November
7th, 2014
Sponsor Rotary Club: District 3661 – Ballston Spa
Host Rotary Club: District 7190 – Busan
Current Host Family: Kim Ji Eun, Kim Keon Ung, Kim Hye In
Counselor Name: Lee Dorim (Sophie)
Since the
last report, I have been to virtually all four corners of Korea in one month.
Thanks to the willingness of my host family to do activities with me, I have
had a busy but thrilling schedule every weekend. Even though I see my family
less often than most exchange students because of boarding school, I still feel
very close with them. Currently we have a perfect balance of relaxing and
traveling together within the limited days. I've been wondering what exactly I
bring to the table for my host family, and I've concluded that I'm an excuse to
go places. This month's adventure begins in Busan on the 3rd of
October.
Before
coming to Korea and upon learning my placement, I researched extensively about
the city of Busan. I even subscribed to the city's YouTube channel,
DynamicBusan. It feels quite rewarding to see their logo on the buses and taxis
I take here now. In the same way I was thrilled to attend the opening ceremony
of the Busan International Film Festival that I had only previously
hypothesized about going to back in my bedroom in the US. It was surreal even
after the ceremony when watched footage I saw with my own eyes on TV the next
day.
After the
glamor, it was back to nature with a one night camping experience with my host
family. We went to Yangsan, which was close but far enough from the city
bustle. However it didn't feel like traditional camping to me; our campsites
were aligned in a row along a creek that reminded me of the Kayderossarass of
Ballston Spa. We mostly relaxed, and in my case I played by the water with the kids.
Camping food was fun and so was pseudo-marshmallow roasting over a grill with
soup crackers and no chocolate.
To be
honest, I felt closer to nature the following weekend when I went to Jeju
Island. The whole island was beautifully inspiring and is now the target of
retirement. I walked along a course to view the scenic seaside, ate fresh fish,
took pictures of my host sister for two hours in a teddy bear museum, saw a
giant crater, wild horses, and visited U-do (island) as well as a fashionable
cafe by the sea. The atmosphere and environment of Jeju was exotic yet homey
enough to be hands-down the best vacation I've ever been on.
The
following week I did a complete 360 and went to the opposite end of Korea-
Seoul. While relaxing beaches are more my style, we had art themed activities
in the capital that were just as interesting. Complete details of the trip can
be found here: http://bspatobusan.tumblr.com/post/102009990246/october-14-16-2014-bihs-seoul-field-trip-report
On the third
weekend of the month it was back to Busan only to go West to Yeosu to visit my
host grandparents. Yeosu, I have speculated, has the seafront of Busan but the
atmosphere of the countryside. For the Chuseok holiday in September. I truly
enjoyed catching crabs and clams on an empty beach. This time, we all went to a
wildlife park featuring tall grains and mud guppies. That was when I fully
embraced the way of the sunbrella.
I proceeded
to travel deeper into the countryside the last weekend of October for our
second Rotary excursion to Boseong. Because it is famous for nothing but its
extensive green tea fields, we saw all we needed to see on our first visit the
previous month. However this time our trip felt a little more authentic without
pictures constantly being taken of the students as if we were animals. This
time we got to meet students from various
High Schools in Boseong and befriended them. Despite the trite traditional
craft activities, I enjoyed my time playing games with our new friends.
Still no
Rotary meetings, but my family and school are sure keeping me busy.
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