Definitely hard to believe 2010 is already coming to an end. It's been an interesting year for me. This time last year I was living in San Antonio, Texas, waiting tables and generally just existing. I certainly had no idea I would be in South Korea just one year later. My time in Texas was short, but a blast while I was there. I got to spend a lot of time with my high school amigo Luke and made two amazing friendships with Brittaney and Danny. It was sad to leave that state but I knew that my time there was bound to be short.
I spent a month back home really slacking off. Zach and Amy's wedding was good, I got to reconnect with a bunch of kids I haven't seen since high school. I spent a good amount of time at Aaron and Sarah's place, but it never seems like enough. Quick drive to Chicago to get my visa. Seemingly the next moment I was at the airport, off to South Korea for a whole year.
The adjustment period was short lived as I started my job two days after I arrived. No training and just an hour's worth of orientation and there I was, standing in front of my first classroom of kids. Now, four months later, I think I've actually got a grip on my teaching and on living in Korea.
I am taking brave stabs at going out alone into the bustling city that is Seoul. I took my longest solo trip last weekend into Hongdae, which is the university part of town. And by university part of town I mean there are usually Korean students and foreign teachers. The teachers like this part of town because the night life is great and it isn't Itaewon. Itaewon is the other place most foreigners hang out, but the military base is there so it's a lot of military guys getting loud and rowdy, not exactly my scene. I was invited via Couchsurfing to a 1960s themed dance party and well, I couldn't pass that up. I was unable to get anyone from Hanam to go with me so I took the journey myself.
It's about an hour fifteen to get to Hongdae from Hanam, by bus and subway. I left around nine thirty Saturday night on the bus into Jamsil (pronounced Jamshill- anytime an i follows an s there is an sh sound) which is the closest part of Seoul to me. Jumped onto the subway there for a ride to the other side of the city. Korean subway stations are always interesting. The bigger ones (like Jamsil) double as subway stations and huge underground shopping centers. So like any Saturday everywhere I went was packed with people and noisy and generally crazy. Made it onto the number 2 line and found a seat, ready for the fourtyfive minute ride. The subway cars are just as amusing as anything else. Girls in ten or eleven centimeter high heels trying to balance as the train starts and stops, old drunk men falling into everyone, exquisitely dressed business men checking out their reflection in the windows. Bluesy Tom Waits playing the perfect soundtrack in my ears, I made it to Hongdae.
Once out of the subway station a new game begins, the one of finding the bar I was supposed to be going to. I had a map (sort of) from the internet but it was vague. I can't exactly read the street signs and get my bearings that way so it's more of a wander around and hope I'm in the right area. I knew I was looking for a place near a park so I took off in that direction. I found the park, and stood transfixed. There was a hoot-hollerin Santa party going on. Really like 500 Santas, boys, girls, Koreans, foreigners, everybody yelling and running and playing strange games. There was a live band and even though it was below freezing outside I don't think even one of them noticed. Later I found out this was an event called Santa Con.
Fifteen minutes of wandering around and being generally amazed with the atmosphere I found my bar, tucked into a back street. I went down ( no bars are street level here, always basement or second level) and was really glad I decided to get out here. It was a little dive bar with a small stage and a great looking dance floor. Two beautiful Korean girls making drinks behind the bar, and one older Korean woman dressed like John Lennon. It was just after 11 at this point and things were just on the verge of getting started. The subways stop running at midnight out here so unless I wanted to take an expensive taxi ride back home (which I didn't) I was in for a long
night at the bar. The bars in Korea don't close so I wasn't worried about being kicked out.
Around midnight the place really got jumping. There were maybe one hundred or one hundred twenty people there, but in a crowded little bar that was more than enough. Motown and Beach Boys and all sorts of great sixties tunes kept us moving all night long. I arrived alone but made plenty of friends as the night wore on. The very best part happened this way- I was dancing and having a good old time, all of the sudden I see next to me a guy dancing with a blue and yellow stocking hat on. The hat has two words, PRIOR LAKE, printed on the side. I stood staring at it for a couple of minutes before I decided I was reading it right. I bounded to the guy and threw my arm around his neck. "Does your hat say Prior Lake?" I yelled in his ear. "Yeah, it does," was his response. "Prior Lake Minnesota???" "Yeah" "Oh my god... I'm from Prior Lake!! ramblerambleramble...." This guy, I have no idea what his name was, absolutely made my night. It was incredible. By five thirty I was completely and utterly worn out. I had danced out most of the booze in my system and switched to water around 5. I could hear my bed calling me from oh so far away and decided it was time to journey on home.
Subway stations at six in the morning are quite the sight to behold. I'm sure they look quite different during the week, but on weekends the only souls are the worn out twenty-somethings. Slumped over on benches and against the walls ranging from completely drunk to stone sober, but everyone utterly tired. Girls sleeping in their boyfriend's laps, everyone trying to stay awake long enough to make it onto the train when it comes. I dozed on the ride back to Jamsil, walked out into the now abandoned station, and up to the surface. Caught a bus back into Hanam and watched the sun start rising over the mountains from my window seat.
A great great night to be sure. Not something I'll do every weekend as it is quite taxing on the body, but an excellent way to really let loose.
I'll grumble here about the weather for a minute, it's dang cold but we've got no snow to show for it! We had one good day of snow but it was up in the fourties the next day so it all melted off. I'm really hoping we get a good snowfall in the next week or so I would love to have a white Christmas. I mean, nothing like what Minnesnowta just got, but a few inches would be great.
I bought myself a plane ticket last week. In the middle of February I'll be heading down to Cambodia to spend a week lounging on the beach and really relaxing, doing nothing. That will be right at the halfway point in my year here so I think it will be very welcome.
Wow, this was quite the post. Anyways if I don't get another post up before Christmas I hope everyone has a really really good one! Think of me when you're on your break because I don't get any time off as Christmas and New Years are on Saturdays this year. The private schools don't take winter breaks. So for the first time ever, I'll be at school for my birthday. Not sure how I feel about that, but it can't be helped.
Just a quick note: The dispute between North and South Korea is nothing to worry about at the moment. I know how the media in the U.S. likes to hype everything up into an Armageddon situation but everything seems fine out here. Precautions are being taken and drill are being ran, but the general feeling from the locals is that there is nothing serious happening. I will let you know if anything changes.
Lots and Lots and LOTS of love from Korea everyone!!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
New Semester
December is here and with it brings the new semester at our school. This semester will have the lightest workload of the four while I'm here. This is because we lose our sixth grade students to the middle school, but we don't get new third graders until March. So instead of having five or six classes every day I now have three or four. I'm pretty excited about this. I will still be busy making new classroom materials, writing stories, and other various things but the next three months should be pretty fun.
It seems like winter is trying really hard to start out here. The temperatures keep flirting between twenty five and fifty degrees. There was a little bit of snow one night but nothing substantial. To be honest I hope we get a significant amount soon because it's been such a long time since I've lived somewhere with a lot of snow. Either way it's nice to experience the changing seasons again.
I have definitely eaten some interesting foods this week. On Tuesday we had a party for a few of the teachers who are leaving the school and I got to try sannakji. These are squid tentacles fresh from the squid. So fresh in fact that they are still moving and wriggling on the plate when it's brought out to you. Strange, strange thing to eat. You are supposed to chew them up really good before you swallow or else the suckers, which are still active, could stick to your throat and make you choke. They tasted ok, not my favorite but most Koreans I talk to love them. I guess they are supposed to make you strong.
The other interesting food I tried was chicken feet. This is a food that supposedly is really good for your skin. I liked this one a lot better than the sannakji. They were served in a really spicy sauce and came with plastic gloves so you could just dive in and pick them up with your hands., crunch the whole thing in your mouth and spit out the bones.
Coming up in a couple weeks is the semiannual ENM school party. This is the second of four Saturdays I have to work during the year. We give stickers to kids who do their homework and for some class activities and this is the time they get to redeem their stickers. They can buy food and prizes with them. I think I have been pegged to play Santa Claus at the party. Not too sure how I feel about that but we'll see how it works out.
That's all for now, keep fighting the good fight everyone!!
Much love!
It seems like winter is trying really hard to start out here. The temperatures keep flirting between twenty five and fifty degrees. There was a little bit of snow one night but nothing substantial. To be honest I hope we get a significant amount soon because it's been such a long time since I've lived somewhere with a lot of snow. Either way it's nice to experience the changing seasons again.
I have definitely eaten some interesting foods this week. On Tuesday we had a party for a few of the teachers who are leaving the school and I got to try sannakji. These are squid tentacles fresh from the squid. So fresh in fact that they are still moving and wriggling on the plate when it's brought out to you. Strange, strange thing to eat. You are supposed to chew them up really good before you swallow or else the suckers, which are still active, could stick to your throat and make you choke. They tasted ok, not my favorite but most Koreans I talk to love them. I guess they are supposed to make you strong.
The other interesting food I tried was chicken feet. This is a food that supposedly is really good for your skin. I liked this one a lot better than the sannakji. They were served in a really spicy sauce and came with plastic gloves so you could just dive in and pick them up with your hands., crunch the whole thing in your mouth and spit out the bones.
Coming up in a couple weeks is the semiannual ENM school party. This is the second of four Saturdays I have to work during the year. We give stickers to kids who do their homework and for some class activities and this is the time they get to redeem their stickers. They can buy food and prizes with them. I think I have been pegged to play Santa Claus at the party. Not too sure how I feel about that but we'll see how it works out.
That's all for now, keep fighting the good fight everyone!!
Much love!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Three months!
