There have been several moments in my life where I have thought, “Wow, this could be in a movie.” But never have I felt like I was in a movie more than I did yesterday at my required-for-an-alien-card government health check.
Mr. Kim, who we can only accurately describe as looking like the Korean mafia, rolls up to E.L.C. in the school van to take Amber, Chris, and I to the hospital for our health checks. This is a big day because a completed health check means we can be issued our alien cards and alien cards mean we can finally get Internet at our apartments! Wa-hoo! Now Mr. Kim may look like a mafia man but in reality he’s quite friendly. His English is very bad but he always tries. As we are driving he points at himself and says, “Help,” then points at me, Amber, and Chris and says, “Today.” Initially thinking HE needed help with something, I then realized that he was trying to reassure us he was here to help us today. Oh, really? Wonderful. :)
We arrive at the hospital, follow Mr. Kim to a waiting room area and sit as he is handed a pile of papers from the receptionist. Handing us each a few forms all in Korean he points to the highlighted boxes and hands us a pen seeming to forget that we don’t read Korean. “Ah, Mr. Kim? What might this say?” You can see panic on his face as he carefully responds and points to one box, “Name…” Great, got it. The next box, “Address.” We don’t know our addresses so Mr. Kim writes something (I think it was the school address). Next, “Umm, ah shit…number?” he says. Phone number? Nope. Passport number? Nope. Birthday? Nope. Visa number? After so many scribbles we are still not sure what number they were actually intending us to write on our forms but eventually something must have been correct.
Then the exam started. It was exactly like that scene in Across the Universe when Max goes in for his army health check. I was directed from station to station, room to room. First height and weight, then eye check, then hearing, then some x-rays, then I was hooked up to some strange machine (Chris thinks it was an EKG?), then back out to the lobby where I was handed a Dixie cup, pointed to the bathroom, peed under the pressure of a ticking clock, then back out to the lobby where blood was drawn (with everyone waiting looking on), then immediately following there was a woman checking my teeth. And then it was done. Total time for everything: 1 hour.
We all walked out of the hospital together. Without skipping a beat Mr. Kim pulled out a pack of cigs and politely offered us one, we declined, had a good hearty laugh about the irony of it all and back to reality we returned...
Friday, August 29, 2008
Monday, August 25, 2008
Gold in the Air of Summer
In everything that is learnt or experienced, the child, just like the man, sees doors; but for the former they are places to go to, for the latter to go through. –Nietzsche
Last week I discovered the “library” (aka the top row of a small bookshelf) at school and was pleasantly surprised to come across Essential Thinkers, a collection of work from the well-known “God is dead” philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche. I briefly studied Nietzsche in my Rhetorical Theory class a few years back. Now that I am out of the bonds of university education I can properly enjoy reading his quirky observations and reflections on life. Hence the interjection of the Nietzsche quote at the beginning of this post.
Last Monday afternoon I had planned to meet up with Bruce before classes began so he could take me to the bank to set up an account. Somehow we missed each other so I, the independent fool that I am, decided to try on my own to set up an account. I walked into one of the banks just down the street from the school to give it a go. At the entrance there was a machine printing numbers giving you two options…both in Korean. I had no idea what either read so I just eenie weenie minie mowed it, grabbed the receipt it printed, and sat down to wait. Well I must have chosen the I-have-all-the-time-in-the-world-to-sit-around-at-this-bank option because the other numbers seemed to be changing quickly while my group was ridiculously slow. A half an hour passed and finally my number was flashing. I start walking towards the counter and whoosh I am cut off by an old man who had just been waiting in the bank for a few minutes! Oh nah ah old man, no you didn’t! Suddenly I realized this was why I had waited so long. The printed numbers were intended to cure the Asian disease of pushy line budgers but in reality the numbers were quite a joke….and the joke was on me. I blame my lovely kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Owens, for forever ingraining the importance of standing patiently in a line into my head. All who travel to Asia should go through some mandatory boot camp to train themselves to overcome all that we’ve been formally taught regarding lines and to join the world of line aggressors. Cut in front of me once, shame on you…cut in front of me twice shame on me, right? So needless to say I got in there right after Mr. Cutter. But only to be greeted by a woman who spoke no English. Finding not a single employee at the bank knew enough English to help me I realized I’d have to find another bank and just exchanged money instead.
No worries, the next day Bruce directed me to a different bank with an English-speaking banker so bank account…check. I can now get my flight reimbursement and next week my first paycheck! *cue Apprentice theme song* Other big successes of the week include finding the post office and figuring out my washing machine.
Landmarks in teaching include kicking a student out of my most dreadful class for the first time on Thursday. I had high hopes for tonight’s class as the lead troublemaker seemed to take me seriously after he had to face the wrath of the managers last week but alas. I developed a seating chart separating the terrible ones (all boys), moving them towards the front of the room. That did nothing but put a real sweet girl in tears when she was assigned a seat next to one of the disrespectful boys who is never listening. I just don’t know what to do with that class but will continue to try things until something works.
Pushing naughty boys and classroom management far from my mind I had a fabulous weekend. For under ten U.S. dollars Amber, Chris, and I enjoyed a day at Jin-ha beach just south of Ulsan. After almost three weeks of concrete and tall building after tall building I felt rejuvenated seeing the mountains meet the sea, the waves splashing up on the beach and the hilarious banana boats. Our hunt for cheap seafood for dinner was a failure so spicy chicken it was once again.
After returning to Ulsan we made it our mission to find the infamous foreigner hangout known as Tombstone to have a few drinks. But first we stopped in a popular sports bar to catch the end of the Korea verses Cuba Olympic match-up. People were standing anywhere there was a TV along the streets watching the game. There was much rejoicing, cheering, embracing, whistling and toasting at the big win. It was thrilling to witness. After the sports bar we stop a foreigner to ask for directions to Tombstone figuring she must know…but instead meet a girl who had just arrived in Ulsan a few hours before. She was out looking for some food and wireless but agreed to join us in our quest. It wasn’t long and success, we found it! Twas a lovely (and late) night of socializing with fellow expats from all over the English-speaking world.
