Saturday began with the pursuit of finding Geumjeong Park to hike the mountain and find Beomeosa Temple. There is a cable car that takes hikers up to the start of the mountain near the South Gate (there are four “gates” near the fortress walls.) We were unable to find the cable car so we decided to hike up to the South Gate instead. A group of hikers watched us begin the climb, probably wondering why the heck we were climbing when we could get a 15-min ride up. The climb up to the “start” took about 45 minutes. We got lost a couple times but found a group of hikers and creepily walked behind them up to the top. We hiked from South Gate, neat East Gate, then walked through a small village on the way to the North Gate (the closest to Beomeosa Temple.) On the way, we ate lunch in a small outdoor restaurant/tent on the mountain. It was delicious and a great atmosphere of hikers taking a relaxing break away from the wind and cold. Upon arrival at Beomeosa Temple, the hikers mixed in with the tourists who drove up from the town to visit the temple.
Saturday evening we stayed in Hauendae and received some help from locals in finding a nice jimjilbang. I highly recommend Vesta Sauna if ever visiting Haeundae. The price was cheap and with a restaurant, small bar, numerous saunas, separate women’s only sleeping room, and computers/TV’s… it was a wonderful experience. And they were very friendly and helpful with us foreigners. The best part of the ladies-only sleeping room was observing the groups of women. On one side of the room, there was a group of younger women all laying down and chatting. On the other side was a group of older women, stretching and doing different yoga-type poses. Almost as if they were showing off to each other and challenging each other. At one point a women who couldn’t have been much younger than 70, was doing a headstand against the wall- it was quite impressive! But all the stretching was bound to work something out and soon, a fairly aggressive gaseous sound was heard through out the room followed by the giggles of the group of older women. Good times had by all!
Our goal on Sunday was to watch the sunrise on Haeundae Beach so we woke at 6am, showered and walked the 15 min to the beach. It was cold but numerous other folks had the same idea, so the beach was quickly scattered with photographers, families and young people still out from the night before. Post-sunrise we quickly headed for coffee then boarded the subway for another Busan adventure.
Our first stop was the United Nationals Memorial Cemetery in Korea (UNMCK) off the Daeyeon subway stop. The cemetery, statues, and memorabilia halls were impressive and the security was very serious about being quiet. (There were signs everywhere about being silent.) On the Memorial Wall, Pennsylvania had four walls of names of fallen soldiers and the United States had almost the entire structure. It was pretty shocking. We arrived shortly before 10am which was just in time for the UN flag raising ceremony. After walking around the UNMCK, we headed back to downtown Busan for coffee at Holly's Coffee and a movie (Avatar!!) The amazing weekend ended with a twist. We found a jimjilbang close to the subway station (our early morning train ticket meant we wanted to find a place somewhat close by). It was called Bally Aqua Land (in English!) so we were pretty confident they were foreigner-friendly. We were wrong. Immediately after entering, the receptionist quickly told us, "only Koreans here!" Back to Vesta we went... old faithful.
Thanks Busan for the memories, see you again soon.
(Pictures for the Busan stories/posts part 1 & part 2)
Christmas morning I awoke to the sounds of footsteps above. In my mind I envisioned Santa and the helpful reindeer (Rudolph with his frostbitten nose) bringing beautifully wrapped packages to my house. Then I opened my eyes and quickly realized the rhythmic pounding from upstairs was my neighbors giving each other early morning Christmas presents. I glanced under my spirited little tree and saw that Santa had been unable to locate my apartment in Korea (the buildings DO all look alike). But on a better note, it was Busan time and I was on a schedule. No time to sulk… off to southern Korea.
My traveling partner and I took the high-speed KTX from Yongsan (in Seoul) to Busan. We had one quick transfer and we were there in a little more than 3 hrs. During the stops/transfers on the way down, the train stopped for maybe 2 minutes tops. They stopped, you jumped off or on, and it started up again. If you missed your stop or were dilly-dallying too much, you were SOL until the next stop.
On another note, not once were our tickets checked. We spent a little under 50,000w and were never given the satisfaction of presenting our ticket stubs! But I digress…
Upon arrival in Busan, we didn’t miss a beat. We took a bus outside Busan station and headed to our first stop- TaejongdaePark on the southeastern tip of Busan. This was a last minute destination on our tentative itinerary, but looking back, it was one of the best. Walked the entire park, down to the beach, to the lighthouse, saw the different statues and temples. Took lots of pictures and since it was Christmas, the park was overflowing with families. The outfits were at both extremes. Some people were decked out in hiking gear, while others were dressed to the nines and walking the park in heels.
After the grand tour of TaejongdaePark, we took a bus to the Tagalchi Fish Market. Well, we took a bus almost to the fish market, but traffic wasn’t moving, so another passenger told the driver to stop and about 2/3 of the bus riders hopped out and walked the rest of the way downtown. The fish market was incredible. It was a Friday evening, so a lot of the inventory was somewhat low, but the environment was just as colorful.
Walked downtown Busan, lights on all the trees and families taking their Christmas walks. The streets were jam packed and the buzz of the holidays was in the air. Felt great. We picked Big Sugar’s for dinner and enjoyed some pizza, homemade potatoes (chips), and martinis. Post dinner, we walked off the bag of chips we ate, and continued our walking tour of downtown. We jumped right into the mix and entertained many of the locals with our Christmas hats and aggressive picture-taking. From there, we hopped on the subway and headed to PusanNationalUniversity to find our sleeping spot for the evening.