Well, today is the one quarter mark of my stay in Korea, and I thought it would be appropriate to make a post. Hard to believe it's been three months already, the time has flown by. I've made some great friends from all over the world. It always amuses me that when I go out with friends we are a regular united nations delegation. Usually there are three or four different continents represented. I've made friends with people from the States, Canada, England, Scotland, Switzerland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, China, Taiwan, Japan, and of course, Korea. Super awesome.
I'm starting to understand Seoul a lot better. I am still utterly lost most of the time, but I can usually get from one part of the city to another pretty well. As long as I stay on the main roads and in the subways I am fine. I'm starting to explore off the main roads in Hanam now which is really fun too. I live in the new part of the city with high rise apartments and various American type shops, but old Hanam is much more interesting. There are parts of the city the west has barely grazed and I feel more foreign there than anywhere else I've been.
The fall has been gorgeous out here, it's so nice to live in a place where the leaves change color again. The sea of red, yellow, and brown is almost all on the ground now, and I think winter is coming soon. The past few weeks have been really pleasant, staying in the fifties during the day, but a cold snap is coming through and I sure am glad that I brought my winter coat.
I discover new foods almost every day and love all of it. I know the names of a lot, but there is a lot more that I have no idea. Generally I just let whoever I am with order because I like everything I've tried. Kimchi especially I can't get enough of, pickled and spicy...mmm mmm mmm.
Here a few pictures from around Hanam. The first is the view out my front door. The second is my school. The third is just a picture I took while walking to work.
Well that's about all from this side of the world for now. I'll try to do something really exciting in the next couple weeks for you all to read about and enjoy:)
I'm starting to understand Seoul a lot better. I am still utterly lost most of the time, but I can usually get from one part of the city to another pretty well. As long as I stay on the main roads and in the subways I am fine. I'm starting to explore off the main roads in Hanam now which is really fun too. I live in the new part of the city with high rise apartments and various American type shops, but old Hanam is much more interesting. There are parts of the city the west has barely grazed and I feel more foreign there than anywhere else I've been.
The fall has been gorgeous out here, it's so nice to live in a place where the leaves change color again. The sea of red, yellow, and brown is almost all on the ground now, and I think winter is coming soon. The past few weeks have been really pleasant, staying in the fifties during the day, but a cold snap is coming through and I sure am glad that I brought my winter coat.
I discover new foods almost every day and love all of it. I know the names of a lot, but there is a lot more that I have no idea. Generally I just let whoever I am with order because I like everything I've tried. Kimchi especially I can't get enough of, pickled and spicy...mmm mmm mmm.
Here a few pictures from around Hanam. The first is the view out my front door. The second is my school. The third is just a picture I took while walking to work.
Well that's about all from this side of the world for now. I'll try to do something really exciting in the next couple weeks for you all to read about and enjoy:)
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Pepero Day!
Hello and good tidings to all!!!
My internet was down in the apartment for a few days and now it's back so I've decided to celebrate with a new blog post. I suppose the most interesting thing that has happened in the past couple weeks was yesterday. We had a 'holiday' in the way Valentine's Day is a holiday, simply a way to boost the economy it seems. The day was Pepero Day and it was awesomely silly. I've included a picture of some pepero sticks below.
The whole day is about buying these and giving them to your friends. I bought a few to give to the other teachers at school and some for the best students in class that day. I received them from the other teachers and from one or two students each class, the result being a big pile of peperos that I'll be munching on for the next couple weeks.
Fall has been gorgeous so far here in Korea. There are so many trees everywhere turning yellow and red making the whole city extremely beautiful. The weather is really pleasant too, keeping between thirty five and fifty degrees usually. It is really refreshing to be living in a place with seasons again. I've sure missed it.
Sarah is back from England and life is back to normal after a very crazy two weeks. Classes are going really well and I'm getting on great with my students. The one student that did not like me at all actually quit the school at the beginning of the month so things are going better than I hoped.
About three or four weeks ago I started looking into taking a trip in the last week of December, but I think I'll be pushing it back now. From all the plane tickets I looked at traveling during that time will be a lot more expensive than two or three months later. So I think I'll wait it out, and save about $250 on a plane ticket. I'll probably be going out of the country in the beginning of February for the Lunar New Year. This will be my first trip out of the country, and I'm thinking either Cambodia or Indonesia for this one. Still a long ways away but it gives me something to look forward to.
Not too much else going on here. Just rolling along. I'm coming up on the three month mark in less than two weeks. Foreign teachers I've talked to told me that this is usually the point most foreigners become a little disenchanted and homesick. But then they said that after this passes it's smooth sailing for the rest of the trip. I've not had any of those feelings yet and hopefully I won't but if my next post is seeped in the blues you'll know why.
As always I hope everyone is doing great, I love you lots!!!
My internet was down in the apartment for a few days and now it's back so I've decided to celebrate with a new blog post. I suppose the most interesting thing that has happened in the past couple weeks was yesterday. We had a 'holiday' in the way Valentine's Day is a holiday, simply a way to boost the economy it seems. The day was Pepero Day and it was awesomely silly. I've included a picture of some pepero sticks below.
The whole day is about buying these and giving them to your friends. I bought a few to give to the other teachers at school and some for the best students in class that day. I received them from the other teachers and from one or two students each class, the result being a big pile of peperos that I'll be munching on for the next couple weeks.
Fall has been gorgeous so far here in Korea. There are so many trees everywhere turning yellow and red making the whole city extremely beautiful. The weather is really pleasant too, keeping between thirty five and fifty degrees usually. It is really refreshing to be living in a place with seasons again. I've sure missed it.
Sarah is back from England and life is back to normal after a very crazy two weeks. Classes are going really well and I'm getting on great with my students. The one student that did not like me at all actually quit the school at the beginning of the month so things are going better than I hoped.
About three or four weeks ago I started looking into taking a trip in the last week of December, but I think I'll be pushing it back now. From all the plane tickets I looked at traveling during that time will be a lot more expensive than two or three months later. So I think I'll wait it out, and save about $250 on a plane ticket. I'll probably be going out of the country in the beginning of February for the Lunar New Year. This will be my first trip out of the country, and I'm thinking either Cambodia or Indonesia for this one. Still a long ways away but it gives me something to look forward to.
Not too much else going on here. Just rolling along. I'm coming up on the three month mark in less than two weeks. Foreign teachers I've talked to told me that this is usually the point most foreigners become a little disenchanted and homesick. But then they said that after this passes it's smooth sailing for the rest of the trip. I've not had any of those feelings yet and hopefully I won't but if my next post is seeped in the blues you'll know why.
As always I hope everyone is doing great, I love you lots!!!
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Halloween!!
Yes that's right kids it's Halloween again, my favorite holiday of the year. I sure do love getting all dressed up and going out to a big old party, and this year did not disappoint. My costume was not as elaborate as years past due to my much reduced wardrobe and not having a lot of time to throw something together. What I ended up doing was heading down to E-mart (the department/grocery store in town) to see what they had to offer. I found a masquerade type mask and some pumpkin alien antenna, that was about it. So I bought both and for the rest of my costume dressed up nice, tie and slacks and whatnot.
First on the agenda for the night was dinner with the couchsurfers. We all met somewhere downtown, already drawing incredible stares. The only person without a costume was a girl named Chamy who was on vacation with her mom from Indonesia so I let her have the pumpkin antenna. We marched down the street towards the restaurant, and it was painfully obvious that this was just another Saturday night for most Koreans, but for all the foreigners it was HALLOWEEN!!
After dinner came the meat of the night, what we had all signed up for, the subway party. At this point there were probably twenty or twenty five of us all together. We went to the back car of the subway (line #2) and all piled on together. Needless to say everyone in the car was dumbfounded. The tension eased though when we started handing out candy and yelling happy Halloween at everyone we could see.
From the dinner stop to our destination was about an hour so we all just settled in to the car, drinking our discrete beverages, and scaring the locals. When we pulled into a stop some people would just stare at the car and not move, obviously deciding to wait for the next train. More people seemed to like it though, they would come in and laugh at the silly foreigners and ask us to pose in pictures with them and eat our candy. Overall the subway party was a screaming success.
After that we ended up in Hongdae to hit up some bars. The first place we tried to go had a cover of like $20 so we skipped it in favor of something cheaper. Next place had no cover and a great dance floor. It was pretty deserted when we went into it but that quickly changed with twenty of us piling in. The DJ was good and the drinks were cheap, an excellent combination.
After that bar we moved across the street to a hookah bar for a while, which was nice. Hongdae is actually the big university part of town, so the Halloween festivities were in full swing out here. Most of the bars and clubs were having some kind of promotion or event and most of the people I saw (which was a lot of people) were dressed up. Post hookah bar we ate some spicy rice cakes and meat (not sure what kind) from a street vendor then went into the noribang for some terrible terrible singing.
When our time was up in there the group, which had been getting smaller as the night went on, split in two again, half going home and the other half staying out to party a bit more. Guess which half I was in... Anyway we hit up another dance club and were there for about, man I don't know, an hour? Two? Well after we left we ended up just wandering around the streets for another hour or so. By this time the sky was beginning to lighten up and I took that as my cue to make for the exit.
It was generally my plan to stay out this late anyway because the subways stop at midnight and start up again at 6am, so instead of forking out $40 or so for a cab ride home I would just party til the sun came up and pay $2 to ride public transport all the way home. So one very sleepy subway ride and one very sleepy bus ride later I arrived safe and sound at my apartment, a very bright 7:45 in the morning. So that was that, made some really awesome friends and had a good time. Couchsurfers really are the best people. They thrive on meeting strangers and having a good time right away, this was the perfect setting for all of us.