Sunday was Ulsan’s 2nd annual foreigners music contest festival in old downtown (Shin-nae) to celebrate Ulsan’s nearly 12,000 foreigners living and working in the city. Words cannot describe it really. Definitely one of the funniest experiences I’ve had in a long time, my abs are still sore from laughing so much. The performers were from China, Japan, Philippines, New Zealand, Canada, Bangladesh, and the good ol’ U.S. of A. I scored a plastic Korean flag, a movie pass and a free jersey reading Korea V-Day. It’s funny because nobody knows what the V-day is all about…even our Korean friends haven’t a clue. The evening was topped off with some super spicy chicken, veggie, rice combo that cleared my sinuses and made me sweat a bit. Who could ask for anything more?
Here goes another week…
Last week I discovered the “library” (aka the top row of a small bookshelf) at school and was pleasantly surprised to come across Essential Thinkers, a collection of work from the well-known “God is dead” philosopher, Friedrich Nietzsche. I briefly studied Nietzsche in my Rhetorical Theory class a few years back. Now that I am out of the bonds of university education I can properly enjoy reading his quirky observations and reflections on life. Hence the interjection of the Nietzsche quote at the beginning of this post.
Last Monday afternoon I had planned to meet up with Bruce before classes began so he could take me to the bank to set up an account. Somehow we missed each other so I, the independent fool that I am, decided to try on my own to set up an account. I walked into one of the banks just down the street from the school to give it a go. At the entrance there was a machine printing numbers giving you two options…both in Korean. I had no idea what either read so I just eenie weenie minie mowed it, grabbed the receipt it printed, and sat down to wait. Well I must have chosen the I-have-all-the-time-in-the-world-to-sit-around-at-this-bank option because the other numbers seemed to be changing quickly while my group was ridiculously slow. A half an hour passed and finally my number was flashing. I start walking towards the counter and whoosh I am cut off by an old man who had just been waiting in the bank for a few minutes! Oh nah ah old man, no you didn’t! Suddenly I realized this was why I had waited so long. The printed numbers were intended to cure the Asian disease of pushy line budgers but in reality the numbers were quite a joke….and the joke was on me. I blame my lovely kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Owens, for forever ingraining the importance of standing patiently in a line into my head. All who travel to Asia should go through some mandatory boot camp to train themselves to overcome all that we’ve been formally taught regarding lines and to join the world of line aggressors. Cut in front of me once, shame on you…cut in front of me twice shame on me, right? So needless to say I got in there right after Mr. Cutter. But only to be greeted by a woman who spoke no English. Finding not a single employee at the bank knew enough English to help me I realized I’d have to find another bank and just exchanged money instead.
No worries, the next day Bruce directed me to a different bank with an English-speaking banker so bank account…check. I can now get my flight reimbursement and next week my first paycheck! *cue Apprentice theme song* Other big successes of the week include finding the post office and figuring out my washing machine.
Landmarks in teaching include kicking a student out of my most dreadful class for the first time on Thursday. I had high hopes for tonight’s class as the lead troublemaker seemed to take me seriously after he had to face the wrath of the managers last week but alas. I developed a seating chart separating the terrible ones (all boys), moving them towards the front of the room. That did nothing but put a real sweet girl in tears when she was assigned a seat next to one of the disrespectful boys who is never listening. I just don’t know what to do with that class but will continue to try things until something works.
Pushing naughty boys and classroom management far from my mind I had a fabulous weekend. For under ten U.S. dollars Amber, Chris, and I enjoyed a day at Jin-ha beach just south of Ulsan. After almost three weeks of concrete and tall building after tall building I felt rejuvenated seeing the mountains meet the sea, the waves splashing up on the beach and the hilarious banana boats. Our hunt for cheap seafood for dinner was a failure so spicy chicken it was once again.
After returning to Ulsan we made it our mission to find the infamous foreigner hangout known as Tombstone to have a few drinks. But first we stopped in a popular sports bar to catch the end of the Korea verses Cuba Olympic match-up. People were standing anywhere there was a TV along the streets watching the game. There was much rejoicing, cheering, embracing, whistling and toasting at the big win. It was thrilling to witness. After the sports bar we stop a foreigner to ask for directions to Tombstone figuring she must know…but instead meet a girl who had just arrived in Ulsan a few hours before. She was out looking for some food and wireless but agreed to join us in our quest. It wasn’t long and success, we found it! Twas a lovely (and late) night of socializing with fellow expats from all over the English-speaking world.
Sunday was Ulsan’s 2nd annual foreigners music contest festival in old downtown (Shin-nae) to celebrate Ulsan’s nearly 12,000 foreigners living and working in the city. Words cannot describe it really. Definitely one of the funniest experiences I’ve had in a long time, my abs are still sore from laughing so much. The performers were from China, Japan, Philippines, New Zealand, Canada, Bangladesh, and the good ol’ U.S. of A. I scored a plastic Korean flag, a movie pass and a free jersey reading Korea V-Day. It’s funny because nobody knows what the V-day is all about…even our Korean friends haven’t a clue. The evening was topped off with some super spicy chicken, veggie, rice combo that cleared my sinuses and made me sweat a bit. Who could ask for anything more?
Here goes another week…
Monday, August 18, 2008
Rainy Days and Sundays
In honor of Korea’s Independence Day (Friday) I thought I would spend some time reflecting on my experiences in Korea thus far and compare and contrast with my experiences in China. Perhaps I should make a Venn diagram. Just kidding, I hate Venn diagrams. Almost as much as I hate the Dutch. Ahhaha, I kid…but I really do hate Venn diagrams.