After a very large beer at WA Bar near the university, we began our jimjilbang search. Found a lovely one at a good price. It was close to the Oncheonjang subway stop and conveniently close to the mountain we were planning to climb the following day (although we didn’t know this upon arrival at the sauna.) This particular jimjilbang brought its own adventures when it came to sleeping time. The showers/bathing areas were normal, but the sleeping room was co-ed. I felt very safe, but the sounds old men make in their sleep are sure to bring nightmares for years to come. We grabbed some blankets (toddler-size) and blocks of wood (pillows) and found two spots near the wall, away from everyone. I put in my earplugs and readied for dreamland. At 4:30am I started dreaming that I was being kicked in my leg, behind my knee. It didn’t stop and eventually I shook awake realizing I was actually being kicked in the leg. I looked up to see a man shoo’ing me away. Apparently I was sleeping too close to he and his wife’s “area”… sorry buddy, but this place was packed and it wasn’t like I was trying to move in on your romantic evening. Needless to say, I grabbed my stuff and jumped over my friend to sleep on the other side. Oh, and through out the night, there was a drunk man sitting by himself in the next room (the “restaurant” part) shouting to himself. He was very angry about something; I’m just not sure what. Perhaps the kicker shoved him away too.
Saturday we did an INCREDIBLE 8-hr hike… will write more soon. Baby steps for this one.. it was a wild weekend to say the least.
It's hard to believe it's Christmas Eve... just got home from work and am officially starting my vacation (10 full days!) My Christmas Eve dinner consists of a glass of wine (compliments of Chile) and a bowl of cereal. Unfortunately, I didn't portion out the cereal and milk appropriately, so while my cereal box is still good for another bowl, the milk's all used up. This particular holiday bowl is cereal with a splash of milk.
KKW Christmas festivities:
There isn't much Christmas hype around Yeonsu (aside from the dance party Christmas Music Baskin Robbins blasts 24/7). But, today my school had our "Christmas party." Through out the day, we had three different Golden Bell Word Contests (three different levels). For the first couple of rounds, my supervisor said the definitions in Korean and they had to write the English word. For the harder rounds, that's when I came in. They all groaned because they knew it would be more difficult, but they survived. We dined on tteokbokki and bags of different "chips." I think I ate tteokbokki on and off for 7 hrs. It was amazing.
Not sure if Santa will be able to find my place this year... all the apartment buildings tend to look alike and the fog/smog can be thick. Hopefully, Rudolph will help him out. (yep, I went there. made Rudolph red... all this teaching is starting to get to me... I'm corny enough as it is!)
For Christmas, I'll be traveling with a friend to Busan. It's the second largest city in South Korea and is a 5-hr bus ride from Incheon. We're splurging, however, and taking the KTX, so our trip will only be about 2 1/2 hours. Busan is a port-city on the southeastern tip of the peninsula. Haeundae Beach is a popular tourist destination- but we'll only be stopping there to put our feet in the Sea of Japan. We'll arrive Friday around noon and stay until Monday morning. We're going to be wingin' it this weekend... have some key points of interest we would like to hit, but overall, the weekend will be exploring. December has been, as it is for most people, an expensive month. So, Busan on a Budget is the theme for the weekend... details upon return.
Sunday a group of us took the bus to Suwon to meet my aunt's cousin. Initially, the trip was going to be a hike of Mt. Gwangkyo, but that particular day was the first official snowfall of the season; both the roads and mountains were dangerous. We opted instead to visit Hwaseong Fortress and Hwaseong Haenggung (pictures). While in Hwaseong Haenggung, we took lots of pictures and were very touristy. We even enjoyed playing some of the traditional folk play (seesawing, yut, and tuho).
It was an unexpected trip that turned into one of the best days I've had in Korea (seems that's how it always happens)... We were able to see an amazing restoration of a palace and walk the 2-3 hour hike along the fortress walls around the city.
The day was crisp and with the snow falling, it was a beautiful experience. By mid-afternoon, the sun was out and we were enjoying a snack of tangerines and sipping on yuja cha.
The bus ride back was quiet. There seemed to be a silent agreement between the five of us, that we had just had a pretty wonderful day. It was filled with peaceful walking, fresh, crisp air, and the surreal experience of walking along a fortress wall while seeing the modern city of Suwon on the other side. A little slice of heaven on 12.20.09.
Santacon 2009 in Seoul was a huge success. Santarchy/Santacon started in San Francisco, CA in '94 and has since become a worldwide event. The Santa 'parade' was yesterday, Saturday 12/13. We didn't hear about the Seoul extravangaza until almost too late. Thankfully, one of the teachers was on top of everything and went out and found Santa suits just in the nick of time. This year's designated route was in Hongdae and it was wonderful. The organizers did a great job of keeping everyone informed and moving the mob from bar to bar. It was essentially a pub crawl with a hundred+ Santas.
I think overall we were a pretty entertaining group to watch march down the street. Many people brought candy and goodies to pass out to random pedestrians (and cab drivers) which lightened the mood a bit for anyone who was annoyed by the red mob.
As the dancing and festivities carried on until almost 6 a.m. (noticing a pattern in Hongdae outings??), we decided to experience a jimjilbang, a traditional Korean bath house. It was quite the experience and I highly recommend it. We found one in Itaewon and a nice women showed us where to go. When we arrived we were each given a locker key, a towel, and a pair of shorts and a t-shirt (bright orange). We then embraced the moment! We tried the cold bath, the warm bath, and the hot bath. Pretty sure we both lost a few layers of skin in the hot bath- they weren't lying, it truly was crazy hot. The saunas were both really hot as well, didn't last very long in those. After shocking our bodies with the multitude of temperatures, we donned our orange 'jumpsuits' (it felt a bit like prison) and went to the upstairs, sleeping room. Small mats are provided and we chose spots on the floor to rest for a short while. The heated floors were amazing, but with the orange get ups, looking around at a bunch of women sleeping in a big room on the floor, it was a bit like a really luxurious prison. At that time of night, there were many people sleeping and not many women in the bath/sauna part of the jimjilbang. Thankfully, the experienced women showed us the ropes (you must shower before entering and whenever you switch tubs, which we goofed on that one and were quickly corrected).