Well I hope everyone else had an awesome Halloween too. My pics from the night are up on facebook if you want to check them out. Peace and love everyone!!!
First on the agenda for the night was dinner with the couchsurfers. We all met somewhere downtown, already drawing incredible stares. The only person without a costume was a girl named Chamy who was on vacation with her mom from Indonesia so I let her have the pumpkin antenna. We marched down the street towards the restaurant, and it was painfully obvious that this was just another Saturday night for most Koreans, but for all the foreigners it was HALLOWEEN!!
After dinner came the meat of the night, what we had all signed up for, the subway party. At this point there were probably twenty or twenty five of us all together. We went to the back car of the subway (line #2) and all piled on together. Needless to say everyone in the car was dumbfounded. The tension eased though when we started handing out candy and yelling happy Halloween at everyone we could see.
From the dinner stop to our destination was about an hour so we all just settled in to the car, drinking our discrete beverages, and scaring the locals. When we pulled into a stop some people would just stare at the car and not move, obviously deciding to wait for the next train. More people seemed to like it though, they would come in and laugh at the silly foreigners and ask us to pose in pictures with them and eat our candy. Overall the subway party was a screaming success.
After that we ended up in Hongdae to hit up some bars. The first place we tried to go had a cover of like $20 so we skipped it in favor of something cheaper. Next place had no cover and a great dance floor. It was pretty deserted when we went into it but that quickly changed with twenty of us piling in. The DJ was good and the drinks were cheap, an excellent combination.
After that bar we moved across the street to a hookah bar for a while, which was nice. Hongdae is actually the big university part of town, so the Halloween festivities were in full swing out here. Most of the bars and clubs were having some kind of promotion or event and most of the people I saw (which was a lot of people) were dressed up. Post hookah bar we ate some spicy rice cakes and meat (not sure what kind) from a street vendor then went into the noribang for some terrible terrible singing.
When our time was up in there the group, which had been getting smaller as the night went on, split in two again, half going home and the other half staying out to party a bit more. Guess which half I was in... Anyway we hit up another dance club and were there for about, man I don't know, an hour? Two? Well after we left we ended up just wandering around the streets for another hour or so. By this time the sky was beginning to lighten up and I took that as my cue to make for the exit.
It was generally my plan to stay out this late anyway because the subways stop at midnight and start up again at 6am, so instead of forking out $40 or so for a cab ride home I would just party til the sun came up and pay $2 to ride public transport all the way home. So one very sleepy subway ride and one very sleepy bus ride later I arrived safe and sound at my apartment, a very bright 7:45 in the morning. So that was that, made some really awesome friends and had a good time. Couchsurfers really are the best people. They thrive on meeting strangers and having a good time right away, this was the perfect setting for all of us.
Well I hope everyone else had an awesome Halloween too. My pics from the night are up on facebook if you want to check them out. Peace and love everyone!!!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Really on my own now...
Well here we go, for the next two weeks I'm the only English speaker at the school. Sarah's contract was up so she's taking a two week vacation back to England before renewing. This next week won't be too bad because it's test week, I just have to grade twice as many tests. The week after that will be tougher though because I have to plan lessons for two classes at once, most at very different levels. Oh well, games and more games to the rescue.
Last night was Sun's birthday, my boss. So I went out with some teachers to a restaurant in town for the birthday party. For the first time I was the only person in a large group who didn't speak Korean, made for a pretty interesting time. Of all the teachers there, maybe fifteen, only four were English teachers, so most of my conversations were pretty strained. But as the night wore on everybody loosened up and started talking with me more. This was completely due to the alcohol.
The dinner started innocently enough, Korean barbecue style with really delicious steak and pork. Plenty of side dishes, onions, garlic, different styles of kimchi, soup and more. I'm really starting to like kimchi, something about the spicy sour taste is growing on me. But pretty soon there were more bottles than dishes on the tables, it's apparent that Koreans drink only two things, beer and soju. There was a bottle of Korean berry wine being passed around, but I think that was only to show me what it was like.
I talked for the first time to most of the middle school teachers. There are plenty of guys who teach in middle school and they all commented on how I was the only guy in the elementary staff. But they are all awesome and complimented me on my beer drinking ability. One of the math teachers, Jin, said that he would like me to teach him English math (not entirely sure what that means) and that he would teach me Korean in return.
I'm not sure how long we were at the restaurant, but after a while all the older teachers started to head home, and after Sun left it was just the young crowd there. Everyone decided to keep the party going so we headed down the street to a bar. More beer and soju, plus we ordered some sort of food. I have no idea what it was, some kind of seafood dish/soup/something but it was delicious and extra spicy.
After some time at the bar it was time to go home. Everyone drifted off to their cars or jumped into taxis. Luckily my apartment was only about a fifteen minute walk from the bar and I know the way good enough to stumble home. Walked in the door and the clock said 4:30. Time really does get away from you when nothing closes.
So there you have it, a really good night. I got drunk, made new friends, and didn't pay for a thing. In Korea it is customary for the elder of the group to pick up the tab, which is awesome because everyone I know is older than me.
And mom, to answer your question it's not calling 0-12 months 1 year olds and 12-24 months 2 year olds, they just tack on another year or two, because it's just really important to be older.
As far as interesting things on the street, most streets are usually lined with people who set up blankets or tables and sell stuff all day, everything from fruit and veggies to bar food(popcorn, cracker like things) to sunglasses to jewelry. Most businesses spill out onto the sidewalk too. But I am by far the most interesting thing on the streets, I get stared at literally everywhere I go. The little kids I can understand but kids my age, adults, and the elderly all just watch me wide eyed as I go by. I don't think they understand that I can see them too, because when I flash a big goofy smile at them they always look surprised then look away.
Anyway, that's all for now, I'm going out tonight with a friend of Fuzzy's he met in Portland who's now over here teaching English. Small world man. I think he said we're gonna eat some tacos first, STOKED!
Here's a picture of a bridge in town, pretty cool artwork.
Last night was Sun's birthday, my boss. So I went out with some teachers to a restaurant in town for the birthday party. For the first time I was the only person in a large group who didn't speak Korean, made for a pretty interesting time. Of all the teachers there, maybe fifteen, only four were English teachers, so most of my conversations were pretty strained. But as the night wore on everybody loosened up and started talking with me more. This was completely due to the alcohol.
The dinner started innocently enough, Korean barbecue style with really delicious steak and pork. Plenty of side dishes, onions, garlic, different styles of kimchi, soup and more. I'm really starting to like kimchi, something about the spicy sour taste is growing on me. But pretty soon there were more bottles than dishes on the tables, it's apparent that Koreans drink only two things, beer and soju. There was a bottle of Korean berry wine being passed around, but I think that was only to show me what it was like.
I talked for the first time to most of the middle school teachers. There are plenty of guys who teach in middle school and they all commented on how I was the only guy in the elementary staff. But they are all awesome and complimented me on my beer drinking ability. One of the math teachers, Jin, said that he would like me to teach him English math (not entirely sure what that means) and that he would teach me Korean in return.
I'm not sure how long we were at the restaurant, but after a while all the older teachers started to head home, and after Sun left it was just the young crowd there. Everyone decided to keep the party going so we headed down the street to a bar. More beer and soju, plus we ordered some sort of food. I have no idea what it was, some kind of seafood dish/soup/something but it was delicious and extra spicy.
After some time at the bar it was time to go home. Everyone drifted off to their cars or jumped into taxis. Luckily my apartment was only about a fifteen minute walk from the bar and I know the way good enough to stumble home. Walked in the door and the clock said 4:30. Time really does get away from you when nothing closes.
So there you have it, a really good night. I got drunk, made new friends, and didn't pay for a thing. In Korea it is customary for the elder of the group to pick up the tab, which is awesome because everyone I know is older than me.
And mom, to answer your question it's not calling 0-12 months 1 year olds and 12-24 months 2 year olds, they just tack on another year or two, because it's just really important to be older.
As far as interesting things on the street, most streets are usually lined with people who set up blankets or tables and sell stuff all day, everything from fruit and veggies to bar food(popcorn, cracker like things) to sunglasses to jewelry. Most businesses spill out onto the sidewalk too. But I am by far the most interesting thing on the streets, I get stared at literally everywhere I go. The little kids I can understand but kids my age, adults, and the elderly all just watch me wide eyed as I go by. I don't think they understand that I can see them too, because when I flash a big goofy smile at them they always look surprised then look away.
Anyway, that's all for now, I'm going out tonight with a friend of Fuzzy's he met in Portland who's now over here teaching English. Small world man. I think he said we're gonna eat some tacos first, STOKED!
Here's a picture of a bridge in town, pretty cool artwork.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Just livin Korea style
Hey all! Just thought I'd post something here about my general observations on the country and some of their stranger customs.
One thing that I am not quite used to yet is bowing. It isn't like japan out here where everyone seems to bow to everyone, the rules are a little more complicated. Generally you are supposed to bow only to someone who commands respect, like your grandparents or your boss. For instance there are two people at my school I am supposed to bow to when I am greeting them, I usually forget and I think they understand, but sometimes they give me strange looks so I'm trying to remember more. I also bow at strangers who when I want them to understand that I respect them, like at a store or something. It is very strange for me to be bowed at, and it happens a lot at school. The students I teach usually won't, they just say 'Hello Robert teacher!' and try to get away before I can ask them any sort of question. But the students I don't teach, especially the middle schoolers will always make a quick bow and mutter 'annyeong ha say yo' (which means hello) as they walk by. I'm not saying I don't like it, but it is rather strange to me.