Keep in mind I’ve only been here in Korea for a short amount of time and only spent 4 weeks in China-land so these are merely first impressions and by no means represents all there is to know about either culture…here goes:
➢ Reaction to foreigners: In Korea, the presence of foreigners is nothing…foreign (haha); there are a ridiculous number of American military bases throughout the country and a surprising amount of foreign English teachers (due to their enthusiasm to learn English), engineers, businessmen, etc, not to mention a large influx of Western culture now permanently fused with their own. Seeing foreigners in China was something very rare and unusual for their citizens (pre-Olympics). Western culture is intriguing and mysterious because it’s for the most part nonexistent in China…except for the McDonald’s, KFC’s and Pizza Huts. In both countries a long stare is expected but the attitudes behind the stares I feel are much different. Perhaps because the Chinese have not yet been overwhelmed by Western culture, people are genuinely fascinated by foreigners, even wanting pictures to be taken with their children. Korean’s however will stare then ignore you completely, showing no interest and perhaps a hint of contempt. I haven’t exactly figured it out yet.
➢ Bicycle transportation: I’m convinced Beijing has the most bicycle riders in the world. There are bike lanes the size of car lanes that are always full making biking probably as equally dangerous as driving a car would be. In Ulsan there is notta a bike lane to be seen. Bikes are rarely seen and the bikes you do see (which are mostly scooters) have to ride on the sidewalks that (beware) double as parking spaces. I’d be curious to see what Seoul or Busan are like in regards to bike transportation this could be due to Ulsan’s smaller population and hilly terrain.
➢ Fashion: As far as fashion is concerned in both countries just about anything goes, everyone has their own style it seems and I love that. Korean women love their heels. When I was waiting in the Seoul airport I noticed sisters probably age 3 and 5 running around in a pair of short heels…preparation for their lifelong high heel walking career I guess. Another difference I’ve noticed is hair. In China we saw all kinds of strange hair trends, permed, blue, pink, orange, wavy, straight, bangs, etc but in Korea there are 2 basic haircuts. Long, straight hair with bangs and short, straight hair with bangs. Nothing outrageous.
➢ Food: Chinese food is oily, fried, and many dishes are full of vinegar (boo vinegar). Korean food is much healthier with much of it being fresh, grilled, boiled, or steamed. And everything is very spicy…basically both cuisines takes a body some gettin’ used to.
➢ Safety: For no reason in particular I would have felt nervous walking around after dark by myself in China. Here in Ulsan I feel safe walking home from school every night. I don’t think there is any such thing as a “bad” part of town in this city but if there is I definitely do not live in a “bad” area. Although one night there was a sudden burst of screaming coming from the Japanese restaurant that I live above. A small crowd gathered on the sidewalk to watch the commotion. Since I had no idea what was actually going on I made up this scenario in my head: the wife had just caught her husband out to eat with another woman. It was clear he was a cheater and she was obviously furious calling him every name in the book while the he tried to justify his actions (what a pig) claiming his dinner date was really a business meeting of sorts.
Independence Day in Korea is sort of a let down, no fireworks, no debauchery. It appeared to be celebrated by most businesses (all open) merely pulling out their Korean flags to fly for the afternoon. This was officially confirmed today when that’s exactly what one of the Korean teachers told me. I spent the holiday cleaning, doing laundry, re-arranging, and giving my apartment a little Kelly flavor. I found some matches so I was finally able to put my incense and incense boat to use, christening my apartment. Now all I need is a nice houseplant to pull everything together.
Saturday was rainy so no beach plans were carried out. Instead Kristen took me to a district of town called Shin-nae. Shin-nae had a long, covered shopping strip that kept us nice and dry as we browsed the shops. We then took a bus to a Home Plus store. Home Plus would be equivalent to a Wal-mart…it is huge, has everything you need, and pretty much blew my mind. I’m talking samples at almost every aisle people. It doesn’t get much better.
Sunday brought a fun-filled day full of church, new friends, Korean Chinese food, laughter and successfully using my stove to yield a tasty late night treat of hot tea and oatmeal.
Also, I’ve just finished the book Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne (author of Irresistible Revolution) and Chris Haw. A must read in these days leading up to the November election. Plus I’d love to discuss it with someone. So go on, read it, and tell me what you think.
Keep in mind I’ve only been here in Korea for a short amount of time and only spent 4 weeks in China-land so these are merely first impressions and by no means represents all there is to know about either culture…here goes:
➢ Reaction to foreigners: In Korea, the presence of foreigners is nothing…foreign (haha); there are a ridiculous number of American military bases throughout the country and a surprising amount of foreign English teachers (due to their enthusiasm to learn English), engineers, businessmen, etc, not to mention a large influx of Western culture now permanently fused with their own. Seeing foreigners in China was something very rare and unusual for their citizens (pre-Olympics). Western culture is intriguing and mysterious because it’s for the most part nonexistent in China…except for the McDonald’s, KFC’s and Pizza Huts. In both countries a long stare is expected but the attitudes behind the stares I feel are much different. Perhaps because the Chinese have not yet been overwhelmed by Western culture, people are genuinely fascinated by foreigners, even wanting pictures to be taken with their children. Korean’s however will stare then ignore you completely, showing no interest and perhaps a hint of contempt. I haven’t exactly figured it out yet.
➢ Bicycle transportation: I’m convinced Beijing has the most bicycle riders in the world. There are bike lanes the size of car lanes that are always full making biking probably as equally dangerous as driving a car would be. In Ulsan there is notta a bike lane to be seen. Bikes are rarely seen and the bikes you do see (which are mostly scooters) have to ride on the sidewalks that (beware) double as parking spaces. I’d be curious to see what Seoul or Busan are like in regards to bike transportation this could be due to Ulsan’s smaller population and hilly terrain.
➢ Fashion: As far as fashion is concerned in both countries just about anything goes, everyone has their own style it seems and I love that. Korean women love their heels. When I was waiting in the Seoul airport I noticed sisters probably age 3 and 5 running around in a pair of short heels…preparation for their lifelong high heel walking career I guess. Another difference I’ve noticed is hair. In China we saw all kinds of strange hair trends, permed, blue, pink, orange, wavy, straight, bangs, etc but in Korea there are 2 basic haircuts. Long, straight hair with bangs and short, straight hair with bangs. Nothing outrageous.
➢ Food: Chinese food is oily, fried, and many dishes are full of vinegar (boo vinegar). Korean food is much healthier with much of it being fresh, grilled, boiled, or steamed. And everything is very spicy…basically both cuisines takes a body some gettin’ used to.
