TRAVELNAMEH

Last week after work I took a misty stroll along Oncheon river park, one of many such parks and pathways I’ve found in Busan; this is one of the recommended places to take in the cherry blossoms in Busan. 

Like the other parks I’ve stumbled across, Oncheon boasts scenic rest points, fitness centers, walking and bike paths to give the very outdoorsy Busanites ample opportunity to bask in the glory of the outdoors. 

The city of Busan announced that the cherry blossoms would begin to bloom the 28th of March. So, I planned a walk in the closest place to me filled with cherry blossoms, Dalmaji Hill, or the Moontan Road walk. It was a cloudy day but the city did not lie: Cherry blossom trees were beginning to open up their pink blossoms all along this pleasure roadside walk. Dalmaji hill lies just east of Haeundae beach yet seems miles away in character; a quiet, nature-filled street that simultaneously had a strange cosmopolitan feel as photography studies and art galleries began to emerge as we ascended the hill further. 

My friends and I decided to take a side path off the road and began descending down into a cypress forest stumbling upon the original selfie stick, a wooden block with 4 simple yet sturdy plastic flaps to, wait for it, hold your phone so that you can take a shot! Not only was it incredibly sturdy, it also rotated!! it was great. 

But, the greatest part was descending all the way down to the Songjeong railroad trail and turning off to visit Cheongsapo village for some fresh eel and seafood. Folks were drying seaweed everywhere and I can imagine in the summer months, the streets and lighthouse breakers will be swarming with people. All in all it was an awesome day, and I can’t wait to come back to Cheongsapo and walk along the lighthouses, or eat more eel. There was so much still to explore along Moontan Road as well. Every adventure in my new city just leaves me wanting to have more time! My day ended in another first, my first experience in a jjimjilbang, or Korean spa and sauna. Though our original hope was to visit the famed Vesta jjimjilbang, it was apparently closed! Fortunately, I remembered another large jjimjilbang down the hill in Jungdong, the Haeundae Spa Center. Though at first it was a strange thing to see SOOO many naked women at once, I soon adjusted and found that the people of Busan are just as friendly with their clothes on or off. 

At one point, I was chatting with a woman and her 6 year old daughter who was learning English. Only looking back do I have a moment of, ‘hm, I guess some people would find it strange to just chat so normally with complete equally naked strangers,’ yet I find nothing about it strange. In many ways, its a wonderful communal experience that is simultaneously a private and relaxing time to enjoy. In short, I can’t wait until my next visit. 

I climbed a mountain last weekend, more specifically, I climbed the mountain behind my house, Jang-san. It was the first sunny and warm day in Busan and although the few people I know in Busan wanted to wait until the next week to hike up, I decided to stick to my plan and go it alone.

It was a wonderful half day, taking in the waterfalls in Daecheon Park, through which the closest ascent of Jang-san(closest to me that is) lies. Though there were an enormous amount of people in the park and seemingly heading up the various walking trails and paths, as I ascended I was often alone or with one or two hikers just ahead or behind me.

Sometimes you are at the Kimbap Snack Stand and you finish your 1,000won snack and try to pay with coins when you realize that you only have 900won. As you reach for your 10,000won bill, the woman next to you asks how much the bill is and then pulls out a 1,000won  for you. Though you try and give her your measly 900won she just keeps pushing your hand away. 

You then hurriedly down your fishcake broth and bow a few pitiful thank you bows and scurry out of the protective plastic enclave that is the glory of standing snack stands in Korea. 

How did she know you were avoiding the atm in hopes of your ARC arriving and once again giving you the sweet relief know as an income? 

Jalgachi Market is Korea’s largest fish market and located across from the equally vibrant Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) area and Nampo district. Though I arrived late in the day to explore, the sheer number of stalls selling (and serving) fresh fish were overwhelming. What I have to go back for are pictures of the enormous lobsters, shrimp/prawns, and basically every other sea creature that I never thought could attain such sizes (e.g., lobsters the size of a well fed cat!)

From Orientation meals to American style brunch, to ramyeon in a cup: here are some random food moments that do not even capture half of my food experiences thus far.