Meal time is another time I am finding some different customs. Korea went through some pretty difficult times in the past hundred years, and in those times there was usually not a lot to eat. The thing everyone says before a meal here is 'jal meokkesseumnida' which means 'eat as much as you can.' They really stick by this too, and will keep shoving food at you long after you think you're full. It is also very impolite to refuse a drink from your elder, so if I ever go out drinking with someone of high status than me it's basically up to them how drunk I get.
It is extremely hard to gauge ages out here too. These people are very healthy in shape and age very gracefully, especially the girls. The elementary teachers I work with, who are all girls, look like they are all twenty five years old, but they are actually between twenty eight and thirty five. It is even harder to tell age out here because it is the cultural norm to lie about how old you are. In Korea everyone wants to be older and will always add one or two years to their age when you ask them, and I do mean everyone. If you want to know their real age you have to ask 'what's you age... ok... what's your American age?' This is even true for little kids. Once when I was at a restaurant with some friends we sat next to a couple with a little kid, so little he could barely talk. He was super cute and kept running up to us so we started talking to the parents, we asked them how old he was and they said three years old, then they said 'American age two years old.' It is so important to be older here that even two year olds get boosted up.
I had thought for about two seconds of trying to get a motor scooter here, but on second thought it would probably be the death of me, seriously. The Korean people are usually very reserved and polite, they seem to let out all of their pent up feelings and aggressions on the road. Even as a pedestrian on the sidewalk I sometimes feel unsafe. These are the most aggressive and impatient driver ever. Motorcycles and scooters weave through traffic and never, ever stop at red lights. The cars are a little better and some of them will stop at red lights (but the buses and taxis never do). Intersections without lights are the worst of all because there are literally no stop signs in this country, it's a yield system and basically the biggest car always wins. There isn't really a structure for street parking either. Anyone can park going any direction on any street it seems. Two way streets quickly become one ways as the day begins and cars squeeze into non-existent spots. Anyone meeting head on in a street like this follows the general rules out here: the biggest car wins.
Well I guess that's about all I've got for the moment. If anyone has a question about life out here or wants to know if something is different feel free to post a comment. In the mean time I'll just be keeping on out here. The other foreign teacher Sarah is getting ready to go home for two weeks starting on Friday because she is renewing her contract and taking a vacation. This means I'll be teaching her classes as well as mine so it will be very very busy for me in the next few weeks.
Take care everyone, lots of love from Korea!!
One thing that I am not quite used to yet is bowing. It isn't like japan out here where everyone seems to bow to everyone, the rules are a little more complicated. Generally you are supposed to bow only to someone who commands respect, like your grandparents or your boss. For instance there are two people at my school I am supposed to bow to when I am greeting them, I usually forget and I think they understand, but sometimes they give me strange looks so I'm trying to remember more. I also bow at strangers who when I want them to understand that I respect them, like at a store or something. It is very strange for me to be bowed at, and it happens a lot at school. The students I teach usually won't, they just say 'Hello Robert teacher!' and try to get away before I can ask them any sort of question. But the students I don't teach, especially the middle schoolers will always make a quick bow and mutter 'annyeong ha say yo' (which means hello) as they walk by. I'm not saying I don't like it, but it is rather strange to me.
Meal time is another time I am finding some different customs. Korea went through some pretty difficult times in the past hundred years, and in those times there was usually not a lot to eat. The thing everyone says before a meal here is 'jal meokkesseumnida' which means 'eat as much as you can.' They really stick by this too, and will keep shoving food at you long after you think you're full. It is also very impolite to refuse a drink from your elder, so if I ever go out drinking with someone of high status than me it's basically up to them how drunk I get.
It is extremely hard to gauge ages out here too. These people are very healthy in shape and age very gracefully, especially the girls. The elementary teachers I work with, who are all girls, look like they are all twenty five years old, but they are actually between twenty eight and thirty five. It is even harder to tell age out here because it is the cultural norm to lie about how old you are. In Korea everyone wants to be older and will always add one or two years to their age when you ask them, and I do mean everyone. If you want to know their real age you have to ask 'what's you age... ok... what's your American age?' This is even true for little kids. Once when I was at a restaurant with some friends we sat next to a couple with a little kid, so little he could barely talk. He was super cute and kept running up to us so we started talking to the parents, we asked them how old he was and they said three years old, then they said 'American age two years old.' It is so important to be older here that even two year olds get boosted up.
I had thought for about two seconds of trying to get a motor scooter here, but on second thought it would probably be the death of me, seriously. The Korean people are usually very reserved and polite, they seem to let out all of their pent up feelings and aggressions on the road. Even as a pedestrian on the sidewalk I sometimes feel unsafe. These are the most aggressive and impatient driver ever. Motorcycles and scooters weave through traffic and never, ever stop at red lights. The cars are a little better and some of them will stop at red lights (but the buses and taxis never do). Intersections without lights are the worst of all because there are literally no stop signs in this country, it's a yield system and basically the biggest car always wins. There isn't really a structure for street parking either. Anyone can park going any direction on any street it seems. Two way streets quickly become one ways as the day begins and cars squeeze into non-existent spots. Anyone meeting head on in a street like this follows the general rules out here: the biggest car wins.
Well I guess that's about all I've got for the moment. If anyone has a question about life out here or wants to know if something is different feel free to post a comment. In the mean time I'll just be keeping on out here. The other foreign teacher Sarah is getting ready to go home for two weeks starting on Friday because she is renewing her contract and taking a vacation. This means I'll be teaching her classes as well as mine so it will be very very busy for me in the next few weeks.
Take care everyone, lots of love from Korea!!
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Tongyeong and Somaemuldo
Hi there everyone in internet land, I know it's been a minute since I last posted, but this one will be good, I promise.
I took my first trip outside of the Seoul area this weekend, down to the very southeast corner of the country. This was a trip arranged by a great internet site my coworker told me about called Adventure Korea, and it was government subsidized as well so it was incredibly cheap. It was government funded because of the upcoming G20 summit in November, they're trying to promote tourism and travel within the country.
No good trip starts without a nice early wake up, and I met Sarah outside my building just before 6am on Saturday. An hour of bus and subway rides put us in the express bus terminal in the middle of Seoul. Once there we hit up the Duncan Donuts for some coffee and then walked up to street level to find our bus. That part wasn't too hard, we just had to look for the group of thirty or so white people all standing together. Then it was onto the bus and out of the city.
The ride down was absolutely gorgeous. It was about five hours down to our destination, and I was staring out the window wide-eyed the whole time. This country is so very green. The entire drive through the country side was bordered on both sides by mountains, a blue-green in the early morning light, and every mountain was covered from top to bottom in trees. Below the mountains were neatly ordered yellow-green fields of rice and the occasional patch of ginseng. Small villages popped up usually when we crossed a bridge over a little river or stream. I tried to read for a little bit but couldn't concentrate at all because I was constantly looking up to watch the amazing scenery roll by.
Around 1pm we came into Tongyeong and stopped for lunch, some delicious Korean barbecue, beef cooked on coals in the middle of our table, had some beer and got to know a few of the people on the trip. After we finished we drove over to the coast and got ready for a trip up the Mireuksan mountain. This is a small island mountain rising up only about 1300 feet, but the ride to the top was awesome. I say ride to the top because that's what we did, ride. We took Korea's longest cable car up, just shy of 2 kilometers long. From the top we got a spectacular view of the city below, and the Hallyeo National Marine Park out to the east. This is the only marine park in Korea, and it is really amazing. There are over three hundred small to medium sized islands stretching off the coast here, each one beautiful, green, and covered in trees. With the binoculars there was a sign that said you could see to Japan, but the day was a little hazy and our view of the distance was not clear enough. We took the cable car back down and then got back on the bus for our next destination.
We made a short stop at a place called Moon Park, known for it's great sunset view, but it was very cloudy so we moved on soon. Another quick stop at a fishing museum, then it was down to a little fishing village. We rode out on a boat to a fishery and spent some time casting lines into a grid of fish nurseries. I know, a little like fishing in a barrel, but I was one of only four of us to catch a fish so that was at least a little exciting. After an hour of that the light was fading pretty fast, so we got back into the boat and headed towards land, and dinner.
Dinner was a fish stew, like all Korean meals, served communally. More beer at dinner and more getting to know the fellow travelers, a very good meal. After that was done we rode out to our accommodation for the evening, four tall wooden buildings with windmills on the front of each. A little curious, but very comfortable so no one was complaining. Beer and catch-phrase with some friends made for a great evening, and finally I retired around midnight.
Another early morning the next day, leaving the hotel at about 6:30am for a ride down to the harbor. There we got on a big ferry boat for an hour long ride out to a particular island. The ride out was quite interesting, it was raining and the waves were a little choppy. At least four people threw up off the side of the boat due to a combination of hang over and sea sickness. Finally we made it to Somaemuldo Island, and at first it seemed like nothing special, just another tiny village perched on a tree covered island. We hiked up to the top and my mind was changed about that. On top was an old customs watch station that was in use in the 70s and 80s, just a hollowed out building now but from the roof there was an amazing view of the many islands out in this stretch of water. A short walk down a path to the other side to the peak showed us an absolutely spectacular view of the second part of the island. A sloping green lawn with a big white lighthouse was silhouetted by the ocean behind it, truly beautiful. Back down from the peak we took another path down the back side of the island to get over to the lighthouse, down a big big set of stairs, across a land bridge usable only during low tide, and up another big set of stairs put you right at the lighthouse. The view looking back was just as great.
