Sokcho (Part 2/2)

The next day, September 16th, we decide to journey up north. I wanted to see if Farfetch'd may be in a less populated area and also I wanted to swim! We hit up some of the beaches my Friend went to the previous day.

I should put a disclaimer, so normally I am a pretty dull person. By that, I mean I tread cautiously, follow the rules and try not to get arrested or killed. However, my friend is a bit different than that, he's a bit more adventurous until that point i've been the one to turned down a few of his ideas about what we should do, it was a good dynamic, he's the adventurous one and I was the voice of reason, but I made the decision to live a little that day and go with the flow. 

My first free will act, we swim out about 300 feet to an outlying rock formation, in what I assume to be water filled with all sorts of unsavory ocean creatures. Like I said before I had never seen the Pacific Ocean, but I have seen National Geographic and I know everything it has to offer! It was a scary start to the day but it ended up giving us a beautiful view. 

Next we hit up some more beaches, we found a bit of traffic but that's good for me because it meant it was easier to catch more pokemon! We stopped at a local traditional village and looked around, it was beautiful contrast between the flat land the village was set in and the surrounding mountain side. The mountains reminded me of the Ranges I would see in Mexico when my family and I used to drive thru to visit my Grandparents, but that was many years ago... 

After the village we ventured farther up north, so North in fact we hit a military outpost by accident. When they asked what we were doing there, I showed them my phone and said "Have you seen any Pokemon?" To which they burst out laughing and allowed us to turn around! 

We headed back to Sokcho, but stopped at a nearby Saltwater lake with a 5k Trail around it. We walked the trail and recalled seeing a temple on the map, but when we arrived to the trail branch that lead to the Temple, it was closed off... Normally this is where I would turn around and call it a day, but like I said I'm trying to live a little today. So we hopped the gate and journeyed on, the trail was recently closed off, it still had the form of the trail but it was obvious the grounds hadn't been tended too in awhile and nature was beginning to take it back. After some time, we arrived at the temple which was accompanied by a grave as well. We paid our respects and headed home. 

However, had to eat first! We had delicious snow crab at Sokcho Port 2 crabs for about $28! They boil it and serve it fresh! Even showed us how to quickly break it apart. The best part?! They reuse the crab's head as a bowl for some of the most amazing rice I have ever tasted. I normally don't like cold rice but this rice was different, it was white rice with seaweed, crab meat, and some other seasonings in it. Absolutely divine!

The next day, we journeyed to a local mountain that reaches 1709 meters (over a mile high!). We were leaving that day and although I did have a great time, I was sad I hadn't found Farfetch'd...My friend was driving to the mountain when I pulled up Pokemon Go in hopes of getting some PokeStops, I determined my best bet for getting Farfetch'd would be collecting eggs and hoping one of them would be a Farfetch'd but I wouldn't be able to hatch them until i got back to the States so it was a long shot. 

Just than, I saw it! A silhouette! THE Silhouette of Farfetch'd. I told my friend to pull over quickly, I told him we just passed it. I didn't give it a 2nd thought and i jumped out the car and ran towards where the silhouette appeared. The Silhouette popped up, but no Pokemon yet. I ran 200 meters in one direction until the silhouette disappeared, than ran 200 meters in the opposite direction, which sets up a perimeter of the possible places. Than it's just a matter of encompassing the area until he pops up! Finally after about 10 minutes of sprinting he pops up! I settle in for a hard catch, I throw out a Razz berry and Ultra Ball. He jiggles twice, jumps out...and runs away. 

I. was. depressed! I was ready to call it a day. My friend tried cheering me up with the beautiful mountain views but all I could think about was the pokemon I had just lost. We get to the Mountain and I'm feeling better taking in the views and smelling the fresh air. Just than I hear something...Pokemon Go music. More specifically, someone excited about something. I quickly check my phone and there it is again! Farfetch'd! I click on it, it's a measly 89CP but I didn't care about it's strength just wanted to register it to my pokedex. One Ultra Ball later (Yeah ultra ball, no games were played.) and I had it! 