Last weekend, I ventured out to my very first Korean Buddhist temple and it was amazing. Only a 15 min bus ride up the mountain from the very  busy Seomyeon area, was this beautiful mountainside retreat. Colorful yet subdued and framed by the mountainside cypress forest at its rear, it was larger than expected for an urban temple. In Korean, temples all have the ‘-sa’ ending and Saturday we were at Samkwangsa, a Chontae order temple known for it’s Lotus Lantern festival during the celebration of Buddha’s birthday, this year held in May. When we entered there was a great deal of construction in preparation for the festival…usually over 30,000 lanterns cover the temple grounds and the road leading up to the temple. 

Today’s visit was a mix of things, exploration, meditation and education: beyond just exploring the main rooms and calming paths on the temple grounds, my group also learned Temple etiquette, and general information about the Chontae order. 

For me, in this calming and beautiful expanse, it was our tea meditation lesson that I cherished the most. We walked into a room prepared with tea and rice cakes by the tea ceremony ladies, all dressed in beautiful hanboks, or the traditional dress of Korea.

 Afterwards we sat on our individual red cushions with our own wooden tea sets waiting patiently for us to known them better.

Though some might think, ‘TEA mediation!?’ It really was an amazing experience focused on thoughtful movement and focused minds. Before we began, our instructor explained we needed to calm our mind after eating and drinking, because inside, our minds were bouncing off the walls (think: elementary kids at recess). We took a brief moment to meditate before beginning our practice. The precision and beauty of our guide’s movements was mesmerizing, each movement deliberate, thoughtful and done with grace. We would brew the tea three times, repeating the same movements, waiting for the green tea leaves to unfold before we poured tea for our guest and for ourselves in a rhythmic 1-2-2-1 pouring method. It was quite difficult to judge the right amount of water to pour into our cooling bowl before we poured it over the tea, and again, so hard to ensure that we made even pours once the tea had brewed: with each brew we had to be sure to pour out all the water!

With each brew, our guide explained the tea would be steeped different amounts of time. The first would be brewed for 1min and 40 seconds. Our guide later explained, through an interpreter, that each tea is like a person, with it's own personality and taste. The first, and longest steeping gives the taste of a 19 year old (our interpreter had trouble with understanding this one; but, this is what I understood her to mean:)—earthy, and forceful like the smells and tastes of first spring. Green tea is quite delicate and usually brewed for just a minute or less, so this first brew had the taste of youth, hasty overpowering, and not quite balanced within the self. 

The second brew, she claimed was always the best, is brewed for one minute. Like the taste of your lover, it is smooth, full, and each sip worth savoring, yet brewed too long it can sour.  The last brew, steeps for only 40 seconds, and is like a married couple, strong and steady in the comfort of its taste.

Last Sunday, I took a walk from my neighborhood to the nearby Haeundae Beach. This is apparently the most popular beach during the summer months and even in the windy early march weather, family's, students and couples were frolicking along the beach or strolling along the walking path. 

I arrived in S. Korea at a particularly festive time--the Lunar New Year. The first few days here were filled with orientation and empty streets--the opposite of what I expected. After the 3 day holiday, the streets came back to life as people fell back into their normal weekday schedule. Now that I am in Busan, I've  also gotten to experience the Daeboreum celebrations, or the first full moon of the lunar year celebrations. The full moon in many cultures signifies a period of renewal and cleansing, and I found a familiar ritual at the Daeboreum celebration at Gwangalli beach in Busan: bonfires to rid yourself of bad things from the last year and to send up good wishes for the new year. Many people brought bags and boxes of papers with messages written on them for festival volunteers and staff to throw into the bonfire. 

Though it feels like months already, I've only been in my new city for one week. In that time I've had my first week of work. My first moment of kindness from a stranger. My first successful meal ordering (and my first disaster ordering).  

This is also my first time being almost completely illiterate in a foreign country and it's quite frustrating and inspires me to start learning korean as soon as possible. Everything is a bit difficult, from looking up bus routes to finding the rice at the grocery store to navigating restaurant ordering when you have no idea what anything is on the menu. Thankfully my co-workers and my manager have been so helpful translating the simplest things like my washing machine buttons to telling me what words to search for bus route maps.