➢ Safety: For no reason in particular I would have felt nervous walking around after dark by myself in China. Here in Ulsan I feel safe walking home from school every night. I don’t think there is any such thing as a “bad” part of town in this city but if there is I definitely do not live in a “bad” area. Although one night there was a sudden burst of screaming coming from the Japanese restaurant that I live above. A small crowd gathered on the sidewalk to watch the commotion. Since I had no idea what was actually going on I made up this scenario in my head: the wife had just caught her husband out to eat with another woman. It was clear he was a cheater and she was obviously furious calling him every name in the book while the he tried to justify his actions (what a pig) claiming his dinner date was really a business meeting of sorts.
Independence Day in Korea is sort of a let down, no fireworks, no debauchery. It appeared to be celebrated by most businesses (all open) merely pulling out their Korean flags to fly for the afternoon. This was officially confirmed today when that’s exactly what one of the Korean teachers told me. I spent the holiday cleaning, doing laundry, re-arranging, and giving my apartment a little Kelly flavor. I found some matches so I was finally able to put my incense and incense boat to use, christening my apartment. Now all I need is a nice houseplant to pull everything together.
Saturday was rainy so no beach plans were carried out. Instead Kristen took me to a district of town called Shin-nae. Shin-nae had a long, covered shopping strip that kept us nice and dry as we browsed the shops. We then took a bus to a Home Plus store. Home Plus would be equivalent to a Wal-mart…it is huge, has everything you need, and pretty much blew my mind. I’m talking samples at almost every aisle people. It doesn’t get much better.
Sunday brought a fun-filled day full of church, new friends, Korean Chinese food, laughter and successfully using my stove to yield a tasty late night treat of hot tea and oatmeal.
Also, I’ve just finished the book Jesus for President by Shane Claiborne (author of Irresistible Revolution) and Chris Haw. A must read in these days leading up to the November election. Plus I’d love to discuss it with someone. So go on, read it, and tell me what you think.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Looking Foreign
Yesterday morning Leslie and I volunteered our foreignness for the director of our school, Sam. Sam is opening a new hagwon (private language school) in Ulsan. It is not opening until September but they were having an open house of sorts to show interested parents what E.L.C. is all about. By Leslie and I being there it validated their claim of having foreign teachers at their school. Even though we won’t be the ones teaching there. We just had to stand in the doorway, look foreign, and greet the parents as they arrived.
This hagwon is on the outskirts of town which is about a 15 min drive from my school. But that’s not entirely accurate because Smith, one of the managers at E.L.C., drove like a madman to the school because we were late. All Leslie and I could do was laugh as he drove through red lights, around traffic, all to the directions of his English speaking GPS system. When asked why it was in English and he said he likes to practice his English this way. Oh, good….except when he confused right turn for left turn and had to quickly cross many lanes of traffic after realizing his mistake!
The school was in a brand new building so everything looked amazing. We grew pretty jealous of the new facilities especially when we saw the teacher’s lounge had a door. At our school there is no door so it’s very noisy at all times not to mention always crawling with students screaming, “Teacher, teacher!”. It’s cute because they always want to carry your basket of books or your cup of water but as Leslie puts it, “It ruins your last few moments of Zen before class begins.” So true. There is an amazing view of the mountains out the large windows at the new school. The view from my hagwon is not spectacular which probably explains the lack of windows.
Learning moment: At both schools the classrooms are on floors 3, 5, and 6. This is because the number 4 is like number 13 to us Americans, associated with bad luck.
After only about an hour greeting parents at the new school we were taken out to eat for lunch. My first experience with a take-off-your-shoes-sit-on-the-floor type restaurant. We ate shabu-shabu, a very tasty soup. It reminded me of that children’s story Stone Soup. Large platefuls of fresh veggies were brought out and one by one thrown into the pot of boiling water. All kinds of greens, mushrooms, eggs, rice cakes, pumpkin, meat, and lastly the dumplings and noodles. Yumm! Except I burnt my tongue on my dumpling…silly me, I was just too eager to eat it! And a surprise cup of espresso coffee as we were leaving (just like in Europe!).
In other news, a new couple came on Tuesday much to everyone’s surprise. More Americans! We now officially outnumber the Canadians. America F-Yeah! Amber and Chris are from Kentucky, it’s pretty funny to listen to their accents as they introduce themselves to students who just laugh. They are the lucky ducks of the bunch because somehow they landed a BRAND NEW apartment that’s apparently huge and has an OVEN! What?! Also, since they came a full two days before the teacher they are replacing is leaving they got an official orientation with shadowing and whatnot. Not fair! But beyond the jealously I am genuinely glad to have other “newbies” here with me so we can get our questions answered together and whanot.
Another surprise this week…come to find out Friday is a holiday! Korea’s Independence Day. Woo, three day weekend! Saturday Kristen, Amber, Chris and I are planning to go to Ulsan beach and Sunday Kristen is taking me to her church. She has met a lot of friends through her church so I hope to do the same. I’m definitely excited for the weekend!
One more thing: watching the Olympics here is funny. They replay the Park (Korean) swimmer guy who won gold in 400m over and over, at all different times and channels. I thought he had won 8 gold medals or something but then I realized I was watching same darn race over and over…
This hagwon is on the outskirts of town which is about a 15 min drive from my school. But that’s not entirely accurate because Smith, one of the managers at E.L.C., drove like a madman to the school because we were late. All Leslie and I could do was laugh as he drove through red lights, around traffic, all to the directions of his English speaking GPS system. When asked why it was in English and he said he likes to practice his English this way. Oh, good….except when he confused right turn for left turn and had to quickly cross many lanes of traffic after realizing his mistake!
The school was in a brand new building so everything looked amazing. We grew pretty jealous of the new facilities especially when we saw the teacher’s lounge had a door. At our school there is no door so it’s very noisy at all times not to mention always crawling with students screaming, “Teacher, teacher!”. It’s cute because they always want to carry your basket of books or your cup of water but as Leslie puts it, “It ruins your last few moments of Zen before class begins.” So true. There is an amazing view of the mountains out the large windows at the new school. The view from my hagwon is not spectacular which probably explains the lack of windows.