After, that I was more than happy to journey up the mountain! We saw spectacular rock formations, enjoyed dipping our feet in the river stream and paid our respects to the Buddhism Statue. Unlike Seoul, in which alot of foreigners venture thru, I imagine not alot of foreigners venture to the countryside, considering the amount of stares my friend was getting. People were transfixed by his blonde hair and blue eyes, meanwhile my dark skin and darker hair were nothing new, but I didn't mind, actually found it quite funny. 

We made our way back to Seoul that night jamming out to Tenacious D, Kanye West, Churches, etc. 

10/10 one of the greatest trips of my life, I only hope I can bring my brother here one day and have him experience it with me. 

Sokcho (Part 1/2)

Do I have a story to tell! I just got back from Korea's Version of Thanksgiving which is called Chuseok, the break started Wednesday September 14th so we had a very long weekend and nothing to do. Our original plan was to go to Cheju Island which is THE Vacation spot in Korea, however trying to book our flights a week before the holiday may not have been the best idea and we were not able to find anything.

So my German friend and I decided to go to Sokcho, he didn't want to be bored and I wanted to catch Pokemon. If you don't know, Sokcho is a remote town on the North East Coast of South Korea that makes its money from trading and tourism, and since Pokemon Go uses Google Maps, finding pokemon around Korea is next to impossible. However, thanks to a glitch that one town in Korea is home to Pokemon, and more specifically I was on a mission to find Farfetch'd a region exclusive Pokemon that can only be found in Asia!

Although, it wasn't as cut and dry as we had hoped it too be, we were having alot of trouble finding a reasonable priced car rental office, most vehicles had been rented out and the only vehicles available were sports cars and like I said in the post before, I'm not exactly rolling in dead presidents. So  I all but gave up hope in being able to go to Sokcho and was getting ready to find a new anime to binge watch for the duration of the holiday break. Than one of the KUBA (Korea University Buddy Assistants) came thru clutch and helped us book a reservation for abut $280 from Wednesday to Sunday!

It was as if God opened the clouds and granted me destiny to go to Sokcho! Our vehicle was the cutest like Kia, basically a mini Kia Soul, we deemed it worthy the name, The Rice Cooker. It was Wednesday morning and we didn't have to check into our hotel until 2pm so we decided to take our time going from Seoul to Sokcho (about a 4 hour drive straight thru). The rental place gave us a GPS for Free! I wasn't sure why at first but was a catch though, the navigation system was in Korean, guess what language I don't speak or read? You guessed it, Korean. I guess the rental place felt bad we were going to be struggling with it so they cut us a break.

We made our way North from Seoul and found little roads to travel on that had nice views, eventually pulling over sometimes to ask for directions or having someone put in an address on the GPS for us. We found an adorable park that had dinosaur type jungle gym that was next to a river, we decided to follow the river on and see where it took us.

If you're from Georgia than chances are you've been tubing down Helen river before, if you don't know what that it's basically a slow streaming river that a bunch of people like to float down in. Well, we followed the river and found something like that...but better...way better. Unfortunately, it seems more popular during the wet season, so there was almost no one in the river, but we found a base deep enough to swim in and took a splash in.

From there, we determined it was about time to head to Sokcho (I was ready to catch pokemon). However, there was no one around to help us input directions into the GPS so as passenger seat it was my job to figure it out. After 20 minutes of fiddling around with the contraption I figured it out! Writing in Korean isn't hard at all when you figure out the letter combination order that words are spelled in, from there it was just a matter of cross referencing the map on hand with the spelling on the GPS.

We got to our Motel and checked in. SO this motel...I found it on a travel advisor site and it was $29 a night, we weren't trying to pay alot and 2 and half stars is fine with me. However, this motel is a couples motel the bed was a round firm mattress and some rooms came with a two way mirror, meaning when you turned on the light in the bathroom, the person on the outside of the bathroom in the room can see everything going on in the bathroom. Thankfully we didn't get that room, but we did have to get a round mattress, that's clearly meant for cuddling but when you're two straight guys you take the Loss and learn to sleep with half your body hanging out the side.

Back to the story so we get there on Wednesday evening, and decide we have the energy to check out the town a bit and grab dinner. We walk around the port, see beautiful sights (i've never seen the pacific Ocean before), and more importantly I'm searching for Farfetch'd!