The Koreans we saw on the island came in two categories, over prepared and under prepared. There was either a group decked out in matching hiking gear, from the boots to the poles to the jackets to the backpacks, they looked like they were going on a week long trek instead of a day hike, or a guy in a business suit and his girlfriend in a miniskirt and high heels. One common factor though, they had to look good. There are no different fashions or looks out here, only looking good.
Back onto the boat for the ride back, had a good time riding at the front watching the amazing scenery float by, until the waves got a little bigger and splashed up over the front, soaking the four of us who were standing there. The sun was poking it's head out though and from the upper deck between the rays and the wind we dried off pretty well. Back to the harbor and up the hills a bit for some more seafood for lunch. A delicious stew of crab, muscles, and oysters. By the end of the meal everyone was full and exhausted, so we thankfully piled onto the bus for the ride home.
I was able to sleep for a good chunk of the ride, and we got back to Seoul at around 8:30pm. Back down underground, weaving through the rather large crowd of Sunday subway shoppers (pretty much a big mall underground at this station) I had a feeling of great nostalgia from California, ragged and dirty with my backpack on taking public transport back into reality, getting more stares than I usually would. Finally, completely worn out, I made it to my bed and slept long and hard.
Overall, fantastic weekend. Here's a few pictures, the rest will be on facebook soon. Much love everyone!!!
I took my first trip outside of the Seoul area this weekend, down to the very southeast corner of the country. This was a trip arranged by a great internet site my coworker told me about called Adventure Korea, and it was government subsidized as well so it was incredibly cheap. It was government funded because of the upcoming G20 summit in November, they're trying to promote tourism and travel within the country.
No good trip starts without a nice early wake up, and I met Sarah outside my building just before 6am on Saturday. An hour of bus and subway rides put us in the express bus terminal in the middle of Seoul. Once there we hit up the Duncan Donuts for some coffee and then walked up to street level to find our bus. That part wasn't too hard, we just had to look for the group of thirty or so white people all standing together. Then it was onto the bus and out of the city.
The ride down was absolutely gorgeous. It was about five hours down to our destination, and I was staring out the window wide-eyed the whole time. This country is so very green. The entire drive through the country side was bordered on both sides by mountains, a blue-green in the early morning light, and every mountain was covered from top to bottom in trees. Below the mountains were neatly ordered yellow-green fields of rice and the occasional patch of ginseng. Small villages popped up usually when we crossed a bridge over a little river or stream. I tried to read for a little bit but couldn't concentrate at all because I was constantly looking up to watch the amazing scenery roll by.
Around 1pm we came into Tongyeong and stopped for lunch, some delicious Korean barbecue, beef cooked on coals in the middle of our table, had some beer and got to know a few of the people on the trip. After we finished we drove over to the coast and got ready for a trip up the Mireuksan mountain. This is a small island mountain rising up only about 1300 feet, but the ride to the top was awesome. I say ride to the top because that's what we did, ride. We took Korea's longest cable car up, just shy of 2 kilometers long. From the top we got a spectacular view of the city below, and the Hallyeo National Marine Park out to the east. This is the only marine park in Korea, and it is really amazing. There are over three hundred small to medium sized islands stretching off the coast here, each one beautiful, green, and covered in trees. With the binoculars there was a sign that said you could see to Japan, but the day was a little hazy and our view of the distance was not clear enough. We took the cable car back down and then got back on the bus for our next destination.
We made a short stop at a place called Moon Park, known for it's great sunset view, but it was very cloudy so we moved on soon. Another quick stop at a fishing museum, then it was down to a little fishing village. We rode out on a boat to a fishery and spent some time casting lines into a grid of fish nurseries. I know, a little like fishing in a barrel, but I was one of only four of us to catch a fish so that was at least a little exciting. After an hour of that the light was fading pretty fast, so we got back into the boat and headed towards land, and dinner.
Dinner was a fish stew, like all Korean meals, served communally. More beer at dinner and more getting to know the fellow travelers, a very good meal. After that was done we rode out to our accommodation for the evening, four tall wooden buildings with windmills on the front of each. A little curious, but very comfortable so no one was complaining. Beer and catch-phrase with some friends made for a great evening, and finally I retired around midnight.
Another early morning the next day, leaving the hotel at about 6:30am for a ride down to the harbor. There we got on a big ferry boat for an hour long ride out to a particular island. The ride out was quite interesting, it was raining and the waves were a little choppy. At least four people threw up off the side of the boat due to a combination of hang over and sea sickness. Finally we made it to Somaemuldo Island, and at first it seemed like nothing special, just another tiny village perched on a tree covered island. We hiked up to the top and my mind was changed about that. On top was an old customs watch station that was in use in the 70s and 80s, just a hollowed out building now but from the roof there was an amazing view of the many islands out in this stretch of water. A short walk down a path to the other side to the peak showed us an absolutely spectacular view of the second part of the island. A sloping green lawn with a big white lighthouse was silhouetted by the ocean behind it, truly beautiful. Back down from the peak we took another path down the back side of the island to get over to the lighthouse, down a big big set of stairs, across a land bridge usable only during low tide, and up another big set of stairs put you right at the lighthouse. The view looking back was just as great.
The Koreans we saw on the island came in two categories, over prepared and under prepared. There was either a group decked out in matching hiking gear, from the boots to the poles to the jackets to the backpacks, they looked like they were going on a week long trek instead of a day hike, or a guy in a business suit and his girlfriend in a miniskirt and high heels. One common factor though, they had to look good. There are no different fashions or looks out here, only looking good.
Back onto the boat for the ride back, had a good time riding at the front watching the amazing scenery float by, until the waves got a little bigger and splashed up over the front, soaking the four of us who were standing there. The sun was poking it's head out though and from the upper deck between the rays and the wind we dried off pretty well. Back to the harbor and up the hills a bit for some more seafood for lunch. A delicious stew of crab, muscles, and oysters. By the end of the meal everyone was full and exhausted, so we thankfully piled onto the bus for the ride home.
I was able to sleep for a good chunk of the ride, and we got back to Seoul at around 8:30pm. Back down underground, weaving through the rather large crowd of Sunday subway shoppers (pretty much a big mall underground at this station) I had a feeling of great nostalgia from California, ragged and dirty with my backpack on taking public transport back into reality, getting more stares than I usually would. Finally, completely worn out, I made it to my bed and slept long and hard.
Overall, fantastic weekend. Here's a few pictures, the rest will be on facebook soon. Much love everyone!!!
the fish I caught
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Chuseok
Happy Chuseok everyone!! Today is Korean Thanksgiving, and what a wonderful day it was. I made some new friends, saw some awesome places, and generally had a great day. So let me tell you about it.
Started off by meeting Kristin, who I had met through couchsurfing, at a subway station with two of her friends, Erin and Casey. We then ventured into downtown Seoul for some Chuseok festivities. We went to a great big palace, apparently the biggest one in Seoul. It was beautiful, lots of stone carvings and gorgeous buildings. Erin had been there before so she told us a little about the place, I guess the original was built around the 1300s, but then the Japanese razed it to the ground in the 1700s, and it was rebuilt around then to look exactly the same.
We wandered around the grounds for a while, finally making it up to the Korean folk museum. In the area around it there were lots of activities going on, fan and mask painting, games and stuff for kids. Kristin and Erin painted themselves some fans while I wandered around and ate cotton candy. After we were done there we walked out a different entrance and moseyed down the street. We saw a guy who was making candy on the sidewalk, it was really cool. He basically just poured some sugar into a ladle and heated it over a flame, stirring it until it caramelized. Then he put the glob down onto a surface, stamped it flat, and cut shapes out of it. A Korean guy who was watching with his daughter was kind enough to tell us about it, he said that it was very popular back in the 70s, when he was young.
We walked around a bit more after that, ending up at a pretty cool music exhibition on the street. It was traditional Korean music, but preformed by young people all dressed very modern. The instruments were all sitar looking things, but not really. It was like a third of a tree trunk, six feet long, with twenty or so strings on it, that they were playing sitting down. There were about a dozen of these on stage all played by women, with a guy singing with three girl backup singers. Tough to explain but pretty cool, I'll try to get the video I took on here.
We walked a little more and came on a stage with a Korean rock band playing. Hard rock, enjoyable, good energy. Erin asked the guy standing next to us (in Korean) if he knew who the band was, and he replied (in English) 'I don't know, but they're good!" Then we walked down the river and saw people making paper lanterns with candles in them to send afloat. There was a general party atmosphere in the city and everyone was having a good time.
We found a Vietnamese restaurant to eat at and get off our feet for a while. After that we decided it was about time to head back home, I have to take a bus from the subway station to get back to Hanam and I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be stranded in Gangdong and forced to take a taxi. So all in all, a pretty excellent day. I tried to get some pictures on here but it wasn't really working, so I put them all on facebook if you want to check them out. I'll try to get a video up here too, but it's not really working right now either.
As always I hope everyone is doing awesome things, peace out players!
Started off by meeting Kristin, who I had met through couchsurfing, at a subway station with two of her friends, Erin and Casey. We then ventured into downtown Seoul for some Chuseok festivities. We went to a great big palace, apparently the biggest one in Seoul. It was beautiful, lots of stone carvings and gorgeous buildings. Erin had been there before so she told us a little about the place, I guess the original was built around the 1300s, but then the Japanese razed it to the ground in the 1700s, and it was rebuilt around then to look exactly the same.
We wandered around the grounds for a while, finally making it up to the Korean folk museum. In the area around it there were lots of activities going on, fan and mask painting, games and stuff for kids. Kristin and Erin painted themselves some fans while I wandered around and ate cotton candy. After we were done there we walked out a different entrance and moseyed down the street. We saw a guy who was making candy on the sidewalk, it was really cool. He basically just poured some sugar into a ladle and heated it over a flame, stirring it until it caramelized. Then he put the glob down onto a surface, stamped it flat, and cut shapes out of it. A Korean guy who was watching with his daughter was kind enough to tell us about it, he said that it was very popular back in the 70s, when he was young.
