Whitney in Korea!

So I've been in Korea for just shy of 3 years now and no one has come to visit me (besides my mom, dad and brother...2 years ago).  I feel like I'm always telling people to hop over the pond to come see me and no one takes me up on it.  I understand it's a big expense, but you all have had 3 years to save up and I've already come to visit twice, so I think it's someone else's turn to come to me.  And in my opinion, if I had a friend living overseas, I would definitely go visit them!  Just think, free accommodation, a free tour guide, someone to try new food with, and the list of pros just go on and on. So I've never understood why no one has made an effort to come to visit me.  Well, in June my wish came true and I finally had a friend take me up on the offer...cue Whitney!  Whitney is a fellow expat so it comes as no surprise that she decided to come visit; and it was only fair that she came to me this time because I visited her in Spain 4 years ago.

My airport sign welcoming Whitney to Korea.  It says "Hi, Whitney! Welcome to South Korea"

Hanging out with Seoul at the Han River in Yeouido 

I met Whitney my freshman year at Westminster College and we became acquainted through our sorority Kappa Alpha Theta.  Despite Whitney being a senior and only having met during the 2nd semester (Whitney had been studying abroad the first semester), I felt like we connected and I loved hearing Whitney's study abroad stories.  Fast forward 2 years, I'm the one studying abroad, and I decide to go visit Whitney in Spain.  Seeing Whitney thriving in a foreign country and seeing first-hand the amazing life she was leading in Spain is without a doubt one of the reasons that I chose to move abroad right after college graduation.  Whitney is still in Spain (going on 6 years!), and for the past year, we have discussed her coming to visit--and it FINALLY happened this summer!  Having a friend come to visit was exciting for so many reasons; I had a part of home with me (Whitney is from Jefferson City), I could return the favor and play tour guide for Whitney as she had done for me in Spain, I had someone to introduce all the delicious Korean food to, and I could see all of Korea's strange and interesting quirks through the eyes of a tourist again (nothing fazes me anymore and I often forget what it was like when I first came here).  

So, long story short, I was absolutely ecstatic to have Whitney in Korea and had a million things planned out to do (and eat!).  

First thing on my long "do-when-Whitney's-here" list was to welcome Whitney to Korea with some Korean BBQ and soju.  One of Whitney's requests upon coming to Korea was to eat at a restaurant where "all the food comes in little bowls that cover the table"; little did she know, every Korean restaurant serves those "little bowls of food that cover the table" and that they're actually free side-dishes that have unlimited refills.  That's right, they're free!  When you order BBQ, you only order and pay for the meat, all the side dishes are included!

During dinner I taught Whitney how to properly pour and receive a soju shot.  Soju is Korea's most popular alcohol and at only $1.50 per bottle, it's easy to see why.  On any given night, it's common to see people downing soju at restaurants, bars and (my personal favorite) outside 7/11 convenience stores.  Because it's literally impossible to avoid soju in Korea, I knew Whitney needed to experience it immediately.  

How to Properly Take and Receive a Soju Shot: 

1. Never pour yourself a shot, always have someone else pour it for you

2.  Hold your shot glass with BOTH hands while the other person is pouring the soju

3.  Never let the other person pour their own shot, always pour it for them

4.  While pouring the other person's shot, hold the soju bottle with BOTH hands

5.  Clink you glasses together and say "gum-bae" (not "cheers") and drink the whole shot

6.  Refill and repeat throughout dinner

Teaching Whitney the proper way to pour a soju shot.

Whitney cooking our meat at our table the Korean way...with scissors! Such a natural!

Also, notice the "little plates of food that cover the table".

Of course we had to snap a pic by the Gangnam Style sign.

Next stop after dinner was the infamous Gangnam area, where Seoul's elite live, work and play.  If Gangnam sounds familiar to you, it's probably because you heard Korean rapper Psy's overly-played hit "Gangnam Style" on the radio a few years back.  Here's also a tip: Gangnam is pronounced "Gahng-nahm", NOT "gang" as in the group of troublemakers. 

Whitney, my friend KyeongEun, me and some English-speaking K-boys we met!

One of my favorite memories with Whitney was when we went clubbing in Spain and ended up back at Whitney's apartment around 7am.  Whitney always bragged about Spain's nightlife, and I admit it was a lot of fun, but Whitney hadn't experienced Korean nightlife yet.  Gangnam is also a popular area for clubbing and happens to be where my favorite club, Monkey Beach, is located, so we headed there with my friend KyeongEun.  I really like Monkey Beach because I always happen to meet English-speaking Koreans there and this night was no different; we made some friends right away, a couple of the guys had even studied in the U.S.  By the time Whitney and I made it back to my apartment, the sun had risen already and some people were getting their day started as ours was ending...

