An Eco Adventure at Herb Hillz

This place was a pretty cool find for something to do in Daegu! In just  30 minutes from the city center, you'll find yourself  at the beautiful Herb Hillz park (at Daegu Station, hop on bus 704 heading towards the downtown area). There's loads of things to do, and  if you bring some extra cash, you can even make your own herb soaps, plant herbs and browse the many boutiques nestled around the park. 

There's a petting zoo, some rides and artistic grass sculptures scattered throughout the hills.

But the best part of all is that the park holds 5 eco adventure zip lining courses. For a mere 15,000 won you have access the park and the fee includes one zip line adventure course.  If you're totally game, you can pay an additional 7,000 won to do another course, after you've completed the first one. We were pretty bagged and opted for a few cold beers rather than another course.

First things first, and you get all decked out in your gear. Including a very silly helmet that wobbles all over the place.

There's my friend Lisa tryingt o figure out what goes where!

Then you move on with an introductory lesson- where they give a pretty basic demo, ensuring you know what you're doing with the beanies. It's a condensed version of the real thing.

The guide (slightly annoyed with our group's lack of attention) gave us the go ahead for the toughest course out there- the Tarzan. Despite the temptation, we made an executive group decision, and decided on the King Kong Course, which was  not the most difficult, but was the longest and most fun! Then off we went - we were on our own!

Geared up and ready to go, as I climbed to the top of the first station, I panicked a bit! Never knew I was scared of heights, but I think the fear was actually knowing that I was only connected by two beanies and a wire.

The Guide warned us that if we didn't catch the rope off our 60 -70 m zip line, we would naturally be carried back and would have to pull ourselves back just a few meters to the landing post. Obviously, my first go of the zip line ended in an adventure. Midway through the zip, my body turned and I scrambled to try and get my body aligned again to better land against the tree (by the way the tree at the end of the zip line has a measly mat attached to it) but failed to turn in time, and slammed into the mat/tree at high velocity, winding myself and getting zipped right back to the middle of the line. It didn't go much further than that!! So, I had to pull myslef backwards to make it to the landing-- and it was WAY more than a few meters!!

The course itself had some tough areas and some even scarier ones! We climbed, pulled, swung and even skateboarded across thin wires.

That's called real fear!

The course took the lot of us about an hour and 45 minutes and  despite the bruises the next day, it was totally worth it! I'm still searching for my left leg and shoulder though.... and I suspect I may have left them back on the zip line course.

Chopsticks

Getting used to the whole chopstick thing was, of course, a little challenging at the beginning. But now, I 'm an old pro. I'm by no means as experienced as my Korean colleagues; able to pick up the smallest grain of just about anything or dissect whole fish to the point only the fine bones remain-- but I'm pretty good. I've mastered eating chicken wings, cutting whole pieces of meat and even eating spaghetti with  just my chopsticks. 

I've put them in my hair when I ran out of elastics and once I even used a single chopstick to act as a screw driver and it actually worked.  I've pretended to be a kick ass drummer while waiting for my food to arrive, but besides that, I never really gave much thought chopsticks being used for anything other than eating or  quirky quick fixes. 

Last week, I was given the opportunity to witness another major use of chopsticks.   Who would have thought that you could pop open a cold one using a pair of chopsticks? I've seen men break a sweat trying to pop one without an opener. I've witnessed broken bottle edges and damaged lighters in heavy attempts to get the beer open. For the first time in my life, I saw a man crack open the bottle in one simple swoop. I was so astonished, that I made him do it again so I could verify what I had just seen.

Apparently, most Korean men are capable of doing just that- some say it's even a rite of passage.  I think it's awesome, and as they handed over the sticks for me to try- I realized its not so simple as it looked. I fumbled for about 5 minutes and finally gave up. I'll be sure to master this little trick before I head home.  Seriously, how cool would I be if  everywhere I went I whipped out my chopsticks and opened men's beers?? Just a thought.

Sports Day: Take Two

For those of you following me, you'll know that last year's sports day was disastrous for me (for a quick laugh at my expense see my post from October 23, 2009 before reading on).  Slightly apprehensive this time around, I was desperate to find any excuse not to partake in the teacher's relay race this time. Unfortunately, the Vice Principal at my school can be quite persuasive and I'll admit, slightly scary. She asked informed me that I would indeed be running in today's race. Fabulous.

