Katie's Travels in Korea

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ktx/1/1296701252/tpod.html

2011-02-03T03:20:00.000+09:00

http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/ktx/1/1296701252/tpod.html

Top ten travel experiences.

2011-02-03T03:16:00.002+09:00

This list has no certain order. How could it? Every moment on this list was once in a lifetime.

10- Istanbul

I know it's cheating a bit to put a entire city on this list but for Istanbul I will make a exception. It is my favorite city on the planet, heavy with history, indie culture and amazing food. I only spent three full days in the city and I hope to return as soon as possible. Istanbul was the center of the western world for centuries and the mix of roman and ottoman culture has created one prefect world city. The cistern was a personal favorite and managed to stand out in a already brilliant city.

9-1:30 AM at Senso-ji Temple

Stephany and I took the last jam packed subway train back to our Hostel at 1:30 AM after a fast paced yakatori meal. We decided to swing by the Temple before heading back. The temple is usually packed with city dwellers and tourists alike. Yet when Stephany and I walked through the Temple grounds, we had everything to ourselves. The massive straw shoes, the lanterns and the five story pagoda was our playground. We ran around, snapped silly pictures and fulled our childhood dream of sisters traveling to far off Japan.

8-Amsterdam

Ok, I lied. Just one more city on this list of what was meant to be experiences. In my defense Amsterdam was like more a experience than a city for me. I had a ten hour layover in the city after my week in Turkey. Like everyone else on the planet, I fell in love within a moment in Amsterdam. Everyone is young, beautiful and riding bicycles. The city is like my beloved Portland plus the history I find so intoxicating. In the measly eight hours I had in the city I managed to to take a boat tour, eat about 16 meals and fulfill my dream of seeing some dutch master paintings at the Rijksmuseam. If Amsterdam was this exasperating for eight hours just imagine after I move there to work in the Rijkarchive! In my wildest dreams perhaps....

7-DMZ

I have done two different DMZ tours in Korea and they both were interesting and informative. Yet one moment stands apart. It was my third weekend in Korea and I took a tour to the northeast province. This was the same trip as the bungee jump of infamy. One night a group of us hiked up a local hill from our middle-of-nowhere home-stay. The hill used to be a genuine mountain before it got shelled into shambles during the war. After climbing to the top of the hill I turned a corner behind a monument and their it was, the DMZ. I saw before and I've seen it seen it since but never like this. It streaches as far as the eye can see in earthier direction. I had gone ahead of the group so I was alone amongst the boundary of steel fencing and spotlights. It was a shocking awaking that this country I was going to call my new home was at war.

6-Dancing at the Temple of Heaven

As self respecting guide book will tell you, the main attraction of the temple of heaven is not the multi-hued round temple itself but the park surrounding it. This is where the residents of Beijing come to exercise, sing karaoke, fly kites and prance will ribbons. Sometime after entering the park and before posing for more pictures (blondes do have more fun in China), I saw a group of older Chinese women line dancing for their Saturday morning workout. I knew if I didn't join it I would regret it later on. The women loved it and were more than patient for showing me the moves. I never thought I would go to China. I grew up thinking of China as the Far East, somewhere as unattainable as the Moon. Yet, here I was dancing the int Temple of Heaven. It made me giddy with happiness.

5-Street Parties and Festivals In Fukuoka

Last year I went for a wildly expensive weekend in Fukuoka Japan. I knew nothing about the southern most island other than I had two days off work and we could take a three hour ferry. We arrived on a Saturday night and I wanted to check out a district known for its night life and street food. I knew instantly that I was somewhere very different the moment I stepped off the subway. Advertisements for Host Bars lit up the sky in neon hues and everywhere the people where dressed in innovated interesting fashions. It was a wonderful change after Barbieland aka Daegu. Street food was everywhere and ranged from the classic meat on a stick to whole lobsters. The place entranced me and I joined the festivities, buying hot cups of sake from local vendors. Still moment alone would have deserved a spot on my list but I was even more lucky. We went during a small matsuri so dancers and musicians joined the festivities with the cross-dressers and street vendors. It was a perfect first trip out of Korea.

Sorry about the rush! I leave in a few hours for Thailand!

4- Riding my bike around Xian City Wall

In the Chinese city of Xian (the city of the terracotta soldiers) there was an amazing old city wall surrounding the city. My friends and I rented bikes and got to a wonderful next perspective of the city.

3-Getting caught in a rain storm in a bamboo forest in Japan.

2- The Great Wall!

1- Balloon ride over Kapidokia

Top ten things I will miss about Korea.

2011-01-29T16:24:00.005+09:00

10-Free Delivery

Want some delicious mushroom squid noodles delivered to your house? Do you only have 4,000 won? Well in Korea this is no problem as acres of delivery restaurants, service the needs of the hungry apartment bound masses. It took me a solid year of trial and error to figure out how to order from the monthly delivery books dropped off at my house. The food comes in less then thirty minutes and delivery is free. I will miss the moped man delivering everything from Pizza, Korean, McDonalds to Sushi.

9-Korean Hiking Culture

A middle aged man who won't give you anything but a massive wad of phlegm is transformed once you reach the top of any of Daegus local peaks. All of a sudden the older generation of Koreans becomes your best friend. There hasn't been a single time when I have hiked to the top of a mountain and not been greeted by a few free snacks or in one case, a round of drinks. The greatest kindness I have encountered was when my friends and I hiked Apsan Mountain the day after Christmas. It was freezing cold and my friend had forgotten her gloves. A older gentleman (who raced passed us as every Korean is in way better hiking shape than I) offered her a extra pair that he had brought in his bag. I just wish the kindness on the mountain could be continued on the subway.

8-Food Glorious Food

At first glance Korean food looks intimating and I personally was disappointed that it wasn't identical to Japanese. However, after a few months I was hooked. My favorite part of Korean cuisine is the side dishes. They are different at every restaurant and during every season. The staples include spinach, acorn jelly, long sliver fish, tiny fish, yellow pickled radish, onion salad, sweet potato and of course, kimchi. I can't believe I'm staying this but, I am going to miss kimchi. The salty acidic cabbage has become a staple of my diet and a meal hasn't begun without it. When I went home over Thanksgiving, I was disappointed by the fact that my meal was all served on one plate. I guess I just have to move to Spain next and day eat tapas all day!

7.5- Red Bean Bread Fish

Warm, sweet, yummy and three for a dollar. Need I say more? I just wish these waffley sweets were cooked up year round.

7.25-Fruit

Super cheap and sold on every street corner, I will miss Korean fruit Adjummas. Street fruit is only sold in season so its always fresh and delicious. A big bag of kumquats for 3,000 won? I'm in heaven.

7-Cheap and Easy Transportation.

Its not interesting to write about but I never imagined it would be this easy to get around without a car.

6-Korean Fashion

Hot pants and high heels, floor length real fur coats, men's bedazzled jeans and of course couple wear. Daegu fashion is a strange combination of conservative and girly. You rarely see colors brighter than baby pink and many women's wardrobes could easily be shared with Barbie. While I never hopped completely on the bandwagon if have found myself wearing more leggings, (even Jeggings God help me) skirts and Velcro strap fake converse. It's exhausting to see so many beautiful people everywhere and at home I will be relieved to stop being the dumpyist 20-something downtown.

5-K-Pop and K-dramas

The flashy and strangely addictive Korean pop dance beats blast out of every available store orifice at all hours of the day and night. It's annoying but sinks quickly into your brain. Similar to kimchi, I found myself craving K-pop and kept a secret stash on my computer. K-dramas are a much larger time commitment and embarrassingly much more addictive. I watched two complete dramas series on mysoju.com and only my hapkido class and work kept me from watching more. Its hard to ignore the successful dramas, “Secret Garden” being the most recent. My students debated them in class, my friends knew the actors real love dramas and the cab drivers watched the series finale on their in-cab-tv's.

3-Teaching

It might be exhausting and I am pretty sure I took years off my voice box but I will fondly miss teaching. It's a career that plays to my vanities. Everyone listen to me, look at me and laugh at me. I am here for their entertainment. Oh, and to teach I guess although the role of the foreigner teacher is half of each. The kids call my name as I walk through the hallway and I get a rush from actually helping them understand. I will be pursuing a masters in archival science but I hope to integrate it with public education in some way. I enjoy the performance aspect of education far too much to never continue.

2-Safety

From leaving my computer and wallet out in the open in a coffee shop to the keypad entry on my apartment I have never felt safer than I do in Korea. Nobody rips you off and bartering is unheard of. I walk home alone at 4:30 AM at a regular basis and I have never once felt threatened. I think one of the most difficult parts of returning home will be giving up freedom which only comes with feeling secure.

1-Friends

When you leave your friends and family to live in a foreign country you start from page one. The friends I have been blessed to make in this chapter of my life have become some of my closest friends. We work together, eat together and become each others new family. More than simply friends, I will miss my new family and hope to visit everyone again no matter what corner of the globe we call home.

Top Ten At Ten

2010-12-19T21:49:00.000+09:00

Hello all my lovely readers/Mom. I have been pretty lazy on my blogging lately and my time in Korea quickly runs to a close. I want to get a KaTU style Ten At Ten segments about my favorite, worst and most surreal moment in the last two years. So lets get started!

Top Ten Awkward Cringe Inducing Moments (in no particular order)

10. Bungee jumping
Most people jump off a bridge for the excitement and energy rush. I have never wanted to go bungee jumping, to be honest it always looked too damn scary. Yet my third weekend in Korea I went on a DMZ tour of the northeast province. Bungee jumping wasn't part of the trip but it was only 30,000 won (28 bucks) and I decided to go because... it was cheap. Mistake. I was the last one in line and only jumped after being hooked up twice and eventually got pushed off in the dark. I actually enjoyed the fall and the adrenaline rush. The reason bungee jumping is on this list is my tear-stained face and ruined lungs and the firm reminder that you shouldn't attempt a extreme sport simply because its cheap.

9.Ulleungdo

Any trip where the highlight is feeding seagulls in sure to end in failure. From the beginning of this trip where I almost got seasick on ferry to the end where we thought we had to stay another night. It was a disaster. Rain, expensive terrible food and nothing to do. How did this lonely depressing little island have the undying love of an entire country? The answer is tied to Dokdo and Korean national pride neither of which applies to a group of foreigners naively dreaming of a beach vacation. I think the majority of this trip can be summed up in the tiny five per room hotels and the fleas which distracted me from the sound of incessant rain.

No one can ever see it but, trust me it's out there and it belongs to Korea.

8.The Korean Theme Park Death Ride

From the strange mashup of themes to the sketchiness of the roller coasters Korean theme parks are the guilty pleasure of Korea. I know I shouldn't enjoy the cheesy decor but I do. I have been to two local Daegu parks, the strangle baby animal roundup in Everland in Seoul and California themed waterpark where none of the pools are over a meter deep. The best ride at any Korean theme park is the tambourine. Its 80's inspired grandeur was at every theme park I explored. Its a massive wheel which spins around and shudders, throwing your entire body off the seat. There is no seat belt, just the desperation of your own sweaty palms. I know a friend whose spine was injured on this ride and another couple who vomited on it. I have managed to survive this ride multiple times and the first I was given no warning except hold on. Its a nasty ride and one that would never survive in America's sue happy system.

7. Andong

This place claimed to be a interesting Korean folk village. Perhaps it is not during the freezing cold month of December. A three hour bus ride lead me and my friends into the middle a empty folk village. It was cold miserable and the level of excitement accepted before something get labeled a "attraction" is much lower in Korea then I am used to. However Andong set a new high for level of boring in a major attraction. There was signs which labeled "Pine Forest", "Straw Roof" and a whole building devoted to Queen Elizabeth's visit. In Andong's defense we did go during off season and the Jimduck (Chicken, veggies and rice noodle mashup) was out of this world. Still I will never forgive Andong for the frostbite I suffered on my soul.

6. WWF at Camp Walker

See earlier post and bask in the excitement of our military based deodorant shopping spree.

5. Exploring the Infamous Sangin Nighuh
As I have often explained prostitution in its various degrees exists all over my neighborhood. On strange Wednesday night my friends and I decided to enter Sangin Night, the local nightclub with on demand prostitution in the backrooms. The night was bizarre with barely anyone else in the place and the strange floor show which was not staffed with Russians despite the questions I occasionally receive. Chatting with your everyday bouncer/ hustler was strange indeed and a interesting view into the world that is everywhere around us yet completely hidden.

