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!