We walked around a bit more after that, ending up at a pretty cool music exhibition on the street. It was traditional Korean music, but preformed by young people all dressed very modern. The instruments were all sitar looking things, but not really. It was like a third of a tree trunk, six feet long, with twenty or so strings on it, that they were playing sitting down. There were about a dozen of these on stage all played by women, with a guy singing with three girl backup singers. Tough to explain but pretty cool, I'll try to get the video I took on here.
We walked a little more and came on a stage with a Korean rock band playing. Hard rock, enjoyable, good energy. Erin asked the guy standing next to us (in Korean) if he knew who the band was, and he replied (in English) 'I don't know, but they're good!" Then we walked down the river and saw people making paper lanterns with candles in them to send afloat. There was a general party atmosphere in the city and everyone was having a good time.
We found a Vietnamese restaurant to eat at and get off our feet for a while. After that we decided it was about time to head back home, I have to take a bus from the subway station to get back to Hanam and I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to be stranded in Gangdong and forced to take a taxi. So all in all, a pretty excellent day. I tried to get some pictures on here but it wasn't really working, so I put them all on facebook if you want to check them out. I'll try to get a video up here too, but it's not really working right now either.
As always I hope everyone is doing awesome things, peace out players!
Monday, September 13, 2010
Yep, still here:)
Hi all! I've been having some good days lately, so let me tell you about them.
On Sunday I went out to the Seoul zoo with Sarah, what an awesome time that was. It was about an hour and a half to get there, taking a bus then the subway. And man are those subways efficient. When we got to our stop we walked up the stairs to the surface and found ourselves surrounded on three sides by big tree covered mountains. It was about 11am and the low clouds were still hanging around, grazing the tops of the peaks. The zoo is actually set up the side of one of these mountains, and instead of just walking in we took a ski lift up to the top of the park, which took about ten minutes. Oh man that ride was incredible. You start off over a big lake filled with ducks and herons all diving for fish, then just zip right through the middle of the park. Sometimes going right over the exhibits, sometimes just trolling through narrow lanes of silver birch and Asian pines. It was definitely a bit of a thrill to have your feet dangling over the big lion enclosure, even if there were safety nets and other precautions in place.
From the top we then took our time strolling our way down the side of the mountain, there were some fantastic animals in there, and it was obviously mating season for the big cats because the lions, leopards, tigers, and jaguars were all roaring and spraying and causing a general ruckus. Got to see all the usual gnarly killers, bears and crocs and fifteen foot snakes. They had a pretty cool monkey exhibit with these little guys in a big playground that you could just walk right through. We got yelled at for touching one of them, but I mean, he just came right up to us and stuck out his hand. What were we supposed to do? We also saw the dolphin show, which was filled with Koreans dressed as cops and robbers doing some zany scripted show. I think it was much funnier because I couldn't understand them.
Things at the school are getting better every day. I've realized it's just a matter of learning their weird system and going with it. Most of the students really like me, but with as many 9-13 year old girls as I have to deal with I suppose it's inevitable that some will just be moody and resentful all the time. I have to call each student at home once a semester for a quick little chat in English, and talking to their parents on the phone is usually pretty funny. Here's me just reading off a script, probably butchering the language, and if they say anything back to me I just stammer... um, sorry, no Korean... and laugh a little. Usually they will just go get their kid or some of them know how to say he's not here, but anything beyond that and I just try to get off the phone as politely as possible.
I'm picking up more things about the culture out here too. Apparently the sidewalks are off limits to no one. If someone wants to hit up an ATM and there's no parking spots around they'll just jump right up and leave their car running in the middle of the sidewalk for a few minutes. They motorcycle and scooter drivers are even more fearless than I first thought, aside from pretty much doing nothing except weaving through traffic and running red lights, none of them seem the least bit deterred by the rain. Even when it's pouring out they just throw on a rain jacket and rain pants and go about their business like everything's normal.
No one really makes demands or tells you to do something implicitly out here either. It is all put as a light suggestion, from which you are supposed to take as 'do this now'. Pretty weird to get used to but I think I'm getting it now.
Oh, also I'm really excited because I signed up for a trip on the second and third of October. It's with this group called Adventure Korea, who offer two or three trips every month. I guess I got here at a good time, because this is their tenth year in business and they are offering some great deals. We'll be going to the southeast part of the country, to a few islands right off the coast, called Tongyeong and Somaemuldo. The latter one means 'Beauty of the Sea'. I'm super stoked on it, and not just because it's costing about $60 for transport, food, and lodging.
Well, it's getting on in the afternoon and I need to get ready for school. As always I hope everyone is loving life. Later:)
On Sunday I went out to the Seoul zoo with Sarah, what an awesome time that was. It was about an hour and a half to get there, taking a bus then the subway. And man are those subways efficient. When we got to our stop we walked up the stairs to the surface and found ourselves surrounded on three sides by big tree covered mountains. It was about 11am and the low clouds were still hanging around, grazing the tops of the peaks. The zoo is actually set up the side of one of these mountains, and instead of just walking in we took a ski lift up to the top of the park, which took about ten minutes. Oh man that ride was incredible. You start off over a big lake filled with ducks and herons all diving for fish, then just zip right through the middle of the park. Sometimes going right over the exhibits, sometimes just trolling through narrow lanes of silver birch and Asian pines. It was definitely a bit of a thrill to have your feet dangling over the big lion enclosure, even if there were safety nets and other precautions in place.
From the top we then took our time strolling our way down the side of the mountain, there were some fantastic animals in there, and it was obviously mating season for the big cats because the lions, leopards, tigers, and jaguars were all roaring and spraying and causing a general ruckus. Got to see all the usual gnarly killers, bears and crocs and fifteen foot snakes. They had a pretty cool monkey exhibit with these little guys in a big playground that you could just walk right through. We got yelled at for touching one of them, but I mean, he just came right up to us and stuck out his hand. What were we supposed to do? We also saw the dolphin show, which was filled with Koreans dressed as cops and robbers doing some zany scripted show. I think it was much funnier because I couldn't understand them.
Things at the school are getting better every day. I've realized it's just a matter of learning their weird system and going with it. Most of the students really like me, but with as many 9-13 year old girls as I have to deal with I suppose it's inevitable that some will just be moody and resentful all the time. I have to call each student at home once a semester for a quick little chat in English, and talking to their parents on the phone is usually pretty funny. Here's me just reading off a script, probably butchering the language, and if they say anything back to me I just stammer... um, sorry, no Korean... and laugh a little. Usually they will just go get their kid or some of them know how to say he's not here, but anything beyond that and I just try to get off the phone as politely as possible.
I'm picking up more things about the culture out here too. Apparently the sidewalks are off limits to no one. If someone wants to hit up an ATM and there's no parking spots around they'll just jump right up and leave their car running in the middle of the sidewalk for a few minutes. They motorcycle and scooter drivers are even more fearless than I first thought, aside from pretty much doing nothing except weaving through traffic and running red lights, none of them seem the least bit deterred by the rain. Even when it's pouring out they just throw on a rain jacket and rain pants and go about their business like everything's normal.
No one really makes demands or tells you to do something implicitly out here either. It is all put as a light suggestion, from which you are supposed to take as 'do this now'. Pretty weird to get used to but I think I'm getting it now.
Oh, also I'm really excited because I signed up for a trip on the second and third of October. It's with this group called Adventure Korea, who offer two or three trips every month. I guess I got here at a good time, because this is their tenth year in business and they are offering some great deals. We'll be going to the southeast part of the country, to a few islands right off the coast, called Tongyeong and Somaemuldo. The latter one means 'Beauty of the Sea'. I'm super stoked on it, and not just because it's costing about $60 for transport, food, and lodging.
Well, it's getting on in the afternoon and I need to get ready for school. As always I hope everyone is loving life. Later:)
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Typhoon Kompasu
Good News Everyone!! I've survived a typhoon! Early this morning Typhoon Kompasu (which means compass in Japanese) rolled through the Seoul area creating just a bit of havoc. Now those who know me well know that I can pretty much sleep through anything, I've slept right through a lightning bolt striking a tree outside my room. This storm however had the power to wake me up at about five in the morning. I'm pretty sure the exact reason I woke up was the sound of glass shattering as it slammed into my building. Windows from surrounding buildings, as well as my own, were torn off and hurled into the morning. Luckily my windows were safe. The windows were not the only casualty though, on my way to school today I saw many downed branches and even a few uprooted trees. I read that the winds were moving at over thirty meters per second. The storm had passed by the afternoon, and it was actually sunny as I walked to work at 2:30 today.
Apparently I arrived in Seoul for the end of the wettest August they've had for a hundred years, and it is looking like the next week will be more of the same. Not that I don't like rain or anything, but come on Korea I'm trying to get out and explore a little! I have been exploring the bars around Hanam though, and I've met a few more foreigners as a consequence. Last night I had a good time with my two Texan friends and two Canadian girls, and met three more Americans. Two were girls who reminded me exactly why I got out of America in the first place, but the guy was pretty cool, his name is Dante and he's from Milwaukee. He spins out here and invited me to check him out this weekend where he's gonna throw some house, 80s, and funk together at some club. I think we also made plans to go get tattoos together in a couple months, apparently he knows a guy, but yeah, we'll see about that.
