downsizing and upgrading.

Although we now have less than a month left on our contract in Korea, it was not too late for us to try out a new neighbourhood in Busan!

Last week, due to the relocation of our school, Tim and I were moved to a new apartment in an area of Busan a few kilometres away from Jaesong dong, where we spent just over a year in a......  ' well-broken-in apartment' :)

We have been in the (brand) new apartment for a full week now and are really enjoying getting to know a new neighbourhood, while still being close to the same bus routes (and the gym!) that we used before. 

The new apartment is a bachelor, and about a third of the size of our old apartment, but with only a few weeks left, it's more than enough, and is just that much easier to keep clean!

The school is also brand new and is not even finished yet, though we have been working there for almost a full week at this point.  The walls are clean, classrooms are bright, and it's a good fresh start for the school.  

What follows are some pictorial comparisons of our apartments as well as some shots of the new school.  Note the giant plants/trees that were given to the school by students and friends, a common occurrence for new businesses in Korea. 

ye olde bathroom.

ye olde bedroom

remember this when you see the new one, below.

mmmmmmm.....

the A/C...

chaos is right. only 400 gallons of water/load.

old office, pre move.

old office, mid move.

17 years of old school.

a new view of busan.

                   

i like it better already.

fresh kitchen sink.

it's a shoe box. but it's a new, clean shoe box!

pristine. 

ahhhhhh.....

shortcut to school.

NEW Corem!

keep on moving happily to the top....

if only the A/C were hooked up....

view from the top.

flower pot #1...

new teacher's office, a little snug.

corem forest.

Daegu IAAF World Championships

After a slight change in plans, we arrived in Daegu early on Sunday afternoon via KTX from Busan. With no tickets for Saturday and not sure of the scalping procedures in Korea, we weren't counting on getting in to see any events on the first day of competition and first checked into our hotel. 

maybe i'm a little more excited than Tim.

made it!

We took a free shuttle bus to the stadium which lies a little ways outside of Daegu and wasn't the most convenient location to get to (or from).  

The stadium grounds were pretty impressive, the stadium itself able to seat just over 60,000 spectators.  

We arrived just after the opening ceremonies had started and finally agreed to pay face value for a couple of tickets in the 2nd row, right in front of the long jump pit.  Lucky us, because the women's long jump qualifier just happened to be scheduled for that evening!

We caught the tail end of the ceremonies and entered just in time to see the singing of the official song of the games sung by 2 Korean singers who, I'm sure, are very popular in Korea but actually unknown to me. 

?

Our seats for the evening allowed us to take in the men's decathlon high jump, the women's 10,000m final, and the women's long jump.  We also got a view from across the track of the men's 100m 1st round of heats.  

We sat about 3m away from the long jump pit and were able to see the athletes talking with their coaches and getting supporting words from their families. It was a really cool experience to see that they speak and get worried and laugh just like anyone else - but they also break world records.

the eventual silver medallist, calling for her coach.

a  blurried view of the women's 10 000m.

    

It was a long evening and a long walk to the subway station from the stadium, but we were up and at it again on Sunday with tickets for the whole day which we'd purchased nearly a year ago. 

I made a sign for the last event of the evening, the 100m final, with hopes that I'd somehow make it onto TV.....

Our seats were 12 rows back from the start line for the 100m, which was also a great view for the men's decathlon pole vault event which took place early in the afternoon. 

We saw Canada's Damian Warner do a few jumps and proudly waved our mini Canadian flag for him. 

I've decided pole vaulting is my favorite event to watch... partly due to the sheer magic of someone being able to launch themselves 5 metres into the air. 

We also had a great view of the top men in the decathlon, Americans Ashton Eaton and Trey Hardee.

go canada!

We took a break in the afternoon to take in some of the events going on outside of the stadium and I was quite surprised at the lack of commercialism on the grounds.  At a similar event in North America I'm pretty sure that there would be dealers hocking their wares left right and centre, and just as many people buying.  But, in Daegu the only place to buy things was a smallish souvenir booth with a few t-shirts and souvenirs. Even adidas, the main sponsor had no shoes, or other paraphernalia for sale. 

don't worry. I won't quit my day job.

