~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
You can't break out of a circle
that you never knew you were in.
-Connor Oberst
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
.
Update time: last I wrote, i was heading to the world-famous Boryeong Mud Festival over on the west coast here in South Korea. this is something i've known of for years since seeing pictures on old college friends' facebooks or wherever them and their friends from all over the world partying on a beach CAKED in thin grey clay mud. i was intrigued at least and then suddenly found myself here and within range of it so it was a MUST ATTEND.
.
We filled two full buses with friends and acquaintences and headed out early on Saturday morning after having partied nearly all night just before. we made the best recovery attempts we could muster and jumped back into an out of this world experience! we checked into our hotel, fuel'd up on food and beer and headed down the shore not really knowing anything about what we were doing - we knew only that we were looking for, of course, MUD.
.
And find mud we did! primarily in the form of a massive tent area that looked like a war-zone. there were massive clay pits in the middle of the tents and civil-war style clay-ball flingers on either side standing about 25 feet apart. i jumped right in and up to the front lines where i quickly got separated from all of my friends and found myself getting pelted in the face - eyes, ears, mouth, nose, everything included - point blank by complete strangers. it was a bizarrely awesome experience despite itself!!
.
I lasted in the front lines for about 20 mintues before i limped away and found everyone else. this is when i also got the news that one of my good friends, Vinny, had gotten split open when a nameless flying rock tagged him in the side of the head!!! finally, it became more obvious (than it should have been already) that what we were in the middle of was NUTSO.
.
having made it out relatively unscathed, i can look back and say that it was one of the most FREE experiences i recall. completely animalistic 'lord of the flies' style chaos... but in a way that you could simply walk away from it at anytime and have no real consequences... aside from sand in your, well, everywhere!
.
Sarah and I headed for the sea for a quick rinse, lost more friends, regrouped with others and finally went to check out the slightly more tame area. this is where we found the mud slides, mud wrestling, mud prision... put the word mud next to any noun or verb and you could pretty much do it!
.
Most of my pictures from the event ended up being of strangers because when we were covered in the stuff, obviously it was tough to use the camera. if i ever went back or gave advice to someone who was, i would say to absolutely buy a waterproof disposable camera and you could get some intensely wild pics. this one is the mud pit free-for-all!
.
.
After we cleaned up, we had a couple of beers, played some carnival games, ate some dinner and headed back for a rest. There was plenty to do that night around the area but took it somewhat easy compared to the 24 hours that had preceeded. That was the last time we were covered in mud that weekend. Every foreigner in Korea was (as well they should have been) there... go your first year you come here - you will have an incredible experience but probably never want to go back!! Thanks to Ring for setting it all up! :)
.
.
Then back to another week flown by at work! the months are piling up in a way that never ceases to amaze me (just like always happens). I've been here almost 5 months now and have been in love with the entire experience. i've experience most of South Koreas larger cites, coasts and foods; i can phonetically read and am starting to be able to communicate very basic ideas in Korean; and feel well-versed as a kindergarten teacher! i would absolutely recommend this for any 20-something that isn't sure what the next step is; or anyone who is just plain bored with what they are doing!
.
my work life has been as fun as ever! we have a blast and it is extremely rewarding to see the kids improving before your eyes as the months pass! we are currently looking to replace my two co-workers who both have less than a month until their notice is up and they move on to their next steps. I hope we can fill the spots soon!!! what are YOU doing these next 12 months?? ;)
.
.
.
Then came the first weekend since sometime in may where we had absolutely no plans! it was kind of refreshing - the openness of the idea - but still, not wanting to waste anytime at semi-douchey 'foreigner bars' here in Daejeon, we rounded up some climber schwenns and headed out of town Saturday morning. We had no idea really where we were going, but did know that we were in the able and experienced hands of our friend Jake - an Aussie that's been here in Daejeon for almost a decade now - Climber extrordinaire and all around solid schwenn. He and his Korean-native wife, Kyung Ah picked us up at the subway station across town and we headed south.
.
A few hours later we were on the island of Geoje-do and were making our way up the trailhead until we found our crag. Already close to 2000 ft above sea level, this gorgeous piece of rock looked super inviting towering out above the trees. After a quick refresher course from Jake, I lead up the first pitch with Sarah belaying me on her own! (she's a VERY fast learner!) and jake over to my right about 10 feet. The climb was steady - nothing too tricky or dangerous so was a perfect warm up / refresher.
.
The view started out amazing and only improved from there! soon we were at the top of the quick 2-pitch and looking out over the bays, harbors and a dozen islands scatered around the sea - all right about eye level with the clouds across the bay! it was an amazing spectacle, a beautiful feeling and a place that I will forever want to go back to.
.
We were the only ones who had this incredible view which made it all the better; there was only one way up to the top and it was certainly the road less traveled. You had to earn it and now you are reaping the benefits. THIS is why rock climbers go rock climbing.