The new semester at school started yesterday, things are still pretty confusing around there, but I've talked to both of my bosses about my classes and they think I am doing a good job. It is a little unnerving because all of the classes have cameras and microphones in them, so I never know which class they are monitoring, but apparently the one's they have watched aren't too bad. I had a class with three students today who were all new to the academy, so I got to give them their English names, which they use in English class. I chose Aaron, Kelly, and Misha. Yep.
That's all from me for now, I hope everyone else remains typhoon free for the time being. Peace!
Apparently I arrived in Seoul for the end of the wettest August they've had for a hundred years, and it is looking like the next week will be more of the same. Not that I don't like rain or anything, but come on Korea I'm trying to get out and explore a little! I have been exploring the bars around Hanam though, and I've met a few more foreigners as a consequence. Last night I had a good time with my two Texan friends and two Canadian girls, and met three more Americans. Two were girls who reminded me exactly why I got out of America in the first place, but the guy was pretty cool, his name is Dante and he's from Milwaukee. He spins out here and invited me to check him out this weekend where he's gonna throw some house, 80s, and funk together at some club. I think we also made plans to go get tattoos together in a couple months, apparently he knows a guy, but yeah, we'll see about that.
The new semester at school started yesterday, things are still pretty confusing around there, but I've talked to both of my bosses about my classes and they think I am doing a good job. It is a little unnerving because all of the classes have cameras and microphones in them, so I never know which class they are monitoring, but apparently the one's they have watched aren't too bad. I had a class with three students today who were all new to the academy, so I got to give them their English names, which they use in English class. I chose Aaron, Kelly, and Misha. Yep.
That's all from me for now, I hope everyone else remains typhoon free for the time being. Peace!
Friday, August 27, 2010
Noriba
chi.
So that whole thing about climbing a mountain today... yeah...
This killer headache aside let me just lay down my great excuse. Last night I went out with six other teachers and my two bosses for dinner at this great restaurant just north of the Han river. Had pork and duck for a main course, and the thing I'm really getting to love about Korean restaurants is the cook the meat yourself business. Basically there is a hole in the middle of the table and a basin filled with hot coals is brought out and put in there. Then they toss a grill on top and you arrange the meat and cook it to your liking. Last night we cooked the meat, wrapped it up in some kimchi leaves with pickled peppers, cooked onion and roasted garlic. Extra delicious. Had a few cocktails at dinner as well, soju cider and beer, which sounds terrible but were actually quite good. My favorite part was at the end when the coal basins were taken away, they pulled a bunch of foil wrapped objects out, which I had not noticed before. These were sweet potatoes which had been cooking all meal. So very good.
When we all finished we walked out back where there was this amazing backyard area, multiple bonfires and fountain pools and nice little gazebo huts to relax around in the beautiful night with paths and trees and a really great view of the Han river with Hanam all lit up on the other side and big mountains just faintly illuminated behind that. Beautiful. Finally around midnight we all went back to the cars to head back to Hanam. And the night really began.
Our boss Sun dropped Sarah Song Yun and me off in downtown Hanam outside this really cool bar called Masigo where I was introduced to another few cocktails. Koreans love to drink beer and soju in pretty much all combinations with all sorts of alcoholic or non-alcoholic mixers, which is probably a big reason for this headache right now. After an hour or so Sarah convinced her 'Hanam friends' to come down, which was awesome. About eight guys and three girls showed up, and they all spoke english! It was a mix of people from the states, Canada, England and Australia, all English teachers in Hanam. I got on really well with Andy and Terrance, two guys from Texas and with Bo, yes Bo from Kentucky. What are the freaking odds right? Twoish more hours pass and then a smaller group of us breaks off to head across the street to the noriba.
Ah, the noriba. Karaoke but asain style, in a private room with just your buds. There were eight or ten of us, something like that, and it was brilliant. We were brought a tray full of beers and a plate of snacks and the debauchery really took off. There were like four tambourines in the room and two mics with gnarly reverb on them which made everything just that much better. The song list was a little wanting, but does it really matter at four or five in the morning? Lots of Beatles and CCR and strange Kpop(Korean pop) songs sung in awfully wasted voices. Finally everyone seemed to reach their breaking point at about the same time, so we all stumbled outside to find the sky much much bluer than I thought it would be, with a beautiful pink streak across the morning clouds from the rising sun. I tried not to really think about this though as I got into a taxi with Andy and Terrance, who both live across the street from me. We shared some fish noodles and broth on the street just below my building which were lifesaving. Excellent and salty and satisfying for about thirty cents. And of course, available twenty four hours a day.
Well that's about all from me for now. Tomorrow weather permitting Sarah and I might go into Seoul and see the old temples and shrines, but if it's raining too much we'll probably hit up an aquarium here in town. Keep it real everyone!
So that whole thing about climbing a mountain today... yeah...
This killer headache aside let me just lay down my great excuse. Last night I went out with six other teachers and my two bosses for dinner at this great restaurant just north of the Han river. Had pork and duck for a main course, and the thing I'm really getting to love about Korean restaurants is the cook the meat yourself business. Basically there is a hole in the middle of the table and a basin filled with hot coals is brought out and put in there. Then they toss a grill on top and you arrange the meat and cook it to your liking. Last night we cooked the meat, wrapped it up in some kimchi leaves with pickled peppers, cooked onion and roasted garlic. Extra delicious. Had a few cocktails at dinner as well, soju cider and beer, which sounds terrible but were actually quite good. My favorite part was at the end when the coal basins were taken away, they pulled a bunch of foil wrapped objects out, which I had not noticed before. These were sweet potatoes which had been cooking all meal. So very good.
When we all finished we walked out back where there was this amazing backyard area, multiple bonfires and fountain pools and nice little gazebo huts to relax around in the beautiful night with paths and trees and a really great view of the Han river with Hanam all lit up on the other side and big mountains just faintly illuminated behind that. Beautiful. Finally around midnight we all went back to the cars to head back to Hanam. And the night really began.
Our boss Sun dropped Sarah Song Yun and me off in downtown Hanam outside this really cool bar called Masigo where I was introduced to another few cocktails. Koreans love to drink beer and soju in pretty much all combinations with all sorts of alcoholic or non-alcoholic mixers, which is probably a big reason for this headache right now. After an hour or so Sarah convinced her 'Hanam friends' to come down, which was awesome. About eight guys and three girls showed up, and they all spoke english! It was a mix of people from the states, Canada, England and Australia, all English teachers in Hanam. I got on really well with Andy and Terrance, two guys from Texas and with Bo, yes Bo from Kentucky. What are the freaking odds right? Twoish more hours pass and then a smaller group of us breaks off to head across the street to the noriba.
Ah, the noriba. Karaoke but asain style, in a private room with just your buds. There were eight or ten of us, something like that, and it was brilliant. We were brought a tray full of beers and a plate of snacks and the debauchery really took off. There were like four tambourines in the room and two mics with gnarly reverb on them which made everything just that much better. The song list was a little wanting, but does it really matter at four or five in the morning? Lots of Beatles and CCR and strange Kpop(Korean pop) songs sung in awfully wasted voices. Finally everyone seemed to reach their breaking point at about the same time, so we all stumbled outside to find the sky much much bluer than I thought it would be, with a beautiful pink streak across the morning clouds from the rising sun. I tried not to really think about this though as I got into a taxi with Andy and Terrance, who both live across the street from me. We shared some fish noodles and broth on the street just below my building which were lifesaving. Excellent and salty and satisfying for about thirty cents. And of course, available twenty four hours a day.
Well that's about all from me for now. Tomorrow weather permitting Sarah and I might go into Seoul and see the old temples and shrines, but if it's raining too much we'll probably hit up an aquarium here in town. Keep it real everyone!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
ENM
Alright, so I've had three whole days of teaching at my school now. Let me tell you a little bit about it. First of all, I am teaching at the ENM Academy, which stands for English 'n Math Academy. That's right, 'n instead of and. I think that's all I need to say about that. Oh, and the school has four three month semesters, and when I tried to tell someone that these were actually quarters and not semesters they looked at me like I was crazy, so I dropped it...
Also, I started teaching classes on the last week of the semester, so I have no idea what these kids have learned so far or really what needs to be accomplished by the end of the week. I'm not too worried though because everything seems to be really go with the flow at this school. Because this is a private academy there really aren't grades or passing or failing, as long as the kids show up every day and do their homework everything seems to be fine in the administration's eyes.
The teacher I replaced was named Frank, and everybody seems to be very happy he is gone. Apparently this guy was just not that excited about teaching, and slacked off a lot. This is another reason for the confusion in my first week, as I am following his basically nonexistent lesson plans.
Ok, its really not all bad I just wanted to vent that out for a second. The teachers are all extremely nice, I've been given coffee and pizza and sandwiches and candy every day, there is a very generous spirit here. The kids are also great, obviously 8-14 year olds have a lot of energy and can be a bit annoying sometimes, but I have had a really good time with them. I have now met all of my classes and they are all very good at shouting back English at me when I ask them to repeat. They are all also the most excited hang man players I've ever met. As I walk around the hallways nearly every student I see shouts Hi! at me, and when I respond and say how are you today every single one chants 'I am fine how are you' in a semi robotic voice then runs away. Really cute.
Both my school office and my apartment are on the fifth floor of their respective buildings, and despite the elevator access I have been taking the stairs lets say 80% of the time. So we'll see how long that lasts. We're on our forth day of rain in a row now, and this Saturday I swear rain or shine I am making my way up that mountain I see on the edge of town. It's been over a year since I've been up a mountain and I need, really need, to get up there.
I hope everyone is awesome! Love from me!!
