Cool New Feature

Take a second look at the paragraph underneath the blog's title. I've added a cool new feature that allows you to check out my travel path on a world map. Cut and paste the link, make sure that there are NO spaces in the address bar. It should look like this: http://www.travelblog.org/gmaps/map_Ma.html

Hope you enjoy it!

~Rach

Taiwanese Weekends

It's been a while but I have a pretty good excuse....a dog ate our computer chord and I've been too busy to visit an internet cafe. We literally received the part today from Dell in Canada; after two weeks of waiting.
So how did a pup eat the computer? Well, we had a beagle named Abu (or maybe it was Apu) for exactly one day before it was evicted. Too bad, because it would have been nice to include an animal in our family life at 315 Fujian Loo.
I've been meaning to elaborate on my last three days in Korea. It was an awesome trip, really, and so great to see familiar faces. Melissa and I went to Chun-cheon for a visit with Sung-yong (my buddy from Laurier's MT program). We had a packed day which included lunch, tarot card readings (two each!), and karaoke. On Friday Melis and I headed to the DMZ and were fortunate enough to see North Korean soldiers up close. You might notice in my pictures the difference between the North/South gear, what a juxtaposition!
That night Mark came in from Taejon and we had dinner with Sung-yong and a couple of his Korean friends. After a night of dancing and visiting a night market in the freezing cold (poor Rachel was wearing high-heeled sandals, all in the name of fashion) we slept in and went to a day-market on Saturday. Most of the shots are from this expedition, notice how there are markets above and below ground. I have never seen so much merchandise in my life, we could barely navigate our way to the exit.
Saturday night was M&M's friend's birthday. The evening consisted of good food, once again, lots of red wine, and a visit to a night club at a swanky hotel.
On Sunday it was time to say goodbye to Melis and Mark. They took me to Seoul station and helped me find the shuttle to the airport. What a great visit. You guys are awesome!
The past three weeks I've been working like a fiend. I started tutoring a new English student and my bushiban has an additional four hours for me as of next week. So, all told, I'll be up to 31.5 teaching hours per week.
The weekend after returning to Taiwan, four girls, including myself, decided to visit Kenting National Park and beach. Will post pictures of this tonight hopefully!
Last weekend I went to Maolin National Park and stayed in the Dona Village. Man, what a great escape. I have many beautiful pictures of this mini-trip too. Will elaborate with the captions.
And....drum roll...this weekend I'm finally going to Taipei! We have a national holiday on Tuesday and I decided to book Monday off. Desiree and I are going for three nights. More on this once I return Tuesday evening.
So that's been February in a nutshell.
Except....
I'M HOMESICK FOR CANADA!! I miss reading English signs, speaking English easily in shops, MOM'S COOKING (that's a big one: could really eat some chocolate cake right now, but not the bakery stuff, the real deal straight from mom's kitchen), what else do I miss: oh, definitely my friends and my fam. I miss being able to hang out with a bunch of different people every week. As much as the ex-pat community here is chill, there's only so many people! They say that it's important to befriend locals, so that's an extra incentive to step-up the Mandarin lessons.
So, I haven't been in Canada for 4 months, and that means that I haven't been in Ottawa for five months! The ex-patriots who I've spoke to say that this is typical: at about 3 months (it's been exactly this since I arrived in Taiwan minus time away in HK and SK) most people start to feel homesick. Well that's me right now!
Funny though because things are still really good. I'm loving my work and the time passes by so quickly. Mandarin lessons are coming along and let's be honest: I'M GOING TO TAIPEI TOMORROW! Whooee!
So that's the update. Many, many, many pictures will be posted soon depicting my Taiwanese weekends.
lots of love and a little bit of homesickness,
Rach

Photos from South Korea: January 28th to February 5, 2006

Traditional garb: a little girl's hambuk.
Rachel and Melissa in Seoul. Oh ya, I dyed my hair red and now have it straightened twice per week. It's a nice change.
A stand of hambuks at a day market in Seoul.
An underground market. With so many people, they need to optimize the available space.
Melissa and Mark at a day market in Seoul.

A traditional Hambuk. We saw many of these because of the Lunar New Year. It remains their formal dress.
The Bridge of No Return.
A North Korean soldier in the Demiliterized Zone. We were very fortunate to be able to see these soldiers. They are only present when tourists visit from the North Korean side.
A South Korean soldier inside of the UN building. Half of this room is in South Korea, the other half is in the North. It's the only place that you can cross over into North Korea inside of the DMZ.

South and North Korean soldiers at the DMZ.
Karaoke with Sung-yong. They rent these rooms out by the hour!
Out for lunch with Sung-yong and Melissa in Chuncheon. Notice the communal eating style.
A street delicacy. These fish were filled with red bean paste.
The spaghetti subway system in Seoul. The population in 16 million.
Shabushabu, a Japanese dish that's not unlike hotpot in Taiwan. Notice all of the side dishes. The meat and vegetables were cooked in a broth and at the end we added noodles. Yum!
The Taejon fortress.
Yellowtail at the 7-11! It's actually cheaper here than in Canada!
Bamboo trees.

Photos from SK, continued...

Chunmchichigay, my favorite! Kimchi soup with tofu and tuna. Delicious! Sells for about $3.50 USD at Korean fast food joints.
A busy day market in Busan. Notice how the Korean script differs from Mandarin characters; they use circular and oval shapes much more often.
Beomeosa Temple in Busan. A temple at the top of the hill. The lanterns are for Lunar New Year (also known as Chinese New Year).

A windchime hanging from a building at Beomeosa.
Sarah and Rachel
Sunset through the buildings at Beomeosa.
Bamboo at Beomeosa.
Two Korean Ajeosshi (respectful term for an older gentleman) leaving the Beomeosa Temple.

Taejon, South Korea

It's Friday in Seoul and we just got back from the DMZ tour. I left off from Tuesday morning as I was heading to Taejon from Busan. I arrived shortly thereafter and was greeted by Mark and Melissa. So exciting! Great to see them again!

That evening we chatted over Korean BBQ and bamboo wine. Korean BBQ, for those who have not experienced it, consists of cooking your own meat while supplementing the main dish with lots of little side dishes. These change depending upon the restaurant but always incude my personal favorite: Kimchi! My goal is to overdose on this Korean specialty (cabbage aged in hot chilli sauce ~ they claim that it prevents cancer, SARS, and the bird flu ???) before returning to Taiwan were it is very expensive.

The next day I got a manicure and pedicure while Mark and Melissa were at work. In the afternoon, Melissa and I headed to the Taejon fortress; a 2 kilometer hike, up and down hill, to a stone wall overlooking the city and surrounding valleys. That evening we had shabushabu, a type of Japanese soup, and then went out with their friends who are also teaching in Taejon. That night I definitely had too much Soju and !gasp! we found my favorite wine: Yellowtail! In the 7-11 no less! Believe it or not it was actually cheaper here than in Canada at the LCBO. Too funny.

OK, I'll update later. Melis and I are tired, we need a rest before going to the Dongdemoon market tonight.

love and hugs,
Rach