.
.
We hung out at the top for about an hour taking pics and resetting our gear to for the rapel back down to earth. It was a day filled with many firsts for Sarah; her first real rock (as opposed to climbing gyms like at Stout and Vertical Endeavors), her first multi-pitch and her first rapel; shown below! she is very adventurous, out-doorsy and an extremely fast learner so she did fantastic as I knew she would! Very glad to have a great gal that can share all of these things with me! :)
.
Sarah rap'ing down Ae Bawi over the southern shore of Geoje-do!
.
.
The Deajeon crew up on top! great peeps!! - We headed back down, found a traditional korean motel - where you sleep on the floor with blankets provided - right on the beach in the village you can see below the rockface and took it easy for the night. Fried chicken, home-made humus, and their home-brewed beer on the sea after a long day of travel and climbing..... THIS IS LIFE!! :)
.
Jake made a an awesome pancake breakfast the next morning and we headed back up the same rock for another few pitches and a look around. After that, it was frisbee on the beach and a sleepy trip home after dinner. Absolutely a fantastic weekend!!
.
.
.
The week since then has FLOWN by but was highlighted by a minor league baseball game date last night at Hanbat stadium with Sarah! they lost 9 to 2 but it was still fun. the fans stay true and intense all the way to the end... down by 7, 2 outs, and an 0/2 count in the bottom of 9 and the fans are still going nuts!! really great to see such optimism and support and always a ton of fun!
.
This weekend begins a 10-day vacation for me (starting in a number of hours from when i'm typing this!) and there are many plans for more of the same. We leave for Jirisan mountain tonight and will get a full weekend of climbing, camping and beaches in there! - very excited to pitch the tent for the first time since i've been in Korea and I've heard only great things about the place so I should have some great pics come Monday morning.
.
After that, i'll still have an entire week of wide open excellence! I took too long trying to book plans so the airfare, even for a 2 hour flight, jumped up to over 600 dollars on average! Now the plan is to maybe scope out the last bits of Korean areas I haven't made it to already and maybe get some serious training done for my marathon. I am in full swing and feeling great with 12 weeks to go until Chuncheon Full!! Stated goal range: 3:15 ~ 3:20. Bring it on!!
.
Life is great! Hope to catch you guys on the phone soon! It has been far too rare that I've been able to.
Peace an' love!
aw
You can't break out of a circle
that you never knew you were in.
-Connor Oberst
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
.
.
Update time: last I wrote, i was heading to the world-famous Boryeong Mud Festival over on the west coast here in South Korea. this is something i've known of for years since seeing pictures on old college friends' facebooks or wherever them and their friends from all over the world partying on a beach CAKED in thin grey clay mud. i was intrigued at least and then suddenly found myself here and within range of it so it was a MUST ATTEND.
.
We filled two full buses with friends and acquaintences and headed out early on Saturday morning after having partied nearly all night just before. we made the best recovery attempts we could muster and jumped back into an out of this world experience! we checked into our hotel, fuel'd up on food and beer and headed down the shore not really knowing anything about what we were doing - we knew only that we were looking for, of course, MUD.
.
And find mud we did! primarily in the form of a massive tent area that looked like a war-zone. there were massive clay pits in the middle of the tents and civil-war style clay-ball flingers on either side standing about 25 feet apart. i jumped right in and up to the front lines where i quickly got separated from all of my friends and found myself getting pelted in the face - eyes, ears, mouth, nose, everything included - point blank by complete strangers. it was a bizarrely awesome experience despite itself!!
.
I lasted in the front lines for about 20 mintues before i limped away and found everyone else. this is when i also got the news that one of my good friends, Vinny, had gotten split open when a nameless flying rock tagged him in the side of the head!!! finally, it became more obvious (than it should have been already) that what we were in the middle of was NUTSO.
.
having made it out relatively unscathed, i can look back and say that it was one of the most FREE experiences i recall. completely animalistic 'lord of the flies' style chaos... but in a way that you could simply walk away from it at anytime and have no real consequences... aside from sand in your, well, everywhere!
.
Sarah and I headed for the sea for a quick rinse, lost more friends, regrouped with others and finally went to check out the slightly more tame area. this is where we found the mud slides, mud wrestling, mud prision... put the word mud next to any noun or verb and you could pretty much do it!
.
Most of my pictures from the event ended up being of strangers because when we were covered in the stuff, obviously it was tough to use the camera. if i ever went back or gave advice to someone who was, i would say to absolutely buy a waterproof disposable camera and you could get some intensely wild pics. this one is the mud pit free-for-all!
.
