Sunday, August 23, 2015

Got My Paper Draft Back

I got my feedback on my dissertation yesterday evening and could not have been happier. FAR less work than I had anticipated, and what I do have to do I can do most morning this week and next, which will leave every weekend except one in September free. Free weekends are suddenly important for me, as I only have nine of them left here in the ROK.

I plan to submit it on the morning of Saturday Sept 19th and then celebrate with a trip to Daejeon. It isn't exactly Disneyland, but it is always fun.

I will end up close to my word limit, but 200-300 under so it is okay. I also need to do a bit more reading, but just 2-3 more articles, and nothing wrong with padding my already ridiculous bibliography.

I am glad that I did this programme, but I am also happy to be done with it.

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Filling Out My Last Few Weekends

With nine weekends left I am trying to fill out what I will be doing before I go.

This weekend Darren was supposed to come down but he had to cancel. Oh well.

Next weekend Will is in town on his way back to Saigon from Atlanta. He decided to stop off in Korea for a few days to see his old neighbourhood and visit friends. I last saw Will in February, 2014 but we keep in touch on skype regularly. Both of us are on a real budget so I think we will just stick to Daegu. Zeke will also be around on Saturday and Sunday, so that will be fun.

Sept 18th I'll be doing a last trip to Daejeon, a city which is not a tourist destination in itself, but is a city I have had a few good nights in that you can read about herehere and here. I've always had fun in Daejeon, and will miss it in a strange way.

Oct 10-11 I'll be doing my third KOTESOL presentation and visiting Seoul for the last time. Seoul is Seoul. I've been multiple times (herehereherehereherehere and here), though I haven't been up in almost a year now, except to get flights from Incheon or Gimpo, so another weekend up is long overdue.

Oct 16-18 I'll be visiting Busan for my last full weekend in Korea. Busan is, without a doubt, my favourite city in Korea. I've been multiple times (hereherehere and here) and always have fun. I can't think of a better place to spend my last weekend in Korea as a hagwon teacher.

October 24th I fly to Manila.


I have a few more weekends available, but those will mostly be given over to paper until the 18th and doing a few things in Daegu. I would have liked to visit Gumi and hike Geumosan again. I would also like to visit Jeonju again, but that may not be a realistic possibility. Otherwise there really isn't much to do that I haven't done, or at least touched on.

Sunday, August 9, 2015

Getting by

The last few days I have been back have been going by quickly, yet somehow very slowly. I am already one week in to my twelve week countdown and relatively busy. Besides work I am trying to finish my dissertation paper and get it cleaned up. Jon is looking over it today and tomorrow and I hope to have a draft ready for my advisor by Friday or Saturday. I've also been seeing off a few Moonkkang friends, who are all finishing this summer. Matt and I had a few beers at the mart patio on Thursday night after dinner and of Friday I hope to meet Nathan for dinner downtown. Daegu is emptying fast of many people who have been here for years. There is certainly a feeling of change here and I am happy to be a part of it. I am also trying to get by on a VERY reduced budget, in order to pay off my University at the end of August. That will leave me my final two paycheques to put entirely towards savings. It is probably a good thing that I have so much school work to do, it keeps me at home and eating cheap noodles.

I have also decided that the bucket list I made for places in Korea to visit might have to be a list of things that I never did. I still have a few weeks, but I want every won I can get to be ready for the next stage of my life. I also want to do a few things such as Busan and Hongdae in Seoul one last time. I mean I may be back next year working at a University, but there is also a chance that after October I will never return to Korea. I guess I would rather do what I love a last time rather than go exploring and spending extra cash. A bit boring I concede, but I have lost my Korean travel bug.

Also, to be mopey, I miss Yen a lot. I find myself less excited to get out and explore by myself than I used to be. With her not here to enjoy it with me I find myself less excited to get on a train for the weekend. Also, with so many friends either leaving or else in school and poor like me, it isn't as easy as it once was to get a friend and go. Not that I am lonely or anything, but it isn't realistic to get Darren down here every weekend or go to Goyang to see Mike twice a month or expect Zeke to hang out with me every single day. I think what it comes down to is that I am ready to move on from this hagwon life, and would rather spend time with friends I will miss at places I will miss rather than go out and explore new places or make new friends. I'll be doing plenty of that next year.

I have also picked up some Tagalog lessons, maybe I'll do a better job with that than I did with Korean. The motivation is certainly there.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Gatbawi

I arrived back from Manila on Thursday night and, after getting a bus to Daegu I got home around 2 and to bed by 330. Needless to say I wasn't moving before 10. Mike was coming down around noon and so I did het out and get banking before meeting up. We mostly spent the day at Wolgwang lake park catching up.

