Australia after a month and a half

We have since quit our jobs and have started to enjoy a little more of Surfer's and the surrounding area.

As one of our goals for coming here, we tried surfing last week!! It was a lot of fun, but we were both pretty sore the next day! Regardless, it was worth it, I was able to stand up once, and Trev got up a few times. We'll be pro's in no time!!!

We did a day tour of O'Reily Mountain and Tambourine mountain, which was amazing! The views from the top of the mountain go on forever!!! We went on a walk through the rainforest on O'Reily mountain, and climbed to the top of a really tall tree (not sure exactly how tall it was, but when we got to the top, it was cold and my legs were definately shaking). In the rainforest there were all these trees that were surrounded by vines that grew from the top down and physically strangled the tree. Theses vines wrap around the tree causing it to rot and eventually die. These trees were all over and so amazing to look at. (Again pictures will be up on facebook, if not on here shortly).

At the top of Tambourine mountain, to our surprise, there is an entire little town. We had some lunch and then did some wine tasting before coming back home.

So far, Australia has been pretty good. We are starting to look for jobs again, but no one seems to want to hire us. We're gonna give it another week or so, and if no jobs come our way, we'll probably head somewhere else. I really want to start seeing and doing more, so I'm secretly hoping we are able to move to a different city to see what else is out there!!

It has definatley been a different experience from Korea so far, but enjoyable all the same!!

We made it to Australia!!!

Well we're here!! Our travel time was long but we made it here. We are currently in Surfer's Paradise, which is just outside of Brisbane. We've got an apartment, well a room in an apartment that we share with three other people. It's really nice though!!

We live about 5mins from the beach, which is sooo nice!! It's Spring here, so the weather is really nice!! It's not too hot yet, and not too cold. I haven't got a lot of photo's yet to put up but if you can imagine palm trees, surf shops, tans... then you'll have a pretty good idea of what it's like here.

We both got jobs pretty quickly at the same restaurant, but they won't give us shifts together so when one is working the other is on their own.. which sucks. We haven't really gotten a chance to do to much just yet.. So we decided to stop working for now and start having more fun!!

We did however get to go to the Australia zoo!!! SOOOO amazing!! I'll try to get some photo's up soon, but it's difficult b/c we don't have interent at home... they're up on facebook though, so check there!!

Boryeong Mud Festival

The weekend after my birthday we went to the Boryeong Mud Festival. They have this festival every year, and the name pretty much gives away what the festival is all about... Yup.. MUD!! It lasts for 2 weeks and it basically gives you the chance to literally play in the mud!! It's held at Daecheon beach, and the mud is actually quite good for you skin (much like most things in Korea). There is even a product line of MUD products that you can purchase. They have tons of events like mud slides, mud wrestling, mud king contest, etc...

We went with a a group of about 10-11 people and we stayed at this motel (It looks a lot nicer then it is). The great thing about it was that it was right on the beach, about 10 min walk from all the mud festivities. The rooms were Ondel style, where you are provided with blankets and pillows, and you sleep on the floor. The rooms we had were pretty small and we had 6 people in our room. At first we were a little worried but then we realized there was air conditioning!!!! So it was a comfortable cozy sleep.

This is a shot taken right outside our motel. We had gorgeous weather all weekend!! Super sunny and great beach weather!!
At the mud festival, if you don't have any mud on you, or if no one has thrown or painted mud on you, you are sent to Mud Jail, where you will receive a 'mud treatment...'
We actually never had to go to jail. As we were walking towards the mud painting area(they had tables set up with buckets of mud and paintbrushes to apply it with), someone did us the honor. He got Trevor on the chest, and me and Arna right in the face.
Who needs sunscreen??? We basically covered ourselves with mud from head to toe. Because it was so hot, it felt so nice to have the wet mud all over... but of course the mud dried and hardened. But, that just gave us more of a reason to go swimming in the Ocean!!

On the second day, Sunday, Trevor and I went back to the mud to try out the big mud slide, but sadly, it wasn't up and running. So instead we just had fun by covering ourselves with mud again. As we were painting, we had about 4 different photographers taking our pictures and watching us go from white to mud. We took our time and made sure we were completely covered!!! We didn't get any pictures of Sunday, but I'm pretty sure there are tons of photo's of us somewhere. It was sooooo much fun!!! Everyone took part and no one was afraid of getting dirty!!!

