It's the Final Countdown

Here we go.  The final months of my time in Korea.  I am officially leaving my job on August 31st, and my mom and I will return to the US on September 26th.  This is later than I had expected, and I suppose hoped for, but it is good to have a definitive date.  My plans for after I return to the US are still slightly muddled.  However I am very excited to see all my family and friends back home, and to meet my new nephew Levi!

When I came home from the hospital, I slept in a drawer.  Levi has a crib though, don't worry, it was all for show!

I received an e-mail the other day from the State Department, alerting interested applicants that the language bonuses and process has changed again.  However, this time it's at least somewhat in my favor.  They have reduced the knowledge requirements for Arabic, and have increased the bonus for if you do well. You are able to take the language assessment after you pass your interview.

I still don't know if I can get to the interview this time.  I hope my year in Korea will help distinguish me from other candidates my age who have only spent their lives in school.  But I definitely will need to do something to get my speaking up to par.  In DC I'm sure there would be a tutor or a class somewhere.  However, I have also always thought about returning to Cairo or even Beirut for an intensive summer course.  So do I do it this summer, or wait until next?  Or self study?  I'm not sure at this point, but hey that's why I have 3 more months in Korea plus a month traveling with my mom to forget that I actually have to make choices about my life.

The last month I have visited Gyeokpo Beach, which is about an hour west (as the crow flies, but not as the bus drives) from Jeonju.  We also later in the month for Buddha's birthday visited Busan (my second time).  We went to the aquarium and hung out on the beach.  The weather was very warm and nice--much better than my first trip to Busan--but the water was still cold.

Gyeokpo Beach

If you want to check out the entire "Gyeokpo Beach" album, click here! 

 It was a cool and cloudy day, but the outing was just what we needed!

 

There were many interesting rocks and cliffs on the beach.



And of course great views!
 


Another great view!

Busan

If you want to check out the entire "Busan" album, click here! 

The water at the beach was still very cold!

 

You could actually see horizon!


Of course, there were many pigeons to be found.
 

We went to the aquarium in Busan on our second day.  I was really impressed with it! I got to see penguins!
 

A worker was transporting a baby penguin. It's very blurry, I luckily had my camera on at the right time and it took my brain a minute to process what was happening.  The guy was running so he wouldn't get mobbed by the crowd screaming "baby penguin" I suppose.
 

What a massive fish.
 

Sea anemones!
 

Dun dun..dun dun...

My favorite part of the whole aquarium visit however would have to be the two baby beluga whales they had.  I took a video of them for two minutes on my camera, I'm quite impressed how well it turned out.  Don't worry about the shark you see occasionally, they were separated by a transparent wall.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Baby animals always cheer me up!  I will see you all soon.  Only 88 days until vacation!

Best, Karin

Busan and Making Plans

A few weekends ago, I visited Busan.  I wanted to get out of Jeonju for a weekend, but it was still cold weather and I didn't want a repeat of Seoul, so I went south!  Unfortunately while the KTX serves Jeonju now, there is no easy way on the train to get to Busan, so that meant an express bus.  "Express" is a relative term, as it takes 3 and a half hours to Busan, plus another hour on Busan's subway to get from the bus terminal to downtown.  By the time I checked into my hostel, it was 2:00 p.m.  Since I only had about a day and a half in Busan,I wanted to do two major things:  visit Yonggungsa temple and go to Spa Land.

 

First, though, the view from my hostel was amazing!

Anyway. Yonggungsa Temple from my hostel was about a 40 minute bus ride away.  So again, by the time I actually got to do anything in Busan, it was already 3:00!  This is a reconstructed (as with almost all things in Korea) Buddhist temple.  I'm not very interested in "temple hopping" in Korea, but this is a unique temple in the fact that it's on the coast, and not secluded in the mountains. The view was beautiful.

To view the entire album, Click Here.

Some of the highlights are below!
 

 

After the temple, the next item on my list was Spa Land.  Spa Land is a massive jjimjilbang (Korean sauna) attached to the World's Largest Department Store, Centum City's Shinsegae.  It takes up three floors and is fed by natural hot springs.  It was the most relaxing thing I've done in Korea!  I went early enough in the day that I got a discount and also enjoyed less people at the facilities, it was starting to get busy by the time I left.  After that, I headed back to Jeonju with one of the craziest bus drivers I have ever ridden with in Korea (and that's saying something).

The weeks since have been mostly uneventful.  I have told my school this, so now I can comfortably say it in a public forum, but I am not renewing for another year.  My last day is July 27th, which means almost less than four months! I still have a few places to go before I leave. 

My mom is coming at the end of July, and we have a big trip planned!  We are going to visit Korea, Japan, (hopefully) take the trans Siberian railroad across Russia, and then spend some time in Moscow and St. Petersburg before visiting parts of Eastern Europe.  I also hope to meet up with my German host sister.  I stayed with her family in 2005 when I visited there with my high school German class.  Considering all of this, I will probably be back in the United States around mid-September.  I will be around the Midwest for a little while, before hopefully moving out to Washington, D.C. and searching for a job there.  I think what hindered my job search the most after college was the fact I was applying for entry level jobs from half a continent away.  I think if I try again with a DC address and be available for interviewing the next day, I will have more luck. That's my hope at least.

For now I hope to enjoy my last months in Korea, visiting a few more sites, and then enjoying my trip with my mom before coming home to all the faces (and wet noses) I have missed!

Until then,
Karin