Looking Back: Home Videos from South Africa - Part Two

Readers may remember the following articles:
Walking with the Wild Cats
One Stop, Two Great Escapes and
A Rainy Day Tour of the Cape Peninsula
The following videos capture a few moments from each of those articles as well as the Harrington's boat ride out to Seal Island near Mossel Bay, South Africa.

Video Coverage of the Andong Mask Festival

Here at the Harrington Times we know that our skill as writers far exceeds our skill as movie makers/movie editors. However, it is our desire to give you the fullest possible understanding of the Harrington's life in Korea. Therefore, we apologize if the videos seem a little long and a occassionally dry, our field crew will slowly attempt to learn better filming skills and editing techniques.

A Day at the Mask Dance Festival

On Saturday, September 25th the Harrington's, accompanied by another dear EPIK teacher made their way to Andong, South Korea to watch and partake of the Mask Dance Festival. The trio had slight difficulties in figuring out what bus they could take and whether or not they'd missed their best chance. After asking a ticket cashier the group discovered that they could in fact board a bus at the desired time of 8:15 am and would arrive in Andong approximately 2 and a half hours later.


Upon arrival the group used thier intuitive navigation skills as well as the large balloons and many other festival goers to determine where the festivities were taking place. As they entered the festival grounds they were amazed by the numerous tents offering all manner of goods from crunchy cinnamon pancakes, to pickled shrimps and kimchi, from puppets and masks to chrysamthemum tea. The tea of course caught Melissa Harrington's eye and tastebuds and was promptly purchased...well, as promptly as possible. The ladies selling the tea were adamant that Mrs. Harrington purchase the chrysamthemum because it was grown and harvested in the area whereas the other teas were not, therefore, the ladies would not tell Mrs. Harrington any thing about the other teas.

The festival also provided many hands on experiences. One could make a mask, learn a mask dance, make soap, sample many foods and drinks (apples, mushroom tea and ramen to name a few). One highlight however, was the station for children to blow bubbles. The bubbles were HUGE and the joy of the children was tangible as they screamed with great enthusiasm and blew giant bubbles. If the Harrington's could impart only one truth to their readers, it would be that Korean children are absolutely adorable!

The primary reason however for attending the Mask Dance Festival is of course to enjoy some of South Korea's cultural heritage in the form of traditional dances. Conviniently, the Festival Organizers provide descriptions of the dances on a large screen at the beginning of each dance, however the trio didn't notice this until near the end of the performances. Regardless, they enjoyed many shows, dances and stories of the Korean nation.

Having soaked up all the festivities they could handle, the trio meandered into the city of Andong to get a feel for this 'new' Korean community. Krystyna and Melissa wandered about while Mike sat and enjoyed some reading. While wandering, the girls were approached by a Korean man who offered them food from his dirt encrusted hand and gave each of them a kind of head caress -- a strange experience for the two which lead to them walking on and making their way into the Andong Market to take in the sights of fresh produce, pastries and a wide myriad of household items.

Getting There: The Harrington's went to Dongbu Bus Terminal via Bus 105 then purchased a ticket for Andong. A time table was available at the site: WorknPlay

When to Go: The Mask Dance Festival generally takes place at the end of September through the beginning of October. More information is available at: VisitKorea

Hiking Gubonsang Mountain

On Tuesday, September 21st the Harrington's accompanied three other EPIK teachers; Brad, Whitney and Krystyna on a Chuseok Vacation Hike. Krystyna kindly figured out which mountain would provide an easy, short hike as well as how to get there. The Harrington's were not disappointed.

Hiking in Korea is definitely an experience unlike hiking in Wyoming. When hiking in Wyoming one expects many switch-backs, a rugged trail and only a few other hikers to be present -- unless of course you're hiking in Yellowstone or the Tetons. Korea however is a country of efficiency, effieciency in ways the rest of the world has yet to embrace, one example of such efficiency is their tendency to hike or climb straight up the mountain. (The shortest distance from A to B is a straight line). Hence, many of Korea's mountains are equipped with steep staircases - just for an easy hike on Gubonsang Mountain the Harrington's walked up over 300 stairs, likely almost 300 stairs, not to mention the many steep inclines which were not outfitted with proper stairs.


Regardless, Korea's hiking provides a wide range of breathtaking views. From the minute and miniscule flowers and dragonflys to the cityscapes and mountainscapes seen from peaks, hiking will surely become an activity the Harrington's seek out more regularly. As would any of our readers, considering the many quarks and perks of hiking in this nation. Some examples? Often while hiking (or simply walking around town) one will walk by mini-calesthenic stations where you can lossen your muscles, get a bit of a stretch and even rest.


The hike, as advertised was only a few hours time committment and provided each of the hikers an enjoyable and productive way in which to spend the first day of their Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) holiday.

Getting There: From Seodaejeon Station hop on bus 201 and ride until you go over the river then debark at the first stop. Head toward the mountainous area (sorry, not good with directions at this point). The trail head is just pass the wooden carvings as seen in the first photo of this post.

Looking Back: Home Videos from South Africa - Part One

Early in July, the Harrington's enjoyed a day of adventure with numerous wild animals from Cheetahs to Monkeys and Birds to Elephants. Readers may remember our articles -- Walking with the Wild Cats and One Stop, Two Great Escapes; the following home videos re-capture these two stories, we our readers will enjoy!

Looking Back: Home Videos from Guatemala

At the end of June, the Harrington's had the honor of meeting their sponsor child, Doris and her family in Guatemala City, Guatemala. You can read the full account of that meeting here:
The Harrington's Get a Close Look at the Work of World Vision

Because the couple continued their travels after Guatemala it has taken us at The Harrington Times some time and patience to get access to these videos straight from the field, offering readers a deeper look into the summer experiences of Mike and Melissa Harrington. Keep you eyes here for the latest home videos and recent stories of the couples first month in South Korea.

Celebrating 3 Years of Togetherness

On September 7th, 2010 the Harrington's celebrated 3 happy years of marriage. The Harrington's like to say that for their 3rd Anniversary they decided a trip to Korea was in order. In truth, the day was what would become a routine day for the Harrington's in their new Korean life. The woke, showered and walked 20 minutes to work. Spent the day teaching adorable Korean children the English language, spent some time on facebook and lesson planning until 4:30 rolled around. With the end of the work day came the task of the week: acquiring a cell phone.

So, along with Mike's co-teacher, the Harrington's made their way to a couple of shops and after an hour and a half or so they each had a working cell phone that functions in English. Hungry and ready to celebrate their anniversary, the Harrington's hopped over to Indy, a popular Indian restaruarnt in Daejeon and sat down for some delicious Naan, Curries, Tea and Pomegranate Lassi. Following their amazingly delicious meal the couple returned home to enjoy a bottle of wine and some 'fancy' cheese under the Wyoming flag in their living/dining room in South Korea.

Here's to another wonderful year of togetherness!