Also, I started teaching classes on the last week of the semester, so I have no idea what these kids have learned so far or really what needs to be accomplished by the end of the week. I'm not too worried though because everything seems to be really go with the flow at this school. Because this is a private academy there really aren't grades or passing or failing, as long as the kids show up every day and do their homework everything seems to be fine in the administration's eyes.
The teacher I replaced was named Frank, and everybody seems to be very happy he is gone. Apparently this guy was just not that excited about teaching, and slacked off a lot. This is another reason for the confusion in my first week, as I am following his basically nonexistent lesson plans.
Ok, its really not all bad I just wanted to vent that out for a second. The teachers are all extremely nice, I've been given coffee and pizza and sandwiches and candy every day, there is a very generous spirit here. The kids are also great, obviously 8-14 year olds have a lot of energy and can be a bit annoying sometimes, but I have had a really good time with them. I have now met all of my classes and they are all very good at shouting back English at me when I ask them to repeat. They are all also the most excited hang man players I've ever met. As I walk around the hallways nearly every student I see shouts Hi! at me, and when I respond and say how are you today every single one chants 'I am fine how are you' in a semi robotic voice then runs away. Really cute.
Both my school office and my apartment are on the fifth floor of their respective buildings, and despite the elevator access I have been taking the stairs lets say 80% of the time. So we'll see how long that lasts. We're on our forth day of rain in a row now, and this Saturday I swear rain or shine I am making my way up that mountain I see on the edge of town. It's been over a year since I've been up a mountain and I need, really need, to get up there.
I hope everyone is awesome! Love from me!!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Soju...
Hey hey everyone out there in internet land. Let me first say yes, my luggage arrived safe and sound a little after midnight Sunday night. I was pretty excited about that. I think that I am pretty much over my jet lag at this point, and some friends from my school made sure of that, but we'll get to that later. It's been raining a lot the past few days, which is a real shame because all of these streets around here are beautiful and are just calling to my board. Although when I do take it out I will have to be very very careful of these crazy motorcyclists out here, even in the rain they are all over the place, and I do mean all over. They seem to follow no laws at all, screaming through red lights, hopping up on the sidewalk, weaving through the opposite lanes, its funny and scary at the same time. The cars are a little better, I've only seen two or three pop up onto the sidewalk so far...
I had my first day at the school yesterday and I can definitely say I had a really good first day. I am the only male teacher in the elementary age, but there are a few more in the middle school age. The only other native English speaker is a very sweet girl from England named Sarah, who has been over here teaching English for three years now. She is taking me to set up my bank account tomorrow and well, it's good to have someone I don't have to make awkward sign language at too.
It looks like I will have five classes a day, and six on Wednesdays. I am teaching mostly elementary classes and just one middle school classes a week. The kids are really funny and sweet, at least my first few classes were. They were all definitely raised to be respectful of their teachers, but they also have lots of energy which makes for a silly classtime. It is pretty weird to stand up in front of ten little Asian children who are all yelling Teacher! Teacher! if I ask a question or say something they don't understand. Anyway, I'll post more about these kids after I get to know them a little better.
This brings me to the end of the workday last night, I got home and changed and was all set to go down to a coffee shop and relax, maybe blog a bit or something, when I saw two math teachers from my school in the lobby of my building. They called to me and asked if I wanted to go get a drink with them. We went up to the second floor of my building which has a lot of shops, a dentist, a computer store, a hair and nail place, and a restaurant and probably a couple more. The girls names were, I think, Baong and Sung. They were also very impressed with my chopstick skills and my tolerance of spicy food, I however was not impressed with the Korean beer I had ordered, much too sweet for my taste. So after a couple of beers and a big plate of spicy tentacles, shrimp, muscles, and noodles the girls asked me if I had ever tried Soju before. Answering in the negative they immediately ordered us a bottle which was twelve or sixteen ounces i think. It tastes a little like sake, but they kept calling it Korean Tequila, with good reason I came to find out. Now keep in mind I was understanding about one out of every four or five words these girls were saying before the Soju arrived so things got a lot funnier after the first bottle was gone. Sung had a translator on her cell phone that they were trying to use, but that wasn't really helping much. After the second bottle disappeared, well, the grin was pretty stuck on my very red face. We walked outside and for some reason Baong bought me some ice cream. After that I walked them home and somehow stumbled back to my building and passed out.
So here I sit, twelve hours and a handful of Ibprofen later with a splitting headache, drinking green tea and thinking about going to buy a huge loaf of bread to rip into. This starting work at two thirty in the afternoon every day is going to be my downfall I think. Sarah has already said she wants to take me out to see the real Hanam (apparently the area around city hall isn't exactly thriving, comparatively, even though nothing seems to close around here) on Tuesday and then into Seoul on Friday, so we'll just see how that goes.
Take care everyone!
I had my first day at the school yesterday and I can definitely say I had a really good first day. I am the only male teacher in the elementary age, but there are a few more in the middle school age. The only other native English speaker is a very sweet girl from England named Sarah, who has been over here teaching English for three years now. She is taking me to set up my bank account tomorrow and well, it's good to have someone I don't have to make awkward sign language at too.
It looks like I will have five classes a day, and six on Wednesdays. I am teaching mostly elementary classes and just one middle school classes a week. The kids are really funny and sweet, at least my first few classes were. They were all definitely raised to be respectful of their teachers, but they also have lots of energy which makes for a silly classtime. It is pretty weird to stand up in front of ten little Asian children who are all yelling Teacher! Teacher! if I ask a question or say something they don't understand. Anyway, I'll post more about these kids after I get to know them a little better.
This brings me to the end of the workday last night, I got home and changed and was all set to go down to a coffee shop and relax, maybe blog a bit or something, when I saw two math teachers from my school in the lobby of my building. They called to me and asked if I wanted to go get a drink with them. We went up to the second floor of my building which has a lot of shops, a dentist, a computer store, a hair and nail place, and a restaurant and probably a couple more. The girls names were, I think, Baong and Sung. They were also very impressed with my chopstick skills and my tolerance of spicy food, I however was not impressed with the Korean beer I had ordered, much too sweet for my taste. So after a couple of beers and a big plate of spicy tentacles, shrimp, muscles, and noodles the girls asked me if I had ever tried Soju before. Answering in the negative they immediately ordered us a bottle which was twelve or sixteen ounces i think. It tastes a little like sake, but they kept calling it Korean Tequila, with good reason I came to find out. Now keep in mind I was understanding about one out of every four or five words these girls were saying before the Soju arrived so things got a lot funnier after the first bottle was gone. Sung had a translator on her cell phone that they were trying to use, but that wasn't really helping much. After the second bottle disappeared, well, the grin was pretty stuck on my very red face. We walked outside and for some reason Baong bought me some ice cream. After that I walked them home and somehow stumbled back to my building and passed out.
So here I sit, twelve hours and a handful of Ibprofen later with a splitting headache, drinking green tea and thinking about going to buy a huge loaf of bread to rip into. This starting work at two thirty in the afternoon every day is going to be my downfall I think. Sarah has already said she wants to take me out to see the real Hanam (apparently the area around city hall isn't exactly thriving, comparatively, even though nothing seems to close around here) on Tuesday and then into Seoul on Friday, so we'll just see how that goes.
Take care everyone!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Wow... Korea
Hello all!
I have arrived safe and sound to the other side of the world, and while it did not go quite as smoothly as I had hoped I am here and that's what matters. Everything that ended up going a little weird happened in the States, of course. The flight I took from MPLS to San Fransisco was delayed in the air because there was too much fog at SFO to land, so we were put into a holding pattern, but we didn't have enough fuel to circle for an hour and thus landed at the Oakland airport, refueled, then took off and landed across the bay. After exiting the plane I ran, and I mean ran, half a mile down two terminals to reach my gate just as they were calling the final boarding call for the overseas flight. I had made it, but my bags of course did not. Hopefully they will be delivered to my room today, hopefully.
All of that mess aside, my first eighteen or so hours here have been great. I was met at my apartment by Sun and another teacher from my school last night and we went out for a bite to eat. I have no idea what it was, noodles and veggies and stuff, but apparently I impressed my companions with my mad chopstick skills and at how I dove right in to the spicy dishes.
The area I'm in looks very cool, I've only walked around it for a couple hours but I can tell already this is going to be a good place to live. I am right across from the Hanam city hall, close to the Han river, and there is a really big mountain looming on the eastern edge of town.
That's about all I know right now. Take care everyone.
Bo
I have arrived safe and sound to the other side of the world, and while it did not go quite as smoothly as I had hoped I am here and that's what matters. Everything that ended up going a little weird happened in the States, of course. The flight I took from MPLS to San Fransisco was delayed in the air because there was too much fog at SFO to land, so we were put into a holding pattern, but we didn't have enough fuel to circle for an hour and thus landed at the Oakland airport, refueled, then took off and landed across the bay. After exiting the plane I ran, and I mean ran, half a mile down two terminals to reach my gate just as they were calling the final boarding call for the overseas flight. I had made it, but my bags of course did not. Hopefully they will be delivered to my room today, hopefully.
All of that mess aside, my first eighteen or so hours here have been great. I was met at my apartment by Sun and another teacher from my school last night and we went out for a bite to eat. I have no idea what it was, noodles and veggies and stuff, but apparently I impressed my companions with my mad chopstick skills and at how I dove right in to the spicy dishes.
The area I'm in looks very cool, I've only walked around it for a couple hours but I can tell already this is going to be a good place to live. I am right across from the Hanam city hall, close to the Han river, and there is a really big mountain looming on the eastern edge of town.
That's about all I know right now. Take care everyone.
Bo
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