I will never eat rice again

Wow. I can't believe it's here. I have been dreaming of this moment pretty much since I got here, and now it's here. My last few hours in Korea. My last day was pretty good, with one minor glitch. I found out this morning that I had to go to the pension office to apply for my refund, so I had to go home at lunch to get my passport, then when I left to go to the pension office, I accidentally missed the surprise goodbye party my kinder class had for me! I thought I had already said goodbye to them, but they had a whole party planned. I honestly can't think about it too much because it breaks my heart to know that they were waiting for me and I didn't come. UGh. Really, I can't think about it. My Korean co-teacher started crying when she said goodbye to me, which made me cry. I had no idea she felt so strongly about me. What a sweetheart! So it has been quite a day, complete with tears and lots of cards and goodbyes.

I have been compiling these two lists in my head for the past couple weeks, and I thought it would be a nice way to sum up my time here.

Things I Will NOT Miss About Korea

• working 10 hour days
• the subway
• feeling large and strange looking
• shopping
• pollution
• my elementary students
• stupid curriculum and meaningless tests
• dirty humidity
• negative coworkers
• being called fat
• my laziness after work
• the mosquitoes
• rice

Things I Will Miss About Korea

• cheap public transportation
• not having a car
• the kindness of my Korean coworkers
• feeling rich for once in my life
• delicious coffee drinks for less than a dollar
• my adorable kindergarten students
• my big bed
• gimbap (Korean sushi)
• living alone
• dinner (bibimbap) for 3 bucks
• seeing mountains in the distance
• no lesson planning
• walking to work
• convenience stores on every block
• living an adventure

I'm off to get a few hours of sleep before starting my crazy journey home. Here's the plan: wake up at 4:30 am, my director is taking me to an airport shuttle at 5, get to the airport by 6:30, flight leaves at 8:40, stop in Japan for 7 hours, then to San Francisco, Denver, and finally Omaha at 9:50 on Saturday night. I'm going back in time! 27 hours travel time. Yikes. It just might be the longest day of my life, but well worth it to bring me back to the ones I love.

It has been a joy to have you along for this adventure. It really means so much to me that y'all have been keeping up with me. I've enjoyed telling the stories, I hope you've enjoyed reading. I hope I can see you all soon! Much Love!!

My Last Week and My Morning Commute

Well, folks, I'm in the home stretch. Four more days and I'll be homeward bound. I think it's safe to say I've never anticipated something more. I am so ready to come home. It's really difficult to not be apathetic at work in this last week, but I'm trying my best.

Quite a while ago I came to the realization that my favorite part of my day is my walk to work. That tells you how exciting my life is, but those 30 minutes of walking and listening to music have kept me sane. Not that it was peaceful or beautiful. In fact, it was quite an assault to the senses, with some ugly sights and smells, and the occasional brush with death as a scooter or delivery truck literally brushed my side. All in all, it was very Korean. Look at me already using the past tense. Wishful thinking. Anyway, here are a few shots from my daily stroll.

The street that is just coming alive as I walk through.

Oh, the smell of fish in the morning!

I have to hold my breath as I walk by this one.

Surprised to see he's wearing gloves while chopping off fish heads.

One of many stands getting ready for the day.

They eat so much radish!

Usually there's a really old lady to accompany this cart, but I spotted her sitting inside the door of the apartment. I don't know a)what they do with all this and b) how such an old woman can haul so much trash!

Toy store of sorts.

There are a few trees.

This one always makes me laugh. Scary foreigner!

I had to get a picture of this sign on a restaurant that I pass every morning. When I first got here, I would look at that sign every day and want to cry because it looked so gross and foreign. Now, it's no big deal, although I still have no idea what it is. I've come a long way.

One last bit of green before I head inside for my ten hour day!

June Photos

Here are my latest pics!

A Wet Weekend

This past weekend was an eventful one, which was good for me, considering the last few have been pretty low key while I have been hanging out in my air conditioned apartment to avoid the city's humidity and overall yuckiness. I found a group online that was going river rafting and river trekking all in one weekend. The location was described as "deep in the mountains of Gangwon-do," and that had my attention immediately. It was indeed, deep in the mountains, plush with green forests and a rushing river. It's so funny, though. In Korea, you are never alone. There are always a couple hundred other people doing the same thing. So although the natural scenery was beautiful, it didn't quite have a wilderness feel with so many other people around.

On the bus ride there, I tried to keep my expectations low about how exciting this river rafting was going to be, but for once, Korea did not disappoint. We got all suited up in helmets and life jackets with crotch straps (both of which I was thankful for later) and split up into teams. My team just so happened to be all women, and our guide, who spoke just a tiny bit of English, kept repeating to a fellow guide, "All girls, all girls," until he decided to swap one of us for a boy. It just wouldn't do to have no men on the boat! So, with very little instruction (1,2, 1,2, stop!) we were off down the river, with about ten other rafts around us. It was very pleasant and nice, with a few little rapids here and there, and then we hit something a little bigger and the raft almost tipped and we lost three people. I was almost the fourth, as I was flailing over the edge with my feet strapped in to my "seatbelt" and my abs not strong enough to sit up, but I was rescued by a fellow raft mate. I was pretty proud of myself for not falling in. We got everyone back in the raft, then went a little further and jumped out to swim a bit. "Swimming number one!" our guide said, and I would have to agree. The water was perfect! We all got pulled back into the raft and went along through some more little rapids. It's really hard to tell what is going to be rough and what isn't when you're in the raft, so after a while you realize that even if you see a big rock, we could just glide over it. But then we came up to a pretty rough spot which looked like it might be a tight squeeze to fit through, and the next thing I know, the raft is halfway up in the air and the water is rushing over the middle part. I was in the front and holding on for dear life when I finally realized the guide was saying, "GO! GO!" I wasn't too sure of my future at this point but I did what I was told and let go. It was pretty scary. I'm fairly sure I banged my head on a rock and kept on going. After what felt like an eternity of swirling and rocks and trying to locate my fellow raftmates, another guide grabbed me and pulled me into their raft full of Korean guys yelling,"OK? OK?" So funny. I was just glad to be alive. The rest of the ride was pretty tame, and when we all got back together with our group, everyone was jealous of our exciting story.

