Maple Leaf Forever

O' Canada,
Our Home
and
Native Land







Long weekends, growing up, almost always involved trips to my family’s cottage on Georgian Bay. As I got older, I appreciated these quiet getaways so much more; a wilderness retreat for ultimate relaxation, escape, and simultaneous fun and out-of-controlness… and as my time here passes, and the summer months are upon us, I miss it more and more. But since luck is on my side these days, I was thrilled to discover I wasn't the only person who desired a cottage getaway... and what better way to to do it then the July 1st weekend. And so, my fellow Canadian friends (along with some others who chose to support the Maple Leaf for the occasion) rented an amazing “cottage” in the mountains not too far outside Busan. It was a great way to celebrate the nation we are all so far away from and the home we often miss so much. A red and white weekend in the wilderness, escaping the concrete jungle we call home, to frolic in the river, bbq, listen to Canadian music, get into some guitar sing songs, go night swimming and celebrate with fire works and the national anthem at midnight…. It was the best alternative to my cottage that I could ask for! Oh, Canada!

Why?

It’s an everyday question these days … Why?…

You know… the differences make me laugh, and I joke about them, but honestly.. I love them! I’m quirky as anything, I think quirky is fun, and this place is too quirky for words!! (As Alex so kindly pointed out, “it’s like you’ve finally gone home to the mother ship”)

That’s not to say that all the differences are ridiculous, some in fact make complete sense and I wonder what Canada's problem is (with technologically mostly). So I’m sure that any Korean in Canada might also have a good list of why questions that they’d write back home about and laugh. So, I think it’s pretty much fair game at this point…Korea is a little off.

Why:

Is he carrying his girlfriend's purse? (or his own?)

Is that dog half shaved and wearing a hat?

Is that couple wearing matching outfits?

Would you wear high heals to the beach?

Are there potatoes and corn on the pizza?

Are they singing karaoke in the subway station?

Is there a whole grocery aisle for Spam?

....and this is only the beginning....

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

And the simplest answer is this : It’s Korea.

Norae-Fest

"Why be alone, when we can be together baby?"






Norae Bangs (singing rooms) are hugely popular in this country. It’s not uncommon to get drunk and sing karaoke in your own private room with friends until the wee hours of morning. This sort of experience is paradise for a lyric monkey like myself – curious though, I’ve yet to go. While I eagerly await my golden opportunity (I’m told planning is not an option) the girls and I have adapted our own singing customs (the norae taxi for example) and this weekend we let our vocal talent (or, talentlessness) shine. Saturday morning, a crew of 30 or so foreigners headed to Andong, which is tucked away in the mountains about 3hrs northwest of Busan. Though the rafting part of our “rafting weekend” didn’t quite measure up (due to a lack of water and rapids) it was a superbly fun time. Mind you however, when day 1 began with a lunch of fish and rice (*heaves*) I’ll admit to being slightly discouraged, but shortly thereafter the discovery of an outdoor norae stage had my spirits lifted. What followed was 2 days of goodness: a stellar performance of Mr. Big, a traditional Korean masked dance and show, river chilling and swimming, a bonfire on the beach complete with drinking, binging and singing, a brief sleep, then games, competition and song with Team Norae while rafting, and a quiet walk through a traditional village before passing out, spent, for the bus ride home. All good things, a great experience, a weekend in Andong – glowy red skin and a scratchy throat to prove it… the rapids wouldn’t have stood a chance against us anyway.

Where's the Beach?

