Before leaving Seoul for Daegu in the south east, a small visit to one market. You’ll find anything you might think about and what you will not think about also. According to the locals, everything is always good for your health…. from Ginseng …
to any kind of fish
After that, I tried some shabu shabu. It is basically some thin slices of beef that you will cook in some steaming broth (soup). Everything you see on the right plate are herbs (there are some noodles, mushrooms, soja, … below)
It looks like the name of the dish comes from the noise it makes when the meat cooks in the broth. This way of eating is very fun (and I’m not talking about the difficulties you might experience catching the food with the sticks)
As you can see, I encountered a “small” problem in the hotel. I could not resist taking a picture of it. The young generation of koreans is not small as one could think they are. In fact they told me the japanese are smaller than them. In the Seoul underground I could see one or two young korean almost as tall as me. The rest still look at me like if I was E.T.
Originally, I had planned to spend the night in Brisbane with a sister of one of the girls that rides Karen’s horses. We were going to hit the town in our best party dresses (at least my best one that I had brought), maybe club-hop a bit, and go on a river cruise the next morning. Needless to say, the plans fell through but other (maybe better) ones came along. Saturday morning, Kari, Michael (Kari’s host dad), Megan, and I drove up the Sunshine Coast to try surfing. You heard me right. I actually tried surfing!! On the way we stopped at a bit of a look out to take a few pictures. WOW. The view was incredible. In all honesty, THAT is the reason I came here. Teaching in a foreign country is an awesome experience, but Australia has always been my number one go-to spot for international travel. I am so a beach girl.
After a bit of oogling the awesome beach coasts, we found our final destination at Mooloolaba Beach. Megan and I started with the 2 surf boards we had available, and Kari used the boogieboard. After getting adjusted to the water, which was a challenge in itself, the real problem is staying on the board. None of this “lets try to stand up and ride the wave like the pro-surfers we are” crap. I nose dived, slipped off backwards and had the board fly out from beneath me sideways. More times than I could count. When I actually maintained balance on the thing, the paddling was easier than I thought. I knew the front crawl move would be useful for something. When the waves were actually OF decent size, we paddled to try to get on top of the wave and attempt standing up or kneeling. Didn’t even come close. It was a blast trying though 
We spent the remainder of the afternoon walking around the shops at Mooloolaba. Saw some things I was interested in buying, but wasn’t so interested in the cost. 600 bucks for shoes? No thank you. We also had lunch at the Coffee Club which was pretty close to the coast. I had a beer with lunch and it cost about 7 bucks. So is life I guess when you’re in a tourist trap. Besides my lunch, my only purchase for the day was a 5 dollar hat that only a tourist will wear After napping on the car ride home, the night was fairly uneventful. Had dinner with my family and went to bed early! Definitely a party animal
There are SEVERAL times each day that I think to myself, “I’ll have to remember to write that in my blog”, but when I actually sit down to do it, forget a great majority of it!
Yesterday was a fairly good day. The kids were a little wild but enjoyable. I taught handwriting in the morning, which was even more of a challenge than teaching money! This is because, Queensland (the state in which I am teaching) has its own form of manuscript. And, it’s goofy. Google it and you’ll see what I mean! My teacher had my try my hand at it and write half of what the kids would be copying off of the board. I was proud because only ONE student had to ask me what one word said because he couldn’t read it. I was supposed to teach the students where they needed to pick up their pencil in the middle of certain words… I can’t even hardly write it, and they’re supposed to believe me?! I was very impressed with the perserverance in the class today, as several of them took their time, truly giving me quality not quantity!
Math was successful, but a little wild toward the end. The students pleasantly surprised me with their success in learning group equivalence as well as their ability to help their peers if they didn’t understand. One of my FAVORITE things to see is when a student is truly HELPING another student and not just giving him/her the answer. Following that we broke into groups and had them cut out nets of shapes to create 3D shapes. One of the groups was a bit too chatty after I had prompted them several times, and so I stood my ground and made the 6 of them stay in an extra 5 minutes during recess and tell me one thing they plan on doing different to prevent this next time. I love teaching Elementary school because I could do that, and they were still my best friend at the end of the day. I was a super super mean teacher yesterday though because I even gave out two pink tickets (slips that say that students need to stay in during recess in a behavior room). I had warned them repeatedly, but they continued until I had enough and wrote them up!
At the end of the day, we started doing Father’s day gifts. Father’s day is September 5th here. For one of the gifts, I needed to take a picture of each of the students individually. It was fun to get to do this, because now I will have them all to remind myself of this wonderful class. While I had my camera out I also took a few pictures of the “late slips” in the late book. The reasonings are quite humorous… “traffic”, “slept in”, “mum slept in”, “went to bank”, and my personal favorite, “no idea”.
