Annmbierbower's Blog

Something New….

Ann — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:36:35 +0000

Working on a better blog with a better name….we’ll see what comes of it. XO

annimalhouse.wordpress.com

Goraebul Beach

Ann — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 14:56:02 +0000

This weekend Kyle and I went to a beach about an hour and a half east of Andong with some friends. Andong University has had a free bus running to Goraebul Beach lately. (Of course, you are supposed to work at the University to take said bus, but I guess we know the right people – Thanks Mijin and Chris!) It is 8 kilometers of beach with many things to do such as boat rides, water slides, tubes to rent and food to eat. I just layed on the beach though. It was a hot day, so I wanted to get into the water, but like I said I mostly layed on the beach….because……the water was freezing! I went in once or twice and came out like an ice cube. Not like the Philippines at all, but hey, it’s a beach!

Kyle chilling with the ladies

We also got to observe Koreans in their natural habitat. Most of the Koreans at the beach did not wear their bathing suit but instead opted for a long sleeve t-shirt (with a hood sometimes!) and shorts. They like to keep out of the sun’s harmful rays and also aspire to keep their skin as young and white as ever. Really, it’s smart to wear all those layers to avoid the sun but at first I didn’t know if they were trying to stay out of the sun or wearing their clothes to stay warm when they got into the water.

Koreans also have a belief that burying oneself in the sand is good for health. I do not know the whole story on this, so please google if you want to learn more. With all the people buried on the beach I felt like I was tip toeing around to avoid stepping on or kicking anyone!

Three people buried on the beach. Can you see all three?

Couple bonding time?

Overall it was great to experience a fun Korean beach, relax, and spend time with friends.

Going for the "Jumping with the umbrella" picture. Corny, I know! Ready? One............

Two................

THREE!

And the graceful landing

Pringles

Ann — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:12:10 +0000

I forgot to post these somewhere so they get a post of their own! Not much to say about them, just check out the flavor.

Post Vacation Depression

Ann — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 13:04:30 +0000

Don’t worry it’s not anything serious!

Vacation was like something out of a dream. It truly was paradise. Although, it was a bit tough to come back home to Korea. There was a long day of travel involved and Kyle and I were coming home (to Korea) but not coming home, home (to Nebraska). The long day of traveling, Kyle being pretty sick (I felt so bad for him) and the layover in the worst airport ever (see “Manila Airport…sucks post!): the combination of all those things got me down a bit.

Flying back into Korea reminded me of coming home from studying abroad in Australia. Australia was a great time but I experienced some homesickness there. I flew back into Omaha when I returned and I remember seeing the lights of the city of Omaha and being really excited to be home. Well, Kyle and I flew back into Seoul and seeing the city lights was pretty but it reminded me that I was not home, home. It did not help that we still had two bus rides totaling four hours before we got to our house in Andong and we just came from a beautiful place with anything and everything we could ask for. Andong is great but we cannot get any kind of food whenever we want and most importantly it is still a half of world away from our family and friends. I think I am getting over this sadness, but I just wanted to share because everything is not always roses but it’s life and I’ll take it! Overall, life is full of ups and downs and you just have to be able to handle both.

Food Eaten

Ann — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 16:36:42 +0000

Vacation was great. Great place, great food = great time! I was waking up real early to eat breakfast because I “had” to eat two lunches per day to get in all the food I wanted to eat. There was American food, Korean food, Greek food, Mexican food, Persian food, sushi, and much more. Of course, there was Filipino food too. The first thing Kyle and I ate upon arriving was quesadillas and a hamburger. Forget to island seafood, we wanted some comfort food!

Other yummy meals were at a Persian restaurant called True Food; they have a great yoga studio upstairs the restaurant. The yoga class overlooks the ocean and is a difficult but rewarding class (a good class to work off the 2-lunch a day regimen). Another great second lunch was a falafel. And then of course there were the afternoon crepes, which were really fresh and delicious. The crepe was cooked and assembled right in front of our eyes and included bananas, chocolate, and ice cream (how could it not be delicious!).