4. Limousine?
It was the end of the Frisbee season and our fantastic Irish captain had decided to rent our bottom of the League team a limousine to arrive at the field basting "The Final Countdown" and breaking out into dance. When the Limo arrived it was in fact a airport van and the driver would not can't from blasting ABBA for enough time for our arrival to look even quasi bad-ass. Awkward? Of course but that moment when the van pulled up to see all of us dressed to the nines accompanied by Kenneth's Irish swearing was some of the best gut busting laughter of my life.

3. Park Sung Tae

He's more than your local Representative he is...the most interesting man in the world. Ok, maybe not. In far he was a far cry from that. Meeting him the hallway of my school was hysterical. Going to his formal election night party was anything but, awkward with no one who spoke english or under the age of 50, it was a far cry from my black tie, DonP fantasy which involved Hannah and I riding around in his campaigning trucks. We stayed there for two desperate hours before we fled the scene.

2. Being a Medically Induced Vegan

Heck I don't quite understand it myself but thanks to lame genetics (love you Dad!) I can no longer eat animal products. This is universality awkward but Korea as is a country of meat meat meat and flash dieting. Nobody really believes that I have health reasons for what I am doing. "What is that wonderful flash diet your on?" some Korean friends love to ask. Also no one in the restaurant business believes me. They just think I am a horrible picky foreigner who just doesn't like beef/eggs/milk. As you can imagine this has put a major damper on work dinners as I eat only rice and pretend not to mind public discussions about my weight.
Luckily the majority of my friends have been super understanding and bend over backwards to eat where I can eat. However their food still looks better than mine.

1. Everything my students inappropriately share

Sometimes my students can be pointed rude and often racist but most of the its naively cute. Like the time where my boy students talked about their "fire balls" through class. Other times its much stranger like the Korean obsession of cartoon pictures of poop. The most awkward teaching moment is when my 8 year old male student asked me if I had a boyfriend. When I negatively replied he told me I should date his brother who would "put a baby in me". To this day I don't know where he heard that.

Well that's all for this top ten. Whats next? Most awe striking travel moments? Things that should be carried over to the States? Couplewear? Anyone have any suggestions, I have plans to write at least two more before I start my travels.

Ulleungdo

2010-10-06T11:48:00.011+09:00

Over the short three day midweek holiday of Chuseok, I traveled with a group of ten friends to the "mysterious" island known as Ullenugdo. Located 75 miles into the ~~Sea of Japan~~ East Sea, the island is famous for cliff side landscapes and dried squid. Due to recent drastic dietary changes I would only be able to enjoy one of the above. However that wouldn't stop me from enjoying this island that had been hyped up from every Korean who knew I was going. According to my students Ulleungdo is a combination of Mecca and Disneyland. A nationalist paradise/ultimate vacation location.

We shipped out early Tuesday morning for a four hour hydrofoil journey. The boat was packed full of families traveling for the holiday. The floor space was jammed full of people who had set up camp and were laying on the floor. At first I mocked the Korean tendency to set up camp but then as I grew more and more seasick, laying on the floor seemed like a good idea. Eventuality I slid off my chair and onto the floor, enjoying the rest of the trip from the comfort of a good nap.

After a four hour boat ride we spied the so-called mysterious island, where we were hustled into a expensive restaurant and ate some unhygienic food. This turned out to be a theme throughout the trip. We were then rounded up onto another boat for a trip around the island by our inept tour company. Another theme of the trip. The second boat ride of the day revealed the craggy coastline of the island. It was quite beautiful, I think. To tell the truth I was distracted from the scenery by approximately fifty birds swooping over my head. The brochure for the boat trip mentioned two great activities, taking pictures and feeding native wildlife. Also known as seagulls. I wish I could read Korean so I would have been prepared for this bombardment of animals and excrement. I confess, the whole thing was slightly exciting in a Hitchcockian manner but it grew old fast.
EunGyung, Your not helping!

And that was the highlight of my trip.

Only half joking. We were lead to our tiny minbak (five people to a room and floor beds) with no food and no entertainment. We were on our own with only thousands of tiny fleas to keep us company.

Wednesday was a 24 hour downpour and a public holiday. We walked 40 minutes over the hill and back into port only to find everything was closed. We feasted like convenience store kings that day, playing monopoly and watching the rain. Not quite the tropical island experience I fantasized about. Luckily I had a bunch of great friends to pass the time with.

We woke up on Thursday to sunny skies. The island had been transformed into something worth our time. After emerging like my students from a PC room, we stepped out into the fresh air and decided to take a hike around the coastline.
It was undoubtedly my favorite Korean hike with jagged rocks complemented by some of the bluest water I have ever seen.

Of course we only had time for short hike and then we where dragged out to catch the ferry back to Daegu. In the end I spent a three days and a good deal of money for a three hour hike.

Very few foreigners make it out to Ulleungdo. I think the island could be a worthwhile destination if the weather agrees with you. Also a last word of warning, the weather is volatile and there are only two ferries to the island everyday. Don't be surprised if you are forced spend another night on the island. We almost had to miss a day of work. I was a shame we didn't end up spending one more day on the island, with the sunny weather it would have been nice. It was a unlucky trip all around.

Sorry about the months in between posting everyone! I have a recent glut of free time and I promise to write more.

Couple Wear

2010-08-26T10:30:00.003+09:00

Korean Couples Wear
Guest blogger: mom/Joanne
Ladies: Does your man really love you? How do you know? Well if you lived in Korea it would be obvious; you would dress alike. Yes, I'm talking couple wear and it's big business here. Koreans are very orderly people and follow the rules of dating. At about date #7 the couple goes shopping together and thereafter look like grown-up brother-sister twins. It's super-cute and super-popular. Sometimes just a matching shirt, oftentimes right down to the pants and dare I mention – the skivvies. Yes, check out the photos. His & her underwear. Something tells me I will never get my man to do this for me. Guess I'll have to settle for roses!

Impressions of Korea

2010-08-23T23:41:00.004+09:00

By: Joanne/mom

I am not an adventurer. That would be my daughter Katie. Although I have traveled in the past, I much prefer to stay within the confines of the good ol' USA where I can read the street signs and order up a plain coffee at Starbucks. Much to my surprise – I can do both of those things here. Signs are in Korean and English and coffee is huge here – even more so than Portland. I expected tea served with every meal and cute tea houses on every corner but I suppose that would be Japan. Guess I really do need to get out more. Cute would not describe Korea. I'm not even sure that “scenic” is a good word. Yes, there is beauty here but I haven't seen it. I am in Daegu, a bustling city that awakes in the evening hours when the weather cools and you can finally go out. The shopping centers both old-style markets with fresh fish, dried fish, chickens both alive and dead, textiles and socks, socks, socks and the newer malls with department stores, 3 storied coffee houses and best of all inexpensive plastic surgery centers where you can come out better-looking in an hour. What a country! The people, although not overly friendly, are very helpful when asked for help and love trying out their English on me. As I walk along the streets here in Daegu I am the only Westerner. Once in a while I see a similar face and it's usually another English teacher here for a year.
Katie has taken me to Seoul where we enjoyed a wonderful weekend that coincided with the 65th anniversary of Korean independence.. The highlight was an outdoor concert of Italian opera and a special version of their national anthem by a very old Korean rock guitarist (& obviously a legend judging from the applause he received). We enjoyed every minute.
Let's see, I'll try to speed this up a bit. The food is o.k. Not my favorite cuisine. Korean beef barbecue is good; kimchi, not so much. And it is served with every meal. Yes, even breakfast.
Bullet train, subway and taxis are great. Passenger train is s-l-o-w. Bicyclists passed us.
Here is an interesting note: Recycling. Recycling is placed in a bag outside the door to your home or apartment. Sometime during the night or morning it is picked up by an old woman who places it in her cart as she moves up and down the street. I imagine there are many elderly who do this as it cannot possibly be the same woman – right? It is always gone the next day so the system works. Maybe I can start that when I retire. Hmm.

Elections

2010-06-21T23:02:00.007+09:00

About a month ago Daegu had its local elections. I had known this day was coming for months. Why? Because of the giant campaign banner that had hung on my building for the last six months. When it first went up I asked my youngest students what it was for. They told me it was for a man who had "no hair, now hair". I completely bought it. It wasn't until months later that I realized it was for city councilman. As election day drew nearer it became impossible to ignore. Trucks drove up and down all of the major and minor streets with blasting music and slogans complete with middle aged women dancing on the backs.

I have traveled to nine different countries and this ranks up there with strangest things I have ever seen. A small local election was being advertised around the clock. For two weeks I woke up to a woman shouting praises of some local joe. Childrens songs with words substituted for the candidates name, people riding on the backs of trucks dancing or bowing, it was strange. The candidates themselves would be walking around town with slashes with their face on it and the position they were running for.

It gets stranger. One day I was walking out of woke and I see the candidate on my building (no hair, hair). My friend and I attempt to talk with him and end up getting invited up to his base of operations. We can't say no. We are greeted by a small group of supporters who force feed us and dress us up in sashes for photo-ops. He invites us to his victory party the next night and once again, I can't say no. The man had put the picture up of us on his website (tagline- Park Sung Tae, The foreigners choice.)

The next night we returned. I must confess I had fantasies of a massive ritzy party or at least something hilarious happening. If you count awkward as hilarious then maybe it did happen. We were paraded around the room and it was clear Mr. Park liked to show off his foreign supporters. One man attempted to get us tipsy and a woman called her high school aged son over from across town to watch him speak english with me. We stayed two hours too long and escaped before we knew the official results.

The next day the election was over (Mr. Park won) and the trucks were still out this time with the candidates bowing to the passersby to show their gratitude. I tried for weeks to get a video of the dancing women in matching shirts, visors and gloves but I never quite got it.

But this guy did!

Buddha flies a Heliocopter? I stand enlightened.

2010-05-25T01:37:00.000+09:00

Katie Update

2010-05-23T16:12:00.009+09:00

Last weekend I went up to Seoul for Buddhas Birthday and Lantern Parade. I hadn't been up to Seoul in a few months and during this trip I went to the university district for the first time. Seoul is vibrant unique city that is easy to forget about in the massive suburb that is Daegu. Countless cute Coffee shop after wine bar after boutique show the common trends.

The lantern festival parade was on Sunday night (another great reason to start work at four). It was pure spectacle. It wasn't as beautiful as the Rose Parade(s) but I have never seen anything quite like it. First of all more people where in the parade than were watching it. Rows and rows of beautiful traditional Hanboks worn by people carrying hand painted lanterns. Large Buddhist congregations will chose representatives to march in the parade including my bosses mother. Along with the traditional music, art and dances where some modern floats. I loved the lanterns of the fire breathing dragons and graceful peacocks but my favorite was one of Buddha flying a helicopter. I hope to see more parades feature divinities with heavy ammunitions soon (Jesus in a Jet? Vishnu in a Tank?). I jest but it was quite bizarre to see monks pushing floats with kids dressed up as Buddha. Fake ears and all.

The parade finished in three lengthy hours. I ran off to get a Starbucks in the middle of it, I have become my mother. After the parade, we scoured the streets for discarded lanterns and found the jackpot in Jogye-sa temple. I took them home via two subways, the bullet train and taxis. They now hang in my window and will hopefully give me luck for my second year in Korea.

In other major news I have finished my Ninja training and received my Black Belt in Hapkido. Tim, Brent and I have trained together for the past year and it was finally time to take the test. We had a crowd of seven watch us and our judge was, no joke, the dean of the bodyguard department at a local university. I was incredibly nervous, sweating bullets before I even began the test. I regretted asking all my friend to come and cheer me on. After all, it is not unusual to fail a black belt test. Even a old foreigner like myself had to hold up some standards.
The test started out with nine different kicking techniques. This part is not only the most exhausting part of the test but also the most difficult. I can't master the forms and although I can kick to eye level my master wants my kicks to be over my head.
The second part of the test is the twenty-one different self defense moves. Hapkido defense focuses on wrist locks. My self defense partner is six foot tall Tim. Not only do I have to restrain him and throw him over my back but he has to do the same to me. Being the “attacker” often involves having your face wiped through pools of sweat. My black belt test was no exception.
The next part of the test was two minute sparing rounds, falls, rolls and kicking apart a three cm board. Nunchucks were cancelled which was bad news for my bruise collection.