That night we stayed in a renovated school house, complete with a kitchen and dining hall and big tents outside to eat under. It was a great setup. We had a really nice barbeque, with the vegetarian population (12 0f 45) well fed with lots of grilled veggies and tofu. The night progressed into a pretty crazy party that I wasn't really in the mood for, especially knowing that we were going to be hiking all the next day, so I was a party pooper and went to bed early, only to be woken up at 3 by a crying girl on my pillow, and another girl telling me to keep an eye on her because she fell down the stairs and might have a concussion. No, thank you, I'd like to sleep. Thankfully, her friends found her and took care of her. Yikes.

The next morning we woke up at a decent time, especially considering how late people were up, and started our hike up to the top of the ridge, where we would begin our river trek. Sadly, I don't have any pictures of this gorgeous hike because we were in and out of the water the whole day and I didn't want to risk getting my camera wet. The hike up was killer, and most people were hungover so I don't know how they did it. It was straight up for probably 40 minutes. Killer. Then we went down, down, down to where the river began, and hopped right in. The next four hours were a mix of hiking, splashing and swimming through icy water, hopping around on boulders, slipping on rocks, and every once in a while, looking up and realizing that I was in a beautiful place. It was really too bad that I had to concentrate on each step so carefully, because it really was beautiful, but hard to take in while trekking through the river. It was energizing ad adventurous, but by the end of it, I was ready to be dry and not have sand in my tennis shoes. We crossed the river one last time, enjoyed some delicious bibimbap, and climbed on the bus to take us back to Seoul. Along the way, we did noraebang (kareoke) on the bus! I didn't know that was possible, but hey, it's Korea!

All in all, it was a good weekend, just because I finally got out of the city and into some green. South Korea is beautiful after all! Unfortunately, I didn't really find anyone great to hang out with and felt kind of out of the loop because I didn't want to be wasted the entire time. Such is the life of the English teacher in Korea. Next weekend is Mud Fest, which I have a feeling is going to be a spring break trip atmosphere complete with mud wrestling and I just don't know if I want to do that. I am such an old lady.

I hope everyone had a wonderful Fourth of July! We sang the Star Spangled Banner on the bus. It was a good moment. Anyway, I miss you all and I will be home so soon! I booked my flight for July 25. Woo hoo!

Just in the Nick of Time

I am feeling really good about my decision to leave Poly today. Our summer break is coming up, the last week of July, and I had contemplated staying through the break so I could do some traveling in Asia, but it turns out I made the right decision. We were notified today that anyone who leaves the country over the break will be quarantined for 7 days upon returning, without pay, AND will have to pay for a week's sub out of their own pocket. Almost everyone has plans to travel out of Korea, so this was some pretty upsetting news. Oh and if you get swine flu, you are fired. This is a crazy place. 

I'm Coming Home!

Today was the big day. I told my director that I was resigning and that my last day would be July 24. I was pretty nervous before I went in and told him, but as I was doing it, I was confident that I was making the right decision. He was shocked and sad to lose me, so he said, but lucky for me he's kind of a wussy man, so he was not very forceful in trying to change my mind. He really wants me to stay til the end of August, but for my sanity and job situation back home, I think it would be better for me to be home for the month of August and try to get things figured out for the fall before school starts. Also, I have already set my mind on being here five more weeks, and I don't really want to extend that. I was nervous to tell my coworkers for some reason, but they were all very supportive and not quite as shocked as I thought they would be. The overall feeling was, "Good for you, get out if you can." One of my coworkers told me that I am the most positive person at work, which isn't saying that much, but it still made me feel good to know that I haven't been sucked into the negativity that surrounds me each day. Hopefully the next month will be a happy one, knowing there's an end in sight. I have little trips planned for the next three weekends, so I hope to make the most of my time left here. I know it will go fast. I can't believe this adventure will soon come to an end, but I have done a lot of Seoul-searching (I just can't help it) in the last few weeks and I know South Korea is not the place for me right now. So, let's make some plans for August!

A Pick-Me-Up

Today I was going about my business of correcting my kindergarten students' writing workbooks, in which one of the journal entries was "Write about something that is ugly. Why do you think it is ugly? What does it look like?" Dumb journal entry if you ask me, but I didn't make it up. The kids said things like a mean face, or a trash can, and then I came across this gem: "I think that Miss Walding is ugly because she is fat. She needs to get more exercise and eat less." Ouch. The thing that really gets me is that the student who wrote it has a tutor on the weekends, and from the level of English used in his writing, I could tell he had help writing this. Sure enough, when I asked the kid about it and told him it wasn't very nice (I couldn't help it), he started crying and said his tutor made him write it. I didn't press the issue further because I could see he was upset about it, but how weird is that? His tutor suggested that he write that his teacher, who is going to read this, is ugly and fat? I don't get it, but it doesn't help my anti-Korea feelings at the moment. 