Learning moment: At both schools the classrooms are on floors 3, 5, and 6. This is because the number 4 is like number 13 to us Americans, associated with bad luck.
After only about an hour greeting parents at the new school we were taken out to eat for lunch. My first experience with a take-off-your-shoes-sit-on-the-floor type restaurant. We ate shabu-shabu, a very tasty soup. It reminded me of that children’s story Stone Soup. Large platefuls of fresh veggies were brought out and one by one thrown into the pot of boiling water. All kinds of greens, mushrooms, eggs, rice cakes, pumpkin, meat, and lastly the dumplings and noodles. Yumm! Except I burnt my tongue on my dumpling…silly me, I was just too eager to eat it! And a surprise cup of espresso coffee as we were leaving (just like in Europe!).
In other news, a new couple came on Tuesday much to everyone’s surprise. More Americans! We now officially outnumber the Canadians. America F-Yeah! Amber and Chris are from Kentucky, it’s pretty funny to listen to their accents as they introduce themselves to students who just laugh. They are the lucky ducks of the bunch because somehow they landed a BRAND NEW apartment that’s apparently huge and has an OVEN! What?! Also, since they came a full two days before the teacher they are replacing is leaving they got an official orientation with shadowing and whatnot. Not fair! But beyond the jealously I am genuinely glad to have other “newbies” here with me so we can get our questions answered together and whanot.
Another surprise this week…come to find out Friday is a holiday! Korea’s Independence Day. Woo, three day weekend! Saturday Kristen, Amber, Chris and I are planning to go to Ulsan beach and Sunday Kristen is taking me to her church. She has met a lot of friends through her church so I hope to do the same. I’m definitely excited for the weekend!
One more thing: watching the Olympics here is funny. They replay the Park (Korean) swimmer guy who won gold in 400m over and over, at all different times and channels. I thought he had won 8 gold medals or something but then I realized I was watching same darn race over and over…
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Fermentations
My first Korean food adventure occurred Friday night after classes. The other foreign teachers took me out for a “Welcome to Ulsan” meal. It was a truly appreciated gesture and a good chance to get to know more about my fellow expats. Bruce, the expat leader of the pack, has been teaching at E.L.C. for 2 ½ years and is pretty much the go-to man for anything and everything. Kristen, my fellow American compadre, has only been around for 2 months while Leslie and Doug (married Canadian couple) are fresh off the plane as well having been in Ulsan for only one month. Being around Kristen, Leslie and Doug gives me much hope as they seem to be adjusted and functioning well despite their short amount of time here.
They led me through Ulsan University’s campus to the hip-hopping part of town known as the university district. My senses were overwhelmed from the delicious smells coming from an endless number of restaurants, the flashing neon lights lining the streets, and the bustling, young crowd found in this area. Feverishly trying to take mental notes of all the suggestions on where to find good coffee, ice cream, smoothies, Italian food, pastries, etc on our way to the restaurant I was certainly glad to get to our final destination so my brain could have a rest. I have no idea what the name of the restaurant was we stopped at but since there was a picture of a cartoon pig on the banner above the door I decided to call this place Mr. Pig. (side note: I tried to find the restaurant again the next day and much to my disappointment discovered many restaurants with cartoon pigs on their banner in roughly the same location….hmm, rats…going to have to be more creative with my observations before naming).
At Mr. Pig Bruce ordered and before we had finished settling our small table was covered with little dishes filled with peculiar looking veggies and sauces. Bruce explained that these side dishes vary at every place but some assortment will standard with any order. We had been given green onions, kimichi (fermented cabbage covered in red pepper paste), regular slightly cooked onions, red pepper sauce, fermented sweet radish, garlic, salt/pepper/oil mixture, and fermented bean soup with random veggies. (side note #2: putting the word fermented in front of anything automatically makes it sound nasty when that is not actually the case)
As I tried the little side dishes I was given a lesson on Korean eating and drinking customs. Koreans eat rice with a spoon (that’s the only thing they use it for…crazy, I know). Never leave your chopsticks in your food. Never pour your own drink, others are constantly refilling each others’ glasses. Pour with your left hand (or was it your right?) if you know the person well, otherwise use both hands. Accept with both hands. Always refill glasses oldest to youngest in the group. Etc, etc, etc…basically amounting to: I’m definitely going to offend someone when I go out with a group of Koreans. It is what is it.
The grill in the middle of our table began to smell good and hot so the rest of our meal was brought out to cover the remainder of the open space on the already crammed table. That was a plateful of raw bacon-looking strips of meat, rice, and fresh green leaves. Bruce began cooking the meat on your table grill as Leslie demonstrated how it all works. Take one large green leaf, cover in red pepper sauce. Add onions, garlic, rice to your liking. Top with the freshly cooked meat and wrap into ball. Fit entire ball into mouth at once. Hmmtasty!
Also, during dinner I had my first Soju experience. Soju is the alcohol of choice in Korea. Why? It is very cheap and very strong. But as you can guess, not very tasty (tastes like a combination of vodka and gin). It comes in a normal looking beer bottle but is 20 proof. People drink it from shot glasses but because of the custom of constantly refilling glasses it is easy to lose track of the actual amount consumed. Or so I’ve heard. Bruce thinks he once had around 4 bottles of Soju throughout an entire night resulting in an embarrassing blackout situation in which he had to be carried home. Moral: For the sake of my safety and my liver, I must be careful with this refilling business.
A table full of food and drinks totaled approximately $2.50 per person. Not bad, eh?
A new week has begun and I’m looking forward to all it holds!
