Birthday Shenanigans

Thank you so much everyone for my birthday wishes via facebook. You guys are so great and I can not tell you how good it feels to get so many wishes and know that this love is coming from half way around the world.

With that being said, let me just tell you a little bit about how my birthday went.
Every month, we have a birthday party for the kinder students. It's a big deal and a lot goes on. Every student who has a birthday in that month dresses up in a hanbok which is a Korean traditional dress worn for special occasions. They are then paraded in and are required to deliver a speech in English and Korean no matter their age. They are required to memorize it and then give it in front of all of the kinder teachers, all their peers, and sometimes even the director of the school. I am sure it can be quite stressful for such young kids, but it's required from our school none the less. Well, I thought I would be fun and buy a hanbok (I really wanted one anyways) and then wear it to the April birthday party. I then decided I would also give a speech and even got a Korean teacher to translate it in to Korean for me to give as well. So on the day, I started with the English speech and at the end everyone clapped and assumed I was finished. I then went on to give it is Korean. I did not memorize the Korean because I am just not that good, but I will tell you that all of the kids and some of the teachers were pretty impressed anyways. I have been tricking the kids since they have gotten here telling them I know Korean and even try to add an occasional yes or uh huh (of course, in Korean) so they believe I know what they are saying. So when I gave this speech in Korean I think it really validated for the students my ability. hahaha. Too bad even after being here for 9 months I still can't speak or understand much Korean- but they don't have to know that!

So that weekend, a couple days before my birthday, 11 of us headed to Jirisan National Park. I had read and heard great things about this national park and the boys had talked the girls into hiking. They made it sound enticing by telling us we would be hiking the highest mountain on mainland Korea and how sweet it would be to say we hiked it. Agreeing, we all packed our bags, as light as possible, carrying only food, water and a toothbrush. This can add up fast none the less. So the 11 of us began the straight up journey up the mountain not realizing that the boys decided we should take the steepest and most difficult route since it was the shortest. Let's just say I stayed with the back of the pack and tried to enjoy the hike up as best as I could. My legs were already sore and tight from running a long distance the day before (stupidity right there) and let's just say the hike up wasn't helping them. However, after several hours of hiking, we made it to our shelter. Our shelter was about 2/3 of the way up the mountain, which I was thankful for because I didn't want to hike any further. I was exhausted. The girls sat and ate a snack while the boys continued up the mountain to the peak. We checked out the shelter, the nearby temple, laid out in the sun and just kinda enjoyed the amazing view and talked until the boys got back about 2 and a half hours later. We all talked for awhile before eating dinner and then going inside the shelter and passing out. Mandatory lights out was at 8pm and most of us fell asleep on the hard floor of the shelter as soon as the lights were out. The boys stayed up longer and decided that night they weren't going back up to the peak the next morning, but the girls figured we had made it this far and that we wanted to see the top. So we woke up the next morning before the sun and hiked a little bit to the temple close to our shelter to watch the sunrise. It was absolutely beautiful and definitely worth getting up for. When you go to bed at 8pm, 4:30am doesn't seem all that early. Jake decided to get up as well and hike with the girls to the top rounding the group off with Devon, Caroline, Mickey and me. It was about a 2 hour hike straight up, in which we had to climb up boulders sometimes going on all 4s and sometimes there was a rope to help. It definitely was a huge challenge but the view from the top was spectacular. At the top of the highest mountain on mainland Korea we stood 1915 meters or 6,283 feet tall. It was breathtaking! We took pictures not only because it was so incredible, but also for proof I think. :) I have never done anything like this before. We stayed at the top for awhile before going back down to the shelter to meet the rest of the group and eat breakfast. Breakfast consisted of kimbop (seaweed wrapped around rice and vegetable- similar to sushi), trail mix, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, power bars, and cold coffee for some. (the shelter didn't have hot water) We got cold water to fill our water bottles from literally a hole in a rock which was pretty neat! After breakfast, we hiked down the mountain. It was a million times easier than going up on the thighs, but equally as challenging on the calves. Not to mention the steepness was nuts and the fear of slipping was always on our mind since rocks and roots and gravel moved under our feet. None the less, Devon and I who were some of the slowest the day before hiking up, ended up leading the pack on the way down. We were pretty proud! The Jirisan experience was AWESOME and I am definitely glad I went, but I won't be doing something that high, that fast, or that steep for awhile. :) It was a great way to celebrate my birthday though and something I will always remember.

The night of my actual birthday Jason, Erica, Caroline and I went out for dinner at a restaurant I really like that serves duck. It's delicious. Erica told them it was my birthday and they asked me how old I was and brought me out a big, nice cake!! Not just a piece, but the whole thing! We sang at the restaurant but then took the cake with us to another place where we went for a drink. Some of the middle school teachers joined us at this point and we sang again and ate the cake. It was delicious! We headed home around midnight which is way past my bedtime (sadly enough), but I had lots of fun!

My 23rd birthday was a blast and to spend it in Korea was lots of fun. Thanks again for all the love on facebook and via skype. I LOVE you all and miss you tons and tons too!!!