The idea of writing this post seems so strange. While I flew out of Incheon airport one week ago, it still doesn’t feel real that I won’t be going right back. At this time last Thursday, I was wrapping up my final classes, grading end of semester tests, and finishing my last report cards painfully trying to ignore the fact that I would be leaving in less than 24 hours.
How did the time go so quickly?! Thinking back to the summer of 2015, I so clearly remember tensely packing my two huge suitcases to fly to Korea and start this adventure. I was anxious about where this decision would lead but excited and ready to try something new. Never could I have imagined that a one-year hiatus from my Chicago life would so easily become a two-year reality.
In the time that I was away from home, I met incredible new friends, decorated a sweet little apartment, mastered a new job, taught over 400 students, and got to travel the world. I feel so lucky to have had such an incredible experience.
While it doesn’t quite seem like time, indeed the time has come to say a grateful farewell to the country that allowed me to make it my home away from home. Thank you, Korea, and I’m sure we will meet again.
As for now, I’m currently off on an entirely different adventure as I continue my explorations through Asia for the next three months. Follow along via Instagram.
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Every few weekends or so I find myself wanting to get away from bustling streets of Seoul and Incheon and explore new parts of Korea. That said, the recent start of the warm summer months has really amped-up those feelings and has had me reminiscing of past getaways. One of my favorites from last spring was the day trip some friends and I took to Ganghwado Island in search of azaleas on Goryeosan Mountain.
Once we had made it further inward on the island we realized we were definitely lost and actually traveling away from our destination. At that point, we decided to hop off the bus and trust our luck to catch another bus returning in the direction of the mountain we were so desperate to find. Forty-five minutes, two peeled oranges, one snack sized bag of peanut M&Ms, and a few pictures later we managed to hail a lone taxi that seemed destined to pick us up. After a brief drive we were dropped at an azalea festival which we wandered for a bit before starting our hike up Goryeosan Mountain.
Finally reaching the peak late in the afternoon we were able to take in the sun and the spectacular views of the island. Being from the midwest where even a good sledding hill is rare, seeing the lush mountains that cover Korea is always a breathtaking experience.
Just about a year ago a group of friends and I headed south for a weekend of festivals. We spent Saturday in Jinhae for the 
We woke up Sunday morning in Busan which was incredible enough on its own. Busan is a seaside city and always makes me feel like I’m in California rather Korea. It has a much more laid-back vibe than up north were we live.
Once everyone in our group picked up their color packets we ventured into the mass of people celebrating. Indian music was blasting, people were dancing, and color was everywhere. There were hundreds of people, some tourists, some fellow expats, and many transplants from India who were more than happy to share their culture with us; pulling anyone into the circle that seemed to be drifting away.
After a few wonderful days in Jeju City, our vacation was dwindling down to just two more days. We had a few things left on our to-do list, one of which was visiting Manjanggul Cave, a UNESCO World Heritage sight that is a cave formed from a lava tunnel.
When we arrived, we were greeted by a vine covered staircase entrance into the cave. We followed along the one kilometer path through the lava tunnel enjoying the chilly climate that was so different from the sweltering streets of Jeju.
Our last day started with us packing our bags and quickly dropping them off at the airport before catching a cab to the beach to soak in some sun before boarding our flight that evening. We had an incredible cab driver pick us up who tried his absolute best to communicate with us in his broken English and we attempted our best broken Korean. Though we had to act out words for ‘beach’ and ‘swimming’, he had no problems telling us his opinions of what was at the time the upcoming 2017 presidential election.
After a few days 
Once we had taken 100 or so photos we decided to leave the refreshing mists of the falls and start making our way to Sanbanggulsa Temple.
In my travels I must have visited dozens of various temples at this point, but each one grabs my attention in a new way. They are so beautiful and feel so sacred and offer such an interesting insight into the beliefs of those who follow the respective religion.
Finally it was summer vacation. One thing I’ll say about Korea is that there’s a descent amount of public holidays, but they really don’t space them out efficiently. I joyfully boarded the small plane that would be taking some friends and I to 
We knew that the Cheonjiyeon Waterfall was within walking distance and at some places could even hear it. Finding it was another task entirely though. We walked around the island following maps and street signs for what felt like hours. Eventually we made it to the park for the falls, where we walked along the path stumbling upon little bits of character all the way.
After lunch our group split up. One friend and I decided to brave the 90 degree heat and walk the town. Along our way we found a bustling street market and a charming café filled with vintage books and tropical leaves on each stainless steel table top. I also had the best coconut ice of my life.
A string of national holidays in October leads to a number of long weekends in the beginning of fall and a lot of opportunities to explore the country. One of these holidays is National Foundation Day which is a celebration of the founding of Korean as a nation. While this year I’ll be doing some adventuring outside of the country, last year I used the the extra day off work to explore Nami Island {one of over 30 islands in Korea} with a friend.
Towards the end of the day we went off the beaten path a bit and discovered a quiet area on the edge of the island by some water to watch the sunset. As we started making our way back to catch the ferry home we realized that those “balloons” from the tree lined path were in fact little white lanterns that magically lit up the trail as we waited in line for the ferry. A perfectly charming ending to a long and exciting day.
We left early Saturday afternoon for an overnight stay on the island. Catching the subway and bus were fairly easily, and we got only slightly turned around once we got off at our stop. The next bit of the trip was much more memorable as we realized we would have to walk across an incredibly narrow bridge, lacking any kind of guard rail, as cars and busses drove by; some slowing down to avoid us and others not so much. After about ten minutes of cautiously creeping our way along, a middle-aged man offered us a ride across the rest of the way. And just like that we graciously accepted the offer hoping the backseat of a stranger’s car would be safer than the treacherous bridge. It was a good call too because we ended up just making the last ferry of the day. Once on the island we found a local bus driver to take us to the beach, and made it right in time for sunset.
bbm travels 