1/4 of a Year

It's hard to believe, but I have been here for three months now, and I am sad to report that the three month marker is not finding me particularly happy to be here. Not to be dramatic (me? dramatic? never!), but this is kind of the worst case scenario that I let myself imagine before I left. Lonely, working horrible hours, not liking the city, watching a lot of tv on my computer. I feel like I've given it a go, and now I'm ready to come home. I think what's really getting me down lately is that it's summer and that should mean grilling out and bike rides and outdoor music and patios, but it's just the same old nasty city around here. As I type these words, I hate how negative I sound but that's just the way I'm feeling. As I think about 9 months ahead of me, I think, I can get through anything. But is that any way of going through life? I just don't know. I have to stay for 6 months before they pay for my plane ticket, so I'll at least stay that long, but you might be seeing me earlier than expected. A year is a long time. 

 In other news, I went to my first movie here last weekend. I couldn't believe it, but I went to Star Trek and really liked it! The whole experience was very enjoyable. You reserve your seat ahead of time and it's printed on your ticket, so you can walk in at the last minute and you know right where to sit. They have overpriced popcorn just like at home, but here you can get it in three flavors. I had caramel and it was delicious. It was such a comforting feeling to walk into the theater. It felt like home. That is, until the Korean movie previews started. It was interesting to watch with a crowd reading in subtitles. Whenever the Russian kid spoke in his thick accent, everyone burst out laughing. I don't get how you translate an accent. I guess they know English enough to recognize an accent. Interesting.

I also had another first last weekend: climbing my first Korean mountain! I met up with a hiking group and set out to climb Bulamsan, right on the edge of the city. I realized how very out of shape I am. It was so hard. Not like Montana, with nice trails and switchbacks. This was sandy, gravelly trail straight up the mountain. And the way down was even worse, thinking that I would slip on the gravel and slide all the way down the mountain. At one point, we had to back down two big boulders using a rope that was attached at the top. I am not good with things like this, but I made it without hurting myself too bad. Oh and my other favorite part was crawling on my hands and feet up the unfinished stairs that led the way to the peak. And then I thought I was there, but oh no, there was another few boulders to scamper up, or rather, drag my tired body up. But in the end, it was all worth it for the cool view of the city and a day in the sunshine. I might be going out again tomorrow, this time to the highest mountain in Seoul. I hope there's no ropes involved!

One more thing: I hear people back home are worried about all the North Korea business. It's strange but I really feel like people here are not concerned. I asked my Korean teacher about it, and she was so nonchalant and almost laughed at my concern. They all just say that Kim Jong-il just wants to show his power before he dies, and they're used to these threats. I also learned last night that my apartment is not far from one of the two evacuation points for foreigners if anything were to happen. So no worries, I am and will be safe and sound. 

May Photos

Here's some photos from the last month. I will provide some stories to accompany them soon, when I'm not feeling so tired. It's been a long week. 

Bad News

It's been a rough couple of days here in Korea. Yesterday was a horrible day at work after management told us we would all be losing an hour of our 1.5 hour of daily prep time. This is technically legal according to our contract, but a real low blow. I couldn't imagine teaching 5 classes in a row in the afternoon/evening after teaching all morning. Yikes. So after surviving a stressful and toxically negative environment yesterday, we got the new schedule today and it turns out that only a few people will be losing prep time, and I am not one of them. So that turned out to be good news. In other news, however, South Korea's ex-president jumped off a cliff to his death after facing corruption charges, North Korea tested a nuclear bomb, and a bunch of English teachers have been quarantined for swine flu (my apologies to the pork industry). On top of that, one of my students accidentally jabbed a marker in my eye, resulting in a gross and painful bloody eyeball. The kids scream when they look at me. I started crying when it happened, it hurt so bad. Hopefully it will look and feel better tomorrow. 

Even with all these happenings, I am feeling good and settled and taking life one moment at a time. My latest project is finding some kind of workout routine in my apartment. I bought some weights tonight and very awkwardly carried them back to my apartment. I better use the darn things. I just hope I can be motivated without my dear Body Pump. Does anyone know of any great online workout videos? Also, if there's any great new music that I'm missing out on, please fill me in. My ipod is my constant companion, so I'm always looking for new tunes or podcasts to listen to on my walk to work and long subway rides. 

I'm off to rest my eyeball. 

Teacher's Day

Yesterday was Teacher's Day here in Korea, and let me tell you, they know how to treat their teachers here. As a teacher back home, I didn't even know when Teacher Appreciation Day is, and I can't remember ever getting anything for it. But here, it's a different story. It all started on Tuesday when I got a $100 gift certificate to a fancy department store from ONE kid. Then when the kids came in yesterday morning, they poured into the teacher's office with homemade cards that all say I love you, thank you for teaching me, etc. Pretty cute. I had been hearing about outrageous Teacher's day gifts since I got here, so I didn't know quite what to expect but I have to admit I was a little disappointed with just the cards. I know that sounds so greedy but I had heard of getting crazy things like Louis Vitton bags (not that I care about a Louis Vitton bag).  But THEN I got another $100 gift certificate to the same store from the whole class, and then to top it all off, my other class sang to me, gave me yet another $100 gift certificate! This is craziness! $300! I guess I'm teaching at the right place, because I heard there is a law that public school teachers can't get any gifts over $30. Hogwans are the place to be! We can be bought. Just kidding. But I won't be able to help thinking of my dear kinders when I wear the new shoes I'm going to buy. I love Teacher's Day! 

Sindo, Sido, Modo

Yesterday my friend Alissa and I set out on a journey to three islands off the west coast of Seoul. I had read that it was a good place to get out of the city and enjoy a safe, peaceful bike ride, so I really built it up in my head and was really excited for it. I need to stop doing that. 

