monsoon season, the bachelorette, depression, & learning to meditate
This week has been hectic to say the least.
Between the rain pouring down like it's the end of the world to the humidity blasting at 3000% it's made things difficult to say the least.
After work I stayed inside and played with Soguem and watched this weeks episode of the Bachelorette.
I have to admit it's my little slice of Americana haha This season's batch of dude are grade A douche's. We all know who will win but we all hope for someone else haha and yes I am talking about Jordan being the front runner in this. unfortunately.
but who wouldn't want to spend the holidays with Aaron Rodgers and family.
duh
I've been pretty down lately hence the lack of videos this week and this one being a tad late. I'm feeling pretty alone and I'm just not used to spending so much time in my head.
thats why
I reached out to my dear friend mary mecca at Self Love Medicine for some advice.
Yay
I'm finally getting back to some kind of "normal" filming schedule again!
This video is special because it is Kyu and myself!
I hope you all enjoy!!!
side note:
We addressed a negative comment on a previous video and I want to say that even though in the video we laughed about it, it took me 4 days to find any humor in that comment.
Truth be told I felt guilty and sad when I read that comment because if you know Kyu and I we are pretty easy going and I was pretty bummed to think someone thought I was mistreating my boyfriend.
So I dont mean to throw "shade" or seem like I'm dissing that person because what they wrote really did upset me but Kyu just reminded me that no one know our relationship better than us.
I were on the beach in Sokcho and got to talking about life in Korea.
We talked about traveling about how
Korea wasn't exactly what we had expected to be.
When I hear my friends telling me
"Omg, that is so wonderful you live in such a foreign place!"
but is it?
Sure, when I first got here it was new and exciting and also very frustrating.
Seeing buildings and businesses stacked up higher than my eyes could reach was definitely something I marveled over.
but at some point in my life here Korea just became Korea.
As the years have gone by and the more Korean language I have picked up I don't feel like
#thestruggleisreal
anymore.
This week end I went to Sokcho but ended up feeling sick so I decided to part ways and head back home on the bus.
It's a 3 hour bus ride back to Seoul then an additional 45 minute bus ride back to where I live.
As I hopped in a cab and got to the bus terminal got my ticket and settled in for the long ride home it all dawned on me.
I did this by myself
Using my Korean skills (which aren't anything to brag about) but it wast like
I didn't have to struggle or feel frustrated.
I feel myself feeling overly comfortable here and I see how people have ended up living here for decades.
Let me back track and explain a little more.
One of the girls is going to Vietnam this week end and another girl mentioned her experience there.
"Eat at one of the shops near the street! The feeling of scooters zooming past you and eating in the street like a local is unreal.
It's nothing like Korea."
When you think of Asia, I'm sure you think of China and Vietnam or maybe even Thailand. The hustle in bustle is enchanting and it's so easy to get swept up in it's glory.
Korea is the most westernize country I have ever lived in.
Being here is like being in America but only the signs are all in Korean.
If I wouldn't have known better it was like I signed up for a job in Dallas and still lived in Dallas but secluded from my friends and family and just worked.
... if that made any sense ...
What I'm trying to say is
There's a point where you travel around and you get a taste of what other Asian countries are like. Some more 3rd world than others but still it's an experience. You hop on a plane back to Korea and feel a sense of relief because you are "home."
Home here feels very western. Very few instances leave me thinking like
Oh man I'm definitely living in Asia.
Any who I thought this was interesting and thought I'd write it down to share.
If you live in an Asian country, have you experienced this?
Have you ever felt like Korea wasn't what you were expecting?
and it was time for a much needed girl's trip to the beach!
Check out the video!
Here's the low down on what we did!
Our Room:
We booked an AH-MAZING air bnb near Haeundae Beach!
It was near Hill Spa and Sauna
Saturday:
Walked around Haeundae beach and dipped our toes in the sand! We then walked around to find something to eat!