We ran into a man who may just be Usain Bolt's biggest fan, and snapped a shot with him, as well as with the Daegu mascot. 

Back inside the gates, our tickets allowed us entrance to a buffet for supper, where we caught up with some running friends and some of us enjoyed a few free beer:)

I excused myself a little early to get back to the seats for the men's 800m semi final which was a really enjoyable race to watch.  Long enough to settle in, but fast enough to be exciting. 

The women's long jump took place along with the men's 100m semi final heats when we got another, much closer look at Bolt who ran a relatively slow 10.12 sec 100m to win his heat. 

Other races on the track were the women's 400m semi-final with American Allyson Felix, and the 10,000m men's final in which the reigning 5 year champion withdrew due to injury, midway through the race. The final lap came down to a battle between Brit Mo Farra and Ethiopian Ibrahim Jeilan.  Our friends Simon and Adam (fellow Brits) managed to become part of Mo's family for about 3 minutes while they snapped a few photos with him during his victory lap. 

adam and simon with mo.

walter dix, 100m semi final

the bolt himself.

semi final 100m

men's 10 000m

The men's 1500m race was the final event for the supremely athletic male decathletes and it was heartwarming to see the cheers for Korean Kim Kun-Woo who nearly won the race but lost his lead in the final seconds.  

And..... the moment we'd all been waiting for finally arrived.  Bolt strutted in, showboating as usual, doing his hair in the camera/giant megatron screens, and being as cocky as possible (and why shouldn't he be?) As the men lined up, the audience was abuzz with predictions, all of them starting with ' well, AFTER Bolt it'll be....'. 

The men did their warm-up, stripped down to their uniforms and took their places on the start blocks.  Everyone was silent until the gun went off. Then the gun went off again. 

USAIN BOLT IS DISQUALIFIED!

bolt before the 'mistake'

Due to a new regulation by the IAAF, athlete's who commit a false start are immediately disqualified from the race.  There used to be an allowance for 2 false starts but this was changed to quicken the pace of races, apparently. 

So, to everyone's surprise, shock, and utter disbelief, after a very obvious premature jump out of the blocks, Usain Bolt, world's fastest man, was disqualified from the world championship. 

After everyone calmed down and realised the race still had to happen, with or without the Bolt, the guys took off and saw fellow Jamaican Yohan Blake, Walter Dix, and Kim Collins take the podium with a winning time of 9.93. 

Bolt in 3-4 more sleeps.....

So, I know I said the next post would be continuation of the beach, but! I am just too excited about the IAAF champs this weekend in Daegu that I had to write it down somewhere.  


It's hard to believe that we've been in Korea almost a year to the day, and that we've had this weekend planned pretty much since then.  


This Friday, we will take the KTX up to Daegu and cross our fingers for a place to lay our heads that night. Saturday was a 'maybe' for us because there aren't many key events that day, but we've decided to go on Friday night in order to catch the women's marathon that starts early Saturday morning.  (The marathon will follow the same course as the race the happened in April of this year, through downtown Daegu).


On Saturday, we have full day tickets reserved and we will take in some women's 1500m heats, some men's 400m heats, as well as final events in the women's long jump, men's 10,000m and..... da da da.... THE 100m FINAL!!!! AHHHHHH!!!!


Our tickets look really good, right at the start line, so I may end up with about one hundred pictures of Usain Bolt's bum. But hey! That's ok!


Anyways, this was just a quickie, and there will undoubtedly be a full recap after the actual event. 

bolt in maybe the most awkward picture of his life, Daegu.

The Beach. Part One: What should I bring?

Summer has finally settled in to Busan and we've seen many days un-interrupted by typhoons, rain, and clouds.  The humidity is high, the sun is hot, and I can officially say this is the most I have continually sweated in my life. 


There is only so much you can do with a sweaty body, and among those things going to THE BEACH tops the list.  