Overall, Dec 12th was a night of firsts and pretty outrageous moments. Looking around at a room filled with Santas, marching from bar to bar waving at all the spectators, then sitting in a public bath house... if you would have asked me last year where I'd be spending my holiday season 2009, I never would have guessed it would be here, drinking in Seoul dressed as Santa, then finishing the night in a sauna sitting in my birthday suit between a Korean woman and an Irish woman.
After a fun night out in Hongdae (Seoul) on Saturday, I went to Lotte World to go ice skating with my cousin, Kelly (English name). It was a blast! Lotte World is like a department store kicked up a million notches. In the center is the ice rink (it's huge... and on a Sunday afternoon, it was packed although this picture doesn't do it justice), and on the third floor is somewhat of an "amusement park."
There were kids, adults and elderly people all skating and falling all over the place. It was hilarious. In the center of the rink there were lessons going on and some of the young girls were amazing figure skaters.
While it was quite a hike to get to, it was definitely worth it and a fun winter activity. Oh, and right after we got there, there was a show on the ice with a marching band and a woman sang Christmas songs. Happy Christmas Seoul!
I haven't updated this blog recently (except for the pictures) because I've been just living my day-to-day life here in Korea. I am falling in love with the neighborhood of Yeonsu and the people who live and work here. It is an amazing place to live. The restaurants and shops are amazing and everything is within walking distance. I'll go out on a limb here, but for the first time in a long time I'm feeling very comfortable where I'm at. The post-college transitional period is weird for just about everyone and I know many people have felt the uneasiness that goes hand-in-hand with a diploma. While being in Happy Valley and then Erie, I couldn't shake the feeling. I was always antsy and needing to be doing something, going somewhere. I can now say with all honesty, that, at least in this minute, I am content and happy in my situation. Even the daily commute to and from work is a pleasurable one. I've gotten into a great brunch/coffee routine with a friend who works similar hours. There's a coffee shop in Yeonsu called, Whoever, that is a favorite among foreigners and Koreans. The seemingly hundreds of restaurants stacked on each other and down every alley are all quirky in their own way. They all have their special unique feel and the price is always pleasantly low :)
On a quick side note- I was thinking today on my walk home from work about living simply. I saw a man at a car repair shop earlier today and thought, "Wow am I glad I don't have to deal with that." I don't have a car. I don't have a bike. I only have my two legs and a T Money card for public transportation, and I would have it no other way. Yes, having a bicycle would be wonderful and a lot quicker traveling about, but the convenience of being able to just walk everywhere is awesome; not to mention it's free exercise!
So, the gist of this entry is, I'm happy. I'm still uncertain if teaching is my calling for life, but at least for the next 10 1/2 months, I'll be embracing every moment of it.
A Thanksgiving feast!! 14 of us gathered together for yummy food and drinks... after dinner we played a wonderful game of Charades. More pics here: Fall Yeonsu and Thanksgiving pictures!
The charades wasn't competitive AT ALL (embrace the sarcasm.)
On the walk home I came across this lovely vandalism... I think it is supposed to be a declaration of love (I *Heart* U)... better luck next time!
Recycling in Korea is more than just a "feel good" act, it can cost you money. Many foreigners have been fined for throwing away recycleables. On that note, I'm glad my "family" helped me move in and could give me the heads up about the system. First, there are specific garbage bags for city neighborhoods... they have tons of writing on them and even bar codes! The smaller ones are a little less than a dollar a piece, which initially I thought was expensive for a garbage bag. Then I realized that with all the recycling, a single person living alone doesn't accumulate much waste. My apartment complex has large containers for glass, paper, styrofoam, plastic bottles/containers, plastic bags, cans, etc. Even specific containers for food waste. So, I'm proud to announce that after being here for 6 weeks I have just thrown out my first garbage bag- and it wasn't even completely full! It's a small garbage bag as well... I'm amazed at how much waste is saved by this recycling program here. Well done Korea!
1) Instead of wasting money on a gym membership and expensive diet food, I have a new plan. Move to a foreign country, preferably S Korea, live in a cockroach-inhabited apartment, and for the first two weeks walk everywhere and eat mainly rice. Lose 10 pounds in 1 month. Guaranteed. Even if you are the type of person who loves food, the image of cockroaches in your kitchen will curb your appetite for at least a few weeks.
2) We've been playing Hangman a lot and the cutest thing happened today in my kindergarten class. "D" likes to tell the other two students his word, then still make them guess letter by letter. He whispers the answer to them but won't allow them to guess the full word. And the funniest thing is, the other students are OK with it.
Well it happened, I had my first crying student today in class. I just wish it would have been one of the misbehaving ones and not my little one.
To backtrack- my school has no disciplinarian. None. The director and my supervisor are both so nice to all the students. It’s a business after all, so they want the students to return. So while other foreign teachers have the luxury of threatening to send their students to the Director, I have no such person. This week I’ve had to crack the whip (not literally, although they do hit middle school and high school-aged students in most schools.) Phones are being taken away, kids are sitting in corners, this foreign teacher is not taking any more shit. To clarify, I am using stickers and positive reinforcement as well for the little ones. This works most of the time.