They led me through Ulsan University’s campus to the hip-hopping part of town known as the university district. My senses were overwhelmed from the delicious smells coming from an endless number of restaurants, the flashing neon lights lining the streets, and the bustling, young crowd found in this area. Feverishly trying to take mental notes of all the suggestions on where to find good coffee, ice cream, smoothies, Italian food, pastries, etc on our way to the restaurant I was certainly glad to get to our final destination so my brain could have a rest. I have no idea what the name of the restaurant was we stopped at but since there was a picture of a cartoon pig on the banner above the door I decided to call this place Mr. Pig. (side note: I tried to find the restaurant again the next day and much to my disappointment discovered many restaurants with cartoon pigs on their banner in roughly the same location….hmm, rats…going to have to be more creative with my observations before naming).
At Mr. Pig Bruce ordered and before we had finished settling our small table was covered with little dishes filled with peculiar looking veggies and sauces. Bruce explained that these side dishes vary at every place but some assortment will standard with any order. We had been given green onions, kimichi (fermented cabbage covered in red pepper paste), regular slightly cooked onions, red pepper sauce, fermented sweet radish, garlic, salt/pepper/oil mixture, and fermented bean soup with random veggies. (side note #2: putting the word fermented in front of anything automatically makes it sound nasty when that is not actually the case)
As I tried the little side dishes I was given a lesson on Korean eating and drinking customs. Koreans eat rice with a spoon (that’s the only thing they use it for…crazy, I know). Never leave your chopsticks in your food. Never pour your own drink, others are constantly refilling each others’ glasses. Pour with your left hand (or was it your right?) if you know the person well, otherwise use both hands. Accept with both hands. Always refill glasses oldest to youngest in the group. Etc, etc, etc…basically amounting to: I’m definitely going to offend someone when I go out with a group of Koreans. It is what is it.
The grill in the middle of our table began to smell good and hot so the rest of our meal was brought out to cover the remainder of the open space on the already crammed table. That was a plateful of raw bacon-looking strips of meat, rice, and fresh green leaves. Bruce began cooking the meat on your table grill as Leslie demonstrated how it all works. Take one large green leaf, cover in red pepper sauce. Add onions, garlic, rice to your liking. Top with the freshly cooked meat and wrap into ball. Fit entire ball into mouth at once. Hmmtasty!
Also, during dinner I had my first Soju experience. Soju is the alcohol of choice in Korea. Why? It is very cheap and very strong. But as you can guess, not very tasty (tastes like a combination of vodka and gin). It comes in a normal looking beer bottle but is 20 proof. People drink it from shot glasses but because of the custom of constantly refilling glasses it is easy to lose track of the actual amount consumed. Or so I’ve heard. Bruce thinks he once had around 4 bottles of Soju throughout an entire night resulting in an embarrassing blackout situation in which he had to be carried home. Moral: For the sake of my safety and my liver, I must be careful with this refilling business.
A table full of food and drinks totaled approximately $2.50 per person. Not bad, eh?
A new week has begun and I’m looking forward to all it holds!
Saturday, August 9, 2008
Pia-pia-piano
Sorry these posts are coming at the same time but after a few days of casual exploring I have located a cafe with wireless! Success! But the battery power on my computer is quickly dwindling so this is going to have to be a super, ultra fast update on the last few days.
Thursday was my first full day of teaching. The school runs on an even and odd day schedule (like our day 1 and day 2) so I had a whole new set of students than the day before. I was getting to be a pro at introducing myself and teaching a short lesson on Iowa, farms, farm animals, etc. Also come to find out when I arrive on Thursday that it is storybook day. Storybook day means that the regular workbooks are forgotten and certain pages in a designated story is the replacement for the 32 min. class time. The kids generally enjoy storybook days as well as the teachers. My first class of the day is called Pre-step 2. Pre-step basically means little to no English knowledge (aka the younger kids). They have a book that they use to sing along with a CD. It is the cutest thing in the universe!! Here's how one verse goes (it get stuck in your head so easily):
There was a music man,
He comes from down your way
And he can play
What can he play?
He's plays the
Pia-pia-piano, piano, piano
Pia-pia-piano, piano, piano.
Each verse one more instrument is added. Thursday we learned we added trombone so we spent the entire class period learning how to pronounce trombone, what a trombone is, and singing about the music man playing the trombone. It was priceless.
The job of the foreign teachers is mainly to work on pronunciation with the students. The Korean teachers will go over a lesson the day before with the students and the next day us foreign teachers will do the same lesson but work on correct pronunciation. There is a lot of listening and repeating that goes on during classes. Repetition, repetition, repetition. But I think it's an excellent way to learn English...it makes a lot of sense. Ah, I am running out of battery power so....
Friday was even better than Thursday. The other foreign teachers took me out to eat some traditional food. It was delicious (more to come on that I promise).
Saturday I spent the day exploring, settling into my apartment, and watching a lot of Korean TV. Good news, they air a lot of our crappy America reality TV shows. America's Next Top Model for example. Although I tend to like that one. But more good news....I saw a commercial for The Office!! YYYYYESS!!! A dream come true.
Sunday more exploring, a pleasant time reading in the university park watching a soccer game, and this great find of free wireless!
1%...got to go! Love and hugs everyone!!
Thursday was my first full day of teaching. The school runs on an even and odd day schedule (like our day 1 and day 2) so I had a whole new set of students than the day before. I was getting to be a pro at introducing myself and teaching a short lesson on Iowa, farms, farm animals, etc. Also come to find out when I arrive on Thursday that it is storybook day. Storybook day means that the regular workbooks are forgotten and certain pages in a designated story is the replacement for the 32 min. class time. The kids generally enjoy storybook days as well as the teachers. My first class of the day is called Pre-step 2. Pre-step basically means little to no English knowledge (aka the younger kids). They have a book that they use to sing along with a CD. It is the cutest thing in the universe!! Here's how one verse goes (it get stuck in your head so easily):
There was a music man,
He comes from down your way
And he can play
What can he play?
He's plays the
Pia-pia-piano, piano, piano
Pia-pia-piano, piano, piano.
Each verse one more instrument is added. Thursday we learned we added trombone so we spent the entire class period learning how to pronounce trombone, what a trombone is, and singing about the music man playing the trombone. It was priceless.
