When In July

For the past three years, I spent Chuseok (Harvest Moon Festival) rolling around in my bed watching Netflix. I couldn't justify paying triple the price to travel and was okay with being a hermit for the holiday. Chuseok had always been a time to catch up on sleep and binge watch XYZ.......There's nothing wrong with being a homebody and relaxing. But, this time around, I wanted to do something different and meaningful. I finally decided to dip my toes into Airbnb Experiences Seoul! I usually sign up for things the "Korean" way through Naver blogs, but it was so much easier finding a time and date through Airbnb. After scrolling through the options, I signed up for a 2pm pottery class with my friend Magan - we bond on our shared appreciation of art and (good) coffee. 😉 Magan and I arrived a little early at Dasong Studios in Mapo-gu. It was easy to find and I loved the simplicity of the building. Our host for the day, Dahye, greeted us with a bright smile and ...

After a long week of teaching, my friend Chabely and I were looking for an escape to recharge. We wanted to go somewhere close but far enough to feel well-rested. Ganghwa Island was where my dad was born and raised before moving to the U.S. It had a special place in my heart knowing that this was where he had grown up. I knew that if I never went I would regret it, so I jumped on the opportunity to go last October!  I know, I know. It took a year to get around reflecting on this trip......better late than never! It was crisp and autumn in every sense of the word - my favorite kind of weather. I met Chabely at a cafe in Hongdae and then we hopped on a bus to Ganghwa Terminal! We happened to go on the day of a ginseng festival - people were coming from all over Korea to get their hands on Ganghwa's special ginseng. There was a lot of traffic and it was getting hot on the bus, but we were excited to see where we would land. After a long bus ride, we s...