.After we cleaned up, we had a couple of beers, played some carnival games, ate some dinner and headed back for a rest. There was plenty to do that night around the area but took it somewhat easy compared to the 24 hours that had preceeded. That was the last time we were covered in mud that weekend. Every foreigner in Korea was (as well they should have been) there... go your first year you come here - you will have an incredible experience but probably never want to go back!! Thanks to Ring for setting it all up! :)
.
.
Then back to another week flown by at work! the months are piling up in a way that never ceases to amaze me (just like always happens). I've been here almost 5 months now and have been in love with the entire experience. i've experience most of South Koreas larger cites, coasts and foods; i can phonetically read and am starting to be able to communicate very basic ideas in Korean; and feel well-versed as a kindergarten teacher! i would absolutely recommend this for any 20-something that isn't sure what the next step is; or anyone who is just plain bored with what they are doing!
.
my work life has been as fun as ever! we have a blast and it is extremely rewarding to see the kids improving before your eyes as the months pass! we are currently looking to replace my two co-workers who both have less than a month until their notice is up and they move on to their next steps. I hope we can fill the spots soon!!! what are YOU doing these next 12 months?? ;)
.
.
.
Then came the first weekend since sometime in may where we had absolutely no plans! it was kind of refreshing - the openness of the idea - but still, not wanting to waste anytime at semi-douchey 'foreigner bars' here in Daejeon, we rounded up some climber schwenns and headed out of town Saturday morning. We had no idea really where we were going, but did know that we were in the able and experienced hands of our friend Jake - an Aussie that's been here in Daejeon for almost a decade now - Climber extrordinaire and all around solid schwenn. He and his Korean-native wife, Kyung Ah picked us up at the subway station across town and we headed south.
.
A few hours later we were on the island of Geoje-do and were making our way up the trailhead until we found our crag. Already close to 2000 ft above sea level, this gorgeous piece of rock looked super inviting towering out above the trees. After a quick refresher course from Jake, I lead up the first pitch with Sarah belaying me on her own! (she's a VERY fast learner!) and jake over to my right about 10 feet. The climb was steady - nothing too tricky or dangerous so was a perfect warm up / refresher.
.
The view started out amazing and only improved from there! soon we were at the top of the quick 2-pitch and looking out over the bays, harbors and a dozen islands scatered around the sea - all right about eye level with the clouds across the bay! it was an amazing spectacle, a beautiful feeling and a place that I will forever want to go back to.
.
We were the only ones who had this incredible view which made it all the better; there was only one way up to the top and it was certainly the road less traveled. You had to earn it and now you are reaping the benefits. THIS is why rock climbers go rock climbing.
.
.We hung out at the top for about an hour taking pics and resetting our gear to for the rapel back down to earth. It was a day filled with many firsts for Sarah; her first real rock (as opposed to climbing gyms like at Stout and Vertical Endeavors), her first multi-pitch and her first rapel; shown below! she is very adventurous, out-doorsy and an extremely fast learner so she did fantastic as I knew she would! Very glad to have a great gal that can share all of these things with me! :)
.Sarah rap'ing down Ae Bawi over the southern shore of Geoje-do!
.
.The Deajeon crew up on top! great peeps!! - We headed back down, found a traditional korean motel - where you sleep on the floor with blankets provided - right on the beach in the village you can see below the rockface and took it easy for the night. Fried chicken, home-made humus, and their home-brewed beer on the sea after a long day of travel and climbing..... THIS IS LIFE!! :)
.
Jake made a an awesome pancake breakfast the next morning and we headed back up the same rock for another few pitches and a look around. After that, it was frisbee on the beach and a sleepy trip home after dinner. Absolutely a fantastic weekend!!
.
.
.
The week since then has FLOWN by but was highlighted by a minor league baseball game date last night at Hanbat stadium with Sarah! they lost 9 to 2 but it was still fun. the fans stay true and intense all the way to the end... down by 7, 2 outs, and an 0/2 count in the bottom of 9 and the fans are still going nuts!! really great to see such optimism and support and always a ton of fun!
.
This weekend begins a 10-day vacation for me (starting in a number of hours from when i'm typing this!) and there are many plans for more of the same. We leave for Jirisan mountain tonight and will get a full weekend of climbing, camping and beaches in there! - very excited to pitch the tent for the first time since i've been in Korea and I've heard only great things about the place so I should have some great pics come Monday morning.
.
After that, i'll still have an entire week of wide open excellence! I took too long trying to book plans so the airfare, even for a 2 hour flight, jumped up to over 600 dollars on average! Now the plan is to maybe scope out the last bits of Korean areas I haven't made it to already and maybe get some serious training done for my marathon. I am in full swing and feeling great with 12 weeks to go until Chuncheon Full!! Stated goal range: 3:15 ~ 3:20. Bring it on!!
.
Life is great! Hope to catch you guys on the phone soon! It has been far too rare that I've been able to.
Peace an' love!
aw
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