I am now the proud owner of my black belt with my name embroidered on it,
키ㄹ크 캐이티
Best souvenir ever!

Tokyo

2010-04-08T11:23:00.015+09:00

Stephany was in the worlds largest metropolis for three days. I have a extra day and a half because I flew out later. Tokyo is a city of distinct districts so I have decided to write about these districts in groups instead of a day by day style.

Asakusa
This is the district where we spent the nights. It is built around the Sumida rive, which was the only body of water I saw during our stay. It's very easy to forget that Tokyo is a port city. Asakusa is famous for its Shinto/Buddhist shrine Senso-ji. Stephany and I wandered into Senso-ji during some late night exploring. We had the shrine completely to ourselves and we were able to take some great pictures that would have been impossible in the daytime tourist crowd (they are all on Stephany's camera).

Kappabashi-Dori
This is a street located within Asakusa district. Stephany and I followed the guide book there thinking its was a large store that sold fake food (buying one being side quest of mine) instead we were pleased to discover an entire street selling everything imaginable. Giant mascots to place in front of your restaurant, signs, banners, teapots, accessories for a American themed diner and of course fake food. These miniature works of art aren't cheap and we oohed and aahed over gems like "Donut on the Gold Chain" and "Floating Fork with Spaghetti." After lengthy consideration I walked away with a prefectly replicated bite of steak on a key chain. Money well spent.

Shibuya
Home to the worlds busiest pedestrian intersection, Shibuya is a shoppers dream. Or in my case nightmare, as I was too cheap to by anything. We took in the sights and sounds of Tokyo's high and low brow shopping. There was one store that ranked all the products sold in Japan (in very small categories like face mask or stationary set) and then sold the top three in its store. The entire store changes every week so the Japanese school girl doesn't embarrass herself by wearing last weeks lip gloss. Shibuya is also home to a quality skewers restaurant were we sampled everything from basic yakitori to lotus root.

Harajuku
We spent a huge chunk of time in Harajuku returning day after day. Stephany and I never spied the classic "harajuku girl" in her Gothic Lolita wear and if we did it was often westerners playing dress up. Harajuku is home to small unique shops. It reminded me a bit of 23rd st. at home except cheaper and a bit more trendy. Stephany even bought her own Loita dress here among the row and rows of the super floofy.

Akihabara
It seems that I was the only one in town who didn't know about this place. A thriving electronics market, Akihabara is also home to the strangest Japan has to ofter. Maid Cafes are a dime a dozen here as are stores selling pornographic comic books and figurines. Akihabara is the core of the strange counter-culture of Anime that has spread throughout the world. Stephany and I had a great time poking around, shopping for vintage video games and playing in the arcades. The arcades are a attraction in themselves. They are six of more levels of joystick pushing action. One of the floors is for picture booths. Stephany and I took our picture only to discover that its had automatically whitened our skin and magnified our eyes. Yes, we do look like aliens. The bottom floor is devoted to claw machines wear 100 yen buys you one shot at toys, movies, porn, live jellyfish and salamanders or cigarettes. As strange as this counter-culture is, it was a relief to see. I am still attempting to find some deviance in Korea.

Kichijoji
For anyone who cares this is were I am planning on moving to. As soon as I learn Japanese and find a local job that is. Kichijori is a neighborhood a half hour train ride out of central Tokyo. Stephany and I came here because we had tickets to see the Ghibi Museum (for a Japanese animation studio). The museum was clever and whimsical. It was great fun tracking down all of the signatures, sketches and picture of my favorite Pixar artists as they are fans of Ghibi and often come visit.

What stole the show for me however, is the neighborhood. Quaint shops, tree lined streets and a large park with a lake. How could this fresh example of suburbia be so close to the largest city in the world? And further more how can I move there?

I love Tokyo and I apologize for only writing about snippets of our adventures. I really must rush because my flight for Beijing leaves in 48 hours and I still need to pack. Let me leave you with this.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the famous rockabillies of Yoyogi Park

Kakegawa and Nara

2010-04-06T11:53:00.014+09:00

The Kalks and Urhausens are a adventurous bunch, including my cousin Nikki who is teaching in Kakegawa. Stephany and I stayed with her one night in the midst of a torrential storm. The weather kept us from exploring much of the town. Instead Nikki introduced me to my two new favorite foods sake in a juice box and sakura mochi (pink sweet rice wrapped in a cherry tree leaf). Nikki works for Aeon and is lucky enough to teach adults and kids. The demand to learn English is much lower in Japan than in Korea. Nikki's Aeon was the only language school in her adorable town. Despite Kakegawa having fewer foreigners than in Daegu, the locals were nonplussed about Stephany and I hoofing around. Oh and by the way, if your ever in the mood for a macaroon the best ones are in Kakegawa. A bold statement I stand by.

After our overnight we were off to Nara. The capital of Japan for a brief period in the 700's, Nara ranks up with Kyoto in terms of Japanese history. We had a good deal of back tracking to do in order to see Nara and I want to thank Stephany for putting up with me, as I was determined to see the city. The main reason I wanted to see Nara was Todai-ji (remember ji= Zen Buddhist temple). The worlds largest wooden building, Todai-ji is one of the Japan's iconic buildings. It was originally built in 728 and suffered through several fires. The current building was finished in 1709 and is 30% smaller than the original. Inside sits the Daibutsu, a 50 foot bronze Buddha. I wish the weather would have been nicer that day as I wanted to see more of details engraved on the bronze. However the lack of interior lighting creates a feeling that the line between earth and the divine is being blurred. This "smudging"of mundane reality is the reason that when I travel my favorite thing to see is holy places whether they are shrines, temples, mosques or cathedrals.

In one of the pillars in Todai-ji has a large hole exactly the same size as one of Daibutsu's nostrils. Lore says that if you can crawl through the hole you will achieve enlightenment in your next life. I dared Stephany to squeeze through the pillar and she did! She had a large audience of school boys on a field trip. I started to chant "nice shot, nice shot" (a famous english phrase thanks to video games) and soon enough everyone joined in. This rush of dorky adrenaline has to be one of my favorite memories from the trip. The silliness in the temple was not out of place in the country where Hello Kitty sits on Buddha's lap.

Nara is also famous for its tame deer who are a religious symbol in both Buddhism and Shintoism. The deer are tame until the second you buy a deer biscuit from the vendor. After which, they will jump up on you like a dog standing on its hind legs to get a treat. I created the challenge to see who could get the best party pic (you hold out the camera with one arm and take your own picture) with a deer. The other tourists must have believed that we had gone off of the deep end as we ran around putting one arm over the deer and taking picture of ourselves. Not quite the proper way to treat the messengers of the Kami. Sorry Nara deer....

After a long day of traveling we returned to the bullet train station and begin the journey to our final destination, TOKYO!

Of Toris and Bath Houses

2010-03-22T22:49:00.002+09:00

Our second day in Kyoto surrounded us with classic Japanese imagery. I felt like I had stepped into Miyzaki's film Spirited Away. First by visiting the central Inari Shrine in Japan, wandering a bamboo forest and then soaking in a bathhouse. All in the pouring rain.

Stephany and I took the train to Fushimi Inari-taisha after a ill conceived attempt to start the day with a bath at the bathhouse (it opens at three). The Shinto shrine is famous for its numerous Torii gates. The Torii is a bright orange gate used to mark the entrance of a holy place. The Shrine we were visiting is devoted to Inari, the deity of financial success. Each Torii in the shrine is donated by a business, which answers our question of "why do some gates look brand new while others are falling apart?'. It also give us a clue of what was written on the back of each Torii.

The numerous Torii that were flanked by fox guardian spirits. The grounds of the shrine continue endlessly up the mountain and the site was littered with thousands of shines for private worship. Like this one patronized by shrine kitty.

At some point in our adventures we decided that we had time for one more summit. We looked at the map on the way up and concluded that it should only take fifteen more minutes to reach the summit. Rule number one of this trip- traveling of any kind never goes as planned. We made it to the group of shrines on the peak of the mountain and than had the brilliant idea of taking a Torii-less shortcut back down.

We wandered down the path beyond the main shrine, past peoples homes and trough small family shrines. I was never too worried as we were never to far from a road or a home. I knew that we were safe from spending the night on the hill top but finding the train station again was a different story. We wandered in the rain though a breathtaking bamboo forest. It must have been for farming as the feeling of being shrunken Alice would be swapped with towering over the clear cutting. I have yet to see bamboo in Korea and the trip through the forest reminded me again that I was in my dream Asia.

At on point we turned a corner and discovered a small shrine with hundreds of strands of paper cranes. In the corner of the shrine was a carving of a Buddha about 18 inches tall. It had a washed out note card in English describing it as a "heavy-light stone". If you make a wish and then guess if the stone will be heavy or light, the Buddha will change its weight to grant it. By now we had been lost for over two hours and I wished that we could find the main entrance within the next ten minutes. I then guessed that the stone was heavy and just about pulled my arms out of their sockets haphazardly picking it up. Leaving the small shrine behind we stumbled right into the inner-shrine at the heart of Inrari. Thanks heavy-light stone!

Next up on our Spirited Away adventure. Funaoka Onsen, a classic Yubabba style bathhouse. Kyoto has no local thermal hot springs so we were unable to experience the classic Onsen experience. Steph and I still wanted to give the public bath a try, did a little research and found Funaoka. The onsen is one of the few remaining from the 1920's and it has retained its original wood carvings that strangely enough depict the Chinese invading Manchuria. I have gone to many public houses in Korea and I forgot how awkward the first time dropping trow and "hot tubbing" nude can be. It was no issue as Stephany did fantastic at all cultural challenges Japan threw at her. The Onsen has indoor and outdoor pools. The outdoor bamboo pool was the most pleasant but strangely I kept going back for more time in the electric pool. There is a reason my body was buzzing, they run a weak current in the water.

The dip in a classic Onsen was the prefect way to warm up after a long hike in the rain.

Next up- Our visit with Nikki with a Saki in a juice box AND Nara- Tame deer, wild schoolboys.

Kyoto

2010-03-21T19:50:00.007+09:00

A theme to our trip to Japan seems to be traveling. I am willing to wager that Stephany and I spent equal amounts of time on trains, buses and subways as we did sightseeing or exploring.

Eventually Stephany and I did make it to Kinkaku-ji. The famous golden Zen Buddhist temple is as synonymous with Kyoto as the geisha. Kinkaku-ji (Ji means Buddhist temple) was built in 1393 as a retirement villa and then converted into a temple. The original building was much less ornate than what we saw as the original burnt down in 1955 and the gold leaf has recently been replaced. You don't see the temple until you round the corner waking me to the fact that I was really in Japan.

I can't say this enough. I love Japan.

Japan is very different than Korea. The mythical East Asia of my dreams lives on strong within Japan. The towns are diverse architecturally and the people have fascinating differences in fashion. Also many people commute on bike and strangely enough Kyoto reminded me of Amsterdam. Japan was a lovely break from the stares and faceless housing blocks of Korea.

After Kinkaku-ju, Stephany and I found our way back into the central part of Kyoto and decided to wander with temple intent. Its impossible not to find temples in Kyoto and stumbled into a Shinto Shrine and a massive Zen Buddhist temple.

Many Japanese would describe themselves as both Buddhist and Shinto. Shinto tends to be the religion of choice for life and Buddhism for after death. Shinto is a purely Japanese religion based on the worship of Kami spirits who are found in all living and natural things. While 90% of Japanese take part in shrine ceremonies only 30% are considered to ascribe to the faith system. Stephany is standing in front of a Shinto shrine in the picture. They have distinctive orange Tori gates and often a brighter color scheme. Yet it is difficult to tell the two apart at a glace as Buddhism and Shintoism are so connected many temples are templeshrines with the symbolism and traditions of both religions.

Kyoto has over 1600 Shrine and Temples. We had no specific plans to visit temples outside of the Golden One so I felt very lucky that our wanders took us to Mii-dera. Founded in 672 this Buddhist temple is one of the four largest in Japan. The site of much turmoil and warfare the temple was burned to the ground in three major wars before finally being rebuilt in 1599. Its sprawling grounds are prefect for two sisters with a knack for stumbling off the beaten track. Along with the main halls, we explored the bell tower and the graveyard. I will always remember the emotions of standing in that empty graveyard with the rustling sounds of the sotobas in the wind (sticks meant to represent stupas left at grave site). It was a moment that made me reflect on how blessed I am to be traveling yet again.