Last week was the first day of a new “special kindergarten speaking class.” It’s a combined class of all the kindergarten sections. It was chaos to say the least. My youngest student was sitting there sweating because of how crazy the older boys were acting. I felt so bad for her and tried to calm her down. This week, I was more prepared. Multiple coloring and writing activities and to my amazement, they were wonderfully behaved. They were even behaving well enough for us to enjoy a friendly game of Bingo. Things were going well until I looked over and saw my poor little 5-yr old sobbing. She was being quiet, but she was definitely crying and repeatedly wiping the tears away from her eyes. I didn’t know what had happened! I walked over and knelt down trying to figure out what had happened. Unfortunately, she can barely tell me all the colors in English let alone explain to me why she was so upset. After hugging her and calming her down, the class finished out smoothly (looking forward to a wonderful call from her parents next week I’m sure.)
So, now it’s Friday night. Other teachers are meeting up at the bars ready for a night out, but not this gal. I teach at 10am tomorrow and spending all Friday with kindergarteners has me worn out. Is it wrong that I keep a bottle of wine and bottle opener at my computer desk and not in my kitchen? That’s what I thought. Cheers!
For the Leonid Meteor Shower on November 17 (the best viewing hours for Korea were scheduled for pre-dawn November 18th), a group of us foreign teachers went on a midnight hike of Mt. Cheongryang. It's a small "mountain" right in Yeonsu with a wonderful observatory structure at the top. Armed with blankets, hot tea, flashlights, and cameras we were prepared for a show. One teacher even brought yummy sweet potatoes. At the observatory there is an amazing view of newSongdo.
We misjudged the timing of the show and arrived at the observatory a little before 1am. We huddled together and got ready. And waited. And waited. Every 20 min or so, someone would "swear they saw one." It was terribly cold and windy at the top of the mountain so we started singing 80's songs and TV theme songs. Turns out, the meteor shower just wanted a soundtrack. While singing Fresh Prince, Madonna, Family Matters, Crystal Waters, and The Pretenders, our group saw about 5 decent meteors and at least 10 more small, quick ones. Granted we were up there for a little more than 2 hours, but it was worth it. Nothing like lacing up new hiking boots, meeting up with a bunch of people you barely know, climbing to the top of a mountain and singing one-hit-wonders. With extremities becoming numb and some of the teachers having to work in the morning, we called it quits around 3am.
It's a rare condition, this day and age,
to read any good news on the newspaper page.
Love and tradition of the grand design,
some people say it's even harder to find.
Well then there must be some magic clue inside these tearful walls
Cause all I see is a tower of dreams
real love burstin' out of every seam.
As days go by,
we're gonna fill our house with happiness.
The moon may cry,
we're gonna smother the blues with tenderness.
When days go by,
there's room for you,
room for me,
for gentle hearts an opportunity.
As days go by, it's the bigger love of the family.
Ventured into Itaewon on Sunday. There is a U.S. Army base near there so it's known for being a very foreigner-friendly area. It was weird walking around hearing English instead of Korean. There were many tourist-y type shops and underground markets. Like Bupyeong, practically anything you can imagine was there, from jewelry to socks, tights, warm blankets, sports jerseys, wall hangings, etc, etc. I even did the bigtime tourist move and had my name painted on paper.
There were many many westerners walking about so it's a great location for an English book store! What the Book? is a wonderful book store filled with new and used books of all kinds. Late lunch was at Los Amigos, a Mexican restaurant, and it was delicious to say the least.
On Saturday, three of us ventured into Bupyeong's Underground Market... woah! It was filled with small "stores" or booths of everything and anything you could imagine. Every few shops there was another shore store with boots and shoes, mainly tiny sizes. We quickly realized that many of the shoe places had similar shoes but the prices were slightly different. It was amazing, and incredibly overwhelming, to see all the shoes. I came away from the outing with a pair of brown boots- but I easily could have come home with at least a few dozen pair. I learned my Korean shoe size is roughly a 245, which is a lot bigger than the average Korean woman's. There were shops with accessories galore and clothing shops as well. No trying on clothes! A friend went to slip on an over-sized cardigan and was quickly chastised by the shop woman. Bought a pair of brown shorts (to wear with tights) and gauged the size by putting them up to my hips.. bought a size L to be safe. The women are tiny tiny tiny over here and the sizes reflect that.
After Bupyeong, a few of us girls had dinner, drank wine and chatted all evening at a friend's apartment. We found a bottle of wine for 1,700 won (about $1.50) and had to buy it. Tasted like sugary medicine. Needless to say, we stuck with the better wine for the evening. Even found a giftbox with two small bottles of Korean wine and a can of Tuna! We figured after two bottles of Korean wine, just about anything would taste good as a snack.
On Saturday, I went to a bar, "Old Clock,"... filled with older Korean men sipping whiskey. The four of us women sat in a booth and ordered a bottle of J&B. We bonded while American records played in the background. Wonderful evening...
The next day, the same group of us went into Seoul for some "soul shopping" (I couldn't resist)... found a great jacket for 14,000 won and a huge bag/purse for 10,000. Rounded out the girl's weekend with a trip to the cinema to see The Time Traveler's Wife. I won't go into detail, but, as expected, we all cried during the second half of the film. It was a great flick.
“Too much of anything is bad, but too much of good whiskey is barely enough.” -Mark Twain
“What an odd thing tourism is. You fly off to a strange land, eagerly abandoning all the comforts of home, and then expend vast quantities of time and money in a largely futile attempt to recapture the comforts that you wouldn't have lost if you hadn't left home in the first place.” -Bill Bryson
I've been thinking a lot about the "comforts of home" that I'm missing while being here. I started this, after a new friend told me about a person she had met recently who was complaining about their new apartment in Korea. This person, she said, complained that the shower did not have a bathtub or enclosing walls (most don't in Korea). This person said they were not going to give up their "standard of living" while being in Korea. I was amazed. They sought out a teaching position IN KOREA, agreed to a year abroad, an experience away from home, but yet they want all of the comforts of home. While there are definitely certain things I would like not to live without, warm water, a lock on my door, a bug-free living space, and heat in the winter, for example, there are many unsaid things that come with a contract teaching abroad. You're signing on for the experience. It has taken a while for me to figure out the washing machine (liquid fabric softener is key) and I'm used to not seeing, or hearing, any English for the majority of my day. If I find myself frustrated, I remind myself, if I wanted all the comforts of home, I would've stayed there. Simple as that. It's a personal test. And while some victories might seem minute to most, while living abroad, alone, they are incredible personal triumphs.