The job of the foreign teachers is mainly to work on pronunciation with the students. The Korean teachers will go over a lesson the day before with the students and the next day us foreign teachers will do the same lesson but work on correct pronunciation. There is a lot of listening and repeating that goes on during classes. Repetition, repetition, repetition. But I think it's an excellent way to learn English...it makes a lot of sense. Ah, I am running out of battery power so....
Friday was even better than Thursday. The other foreign teachers took me out to eat some traditional food. It was delicious (more to come on that I promise).
Saturday I spent the day exploring, settling into my apartment, and watching a lot of Korean TV. Good news, they air a lot of our crappy America reality TV shows. America's Next Top Model for example. Although I tend to like that one. But more good news....I saw a commercial for The Office!! YYYYYESS!!! A dream come true.
Sunday more exploring, a pleasant time reading in the university park watching a soccer game, and this great find of free wireless!
1%...got to go! Love and hugs everyone!!
Friday, August 8, 2008
Arrival
YES! I've made it! Now, warning: My blogging may be few and far between since I do not have Internet at my apartment yet. For now I only have Internet at school….I hope you all will still be my friends.
The flight-
I was originally supposed to fly out of Moline. Moline to Chicago, Chicago to Seoul, Seoul to Ulsan = 30 some hours. Upon arrival at Moline, my parents and I were informed of several flight cancellations from Moline to Chicago earlier in the afternoon. Because of this my flight had already been delayed 5 hours with a high possibility of cancellation as well. Hmm rats. The woman at the desk suggested driving to Chicago instead of risking it and waiting in Moline. So without much of a choice, we rushed off to Chicago. It was a quick goodbye to the sibs and my dad as my mom and I rushed off to Rockford to catch the last bus leaving into O’Hare airport for the night.
I've discovered something about myself (and probably most people)...goodbyes wear me down. The first few goodbyes I do fine, in fact I'm probably insultingly cheery with people. But the more goodbyes I say, the more I have to fight to hold back tears. The last few goodbyes to my family....ridiculous waterfalls!!! I think I’m going to name that day Sobfest 2008. I don’t think I have ever seen my dad cry before so seeing the tears in his eyes as I pulled away from his hug still make me cry just thinking about it. As the bus to O’Hare pulled away in Rockford I was full out sobbing as I waved goodbye to my mom. It was violently storming the entire drive into Chicago but I was comforted as there was a nun seated across the aisle from me on the bus. :)
Waiting to board my flight to Seoul in Chicago was funny as I listened to two girls about my age sitting behind me (headed to Beijing for the Olympics) talk in valley-speak. Barf. I had to hold back a laugh when one says to the other, "I'm going to be so mad if my camera (digital) only holds like 6 pictures. The card that came with it says 16 MB. I think that's a lot." And the other replies, "Yeah, like my friend Mary had a card with like 16 MB and I think she said hers could hold like umm….1,000 pictures!" aaaaahahahaha...stupid girls.
The flight was long but good. I sat next to a very friendly Chinese American who was traveling to Beijing to watch the Olympics as well (I think many on my flight were headed to Beijing). Once in Seoul I had the challenge of switching airports before my next flight. Arriving at 5 a.m. Seoul time the airport was very quiet. But, wow, this airport was straight out of the Jetson's or something. Definitely felt like I was living in the future.
I stopped in the spotless bathroom to clean up (carrying my big bags was making me sweat like crazy) and was greeted by a woman who watched my every move as I washed my hair, brushed my teeth, splashed water on my face, and changed my clothes. I thought she was a bathroom attendant because she was just standing there for such a long time, but when I finished and began to put all my things back into my bags she smiled, said " Goodbye!" and walked out. So strange...
My journey in the future (aka Seoul) continued as I hopped on an express train (also freakishly spotless!) to Gimpo Airport. Thankful to get rid of my heavy backpack and suitcase I spent only a few hours waiting for my flight into Ulsan. A few chapters in my book and word finds later my gate area began to fill with people so when an announcement was given in Korean I automatically got up and followed the crowd to get in line. Much to my embarrassment the ticket-taker said, “ No, no, next flight.” I sat back down confused and panicked as I looked at the time on my Ipod. 9:40! My flight was supposed to leave at 9:50…what the heck? That HAD to be my flight! I jumped up to find someone to help me and my eye caught the digital clock on the wall…8:40. What a relief! My blasted Ipod was an hour off.
An hour later I boarded the correct flight to Ulsan. I was greeted by a very friendly man named Jason who, to my surprise, drove me straight to the school to meet the director and tour the building. I was feeling pretty gross, my eyes all bloodshot due to lack of sleep but I tried to forget all that and act friendly and confident as I was introduced to several key figures at E.L.C. (English Learning Center). I was asked if I felt like I could teach/introduce myself to my classes later in the day and I agreed. But first I was taken to two apartments just down the street and got to choose which one I’d like to live in for the year. The first one had clearly been occupied by a male and the second by a female. It was a no brainer, I chose the latter. The cleaner, more furnished (including a table and couch!), former female apartment. Stocked with all the basics I was pleasantly surprised as I pulled open the cupboards and cabinets. I unpacked in no time, showered and rest a bit before heading back to the school for a half day of teaching/introducing myself to my classes. The schedules, students, workbooks, native teachers, foreign teachers, classrooms, etc were all super overwhelming and are sort of a blur in my memory now. Somehow I managed to get through the evening. On my walked home I passed a supermarket and picked up some necessities (bread, jelly, fruit, and a much deserved ice cream cone). That night I slept like a baby until late into the next morning.
Since I don't have a camera yet (after my first paycheck people) I will try to describe my apartment....
You walk in the door. Ah -tsk-tsk, take off your shoes please (it's offensive in Korea to not). Directly to your left is my range stove (2 burners) that I still have not figured out how to work. Also on the your left is the sink, a few cupboards above the sink holding dishes, a few below holding cleaning supplies and a longer pantry like cupboard on the right of the sink. On your right from door is my bathroom. The bathroom (completely tiled) has a large mirror, a sink, a few cabinets, and a toilet. The shower head is connected to the sink faucet leaving a few feet between the sink and the wall to act as the shower. There is a drain on the floor under the sink. Quite nice actually because every time I shower I am actually mopping the floor of sorts. If you go straight three steps from the door and open another door you walk into my bed/everything room. On the left two steps is a small refrigerator, my (large) bed straight ahead, and on the right a stand alone closet thing and bookshelf. Take a few steps passed my bed and on the right is a small table with a TV on it. Across from the table this a coffee table and a cute little couch with pillows. Right behind the couch is a sliding glass door that leads into the porch area that has a washing machine and a few miscellaneous things. That's it, that's the tour.