We also traversed a bit up the mountain to find a small fresh water spring dedicated to Jizo the guardian of children who die before their parents. Statues of Jizo are often decorated with red bibs.

After the exploring the shrine, We traveled to Gion. The historic center of Kyoto which is home to narrow back alleys and traditional homes. Stephany and I lurked the streets hoping to see a Gieko (Kyoto term for Geisha). This was our quest and we traveled up and down the streets stopping at nothing.

Ok, maybe some savory mochi in front of Kyoto's Miniami-za Kabuki theater could
cause us to pause.

We rewarded in the early evening to see a young Maiko (Geisha in training) being herded by a older woman teetering in her okobo shoes. It felt much more like stepping into a movie set then reality and the uniqueness of the situation is striking me more as I write this then it did at the time. I regret not taking a picture of her but I did manage to snap one of this full fledged Geisha.

That's all for now, later I'll share the epic story of "Kalk Sisters; Lost in the Bamboo Forest!"

2010-03-11T23:37:00.005+09:00

Hi every one,

This is Stephany reporting to you from my very first international trip! This whole experience has been amazing and I hope to be able to have another wonderful experience like this soon (-ish). Every part of this trip has been great, I'm just sad it has to end so soon.

The first night of our trip set the pattern for this trip. By that I mean that we got lost. After arriving in Kyoto that night we eventually found our hostel and went right to bed. The hostel we stayed at was really nice, but when you are in a very small four-person room and two of them are already asleep at ten o'clock it can be difficult to rummage through your bags to get ready for bed. we ended going out into the hall and practically emptying all of our stuff on the floor because we didn't want to wake our roommates up.

The next day we went to the golden temple. Katie's lonely planet guide book, which we have been following without question, told us that it was right off the 205 bus route. So we hop on the first 205 bus we see and are off to see the golden temple. So we ride along not at all concerned about being the only ones on the train. Now remember what I said about getting lost? Not too far after we got on the bus pulls over and the driver proclaims, "finishu" we continue to chat excitedly about being in Japan, "finishu," still no response, "FINISHU!" We hastily got off the bus and found our selves in the middle of a random Kyoto street.

And that's all the time my fellow international traveler had to guest blog. I said goodbye to Steph today and I am prepping for my last day in Tokyo. I will finish what my sister started when I arrive back in Korea.

America Hell Yeah!

2010-02-22T14:52:00.004+09:00

I have no pictures of this day so you will have to take a leap of faith and believe that this is not a work of fiction of my part.

On Sunday I went with four men I barely knew on a quest for Taco Bell. My friend Ki said he would sign all five of us into Camp Walker in order to sample my favorite trashy fast food. I knew two of the guys, Kyle and Jeff from a mutual friend and we realized how ridiculous this adventure was. Traveling cross town for a piece of taco shaped corn starch that costs under a dollar. Taco Bell was in my mind and nothing would keep me from my goal of 99c goodness. Ki signed us into the base (we had our S.O.F.A.S) and we walked up the dreary path to Taco Bell. After taco consumption we peaked inside the Px and this was when things turned a bit strange.

All of a sudden my friend Kyle turned to me and said 'Whoa, is that Scottie 2 Hottie?' I assumed this was a nickname for some friend of his or maybe a inside joke I was missing out on. I was wrong. Scottie 2 Hottie is a WWE wrestler most famous for doing the worm on his opponents chest. Kyle spoke too Mr. 2 Hottie with religious reverence. Soon enough we learned that there was a free eight round match on base in two hours. Not wanting to break Kyles heart we decided to go.

After killing two hours with cheap bowling we went to the gym. It was a small crowd, about 150 people. As I sat down I felt fear bubbling up in my stomach. What had I agreed to do? I couldn't sit through three minutes of pro-"wrestling" on TV and now I had agreed to a two hour live show? The worst part was knowing that I was truly trapped. Camp Walker rules state that the whole group must sign in and out together. I was trapped until Kyle lost interest which seemed as likely as a child losing interest in Christmas.

The eight rounds proceeded like a incomprehensible circus performance. I could never believe that after nine months in Korea the culture of my own country would be so foreign and repulsive to me. Barely clad girls wrestling and tearing hair, a clown fighting a disco king and a goth vampire fighting a man who played a caricature of the mentally handicap. I had hope that I would find the matches comical but unfortunately I couldn't even mock the players for fear of the fat drunken men next to me. I imagined they would turn on me at any moment. "Its that a english teacher?" they would yell and then the clown would chase me down and Scottie 2 Hottie would impale me on his perfectly gelled hair.

In the end I survived but as I left the base I didn't know which was up anymore. I felt so out of place in little America it was a relief to get cut off by old women in the subway line. I know it will be a bit difficult to readjust, knowing that everyone can understand me and having the knowledge that I can find anything I want at anytime. However I will be returning to the lovely Pacific Northwest where I doubt anyone will drag me to WWF.

Korean Gold

2010-02-17T13:39:00.003+09:00

I have always been a fan of the Olympic games. I enjoy the summer more than winter but I still keep my TV permanently set on Olympic coverage. For a small country with a short history in the Games Korea is doing incredibly well as I write this they rank fifth in the medal count! Go Korea! Fighting!

My local sports channel is embodying national pride by replaying Mo Tae-Bum's win in the 500 meter long track over and over and over.... The same ten minute clip set with repeat three times before moving to a different race. Two Korean men are the sportscasters for this race. One man quickly gives a play by play of the race. The other...well you will have to hear for yourself.

UPDATE- My discussion of the Olympics to kick off class was extra fiery yesterday.

Selloal

2010-02-16T00:56:00.000+09:00

Happy Lunar New Year everyone. It is one of my three days off and unfortunately I have been simply lazing around. I have a big expensive tip planed in three weeks and I decided it would be best to keep it simple and save money. On that news I'd like to introduce you to a new member of the family, the North Face Tera 65 backpack. This fine friend will be my new companion in Japan, China and the rest of my future travels. It's my Selloal (New Years) gift to me.

Korea, like most of northeast Asia celebrates Lunar New Year as one of the most important holidays of the year. Selloal is a family holiday that spans three days. Unlike most western holidays there doesn't seem to be a exact date to do each event. The most common schedule seems to start on Saturday, peak on Sunday and end on Monday.

Most of my friends are traveling this weekend to see their family. The Grandmother's or oldest Uncle's house are common destinations. At some time during the weekend the family will get dressed up in a traditional Hanbok for the Sebae ceremony. The Sebae ceremony is when family members do one deep bow to show their respect. Adult siblings to the oldest son, Wife to her new mother-in-law and most commonly, children to parents. This is often rewarded with some money or sweets.

My Neighborhood Hanbok Shop

My students have be talking New Years since my first day of teaching as it is a much larger holiday than Christmas. They have been telling me about the huge amounts of money they receive today (about 200,000 won seems about average) from friends and family members. This money is then offered or to quote my students taken by their mothers and placed into a bank account for the child. Many kids get to keep a little of the money which results in crowded PC-bangs (internet cafes).

Another New Years tradition is going to the public bathhouse or jimjibang. My friend Hannah and I decided to celebrate today by going to Home Spa World. This is by no means my first trip to a jimjibang. I've had old women scrub sheets of dead skin off my body and ask me awkward questions on numerous occasions. This was however, our first trip to Home Spa World and I hoped to get something a little different for my 8,000 won. The basement of the spa is the actual jimjibang, filled with families dressed in blue for the Dads, pink for the Moms and green for the kids. This jimjibang was the best I have visited in Korea as most have little more than a few saunas. Home Spa World had nine different rooms.The hottest room was shaped like a giant tandoori oven and had a time limit of 15 minutes. The coldest room was freezing and had snow falling from the ceiling. My favorite room was the one with the small heated ceramic balls covering the floor about four inches deep. I buried myself in them like a kid at the beach. Other rooms included black rock, jade, salt rock and ceramics. After Hannah and I had our fill of all the various rooms we went upstairs to try out the many hot pools and steam rooms. We emerged very clean five hours after we arrived. It was a great way to welcome the Lunar New Year of my birth sign, The Tiger!

Hiking in Korea is In Tents!/Intense!

2010-02-03T15:10:00.000+09:00

Sorry that its been so long since I have written everyone! I had the horrid graduate school application season in January followed by the moving apartments. My new place is slightly farther from work, a 15 minute walk instead of three. Its also a bit smaller however everything works in the new place! From heat to having a window its a more livable place than before. I still don't have email however and I am mooching off of the local coffee shop internet. So without further ado my much delayed post about hiking, Koreas national pastime (tied with Starcraft).

Korea is a very mountainous country. 70 percent of the peninsula is mountains which adds to the compact nature of city life. A good hiking peak is never far away and since I live at the edge of city I can begin my choice of several hikes within a five minute walk of my apartment. What Korean mountains have in quantity they lose in height. The tallest peak in South Korea is Halsan 1,950 meters above sea level. The relative ease of the hikes doesn't stop the older Koreans from treating the sport with a Olympic seriousness. The mountains swarm with men and women aged 50-75 speeding up the mountain, out pacing their own top driving speeds. Very few men and women backpack overnight on the mountains but that doesn't stop them from dressing the part. Here are two older gentlemen walking through my neighborhood perhaps on their way to Palgongsan. The long heavy wool socks over pants is a common fashion choice.

My friends and I decided one fateful day in December that we too could summit Palgongsan. I was ready for a traditional Korean hike. The consistent invite to the picnics at the top, mountain gyms and the little old ladies in white gloves that I never believed could have made the climb. What I didn't imagine however was how high 1192 meters feels on the 27th of December in below freezing weather. I was sweating and overheating while at the same time my face was slowly freezing off. Hence this horrible picture of my sweaty hair and frozen nose.

After a full six hours of trekking we reached the peak. The Korean word for mountain top is "dongbong" which is perfect as I felt thoroughly dongbonged by the end of it. A storm was coming in and the temperature was rapidly dropping so we took the cable-car down the mountain. Some might call this lasy. I prefer survival based decision making.

You don't go hiking in December for the foliage...

In other news...30 days till Japan and 70 till China. I love my life.

Snow in Daegu

2010-01-06T12:23:00.000+09:00

As Seoul is slogging through record levels of snow, Daegu had a slight sprinkling on Monday. Daegu is a city surrounded by mountains which protects us from snowfall in the winter and maintains sweltering humidity in the summer. I went out on Monday and took shots of my neighborhood in the snow. The snow stop after four hours but most of it remained on the ground as the temperature remains above freezing. As I was taking pictures I realized I have never shared pictures of my lovely Sang-in neighborhood before.
So without future delay, Sang-in in the Snow.

My apartment building. It's much smaller than my imagined city high-rise

Snow on my neighbors traditional one story house. See the Kimchi fermenting pots in the foreground?

In rain and sleet and snow, the yogurt women still make their rounds.

The majority of the country lives in identical apartment blocks

This woman is selling delicious red bean cake fish. Tiger head might succumb.

Winter is apple season and Daegu claims to have the best in the country.

It is winter vacation but that didn't stop most of my students from doing academy homework all day.

Many smaller Korean homes and businesses are heated with charcoal burners.

Dak-gabli must be delivered in any weather conditions.

This bike was parked outside of a photo studio.

There is no better way to end my photopost then with a image of the iconic claw machines covered in snow. They have taken my beckwons (100 won=10 cents) and I have won their vitamin candy.

A Korean Christmas

2009-12-30T15:10:00.002+09:00

Last weekend I celebrated Christmas by Skypeing my family and going to a zany work dinner. It was a poor trade for a real Kalk family Christmas but I still had loads of fun.

The reason I didn't get too depressed was Christmas in Korea is nothing like back home. Its seen as another couples holiday like White Day, Valentines Day and Peppero Day. About half of my Elementary School Students reported getting a gift and none of my middle school students did. One distinctively Korean tradition is the Christmas Cake. These cakes are sold at every store on the peninsula and are more standard then Santa or a Tree. Some of the stores that sold cakes include Baskin Robbins, Paris (Baguette and Croissant), Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and countless others. The cakes look adorable but are generally dry and custardy. The Christmas Cake tradition is a bit of a let down compared to all of the wonderful baking I missed at home this year. Yet the Cakes do have home style Christmas beat on one thing. They all come with hats. Check out the Baskin Robbins penguins. It looks good on the cute salesgirl but I have seen these hats on old men and women on mountain tops. Only in Korea.

