EPISODE 6: MMMM, TEA: O'Sulloc Team Museum

Hannah and I went with our friends Brian, Madi, and their son Torin to OSULLOC Tea Museum, just a few miles away from our house. The name is a bit of a misnomer - the "museum" takes about five minutes to go through at a snail's pace, and seems to be a shameless excuse to usher you into their huge gift shop and cafes. But ohhhhh, is it worth it.  The tea is good, the grounds are quite pretty, and the food is delicious.

Tea fields: sorta just bushes. Who knew?

WOW, look at that chimney. This is on the building where they hold traditional tea ceremonies (in Korean). We're hoping for an English demo sometime for us 'wae-guk' (foreigners).

I mean, really, who makes a slate chimney?

How long did this take to make?...My mind is blown.

More Jeju rock stacking

These science experiment things are fake, meaningless decoration. And I love it.

Like I said, awesome food and drink. The specialty here seems to be lemonades mixed with... anything, hence the colorful concoctions you see in the picture.

Also super cute - the flag telling you that this is at Innisfree Cafe at Osulloc!

Hannah and Madi eating a Korean summer favorite called bingsoo, which is basically just shaved ice with your choice of syrup, fruit, and goodness knows what else in huge portions.. This one is Jeju orange-flavored ( and the oranges here really do have a distinct taste)!

Brian lusting after some bingsoo... and you can't blame him; it is delicious (or, as you'd say in Korean, mashisseoyo!).

EPISODE 5: BIKE. CHECK. STUFF TO GO SEE. CHECK.

I bought a bike and now use it for almost all our errands. But the joyrides are rather nice as well. Here are some sights that are all close to home.

THE ROAD THAT RUNS BEHIND OUR BUILDING. Gateway to farmland, manure-smells, and adventure!

This cheery, mushroom-headed fellow is somewhat of a mascot here on Jeju. All over the place, you'll find "grandfather statues," or dol hareubangs: they're old gods that offered a mixture of protection and fertility. Beside the dol hareubang is Jeju's other staple: the tangerine. We have a field of them growing right beside our building, and can't wait to harvest them in the winter.

OUR LOCAL FROG POND... SOOOOO MANY FROGS. And they croak so cutely!

BIKING ON A FARM ROAD TOWARDS MOUNT SANBANGSAN. Another reminder that we live, basically, on a giant, dead volcano... and also, a very handy navigation landmark!

Buddha on the side of Mt. Sanbangsan. As you can see, he's mildly visible from the surrounding area.

He, she, we, and they aren't welcome here.

So close to the ocean! A 20- to 30-minute bike ride, and you're here!

EPISODE 4: JEJU NIGHTS

Sometimes, you just have to spend all day making a fire pit. Then, you gotta burn something.

A newly-completed firepit was the sight that greeted us teachers as we disembarked from the bus during the second week of our training. The firepit was a) impressive in its workmanship, b) a huge surprise considering no one had even the hint of an idea that Ben and Don would be building one, and c) a testament to what two house husbands can accomplish when the entertainment options of dish-washing, clothes-folding, and vaccuuming have all been completely exhausted. (Not to mention that Ben had no computer or X-box 360...) The firepit's becoming a fun gathering place, and a permanent reminder that Ben and Don will probably do anything for you during the day if you only pay them.

EPISODE 3: NORIMAE: A little of this and a little of that by Ben and Hannah

So, near our house is a pretentious yet equally mysterious sign on a large stone wall that proclaims in gold letters NORIMAE THEMA PARK. (Yes, thema park.) There are a couple signs advertising Norimae close to our apartment that are less audacious, but convey the idea that this is actually a botanical garden much more effectively. It was our second weekend in Jeju, we didn't have a car yet, and we didn't have much to do, so we figured, why not walk down and go take a look?  Four kilometers in sweltering 90+ degree weather later, we discovered how much we'd underestimated the place. I mean, look at it.

Pretty impressive, right? Add to that that there were a total of 15 human beings we saw the whole time we were there, plus there was charming and idiosyncratic music piped through well-disguised speakers everywhere we went, and you get a pretty magical experience.

This is missing Hannah's "YEE-HAW!" sound effect, but gives you an idea of how elated we felt to find that this place was in our backyard, so to speak.

Oh yes, there's also a huge area with row after row of bonsais. The pictures couldn't really do them justice, but some were pretty intense.

Another reason why Norimae is awesome. As you may or may not know, we are mini-golf addicts, and the discovery that there is plenty of real golf, but a severe deficit of mini-golf on the island, has been a rather severe blow. Norimae to the rescue! It's not a traditional mini-golf course, but it'll do.

You may be thinking, is this the guy from Bioshock? It is, in fact, a statue of a haenyeo, or a woman diver here on Jeju. They're famous for using no diving equipment to daily catch their family's living in the ocean (= they're amazing), and you can eat some of their fare in a lot of different places on the island. There's even a museum to commemorate them. As you can see, the crab in the statue is not the brightest...

Lots of fun volcanic rock arrangements. You can see volcanic rock walls all over the island (though not as interesting as these ones), so they're a distinctive feature of Jeju.

Strike a K-Pop pose!

Representing the D... sweatily. We shamelessly drained the water pitcher using our probably-only-for-kids cups twice. We're classy like that. The cafe inside was a nice respite from the heat, and also features an interactive game involving what seem to be McDonald's playpit balls. Yes, you totally want to play it.

Lovely flower shots by Ben. Overall, Norimae's a stop that's totally worth it. We were pleasantly surprised, we were enchanted, we were probably half-delusional from heatstroke... but the best thing to do's probably to come visit and see for yourself, ne?