I set out to prove that the Spanish aren't the only ones who know how to party, and I think my mission was accomplished.

Cat Cafe where we tried befriending 30 cats.  We didn't win over all of them unfortunately.

What does one do after a night of dancing and perhaps too many bottles of soju?  Go to a cat cafe, of course!  Whitney and I are not afraid to admit that we are crazy cat-ladies and felt right at home with our new furry friends.  I hope our cats back at home, Tris and Velma, didn't get too jealous.  

Juan, Whitney and I trying to catch us a foul ball!

With Whitney and I both being St. Louis Cardinals fans, we hit up a ball game (no pun intended).  We were able to see the #1 KBL team Doosan Bears take on the SK Wyverns.  We were lucky enough to witness a few home-runs, but unfortunately we couldn't get our hands on any foul balls...because our they were too busy holding our Cass beer and Burger King.  Whitney kept looking for some peanuts, but soon realized that the official snack of Korean baseball games is SQUID, which is served in more varieties than you could imagine.  

During the game, we really enjoyed trying to follow along with the male cheerleader/crowd-pumper-upper while he lead individual chants for each player.  We seemed to be the only fans who didn't have these cheers and accompanying hand-gestures memorized, but that didn't stop us from joining in! 

Korean crowds really know how to get their team pumped up.

Growing up during family vacations, my parents always made sure that we did something educational on our trips, and I've continued that mantra in my solo travels as well.  So while Whitney was here, I definitely wanted her to experience Korea's rich history as it is vastly different than American history, and as American students, we don't really learn all that much about Asia's past.  Unfortunately I had to work, so Whitney had to go out on her own in Seoul after only being in the city for 2 days!  She was such a trooper though and found her way just fine; even though she was quite nervous about going out alone, I never doubted her navigational skills considering her impressive travel resume. 

     

Whitney managed to find Gyeongbokgung Palace while she explored the city solo!

Whitney took a day trip to the DMZ (demilitarized zone) where she got to fraternize with the enemy aka North Korea.

A couple of years ago I took a tour of the DMZ and left with a much greater understanding of the turmoil that has existed between North and South Korea for the past 50+ years.  So because Whitney needed something to fill the days when she had to go out alone, I suggested she take the full-day tour.   On the DMZ tour, Whitney got to buy a train ticket headed for North Korea, get a glimpse of the communist country itself, stand in the building where North and South Korea hold their official peace-meetings and even take a picture with one of Kim Jong Un's guards...while standing in North Korean territory!  Glad you made it safely back to the South side, Whitney... 

Calling all Korean princes, your princesses have arrived!

After seeing the serious side of Korean history, it was time to have some fun, and what better way to do that than to play dress up!  Whitney and I decided to have some photo booth fun and slip into a couple of hanboks, traditional Korean dress.  After a little Photoshop and decorating our pics with fun designs, they were printed out for us and made into stickers.

Whitney + rush hour = very crowded subway ride

When you come to Seoul, a city of around 10 million people, you sometimes find yourself in crowded spaces.  Whitney got to experience the subway at rush hour first hand.  Everyone is literally packed like sardines and their eyes are glued to their phones.  #SeoulLife

Just a sample of our street food adventures! (Pictured: lemonade in a bag, egg bread, hotteok: sweet pancake filled with nuts and cinnamon/sugar, tteokbokki: spicy rice cakes)

I made sure Whitney never went hungry here in Korea.  Sometimes it felt as though we were constantly eating, but I was just so grateful that Whitney wasn't picky and was up to try anything, so I wanted to make sure she was able to eat all of the Korean food she could while she was here.  Whitney especially loved bulgogi, but we also ate street food, mandu (dumplings), bingsu (shaved ice dessert), bibimbap (stir-fried rice and veggies), kimbap (similar to sushi), Korean-style fried chicken, shabu-shabu (hot pot), and live octopus (more on that below!).  And let's not forget the bagel place...that wasn't Korean food, but still delicious.

Whitney, my friend Kang, and I taking our selfie game to new places...i.e. on top of our drinks!

My personal nickname for Korea is "Land of 1000 Cafes" because of the immense number of coffee shops located throughout the country.  But, not all Korean cafes are created equal.  In order to stand out, there are a lot of themed cafes or cafes that have a signature drink or dessert.  One such cafe being CaFace, where you can order a coffee or latte of your choice and have your very own edible selfie printed on top of it!  How cool is that?!?!