My favorite hat this year would have to been the Paris Baguette hat. Its a wolf..wearing sheepskin? And now for your viewing pleasure, the PB Christmas Cake commercial that has haunted my dreams for the last month. I had to give you the long version so you wouldn't miss out on 2PM's rap.

Christmas morning I went to Mass with a friend and her mother. Mass was in Korean but I could understand everything that took place because of the international standards of the Catholic Church. Its wonderful to feel so connected to Catholics around the world! The Choir was incredible. They sang all the Carols in Latin and with operatic style and quality. That being said their was still major differences. The most shocking one was that all of the women covered their head with pre-Vatican two doilies. I was told its wasn't mandatory but my friends and I were the only ones without. Also the sermon was as done as a musical number by the priest. After mass we were asked to stand up and say where we are from. You know that vising Ethiopian family? Yes, its me.

Do you like the traditional Korean manger complete with pumpkin on top?

After mass I went to the work party but it didn't fulfill my Christmas craving. I imagine that I will have a mini-break down in July when my Christmas alarms rings six months over due. I never even had a eggnog latte...

Merry Late Christmas Everyone!

The Most Happy Wedding Day

2009-12-14T22:28:00.008+09:00

This Sunday I was invited to a mandatory Wedding of So Yeon, the secretary at my work. She always greets me with a smile and a double wrist wave so I was excited to support her on her wedding day. My boss set out a envelope with all of the teachers names on it which were checked off after we gave 30,000 won. It was nice to have the gift covered stress free but I became wary when I realized everyone was forced to pay. Even those not attending the wedding.

On the big day we arrive at the Wedding Center. It is a six story ugly building in the middle of a nondescript neighborhood. I had seen these buildings before. On Sundays they swarm with men in suits and women in dresses. I walked in wondering how all of these people knew So Yeon. This was my first mistake.

The wedding was on the 5^th floor. One of three devoted to ceremonies and the other half dedicated to buffet dining halls, more on that mess later. The floor was crammed, I saw a bride in a voluminous white cupcake walk by but she was not So Yeon. We were reunited with the Korean staff who (as always) were disproportionately shocked to she me dressed up. Unlike many Korean women I have a different wardrobe for weddings then I do teaching eight year old's. It seemed we had almost missed the main event. No not the ceremony, but the chance to take pictures with the Bride. Taking pictures seems to be the most important part of a Korean wedding. People show up a hour early to snap pictures. Also all Koreans have professional wedding photos taken before the wedding to display at the actual event.

Next to the photo-op platform was a small “chapel” with the doors open to the rest of the floor. I put chapel in quotes because I have no idea what to call that place. A discothèque mashed up with a fashion show catwalk would be more appropriate. Their were lights on the ceiling and a white piano in the background. I think George Michael of WHAM might have created more subtle décor. The room had about twelve tables each full of talking guests. We squeezed into a corner next to the open doors. Then the Mothers of the Bride and Groom started to walk down the catwalk in traditional Hanboks and I was shocked by what happened next. Nobody stopped talking. In fact people chatted the entire time. The banal chatter was made worse by the fact that the doors to the main floor remained open allowing all the guests of other weddings (or guests who didn't care to watch) noise to leak in.

The Groom walked down the aisle followed by the Bride and her father. Their was no groomsmen or bridesmaids. They bowed to each other and a man, a prominent friend of the grooms fathers (the perfect tool for business kissup) gave the lecture. He spoke for about 15 minutes and although I didn't understand a word, I was never bored. I was horrified by the videographer shoving the camera into the Bride and Grooms face. The ceremony was also projected on a large screen about ten feet from the real thing and had a distracting amount of camera angles. Before I knew it the speaking was finished and the Grooms friend sang a love ballad to the new couple. After that the sound-track strutters to a stop and everyone climbs on stage to take a group photo. I'm lurking in the back like a freakish tall person. The bride tosses the bouquet to a assigned person (also a photo-op) and we all wander out of the room.

I walk out feeling a bit punked. Do Korean's think they can take all the cute symbols but none of the mean of a western wedding and still create meaning out of it. It took less than 30 minutes. What is the point? Well the couple now changes into their traditional Hanboks and moves to another room. It looks like the inside of a traditional Korean house except for the fact that there are three of these rooms next to each other. I wanted to watch this ceremony but was told by my co-workers it was much too long, about 45 minutes. We then went to downstairs to the reason the majority of guests come. The buffet, I imagine this is what my 30,000 won went to. I hope not because the food was nothing special and didn't include booze or cake. My friends and I ate in silence. What was that? How does that rushed flashy show reflect of Korean marriages and most importantly, why did I spend two hours getting dressed up to spend only a hour watching a show and eating bad food?

In the end this hour/day is nothing about me. So Yeon looked gorgeous and her husband couldn't stop smiling. I, on the other hand will get married in Tunisia. Its much more fun.

Halfway Point

2009-12-02T15:47:00.001+09:00

Last night when I was watching a horrible (then horribly funny) gore-fest titled Ninja assassin staring Korean boy-band singer RAIN. It dawned on me that it was December 2nd and I had been living in Korea for six months. My contract is half over!
Sometimes I feel like I have been living here forever but more commonly I feel like its only been weeks. I every time I think I have my Korea figured out it surprises me again. Sometimes in a quirky "is that a Cafe where couples pay to spend time with cats?" and other times in a depressing "I can only be called fat and ugly so many times" way. Korea is a place strange place to live. On the surface it looks allot like home, the brands and stores are familiar. Under the surface however Korea is more alienating then Tunisia. The lack of diversity and being the constant other is difficult to adapt to. There is one place in Korean society for people of my age and background which is a ESL teacher. Unfortunately this comes with negative stereotypes that many Koreans will use when interacting with me.
Despite all this I have met wonderful friends in Korea. I feel more at ease socially then in my last two years of college. I have more money saved then I ever had before and I am able to finance my own global adventures. I am having the time of my life in land of (stone stupas?) pickled vegetables. I have to make some important choices in the next few months. Will I resign, teach in another country or move home?

Whatever I chose in the future, I know it wasn't a mistake to come to Korea. It was opened up my world and this is the first time I have fully supported myself. I am motivated to continue live a international lifestyle and to meet the challenges of everyday.

Cappadocia Day Three

2009-11-30T14:35:00.005+09:00

As the Sun rose on our last day in Cappadocia, Carolyn and I felt like we had done all of the major things we wanted to do. Cappadocia needs weeks to explore but if you only have days you can still see the key sights.

Our last day in Cappadocia was Republic Day and even the small city was decked out with large scale banners of Ataturk and the flag. I was a bit disappointed that I missed out on the celebration in Istanbul but I managed to make do with watching these school children put on a play.

We then decided to walk to the highest point in Cappadocia, Uchisar Castle. It is called a Castle for tourist reasons but a central government figure was never held here. More likely it was another mountainous village. It took about a hour to make it from our hotel to the top of Uchisar. The view from the top was almost as good (and much cheaper) than the scenes from the hot air balloon. We had a really nice girl from Canada traveling with us that day and she had a blast taking modelish shots of us. I could never manage to keep a straight face but still manged to look presentable in a couple of shots.

After our photo-op at the local peak we walked back to the hotel through beautiful Pigeon Valley. Named after all of the ruins of pigeon houses that scatter the landscape.

When we arrived back in town it was time to catch our flight back to Istanbul. I was ready to return to the big city. There was still so much I wanted to see and with only one day left in my trip, I was feeling a bit antsy.

Cappadocia Day Two

2009-11-30T12:34:00.008+09:00

Sorry its been so long since I've written. Jill visited last week and I traveled to some new interesting places in Korea like Suwon Fortress. I am going to finish my Turkey blogs ASAP so I can get back to talking about Korea.

The second day in Cappadocia was the day of our Hot Air Balloon ride. It was extremely expensive (Won doesn't convert well into Euros) but it was a once in a lifetime opportunity I wasn't about to turn down. We woke up at dawn and drove out into the fields. There are many balloon companies in Cappadoica and the early morning colors were accented by the blazing flames.
Carolyn and I where copying the exact trip of friends of ours. He proposed during the balloon flight. A wise idea on his part, as it would be impossible to turn down any romantic idea hovering over the desert waves of history. The flight was just over an hour and we all were suspended in breathlessness. Except our pilot, who liked to spit over the side of the basket when he was not preforming daredevil sweeps next to rock faces. I felt like a wandering spirit as we peeked into cliff homes turned unusable by time and that can be seen only in flight. I will never forget that feeling.

After we descended back to earth we ate the worlds best breakfast. Turkish style yogurt, figs, dates, goat cheese (this is difficult to write about now that I'm back in the land of Kimchi and Rice). Carolyn and I still had the full day ahead of us and we decided to travel to Kayamkli underground city. After a delightful sketchy bus/air-porter van ride we arrived at the city. The city was carved over a thousand years ago for persecuted Christians. Only six floors are currently open but the city has over twenty floors not yet excavated. We explored the city with a keep of our guide for had no problem handing us a flashlight and then pointing us down tiny holes leading to churches, jail cells and general claustrophobia. It was mesmerizing to think of 3,000 people living in these human equivalents of ant hills. The richest living in the upper levels with the freshest air. We saw what remained of winery's, kitchens and large round doors.

After exploring the local village we returned to Goreme for a rained out mountain bike ride. I was a bit disappointed.

Stay tuned for my last two Turkey blogs. Coming soon I promise!

Happy Pepero Day

2009-11-11T10:34:00.003+09:00

I would like to wish all of my readers a happy Pepero day. (Or as many heathens know it, Pocky) And you thought valentines day was too corporate...

I think its just harmless fun and maybe my students will buy me cookies? I think this guy is contracting this all wrong. I'm not concerned with Koreans eating enough rice. I think that's pretty well taken care of.

Thank you for being so patient about the Turkey trip. I'll finish that soon!

Cappadocia Day One

2009-11-09T10:02:00.000+09:00

Cappadocia is a central state located in the middle of Turkey. It's famous for its stunning geography and its rich history and as the center of forbidden Christianity. The moment our van pulled into a view of I of Goreme my breath slowed. If there was was a place that deserved the title "pictures don't do it justice", this was it.

The stunning rock formations are contributed to a 2000 year old volcanic eruption. The tuffs of ash form soft rock with is later capped with denser rock. As the years go by the tuff erodes and the "fairy chimneys' are seen. Carolyn and I arrived at our gorgeous hotel (The highly recommended Kelebek) and this is the view from the hotel patio.

Our first adventure was to explore the open air museum. This is a group of homes, churches and monasterys craved out of the rock in the 300's but the frescoes that stand today are from the 11th century. Saint Basil was the active bishop and redecorated the ancient red ochre geometric designs with more extragalactic colors. There are so many churches to be seen in the museum that I saw both forms of decoration. Cave Church after Cave Church all mysteriously preserved and mine to explore. It became a little overwhelming. And the frescoes oh, I can barely describe it. It was like stirring in a dream but never fully waking up. If you want to see the frescoes in detail please look at Carolyn's website as she has a much better camera than me. Here I am in the entrance of a mausoleum. A skeleton is beside me roped off.

After we left the museum Carolyn and I started to play on the only jungle gym socially acceptable for adults, the rock pillars of Cappadocia. The homes that were once encased in rock are now open to the atmosphere. We were free to climb and explore this historic village that looked more like a science fiction set. It was easy to get swept away by the history of it all and grow disconnected from reality.

The height of my explorations came when I was stumbling over rocks and unexpectedly found myself inside a chapel. Some frescoes remained and a cross was craved into the wall. I said a quick prayer at the alter and sat in the priests chair for a long while (I'm sure they would understand) in a futile attempt let everything sink in.

The sun was setting and it was time to return to our picture perfect hotel. The next morning we had booked a hot air balloon ride over paradise.

Interlude

2009-11-03T15:22:00.002+09:00

Something about customs always make me nervous. Perhaps its a fear developed from watching too many spy movies. I know I have nothing to hide yet for some reason I always begin to sweat at the beginning of the line. This means that after waiting 20 minutes to be interviewed by a surly looking Turkish man, I am a wreck.