My Birthday!!!!

This year, I had to work on my birthday but it was still a great one. Trevor made me a Chocolate cake, which was sooo good!!! His mom sent over the cake mix plus chocolate and purple icing!! They have cakes and cake mixes here but they aren't the same... just don't have that sweetness that Canadian cakes have.
In addition to this cake, I was also given an ice cream cake and pizza from our director. A few people also gave money in for a gift for me.

That night a bunch of people came out for drinks at WA-BAR, it has drinks from all over the world, plus really cheap beer!! haha... Trevor got them to play the Happy Birthday song and they gave us all sparklers to celebrate!!!

Overall I had a great birthday!! Trevor got me a pedicure and a super funny shirt. One of the things we love doing is looking for random English t-shirts... Some of them make sense, but a lot don't. Just as an example.. The front of this shirt says "Cool Candy Grape good smell" hahah.. it continues on to the back with random words about candy.If you can't read the bottom part it says, "Sweets with the famous character in the worid (it doesn't say world, it says worid) it is aiming at what Children are glad at!"

Got our Black belts!!!

Just wanted to let everyone know, we DID get our black belts!! We had our test on the Sunday (see below for pictures) and we got our belts on the Monday!!! Our names are on one end of the belt and 'Tae Kwon Do' is on the other end!! So crazy!!!! It has been hard work, but well worth it!!!

Kindergarten Field Trip to the Zoo

As one of our monthly field trips, all three kindergarten classes went to the Jeonju Zoo. We piled into two of the SLP buses and headed out. In the picture to the left are two of the girls in my class, and four of the boys in the other classes.

The bus ride was interesting. If you can imagine sitting in between 9-10 five, six and seven year olds, it was pretty much like that, but surprisingly, it wasn't too bad. The kids were pretty well behaved and we actually had fun. Trev and I were sitting with these kids, and we just joked around most of the time. They were all pretty excited to see the animals, and secretly, so were we!!!


The zoo itself was OK. It was pretty hot out and we had a lot of walking to do. By the end of the trip, we practically had to drag some of the kids back to the bus... their little legs just couldn't take it!!

Some of the animals were out walking around, but again, it was pretty hot, so most of them were just laying around trying to beat the heat.

Overall, it was similar to the Zoo's at home. The animals seemed a little depressed, but it was probably the heat. The sheep were really lively though. They seemed really interested in us. Either that or they just really wanted out....
At the zoo there was also a small amusement park. So the kids that wanted too (which was most of them) plus some of us teachers, went a small roller coaster. I was surprised at how well behaved they all were when we lined up. I know as a child I was super excited about going on any ride, these kids seemed rather calm.

Once we were on the ride, the kids started to show their excitement. Everyone was laughing and screaming the way you're suppose to on a roller coaster. Not that it was a crazy big huge, double loops kinda roller coaster, it was more like a small-budget Spring Fair roller coaster, but for the kids, it was pretty big...
But regardless, we made the best of the ride, and treated it like a big, huge, fun roller coaster!!

Black Belt Test for Taekwondo...

"Happy Canada Day!!!"

It's Sunday July 1st and today was the day we had our Black belt test!!! We took a before shot, with our Red belts before we left for the test.
The whole thing was pretty quick. We arrived around 9-9:30ish (I think) and basically practiced on our own until it was time to test, which I think was around 11:-11:15ish. When we first got there, we kinda got that feeling that everyone was staring at us... which was true; I'm pretty sure we were the only two white people there... and there were A LOT of people there.

'We're here!!!'

For the black belt test, you are expected to do two Poomsae's (Patterns of movemnt); #8 and 1 of 4, ,5, 6, 7. So we have been practicing all 5 of the Poomsae's. While we were waiting, Sunbaenim (our instructor) and Kwanjangnim(instructor and owner of the dojang) came outside with us and informed us of what Poomsae we would have to do. We had to do #8 (as expected) and #6. I was happy about this because I like 6. So we practiced the two poomsea's out in the parking lot, until Kwanjangnim came and told us it was time.

I think we were at a University, not sure exactly, but we went in to the big auditorium with bleachers all around, full of other taekwondo students and spectators. We had to sit in a group of about 10 people, and waited as the group before us went. We were told to get up and stretch so we did.. and then it was our turn!!!!