The Lake where Sokcho is at has a legend to it. In summary there were two dragons, both with the ability to fly, however one day a jealous serpent tricked one of the dragons and stole its ability to fly. The other dragon who was not aware of what had happened to its friend, ascended into heaven. The dragon who could not fly wept and filled the land with a lake of tears so too did the dragon that ascended into heaven, because he could go back to be with his friend. The people of the village prayed to God to make a way for the two dragons to be together again, God agreed but only on one condition, that the people light the lake everyday for all eternity. And so they did, the people lit the lake with lanterns, torches, and to this day lamps, lights, etc. and God made the path so the Dragon in Heaven could descend down to be with his friend so they could be together again, and since that day the town of Sokcho has been prosperous!

Cute right?!

For dinner we wanted to try something new so we go to a restaurant that serves you basically raw, iced fish. It was...an experience. My stomach didn't know what to make of the food I was feeding it, but thankfully he decided to take what he could get and we had no incidents.

The next day, my German Friend wanted to venture farther up North to check out the beaches, and I wanted to catch Pokemon and look around Sokcho. So we part ways in the morning, and I begin my adventure.

I was having a great amount of luck with Pokemon! I was catching alot of uncommon ones that I needed to either evolve or haven't caught before and my number of Pokemon registered to my Pokedex jumped from 101 to 109 in a day!...but no farfetch'd. Eventually came the time, when my friend and I were to meet up.

We went to Sokcho Tower, got a good look of the city and I showed him around the parts I ventured too during my Pokemon Hunting which consisted of a local beach, lighthouse, Observation Tower, and Fish Market! We got dinner at an expensive Steak place but in hindsight we should have seen that coming trying to buy steak in a Seafood town, but it was delicious nonetheless.

A Sliver of Anxiety

Seoul has been a dream thus far. It's been an unforgettable experience thus far of adventures, sights, and tastes! I've had picnics by the Hangang River, hiked the mountain to Namasan Tower, eaten food I would never have had in the States, and met so many kind people.

Some notable experiences would be experiencing a Korean Community Center which had a bathhouse of sorts. I went there for the indoor pool, for exercise purposes, of course. However, the Center also had a Sauna, but the catch is you have to do the Sauna...nude. In America, locker rooms are pretty conservative, you'll have the occasional naked guy on the way to the shower, but not this measure! It took me a minute to get over my shyness and be comfortable being nude in front of so many people. 

Another experience would be the time the 2nd time I ventured alone. This time I went to Dongdaemun Historical Culture & Park, which is sort of the shopping Mecca for everything in Seoul. However, I wasn't interested in the Malls. I came for the park about 6 blocks to the south, the Park was also hosting the VANS Festival which had a variety of independent artists, and VANS (of course). I arrived too early for the festival so I decided to venture to the park first, which led to Namasan Tower (highest point in Seoul). The way I went was extraordinarily beautiful, with plenty of views, I admired the athletes at the traditional Archery Fields, practice, as well as the peaceful sounds of nature. The view at the top of the tower was subpar, since the day was particularly foggy, but nonetheless, it was a splendid adventure. I than ventured back for the VANS Festival and enjoyed the artists' work. 

The solitary adventure was necessary. Since I have been here, I have become a bit reliant a group of friends, it may be because they are more proficient in Korea than I, may be because they push me to go out more, not sure, but one thing is for sure. They have more money than me. I came to this realization when we went to Hongdae for a day and we stumbled into a clothes designer store, my friends were excited about the deals the store was having, however I was cringing. It was at that moment I realized I needed to distance myself a bit from them, not because I didn't like them, but because I needed to learn to have a good time without feeling the need to spend money. Also, because I enjoy walking and adventuring at my pace which tends to be faster than the average person (I blame years of Cross Country and Track). 

Something else too note would be, my dreams. I have been dreaming lately, nothing crazy, but just dreams of my life in Georgia, being with family or friends. I had a dream recalling the first time I beat my brother in Pokemon, another of the time my sister made me watch Nicolas Sparks The Notebook. Although the dreams are different, each time I wake up with the same feeling, that I am in my bed in my parents home aka my childhood bed. I can't say I am sad, but I definitely miss them, the highlight of my week thus far has been when my cousins called me, drunk. It was hilarious hearing them try to speak cohesively. 