I think about not having a dryer and then I realize how much energy I'm saving by line-drying. Looking at pictures on the new iron to see how it works and being thankful I've been ironing for a good 10 years and irons are pretty universal. And having a shower with no surrounding walls or tub, well, it's still a shower. It has hot water, the water goes down the drain and I feel clean afterward. It gets the job done. Period.
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On a separate note- I recently found a blessing/curse only a block away from my apartment. Tous Les Jours is an amazing bakery and very cheap (at least it is here). While one of my goals in coming to Korea is to learn to cook (Chase summed it up perfectly when he said, "You don't cook."), I came up against a roadblock when my first real kitchen was crawling with roaches. Quite the deterent when thinking about cooking yummy homemade meals. So while my kitchen is being cleaned daily (and my mind, of the images), hopefully in the next few weeks I will start to bring food home and begin my culinary adventure. In the meantime, Tous Les Jours will be my daily stop.
It's been a few days since I've written anything- first reason, I "think" I had a mild case of swine flu. I had all the symptoms, and after two days of working WITH the symptoms, my boss took me to the doctor. While, he didn't test me for H1N1, because of the symptoms and with how many westerners had it, he gave me a prescription anyway. The "prescription" consisted of six small bags (3 doses x 2 days) filled with multiple pills of all shapes and colors. I didn't ask questions. After completing the first day, I was already feeling better. Maybe it was mental and the pills were just placebos, but either way, they worked! Yay for Korean medical clinics! After my appointment, my boss took me to her apt (which is very nice!) and had her "helper" make me food then she instructed me to, "take a rest." Of course, I was expected to be at school to teach by 3:25pm... But, when it came down to it, my boss was very sympathetic. The parents have been upset because there were many classes canceled with the absence of a foreign teacher (the previous one left in August), so the school would get a lot of angry calls if my classes were canceled. I toughed it out and now it's Friday night! I successfully worked through the flu... or whatever sickness I had.
Today was payday- my first, official, post-graduate, full-time job, pay day. This is a big deal folks. But since I don't have a bank account yet, my boss gave me my pay check in cash. Shady. And I liked it. After work to E Mart and my first official shopping trip, post first official pay check (sort of) consisted of the essentials:
Iron
Hair Blowdryer
Toilet Bowl Cleaner
Bottle of Wine
Hangers
4 Pack of Hoegaarden (like I said, the essentials)
Clothes Hamper (which doesn't match any of my furniture, sorry Dyl, I know it would bug you)
I've officially been here for more than 2 weeks and with the bug problem under control, I can finally start to settle in to my new home for the next year. I'm still enjoying teaching my classes, they are challenging and rewarding (cliche but so darn true) and every week I'm getting more comfortable being the "teacher." I've started disciplining more... they aren't getting anything by the foreign teacher anymore! But I've also started giving out more rewards, like candy. The little ones are adorable and I want to bring them all back with me to the States. Yesterday, one of the little ones brought me cookies! To be polite I shared them with the other teachers but not before taking the best two for myself ;)
First, the Halloween party at school was great! We had a "Store" where the kids could spend KKW dollars to buy little toys. They practiced their English by asking, "How much is this?" and things like that. We also had a "Movie Theatre" and showed the film, Up!. It was a great flick. Kind of sad but overall an awesome movie. The kids could buy food at the movie theatre as well; chips, pop, corn dogs, and ddeokbokki. The snacks and movie were a huge success.
Second, it's been a lazy lazy Sunday (recovery-mode). We ventured into Seoul for Halloween festivities. Started in the eastern part of Seoul at a friend's apt for a Halloween party (lots of yummy Korean and western foods). Then went to the Funky Dunky (western-type bar) for some ridiculous dancing at 9pm. A teacher in our group was dressed as Jack Sparrow and he won the costume contest- a bottle of JB 12-yr.
From there, our group took cabs to Hongik- a very popular area and home of Hongik University. Tons of bars and foreign teachers dressed up for Halloween. To put it bluntly, it was a shitshow. Felt like Happy Valley, football weekend, night game. We went to Club FF for live bands (playing from 10pm-5am) and free booze from 11pm-midnight! 10,000 won to get in but free booze for an hour. Sweet deal. The choices were vodka & OJ, gin & tonic, or rum & coke. The drinks were served in small paper cups and the liquor was pretty cheap, so the best method was to drink quickly- one person in our group was drinking slowly and attempting to "savor" the beverage... that method didn't last very long.
The bands were GREAT! There was a Michael Jackson cover band who was phenomenal and the crowd was loving it. Costumes ranged from giant pumpkins, to the Clue characters, to Jesus Christ, to a White Board. Very eclectic group. Overall, it was a fun Halloween... I'm still meeting tons of new people. Last night was a bit of an overload being surrounded by so many foreigners. It felt a little like being at a frat party at PSU. It was a good experience but I'm not in a rush to go back into a crowded bar any time soon.
I think the plan for next weekend is taking advantage of the awesome hiking Korea has to offer.
Duster. The word seems innocent enough. UNTIL you are a newbie to the area and you're at Mad Max. In which case, it involves three shots of liquor and three shots of beer (including Guinness). Also known as The Gus Train; Gus is the owner's son. Yikes.