After 2 hours on the subway, three bus rides and two separate ferries, we finally arrived at the place where you can rent the bikes. There was a cute little old man there, and we got the ricketiest old bikes you can imagine for 2 bucks for an hour.  We hopped on and slowly made our way down the road, where I saw maybe three cars the entire time. At one point, the not-so-bike-savvy Alissa called out to me, "Uh, is your bike making a lot of noise?" It was, in fact, and I soon found out that the gears didn't work at all, so we had to walk our bikes up any little hill. Turns out biking isn't as fun without gears. Nevertheless, it was a beautiful day and very peaceful and quiet out on the islands. They were connected by bridges, so that was cool to bike across the mud flats and see the Yellow Sea. The ferry rides were also entertaining: the Koreans like to feed the seagulls chips from their hands, so the birds are constantly swooping and overhead. It was a tad frightening at times. A little girl shared a chip with me so I could join in the fun, but I preferred to to just throw it up and see the crazy birds catch it. Pretty impressive. 

So, all in all, it was a good adventure, but not one that I would do again. Six hours of transportation for one hour on the island, riding a bike with no gears. The things I do to get a little nature in my life!  

I've come a long way

Tonight after work I thought I'd try something new for dinner, so I stopped into a restaurant that  I know has a English menu, and ordered "noodles with vegetables". Doesn't sound too exciting, I know, but it's the type of thing I look for in this meat rich country. I thought I was trying something new, but it turns out that this was exactly the dish I got on my first night in Seoul, when I had to meet my boss in my scared and jet-lagged state. At that time, I couldn't even choke it down and wanted to cry. And now, here I am enjoying it! Well, before I enjoyed it, the waiter asked me if he could mix it with his hand, and I sat there staring at his bare hand, horrified, before he clarified that he would get a glove. So I sat there while he rifled through my big plate of noodles with his gloved hand. It was awkward. 

Children's Day

Today was a big day: one of the very few weekdays that I don't have to work. I didn't really have anything big planned, except that I wanted to do something outside. May 5 actually really snuck up on me. I can't believe it's here and gone.

 I spent the morning skyping with my parents and Monica, which was much needed and wonderful. Then I got out the old Lonely Planet Seoul and looked up some walking tours. I chose the one called Shamanist Hillside Walk. Sounds nice, right? And I thought it would be a good place to go today because everyone was going to be out and about with their children, probably not looking at shrines. So I set out on my little walking tour. I felt a little like I was on the Amazing Race, because I just had the directions in the book which said "go up the alley" but you have to guess which little stairway or winding path counts as the alley. It was also really hot and I was sweaty and getting lost, but I started over a few times and finally found my way. All for nothing. The guidebook described all sorts of cool-sounding temples and said "you can sense the ancient atmosphere" in the area. Well, it was during this little walk that I came to the inevitable conclusion that I have been trying to put off since I arrived: Seoul is ugly. There, I said it. For those of you who've seen my pictures, you've probably already thought this to yourself. I am trying very hard to see the beauty here, but it was near impossible this afternoon. The temple was surrounded by trash and rubble and overrun with pigeons that kind of freaked me out. The walk provided a great view of the city, which means forests of highrises shrouded in smog. Ugh I know I'm being negative but there is just no way around this ugliness. The refrigerator was the kicker. It really gave me an "ancient" feeling. Maybe I should just be annoyed with Lonely Planet's description. Disappointing to say the least. But it wasn't without a few interesting sights. I did see a couple people chanting and doing some sort of bowing/kneeling/standing ritual in front of the "Zen Rock", and I watched an old woman throw an entire pot of soup (including a whole chicken) on the mountainside to feed the pigeons. No wonder they're crazy up there. 

This walk was right next to a small mountain, so I thought I would check it out, but after lots of walking around a few entrances, it appeared that the mountain was closed for the day. Disappointing once again, especially because I when I got to the bottom, I saw people at the top! I don't know how they got up there...

Don't worry, my day gets better from here. After some bibimbap, I brought out my new friend the ugly bike. I rode over to Olympic Park, managed not to hit anyone or anything on the way, and found an excellent bike path through the park and to the Han River. Although it's a stretch to call it beautiful, there are some very nice parts and everything is SO green, which makes my heart happy. I was also happy to see that the path had a bike lane and a pedestrian lane. Unfortunately, Koreans don't so much abide by it. They were walking all over that bike lane. But then I didn't feel bad when I was biking on the walking part. When in Rome...

So I biked for a couple hours in the beautiful evening and it was good for my seoul. =) And now, the best part is I only have a 3 day week ahead of me!

I know, I know, I know

It's been a while. I don't really even have a good excuse. I could lie and say I've been really busy, but that's just not the truth. I think that's what's kept me from blogging. I felt like I didn't have much to say. But now that I sit here and think back over the past few weeks, I don't know where to begin. 

I've been here over two months now, and things are feeling pretty settled in. I never thought it would happen, but I am feeling used to the long hours at work. When I come back home and get a teaching job, I am not going to know what to do with myself with all that free time! I dearly love my kindergarten students, which take the most energy but the least prep. My afternoon classes (1st, 3rd and 4th grade classes) are also fun and pretty laid back. I have 12 students in each class, so classroom management consists of an occasional stern look. Pretty nice. The drawbacks of the job are the hours, of course, and the lack of room for creativity in the lessons. The curriculum is all planned out, and you have to stick to it, so there's not a lot of time for anything outside of checking homework and working in the book. I try my best to sneak in a game every once in a while, but it's tricky. In a way, it makes me long for my days at St. Helena when I could teach whatever I wanted. The grass is always greener!