Last night Tina, Trevor, Shannan, Sara (another Minnesota student) and I all went to “Animal Kingdom”, an Australian movie. It was quite disturbing and depressing… but fascinating at the same time. It was a definite change watching a movie where the steering wheel was on the otherside of the car, and they had an Australian accent. I found them at times hard to understand even though I can almost always understand Australians in person!
Today was a particularly easy day at school. The 3rd years were pleased to watch an Aboriginal man share his artifacts, paintings, skills and stories with them. He explained to us all of the different tools the aboriginee people used, as well as the interpretations of a few paintings. He played the didgerdoo, and sang a wonderful song. But the part the kids thought was the total coolest was when he showed them how the aboriginals threw a spear as well as a returning boomerang. This guy was a pro, so don’t expect me to be coming home capable of doing it! It’s quite a science of wind, speed, and angle! It was fascinating and I think it made his day to have 80 3rd years clapping and cheering for him too! It was wonderful to have the students enjoy and be presented such an intregal part of their culture!
I ate my short lunch with some of the grade 4 and 5 teachers where they introduced me to the wonderful Australian book “Possum Magic”… a book I plan on buying! In this book it lists a variety of different Australian delicacy foods. To top off their introduction to the book, they fed us these delicacies! I absolutely LOVE pavlova! Look it up! I’m going to try to make it for everyone as an Australian treat at holidays. It’s fantastic, but very sweet. I also am madly in love with Lamingtons (white cake, dipped in chocolate coated in coconut), and enjoy the white Tim-Tams better than the chocolate ones.
I finished my day by eating a place called Louise’s…aka the KCP Cafe in Naragba. Tina and Trevor have boasted that they have the BEST burgers… and they were VERY delicious!
I have best be off, but want you to know that I will likely have some wonderful pictures to put up when I write next. The 8 Minnesota students and I are leaving tomorrow for Tangalooma on Moreton Island for the weekend! One of the teachers has arranged transportation for us to and from the launch, over and back from the island, as well as letting us stay at her apartment there for 2 nights for free! Boy we are spoiled! I need to get packing, as well as preparing for next weeks lessons because I won’t be back from Tangalooma until late Sunday!
Hope you all have JUST as fun of a Labor weekend! I’ll be thinking of you as I am sand tobagganing, snorkeling, and attempting to windsurf… maybe.
Railay… what a magical place. This was the Thailand I had imaged in my head: beautiful beaches, long tail boats, and limestone cliffs jutting out of the sea. The long tail boat travel was again a little hairy but we kept good faith in our boat man. It was a good job we both loved the place on arrival as we were to be spending the next 4 days here.
The reason for our travel to Railay was primarily so I could take full advantage of the surrounding cliffs… so immediately I signed up for a 3 day intensive rock climbing course with one of
the many climbing schools. The course was designed to teach me the basics of climbing: rope knots, belaying, top roping, lead climbing and self rappelling. I met Jay my instructor and I knew I was in for a hard 3 days. Nic wasn’t up for climbing as she had other plans for her big adventure although as you can see in the photo she could have tackled the rocks with ease!
Having secured my place on the course I left Nic with the bags and went searching for accommodation. I negotiated us another bargain! £6 for our bungalow equipped with fridge, TV and hot water. The resort also had a pool overlooking Diamond Cave (one of the climbing walls I learnt on) and was great for cooling off after a hard days climb.
The vibe on Railay East where we stayed was very relaxed and laid back. In the evenings we spent our time exploring. There were a few different beaches around Railay all
within walking distance of each other. We enjoyed eating dinner by the sea watching the tide come in. We also found a bamboo cafe which served great hot chocolate and I quickly became a big fan (although I think the taste was greatly enhanced by the awesome views).
The first day of climbing involved learning the skills of basic knots, belaying and top roping. Before we set off I was given a harness and a pair of climbing shoes to try on. Basic rule number 1 of climbing: if your shoes are not crippling your feet then they are too big. They should be so tight that they are forcing your toes to curl. This will ensure your grip when climbing on the rock face (as your toes are the main part of your foot that you use for climbing), as I was soon to find out.
It was vital I got to grips with the basic knots as these would be responsible for keeping me safe, especially on my descent. A good dose of repetition helped nail it home. Belaying involves keeping your partner safe while they are climbing on the rock face. It is a process of securing the climber by using a rope and belaying device to hold the climber’s weight should they fall. Top Roping involves climbing up a rock face attached by a rope that has already been taken up the rock face by another climber I.e Jay my instructor. The rope will have been run through a fixed anchor at the summit of the climb. Once Jay was back on the ground I could then be attached to the rope so that I could climb safely. The photo below shows my view looking down.
