up further. Poor new guy, he must have been sitting there wondering what the hell he's let himself in for! I am in the process of taking class photos of all my students, here is aforementioned class.

The one who had the nosebleed is on the right, with her fingers touching her nose. The girl on the left was one of the casualties of the exploding pens, if you look closely you can just about make out the redness on her fingers.

I finish work in three days time, and will be glad to do so. I suppose a lot of my desire to finish is because I know it's so close now and also that I'm going on holiday afterwards, but I also think I have had my fill of teaching for the time being. I would not rule out doing it again in the future, but that's enough for now. I will move out my apt on Friday, that will be a sad moment, I have grown to really like it. And then, on Sunday morning, I fly out to begin my adventure around SE Asia. I am really excited about it, but also a bit nervous and sad too as I will be away from Lisa for almost a month. The Internet is a wonderful tool but it is no substitute for actually being with the person.

Closing thoughts on my time in Korea? Amazing. Life-changing. Frustrating at times. Extremely rewarding at others. And above all, a great experience that will stay with me forever.

I may, depending on how busy I am in the next few days, put up another blog regarding things I will and will not miss about Korea. At the moment it is saved in my drafts box, so if I have enough time I'll finish it and post. We'll see.

So, until I blog again, 안녕히 계세요 to you, and to Korea!