Miscellaneous mentions: I started and finished my Logo for Personal Business Cards that I've been putting off for 3 years. Being in the Korea University Business School, has made me really apparent as to how competitive the global market is and I need to differentiate myself with clear initiatives and so I made it a point to learn Adobe Illustrator. Learning to use Illustrator took me a week and designing the logo took me two days (thanks a million to my Gran, Matthew Simmonds for the advice and critic). 

I leave for Sokcho tomorrow. If you don't know what that is, it's the only place in South Korea where Pokemon Go works. I am both excited and nervous about this trip. I am excited to see the Korean East Coast, and catch Pokemon, but I am also very nervous. I am leaving with my good friend from Germany (really glad to be traveling with only one other person, makes it easier to make group decisions), but our only guide will be a paper map. Here's to keeping a positive mindset. 

American Luxury called Introverted

It's been alittle over week since I arrived in South Korea. The time seems to have been a hybrid of short days and long nights...both in good and bad ways.

I found a wonderful running trail that runs along a stream that connects to a river which has exercise machines along the trail so thankfully I am able to work off some of the amazing food I have been partaking in.

Speaking of food, I have made it a point to try a different venue for lunch everyday which isn't bad considering lunch is typically 6,000 Won ($5.38), my spicy tolerance has risen significantly and although I am not totally sure what I am eating sometimes it does taste awfully good! Now I know what you're wondering...how am I ordering if I don't speak Korean? Easy! I point at pictures! That or I let the owner choose for me, since the restaurants are so close to the University they are used to foreigners.

And on the foreigners note, it's been eye opening meeting all the fellow exchange students. I've had the pleasure of meeting people from Portugal, New Zealand, Sweden, China, Japan, England, etc. the list goes on and on hearing their stories it's really incredible to see the differences and similarities in each others cultures. However, I do note that it's equally eye opening to see how egocentric americans are. For example, I ask someone where they are from they say "Portugal", they ask the same question I say "the States" and they always say "Oh what part" Because THEY KNOW. They know our geography they know our current events and we know nothing about them. We are concerned about ourselves we forget about the world around us. Everyone knows English, everyone, yet we only take 2 semesters of a foreign language in high school and may I add it's not even a good Spanish either. I met someone who knows 4 languages!

Anyways, something funny to note, I am a HUGE hit with the Germans. For obvious reasons, the conversation always goes the same way. I go "Hello nice to meet you, what's your name" they say "Hi! My name is...., I'm from germany, how about you" and I smirk because I know what's about to unfold. I reply "I'm from the U.S. my name is German." they look puzzled..."Okay but what is your name". "German" I reply. It goes on for a few minutes, I keep my i.d. at hand to show them "OHHH your name is German...why."

Classes do not start until September 1st so right now everything sort of feels like an extended vacation which means alot of leisure time and as my mother once said "free time is the devils play ground." It also means more chances to go out and spend money, which is good for GDP reasons but bad for my pockets.

To combat this I have settled in a somewhat strict routine. For breakfast I eat an egg and rice with soy sauce which is provided for free by the Goshiwon I stay at. For Lunch I allow myself to venture out and buy food. And for Dinner I eat ramen and rice, also provided for free by the Goshiwon. This allows for slack in my budget to be able to travel to places like Gyeongbokgung Palace or go out drinking/karaoke with friends.

Changing pace from that, I finally have the metro system worked out! Atlanta Marta does nothing to prepare you for the rest of the world's metro system, but luckily this city has an amazing subway app that even tells you the approximate fairs. One trip is typically 1250 Won ($1.12) so the world of Seoul just got alot bigger. My first venture was to Gyeongbokgung Palace an absolutely gorgeous (Pics on my facebook), and as nice as it is to be around friends I think what made this little field trip nice was that I did it alone. I walked at my own pace, had lunch when I was ready, wondered around to where I selected, no agendas no rush just myself, the city and a map. I'm going to try to do this more often I hear Gangnam has a pretty awesome mall and aquarium!

Phenomenal cosmic power...Itty bitty living space

"Deep breathe" I think to myself while clutching the Virgin Mary necklace my mother bestowed to me many years ago. After a nearly 13 hour plane, we have finally landed in Incheon Airport, it's about 16:30 (4:30PM), still thinking about the 2 hour journey I still have ahead of me to reach my housing complex.