For the first 2 days I climbed on the popular beginner walls of Diamond Cave and the 1,2,3 Wall. Pretty much as soon as we preparing to start we heard rustling from above followed by a great thud. A monkey had fallen over 30m and appeared to be dead. After a few minutes of discussing what to do the money came round and shot off into the trees. I have no idea how he survived (The photo isn’t of the exact monkey but he was similar to this little guy we saw later on). The Local guides said that in all their time in Railay they have never seen a monkey fall. Maybe this was a bad sign?!
The hardest part I found was during the rappel: trusting a complete stranger with my life! It was crucial they had the rope taught and therefore I would be safe. I was surprised to learn that the majority of your strength should come from your legs and not your arms (whenever possible). Using your arms just tires you out very quickly. When resting on the rock face it is important to have your arms and legs spread far apart, otherwise again you will lose energy rapidly. The photo on the left shows me pleased with my effort after reaching the top.
Lead climbing involves the leader climbing up the rock face with a rope attached to their harness clipping it into to carabiners as they climb. When I was lead climbing Jay my be-layer fed me enough rope that allowed me to climb, making sure he didn’t feed me too much slack. As I progressed up the
rock face I clipped one of my many quick-draw clips that were on my harness on to the titanium bolts in the rock face which were every 5 metres or so. I then fed the rope through the other section of my quick-draw clip. This then limited the length of my potential fall. It was a great feeling performing a lead climb and it gave me a good sense of achievement watching other people then climb on the rope I had taken up.
On my final day we went to a climbing site on Hat Phra Nang beach and the photo above shows the views from one of my climbs. This was a beautiful secluded area where I was treated to some spectacular views at the summit. Jay had taken me there to teach me the skills of self rappelling (which I am doing in the left photo). Rappelling or abseiling is the means by which you lower yourself off the rock face. Self rappelling is required when there is no metal anchor at the top of the climb to feed the rope through. Instead there may be some rope, in which case you have to use one of your quick-draw clips as an anchor.
It can also be used if you were lead climbing and you couldn’t make it to the top (eg if the climb was too difficult to complete). In both cases self rappelling is used so that no quick-draw clips are left up on the rock face. It also means that you can rappel down without needing someone on the ground to perform the rope work. In order to self rappel I had to first secure myself at the summit with my safety clip. I then had to undo the rope from my harness and feed it through the belay device. I could then slide down the rope using the belay device to control my speed of descent.
Jay was happy with my practise runs so we moved on to one of the larger rappels in the area… which happened to also be out of a cave (above photo)! The only way down from the cave was by rappel so Nic was also going to have a taster (with Jay performing the rope work). The view from the cave was awesome! I went first and it was a great feeling knowing I was in full control of my descent as opposed to the previous day when Jay had been in control. Below is a photo of the cave and if you look carefully (in the second photo down) you can just see the back of Nic as she prepares for her descent.
At the start of my course I was climbing grade 5 climbs (based on the French system). By the end I was climbing grade 6A+ which I found very challenging (although probably relatively easy for an experienced climber). The start of these climbs usually involved a overhang that required you to just use your arms until you were high enough to position your feet. No-one else in the group was able to tackle the start of the climb which you can see in the photo below and I did feel a great sense of achievement tackling it on my first attempt 
Further up though was a different story. The rock face became incredibly flat (to me anyhow, especially in comparison to those I had previously been climbing) as you can see in the photo left. My toes were perched on what felt like little nuggets of rock and I found it very hard to secure a good hand hold. The route I had to take all seemed very obvious to Jay down below as he was shouting up his words of encouragement.
My footing was all wrong and my arms were supporting my weight. I was tiring very quickly and I couldn’t gather the energy I needed to make the last part. I was hanging on with every ounce of energy I had left and it wasn’t long before I fell. You can see the frustration and disappointment on my face in the photo. I had a little rest before having another go but the same thing happened. Well… I don’t give up and I wasn’t going to be beaten and I am very happy to say that I conquered it on my third attempt Below are some of the best photos…
I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of my rock climbing course and would recommend it to everyone who likes to physically push themselves. It was such a great feeling being responsible for the lead climbs and also for rappelling myself back down. The views from the top were an added bonus and were an excellent way to appreciate the hard effort made to reach the summit. Being that high up a rock face and knowing it was only me that could get myself to the top was a challenge that seriously gave me a buzz. It is definitely an activity that I could really get into and I would like to pursue further once back in England.