Saturday Darren came down and the three of us headed for Gatbawi. Gatbawi is the one tourist thing that I have not done in Daegu and, despite weather than made Manila feel cool, we decided to head eat and go up it. We headed out to DongDaegu station and hopped on the 401 headed east to Gatbawi (갓바위). Gatbawi is a stone Buddha carved in the 9th century. It is said to have healing properties, and I guess if you consider how many calories you burn getting to it that is kinda true. The hike is very vertical and, while not long, is taxing in ideal conditions, let alone in that heat. We slowly made our way up. On the way we met a monk named Ja Jae who had been born a Christian, moved to California and found Buddhism, and had recently moved back to Korea. Interesting story and was great to talk to. We finally made it to the top and it was worth the slog.

Buddha


again




Palgongsan shots







With this done I also feel that I have well and truly done everything in Daegu, and with only one or two exceptions everything in Korea. There are the Boseong tea fields and I have never hiked Seoraksan, which is considered a major tourist attraction in Korea. That being said I have hiked 20 other mountains here, all of which offer beautiful views and great exercise. I would like to do Boseong before I go but it isn't a must for me. If it was that important to me I would have found time to do it in the last six years. Gatbawi was a bit of a must for no other reason than it is a great bit of history and it is in Daegu. It is a great reminder that Korea is actually an old country, something that, as I have said before, is very easy to forget amid all the modernity the country is so famous for.



Sunday, August 2, 2015

Manila in the Summer

I just got back from a half week in Manila, taking Yen home and getting some chores and work done, plus meeting her family and doing a bit of sightseeing.

We were actually on the same plane as Zeke and Julie flying AirAsia from Incheon. AirAsia is a budget airline and, while I don't mind flying less than Cathay Pacific, flying them for a 4 hour flight might be where my limit ends. However, once we got to Manila and met her family it was great.

We stayed near Bicutan with her sister the first two nights. It was nice but her place was crowded with all the family. That being said her family were all great so it wasn't difficult. As soon as we got there it started raining very heavily but by eight it was dry and warm so we grabbed a tricycle and headed to SM Bicutan for dinner. Everyone had been up since 4am and so no one had a lot of energy. We were asleep by 11.  On Sunday we hopped in a jeepney and headed to Mall of Asia with Yen's sister and nephew to do clothes shopping for me and take a few pics.

Yen, Carl and Jovelyn

Mall of Asia

again

I spent a huge chunk of cash getting a new suitcase, several shirts and two pairs of shorts. I need more, but I think I'll have to wait until October. Buying clothes in Manila is much easier than in Korea, and so I made a point of doing it while I was there. I may be an XXL in the Philippines, but the clothes fit perfectly and there is a variety to choose from. The mall itself is a sight, it is huge and next to the bay with hundreds of shops and restaurants. Manila has adopted the US shopping mall culture to a much greater extent than other places in Asia (or Canada for that matter), and they are the places to go for just about everything. We had a late lunch and headed back to Bicutan.

Monday was a chore day, we checked in to our hotel in Malate and spent half the day at the bank. We stayed at Casa Bocobo, where Mike and I stayed in May, 2013. We went briefly to Luneta Park, but the rain started so we went out for Korean BBQ (I know) because Yen's family wanted to see what we were having in Korea. It wasn't bad food. Yen and I then had an early night.

Yen and her family

Luneta Park

again

Lapu Lapu, the man who killed Magellan

A Jeepney

Three sisters

Rizal Monument

Yen Cooking

Mr. Park was unavailable

Tuesday was another day of shopping, picking things up for friends here and for Yen when she flies to her parents place etc. but Tuesday night we took a cruise around Manila Bay. It was fun but wasn't exactly what I was hoping for. A romantic cruise with a kids birthday party. They just didn't seem to know what they were trying to offer. That being said some great views of the Bay and I always like being out on the water.


Me at the Harbour

Yen Looking at the Ocean

Our Boat

Manila

Yen 

Roxas

Manila

Manila again

Me with city in the background

sunset

Mall of Asia

Wednesday was my last full day in the Philippines and we finally made it out of Manila to get to Tagaytay, about an hour south of Manila. We rented Yen's uncles van, and he was nice enough to drive us all down for a picnic and hike in the mountains. It was much cooler than in Manila and the views of southern Luzon were amazing. It was very muggy though, so the shots I took don't really capture the place. We ate a picnic that Yen's mom and sister had made, then went around the place. It was beautiful and well worth the trip out.

Palm Trees

Taal Lake

Lake

Volcanic island in the lake

Mountains

Volcano

plains below the mountains

lake

tropics

us

Sporting Champions

Southern Luzon

again

mountains

Thursday was a lazy morning, having breakfast and packing before Yen and I went to the airport and said goodbye. I feel that much of what I wrote in 2013 still applies. I already miss the Philippines. I am not looking forward to the next twelve weeks, but I think it will go by quickly.