Dongbaek Island Hike

Last month, the library took the day off and we met at Dongbaek, an area of Busan near the ocean. It's very common in Korea to go day hiking with your co-workers. Usually in schools, you go hiking after you've taught, but at the library, we get the whole day off, which I enjoy. I don't mind missing out on a day of sitting at my desk to go hiking in a beautiful city.

We met at 10am and spent the next few hours walking from Dongbaek through Haeundae Beach and ended up at Songjeong Beach. I enjoyed the company and the views were beautiful. I've never been to Dongbaek or Songjeong and the areas are beautiful. When we finally reached the end, I was ready to relax and eat. 

Usually, when we go hiking they take us to a meat restaurant. The last time we went hiking the food was amazing. I stuffed myself full of grilled beef. It was great. This time, we ended up at a raw fish restaurant. They said it was sashimi, but this wasn't sashimi. I know from the pictures it looks delicious, but it really wasn't. The fish was really chewy and had no flavor. It wasn't my favorite. 

Also during the meal, there are heaps of toasts. It doesn't matter that it's noon on a Monday, Koreans love to drink. It's also considered rude if you don't drink with your boss or co-worker if they want to drink a shot with you. So, it's common to see people walking around with soju bottles doing shots with others.

After lunch, a few of us wandered over to noreabang or karaoke. It was fun seeing a different side of my coworkers. At work, everyone is reserved but they relaxed a bit. I liked seeing that side of them.  By then, most of the people escaped, but Kelly, Doug and I stuck it out. Earlier, we had planned to escape together, but we ended up staying the whole time. I'm glad we did because it was a great afternoon!

Wandering Wednesday | Tennessee Road Trip | 2 of 3

On the second part of our Tennessee road trip, we drove to Pigeon Forge and to the Appalachian Mountains. These were the first mountains that I ever saw up close. Also, this was the first time I went hiking and I was very excited. I couldn't have thought of a better place, the Appalachian Mountains are beautiful.

Interesting side note, Markus and I are wearing strange looking neon t-shirts because my students were fundraising for a missions trip to Mexico. The spray painted Mexican themed designs onto t-shirts. At the time, it was all the rage. And now? I still stand behind my decision. I would do anything for my kids and if wearing a shirt while in the Appalachian mountains is a way to support them, I would do it again and again.

We drove up one of the mountain listening to soundtracks and rolled the windows down. Between the five of us, no one said a word. We were in awe of the beauty that surrounded us. We finally made it to the top of the mountain and parked.  We walked on a little trail to the very top. This was the first time I ever walked anywhere that steep and my legs were so confused. They didn't understand what was happening. It was quite an interesting experience.

While exploring, we found the Appalachian Trail and the boys were ecstatic. They managed to convince Victoria and I that we should hike the trail. When we started, it was great. I felt like a real explorer on my first mountain adventure. Then after about 20 minutes, I was done. My legs turned to jello. I was having trouble breathing. It wasn't a good look for me. Despite all that, I'm still really happy that my first mountain hiking experience was on the Appalachian Trail. How sweet is that?