My weekends have been spent exploring and shopping (now that I actually have money!!) around Seoul. A few weeks ago I hiked up to Seoul Tower, which is a big communications tower and tourist attraction. When I told my co-workers I walked up, they were all like, "You know there's a tram, right?" Yes, I did know that, but I chose to walk. I need all the exercise I can get these days and I thought it would be cool to walk up all the steps. I walked up behind a girl in high heels. I just don't understand why you would hike up a mountain in heels. Korean girls are crazy with the shoes. Anyway, the view was pretty amazing. The city basically goes in all directions as far as the eye can see. I guess I chose a good day for it, because there wasn't much smog and it was a clear day. I'll post pictures soon.  Other than the view, it was cool to see the hundreds of locks locked to the fence. I guess lovebirds come to the top together, attach a lock to the fence, and then throw the key over the edge, to represent their eternal love. It made me sad that I couldn't read Korean, because I wanted to read the cheesy things written on the locks. Maybe I'll go back when I get myself a Korean boyfriend. Doubtful. But it would be nice, considering the men carry their girlfriends' purses around here...

I have been eating a lot of bibimbap, which is a delicious and vegetarian dish of rice, veggies, seaweed, red pepper paste, and a fried egg on top. Lately I've been trying a different restaurant every night, trying to find the best bibimbap on my walk home. I'm wondering when I will get sick of it. It hasn't happened yet, but I should probably branch out to something else soon. 

My most exciting news is of my latest purchase: a bike! I have wanted a bike since the day I arrived here and saw that it didn't look too terribly dangerous (you can ride on the sidewalks here) and I finally got around to buying one yesterday. I asked my Korean teacher to write down how to ask for a used bike and how much it is, and I scouted out a little neighborhood bike shop on my way to school. The guy didn't speak any English, so I was glad I was armed with my handy notebook, and he pointed to four old bikes in the corner. Three of them had little itty bitty wheels, so I chose the one with normal sized wheels, rode it down the block and decided it was good enough for me. It was about 60 bucks and I'm pretty sure the guy told me I could bring it back it anything goes wrong with it. I felt like a bit of a menace as I rode it home; my purse kept falling off and smacking the tire and I got yelled at twice, but other than that I made it home and brought it up the elevator to its new home. I think I just have to remember that I am not on the street in Minneapolis, I am on the busy sidewalk in Seoul, and I can't go as fast as I want. I think that's why I got yelled at. That and I totally went right between two ladies without warning them. Woops! I need to remember to use my bell. They do that a lot here. 

So even though I am feeling settled in and have a boring old routine just like everybody else, there is still the occasional overwhelming feeling that I am in a very foreign place. Tonight at the grocery store (where they ground my coffee beans on the spot), I was wandering around and crossed paths with a girl who literally gasped when she saw my face. I'm hoping she was shocked to see the color of my eyes, rather than gasping at my overall hideousness. I guess I'll never know. Just another day in Korea.

This weekend I am headed to Everland, the big amusement park in Korea, with some co-workers. That should be interesting. And next Tuesday is Children's Day, a national holiday in which everyone gets the day off to spoil their kids. I don't have any plans for that yet, but I have to figure somewhere that kids won't be, because my days off are few and far between. I'm looking forward to it no matter what I do!

Happy Easter!

Well, it's my first holiday in Korea and I think it went pretty well. It doesn't feel like Easter, really, but I went to mass with some people and enjoyed a delicious American brunch afterwards. The weather here is gorgeous and feels almost summery to me. However, I have been warned by everyone I talk to that summer is horribly hot and humid and unbearable most of the time. So I am trying to savor every moment of this so-called spring weather before the summer humidity sets in. I went for a walk tonight in Olympic Park, which I am so thankful for. It's close enough to walk to from my apartment and provides a little respite from the city. It's still very busy, with everyone from ajummas (middle aged ladies) in visors and track suits, to young lovebirds in matching outfits, to crazy (in my opinion) girls in miniskirts and heels, walking around on the paths, taking in a bit of nature. 

Yesterday I had the opposite of an enjoyable nature walk. I was at a restaurant near the park in Seoul that is famous for its cherry blossoms, so after lunch a few of us followed the crowds to the park, in hopes of seeing some of the beautiful trees. Well, it turned out that there was basically one street along the Han River that was lined with the trees, and people were just following along in hoards, so close together that you could touch the person in front of and behind you. Not exactly a relaxing stroll. I'm so glad I went down south last weekend to Jinhae's Cherry Blossom Festival. It was beautiful and had a very quaint feeling. Every single street in the town was lined with the trees. It was also fabulous to have my friends Katie and Ross visiting from China! They were very impressed with South Korea and made me feel happy to be here. I can't wait to visit them soon in Shanghai!

When Katie was here, I had just past the one month mark, and she reminded me that that is kind of a milestone in my year here. Now I've been here six weeks and I can't believe how fast the time has gone. I am feeling really comfortable at work and starting to get more and more into teaching, trying my best to get through the curriculum while adding a little of my own flare, which can be a challenge. I enjoy my weekends immensely, even though I don't have much of a social life yet. It's just fun at this point to continue to explore the city and stumble upon random things. Last night I was walking home through a residential area, and I see what looks like a small office completely filled with flats of eggs, from floor to ceiling. Maybe it doesn't sound that weird, but it was a LOT of eggs, in the middle of a bunch of apartments. And then I thought, maybe the chickens live here. It was weird. 