Living in Busan makes us some of the luckiest people living in South Korea.  Due to its location on the southeast coast of the peninsula, Busan has a four or five beaches that are in easy travelling distance of the city and a couple that actually lie in the city.  From our apartment in the east side of Busan, our two most frequented are 


1.
Seongjeong beach, a quiet, family-vibed expanse of sand with few facilities, but a nice quiet atmosphere.  This beach takes a little more time and effort to get to, but has slightly more space to relax and a cleaner feeling swimming area. Seongjeong also has a surfing area as well as surfboard, windsurfing and wetsuit rentals.  

seongjong before it heated up for the summer.

blue crush.

prepping The Party Bag (see list below)

2.
 Haeundae beach, the most famous in Busan, and arguable Korea, this beach sometimes sees one million tourists on its busiest days.  Because this beach is surrounded by several of Busan's nicest hotels, restaurants (many of them western) and is located on the subway line, it is quite often packed with Koreans and foreign tourists.  If you're in the mood for the full Korean experience (crowds) and have some patience to spare, this is the place to be. On the other hand, If you want to listen to the waves crash against the shore while breathing in the smell of salt, you're out of luck. Haeundae is the party beach - at least from July until August when the weather is nice and many Koreans have their summer vacation.

one section of the beach on a 'slow' day.

As our moods change, so does our beach choice.  However, this past weekend we put in three tough 8 hour days at Haeundae and had no regrets.  A run-in with an old co-worker led me to this article about Haeundae in the LA Times:
South Koreans Stay Out of the Sun
and inspired me to do an entry on Busan's beaches..... at least my two favorites.


A Day at the Beach 


Spending the day at Haeundae - or any beach- is not for the faint at heart.  Do you think you can handle the sweltering heat, the unforgiving UVs, and  the surrounding sand without a few preparations? Well if so, then think again, my friend. 
As seasoned sun-sitters, we know that having a beach bag that is always ready and waiting by the door is key to making it to the coast early enough to maximize our fun in the sun.  
'What is a beach bag?' You ask. 'What do you even PUT in it?' You wonder. 
Wonder no more, here are the essentials:


Beach bag (should be large, with an open top such that is sturdy enough to stand on its own without tipping over.  Zipper is optional, handles are mandatory)


1)Towels: the number of towels should be equal to 1.5 x the number of beach goers. Each person needs one towel for their chair/to lie on as well as at least 1/2 a towel for possible spills, face sweat wiping, bathing suit changing, etc.


2)Sunscreen:  SPF is a personal preference, but I think we've all learned that SPF 4 should really be called 'NOSPF' or ' Burninabottle'.  I like to use a good 30 or over on my face, and a more moderate 15 on other areas to allow some sun-kissing but prevent sun-scorching.


3)Sunglasses/hat:  These items are listed together because they work together.  If you opt against the hat, choose bigger sunglasses. If you don't care for shades then get a giant hat - or, if you're lucky enough to live in Korea, get yourself a giant ajumma visor which doubles as a headband/visor/darthvader face cover. 


4)Party mat  or tarp:  Depending on which beach you'll be visiting, you may or may not need this.  If you are at an un-serviced beach you will need a non-sandy surface for your valuables as well as your comfort.  We picked up a lovely green model in Japan for about 5$. it folds up nicely and will be there when we need it most.


5)Reading material:  I prefer to stock my beach bag with light fare such as Archie comics, Cosmo magazines, and other mindless material.  The beach is meant for relaxing, not learning.


6) Water: This is an item that isn't usually kept in the beach bag, but should be put in the freezer/fridge the previous night.  Often the pre-chill makes little difference because the water reaches 50 degrees after sitting in the sun for 5 minutes, but it's worth a shot.


7) Money: If you should happen to forget any of the items listed above, any beach worth its salt (ha! a pun!) will have them for sale.  But,obviously if you are going to secluded area, money is not going to be much use so stock up on the essentials.


8) The Party Bag : (optional, but not really) This is Tim's department. Our original PB was a green one from Sobey's. Here we have a Korean HITE bag. The party bag is a medium sized insulated bag that, when filled with ice and beer, becomes Tim's #1 reason for going to the beach.  I like to mooch off the cold benefits of the bag and stash popsicles or water in it.  What you fill your party bag with is up to you. The possibilities are endless, really.


Stay tuned for the next instalment of 
'The Beach. Part Two: Things people do at Korean Beaches'