Busan Beach for Memorial Day Weekend

Matt was able to get a four day weekend for Memorial Day so we decided to take a trip to the coast of South Korea and visit Busan Beach. The beach was really pretty and kind of different from the beaches back home. They don't have a boardwalk and the actual sand part is pretty small. I thought the bridge over the water was really pretty.

We took the bullet train down to the beach which was an awesome experience traveling 170 kmp! Matt thought it would be fun to not plan anything before we left so I tried to put my controlling personality aside and go with the flow. :) When we got to the beach we tried to find a hotel and after seeing some over priced places and one hotel that looked like it was used for a scene in a horror movie we finally found a hotel. The first night we got Korean BBQ and the dinner was delicious! 

Practicing my chopstick skills

Friday night there was a Korean music festival called May Khristmas 2013 right on the beach so we got a couple drinks and enjoyed the music on the beach. We could not understand anything they were singing about but it was a fun experience. 

Saturday we head to the beach to relax. The sun decided not to show up till around 1pm but it was still warm enough in the morning to lay on the sand. The water was way too cold to go into for me but a lot of Korean kids jumped right in, in their clothes and everything! At one point during the day I realized Matt and I were the only ones in a bathing suit and everyone else was in regular pants and shirts on the beach. Even though they were in full clothes the Koreans still loved to jump in the water. It was a fun day of people watching. 

At one point in the afternoon I realized something was happening on the beach about 10 feet from were Matt and I were laying. We realized it was a video shoot for a music video and after seeing the amount of crowds surrounding it we think it was Psy te guy who sang gangnam style. 

 

It was really cool to watch the dance and see it all take place. In the first picture in the background you can see two big red boats in the water. At one point during the shooting of the video these boats sprayed colorful water everywhere for the background of the video! Matt and I are hoping to see this video on MTV one day :)

The last night there was a beautiful full moon over the water. It made for a great ending to a great weekend! 

Today is my last day in Korea :( I am so sad to leave Matt but I know it is time for me to go back home. Especially since one of my best friends is getting married on Saturday! I will be starting the countdown till Matt gets home for good and we start our life together in England. 

DMZ

On Saturday Matt and I got tickets for a DMZ tour. DMZ is short for the Korea Demilitarized Zone. It is the are that separates North and South Korea. The bus left base early at 7am and it was about a two hour drive. The tour took us to about four different tourist sites before we actually got to drive into the DMZ.

One of the tourist sites was a train station the South Koreans built in hopes that unification will happen between the North and the South and the train will go from South Korea's capital Seoul to North Koreas capital Pyongyang. We were able to buy a fake ticket to Pyongyang. The train station cost $8 million dollars to build and has been deserted since it was finished.

My ticket to North Korea

Matt and I in front of the train station

The best part of the tour was actually getting to go see the line that separates North and South Korea. The process is really serious and you need an armed military guard to take you to the line. Before you go everyone signs a form stating if you decide to cross the line, they are not responsible for you. From where we got to stand you can see the North Korea guards on one side and the South Korea guards on the side you are standing on.

The big building in the back is in North Korea

The blue buildings are used for the North and South Koreans to discuss politics

North Korean guard

Matt and I in front of the DMZ line

The experience was once in a lifetime and I am so glad I was able to share it with Matt. It is crazy to me that things like this still go on in the world. The only thing I wish we could have done was go inside one of the blue buildings. Matt got to do it last time he went and part of the blue building is in North Korea. The North Koreans were doing construction so we weren't allowed in the buildings this time. We did get to see the changing of the North Korean guards which was really cool to see too.

Matt and I are going to a city called Busan for the memorial day weekend. Busan has two beaches that are suppose to be really pretty. I am excited to get off of the base and go explore other areas of Korea!

JMU in Korea and Soju

I had a great weekend doing a bunch of tourist things around Korea. Saturday Matt and I went to the DMZ. The experience was unreal and I will post about that tomorrow with some great pictures!

On another note, when I was shopping around Songtan I found a JMU jacket! So crazy JMU made it all the way to South Korea :)

GO DUKES!

Saturday night Matt and I went out with some of his friends. I tried sweet tea soju and cherry soju. Soju is the Korean drink of choice :) Let me tell you it tastes so good, but does not make you feel so hot the next morning!

