The Busan Sky Was on Fire Last Night, and I LOVED Every Minute of It!!

Last night I went down to Gwangalli beach with a couple of friends for the Busan Fireworks Festival. Let me just say, the show was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I have never in my life seen the sky light up with so many colours! I could have done without the massive crowds and inconsiderate girl behind me who insisted on coughing on my neck every 5 seconds, but once the lights show started I didn't care about any of this. One of the coolest things about the event was that the fireworks were set off from boats on the water. It was the perfect setting: the Gwangan Bridge was illuminated in the background, the waves were calm, and the sky was on fire.

Although my pictures and videos cannot do justice to the fireworks show, I've uploaded a few just to give you an idea of what I experienced last night. Click on the following you tube link for a great clip of the fireworks finale last night (this is not my video): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk7WhJwpCi0

 Aside from the actual show, making our way down to the beach was a nightmare! The crowds were insane!!!! The streets were packed! The subways were packed! The restaurants were packed! Everywhere I looked, it was packed!! The Busan Police were out in large numbers directing pedestrians; I personally think they weren't all that effective. At some intersections, they banded together to block people from going in certain directions but let's just say, it was REALLY easy to get past them. All I had to say was, "hotel" and point at one of the beach hotels and they let me through without any questions. Poor unsuspecting rent-a-cops! Seeing the police and huge crowds reminded me of footage of the Toronto G20 Summit on TV this past summer (minus the tear gas and police cruisers lit on fire). Check out my pictures and tell me if you agree!

Emo Week

As the title of this blog suggests, I've been feeling a little off my game this week. I spent last weekend in Daejeon with some girlfriends and we had a great time! I ate homemade pancakes, visited my first jimjilbang, (a Korean bathhouse which includes saunas, sleep rooms, hot tubs, karaoke rooms, and a whole lot more!), celebrated my friend's birthday, and attended a "rock festival." All in all it was a fantastic weekend but the trouble began on Sunday morning when I made a call back home. I called my bestie who was actually at my friend's ring ceremony (Sunday morning for me is Saturday night for Toronto). Most of my elementary school friends as well as high school friends were at the reception so the phone got passed around for a bit. I was able to speak with lots of old friends and while I was very happy, the reality of how far away I was from everyone started creeping back into my thoughts.

I honestly don't know what happened to me but after the 3rd or 4th person I spoke to, the tears started welling up in my eyes. At the time, I was sitting in my friend's apartment with my back to my friends because I felt so silly for getting that emotional. I guess just knowing that everyone was together celebrating while I was far far away, really got to me. It was especially upsetting because I've known my friend who was having the ring ceremony since elementary school; she is the first of our Wilclay Wildcat generation to be getting married and taking such a huge step in her life. By the time the phone got back to my bestie who I had originally called, the tears were already streaming down my face. No matter how many times I wiped my face, they just continued to fall. Eventually, I gave up even trying to dry my eyes. I said goodbye in as few words as possible and I ran to the bathroom to get a hold of myself.

This emo episode set the tone for my whole week. I felt unbelievably sad when I got home from Daejeon on Sunday evening. Seeing my parents on skype REALLY helped but the lonely factor really took it's toll on me. Everday since then, it's gotten a little bit better so now I barely feel homesick anymore; I'm thankful that the emo episode was relatively shortlived. I just have to push myself to stay positive when I feel that emo-ness making it's way back.

*Think happy thoughts Amarta!*

Just Another Day in Busan (link to photographs)

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/album.php?aid=239776&id=501179278

Feeling Thankful on Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day for Canadians so right now I'm feeling a little homesick. Watching the Korean-dubbed "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" alone in my apartment today didn't help much. I'm used to spending Thanksgiving with my family and stuffing my face with way too much food. This year, I'll be missing this.

Fortunately, my new friend has decided to organize a Thanksgiving dinner for all us Canadians in Busan! Being invited to this dinner got me thinking about the countless things I am thankful for. So, I decided to put together a list of just a few things in my life that I give thanks to God for:

(not necessarily in order of importance)
1. Loving and supportive family, including the newest addition, Tiger
2. Irreplacable friends back home
3. New friends in Korea
4. New home in Korea
5. Bobo the Bear
6. Health and safety
7. Opportunity to travel internationally
8. Being employed
9. Freedom of speech
10. Having food to eat
11. Electricity
12. Running water
13. Democracy (or something close to it)
14. Cheap shopping in Korea
15. Skype
16. Chocolate
17. Mascara (lol)

Ok clearly, the list starts getting silly towards the end but the point is, I have more than enough to be thankful for. I have been blessed with everything on this list and more and I will never fail to give thanks.

Today, I watched a movie at the Pusan International Film Festival called "A Portrait in a Sea of Lies" (about the widespread violence in Columbia and the displacement of its citizens) and it reminded me of just how lucky I really am to be living life the way I am right now.    

Drinking on the job

It's 4:22pm on Thurs., Oct. 7. I'm at school. Two minutes ago, my principal was pouring me shots....

Yup, you read correctly. I was drinking with my principal haha! You see, today the Office of Education sent some supervisors to evaluate our school and to sit in on a few classes, one of which was mine. Everyone at school has been frantically preparing for this day all week! I could tell that the teachers were feeling the pressure in the days leading up to the "open class" (that's what they call a class where others come to observe, whether it's parents, supervisors, etc.). The open class that my co-teacher and I taught went really well! The supervisors looked impressed and the principal specifically praised us for a job well done. All in all, I was having a good day. Then, my day got even better.

After the supervisors left the school today, the staff and teachers were visibly more relaxed! At about 4:00pm, my co-teacher informed me that we were to go down to the teacher's room for celebratory snacks with the rest of the teachers. I stepped into the room and was immediately greeted by a group of smiling Korean faces!!! Everyone was chatting excitedly and eating an assortment of snacks, including slices of roasted duck with honey mustard, which I had for the first time! Pretty good! It was so nice to see everyone in such great moods; I could feel the happiness floating around the room. At first glance, someone would probably think the room was full of old friends, instead of coworkers. The principal saw me and said "Amarta, ah come!" and he handed me a paper cup. Before I knew it, he was filling my cup with a white liquid. I assumed it was some sort of juice but I was hella wrong! We said cheers and drank. That's when I realized I was consuming alcohol!

I found out afterwards that my prinicipal had served me makgeolli. My co-teacher educated me about makgeolli, the Korean rice wine. It's made from boiled rice which is what gives it the cloudy white appearance. It tasted mildly sweet and it was not too strong; apparently, makgeolli is only made with 6.5-7% alcohol.

Drinking at school is definitely a new experience for me. In Canada, if teachers were to drink on school property, they'd most likely be fired or face severe consequences. Alcohol consumption is a huge no-no back home, for students and staff alike, so for a split second I almost felt anxious when I drank the makgeolli today.

I'm slowly learning about the many cultural differences that exist between Korea and the West as I know it. After reading this blog, some might come to the hasty conclusion that Koreans just love to drink anywhere and anytime. However, that's not the picture that I'm trying to paint. I think the Korean people enjoy drinking because it brings everyone together; they bond over drinks and food. Obviously, I'm no expert on Korean culture but the communal drinking and eating is surprisingly growing on me. I actually enjoy sharing food and drinks, which is very common here, because it almost makes me feel closer to my co-workers. Yes, this is coming from a self-proclaimed germaphobe. Maybe being in Korea will help me overcome my constant fear of germs haha!