My best friend came to visit me in Korea!

Amy has been my best friend since college, which is going on 17 years now and the only person to come visit me in Korea..thank you Amy, I LOVE YOU!!

!]


We went and ate Galbi, Amy's favorite Korean dish..she thougt it was good compared to what she had in the states, definitely cheaper.



This is Sangmaguem wall, the largest dike or sea wall in the world, which is really close to where I live..



We ate fresh seafood after picking it out at the seafood market, even a huge lobster.




We also went to the local park, which was lit up, Eunpa park!






We went to church...she met the pastor, my friend Sungwha, and other cool people from the church. They still treat me like a celebrity when I do come in, even if it isn't every Sunday.

Green Tea Festival

The green tea festival was held the same weekend we went hiking in a beautiful valley in the middle of the mountains. They had tons of booths set up where you could sample several different types of teas and we even had a chance to make our own tea in the factory. I bought fresh green tea and they even had green tea liquor, which was pretty good. There are more pictures posted on Facebook.

It was a gorgeous day and I was quite sore from the hike, so I got a bottle of green tea macali(rice wine) and enjoyed the view. This first picture is of Me enjoying the weather and the view and my wine. I also took a picture of an old Korean lady who was using an umbrella to block the sun, the Korean's don't like the sun at all and even use these types of elements to block the sun...notice her hat, the other element.

Jirisan - Round 2

The second round of Jirisan was definitely more grueling and had even better views than the first one. This time our friend Aaron came and we camped on the Friday night next to the sounds of the water falls and got up at the crack of dawn to hike just over 17 km. We hiked to the highest peak in Jirisan, which is the second highest mountain in Korea. It was the first day the trail was open for the season and there were thousands of Koreans hiking, including men and women older than my Mom, one picture below is taken with one who had just been to the top. It took about 10 and half hours to get to the peak, which was 6250 ft above sea level. It probably was the most difficult thing I have ever done physically, I almost literally didn't make it. About half way up we began to see snow, and were hiking in slush and mud the rest of way. Once I made it to the top, I was happy, but we still had a little over three hours back down the mountain, of which 40 minutes was in the dark. This time I had a flashlight, learning from my last Jirisan experience I came prepared. The entire hike had beautiful scenery, waterfalls, and breathtaking views and it was an experience that couldn't be matched. The pictures really don't do it any justice, but can be enjoyed by all.



This is right before the hike, we didn't know what we were getting into to.















































This is ME at the TOP....6250 ft above sea level...I DID IT!!