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!