Sport's Day events here in Korea are quite the affair. Every school holds them twice a year, from elementary to high school levels. The students prepare for weeks for the main event. With the white tents up the day starts at precisely 09:00 am. First thing on the agenda: the 100 meter dash.

All students compete in the race, and boys and girls compete in the same heat. 

First place winners are awarded a solid prize.

There's the hand-off to the first place winner in the girls heat. 

The students are totally stoked to win the grand prize.

As with many things that are slightly strange here in Korea- so are some of the prizes they give out the kids. I heard through the native teacher grapevine that some of the prizes happen to be useful household objects. One school gave out rolls of toilet paper (and it wasn't even two-ply). 

 And there you have it- you are indeed seeing what you think! They gave out correction tape to the lucky lucky winners at our school!

Once the students have rested after their big efforts at the dash, we moved on to the second event: shoe throwing (there must be a better translation than that- but that's all I got). Essentially, each class of 40 or so students lines up together and on the count of 3, each student tosses one of their shoes toward a painted circle in the field. The student closest to the middle of the circle wins ( I think they handed out post it notes for this one). 

Next comes the group skipping contest, followed by lunch. After eating, the students get geared up for the most anticipated event of the day: the relay race.

First they do a mock relay, where students must pick up random items (huge water jug, sand bag, and larger-than-life batons, some kids even had to take off and put on pants.  Then it gets really serious.   I didn't get to watch too much of the student's competition, because I was pulled aside by my Vice Principal and a male co-teacher who insisted we stretch out before our race. I had no choice but to comply (and here I thought the students were competitive!).

They also repeated more times than necessary that I was not allowed sliding in this year's relay race. With every stretch they muttered (in the most gentlest manner), "Cynthia- no sliding? Okay?" Yup. Got it. Okay. Okay.

... And then we were off! My Vice Principal started us off and I was the fourth one up! We didn't place first, but instead came in close second- a sad disappointment for my Vice Principal but a fantastic finish for myself for not haven fallen during the race.

Don't worry I beat her coming out of the turn.

The students and teachers celebrated  my perfect run with cheers and laughter.  Personally, I think they were all ecstatic that I didn't kill myself this time round. 

 

A view from the top: Apsan Mountain

Last week Korea celebrated a national holiday: Children's Day (also happens to be Cinqo de Mayo in Mexico).  Children's Day is a day where children are free from school and get a chance to hang out with their parents for a little family time. As English teachers, we too of course a school free day!  Having been in Daegu for eight months now- it amazes me just how much there is still to do in this city that we call home. One of the things on our Daegu to-do list was spend an afternoon at Apsan Mountain. Apsan means Front Mountain: a fitting name for the giant mountain. It's essentially the largest wilderness park in Daegu filled with peaks and valleys that once at the top has an expansive view of the whole city. Nestled in the valleys are museums and Buddhist temples.

You'd think being the largest park in Daegu it would be quite easy to get to. But this is of course is Korea! My friend and I attempted to hike it in the fall, with scratchy handwritten directions from one of her colleuges. After making a 45  min trek to find the park- we gave up.

Determined to find it again, this time around I got explicit directions to get there. The easiest way of course is to hop in a taxi and get dropped off at the base of the mountain. But we were eager to find it again by foot. Once again, a "5 or 10 minute walk" from the subway, turned out to be a 30 minute hike around the steep roads. After asking  gesturing and attempting several pronunciations of Apsan later, we finally arrived at the entrance to the park. Exhausted from the hike to the base of the mountain we took a little breather before starting the uphill battle.

The trail eventually evened out for  about a few kilometers, allowing both our breath and heart rate to catch up. The park is surrounded by trees,  babbling brooks and of course the sounds of nature. It was a beautiful change from the bustling noises of the city below.  We also had the rare pleasure of spotting a chipmunk! (Wildlife is not very commonly seen in Daegu and I think this was the first "wild" animal I've seen in eight months-- slightly different that the abundance back home in Canada).

If you weren't already exhausted from the trail hike up to the midway point,  we spotted an outdoor gym where you could do cardio, lift weights and even hoola hoop! Only in Korea would you find a complete outdoor gym for free. We stopped to do a few power sets and moved on.

The glorious thing about Apsan Park is that you can cheat a little. Half way up the mountain there are  a few restaurants and a sitting area, where you can put your feet up before doing the next leg.