Whitney eating her poop bread.

Korean people, especially kids, are obsessed with poop!  I don't understand the fascination with it, but I've learned to just accept it.  While in Insadong, Korea's famous traditional street, I introduced Whitney to poop bread, a pastry shaped like a pile of...you guessed it, poop! And filled with a sweet red bean mash, also a Korean staple.

Coast of Busan

After we were all Seoul'd out, I decided to take Whitney to Korea's 2nd largest city, Busan.  Even though it's a city, Busan is a fun getaway because it's located on Korea's southern coast and boasts one of Korea's best beaches...and who doesn't love the salty air and fresh seafood, right?  

Since Whitney has been to the real Santorini, Greece, I knew we had to make a pitstop at Gamcheon Culture Village.  Gamcheon is tucked away on a Busan hillside and is referred to as the "Santorini of Korea" because of its colorfully-painted houses, steep alleyways and murals decorating the walls. 

Gamcheon Culture Village, Busan

Gamcheon Culture Village, Busan

Historically, South Korea is a Buddhist nation and although Christianity has made its mark here in recent decades, Buddhism remains an important cultural aspect that can be seen all around the country.  I wanted Whitney to see a Buddhist temple while she was here, and out of all the temples I've seen here in Korea, Haedong Younggunsa Temple takes the cake.  Because it overlooks the ocean and has a giant golden Buddha statue, it's no wonder this place is always attracting tourists and locals alike.  

Look at that view // Younggunsa Temple, Busan

Haedong Younggunsa Temple

If you've kept up with my blog, you'll know that I've been able to really give my tastebuds a culture shock here in Asia.  I don't think you need reminders, but I've tackled the balut egg in the Philippines, ox-blood soup and blood sausage in Korea, snake wine in Vietnam, and a whole fried frog in Malaysia.  Because I never shy away from trying exotic foods, I was so excited that Whitney was on board to eat whatever too.  

Since Busan is known for having (maybe too) fresh seafood, I knew it was finally time to tackle live octopus.  Whitney and I made it our mission to find "san-nak-ji" (live octopus in Korean), so we decided our best bet was to check out the famous Jagalchi Fish Market.  Before long, a Korean lady had talked us into buying one of her tentacle-clad suckers.  Whitney and I had barely pointed out the octopus we wanted when the lady grabbed it out of the tank and flung it in a bowl.  Our octopus was then put into a plastic bag and we were lead upstairs to the dining area of the market.  After a few minutes, our octopus reappeared at our table, although he had gone through a major transformation.  After being chopped up and seasoned with sesame oil and soy sauce, our octopus was ready to be consumed, still armed with its tentacles and suckers intact and still moving...even trying to wiggle off the plate. Below is the before and after:   

Before: fresh out the tank

After: freshly cut

Jagalchi Fish Market, Busan

Name your seafood...I'm sure they've got it.

Whitney and I with our Kakao character sheet masks

Ask anyone who has traveled abroad and they'll tell you that it's life-changing and beyond fun but also so exhausting.  Unfortunately when you're tired, it likes to show on your face, but there's seriously no better place to revive your skin and body than in Korea.  Korea is obsessed with everything beauty and skin-related and you'll find a cosmetics store on every block.  I'm in no way bashing Korea for their infatuation with BB creams and face mists, because have you seen a Korean person's skin?  Utterly flawless and perfect 24/7.  I have to admit that I've even jumped on the Korean cosmetics band-wagon and adopted a 6-step daily skincare routine, so it's only natural that I introduced Whitney to Korea's cosmetics craze.  Whitney probably wishes I hadn't though because after taking her to my favorite cosmetics store, Innis Free, her wallet was considerably lighter, but my VIP points card sure appreciated it (thanks girl!).  

To ease Whitney into the Korean cosmetics world, I started her out with a face mask sheet.  You can buy a variety of face masks, all infused with different ingredients such as snail mucus, charcoal, bee venom, etc.  Whitney and I decided to go for these cute, new Kakao character sheet mask though; I think we made a good choice and our faces looked nice and revived afterwards.     

This blog wouldn't be complete without a classic Whitney feet-on-a-manhole-cover pic!

I was so sad to see Whitney leave to head back to Spain, but I was so grateful for her willingness to come visit me and trusting me with tour guide duties during her stay.  I had an absolute blast not only showing Whitney my home for the past 3 years, but also just having a piece of MO here with me.  It meant so much to me to have a friend fly across the world to come hang out with me for 12 days, and I hope I made it worth it, Whitney.  