I really wish I could find some people who are experiencing this all for the first time with me. It's great to meet new people, and I have met quite a few, but I have yet to find another newbie. For people who have been here even six months, every observation I make about Korea is old hat to them. It's hard to believe that will be me in a few short months, but for now, I just really want someone who I can be like, "I know! It's so crazy!" with, rather than, "Yep, that's how it is." Maybe I just need to sit down somewhere and watch for that bewildered look of the newbie foreigner. I think I still have it a bit, but it's getting better. Much better. I learned Hangul, the Korean alphabet! I use "learned" loosely, but I am starting to sound things out and it has opened up a whole new world. I think I am going to look into taking some free Korean classes. I love languages and it would make me feel so much more confident if I could understand a bit more than hello, thank you and give me one, please. 

I finally got a cell phone! I thought about getting a fancy-schmancy phone now that I'm making the big bucks, but it turned out to be too difficult to get a foreigner contract, so I got a used one and I'm just paying as I go. So if you want to call me, my number is 8210-8697-4554. Incoming calls are free for me, so call me anytime. Well, maybe not in the middle of the night, unless it's something really interesting. 

I should get going to bed. This has been long, and I feel that there's so much I didn't say. I guess it's impossible to say it all. You all just need to come visit and see for yourself! I love you all and I hope you are having a wonderful Easter!  

More pics

Here's a link to my latest photo album:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2047802&l=ed06187577

Enjoy!

My cherries

My cherries are wrong! The time (on the blog, not in Korea) has mysteriously gone an hour ahead and I don't know why. Any ideas from smarter people than I? Not that it's a big deal between and 14 and 15 hours different, but I don't want to mislead my public.

Walking to Work

I had an interesting walk to work the other day. First of all, I was standing at the crosswalk, listening to my ipod, and waiting for what seemed like forever to cross the 8 lanes of traffic, when I noticed out of the corner of my eye that this guy seemed to be standing really close to me. The crosswalk wasn't really busy, and although Koreans do have different sense of personal space, it seemed weird. I didn't turn and look at him outright, but just sensed that he was inching closer to me, like he wanted to hear the music I was listening to. Then I heard it. He was saying, "Excuse me," the whole time! So I took out my headphones and gave him my attention, but it was a pretty strained interaction. He just kept saying sorry over and over, then what sounded like, "you chop, you chop." This was lost on me and I felt so bad because he seemed to be in urgent need of something. However, if he was, he would have asked the Korean lady next to him. This went on for a few blocks until he apologized one last time and then turned away. 

So I put my earbuds back in and continued on my walk to work, past the fruits, vegetables, and various fish and fish parts on display. The next thing I know, a Korean man on his bicycle is asking me in English, "How are you?" I saw his mouth move before I heard him, and it was a surreal moment. I thought I was imagining it but he he said good morning with a smile on his face. This was quite an occasion, because not many Koreans would approach you, speaking English and smiling. We had a nice chat and Mr. Bok invited me to come to his shop, which was right on that street, anytime and we could drink coffee. I haven't stopped in yet but I'm looking forward to it. What a great way to start the day! 

Tidbits

I just opened a little container of cream cheese and there was a little security device inside the lid.  And they told me theft wasn't a problem in South Korea.

There is a black box on the wall in my apartment that says "Fire Escape". This is what's inside. I live on the eighth floor. Let's hope there's no fire, because I played sick the day we did repelling in gym class. 

This sign caught my eye because I suffer from the itchy ailment and I need to figure out how to say it in Korean so I can get some spray or something. Unfortunately, I don't think this would be the place to go. 

What to Eat?

So much to say, I don't know where to begin. People have been asking about the food, so I guess I'll start there. I really don't have all that much to say because I still haven't eaten at a lot of Korean restaurants. Sadly, most of my exposure to Korean food comes in the form of Korean school lunch. From my experience, school lunch in any country is not exactly good food, and I don't think Korea is any exception. Every day, we teachers get a box lunch, pictured below. You never know what you are going to get, and in my case, even as I'm eating it I don't know what I am getting. I hate asking what every little thing is, especially when there are 6-10 items in the lunch, so I just take a deep breath and take a bite. Sometimes that backfires, like when I thought it was egg and it was fish sausage covered in egg. When I first got here I tried almost everything once (except the chunks of spicy squid and breaded mystery meat), but I am finally starting to become familiar with a few recurring characters and I know what I like and what to avoid. The kimchi, for example, is not good. And to think I told the immigration people it was one of the reasons I wanted to come to Korea! I'm not saying all kimchi is bad; I've had some good stuff at restaurants, but the school lunch version is nasty. As is the kimchi-type diced radish (pictured below, upper left). Blech. I tried it about four times before I decided it was okay to not like it. Other then that, this particular lunch wasn't bad: 2 little potatoes, 2 tomatoes, some kind of tofu (the brown cubes), breaded fish, fried squid (did not eat) and some seaweed. There is usually some kind of seaweed in every lunch, which is pretty decent,  and I'm interested in the nutritional value in it. I kind of feel like I'm eating grass or something. Oh and there's always rice and soup to accompany the box. So overall, I feel somewhat satisfied by the lunch but don't know if I'm getting much protein or anything. More than lunch, I look forward to my afternoon snack (not provided) which is usually an apple and some nuts. I have been eating almonds like crazy! They are way cheaper here, which is exciting. 

