I had a blast on the last teacher field trip, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up that there would be anymore.  But in honor of the commencement of the first semester, almost all the teachers went on a trip to Buyeo.

Buyeo is a county to the south of Cheonan.  Way back in the 2nd century, Buyeo was one of the three kingdoms on the Korean peninsula.  Korean tourists flock to all the historic sites, but the area itself isn’t densely populated.

All the teachers got to go to a giant garden filled with lily pads, and half of the teachers signed up for a hiking trip.  I was not informed about the hiking trip, hence my skirt and flower sandals, until we headed to separate buses, so I skipped that trip.

It took just over an hour to get to the garden from school, but first we needed sustenance.  We went to a traditional restaurant, which means you’re sitting on the floor, and had rice cooked in a lotus leaf along with spicy whelks and beef stew.

I am more than happy to stuff my face with delicious food in the name of experiencing culture.  As one teacher said “this is a good experience for you”.

The restaurant was right next to the garden, so we spent a few hours wandering around and taking pictures.  You could walk on an incredibly uneven rock path through the pond where the lily pads were, and luckily no one fell or twisted their ankle.

don’t trip into the pond!

Would this be allowed in the U.S., or would everyone sue if they fell into the pond?

A juice company promoter also gave us free juice boxes, an added bonus to the day.

I also came across an interesting piece of history, and this time it had nothing to do with a Japanese invasion.  I really enjoyed the part about the “milestone of love” on the description.

After a day of perusing the garden, we got fed again.  This time we had spicy beef with vegetables in a kind of hot pot.  They even let me take charge of the grilling!

I left this trip with a full stomach and pleasant memories with my co-workers.  Hopefully we have plenty more of these!