I hand the man my passport and that little yellow card. It must be apart of the chemical in the yellow that blocks memory, I can never seem to remember my social security number. By this time its 1:30 in the morning Turkey time and 8:30 in the morning in Korea. I didn't know if I could answer a single question correctly. This habit of not sleeping on planes and then slurring answers at customs almost landed me in Korean quarantine. The surly Turk opens it and looks me up and down. He glares at me and asks "Kalk?". I slowly begin to process the question. "Kalk?" he asks again this time much louder like he has recognized my name from a most wanted list. "Yeah, Kalk K-A-L-K" is all I can think to say, I'm just glad I didn't go into my Callll-K me on the telephone routine.

After I introduced myself the officer looks me straight in the eye and says "Stand up". Silence, then he repeats himself with no change of expression "stand up". All I could manage was a muttered "I am standing..." It must have done the trick as he stamped my passport and sent me on my way.

The next day I related the story to my friends who had the idea to run the word "kalk" into a English to Turkish dictionary.

Kalk- To demand a single person to stand up.

Who would have guessed the last name commonly mispronounced as cock in English could have its own quasi-popular song by the Turkish spice girls?

And who can forget "Olgan Olgan Kalk Gidelim"?

Istanbul Days One and Two

2009-11-01T20:43:00.014+09:00

Having just returned from my trip to Turkey, I can barely describe how magical that Istanbul is. You can feel the history soaking up from the streets. The food is mind-blowing and most importantly I realized how much I missed the regional culture. Turkey is everything I loved about Tunisia with half the sketchiness.

My travel buddy Carolyn and I stayed in Istanbul with our friends Kaitlyn and Ace. After 20 hours travel time, I arrived in Istanbul. I knew I was in love from the moment we took the bus to their fabulous apartment located nearby Isticklal center. In the morning we woke up and took a ferry ride down the Bosphorus to Yoros Place. A medieval place on the shore of the Black Sea.

The Bosphorus river is one of the most famous and historic rivers in the world. The two hour cruise has palace after mosque after fort. Its exhilarating! After the trip we took a short trip through the spice market. Dried fruit, Turkish delight, Olives, here is the food I have been missing! Much smaller then the Grand Bizarre the spice market has real values and I couldn't resist trying a little of everything.

After classic Istanbul fish sandwiches under the Galata bridge, we shared glasses of Effes on a hotel rooftop overlooking the Golden Horn. I couldn't believe that gazing at the same river as Caesars, Emperors and Apostles. The city once know as Constantinople was mine to explore.

One Monday we woke up early to take pictures from the panoramic view of Galata Tower. Originally built in 1348, the tower was guarding the "modern" part of Istanbul 100 years before Columbus was born. The 360 degree views of the city were spectacular if not difficult to capture with my camera.

We walked to Sultanahmet by way to the Grand Bizarre. Three hours, two scarves and one lamp later we arrived at the the neighborhood of Sultanahmet. This is the most famous district of Istanbul with all the major sights. We visited the blue mosque first. Finished in 1616 the blue mosque is still a working place of worship. With six minarets walking up to the mosque is a humbling experience. The inside is covered with its famous blue tiles.

Most importantly however is the really good "pretzels" that are sold everywhere (Thats for you Brett).

For the history nerd in me the good times never stop in Istanbul. We walked around the hippodrome and were I feasted my eyes on monument after monument. Including a jaw dropping Obelisk. The carvings look crisp although it is 3500 years old. Built in Egypt and moved in 390, the Obelisk dominates the hippodrome. I could not tear my eyes from it. We originally planed on simply walking past but I came enraptured.

How do you top that you ask? Well I thought it was impossible but Istanbul loves to prove me wrong. Enter the Basilica Cistern, a random sight we decided to drop by before dinner, turned out to be one of the highlights of the trip. Built in the 6th century the Cistern is 105,000 square feet. The feeling upon entering was like the I had the wind knocked out of me. It was eerie and strangely familiar. (Update-when I entered the Cistern reminded me of a Bond film moment, well I was right because it was featured in from Russia with Love! Score one me!) The Cisterns are lit perfectly with emphasis on the mysterious Medusa head's in the back. If you are in Istanbul, even just for one day, you must visit the Cisterns. I promise you will never forget them.

Wrapping up my second day in my new favorite city I went to bed early as tomorrow was our flight to Cappadoica. I was excited but hesitant to leave. What could top Istanbul?

Everyone Please Vote!

2009-10-19T14:32:00.002+09:00

Do you love Olivia's Sorry Sorry Sorry music video? Do you love reading my vaguely humorous blogs? Then click this huge link and vote for Olivia's music video. If she wins she gets free round trip airfare to Korea! You need a youtube account and then go to that link and click on the "discussion" tab of the video. She just entered the video yesterday and already has climbed to the 7th spot!

Real blog coming soon I swear.

Thank you!

2009-10-13T09:46:00.003+09:00

Thank you everyone for reading my blog. My top 100 blogs about Korea prize came in the mail yesterday. I won this over the top cute pink Mickey Mouse MP3 player. Its made by the Korean company iRiver (copy Apple much?) and the "eyes" light up to tell you if its charging, updating and whatnot. And no, I did not get to chose the shape or color this was the universal prize for most people. Its pretty rad to win something for what I already love to do. Thanks again!

Sangin Night-uh

2009-10-12T12:49:00.002+09:00

I take allot of taxis here, they are cheap, safe and the the subway stops running at 11:30 PM. The only issue with taking taxi's is that the best way to direct a driver to my apartment is to say "Sangin Night-uh ju-si-oh" Which means please take me to the local nightclub. Nightclub has a different meaning in Korean than at home. A night club is often a hostess bar where the women "flirt" with you and if you buy a private room maybe a little more. Not quite a brothel (although Korea has its fair share of those) the Nightclub is certainly a sexual trade. I have actually been inside of the infamous Sangin Nights and it seemed pretty tame with a pathetic stage show and little to no clientele. Perhaps that's because of the street were I work is littered with business clubs. Business clubs are one of the many thinly veiled places to buy sexual services in Korea. Business club is for "business men" to drink with co-workers and often have company provided for them. Many nori-bangs (singing rooms) have girls who will sing with you and then solicit sex. Ticket da-bangs (tea rooms) are coffee delivery service which is a actually a call-girl. I almost discovered this the hard way.

The reason I know about this is mainly my good friend Internet but also because it doesn't hide. The picture at the start of this post is the same doorway to the school. The three words at the bottom of the picture say Chinese/Russian/Filipino. About once a month I get harassed by a drunk man calling me Russian aka a whore. I just tell him "No pervert!" in Korean and they usually wander off after a while. Ah the charms of being a female traveler. How Korea maintains a self-image of a super conservative country blows my mind. The sex trade is 1.6% of Korea's GDP which is down from twice that in 2004! As a person I am passionately against prostitution as it dehumanizes women and creates a environment of abuse. I wonder if the Korean government will ever stop looking the other way.

And in a much lighter note I've decided to keep you updated with k-pop. "Kiss" is a new solo by a singer in 2NE1. Can you make a solo if you group debuted in March? This song just came out and while I don't care much for the song the video is hilarious. Who is the sponsor??

JAPAN

2009-10-05T10:29:00.007+09:00

This weekend was Chuseok. Its one of the largest holidays in Korea and can be compared to Thanksgiving as spending time with family is the most important part. Great information about Chuseok can be found here. While in a perfect world I would have liked to celebrate with a Korean family I never scored a invite and planned a trip to Japan for my three day weekend.Chuseok is determined by the lunar calender and the three days change from year to year. Next year teachers get a five day weekend.

Our trip to Japan was epic due to our ferry leaving early from Busan and the only train to Busan leaving at 2:00 AM. I didn't sleep Thursday and took a taxi, train, taxi and then we found our hydrofoil ferry. Its takes 2 and a half hours to travel from Busan to Fukuoka (fuku-oh-ka). Fukuoka is located on the southern island of Kyushu and the city has a population of 1.3 million about half the size of Daegu. We arrived at 11:30 AM Friday (sleeping in train stations anyone?) and I set foot in Japan.

I was like a kid in a candy store. It was a steady downpour for the majority of the day but I couldn't stop smiling. JAPAN! I have wanted to travel here my whole life! Which made me a little ashamed that I didn't know they drove on the left of side of the street.

Our first stop was lunch where I sampled the famous tonkotsu-ramen famous for its white broth made from pork bones. After lunch we checked into our Hotel, the beautiful Hataka B. By this time it had been a few hours after lunch and there was only one thing on my mind. Sushi! We had heard about a great sushi restaurant strangely located on top of a six story electronics store. The escalators opened to a arcade. A mind blowing arcade that makes all the Korean arcades pale in comparison. People of all ages and gender were having a good time with everything from claw machines, fighting and racing games to pogo stick racing?
After the arcade it was time for a Sushi go round. This one was not only delicious and cheap (110Y a plate) and you could order off of a computer menu and it would soon pass you on the belt with you seat number on it.

I tired the tuna, salmon and sea cucumber. The cucumber was...pretty awful. After dinner we went out on the town in the Nakasu district. The Nakasu district was lively to say the least, lined with host bars and other adult entertainment. My group was content to slowly walk up and down the street with the best people watching in the world. The Japanese have a more varied style than in Korea or even America. The mens hair was fantastic with big yellow pompadours and Mohawks. The women wore everything from shiny skin tight dresses to traditional kimonos. We were in Nakasu during a small festival with traditional drum music and teams of women carrying platforms around the streets.

The star of the Nakasu district was its street food. Charts lined both sides of the streets selling everything imaginable. Pan fried noodles (cant find them in Korea), candy apples, octopus bread balls, sake, street meat and entire grilled lobsters!

After getting my fill of the sights and smells of Nakasu I returned to the Hotel. By this time I had been awake for 31 hours and I had to leave early in the morning.

It was a 2 and a half hour bus ride in breathtaking mountains and bamboo forests (the first I have ever seen!)and we arrived in Nagasaki. Nagasaki is famous for a the Atomic tragedy and being the historical Christian center of Japan. From 1550 to 1650 Nagasaki was the only city open to the West. First it was heavily influenced by the Portuguese and later the Dutch. Nagasaki was beautiful and a balmy 77 degrees. Its a small city of 450,000 and easy to travel around by streetcar.

We started the day with the Atomic Bomb Museum. It was riveting and depressing and I embarrassingly teared up a few times. Fat man dropped on Nagasaki on August 9 1945, three days after Hiroshima. The museum starts with a clock frozen at the time the bomb was dropped (11:03) and has water towers the were warped by the intense heat. This picture is of a human hand the was holding a glass bottle when the bomb was dropped.

After the museum we saw the Park and the Hypo-center of the explosion. Many of the statues were covered in paper cranes because traditionally 1000 paper cranes is thought to grant one wish. It became a symbol of peace with Sadako Sasaki and the story of the paper cranes. Their were many memorials in the Peace Park including one for the over 13,000 Koreans who died in the attack. The majority of these Koreans had been brought to Japan against their will in forced labor camps. Many more Koreans died in Hiroshima about 1 in 7. The Hypocenter of the bomb looks very 2001 but more interesting they persevered a piece of Urakami Cathedral. I felt super awkward in this picture. Is smiling appropriate in a place were 75,000 died?

After exploring the peace park and enjoying another sushi cafe, I wanted to see a Shinto shrine. For some reason I had been deemed honorary tour guide and I lead our group of six to Suwa-Jina Shrine. It is a breathtaking Shrine at the top of a hill over looking the city. Its also the location of the cities largest festival which takes place this weekend. I was heart breaking know how close I was to experiencing it. Luckily I caught a photo-op of the child performers.
Founded in 1625 Suwa shrine was just the reminder I needed that I am not in Korea anymore. While Korea has its own share of Buddhist Temples, Suwa is a Shinto Shrine. Shinto is a ancient religion based on the worship of Kami deity's. While the majority of Japanese take part in Shinto ritual they would still describe themselves as Christian, Buddhist or Agnostic. Who can blame them? It must be wonderful to have such a history. The Suwa Shrine had a long path way covered in red Torii (gates) and I once again felt ecstatic. I'm in Japan!