Ko Phi Phi was stunning. Phi Phi consists of 2 islands: Phi Phi Lee and Phi Phi Don, the latter one being the inhabited island where we were to stay. The tsunami hit Phi Phi in a devastating way, in terms of loss of life and damage to property. Standing on the beach it was hard to comprehend what actually happened on that disaster day.
My fiancee and I enjoyed the beautiful views of the beach, relaxing on the powder white sand and cooling off in the refreshing turquoise sea. The area was amazingly picturesque and I enjoyed snapping away on the camera. It was crazy how the weather changed so rapidly, in a matter of minutes to be precise. After a heavy and refreshing downpour the weather soon picked up again so it was never a big issue.
Near to the beach we took refuge in a little food shack. The lady was making some Thai salads which looked very appetising so we ordered two. She asked us how spicy we wanted them and I of course disclosed my love of the chilli pepper asking her to make it extra hot. Oh dear. She almost killed me. They were next level. The food was so hot but I couldn’t stop eating it. It is like a kind of pleasure/pain addiction. I actually felt high off
of the chillis. My lips began to burn, my face went numb, my ears began to hurt intensely and I went very light headed. Looking back now knowing how hot the chillis were would I have asked for it less spicy?… Of course not! I realise that this is a situation I need to address. Eating something until you can’t feel your face is definitely not a good look.
Later that evening I nursed my chilli overloaded body with some of the renowned Thailand buckets! We opted for vodka, lemonade and Thailand’s famous red bull. There were a number of street stalls selling a variety of drink combinations. They were good value and did the job.
As some of you know I have a strong dislike of jellyfish. Walking back later that evening we noticed that the beach was littered with dead jellyfish that the tide had bought in. Not nice.
On one of the days we signed up for snorkelling tour of Ko Phi Phi Lee, a beautiful island surrounded by soaring cliffs. The long-tail boat trip over the high seas to the island was a little nerve racking, especially when the boatman had a look of anxiety on his face. It was all okay in the end as we arrived safely.
We stopped off at the first snorkelling area of the day and were treated to turquoise clear water and beautiful coral, home to a number of fish. Nic had mastered her snorkelling technique and was swimming about like a fish. The practise in Fiji had certainly paid of. This was my first time snorkelling and I did have a bit of trouble with the breathing. When I did get it right however, the experience of being surrounded by that many fish was amazing. I appreciate why so many people go diving.
The trip was centred around a visit to Maya Bay which is where the film ‘The Beach’ was cast. The sea was so rough that half of our group decided to stay on the boat and not pay the visit. Not the rest of us though, we jumped straight in. Getting to the Bay was the best part as it involved swimming across choppy high seas and scrambling up a ladder to the entrance of the bay. Nic recognised parts from the film instantly and was excited to be on the set of the film. Unfortunately we couldn’t take any photos of Maya Bay as we didn’t have a waterproof bag for our camera ;-(
We stopped off at Monkey Bay on the return journey and captured the photo on the left. We arrived just as a tour group were feeding them monkey nuts. One cheeky monkey had found a cool refreshing drink! Monkeys have been the most common animal we have seen on our travels and they seem to get more cheeky every time.
Phi Phi was great fun. We were off to a brilliant start in Thailand and we knew it was only going to get better. We were really enjoying the ease of travel within the country. Thailand is so touristy that travelling around has currently involved little stress at all (once we had adjusted to Asia time of course i.e lateness!). There are so many different modes of transport and companies to get you from A to B and the hardest decision is merely chosing which one. Next up… it was time for me to make like a gecko in Railay…
First stop on our Thailand tour - Koh Lanta. We had arrived in low season. This was great for us as not only was the island deserted, the resorts had drastically slashed their prices (the hardcore ones that were still open). Add a negotiating Sup to the mix and you get a bargain
Below are some of the photos taken from the resort we were staying at. It was a great place for little money so it was a winner!
I had of course been very much looking forward to the food of Thailand and I am very glad to say that Koh Lanta sure did deliver! Red and green Thai curries became my staple diet. This was awesome news.
The island itself is fairly small and as Nic had perfected her moped skills back in Langkawi we decided to hire a scooter to check out the coastline of the island.
The further South we travelled the quieter and more beautiful the beaches became. At times it felt like we were the first to discover the island. It’s such a great feeling to find deserted beach after beach, to be the only ones on these vast stretches of sand surrounded by tropical sea, cliffs and lush green vegetation.
We had one last beach left to visit and as the sun began to drop we hurried ourselves on to make it in time for the sunset. It was definitely worth it! We decided to engage on a sunset tour stopping at various beaches we had passed along the way! Below are my favourite photos from the journey.