'Choombee' (Ready stance)

'Yuk jung' (#6 Poomsae)

'Pal jung' (#8 Poomsae)

After we did the two Poomsae's we moved over to the next mat for sparring. Originally, Trev and I were told that we would be fighting each other, but when we got up there, the judges switched us and we were fighting other people. At first I was a little nervous... Trev and I spar all the time, so we know each others strengths and weaknesses, but once we started fighting, I didn't want to stop!! It was a lot of fun!! Sunbaenim took pictures for us, so you can see a bit of the fighting... Although as you can see, most of the pics are showing the other guys kicking, but he tried. Trev's camera takes a few seconds to take the picture, so he must have just missed our amazing moves!! But seriously, I really did make some good kicks!!

'Fighting!!!!'

'Bowing to the judges' (That's me on the left)

'Good Fight!!'

The whole process, was sooooo much fun!! When they blew the whistle to stop sparring, I was really dissapointed; I wanted to keep going!!! I didn't get the chance to show all the kicks I know, but I feel like I did good. Everyone told us we did good, so hopefully we get our Black belts. I'm not sure when we will find out, but when I do, I will definitely let everyone know!!!

After we got back, Kwanjangnim took Sunbaenim, Trev, myself, and one of the other students in our taekwondo class, who speaks a little English, out for lunch. This was by far THE spiciest food we have had in our entire time here in Korea. There was a lot of raw seafood, which even I ate, and vegetables, the usual. I even ate Starfish!! Crazy eh? No one was as surprised as I was about this though.. This was a usual meal to everyone else.
AND THEN... they brought out this HUGE dish of octopus, crab, rice noodles, bean sprouts, and other stuff I'm not really sure of... all mixed together with some type of spicy SPICY SPICY sauce!!! The first bite I took I must have breathed in to deeply because I almost choked on the spiciness alone!! The spice aside, it was still tasty. Every once and a while my tongue would regain some feeling in it and I could taste the food itself!! hahah... It was really nice of Kwanjangnim to take us out, it really helped to add to our day of Korean cultural experiences!!

Changwan and Busan

As I mentioned in my post about Buddha's Birthday, Trev and I took a trip to see Nick and Sara in Changwan last Friday. We spent the night in Changwan, where we had a REAL hamburger and REAL potato wedge fries for dinner. This was really great because we can't get REAL hamburgers and fries like that in Iksan... and I think that is one of the meals I am really missing the most from home. So that meal alone, made my entire weekend right then, haha. We had a few drinks then watched a movie at a DVD bong. Same idea as a noribong (karaoke room), except you watch a movie, of your choice. It's almost like renting a living room with a big and comfy couch, to watch the movie you just rented, with all your friends.

The next day, we were off to Busan. We hiked up to see Beomosa temple (see Buddha's birthday posting below) and then began our night out in Busan.

After hiking and temple seeing, we went back to our Arabian-style, round bed, love motel, got changed and went for some Kalbi, maekchu (beer), and Soju for dinner. The four of us were starving, hiking 4km will do that to you, so none of us were too picky about where to eat, we just wanted something good!!! We found a restaurant (Korean BBQ) and quickly made sure they had Kalbi (a type of marinated pork). We ordered our meal along with some beer and Soju, which helped to start off our night. After eating we headed out to find a bar for the night. We ended up at a bar called Crossroads. We stayed there for a few beers and then moved on. On our journey's we ran into some real live Soju bottles... hahah and we all had a little meet and greet with them.

After wards, we ended up at a Makkoli bar. Makkoli is like a rice wine that is served ice cold. They serve it in a tin kettle. Not really thinking, we ordered 2 . We really didn't need 2!! haha... It has a real wine-ish taste to it, but looks kinda like watery milk, and is very strong!!
We all made an effort to drink it, but Trev really didn't like it too much. Sara, Nick and myself made the biggest dent in the one kettle, but even still we couldn't finish it.

We all really made big efforts ....

The next day, we headed to the beach!!! In Busan, Haenudae Beach is the nicest and most popular beach in Korea. And let me tell you... It's easy to see why.

Haeundae Beach

It was absolutely beautiful!!! The water was blue, the sand was white, and the weather was perfect for a day at the beach. Because I burn so easily, I am usually not really big on being at the beach, but once we got there, I couldn't resist. It didn't take long before we were all stretched out on the beach tanning and relaxing!!
After relaxing for a bit, Trev and I walked over along the boardwalk and it was even more beautiful...