In the Shrine I left some prayers to be burned and purchased a love fortune. You read your fortune (unless your illiterate like me) and then you tie it to a tree branch for the Kami to hear your prayers. Mine tore in half...so...crap...

After Suwa it was time to leave endearing Nagasaki. Our last night in Japan consisted of more arcades, ramen and enjoying the motherland of Karaoke. Much more than a simple nori-bang, this place was seven stories and had a faux-marble entrance hall.

The next day we had to leave early. I did some shopping in the 100 yen store an returned to the ferry. I was time to return to Korea.

I only spent 50 hours in Japan but I fell in love. The only reason I wasn't depressed when I left was that I know I will return. Maybe with Stephany in March or even better, live in Japan for a year after my contract here ends. It wasn't as expensive as I expected. It was about 500 USD for the entire weekend. Japan is clean, friendly, beautiful (palm trees?!) and most importantly I didn't get stared at,spit on, called a prostitute, elbowed or rubbed the entire weekend. Only one person asked where I was from and that was to invite me to the Kunchi Matsuri festival. Japan is also less uniform than in Korea, the apartments aren't all cookie cutter and not every woman under the age of 50 has bangs. I miss Japan already but I promise you. I will be back.

R16 International B-Boy Contest

2009-09-29T23:14:00.004+09:00

Do you know the difference between "locking" and "popping"? Well I do now because this weekend ten friends and I took the bus up to Incheon and watched the R16 B-Boy championships. Whats a B-Boy you ask? Well, a B-Boy is another term for male break dancer or hip hop dancer. I have been heavily exposed to break dancing in the media and I though this is my chance to see it done live. Before this my only live break dancing was those Asian kids in High School in front of the student store...

After a four hour bus ride we arrived in Incheon. R16 was on a "Worlds Fair" fairgrounds and we explored the largely underwhelming exhibits for a few hours. Good news however, the Swine Flu was shot right off of us.

The 2 on 2 "Locking" battles started at one. Locking is a bouncy dance style in the spirit of James Brown whereas in "Popping" poses are frozen and shortly held. The 2 on 2 battle was pretty cool at first but I got bored quickly and took a short nap in my chair. Forgive me, I woke up that morning at five. I Woke up just in time to watch the final battle. In the end a team of two girls won and they walked away with a million Won (~900 USD).

After a break it was time for the main event. The crew battles. A "crew" has from 7 to 12 people on it who are involved in freestyle or routine dancing. Or in some cases extra crew members do nothing...I'm looking at you Ukraine! There were 14 crews competing from 13 different countries (two from Korea). Two crews battled at a time and then the winner moved to the next round. Thats right, You Got Served style ie what happens when someone dances and you don't dance back. The teams pulled some great tricks like jumping though each others arms, hand slides, headspins and acrobatic flips. I took a video of the final battle (Russia vs Japan) but somehow the video became corrupted. In the end Japan took first place perhaps because they were lead by a dead-ringer for Rufio out of Hook.

The contest was over late and we returned to Seoul for the traditional exhausted hotel room search. I often wish I lived in Seoul as it is Korea, from events to population everything happens there. One good thing about living in Daegu however, is that I have seen much more for the country than my Seoul counterparts who rarely (and in many cases never) leave the city.

In other news I am going to Japan this weekend! I have a three day weekend and some friends and I are taking a ferry to Fukuoka/Nagasaki. I have wanted to go to Japan my entire life and know this jaunt will just wet my taste buds for more!

Pets in South Korea

2009-09-22T09:36:00.003+09:00

After the Korean War "paused" in 1953. South Korea's economy started to rapidly expand between the 1960's and 1980's. New wealth and prevalence of the western entertainment meant that Koreans wanted everything the West had. This includes pets.

Pets are relativity new in Korea but are fairly common with about 1 in 4 owning a pet. Despite Koreans owning pets it is a new development with many owners treating their pets very differently than Americans would. The majority of Koreans live in apartments and so the majority of dogs are small, weighing under ten pounds. These dogs are rarely let outside as the idea of a mandatory daily walk is not a "dog law 101" like in the West. Cats, which would seem to me to be much better suited for apartment life are uncommon. None of my students own a cat and the ones I see are clearly strays. The Hilton idea of a dog as a accessory has certainly caught on however with many "Animal Hospitals" with windows full of dog clothes and dye jobs like this are commonplace.

The greatest problem I have with Korean pets are the stores themselves. Pets stores are everywhere with windows full of puppies. Only puppies are sold in Korea.Puppy Mills anyone? Also there is only one Settler in Daegu. Its run by a British ex-pat couple. My friend volunteered there and said that dogs are rarely adopted and that many of them were purchased from owners who sold them for meat.

This brings us to the picture at the top of my post and to the answer to where are the non-snarf dogs in Korea. Bosintang. Bosintang is a famous Korean stew made with dog meat. It is traditionally served on the three hottest days of the year. Dog meat is difficult to find in Korea and there is no chance of a visitor eating accidentally. I have heard from friends that the meat is best eaten outside of the traditional soup and is tender and sweet. I am not planning on eating dog however, I do not condemn it as long as the dogs are raised in a humane fashion. This many people argue is the real problem.

The number of Koreans who eat dog is much smaller than you hear about overseas. When I asked my students (my own poll group of around 120 kids) nearly all of them had never eaten Bosintang and many of them were disgusted by the idea. The number of Koreans who have eaten dog meat is much higher among my age group but most confessed they only ate it to try it. The original reasons for eating dog (cheaper and available to all classes) is no longer true and the dish is quickly becoming a rarity.

Korean Standards of Beauty

2009-09-13T16:58:00.008+09:00

As one of the most homogenized nations in the planet South Korea has evolved a system of standards to determine beauty. Women are naturally thin and beautiful and over the years one exact image of a attractive women developed. Their is no curvy, no ethnic beauty, only a alphabet soup of standards.

The X-line is skinny waist.
The S-line is a big (Korean big mind you) butt, tiny waist and big breast.
The U-line is the lower back.
The W-line cleavage.
My favorite is the V-line having a long pointed chin and a thin face. I fail at this one perhaps I should by some face rollers and work on my V-line.

Koreans also have no qualms with making random body image comments. A women in the washroom told my friend she had a nice s-line yesterday. My students will always tell me that my skin looks dirty if I got sun over the weekend. Korean women also use skin lightening creams, parasols and sun masks to keep their pale complexions.

This exact definition of a pretty woman also explains the LBH (loser back home) phenomenon, when a stunning Korean women is dating a nothing special western man. I see LBH's every time I go downtown. I am usually harsh to them but perhaps their dates are LAH's (losers at home?) cause they don't fit they exact definition of pretty. Korea is a challenging dating environment for ex-pat women as we have to compete with a population of models who strut up mountains in high-heels and have no casual clothing. I have 7 male friends dating Korean women right now and 0 female friends dating Korean men. Not only that but I have never even SEEN a foreign woman with a Korean man. I know they must exist....right?

Back to beauty standards, another example is the double fold eye. It is a very popular surgery that men, women and even women will get to create the look of a Caucasian closed eye. This is such a common surgery that when a foreign friend and I where talking about a attractive man we saw the first thing my Korean co-worker asked was "did he have a double fold?".

Every time I live internationaly I love diversity more and more. I side with "The Korean" on this one, America is one of the least racist countries in the world. In Korea's defense however things are slowly getting better.

In a completely unrelated new story. I went to Costco today. Its just like home, only weirder!
The staggering price of Martinellis!

The only two English language books!

And finally the onion salad. When Costco received the onions, mustard and ketchup for the Hot Dogs they didn't know what to do with them. So they followed the instructions and set a condiment bar. Which Koreans decided must Costco's free side dish (all Korean restaurants have side dishes) hence the Onion salad was born. Onions plus ketchup plus mustard. Its very popular with a long lines and people taking heaps and heaps of "salad".

Life in Korea, everyday is a adventure!

Life Changing Music Video

2009-09-09T12:29:00.001+09:00

Bretts Visit

2009-09-08T23:04:00.000+09:00

Hello everyone!
Sorry its been so long since I wrote. Brett flew in late Wednesday night and I took the next week off to travel Korea with him. Thursday Brett came to my Hapkido class with me. I worked on kicking and taking a hit, while Brett started out punching. I appeared that one day was enough for him as he pulled a muscle in his back and spent the next two days in pain. In his defense however my first week of Hapkido I could barely limp up stairs! That night Brett went out with my co-workers and I for dinner at the Fish and Grill. I also strung him along to Makgeolli (milky rice wine) and he braved silkworm larvae. Although he forced me to eat another one with him...blech!

The next day I took him though the sights of downtown Daegu. Dr. Fish, the swings at the coffee shop, Waffle house and random omelet rice restaurant. We also took ridiculous photo booth pictures and played at the arcade. As expected Brett dominated at Mario Cart.

On Saturday Brett and I decided to cram two trips into one day, a trip to a giant Buddha and a baseball game. The Buddha was large (as promised) but it was constructed in 1992 and if things aren't old...well I don't really care. For such a ancient country Korea has quite few relics. Most were destroyed in the countless Japanese invasions. However, the Buddha did make for a great Korean style heart photograph!

After the Buddha visit we rushed to the baseball game. Go Samsung Lions! The game is Korea's top league and was absolutely packed. We arrived five minutes after the game started and watched the rest of the action sitting on the concrete stairs as all the other seats were filled. The stadium was tiny, only 20 rows upward and packed to the brim with singing, chanting and drinking Koreans. I want to go again and do it right. It was difficult to see from the ground. We went to bed early that night as I was excited to travel to Jeju Island or the "Hawaii of Korea".

Brett and I arrived in Jeju after a one hour flight. We had just enough time to find our hotel and snap a few pictures when it started to rain..and by this I mean pour. Jeju is a island of outdoor activities hiking, swimming, scooter riding. Brett and I tried to hike in the rain but we didn't have the gear for it. After checking the weather forecast (no let up for the next week) Brett and I returned to Daegu after a little over 24 hours. We managed to see a lava tube, stay in a over priced hotel and eat a great meal. It was a huge and expensive disappointment but I wasn't going to sit and watch the rain in a hotel room when the rest of Korea is calling!

On Tuesday I decided to take a quick side trip Gyeongju to before heading up to Seoul. Gyeongju is the old capital of the Kingdom of Sila (57-935Ad) which eventually became the ruling Kingdom in the peninsula. It is the most historic city in South Korea and needs more than one day to see it properly. Brett and I decided to focus our day trip on Bulguksa Temple. Originally built in 528AD the temple has been restored and expanded but never completely destroyed. The stone steps leading up to the temple date to 750 and are beautifully persevered. Koreans built their places and temples out of wood which increases the rarity of any part surviving thousands of years.

After wandering the temple and eating the worlds worst Bibimbap, Brett and I began our hike to Seokguram Grotto. It was a 4K steep hike up the mountain. I was not prepared for the hike and it took me around 50 minutes to trudge up the path. It was all worth it to see the grotto, without a doubt the most beautiful thing I have seen in Korea. The grotto is made from granite blocks miraculously transported to the top of the mountain. Finished in 774 by the same government minister that ordered construction of Bulguksa, the grotto is one of Korea's greatest treasures. It took my breath away. The grotto is a place of worship and the view is protected by glass which prevented me from taking any pictures but the view from the top of the mountain was spectacular. You can see the ocean!

On Wednesday we were off to Seoul on the KTX bullet train. We found a cheap and clean hotel in the financial district and started off our first day by exploring Cheonggyecheon Stream. The stream is a man-made sunken stream in the middle of the city that run for about 4K.Brett and I walked until we were hungry. So hungry that we made the mistake of going to Gwangjang Market for some street food. There we ate mystery organ meat (Liver? Kidney?). The after burps haunted me for the rest of the day.

After that....memorable experience Brett and I visited Deoksugung Place. Followed by the highlight of the day, a 5,000 won all you can drink brewery. The beer was pretty plain by Portland standards but by Korea standards it was fabulous. Fun Fact of the day- North Korea allowed small scale breweries before South Korea.