As some of you know I have been planning to ask Nic to marry me for some time. I have always wanted to ask for Nic’s hand in marriage abroad and I had originally intended to ask her when we were thinking of going travelling a few years back. Then came the issues with my eyes which halted my plans.
I bought the ring back when we were in Hollywood. It is a token ring that was fit for the purpose. We are going to pick the real one together on our return. I didn’t want to devise a plan, instead I wanted it to be completely natural. Well… after a perfect day and a lovely time chilling on the beach with just the two of us, I knew that this was the right time. My adrenaline was pumping and I had butterflies in my stomach. It was very romantic, we had the beach to ourselves along with a full star filled sky. I took Nic’s hand and asked her the question. She responded with silence, and then some giggles as she thought I was joking before telling me…. YES!!!!!
My husband and I live in different cities 4 days/wk as he consults for a company in Jersey City, NJ from Monday through end of day Thursday each week. I live and work in Hampton Roads, VA, and have carved out a nice weekly routine between alone time at home and high productivity at work.
The Personalysis tool and concepts have greatly helped my husband and I understand each other and be able to make the difficult adjustment between separation during the work week and close couple time on the weekends. We both have our own separate lives during the work week, and when we finally come together on the weekends we have to readjust to one another and our different behavioral styles and preferences. Understanding the 4 colors/3 levels of personalysis makes this easier. I am a very “red/green,” needing structure & action. He is a “blue” thinker, content to spend hours pondering the unknown while I just want to make decisions & start “doing”. Personalysis helps us to readapt to each other every weekend and to respect our differences.
In 2007, I had the opportunity of participating in a Personalysis training session with my financial services recruiting team. Out of 13 individuals, I was the only significantly “red” person on the team. It helped me realize why I was sometimes frustrated at work and at meetings, because the environment I was in and the personalities I was working in were more possibilities-oriented than action-oriented.
In my personal life, I often find myself meeting new people and trying to size them up in terms of the personalysis quadrants. I’ve recognized that my husband and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum, giving credence to the phrase “opposites attract.”
The best example of my “red/green” personality is the way I behave when traveling. I will do very thorough research to gather all possible details of the trip (the information in this travel blog demonstrates all the preparation I did prior to departing for Asia), which speaks to my need for structure and knowing what is coming ahead. My “red” comes out when I am in the midst of traveling, always looking to cram in the most sightseeing as possible, and identifying the very fastest way to get from one place to another.
There was one situation that stands out to me as an example of my “red” action focus. I was traveling from Las Vegas to Hartford, with a connection through Atlanta. My flight from Las Vegas was delayed one hour, causing me to miss my connecting flight. The next flight to Hartford wasn’t leaving for another 3 1/2 hours. I was anxious to get home and immeditately whipped out my smartphone to look up flight schedules. I was able to find a flight to Washington, D.C. that would get me in on time to catch a flight from DCA to Hartford. Although it required an extra flight leg, and it only got me home 30 minutes earlier, I was so much happier because I felt I had taken control of the situation and I was “moving” physically towards my goal of getting home.
When a similar travel situation happened to my husband and he missed his connecting flight, I immediately jumped online looking for alternate flight paths. However, I didn’t realize that my husband’s “red” levels were so low and that it didn’t bother him to sit in the airport for another 4 hours instead of taking an extra flight leg. We had a terse conversation, until I realized “he’s not red - he’s heavy blue” and would actually appreciate the opportunity to sit in an airport for 4 hours to think and work on his personal goals.
I have many other stories to share in which Personalysis has assisted me in my personal life, but this should be a good first start! If you ever have a chance to participate as a family or as a couple in a Personalysis examination, I would highly recommend it!
Till next time…..
Next trip: Cabo San Lucas, Mexico….October 2010
Getting the car tuned up, teeth cleaned and readying myself for the drive to Memphis, and other parts of the south.
We finally arrived at Kyoto, after dragging our baggage through multiple train stations and on a bus. Luckily the owner of our guest House in Tama Plaza gave us a lift to the station there, one problem less to solve. The staff from Fuji is a really nice souvenir, but a pain to transport.
Anyway, we made it and are now in Kyoto. We will probably do not that much you don’t already know about, so I will post some culinary/cultural rants and possibly a picture dump.
Another topic that came to relevance is the monetary worth of my souvenirs, especially my cooking knifes, as customs are a hassle. Will probably exceed the 430€ you can bring with you without customs duty. By a lot.
At least the space-problem inside my trunk is pretty much gone, as I sorted everything I won’t take back with me anyway out and packed it the way I will travel from here to Narita.
Still some days left, we will try to make them count!
So long and stay tuned,
JuergenS
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