On our way up some rocks, we were stopped by some old Korean women selling sung pyun(a type of rice cake) and roasted chestnuts, insisted on taking my camera and taking some pictures of Trev and I. So not wanting to be rude, we said 'OK'. Below is one of the pictures they took.

Right after, they began putting some rice cakes and roasted chestnuts in a bag for us and saying it will cast 10 000won. 5 000won for each woman!!! We were a little shocked and tried to say "No thanks" but they wouldn't really take no for an answer. So they took two photos of us, which ended up costing us 5000won each... haha... We didn't really want the snacks, but they ended up being pretty tasty. I just thought I should show one of the pictures that cost us 5000won to take with my own camera.

Once we made it past that point we saw this beautiful mermaid sitting amongst the rocks. Now how many people can say that?
We made it up to the tip of the boardwalk where there was a small lighthouse. There was an amazing view from that point. This bridge looked unreal almost, as it was just such a nice sight.We left the beach around 3ish in hopes to catch a train and be back in Iksan at a decent time, but this time of year seems to be very popular for traveling, and we weren't able to get a train until 7:20. We had to transfer trains, and wait an hour at the transfer, and we didn't get home until about 11:30 that night. Although we were pretty tired from the weekend and were looking forward to our beds, after seeing how beautiful Changwan and Busan was, I think deep down we weren't really that eager to leave it all.

The EXTREME Weekend!!!

Two weekends ago (I apologize for the lateness and lack of blogging once again) Trev and I had a weekend of Paint ball, White Water rafting and Yes... BUNGEE JUMPING!!!

With a group of about 40-45 people, we took a bus for about 6-7 hours up to Inje, which is North of Iksan, about an hour or two from the North Korean border. Before we even got to the place we would be staying the night, we stopped and had a game of paint ball, my first time ever!! It was... well interesting.

We all got suited up, made our teams and were told the rules. We were playing outside in an actual forest area, not really big, but a decent size. There were no paths cleared out just trees, bushes, branches, dirt, mud, typical forest. At first I was really nervous, not really having that fighting instinct in me, as you all know, so for the first little while I just stayed close to Trevor. But then, he got shot! I was alone!!In the woods!! I was more worried about not finding my way out then I was about getting shot. However, I managed to meet up with some teammates and even took a few shots at the other team. That first round I managed to stay alive!! The second round, I wasn't so lucky. I got shot, twice!! The first shot was in my leg, and as I looked down (split second) I got hit again... Right on the knuckle!!! It hurt A LOT!! I shouted out "I'm Hit!!" and had to find my way back to the start. This proved to be a bit of a challenge, thanks to my great sense of direction, but I found my way out!!!

The gear...

Afterwards we headed over to our cottage-like motel where a Korean BBQ dinner was waiting for us. The rooms at this place were all ondul style, which is where everyone sleeps on the floor. Its literally a room with a big floor space and a bathroom. So we had 5 rooms for about 43 people, needless to say, these rooms weren't huge and it was a bit of a tight squeeze. I woke up a few times with feet on my feet, and I had to try to squirm a little to get some more room, but it was ok. We managed to sleep.

The Motel

The next morning, we went White water rafting!!! SOOOOOO much fun!!!! I would highly recommend trying this for anyone who hasn't done so already!!! I wasn't quite sure what to expect, but once we got going, it was really fun!!!

The group

Next... Yup that's right... BUNGEE JUMPING!!!! and yes I DID IT!!!!!!!!!! I wasn't going to do it, but I knew I would regret it, if I didn't. It was really quick, but Really Really fun!! An amazing experience!!! Trevor did it too... We both really liked it, but because it was so windy that day, everyone used the body harness, rather then the foot harness, and this body harness gave the worst wedgie ever!!!! After we were unhooked we both had sore tail bones for a bit.

The actual Bungee Jump

All Suited upI'm next...
Here I go...

Unfortunately, the person who was suppose to be taking a video of me from below, didn't. Trevor tried to take one, from the line up, (he was waiting to go still) but my camera was full and the video stopped just as I jumped. But the place that we did it at, took pictures and put them on their website www.injejump.com.kr Here are a few mid-jump shots of both of us:

We also got certificates for doing it too!! SOOO amazing!!!! Overall, a great Weekend!!!