Last night (Friday) my work had a Welcoming Party. The owner of my school took all the teachers out to dinner, Korean BBQ. I thought I was pretty flexible. But I had a difficult time sitting crossed legged for an extended period. I'll need to practice. After dinner, we went to sing Karaoke. My supervisor used to be a professional opera singer. He lived in Germany for 10 years singing and after last night, I know why. His voice is amazing. It was great fun and all the teachers, myself included, took turns singing. Everyone was singing semi-serious songs, so I tried to put some fun into the room. I sang "Good Bye Earl" by the Dixie Chicks and "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin haha.
After karaoke, I met up with some western teachers at Mad Max. That's when the Duster sealed my fate. I only took two shots of liquor and two shots of beer. There were thirsty people at my table who were happy to take the other shots for me.
Turns out the construction continues on Saturdays. Ibuprofen please.
Today was a very full day. First, I was told that I am responsible for all of the writing and speaking classes for all of the students at KKW. Sweet. Unfortunately, this afternoon while making Halloween masks with the little ones, I caught one of the girls saying "Yep!" "Yep Yep Yep!" In an effort to make them laugh I did the same thing, "Yep! Yep yep yep yep!" They were laughing but before I knew it, they were all saying, "Yep." Uh Oh. So while trying to continue the funny game, I had to work a small lesson in the correct way to answer a question is, yes, NOT, yep.
Second, I'm thoroughly enjoying the instant coffee mixes my school has. It's a single serving powder packet with coffee, sugar, and cream all mixed in. Just add hot water and it's amazing.
Third, we discussed the mandatory military service for korean men. I was very impressed when one high school girl said, "Women have the children, and do everything. It's the least boys can do. They don't do anything." She then looked up the word for sanitary napkin and said that with all that women have to deal with, it's the least they can do. I was very impressed with two things: her English in being able to communicate about such a personal issue, and two, being so ready to give a strong opinion on the issue. Pretty awesome discussion.
Fourth, many of the local elementary and middle schools are closed this week because of the H1N1 (also known as, "the new plu"). My students have all had to write their thoughts on this and what they would do if they were principal of a school. It's split about 50-50 with whether or not closing school for a week is a good idea.
Last- Halloween Party tomorrow!!! Yippeee. We're having a Halloween party for the younger/elementary students. We'll be decorating the school, having a small "market" for the kids to do some "shopping" (which I'll be in charge of), and watching the film, Up! They gave me a black cat mask to wear tomorrow, but from what I've gathered so far, I think I'm the only teacher who is wearing any sort of costume. Interesting...
Oh, sidenote- walked by the local McDonald's today and there was a kid in a hospital gown, attached to an IV, smoking a cigarette. Korea is like the meca for people-watching.
Here's my kitchen and bathroom... once I get "settled in" I will post some better pics. The full size fridge is great and once I really scrub the cabinets, etc it's not a bad size space to cook. There is a small gap, on the left side, between the counter and the wall- any ideas of what to put there? It's kind of nasty right now... As for the bathroom, it's what it is. Toilet, sink, shower (sort of)... does the job!
This is the view out of my front door. All of the apartment doors are exterior and in the middle of the apt complex is a playground. I've noticed most apt complexes have some variation of a playground and sitting areas (wooden gazebos with benches). The kids in Korea are so busy with school and activities that I have only seen kids playing on the weekend. But I'm also not here from 2-10 every day, so what do I know?
Last night I went to Mad Max, a western-style bar liked by foreign teachers in the area. As soon as I walked in it was reverse culture shock. After going a week without seeing any foreigners, I was amazed at twenty foreign teachers all in one place. The bar was fun and it was nice to chat with other people in similiar situations, and while everyone had their stories, so far no one has encountered the cockroach/bed bug combo during the first week. I like to think of myself as a pioneer in dealing with high stress situations (flying for 18 years then given an infested living space... I'm doing my part for science). Overall, it was great to meet some other teachers in my area and I'm looking forward to more outings and stories.
Also, I've realized that no matter what time I go to bed at night (2am, 3am, 4am), the construction across the street always starts at 7am. And unfortunately it appears to be the framework for a very large structure, so this could be months. Ahhh. deep breaths!
So today I was feeling very Michelle Pfeiffer-esque. "There are no victims in this classroom!" Ahh, Dangerous Minds... a classic. While my older students are by no means troubled, in gangs, or bringing weapons to the classroom, they are staring at me with blank faces and even more frequently messing around on their cell phones. They appear to be listening but I have absolutely no idea if they are processing anything. Being that I'm the only foreign teacher at the Institute, I'm responsible for all discussion-based classes and most writing classes. Discussion classes are awesome when students participate freely. They are downright painful when the only reaction I get from the students are yawns. But I"ll focus on the positives:
I learned some interesting things in two of my older discussion classes tonight. Pepero Day is November 11! According to wikipedia, it's similiar to Valentine's Day where Pepero (a tall, thin, cookie) are bought in bulk and given to special people in your life. My students however said the CEO of Pepero made up the special day because they wanted to sell more (they're brilliant and learning at a young age the power of marketing).
Also, when we discussed music (in a small class of three teenage boys), they informed me that a very rich politician who ran in the Presidential election two years ago, now has albums out. He has apparently decided that politics weren't for him but that making music is his passion (every student I brought this up to, laughed and said the man is crazy!) One of my students has a BIG crush on a girl from the popular group, Girl's Generation.
On a side note- it finally happened today. I knew it was going to happen sooner or later, but today was the day. I got McDonald's for lunch. I know I know. What the heck was I thinking. I was in E Mart buying more bug killing chemicals (and probably many of my brain cells as well) and I saw them, the Golden Arches. Couldn't resist. Plus they had mini McFlurries for 1,700 won. Oh, and the school secretary brought in fresh bread, peanut butter and strawberry jam for a snack for the teachers. It was western food like woah today.