I try my best not to look like such a tourist, but a quick look around the customs line and I make note of something.
1) Kpop music videos are freaking hilarious to watch, seriously try watching a kpop music video with no sound. Hysterical. 2) it's ridiculously easy to spot the americans in any setting.

I am not sure why America didn't get the memo but people from other countries hopped off their planes straight flexing rocking Polo, Diesel, Armani, whereas the Americans were rocking their dad's favorite sweatpants. I get it, I traveled 19 hours to get to Korea so I was a bum too but there is a way to make bummy look good.

I was sporting Adidas soccer pants, blue tee shirt, and black vans. Simple, stylish, and not expensive either. I'm not saying we need to hop off the plane looking like models but I'm just saying H&M has good clearance deals and some weekends you can get some articles of clothing for $8.  I got a powder blue oxford shirt from Target for a good deal, so just look harder. Anything is better than this one group I saw at the airport I dubbed as the "Football coach/History teacher squad" this group of older men dressed down in faded wrangler blue jeans, New balance sneaks, and Pittsburgh Steeler superbowl T-shirts from the XLIII game. It was so American it hurt.

After nearly 2 hours, I finally make it thru customs and have my luggage, almost immediately I am overwhelmed by the immensity of how congested the airport bus/taxi area was. I walk around a bit debating if I am up for a 2 hour bus ride, finally I accept that I am just too tired and hail a taxi.

2 hours later and I am left in the street with my suitcases in hand, trying to recall the directions that were emailed to me by the apartment complexes building manager. After 20 minutes of aimlessly wandering I finally find my Goshiwon, which if you don't know what that is, it's basically a walk in closet with a mattress, toilet and shower/sink all in one. They are cheap and mostly used by people who are only staying somewhere briefly but lately they are becoming more popular with students.

In truth, I was not expecting this place to be so small, but for about $320 a month I can't complain, plus I plan on spending most of time at school or exploring. Also, the building provides cleaning supplies, Kimchi, and wifi so it's kind of a sweet deal.

Unpacking my bags, I pull out one of my prized possessions, unwrapping it hastily praying it wasn't damaged during the flight. A mini statue of the Virgin Mary, a gift from my mother when I was 6, it's not particularly special I recall her purchasing it in Mexico from a street vendor for about 20 pesos, it's just plastic, glitter, and paint but it means the world to me. I hold it close to my heart and place it over my window so she can watch over me as she always has.

I should also mention that I have been exploring around the city and I stumbled upon my school. Let me just say...damn. This place looks like a freaking castle like Super Mario World 8 final Dungeon Bowsers castle kind of building. I look forward to more ventures.

All aboard...party of 1

I look back, with my shoes in one hand and my boarding pass in the other, and there she is my mother waving back with watery red eyes and a gleeful smile. I wave back, not being able to control my emotions any further waterworks bursting from my eyes like a broken floodgate. I head to my flight handing the flight agent my boarding pass with shaky hands, ready to start a new adventure...I think.

Let me back up, my name is German Botello. I'm a student in Atlanta, born in Atlanta but raised in Athens, Georgia. I'm the youngest of three children to my Mexican parents, I've played pokemon since I was 5 years old, I love Disney movies with a passion, and up until now I have had my life completely figured out. I recently decided to go abroad. Unlike many who decide on Europe, I chose a different path and headed towards the far west, South Korea to be specific.

This blog serves as my platform to talk about my experiences on what it's like to be a minority student going abroad and my adventures while being abroad.

Like many hispanic kids, I grew up believing I was meant to join the workforce after high school. I was destined to be the prodigy son and take over Dad's concrete business. However, life had a different path for me and thanks to the encouragement from my mom and guidance counselor I decided to go against my dad's wishes and attend college. As you can guess this didn't bode to well with him but after 2 years, numerous awards, scholarships, and clubs it was clear I meant business.