P.S. We've met up on three different continents, so where to next?

      

Student Life at Sogang University

So in case you haven't heard, I now reside in Seoul and have been living the city life for the past four months.  As much as I loved living in Jecheon for the past 2.5 years, I wanted to distance myself from teaching and start setting myself up for other opportunities, and unfortunately there aren't any opportunities for me to grow in Jecheon, so I felt I had to make a change.  Also, even though I grew up in a little town of 5,000 people, I've always had the desire to live in a big city, so I was excited to finally make the move.

My main motivation for moving to Seoul was to focus more on my Korean studies, so I did a lot of research and decided on Sogang University, a private Catholic university in the heart of Seoul that is renowned for its Korean language program.  While there are a wide variety of universities here in Seoul that offer Korean language courses for foreigners, Sogang seemed like the best fit for me because of its emphasis on speaking, while other universities emphasized grammar components in their courses.  Ever since taking Mrs. Creath's Spanish classes in high school, I've always found foreign languages to be intriguing and fun to learn.  I also really admire bilingual people and their ability to be able to communicate with people outside their native language.

Me and a couple classmates enjoying the "japchae" (Korean noodle dish) we made in class.

Entrance to Sogang University

My house is only 12min away by subway!

So after applying and getting accepted into Sogang University, I had to take a writing test and do a speaking interview to determine which level I should start in.  Sogang's Korean program consists of 6 levels, with level 1 being the starting point and ending with level 6.  I thought I would for sure be placed into level 1 since I had had no experience with formal Korean lessons and had only been taught by a Korean friend, but to my pleasant surprise I was placed into level 2.  I started my first 10-week semester in March and finished up in May.  The semester included daily 4-hour classes, with 1 hour devoted to writing, 1 hour to reading/listening and 2 hours to speaking.  Each component was taught by a different professor to expose the class to different teaching styles and accents.  All students were graded based on mid-term and final exam results, and students who pass can advance to the next level.

What I really enjoy about Sogang's program is that the classes are made up of students from very diverse backgrounds.  My class was comprised of 13 students from 9 different countries, including the USA, South Africa, Japan, Taiwan, China, Brazil, Turkey, the Congo, and Mexico.  Because there was such an assortment of students in my class, we all had to rely on using Korean in the classroom because that was the common language.

Overall, I'm really happy with my decision to move to Seoul to pursue Korean language studies and to attend Sogang University.  It's a nice change to be on the learning end of the school spectrum again, as I've been the teacher in the classroom for the past couple of years now.  It is also interesting to have experience attending a Korean university.  I really learned a lot in my first semester and am looking forward to starting level 3 in September.      

Cebu, Philippines: Beaches, Balut, and Bad Luck

The Philippines is a country I've been dying to visit for a long time.  I've had many friends visit and recommend it and after reading way too many travel articles saying the Philippines' beaches are some of the best in the world, I knew this was a place I had to get to eventually.  Despite only being a short 4.5 hour flight from South Korea, I hadn't ever had the opportunity to go until this past February. After my solo-trip to Singapore and Malaysia, I was craving some social interaction and familiarity, so I went with my fellow Jecheonian Casey.  This was actually a bad idea on so many levels, because every time Casey and I travel together, it seems like the world is constantly working against us and we have the worst luck.  So why we decided to test the waters in the Philippines I don't know, but not even the beauty of the Philippines couldn't save us from our fair share of obstacles we encountered throughout the duration of our trip.

Alona Beach

First things first.  We went to the Philippines during Chinese New Year, which is a crazy time to travel, but when you have time off of work, you have to take what you can get.  We left for the airport pretty early because we knew the usual schedule of getting to Seoul in 2 hours flat wasn't going to happen, and we were correct, as it took about 4 hours to get to Seoul because of the holiday traffic. We also left early so we could grab some Taco Bell before we boarded the plane.  Incheon Airport just opened a Taco Bell in the airport so it was a no-brainer that we were going to get some before we jetted off (we don't get these luxuries in Jecheon, ok?!).  After we got trapped in the check-in line at the airline counter for at least an hour, got through security's massive rung of people and headed to our gate, we stopped at the Taco Bell only to be informed that they were closing at that very minute. We could even still see the cooks in the kitchen!  This was extremely upsetting given the fact that we had literally talked about what we were going to eat at TBell multiple times that day.  That was our first major upset and we had only been on this trip for 7 hours at this point.