Other than Korean school lunch, I have tried Korean BBQ, where the meat is grilled in front of you and you make little lettuce wraps, and some delicious fried rice that was so spicy in made my nose run, and went to a Brazilian steak house with coworkers, which was not Korean at all. I think it is going to be really hard to be a veg here, but I am going to do what I can. There is a Seoul Veggie Club that goes to vegetarian restaurants together, so hopefully I can meet up with them. I got a pizza at Pizza Hut the other day. It was delicious. I had heard that Koreans do not consider pork as meat, and I found this to be true when I ordered my pizza. "No meat, just vegetables," I said. The very nice waiter said, "No beef. Vegetables and pepperoni." "No, no, just vegetables." Funny. It was delicious, with lots of real cheese, which was the best part. Or maybe the best part was the ring of sweet potato around the crust. Crazy but good. Oh course it was sweet because EVERYTHING is sweet here. I just wanted something salty yesterday and got some Cheetos, and was sorely disappointed to find that Korean Cheetos are sweet and slightly fishy tasting. Not horrible, but just not what I was looking for in a Cheeto.

Figuring out what to eat is a slow process, but in the meantime, I have my staples of yogurt, fruit, eggs, PB, cereal, and an assortment of crackers that turn out to be cookies. 

Coffee

As you may or may not know, I love coffee. I have said many times before that I don't know if I could be a teacher if there was no coffee. Well, the past few weeks have been filled with grumpy, groggy mornings because I didn't have my standard two cups every morning. Some mornings I went without (devastating), some mornings I got by on drinking two instant coffee packets they have at school, which are more sugar and creamer than coffee, one morning I got cafe americano (espresso and hot water=gross), and the grumpiest morning of all, I ordered a large coffee at Dunkin Donuts and watched the girl fill it halfway with drip coffee and fill up the rest with hot water. I was so irritated and uncaffeinated that day. I spent about twenty minutes in the coffee aisle at the grocery store, trying to find a single bag of coffee that was not freeze-dried. Unsuccessful. BUT, this is all about to change. Yesterday I found some ground coffee and today after work I bought myself a cute little red coffee maker. Now I will be equipped to handle my 10 hour work day! 

It has been quite a rough adjustment to be at work that much every day, but I am finally starting to accept it. The coffee will help with this. It's not extremely challenging, it's just a LONG day. I get 40 minutes for lunch and and hour and a half of prep time, in which I am usually bored. I think I am going to start bringing a book. I just found out that on Wednesdays and Fridays I get off at 6:30, which will be nice. I think this schedule is will force me to take advantage of my weekends. I need to start planning some trips! 

My digs

These pictures are on here in the opposite order I intended. Didn't mean for the first picture to be of my toilet but I'm too lazy to fix it. Enjoy the tour!

The shower comes right out of the sink and sprays everywhere. Still getting used to that one. 

The washing machine is also in the bathroom. Haven't tackled that one yet.

Here's a few shots of my apartment in Gangdong-dong. (Dong means neighborhood. Isn't that cute?) It 's a pretty nice place and was very clean when I moved in, which I've heard is rare. It's pretty sparse at the moment. I'm still working on getting the basics. But I do so enjoy the beautiful murals provided by the pulled blinds. Depending on my mood, I can imagine myself out on the stormy sea or out for a pleasant afternoon stroll in a European village without ever leaving my apartment.  

No oven. I guess I won't be baking any cookies. 

I'm not sure if they use sheets in Korea. They didn't give me any...

Ahoy, matey!

 

Oops

Ok, let's try this again. Here's the link.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2046554&id=59202927&l=acfff

More pics

For those non-facebookers, here's a link to all the pics: 

Sights around my neighborhood

Today I was planning on doing some exploring but it turned out that going to a coffeeshop and to E-mart for some groceries turned out to be enough for me. I sat in Holly's Coffee, drank my mocha and read Lonely Planet Seoul. You would think it would be a good idea to read the travel book before you go to that country, but hey, better late than never. It was pretty amazing to read about the sights of Seoul and then realize that I could see them tomorrow if I want! There's so much I want to do, but on the other hand, even going to the grocery store is exciting. I took some pics on my way there and back. I wanted to put them all up, but couldn't figure out how to make a slideshow yet. I'll work on that. I put an album on facebook, so for those of you who can, check it out. Don't worry, Mom and Dad, I will find a way to put them on here as well. For now, enjoy these glimpses of Seoul! 

Typical street on my way to E-mart

A random sign: a glimpse of Hangul, the Korean alphabet

The deadly scooter!

The street I live on 

The view from my apartment window

First Impressions

Well, I made it through the first week of teaching. It was a long one. I leave my apartment at 8:30 in the morning and return at about 8 at night. Especially during this adjustment period, it doesn't leave time for much, other than a little emailing, blogging and sleeping. What a life. I am really looking forward to this weekend so I can finally unpack and start to explore a bit more. But even in the hustle and bustle of the work week, I have made some observations that I thought I'd pass along. 

I love the style in Seoul! Everyone looks so nice and put together all the time. I hope some of the fashion rubs off on me because it is so cute! All the Korean teachers at school have the cutest clothes and shoes. And the men! Wowzer. So fancy. American men could learn something from the Koreans about how to dress. So for those of you who thought I might fall in love with a Korean, I'm not ruling it out because they are looking good. And they are not short, by the way. There are many tall Koreans. 

I am still trying to figure out if the people are friendly or not. Half the time when I interact with a Korean, I feel like they're making fun of me because I don't speak Korean, but that's probably just my insecurity. And they don't smile much. But on the other hand, I had three people helping me at E mart last night, and the other day I was waiting for someone outside a shop, and the clerk wanted me to come in because I looked cold. So I think it's true what I've heard that Koreans are very friendly and helpful. I'm sure I will be in need of this numerous times in the coming months. 