My Korean family is wonderful! My cousin In June (not pictured) met me at my apt and we took the subway in Seoul to meet up with my Aunt Kum's sister and brother (and her brother's daughter... all pictured).
We went to a Chinese restaurant (first meal in Korea, go figure) and consumed lots of soju. I'm convinced this 68 yr-old woman can drink anyone under the table. She also did not stop speaking the entire night and when I complimented her ring, she tried to give it to me. I had my cousin (the 13 yr-old) sneak it back into her purse. After the soju we went to my relative's restaurant. It's a great, somewhat western-style place with booths as seating. They specialize in chicken dishes and I'm pumped to go back. After kicking back a couple beers (Cass) we headed next door to the Noreabong (small karaoke rooms) for more beers and lots of Korean and English singing. The next day, In June and his family took me back to my area to buy a cell phone (!!!) and pick up any odds and ends I needed for my apt.
Sunday and Monday night I slept at my Canadian friend Jana's. I was fearing a bed bug issue at my apt, and she graciously allowed me to crash at her place. Insta-friend is basically what happened and I am so thankful. It took about an hr to get to her place from mine, but well worth it for the clean apt and good chats. We had a pizza party the first night (Hawaiian... 5,900 won for a large!) We are heading to Seoul on Saturday to celebrate halloween (costumes via the dollar store) and party with some of Jana's buddies.
(Also, typed previously but was only able to post today)
Day two/first teaching day
So the battle continues, although I think I’ve convinced the little buggers that I won’t be cooking any yummy food for them to munch on and they should just be on their way.
I spent the day wandering through Yeonsu- found some neat areas that I would like to visit again when I get settled in. found the bars!! Also wandered into multiple stores looking for a phone card so I could use the phone booth. The booths have KT written on them so when I spotted a building with those exact letters I thought I hit a jackpot. 3 out of the four women working didn’t speak English, then they told me they don’t sell the cards. The booths don’t have any place for money, only a card. Finally the English-speaking employee said they had an old one they could sell me. Pulled out of a random drawer, 10,000 won. I’ve been able to use it to call home and Chase for a decent amount of time so it turned out to be a great deal.
I’ve been living off of breakfast bars since I got here... after seeing the roach fest 2k9 I lost my appetite.
Started teaching today! I'm the sole foreign teacher at Kim Kyoung Won Institute!
I took my list of complaints to the school and my korean “uncle”, who looks like he could be the head of the Korean mob, called and complained to the school (aka bitched them out and probably put a hit on their future offspring). The classes are only 40-50 min so they go fairly quick and it’s all levels which is fun. My first class was two 5-yr olds and my last class was three 15-yr olds. Enjoyed them all. It’s going to be a lot of work adapting different teaching methods for each age level.
It’s a Tylenol pm sort of night. Catch ya on the flip side.
(I typed this the first night, but just today got internet in my place to post it)
Day 1= the first 48
12:53AM, Thurs Oct 21
I’m in the middle of a battle between who lives in this apartment. Me or the extended cockroach family. I guess because my extended relatives came to visit they also felt it necessary to have a family reunion.
I’m not quite sure how I’m going to sleep tonight, but between the large amounts of Raid that I’ve used during the battle and my lack of sleep, I will pass out or OD on the fumes. Whichever comes first is fine with me as long as I don’t wake up kissing a roach.
To backtrack-
Flight from pitt-san fran was great. I sat in between an elderly German couple and when I asked the woman if she would like to switch seats so that she could sit next to her husband she said, ‘no we see enough of each other” haha the couple is easily in their 70’s and super active. Traveling all over the world, they currently live in Lake Tahoe, going skiing and hiking. Truly inspirational ppl. They both waved huge good byes to me when we parted ways in cali… even though I didn’t really know them, I felt the urge to hug them and get all their contact info. But I didn’t.
Flight part 2- san fran to incheon/seoul. 12 hours, give or take. Sat next to an elderly Korean man who didn’t speak a lick of English and a woman in her mid-thirties, a career counselor for the us army. We were both excited to be living in korea for a year so through out the flight we practiced the few phrases we knew, and briefed each other on what Korean customs we should be aware of. The woman next to her was a Korean woman in her 50’s and she was very excited to talk to us. The only movies were: night at the museum 2, something about a train/hostage situation 123, and transformers 2. I watched all three. Twice.
I was picked up at the airport by my Korean brother. He worked for the recruiting company, but he looked and dressed like my real life brother, Dylan. He was a couple of minutes late but was still nonetheless excited to show me the sign that said “Welcome Taylor K Baker” and the map he drew for me which showed were my apt and school are and what is surrounding them. Very thoughtful. He drove me to the school but not before telling me that my picture was bleh, and that I was more beautiful in person. Everyone at the school said the same- after 20 some hours of traveling that was the best thing I could have heard.
My extended relatives (kum’s brother and his daughter, and kum’s nephew) met me at the language institute/hagwon. We sat there for a while then the five of us, including my manager/the counselor at the academy, walked to my apt. that’s what shit went down. The apartment is fine in size but I’m used to state college apts where the landlords suck ya dry if you don’t clean before you leave. Who knows when the last person left, but they did make sure to leave clothes hanging in the closet, various food items, dirty dishes in the sink, and a whole pack of cockroaches roaming the kitchen and walls. I’ve dealt with roaches before in state college- one of the hazards of apartment-living. But it was the combo of dirty dishes/underwear strewn about and roaches that really made my stomach sink and my mind go, get me the f outta here. But I had to keep my cool, I didn’t want to insult my Korean relatives or new boss so I just simply said, what do we do to get rid of them? Korean dads to the rescue!