Me and Min Ju

Drinking a bowl of cherry soju

Also Saturday night I found out one of my best friends, Torie, got engaged! I am so excited for her and her fiance and cannot wait to celebrate with her when I get back in the U.S.!

Sunday we decided to go to Seoul to get lunch and have a couple drinks at this craft beer pub. I tried a sample paddle of about four different beers. The beer was really good and surprisingly the Korean brewed IPA was my favorite.

We spent the rest of our Sunday relaxing and watching episodes of the League (such a funny show, if you have never seen it check it out!)

Last minute trip to South Korea!

I made it to Korea! I had been waiting for over a month to get my passport back from Andrews AFB (they needed it for paperwork stuff to get me authorized to live in England) and last Monday they called to say it finally came in. I booked a direct flight for the next day and hurried to get everything packed and done in time. The flight was 14 hours long and I could not sleep the whole time, so I ended up watching 6 movies, so boring! I knew how to catch the bus to the base, so Matt met me at the bus stop on base. I am so much happier being here, it is nice to have my husband around again. Sometimes I know it would have been easier for me to have moved here with him, but you learn from your choices and we now know we will never be separated (unless we have no choice) ever again!

Oh Korea how I have missed you! haha

The first place I wanted to go when I got here was this thai restaraunt off base. The food is amazing and  it did not disappoint this time :) I got the chicken, ginger and onion stir fry and it was delicious!

Yum!

The weather is nice here. It gets kind of hot during the day, but it is not too humid yet. Matt's dorm does not have air condition yet, so it gets a little warm during the day. We are going on a trip to the DMZ tomorrow. The DMZ is the area that separates North and South Korea. The bus leaves super early at 7am and we don't get back till late. I am really excited to go see it, especially with all of the news that was going on last month with North Korea. I will post about it with pictures when I get back :)

Anyways, I am extremely happy and enjoying my time with Matt!

My best friend :)

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday! I have some busy weekend plans ahead. It is one of my best friends bachelorette party! We are spending the weekend at National Harbor and Saturday we have tickets to the dueling piano bar, Bobby McKey’s. I have never been and I am really excited to see what all the fuss is about. 

Yesterday I had myself a very cute date with this kid.

Isn’t he the most adorable things ever! He loves the song midnight rider and wants me to replay it over and over as he dances to it. I will try and get a video next time.

I have a serious television problem. I watch too many shows and it’s hard to keep up with them! I would seriously be embarrassed to list them all out, because it shows I have no life! My favorite show on right now is Scandal! And last night episode was intense. Scandal is one of those shows where you scream “WHAT! OH MY GOSH” out loud by yourself in your room. If you don't watch it get on Hulu and watch season 1 and 2 right now :)

I tried the birchbox eyeliner yesterday and I absolutely loved it! I would consider buying this in the full size. It goes on really easy and stayed on all day.

Have a good weekend! I am off to over pack for my girls weekend! J

Morning Workout

I usually go through phases of wanting to get up early in the morning to workout. Most of the time I wait till the afternoon or evening to get my workout in. However, I love the feeling of being done with my workout before most people get up for work. The rest of the day my metabolism is peaked and at the end of the day I can relax because my workout is already over! With so many positives to working out in the morning, why don't I do it every day? Because it is so hard to pull myself out of bed that early! This morning I actually got up at 5:30am to go to a cycling class. I have to admit the only thing that gets my butt up and to the class is that I treat myself to Starbucks on my way home :) Is that cheating? Even if it is, at least it gets me out of bed at the crack of dawn!

This morning I treated myself to a Ice Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte (only 120 calories).

Now I am going to enjoy my day post workout! :)

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Birchbox: May

I started subscribing to Birchbox two months ago and I have no regrets! I was hesitant at first since I am moving out of the country in a couple months however, I found out there is a Birchbox UK :) I also found out Birchbox will send to APO addresses for any of you military families. If you are unfamiliar with Birchbox, you subscribe to the company and pay $10 a month. Each month you will receive samples of beauty products to try out. You can receive anything from nail polish, makeup and perfume. Head over to their website to get the full details: http://www.birchbox.com/

This month I received the following products in my box :) I will do a review of these product as I try them out!

Beauty Protector: protects and detangles your hair

COOLA: Classic Face SPF 30 Cucumber moisturizer for Face

Joie: perfume

Sumita: Color Contrast Eyeliner

Tweezerman: Itty bitty nail files