Only 9 days left in Korea and 5 more at Inje.

I am only going to be in Korea for less than 9 days now and I am really starting to feel it. The last few weeks have really raced by. I have been busy writing papers, shopping, hanging out with friends and just enjoying Korea. Part of me wants to stay longer and other parts of me is ready to go back home.

I really had only one last field trip for tea class. It was probably one of the best field trips that I went on. First we took a bus, and have I mentioned how great Korean school buses are? Well they are pretty amazing as they are really coach buses. They are nice and comfy and there is even a big screen tv. We had to travel a few hours away, so we watched a movie or slept until we go to our first stop on the day trip.

The first stop was to do some hiking. We were told that it would be cold and we should bring some warm cloths. Now the cold weather was probably 50 degrees, so really not that cold. We started with a hike to go see a famous poet and tea master drinker. So we started to get hot and had to carry our jackets. When we made it to the top, we were able to see a replica of where this poet and tea master spent most of his life. It was very serene and a perfect day to do it. We then hiked some more and found a beautiful overlook with a place for meditation. Wish we could have been there longer and actually meditated. Then we hiked some more to go to a temple. Along the way, we saw a small tea field.

Once we were on the bus, it was time to have a Korean meal with some specialties of the area. Like fish and crabs and other sea food. Plus I got to have the raw beef, which wasn’t too bad at all but of course made me a little nervous. We got on the bus again and now it was time to go to the tea field. It was set on a nice big hill, with rows and rows of green tea. We did some hiking around the tea field and Korean’s don’t always like switch backs, they like to go straight to the top. So it was a very steep climb but of course the view was worth it. Then we tasted some of the green tea that they made there. Was of course very good.

Our last stop of the trip was to go visit a folk village. This village was quite different than the small museum like ones we went to at Jeju. It was a nice village with many areas but we didnt have too much time to wander. We were there to have some maggoli and pajeon. Maggoli is a rice wine that I love and pajeon is a green onion and sea food like pancake. I like the green onion part and not the sea food part of course. Then it was time to head back to Inje. On the way back we stopped at a rest stop and had our dinner.

I also received some not so great news from back home. My grandmother was in the hospital for pneumonia. This was not a good thing, especially me being so far away from home. Luckily there were many family members that were able to visit with her. This was one of my big fears when I came to Korea, since I have some grandparents that are starting to get quite older and much wiser. My grandmother is doing better now, on her way to a good but slow recovery.

On the day before Thanksgiving, we had a little pot luck at our coordinators home. I made some pasta and red sauce, others made, salad, samsgasal, veggies, mixed potatoes and even two small chickens. Of course we ate it all and became stuffed. It is always good to have some raw veggies, salad and pasta in Korea. It was a great time.

It was weird for me to not be home during Thanksgiving. So I called my family and even did some face timing and watched my brother and niece make some pies. It was even stranger for me to now have to work on the weekend, since I am usually working at the Tree Farm. Which of course I will jump back into when I get home.

One of my classmates has gone to another language program and had to leave early. Another classmate went home early to visit with family but he will be back after I leave for another language program. This is when I really started to realize that the end is near. It also singled some busy time. Like studying and writing a few papers.

Now, I have had a few classes end. Music class, Culture, cooking, tea class and my friday talk talk talk class. It has been sad but good meeting so many people. I have been busy now eating lots of food, hanging out with friends before I leave. So it has become a time that I have reflected on my time here in Korea. Some of the good food I have had and even the words that I have learned.

Now I am starting to do some more shopping, a little Christmas shopping and starting to prepare for home. On Thursday is my graduation night and then Friday I leave Inje and go back to Seoul until Monday when I leave for home. So I am going to make these last few days at Inje some of the best ones.