You may think, like I did, that Korean children are very well-behaved. This is true, to some extent. They very quickly quiet down when asked and seem to have a better attention span then American kids. But they are also spoiled. It seems to me that everyone treats them (especially the little ones) like your grandmother would treat you. I can't say I blame them because they are so darn cute! Today was the first day that I actually did my hair curly because I finally bought a hair dryer last night, and the comments from the students ranged from, "Teacher, your hair looks strange," to "Teacher, you are beautiful today!" Who wouldn't want to spoil the kid that tells you you are beautiful?

Motorcycles, bikes and scooters ride on the street, on the sidewalk, through traffic lights, pretty much wherever they please. At least three times on my way home last night, a scooter type thing came zooming up behind me and scared the living daylights out of me. Seriously, these big things just dart in and out of people walking on the sidewalk, almost touching my side. And then you have to watch them go back and forth from sidewalk to street and fear for their lives. I wonder if I'll ever get used to that. 

That's just a glimpse of life here, a sliver of the thousands of things I am taking in and trying to make sense of. Tomorrow I hope to do some exploring, venture further than my previous two stops on the subway, and maybe even find something to eat? Who knows. 

Health Check

Today I found out upon arriving at work that I was going to go to the hospital for a health check. This was the first I heard about this, but that seems to be the way things work when you don't speak the language of everyone else around you. So I got to miss a little bit of work and go get poked and prodded. My dear Eddie drove me to the hospital (we listened to Beyonce the whole way) and helped me get in to the check up area. I had to go to series of rooms with a little station in each one. It was quite a thorough check: eyes, ears, height, weight, urine, blood, xray, medications, blood pressure. Each one of these was in a different tiny room, so you can imagine it was quite nerve-wracking as I had no idea what the next room had in store for me. I think I passed to test, but you never can tell here. We'll see if I get my health card in three days. I don't even know what the health card is, but I think you need it to get a alien registration card, which you need to get a cell phone, which you need to have friends. So let's hope I passed the test.

Enjoy the clock! I am still getting used to the time thing. I am pretty much over jet lag, but it still amazes me that I am on a completely opposite time schedule than most everyone I know and love (with a few Asian expat exceptions). So I head to bed and say good morning to you all.

Finally!

I guess I have only been here three days but I have so much to say! I was SO frustrated because the blog starter page was in Korean and I could not for the life of me figure out how to get it in English. But then my dear friend Mandi helped me from across the ocean and here I am. SO happy I can share this crazy adventure with you all!! 

Where to begin? How about imagining the worst possible thing that could happen when you are arriving in a foreign country with no contact information, solely banking on the fact that "Eddie" (no last name) is picking you up at the airport. I had this thought, but not until we were just landing in Incheon: What if Eddie doesn't come? but I pushed that thought out of my mind because I am a trusting and faithful individual. But that was the point that I realized that I didn't really have any contact info for Korea Poly School, where I would be working. Oh well, I thought. Eddie will be there. We landed, got through immigration, got my luggage, no problem. I walked out to the greeting area and there were loads of people holding signs with names on them. I scanned them in my jet lagged delirium and did not see my name or Korea Poly School as I was told I would see. No big deal. He'll be somewhere.  I stood around for about a half hour, watching all the arrivals being met by loved ones, telling myself Don't freak out, don't freak out. I didn't. I found the phone number I had for Poly School, took it to the info desk, and she called it for me. No answer. I walked away, downhearted, realized that it was Saturday and no one was there to answer the phone, and then I shed a few tears. But really just a few. I don't have anything against crying but I had to keep together. Now an hour and a half has passed, and the info lady made an announcement barely pronouncing my name. She looked at me like I was crazy when I told her Eddie was picking me up. No, just Eddie, no last name.  Still no Eddie. I came up with a plan. Get some Korean money, call my mom, buy some ice cream (they have Baskin Robbins and I was delirious), then figure out a hotel. I got through the first two, although my mom didn't answer, and was on my way to get some ice cream when I saw the sign. I thought I was imagining it at first. We did the Erin? Eddie? exchange and he asked me in broken English how long I was waiting. I told him two hours and he felt bad. Traffic. Whatever. I was too tired to be mad. So we get in the car and start driving to the city. We were listening to Korean talk radio and Eddie wasn't talking and I was feeling so scared and jet lagged, then he puts in a cd and Beyonce's Halo started playing! I was so excited I shouted "Beyonce!" and Eddie jutst looked at me like duh. But I enjoyed it nevertheless. I will never forget that moment and that song will forever have a special place in my heart. Props to Monica for bringing that into my life. 

Just when I thought I was going to get to my apartment and sleep, Eddie takes me into a restaurant where the director is. He invites us to sit down and eat. I just wanted to pass out at this point, but instead I have to choke down some cold spicy noodles and watch everyone else eat what looks like huge chunks of bacon fat on the BBQ. I think it is going to be very difficult to be a vegetarian here. Especially if I have to eat those noodles. The thought of it makes me shiver. 

Finally got to my place which was kind of gross, but thankfully only temporary. The shower is in with the toilet! You just stand right by the toilet to shower, which is fine I guess but kind of a problem if you need to go to the bathroom after you shower. I almost had a cartoonish falling moment this morning because my feet were wet and I tried to walk across the floor. Also, it seems that the water smells like kimchi, which is not a pleasant odor whatsoever. I suppose these are the things I will get used to...

I have so much more to say but I fear this is getting long. I haven't even started in on the job. And there is lots to say about that. In short, yesterday (my first day) was pretty horrible and overwhelming, but today was SO much better and I really enjoyed myself and the amazing kids. I LOVE the kids. Thank God. I was needing to love something about this whole thing. I know this is just a tease but I will write more tomorrow. Gots to go email and go to bed in my new, nice apartment!