Even better, was the gondola that takes you right up to the top. We of course, took the easier route and hopped on the gondola. For 5,500 won you get a round trip ticket. Pretty steep for Korea, but totally worth the view from the top. The gondola connects from a point 300 m above sea level to the top 600m above sea level.

At the summit is is the observation platform. Although it was a bit smoggy, the view of the city was spectacular. You are literally standing there, surrounded by wind and the elements.  At the summit, you can even find the remnants of a fortress that once stood there hundreds of years ago.

As we made our way back down the mountain, we decided to reward ourselves for a day of hard hiking- we headed downtown (by the way we found a bus that drops you off right at the entrance of the park) and indulged in some delicious Mexican food to celebrate the other holiday. Nothing beats a reward of  margarita's after a day of hiking!

Take me out to the Ball Game!

Baseball is recognized as the all American sport. Turns out that this bat-and-ball sport is also heavily loved by Koreans. The Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) is South Korea's professional baseball league. The teams are usually named after huge Korean companies that own them. Here in Daegu- it's the Samsung Lions that capture the fans.

I've never really been a huge fan of baseball, but for something to do I agreed to go to a Samsung Lions game a couple of weeks ago.

Standing amongst the large crowds gathered at the ticket gate, I was shocked to see the ticket price for the game. For a mere 6,000 won (that's approx $5.50 USD) you are given a ticket and the opportunity to pick a seat anywhere around the stadium. Back home, a ticket to any MLB game is roughly $50.00!  Having come with plenty of extra money, I was eager to get in and hit the snack stands selling typical baseball fare: beer and hot dogs.

Turns out, here in Korea the snack stands flank the outskirts of the stadium. There are no beer guys hollering out to the stands! Instead, vendors line the streets with their make shift coolers filled with ice, where you can choose soda, water, beer and of course, the Korean drink of choice: Soju.  You can purchase beer for about 2,000 won (that's $1.50).

As you walk the line, fried chicken fumes waft in the air. Food vendors sell fried chicken, ramen, roasted potatoes, chips, roasted larvae, fish sticks and fried squid. Yup, you read that correctly- the typical all American baseball staple is absent among the rows of vendors. Who goes to a ball game and chows down on fried squid?? Oh, right- the Koreans do!  As we settled on some fried chicken and Soju we made our way into the park to catch the game.

Watching the game proved to be more of a social gathering for the handful of foreigners nestled in our seats at right center field. As the Lions dominated the game, we cheered and clapped with the entire crowd. The cheers sounded vaguely familiar, although, they too of course were in enthusiasticaklly sung in Korean! It took awhile for us to catch the tune, but we mumbled along with the lot of them!

As the  fans cheered on we watched with enthusiasm and took some time outs to run back to the vendors to get a few more beers. The highlights of the game included watching the cheerleaders 4 Korean women dancing in skanky outfits (which they change every inning it seems) and holding our breath for a few of the home runs heading overhead.

From what I've heard it's become quite a tradition in America for people to head out to the ball game with their own glove, in hopes of catching themselves a souvenir.


The home run hits here in Korea appear to be few and far between, but nevertheless they do happen and as I was about to find out people go a little mad in an attempt to catch a ball off the bat of a pro.

Heading back up to the stands from the washroom, I caught a glimpse of the home run hit over my head. The ball landed with a thud about a meter away from me. Not being a huge baseball fan, it took a few moments to register that this was a game ball, and that I should really really want to pick this up, because that's what people do.

As I quickly snapped into action, my hands curled around the ball to pick it up. As I grasped the ball, a Korean man, lunged over me from behind and hip-checked me out of the way. He triumphantly grinned at me and sauntered off  showcasing the ball "he" just caught to the crowds. As I glared at him while he took his seat again, I did not move. I instead, decided to stand there with narrowed eyes and stared at him. I may have shouted some obscenities, but in the heat of the moment I do not recall my actions that followed.  In the end, I think my death stares worked, because he looked from me to the rest of my foreigner friends looking appalled in their seats (most of whom were of course men).  Instead of tossing the ball back to me, still planted where I "caught" the ball, he threw it over to one one of my male friends in the stands. Slightly annoyed, I didn't truly care that much- let's face it- even if he had thrown it back to me (it's rightful owner) I would have probably given it up to the highest bidder.  Either way, I took a photo opportunity to capture the moment of "catching" a ball off the bat of a Samsung Lions pro!