We landed at Sharky's on the main strip near Haeundae Beach. I had the turkey club and Val had the avocado beach! Serious nomz
The staff was super friendly and the food was just what we needed to fuel our adventurous afternoon!
After that
We headed out on the subway to Gamcheon Cultural Village.
Tip:
After taking the subway and exiting through exit 6 you should find bus #2 outside of the hospital.
We tried walking got lost then had to find the bus stop! Oops! haha
We got on the bus and climbed a huge mountain and got dropped off in all the action!
I don't think the pictures and video really do it justice.
You are on top of a gorgeous mountain with lush trees and cherry blossoms and you can see the beach and colorful houses stacked on top of each other! It was glorious!
We shopped around and spend a solid 3 hours there drinking tea and shopping for trinkets!
I also bought a nice painting from a local artist! I'm stoked to take it back to America and frame it!
After we descended from the mountain top we hopped back on the train
I needed to make a pit stop at the LARGEST mall in Korea.
Obvi.
We missed the sunset but we weren't too bummed because we were deep into the mall and if you know me shopping literally makes me feel drunk.
Which is probably something I shouldn't admit.
After splurging on some new spring outfits and a hoodie we headed back to our air bnb for some R&R.
Around 10PM we decided we were hungry haha We wanted BBQ... BADLY
So we ventured out and stopped at the first place we found.
OVER PRICED KOREAN BBQ... >.<
Needless to say we ate and moved on quickly.
We stopped at the Galmegi Brewing Company which is a beer company straight outta Busan!
Now I'm not much of a drinker much less a beer drinker but it was pretty good! The bar staff was super friendly and kindly engaged in conversation with us and we talked crap about Donald Trump and what in the world is going on with America.
We stayed there until 1:30AM then headed to the beach
We got some little fireworks and sparklers from the ajumma at the beach and that was fun and frightening all in 1!
Sunday
I slept in because I was ridiculously dehydrated.
Once I showered and put on some fresh chones we were out the door to
Galmegi Beach!!
We went to Caffe Primo which is behind Hotel Homer !
I have to admit this was the best breakfast I'd had in a very long time. The prices were decent and the coffee was delightful!
We walked around the Galmegi area for a bit and it was crazy windy so we decided to head out!
We ended up at Haedong Yonggung Temple
Side note: We took a cab there because it said by bus and train it would take over an hour and we didn't have time for that. From Galmegi beach it was a 10 dollar taxi ride.
Now I'm used to temples from Cambodia and Thailand where they are pretty conservative and you have to meet dress code to get in kinda thing. This temple seemed disappointing in the fact that there were vendors posted up outside the main gate and a Coffee Bean was also on location.
#TempleSnob
Overall though it was gorgeous! It's on the water it's incredibly beautiful. There were tons of people there! So this is a definitely come early kinda thing. We got there around 2PM so it was jam packed!
After the temple we headed home and packed up and headed to the train station.
We ate a little Japanese food train station and celebrated a lovely week end with a krispy kreme doughnut for the train!
We parted ways with our love for Busan and reluctantly headed home.
I had never been to Busan but I will say
I CANNOT WAIT TO GO BACK!
The vibe it so much different than Seoul. I cant wait to take Kyu there!
I finally upload a quick video of how to apply a face mask.
Even though the video is fast I put little subtitles the order I do things in.
In the description box you will find all of the products I used. I linked everything just so if you want to try any of these products you know where to go!
I hope you enjoy this! If you have any questions feel free to ask! I might do this again but will an explanation part!
I wish I could say the weeks have been flying by since I started this.
But I'm still going haha
I just wanted to say a huge THANK YOU! To everyone who has been watching and supporting me while I do this! It's been really therapeutic for me to just talk.
I am now trying once again to start a video journal. All of my other videos I did one and then determined I sounded like a total douche lord and just gave up.
butttt
I'm not giving up this time! I still sound and look like a giant weirdo but I want to try and vocalize my thoughts and feelings about living in Korea the past 3 years.
