Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival

For only a few short weeks of the year the cherry trees bloom with pale pink blossoms. They are magnificent and something I have wanted to see for as long as I can remember. From the end of March to early April, Korea's largest cherry blossom festival takes place in Jinhae. Tourists from all over roam the streets and enjoy the beauty of the blossoms.

This year Korea had an especially cold winter, thank goodness we weren't here, and the trees were only 30% in bloom during the festival, I cant imagine what 100% would look like. 

The weather on the Sunday we went was amazing, it was the first time since arriving in the Land of Lace, Lanterns and Ligers that we were able to remove all the layers and scarves and wear only a T-shirt. It was amazing to feel the sun on our skin for the first time since leaving summer in South Africa. 

There were local people selling their crafts, many food stalls and carnival type games kiosks. 

When we arrived we met with our large group of people we had  come with but some how with in the first 30 minutes of being there we had lost them all. We strolled through the stalls and M played a few games, he won a goldern pig money bank, and we got young coconuts from a local man who was selling them near one of the entrances. I think we must have walked from one side of the city to the other and back via a different route. Taking in all the beautiful cherry blossoms on the way. 

We stopped and had some Korean BBQ for lunch, which had recently become our new favorite Korean food.

I wanted to go up the cable car to the top of the mountain to see the view of the city in a sea of cherry blossoms. The line for the cable car was ridiculously long so we walked up the 1000 stairs to the top. Luckily we came down on the cable car. 

Now that we had done everything there was to do we decided it was about time to head home. So we waited at the bus stop for the bus which never came, tried to catch a taxi to Changwon to collect our bags but the driver was having none of that. Eventually some sweet Korean girl said she was going to Changwon and we should just go on the same bus as her. There were no seats available on the bus and the driver took the long way around. We were standing for at least an hour and half in a very crowded bus. M was not a happy chappy. Quickly collected our bags at the hotel and went to catch the next bus home to Ulsan. The stations was close to the hotel but it wasn't the main bus terminal, it was the last stop out of Changwon. By the time the bus arrived it was already full but they allowed all the people in the queue to stand in the bus, much to M's dismay. Eventually M sat down in a small ball on the floor of the bus and went to sleep. A kind ajjuma allowed me to sit on her arm rest for the trip and I fell asleep sitting there. When we arrived in Ulsan we couldn't get off the bus fast enough. 

We got some fast food, put on a movie and vegged the rest of the evening.

Arrival in the land of lace lanterns and ligers

My boyfriend, M, and I moved to Korea (the land of Lace and Ligers) in March 2012, we have now been here for just over 7 months. Our decision to come to Korea was based on the word of a friend who was all horns and whistles about the Land of Lace, Lanterns and Ligers. So we decided to give it a shot, initially planning on staying for 2 years.

Every day is still a new experience. We are way out of our comfort zone, with very little to remind us of home. We arrived on March 3 2012 and at the airport we were met  by our co-teachers for the year. M's co- teacher is young and mine is slightly older, married with two kids. They both were very nice. They took us to drop our bags off at the place we would be staying at for the night because neither of our apartments were ready yet. The place was cute and better than I expected. But it would not be home. Once we had offloaded all of our belongings, we went to an E-mart, a large store like a hypermarket back home, to get some breakfast things and then we went out for dinner.

We were about to experience Korean food for the first time, and we were both a little nervous. First we had some green chili peppers, and Kimchi.

 This is cabbage which is fermented in a red chili pepper sauce, the longer it is fermented the better it tastes. I couldn't stand it for the first couple of months, but now I love it. It really grows on you.

Kimchi

 Then we had some Mandu (dumplings), which is pork and green onions and some other stuff in a kind of pasta pastry. These were delicious. My absolute favorite from that first night.

Mandu

We had some fish and noodle soup, it had some clams and muscles and then fish pieces in it.

Seafood noodle soup

Lastly we had pajeon, which is like a Korean pancake/pizza but the concept is like an omelette. This was so good, from the beginning it has been one of M's favorites and has become one of mine. You dip the pieces into that sauce, wow, so good.

Pajeon

All of this came with what Koreans call 'service' which just means complimentary sides.

Service - except for the soup, rice and fish

That was our first experience of Korean food and to be honest neither of us really enjoyed anything. Some of the food we forced down, but it really does grow on you. I now actually really enjoy many Korean dishes and sides.


Living arrangements:
My co-teacher hadn't actually found me an apartment yet so we were both to stay at M's place until her and I found one for me. The commute to school each morning was awful because the bus stop is so far from M's apartment, therefore a long walk and it was freezing (at least for me) March temperatures are anything from 2-10 degrees Celsius.

After about a week we found an apartment, which is amazing, it is about a block and a half from my school. We were planning on trying to find something in the middle of our schools (1 hour apart by bus) so that we would both have to commute 30 minutes each morning. But this apartment was a must have. The ceilings are high, the floors are wood. The bedroom is large and separated from the kitchen, unlike M's apartment which is only one room and much smaller. There was nothing in the apartment, so the school had to provide a bed, washing machine, fridge, table, chairs etc. My school had some extra money in the budget so they bought some cutlery and crockery. I also got a big screen TV which was a huge bonus. M's apartment was fully furnished so all of his budget went into cutlery, crockery, bedding and appliances. Which we have moved to my place and now we are sorted.

M and I planned to do one week at mine and one week at his to make the commuting fair, but my place was so much better we just ended up staying at mine full time.
There are a few other foreigners in my building which is really nice. We often have braais or do things together.

Photos of the apartment coming soon...