Our flight left around 10:30pm and we landed in the Philippines around 3:00am.  The Cebu airport was really small and we didn't see any chairs or lounge areas around, and since we couldn't catch our ferry to the island we were staying on until 6:30am, we found a spot on floor of the airport and tried to sleep.  We were really curious as to where all the other people on our flight had gone because we were the only ones still at the airport it seemed.  Around 4:45am the security guard at the airport kicked us out and told us we needed to go somewhere else, so we took a taxi to the ferry port.  It wasn't until we got into the taxi and drove off that we spotted the outdoor lounge area where a lot of people had gone to relax. After more waiting, we finally caught our ferry and headed 2-hours away to the island of Bohol where we would be staying for 6 days.

After smooth sailing to the island and then taxiing to our beachside resort, we thought that our luck had maybe turned around and we could begin to relax and enjoy ourselves, but little did we know that the biggest problems were yet to happen.  After presenting our check-in information to the front desk of the resort, a place we had booked about 4 months prior as to secure a room in preparation for the holiday, we immediately felt an uneasy vibe that something was wrong and we were right in our assumptions.  The front desk lady informed us that they didn't have our reservation on file.  Ummm what????  We were told to wait while they double-checked their records with the head office.  At this point it was 9:30am, we were tired from traveling, and this is the last thing we expected to go wrong because we had been so prepared.  After waiting, checking with the front desk again and again and waiting some more, we were told that the hotel would help us find accommodations elsewhere but that we would have to stay inland on the island and not beachside as there was no vacancy due to the holiday.  I was not about to take this for an answer as we had all the paperwork to prove our confirmation and had put a deposit down on this place 4 months ago!  I was not about to settle for a room that was not on the f**king beach!  So after more waiting, the resort told us that they had someone cancel their room last minute and that we would be able to stay here.  Again, umm what?? Something definitely seemed a little fishy about this, and my theory is that they had accidentally double-booked and had to fix their mistake.  But, around 3pm we were able to check into the room and finally begin our vacation.    

Alona Vida Beach Resort

The street along the beachfront

I love Southeast Asia because of all the exotic and cheap fruit.  If you ever come across mangosteen, I can't recommend it enough!

Halo-Halo, traditional Philippine ice dessert topped with tropical fruit and Ube (purple yam) ice cream.  If you every come across ube ice cream, I cannot stress enough how much you need to try it.  I think it's my new favorite flavor, no joke.

A lot of this vacation was simply spent on the beach, trying to soak up the hot Filipino sun, and swimming in the crystal clear waters of the south Pacific.  What I had read about the Philippines' beaches being among the most beautiful in the world?  I would absolutely agree with those statements, and I've been to some pretty beaches before.  We did manage to migrate from the beach a little to actually do something productive though.

One day we took a small group tour to see some of the inland sights.  During the tour, we stopped at a Tarsier Conservation Center, the Bohol Island Chocolate Hills, a bamboo bridge, and a random building that had an exotic bird and a couple of pythons.

This is at the Tarsier Conservation Center.  Tarsiers are gremlin-like, nocturnal primates that are found in rainforest-like habitats.  They have large, round eyes that enables them to have excellent night vision, and they are really hard to spot as they try to hide in the comfort of trees.  They only grow to be around 3.5-6.5 inches in height.    

The Bohol Chocolate Hills are a popular tourist destination because of the 1,300 perfectly-shaped mounds that seem to pop up out of the ground.  The hills are actually grass-covered limestone mounds and contain coral deposits.  During the dry season the hills turn brown, hence the nickname "Chocolate Hills".  Since we were here in February, the hills were still green. 

Oh, I guess Casey should maybe make an appearance in the blog since he was a part of the trip too.

At one point during our tour we were driving along the road and stopped at a run-down building in the middle of nowhere.  Once inside, we were greeted by a large exotic bird and two pythons.  Since I've been amazed by snakes since I was a kid, I never say "no" to a good snake picture.  These two weren't camera shy at all...well maybe the yellow one was.  

 Me on the bamboo bridge.  It was quite scary because this bridge is 100% shucked bamboo tied together to form a bridge.  Don't let this smile fool you, I felt like I was going to fall through the bamboo at any minute. 

Another day we decided to take a lunch cruise down the Luboc River.    

We met some new friends on the cruise.  The girl next to me used to live in MO!

During part of the cruise, we stopped at a remote village, interacted with some of the locals, and saw some cool structures like the one behind me.  I felt like I was in an episode of Gilligan's Island.

