It's funny how life drives me around this adventure path, which of course I follow eagerly to see what's the next crazy experience it has prepared for me. This time it was a quite spontaneous, colorful and fun trip to Busan, South Korea.

While working on my computer, a Google's doodle of the day popped open, and as curious as I am, when I saw all the colors in each letter, I couldn't help but open and see what is was about. It turned out, that it was Holi Hai in India, a day in which friendship and equality are celebrated throwing colors, hugging everyone and forgetting about your differences.

The idea of it resonated in my head - "How AMAZING?! I want to be there!" -. Luckily after that, facebook showed me an event tour to Holi Hai festival and Cherry Blossoms Festival in Busan, being held that same weekend.

On Saturday morning, my friends and I headed towards Daejeon, where we would be meeting with the tour group. We didn't expect to see that much people (4 buses packed with almost 150 tourists, the majority of them teachers). We got inside our bus and started the 6-hour ride to Jinhae, the southernmost part of Korea, where we arrived at 1pm.

Jinhae Cherry Blossom Festival

Jinhae is known to be one of the top destinations for Cherry Blossom season. And it truly was a wonderful thing to witness. Strong applause for nature!
Hundreds of trees gathered together making an extraordinary path for tourists to go through. Couples and families taking selfies below raindrops of petals carried by the wind. Lots of stalls welcoming visitors to try Korean tastes, games and other experiences.

We first visited the Gyeonghwa Station, then we headed to Jehwangsan Park, where the main festival was taking place.

It was really nice! Many kinds of street food, fair games, goood prices, and a very good atmosphere.




And oh, the Yeojwacheon Stream... the most romantic spot according to Pinterest pictures. There we encountered thousands of people fighting for a chance to take a selfie in the "lovers bridge". All the place was completely packed with people. Maybe we didn't choose a good hour to visit, who knows?



So after 2 hours we headed to our final destination:

Holi Hai Festival, Busan

Arriving almost at 7pm, and trying to find our way to our no-bed motel, Yes, we had to sleep on the floor... we left our stuff there and headed towards a Vietnamese restaurant to meet some of the other tourists. Then, we decided to go to the beach, where we were able to appreciate the beautiful Gwangan Bridge (광안리해수욕장), along with some music, special fireworks and delicious flavored soju.


Next morning was the true party! We went to Haeundae Beach (해운대해수욕장), where they welcomed us with colored dust, a holi cap, and some delicious samosas.

Haeundae Beach, Busan

The countdown started and everyone was lost in a sea of colors, laughs, bollywood music, dancing and celebration of life. There was nothing else besides that moment. Why is it so fun to throw paint at each other?!

Holi Hai festival, Busan 2016

Everyone was so friendly and open. We met amazing people from places like India, Singapur, China, New York, etc. After finishing the party, and still with the Holi Hai spirit inside, we went to try some more Indian food, which btw I totally loved!


And as amazing and caring as God is, it didn't start raining until we were inside the bus heading back home, despite the 100% chance of raining during the festival that everybody was talking about. And so we left the rainbow color trail behind, carrying only our new memories and dirty clothes, and headed back to Gongju.

Today, the cold weather of this Sunday afternoon convinced me to stay inside my dorm and watch a movie. And guess what? Since I want to learn korean language, I thought I may start by watching some korean movies!
Everyone here talks about korean drama and film, and I had no idea what to expect of it. So I chose a movie named: "Miracle in Cell No.7"... hands down, one of the best movies I've seen so far. It is definitely an amazing movie, with great actors and a plot, so well designed and mastered, that it takes you to the center of each moment and breaks all your "macho" defense walls. And I tell you, I'm writing this with still really puffy eyes, 'cuz I cried from beginning to end.
I was so into the movie, that didn't realize my dorm cafeteria was going to close in 10 minutes. So I stood up, fixed my face a little (not so lucky with that), and went outside to catch some dinner. Everyone worrying and me explaining that nothing was wrong, is something I will remember later as a funny part of my trip.

So getting back to the plot of the movie. I can only tell you that it's about a mentally-challenged man, named Yong-Gu, whose life revolves around his only daughter, named Ye-Soung and their unconditional love. He is unfairly accused by a crime he didn't commit, and is immediately sent to jail, not being able to say goodbye to his daughter. His cellmates, which were criminals unlike him, help sneaking her daughter into their prison cell. The story evolves as they try to hide the little girl from the police officers and they become like a family, helping each other with the things that were most important for them.
And... you have to see the rest for yourself, because it is definitely a must-watch if you are looking for a true heart-melting story.


