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!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
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!
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