We went to e-mart which is basically an even bigger, more expensive wal mart. Kum’s brother offered to buy me whatever I needed which is awesome but then I was worrying about the prices because I didn’t want to take advantage. The bed dressings took about 20 minutes to finally decide. Sheets and comforters are not cheap and I was really trying to avoid giving my new Korean uncle a heart attack at the register. We went back and forth between obnoxious pink sale comforters and decent looking pricier ones. I ended up with a red sheet, blue comforter, and a pillow case with red and blue. The bedding from the previous owner is here, however, I’m going to seriously cleanse everything before even letting it get near my bed. I will use it as extra cushion but none of it will touch my body.
After the extremely lengthy shopping trip (buying things like dish washing liquid and clothes washing liquid are not easy with Korean men.. actually it was quite comical. You could tell neither of them had bought something like that in a while. Either their wives did it, or they used a different method to wash clothes. When we arrived back at my place we went into full roach attack. This is where the universal language of dad as insect killer was most beautiful. Both of them went into attack spraying everywhere and making little poison papers for the suckers to nibble on then die a peaceful death, hopefully not in my apt.
All in all, I didn’t think I would spend my first night with a can of Raid and a roll of toilet paper next to my bed. But things could be worse and I’m just thankful I had family to help me out with everything. I have NO idea what I would have done if I were left to deal with this minor (but totally huge) problem. I’m indebted to all of them for the rest of my life. I did give them shirts, Scotch Whisky, and Hershey’s chocolate so hopefully they aren’t too pissed at me.
6AM
Tossing and turning all night, keep staring at every wall in my place to see if I have a friend crawling around. So far, the bedroom area is doing OK. But even without that concern, I’m having a hard time sleeping. Sooo in typical Taylor behavior, I got up and did what calms me down. I cleaned and organized. Scrubbed the bathroom, hung up and folded clothes. (I’ll tackle the kitchen when I’m more mentally prepared for the disaster that is the kitchen which has been sitting untouched, and uncleaned, for who knows how long).
I received my flight itinerary! I'll be leaving Pittsburgh, PA at 8:30AM on Tuesday, then arriving in Incheon at 5:50PM on Wednesday. I only have one layover in San Francisco which is pretty sweet. Also, total flying time is about 18 hours... not too shabby. Rumor is there is free alcoholic beverages on the flight. Not sure about the meals, but free booze? Enough said. haha
Kum's family has offered to pick me up which is awesome, unfortunately it is already set that the school will be picking me up and taking me to the school and my new apartment. Hopefully I'll meet up with Kum's family soon after I get settled in.
On the packing note- I've found it's very difficult to pack for a year. I'll be pulling out all my extreme packing techniques.
"Waiter! This coffee tastes like mud." "Yes sir, it's fresh ground."
FINALLY, my visa number has been processed. I received an email this morning from the wonderful Johnny Ku with my visa number and official school information, Kim Gyeongwon's English School. I have an appt with the Korean Consulate in NYC tomorrow!
One of the first questions I get about teaching in Korea is, How? How does someone even begin the process to obtain a position teaching?
While I’m waiting for my visa, which seems to be a never-ending process, here’s a bit of info about the recruiting process to teach ESL in South Korea. I originally contacted and started the paperwork with Park English, the recruiting agency four of my friends used to get placement in Korea. They were originally great about getting back to me, but then contact just fizzled out. After numerous attempts to contact the agency, all unanswered, I decided Park English was not going to work for me. Thankfully, I enjoy talking to anyone and everyone about my plans, and so through my uncle I was connected to a woman teaching in Korea right now. She gave me the information for her recruiter, Johnny Ku, and he has been great. I know many people teaching abroad who have used different types of recruiters/placement agencies. I think it's an individual decision, but the best solution seems to come from following your gut with who you work with for this important decision.
I’ve spent the past week in State College waiting for my visa to be processed in Korea before I can officially get my visa from the Korean Consulate in the U.S.
Saw Michael Moore’s new flick, Capitalism: A Love Story. I went mid-afternoon so the theatre was pretty quiet, but overall I thought the documentary was excellent. Disturbing at how incredibly screwed up our financial situation is, not to mention the government/wall street connections that got us to this point. It was an eye-opening film. It’s very easy, especially when visiting a place like HappyValley, to live in a bubble where everything is fine. It’s easy to forget all the layoffs and foreclosures going on all through out the country. Even if someone is against Michael Moore, there is no doubt this film makes a person question the decisions being made by our government- especially financial decisions. http://www.capitalismalovestory.com/
“Take Only Pictures, Leave Only Footprints”
Today’s weather was amazing so I did something that I never did the entire five years I was here; I hiked Mt Nittany. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find a hiking partner, so I embarked solo. It’s an easy climb and everything is well-marked so I wasn’t too nervous to go by myself. I was aware of my surroundings the entire time and kept to the marked paths, plus the entire mountain has cell service which is a comfort.
For those who have climbed Mt Nittany, I took the 6-mile Blue Path. For those who haven’t, DO IT. It’s an easy hike and a PennState tradition. http://www.hikemountnittany.com/
I only came across three couples during the 2 ½ hours I was hiking, but I ran into a thousand chipmunks. I could have sworn there was the same one hiking with me, so I started taking pictures when I could. Definitely not the same chipmunk- although, it would have been a sweet Disney-type moment if I had my own chipmunk to explore with.
All-in-all, having a great time in State College, even going to the PSU game this Saturday. I’ll keep checking my email waiting for the visa and in the mean time I’m going to have fun doing fall activities in a place where autumn is absolutely amazing- Happy Valley.