I don’t have many pictures of the food eaten (probably because I devoured it so fast..yum!) but one of my favorite meals that I do have pictures of is lobster and prawns. Kyle had his mind set about a month before we left that we were going to eat lobster. Near the end of the trip I was a little worried that we would not have enough time to eat lobster but we cleared our stomaches and our schedules and fit it in. We were able to pick out the lobster and prawns that we wanted and then they were cooked to our liking. The prawns were gigantic! They were the biggest prawns I had ever seen and the lobster was very colorful but still a bit scary because of its claws! But…once cooked, not so scary. Both the prawns and lobster were perfectly cooked, buttery and delicious. I would have to say that the prawns were my favorite. I still dream about them….aaahhhh…..

Yum Yum!

Sunburnt Kyle and his prey

One cooked prawn. It was like two huge shrimp put together.

Cheers to a great dinner

Island Activities

Ann — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 15:32:15 +0000

Vacation was in Boracay, Philippines, which is an international vacation spot. It’s growing to be a hot spot and is pretty developed for an island in a country is not all that developed. The Philippines is made up of over 7,000 islands. Boracay was a small island in the middle area of the Philippines (in the visayas: Info about the visayas). Boracay has a 4 km long beach and is developed for pure entertainment and relaxation.

There are hawkers coming around all day trying to sell you any number of boat rides, ATV rides, or other thrilling expeditions. One of my favorite things was taking a sail boat around the whole island. It took about three hours with a stop for snorkeling. It was very thrilling and relaxing at the same time. Here is the boat that I sailed on…the Hanes boat:

Me claiming my boat

There was also plenty of relaxing. Masseuse were available for less than ten dollars per hour to massage you on the beach and the drinks were ridiculously cheap: $1 for a San Miguel beer and $2 for a fresh fruit margarita or daiquiri. I’m not really a margarita or daiquiri girl but these were too delicious to pass up!

Other vacation activities (which I don’t have pictures of..) included jet skiing, sea kayaking, a sunset cruise, visiting the “zoo” and seeing the adorable monkeys, and inter-island tour which included going to the highest point on the mountain to look out over the island, playing scrabble, plenty of book reading, and eating lots of delicious foods. I can’t decide if I miss the beach or the food more! The zoo (small, not really a zoo at all) took place on the inter-island tour and of course K and I forgot the camera. So we went all old fashioned and bought a Polaroid. So I apologize for no monkey pictures!

Sailing off into the sunset

The Vacation Post

Ann — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 05:05:31 +0000

I’m back from paradise, aka Boracay, Philippines. I was a bit worried before leaving because it is rainy season in the Philippines, but that turned out to be not a problem at all. It did rain every day, usually at night, but it was actually a relief from the sun and the sand. It also gave Kyle and I time for long, leisurely games of Scrabble on our deck with the stray cats. Overall, it was very enjoyable and I could keep rambling but the photos will be of more interest. P.S. The photos do not do justice to the beauty of Boracay.

More to come soon…………

The Manila Airport………..SUCKS!

Ann — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 04:53:49 +0000

On the way to and back from paradise Kyle and I had to experience the Manila airport. We had a long layover on the way back home and were able to experience the Manila airport for all its worth. I just have to have a rant about this. The airport is the worst I have ever been in! There is free wifi, but only ten people can be on the connection at one time (this is an international airport, mind you). There is nothing to eat, but there is two cigar shops. This is the most international airport I have ever been in! Okay, now I’m done..thanks!

As I said….

Ann — Fri, 23 Jul 2010 15:02:57 +0000

I went to a body building competition in Pohang and this really happened:

This isn’t as funny but it happened too…say Good Morning!

And now it’s vacation time!

Pohang and Body Building

Ann — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:47:33 +0000

This last weekend I went to Pohang, oddly enough, I went to a body building competition. To say the least, it was interesting and a bit stereotypical….Here’s some pictures of the competition:

And...the sunrise over the beach after staying out way too late.