Me, a Bohol local and a lizard on a leash.

One day we hired a private boat and driver and spent the day on the water. We headed out at 6:30am to go dolphin watching, and we got lucky because quite a few wild dolphins decided to make an appearance and entertain us.  Then we went snorkeling at a nearby coral reef.  After snorkeling, our boat driver took us island hopping to a couple different islands.  Since the Philippines is made up of around 7,600 islands, we unfortunately didn't have time to see them all. 

Our resort was located along the beachfront shared by many other resorts and shops.  At nighttime the beachfront would be filled with Filipino entertainers and bands.  We were watching this group perform a fire dance when they asked for volunteers.  I obviously volunteered so I could get a cool blog picture.  But some things have consequences and I think I came away with a forehead sunburn.  

Totally worth it for this "fire angel" picture. 

And now the moment you've been waiting for...

My Philippine balut egg experience...

This balut egg looks similar to the one I ate.  (This picture does not belong to me)

Growing up, my family used to watch the travel channel a lot and we would often watch the "strange international food" shows or something along those lines.  So, before going to the Philippines, all I really knew about the country was that they ate balut eggs, because I had remembered seeing it on the travel channel.  Well, by now you should know that I'm no stranger to trying new, sometimes weird, food, so my one goal in the Philippines was to hunt down this balut egg and try it for myself.  So what is it exactly?  Wikipedia's definition calls it a fertilized, developing bird embryo that is boiled and eaten after an incubation period of around 14-21 days.  The Filipino people believe eating balut eggs helps with one's sexual stamina and can help ease hangovers.

Because the balut egg is so popular, I figured it’d be easy to track down, but finding it proved to be quite the challenge.  After asking around to various locals, we were told that we had to keep our eyes out for the “balut guy” who rides a bike carrying the eggs.  Eventually we found him and I bought a 16-day old balut egg for $.20.  The locals told me that the balut is the best after a 16-day incubation period.  After breaking open the hard-boiled-like egg, you pour some vinegar into it, which the balut guy conveniently carries with him.  I downed the egg fairly quickly and was surrounded by other balut-eating locals, and when they told me how well I did, I felt really good.  The egg didn’t taste as bad as I thought it would; it reminded me of a hard-boiled egg that happened to be a bit more solid and crunchy.

The video above was actually the 2nd balut egg I ate.  Yes, I ate two.  I had to eat the 2nd one because after eating the first egg, and videoing the evidence on Casey's phone, Casey lost his phone on the beach.  Bad luck strikes yet again.  

   After looking up and down the beach, all through our room, and calling/texting his number from my phone, we finally decided Casey's phone was a goner.  After all, who in their right mind would hand over a brand new iPhone 6s that they happened to find?  Well, low and behold I received a message from the person who had found the phone, but their was a catch; we had to go to Eduardo's Place to pick it up.  Thoughts going through our head at this moment went something like this: "Who the f**k is Eduardo?", "We're not going somewhere called Eduardo's Place", "If we go, we might not make it back alive", "Is this phone really that important?".  After consulting our resort front desk, giving them a head's up that if we weren't back in 45 minutes to call the police, we caught a ride on the back of a motorbike (the most popular form of transportation in SE Asia, and yes we were 3 adults on 1 bike) to Eduardo's Place.  The new possessor of Casey's phone had told us that people around the area would know this place, and sure enough our motorbike driver did.  

After going out of town a little ways and down a dark, gravel road, we finally arrived at Eduardo's Place to find that it was a type of private campground that the Cebu Russian community occupied.  When we arrived, we were greeted by a group of Russians who were waiting for us around the outdoor bar.  I immediately wanted to leave, as this just looked like a sketchy situation, but we kept in mind the fact that these people were nice enough to contact us saying they had found the phone and were willing to give it back.  So after giving Casey a 20-minute speech in a heavy Russian accent about the importance of locking his phone with a passcode so that people like them wouldn't be able to access all his information, we were able to leave with the phone intact...well almost intact, they did leave a selfie on the phone to remember them by.  Once the phone business was finished, we took off on our taxi-motorbike back to our resort and the front desk people seemed relieved that they didn't have to call the police to report missing tenants.  

After our week's worth of bad luck and a little relaxation thrown in, it was time to head back to the land of kimchi.

Our tuk-tuk ride back to the ferry port.  Is our driver even holding the steering wheel?

Goodbye Philippines!  I definitely plan on coming back sometime, so until we meet again, a beach selfie will have to do.