Membership Training(MT)

August 13, Saturday – Ryan, Yushu and I waited at the ground floor of the dormitory for Daniel oppa. He was half an hour late, arriving shortly after I gave him a call. The car was empty as he arrived and we met with the others at his office before departing to Yongdo(p/s: “do” means Island). There were a total of 11 persons – Daniel, Jeong Geun, Jang Chun, Jae Hoon, Min Ho, Il Hee oppa, Ji Hyun, Young Sil onni, Ryan, Yushu and I. Daniel and Il Hee oppa drove a car each. I was in Daniel oppa’s car and it was quite pack as there were 6 of us. It took us around 2 hours to reach there. We ordered a few “gimbak” for lunch at a small town near by.

We arrived at the jetty shortly after our lunch. The jetty was really small. The smell of the sea water was strong. We took a small boat to the island, which cost 2,000 won each. As usual, Ji Hyun onni was busy taking photos.

I was quite disappointed with the island as it was really small and there were limited places which are reachable. There is nothing special about the scenery there and it is quite polluted. There is much rubbish in the sea and on the beach. Yet, there were people swimming and playing happily in there. There are many fisheries industries around. Most of the villagers there are fishermen. But, they have low conscience on maintaining the cleanliness and beauty of nature. We stayed in a “mimbak”, where it is actually an aunty’s house. The place was neat but a bit too small and crowded.

We planned to fish but the waves were too strong. We ended up playing in the dirty sea. At first, I was reluctant to swim in there, but 2 of my oppa dragged me into the water forcefully. There are many rocks around the area and it is quite dangerous. Some of my oppa and onni got hurt, just a minor one though. I got a tiny cut on my right leg, luckily it was not bad.

We had “samgyeoksa”, which is grilled pork for dinner outside of the “mimbak” that we stayed in. It was windy as it was located almost immediately beside the sea. But, there were many mosquitoes around >__< Jae Hoon and Min Ho oppa was our cook for this dinner. Thank you!

We played some Korean games after the dinner. It seems that soju and beer are always for any Membership Training(MT). MT is like a trip for the lab members to get to know each other better, tighten the ties among them. Those who lose in the game have to finish the beer, soju or a mixture of beer and soju. I heard that drinking a mixture of both beer and soju can make a person get drunk easily.

We had a bravery test after the game section. Daniel and Jang Chun oppa was the organizer of this activity. The venue was the elementary school. We were given some hints on the locations to get the items. We needed to work in pairs to find them. Our partners were decided by drawing lots. Then, we will play “paper, scissors and stone” to decide which team to go first. The next team can only go after the previous team finishes. Of course, each team was given a maximum of 30 minutes. If they were unable to find the clue, they will need to be punished. The game went well. I teamed up with Jeong Geun oppa. It was really nice of him for doing all the checking at difficult places, such as those tall statues. We managed to find the clue at the toilet at the very last minute. The toilet sure was smelly.

We ended up with drinking beer and soju after the test. Il-Hee oppa was a bit drunk at that time while Jae Hoon oppa had totally fall asleep, snoring away. I went to sleep at around 1am. The next day, we departed to Ulsan as there is nothing much at Yongdo.

August 14, Sunday – At around 9am, we departed to back to the mainland. We took some photos at the jetty as the boat only arrived after some time. Min Ho oppa’s camera stand finally came in handy.

We departed to Ulsan by car at around 11am and arrived there 2.5 hours later. Ulsan is an industrial area, with many factories. I heard that there was a huge Hyundai factory there, manufacturing many of the gigantic boats in the world. However, our target was not the factory, but Jonjang beach. It took us quite some time as there was a very heavy traffic jam along the way there. We stayed in a “mimbak” but this one did not even have a fan. Ah…

This beach was much nicer than the one in Yongdo. The water was icing cold. My body was freezing as I entered the water and my legs were numb, barely able to move. Daniel oppa brought along his air boat and everyone was having fun playing with it. They even played fighting games with it. Jae Hoon oppa even took pictures in the middle of the sea. Luckily he was tall and have enough stamina to maintain his position, else his camera would have get wet due to the strong waves. But, the fishing robs seemed to become a waste. Jeong Geun oppa went back earlier to do some cooking. Bravo~

We had “samgyeoksa” again for dinner. Jae Hoon oppa was the only cook this time. Everyone was hungry~ We were having a tough time in there as there was no fan. We played some simple games after the dinner as usual. Daniel oppa was drunk very fast as he always lose out in the games. His body was all red and we put him to sleep at the room. There were no pillows and mattresses for this “mimbak”. Thus, we need to sleep on the wooden floor. Yushu was given a nickname, “geumdumi”, which means cutie by my onni. Everyone started calling him so during games. After much experience, I think I have level up my drinking ability :3 I do not get drunk so easily as the previous trip to Gyeungju.

August 15, Monday – We departed back to Busan at 9am and arrived at around 11am. It was really fast as there was no traffic jam. It was a public holiday in Korea.