The flight-
I was originally supposed to fly out of Moline. Moline to Chicago, Chicago to Seoul, Seoul to Ulsan = 30 some hours. Upon arrival at Moline, my parents and I were informed of several flight cancellations from Moline to Chicago earlier in the afternoon. Because of this my flight had already been delayed 5 hours with a high possibility of cancellation as well. Hmm rats. The woman at the desk suggested driving to Chicago instead of risking it and waiting in Moline. So without much of a choice, we rushed off to Chicago. It was a quick goodbye to the sibs and my dad as my mom and I rushed off to Rockford to catch the last bus leaving into O’Hare airport for the night.
I've discovered something about myself (and probably most people)...goodbyes wear me down. The first few goodbyes I do fine, in fact I'm probably insultingly cheery with people. But the more goodbyes I say, the more I have to fight to hold back tears. The last few goodbyes to my family....ridiculous waterfalls!!! I think I’m going to name that day Sobfest 2008. I don’t think I have ever seen my dad cry before so seeing the tears in his eyes as I pulled away from his hug still make me cry just thinking about it. As the bus to O’Hare pulled away in Rockford I was full out sobbing as I waved goodbye to my mom. It was violently storming the entire drive into Chicago but I was comforted as there was a nun seated across the aisle from me on the bus. :)
Waiting to board my flight to Seoul in Chicago was funny as I listened to two girls about my age sitting behind me (headed to Beijing for the Olympics) talk in valley-speak. Barf. I had to hold back a laugh when one says to the other, "I'm going to be so mad if my camera (digital) only holds like 6 pictures. The card that came with it says 16 MB. I think that's a lot." And the other replies, "Yeah, like my friend Mary had a card with like 16 MB and I think she said hers could hold like umm….1,000 pictures!" aaaaahahahaha...stupid girls.
The flight was long but good. I sat next to a very friendly Chinese American who was traveling to Beijing to watch the Olympics as well (I think many on my flight were headed to Beijing). Once in Seoul I had the challenge of switching airports before my next flight. Arriving at 5 a.m. Seoul time the airport was very quiet. But, wow, this airport was straight out of the Jetson's or something. Definitely felt like I was living in the future.
I stopped in the spotless bathroom to clean up (carrying my big bags was making me sweat like crazy) and was greeted by a woman who watched my every move as I washed my hair, brushed my teeth, splashed water on my face, and changed my clothes. I thought she was a bathroom attendant because she was just standing there for such a long time, but when I finished and began to put all my things back into my bags she smiled, said " Goodbye!" and walked out. So strange...
My journey in the future (aka Seoul) continued as I hopped on an express train (also freakishly spotless!) to Gimpo Airport. Thankful to get rid of my heavy backpack and suitcase I spent only a few hours waiting for my flight into Ulsan. A few chapters in my book and word finds later my gate area began to fill with people so when an announcement was given in Korean I automatically got up and followed the crowd to get in line. Much to my embarrassment the ticket-taker said, “ No, no, next flight.” I sat back down confused and panicked as I looked at the time on my Ipod. 9:40! My flight was supposed to leave at 9:50…what the heck? That HAD to be my flight! I jumped up to find someone to help me and my eye caught the digital clock on the wall…8:40. What a relief! My blasted Ipod was an hour off.
An hour later I boarded the correct flight to Ulsan. I was greeted by a very friendly man named Jason who, to my surprise, drove me straight to the school to meet the director and tour the building. I was feeling pretty gross, my eyes all bloodshot due to lack of sleep but I tried to forget all that and act friendly and confident as I was introduced to several key figures at E.L.C. (English Learning Center). I was asked if I felt like I could teach/introduce myself to my classes later in the day and I agreed. But first I was taken to two apartments just down the street and got to choose which one I’d like to live in for the year. The first one had clearly been occupied by a male and the second by a female. It was a no brainer, I chose the latter. The cleaner, more furnished (including a table and couch!), former female apartment. Stocked with all the basics I was pleasantly surprised as I pulled open the cupboards and cabinets. I unpacked in no time, showered and rest a bit before heading back to the school for a half day of teaching/introducing myself to my classes. The schedules, students, workbooks, native teachers, foreign teachers, classrooms, etc were all super overwhelming and are sort of a blur in my memory now. Somehow I managed to get through the evening. On my walked home I passed a supermarket and picked up some necessities (bread, jelly, fruit, and a much deserved ice cream cone). That night I slept like a baby until late into the next morning.
Since I don't have a camera yet (after my first paycheck people) I will try to describe my apartment....
You walk in the door. Ah -tsk-tsk, take off your shoes please (it's offensive in Korea to not). Directly to your left is my range stove (2 burners) that I still have not figured out how to work. Also on the your left is the sink, a few cupboards above the sink holding dishes, a few below holding cleaning supplies and a longer pantry like cupboard on the right of the sink. On your right from door is my bathroom. The bathroom (completely tiled) has a large mirror, a sink, a few cabinets, and a toilet. The shower head is connected to the sink faucet leaving a few feet between the sink and the wall to act as the shower. There is a drain on the floor under the sink. Quite nice actually because every time I shower I am actually mopping the floor of sorts. If you go straight three steps from the door and open another door you walk into my bed/everything room. On the left two steps is a small refrigerator, my (large) bed straight ahead, and on the right a stand alone closet thing and bookshelf. Take a few steps passed my bed and on the right is a small table with a TV on it. Across from the table this a coffee table and a cute little couch with pillows. Right behind the couch is a sliding glass door that leads into the porch area that has a washing machine and a few miscellaneous things. That's it, that's the tour.
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