As I was watching the movie, I couldn't stop thinking about the unfairness of it all. How the little girl who was trying to help Yong-Gu died accidentally and unpredictably. How Ye-Soung, the other little girl, was so abruptly snatched away from her dad's arms, leaving her all by herself. And especially, how the justice system gave Yong-Gu a death sentence, changing his life forever.

Seeing the true innocence and actions of love of these 3 characters, I wondered, ¿God, why is life so unfair? And while I was asking myself this question, I remembered a quote the professor from 'Understanding Globalization' gave us in class (as he likes to give weekly quotes to his students)...

"Every cloud has a silver lining"

I believe, most of the times we don't understand the difficulties we have to go through in our lives. Because we are only able to see the gray back of the clouds. We don't realize the sun is shining on the other side, painting a beautiful lining around, as God or Life, as you want to call it, draws a perfect master plan. We never know, how is life using us, for the big picture, and the big picture for our own life.

Why is the movie called Miracle in Cell No.7? I believe a miracle is just a shift in perception. As you see the movie, you realize, that little girl is a beautiful miracle for the lives of the whole population of prisoners in that jail, and even police officers. The way she inserts innocence and love inside the seemingly dark prison bars, and lights up their cell is astonishing. Her mentally-challenged dad Yong-Gu, and her are able to unconsciously spread and even show the innocence in the other prisoners too.

I recommend the movie with all my heart :). You can watch the trailer here, although it doesn't do justice to the movie itself.

Finalmente llegó el día de emprender esta aventura de 4 meses, lejos de todo lo "conocido" para mí.

Tres meses atrás probablemente ni siquiera me hubiera pasado por la mente esta idea. Pero la verdad es que nunca sabemos los planes que la Vida tiene para nosotros. Así es que, el sábado 27 de febrero del 2016, puse pie en un vuelo de 30 HORAS de Guatemala a Corea del Sur. Llegué finalmente el lunes 29 de febrero (por aquello del cambio de horarios), al aeropuerto de Incheon. Por si no lo sabían, ha sido votado este año como el 2do mejor aeropuerto del mundo... NICE.

Y la pregunta del millón, ¿cuáles fueron mis primeras impresiones?  Primero, el frío... inmediatamente al bajar del avión, sentí los -3° de ese lunes a las 4:30AM darme un caluroso abrazo de bienvenida.
Luego, un poco de desilusión al darme cuenta que casi nadie hablaba inglés. Siendo el aeropuerto el punto más "internacional" del país, ¿qué podía esperar del resto? Gracias a Dios, el interior del aeropuerto sí estaba muy calientito y acogedor. Me pareció un aeropuerto muy lindo la verdad, sin embargo no pude disfrutar todo lo que hubiera querido, ya que el "Área Cultural" se encuentra dentro de la zona de Salidas. Así que estaré contándoles más de eso en mi regreso a Guatemala.

Y por último, la nieve... INCREÍBLE! Me sentí muy suertuda y bendecida, ya que logré llegar en los últimos 2-3 días de nieve... lo justo para amarla y no morir congelada en el intento.

Esa mañana, después de un viaje de 2 horas en bus a Gongju, llegué sana y salva al campus de Kongju National University. Ahí pude conocer a varios de los estudiantes extranjeros y staff de la Universidad. Todos fueron muy amables y sentí un gran alivio al ver que sí hablaban inglés. :)

So, the day finally arrived. I couldn't believe I was leaving my country for 4 whole months, to go all the way to KOREA!

Three months ago, I would not have even thought about it. But you never know where life is taking you next... Anyway, February 27, I set foot on a 30-hour flight from Guatemala to South Korea. I arrived Monday February 29, in Incheon Airport. If you didn't know, it has been voted the 2nd best airport in the world... NICE.

What were my first impressions? First the cold... Immediately after going out of the airplane, I felt the -3° of that Monday at 4:30a.m. welcome me with a not so warm embrace.
Then, a little bit of disappointment, as I realized most airport staff I talked to couldn't speak that much english... being it an international spot, what could I expect of the rest? Nevertheless, it was really quite beautiful airport, although I was not able to experience it as much as I would've wanted, since the cultural area was in the departure zone. So I guess I will be telling you more about it when I visit it again.

And then, the snow... A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! I was really very lucky and blessed, it was the last 2-3 days of snowing.. just enough for me to love it and not die of cold.

That morning, after a 2-hour bus ride from Incheon to Gongju, I arrived safely at Kongju National University campus... Where I met some of the other foreigner students and university staff. Everyone was very friendly and most of them did speak good english, so I felt a little relief.