Part of Busan’s appeal in my “where to call home in Korea” debate was its proximity to the beach. Considering my daily longings for a return to Thailand, I felt that perhaps I could fulfill a small part of these desires in moving here. As no surprise though, the beaches here fail in comparison, but I could get over it… if only I lived a little closer. Truth is, I live no where near the beach at all – but on the complete opposite time of town. So, heading to the beach is a mission, a quest, a day trip, but we make it happen as often as we can ...and since today was a holiday there was no question where we’d be heading. We made strict plans to meet by 11, and even though we were out til 4 the night before, we were quite successful and managed to capitalize on a full day of sunshine. I love, love, love the beach: nothing beats soaking in the sun on a blanket in the warm sand, arranging the grains to fit the very contours of the body….except when you’re also relaxing to some tunes, playing cards and cribbage, swimming in the ocean and body surfing the waves. Come summer, this beach will become a haven of umbrellas for Koreans seeking full shelter from the sun. Right now though, it is MINE!

Fueled by Passion

A passion, by definition, is an object of boundless enthusiasm. Playing ball is one of my passions, but I wouldn’t have thought so until I had to go without it. It’s the only sport I committed to in youth and stuck through (and to the punks who don’t think it’s a real sport, I’ll outplay you anytime suckahs). As luck would have it, through distant contacts, I heard about a slo-pitch tournament happening in Busan and naturally I signed up to play. I haven’t thrown a ball in a year and I didn’t know a single person there….I was forced to overcome my nervousness, social awkwardness, and shyness among strangers… for a chance to play. There were 5 teams, and many foreigners, all of whom seemed to be friends with everyone else, but only about 10 girls, most of whom were there just to fill the necessary quota of 2 per team. (yes yes, good odds, *winks*) The diamond was hilariously Korean, a dirt soccer field with a small backstop, but complete with chalk lines and bases. What resulted was an amazing day of good bats, new friends, and intense competition. Love love love… That night we went for dinner as a team, and since I’d played with them all day, I thought I could drink on par with them all night. A dangerous task I assure you…but countless more hours of fun. All in all, the day in it’s entirety was phenomenal, and winning for once, wasn’t everything.

Seoul Searching

It seemed about time to visit the 6th most populated city in the world, so Lynn and I boarded Korea’s 300 km/h KTX train to Seoul. After some minor setbacks in finding a place to spend our first night, we ultimately found shelter in Motel Blue, and were initiated into the Korean Love Motel experience. After some much needed sleep, we awoke at 9am and began what would be our marathon 21-hour day. So much to do, so much to see, so much to look at and experience… and so many people: An overwhelming amount of English (people, speaking, signs, food) in the foreigner district, a beautiful ancient palace in the middle of the modern city providing an interesting contrast of new and old, some traditional market shopping in Insa-dong and busting a groove til 6am, then making our walk of shame home in daylight while the rest of the city began their day. After just 4 hours of sleep, we re-emerged to continue our exploration of the city and get in some serious shopping before heading back home. A great weekend of wear on my body and overload on my senses, but time and money well spent.

Gyeongbokgung Palace

A Long Way From Home

…Buddha, It’s your Birthday…

It seemed only necessary to celebrate this holiday in full style. Despite waking up at 1pm as a result of soju-drinking pre-party celebrations, we still managed to enjoy a full day of fun. A few hours at the beach (although the clouds dominated by the time we arrived) with some much needed recuperation time and some sweet frizbee toss action, and then it was off to Beomosa Temple. Big birthday celebrations were occurring all day, but the chanting performance and lantern lighting were to occur at dusk. Problem was that ½ of Busan had the same idea, and having only minimal time to spare, we missed most of the chanting and such stuck in a cab on the one-way street up the mountain. We were determined though to not miss out, so we left the cabby a few extra thousand won and trekked the last kilometer or so on foot…amazing race styles…We made it to the Temple in time for the lantern lighting. It looked amazing, lanterns were hanging everywhere, creating a canopy of brightly coloured flickering beauty…thousands upon thousands… We were given candles to help in the lighting process… It was a rather wonderful experience. Sadly, however, the rain that had help up all day finally arrived smothering many of the lanterns, and making the task of relighting them a little too ambitious. So, we headed down the mountain for some warm comfort food and called it a day… and that’s just the beginning of my 4-day weekend!