My life was on the right track for success, however something was missing. It wasn't until I was going thru some buzzfeed videos one night when I realized what it was that I was missing. Travel. As awesome as things were, I came to the conclusion that I was seriously lacking some culture and worldly experiences in my life. How can I as a marketing major hope to be marketable when the most I have seen has been around the Atlanta boundaries? I recalled seeing Avatar and the witch doctor saying "it's hard to fill a cup that is already full" well my cup is half empty, and world experiences would be the creme to my coffee.

BUT as determined as I sounded than the time for my departure arrived quicker than I expected. The day before my venture out the country, I spent with my sister who could very well be my twin considering how close we are. Neither of us talking about the subject, just enjoying each others company and distracting ourselves with her baby's cuteness. I found myself wandering aimlessly around the halls of the house checking my luggage time and time again already knowing I have everything packed.

Finally, it was time for bed and my Father called me. I still feel bad for not continuing the family legacy, I didn't do it because I don't love my dad, on the contrary I consider him my idol and hero, the line of work just wasn't for me. Anyways, I pick up the phone and he asks "how are you feeling" I stifled a cry "fine" I mutter. He says to me "You know you don't have to go if you don't want too." I make a joke about the expensive plane ticket "Are you going to reimburse me?" There's an awkward silence, I'm used to these when talking with my dad but this one feels particularly dense, neither of us like showing our emotions. He starts "I love you son, I always have, you make me proud, take care, I can't be there to protect you so be careful, please."

"Curse you" I think to myself, how dare he say everything i've ever wanted to hear the day before I am about to leave the country, how dare he invoke these emotions I have been trying to suppress for so long. "Thank...Thank you, Dad, I love you too. I'll let you know when I arrive" I almost whisper trying not to cry.

We say our goodbyes and I hang up, I take a moment to adjust myself before heading inside to be with my sister and mom. My mom skypes in my Tia Martha aka the badass hilarious aunt who would drive me to my dates and get me the rated M games when I was kid, I hadn't seen her in well over 8 years since she went back to Mexico to be with family. Tia Martha tells me not to come back with any Korean babies or baby mamas.

It's 10p.m. and we are heading to bed. My mom leaves me alone with my sister, we stand there in silence for a moment. She asks "how are you feeling" "Fine" I say with a smile. "How are you feeling German" she says again. I can't hide anything from my twin. I bear hug her and begin to ball like her baby son, letting all the emotions I have been holding wash over me. She says this to me. "It's okay munchkin, I know you're crying because you're scared, I'm going to miss you too. But you're going to be okay because you're smart, you're independent and resourceful, you're the only one us that has the strength to do this" I continue to cry into her shoulder for a few moments, thanking her for the kind words and I go to bed laying awake, restless.

I get about 4 hours of sleep before my alarm goes off. My mom is taking me to the airport, as much as I'd like her not too since it's a 6am flight and I have to be at the airport at 4am but she's a Hispanic mom so there's no saying no. She's always been my driver, whether it was taking me to early mom cross country practices, scholarship interviews in Atlanta from our Athens, or college tours, my mom was always down to take me the distance. We sit in the car listening to 105.3 El Patron making jokes about our silly family and how the family ranch was doing. She recalls a story from a long time ago. She starts "You remember Pre-K?" I say "I remember dating girls for their crayons." She smacks my head "Always a flirt, no not that. Do you remember your first day?" "Not really" I say. She states "Your dad told me you were too young for school that I should wait a year, but I was home with you I knew you were bored and needed something else. I walked you right up to your classroom and just turned right around waved and said "bye Mommy." Can you believe that? A four year told telling his mom goodbye, I knew you were different from your siblings in that moment. You're independent and know what you wanted and did everything to achieve it."

I sit there in the car,  in awe not believing what I just heard, we arrive at the airport and mom helps me check in, putting the luggage tags on my backpack like she's making sure her son has his shirt folded in. We wait in the security line together, I stay hugging her, but the time has arrived that I have to let her go. I give her one last hug and kiss, not daring to look at her eyes for fear of my tears and I trudge thru security.

I look back, with my shoes in one hand and my boarding pass in the other, and there she is my mother waving back with watery red eyes and a gleeful smile. I wave back, not being able to control my emotions any further waterworks bursting from my eyes like a broken floodgate. I head to my flight handing the flight agent my boarding pass with shaky hands, ready to start a new adventure...I think.