On Thursday Brett and I went to the National War Memorial of Korea which is a fantastic if not poorly named war museum. Starting with the beginning of Korean history and moving up to Korea's troops in Afghanistan (answer-not many). Brett and I explored the museum for over four hours during which time I tripled my knowledge about the Korean war. A depressing war that could have been prevented if the US stayed in or the Chinese stayed out. Korean's have been invaded and divided since the three Kingdoms first united. I don't know when or if the peninsula will rejoin. After the lessons on the Korean War, we discovered the strangely kiddie friendly "disaster prep" room. This exhibit was to teach children about Nuclear bombs and other forms of mass warfare. The exhibit reminds the children that North Korea could act at any moment and they must always be prepared. There was even a model of Fat Man descending from wire onto a model of Seoul with flashing lights outlining the areas of who would die instantly and who would need to fear fallout. The entire exhibit made me realize that in Korea the Cold War never ended. Lucky the room had superhero costumes for Brett and I to wear. We will save Seoul from destruction by chemical attack!

Brett and I decided to leave at exactly the right time we managed to catch a rehearsal of a Military color-guard.
That night we meet up with Brett's friend Randy, also teaching English in Korea and ate delish BBQ.

On Friday Brett and I took a tour of Changdeokgung Palace. The best preserved palace in Seoul, the last surviving member of the Korean Royal family died here in 1989. The palace was the my favorite I have seen so far. The Palace is famous for its "secret garden". It was a place of refuge for the Kings where they could look out over the lake or read in their private library. The garden is spectacular because even though you are in the 8th most popular city in the world, you feel as if you are in the forest.

Brett and I continued our random tour of Seoul by exploring Yeouido Park and Insa-dong. In Insa-dong, Brett and I were interviewed for Korean TV. It was super awkward as the Korean hostess(?) asked us questions that all Koreans would have a answer to but don't matter to Americans. The questions were 'What is your lucky symbol" and "What numbers are lucky for you and how do seeing them make you act". Brett and I answered mostly with gambling answers (7? 21?) and after them drilling us on 2NE1 the pop group, they asked us about gambling. I've only gone once I said but I'm not sure they believed me... Gambling is illegal in Korea except for foreigners. I think Koreans think we are all obsessed with it. After that super awkward interview we ate Mexicanish food and went to bed.

Early the next morning was our USO DMZ tour. It was very difficult to find the USO office but after we did Brett and I were off to Disneyland! I mean two countries still at war! I got mixed messages like this the whole trip. Our first stop (and why I paid big bucks to the USO) was Panmunjeom or the Joint Security Area. Our US Army guides gave us all UN badges and drove us pass "Freedom Village" (a village of South Korean's who make 80,000 USD and are exempted from taxes and military duty) and "Propaganda Village" (a empty North Korean village home to zero humans and the worlds tallest flag pole). Propaganda Village is famous for blaring propaganda to anyone within earshot. Sadly this has been slowly disappearing and I didn't hear anything during my tour. Once inside Panmunjeoum I was treated to that sight of the North Koreans building made familiar by the media. The best part of all was the appearance of the North Korean soldiers who smoked cigarettes and leared at us though binoculars. Zoom in the picture for our fine friend in tan.

We also entered the blue UN owned buildings and stepped on the opposite side of the table aka North Korea! The ROK soldiers took pictures with us and I got the distinct feeling that we were in a tourist attraction not a war zone. The reason behind the sweet Raybans is so the soldiers don't get into staring contests with the North Koreans. No Joke..

Our tour was soon over and we then went to Dora Observatory, where high powered telephoto lenses allowed me be a creeper and spy on a North Korean Town, which was completely empty. The final stop on our DMZ tour was the 3rd tunnel. One of four tunnels that were discovered in the 70's. This stop seemed the most Disneyland of all with a gift shop (one of many in the tour) and these guys..

Finally on Sunday Brett headed home. :(

And I learned to NEVER take the subway from Inchon to Seoul station. NEVER! It took me two and a half hours!

Thank you everyone for reading my blog! Thanks to you I was ranked in the top 100 Korea bloggers and won a MP3 player! Keep reading and commenting and maybe I'll win the grand prize.

K-Pop

2009-08-19T13:39:00.003+09:00

As I was passing out at the gym today listening to Korean pop music (no AirCon in the gym..) I realized that I had not yet blogged about K-pop. K-pop is a loving rip-off of the term J-pop or Japanese pop music. It's everywhere, blasting out store doors, being sung by my students and all over the TV. K-pop falls into two categories, bouncy dance music or intense ballads. The bands seem to go in and out overnight (I don't hear "Sorry Sorry Sorry anymore). The songs seem to go hand in hand with dance moves that all my students young and old recognize. If you thought the boy band craze of the 90's was silly, try turning your average group of five into twelve. You now have Super Junior, who was super popular when I first arrived. I bought the socks with their faces on them and everything. Socks deserves its own post BTW...

What shocks me the most about K-pop is its uniformity in popularity. I have yet to find a soul who dislikes Big-Bang (including me) and K-pop seems to be listened to all generations. My eight year old students and my co-worker all listen to the same groups. The only exception so far is the older male taxi drivers who listen traditional Korean ballads.

Makes me miss Tunisia.....

K-pop bands are all very similar, Groups of boys or girls dancing and singing. When I asked my students to name one band were the singers played their own instruments all of my 200+ students could name only one band!(FT Island, who I might be a little in love with...) As much as I like "I hope" its mind boggling that it was the only "rock" band my students knew of. Korea's complete lack of counter culture never ceases to amaze me. I admit though, it could just be Daegu.

Korea also has one rapper named "Outsider". Allot of English used in group names and song titles. Making it easy for me to know who is popular at the moment. Thanks students!

A symbol of the tie between K-pop and corporate consumerism is that songs in commercials turn into huge hits. Big Bang and 2NE1 are the most popular boy and girl bands in Korea. They worked together to makes a song for a cellphone, at first it was just on the ad and then it was everywhere! In fact 2NE1 debuted in this song and are now by far the most popular girl group in Korea. All my middle school students sing their songs and write 2NE1 lyrics in their notebooks. One girl even attempted to trick me by showing me song lyrics and claiming it was her homework.

K-pop is getting old fast. Its everywhere and always sounds the same and, it doesn't help that I don't understand the lyrics. At least its up beat(until you read the lyrics) and it gives me bonding material with my students. Now that you know more than you ever needed to know about K-pop i'll leave you with one last song. Its cheesy, bouncy, super old in the K-pop world (2008) and I never seem to get sick of it!

I <3 G-Dragon arm-warmers. Also lets go west? Really? The beach is like a 20 minute drive from Seoul..

School Schedule

2009-08-15T18:22:00.000+09:00

Hello everyone, Sorry I haven't written in a week. This weekend and last I didn't travel. I'm trying to save up money for Brett's visit. I'm so excited!

So instead of fun travel stories I decided to fulfill a request and write about my work schedule. I work Monday-Friday from 4:10 to 10:20. I teach six 50 minute classes a day with ten or five minute breaks between. The prep work is all done for me and to tell the truth the material is completely mindless. The interaction with the kids is the challenging part.

On Monday and Tuesday I teach my least favorite class, presentation. The kids memorize a five paragraph essay. Each paragraph is the same with only one or two words changing. I have to watch around 25 of these often about the same simple story. I go a little nuts. My smallest students (about age 8) have a workbook instead of presentations and are decidedly crazy.
On Wednesdays I have no Middle School students and teach eight 35 minute classes about a random topic. We play a lot of English games in these classes as the curriculum is often the same lesson as the week before but with different vocabulary. Thursdays and Fridays are similar to presentation days with the number of classes but I enjoy reading day better. The class it first tested on a story they read online the night before, then we read over three more stories. The goal is not only how to read but to understand and I work with my students on creating summaries. The stories are short never filling up one full page and the topics are mind numbing but I try to spin it to their interests and get the students to practice speaking.

Each child is at the school for around two hours, they get pick up in the Academy van and driven back home to their apartments. I have 12 set classes (Six on Monday, Thursday and Six on Tuesday, Friday) along with the random Wednesday students. Total I have over 160 students. I know all their names (some take English others keep their Korean) and I can tell them apart. I wasn't very hard at all. I was convinced it would be impossible coming over here. If the kids are bad I give them retest which means they stay at school for another 50 minutes. Sometime students stay until 1130. Retest is for bad behavior, scores and no homework. Its nice working for a school with a discipline system as the kids don't get any "real" grades for the school.

So far I enjoy the daily interactions with the kids except with my most of my middle school kids who never talk but, in their defense its 10:00 at night and they have been in schools all day. I just wish I could attempt teaching for real. I still don't know if that is the career I want in life but I want to try teaching with more freedom.

Busan Weekend

2009-08-05T15:05:00.007+09:00

This weekend (yes I am writing about it on Wednesday, lazy blogger strikes again) my friends and I packed up for a weekend in Busan. It was a half birthday, half goodbye trip as five out of eight of my core group of friends are leaving in the next two weeks. Busan is much more than Korea's beach resort town, it is also the second largest city in the country. My friends and I centered around Haeundae Beach, the main touristy spot.

Haeundae Beach is the most beach popular in Korea and my friends and I had inadvertently chosen the most popular weekend of the year. It was a national five day weekend (not for me of course, Koreans need their childcare) and Saturday night boasted a fireworks show and a K-pop concert. Once we settled into our over priced Love Motel my friends and I went down to the beach. It was a little crowded.

In case my picture doesn't get the point across, here is a great image of a major street in Seoul and Haeundae courtesy of the Korean Times.

Where is the sand? I'd like to say that the situation was better in the warm water but to no avail. Very few Koreans take swimming lessons as children (although this is changing) so the water was packed with yellow innertubes. It was like playing human bumper boats. To make matters most no one could go more than ten meters away from shore. Lifeguards zipped back and forth on jetski's ensuring I was never in water more than four feet deep. I still had a great time however playing a game of stand-in-the-water-volleyball (no room on the beach) with my friends and a nice group of Indian men. Indian's are one of the largest minority groups in Busan as Students and Laborers. Thank God they are in Busan as the bring with them fantastic food.

That night my friends and I listened to the concert (my students are super jealous) and watched the fireworks. Then we stayed up still two siting on the beach drinking and chatting. It was a nice intimate way to end the night. Except for the fact that...the beach was still packed! Two a clock in the morning and all the youth in Korea had the same idea as us. It was actually pretty exciting and surreal.

The next day was more of the same lounging on the beach and eating great Indian food. We took the KTX train home that night. I am going to miss everyone. Its like starting all over again with no friends!

Oh and if you ever wondered what a million people will do to a mile of beach, the answer is pretty disgusting.

This guy must hate his job.

Everland and Seoul

2009-07-28T14:46:00.000+09:00

This weekend was my first trip to Korea's capital of 11 million, Seoul. My friends and I went on a trip to Everland Amusement Park. The largest in the country and tenth most visited in the world. Waking up early we took the 90 minute bullet train to Seoul and then a bus to Everland. I didn't know exactly what to expect, not Disneyland of course but I know that Japan as some incredible theme parks. Everland surprised me with its nice created environments. Following the Disney standard, Everland has Magic Land, European Adventure, American Adventure and Zootopia.
One Eastern Orthodox Church, check. One mosque, check. Everland's Europe has its bases covered.

I am a huge theme park nerd and quickly drove our group of nine to the star attraction of the park, T Express. Touted as the "steepest wooden roller coaster" in the world, the T Express is the only feather in Everland' cap (more on that later). The line was short, only 20 minutes and the coaster was a epic ride. Later we all wished that we would have just gotten back in line and ridden that all day. My friends and I then traveled around the hilly park to track down the other two coasters. After a long trek we discovered that both coasters were "out for maintenance". Two out of three? In the peak of school vacations? Thanks Everland...
We continued our quest for our real rides and we found ourselves in the Zoo section of Everland. Everland's zoo is more impressive than its Amusement park section.

Zoo's not credentialed by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums are always a little depressing for me. While Everland is head over heels better than Tunisia, it still lacks the professionalism of a Western zoo. Most heartbreaking was the Cheetah exhibit which must have been 20 by 20. The lion cubs were tragic as well.
Exhibits were also not quite political correct...

The zoo had a large section called "Friendly Happy Monkey Valley" which had first rate enclosures, better than the primate center at the Oregon Zoo. Including a Orangutan walkway all around the "Valley".

Everland boasted of plenty of strange things including the only place where Lions and Tigers were in the same exhibit (with a moat in-between). The two things that bothered me most about the zoo was one, its constant supply of baby animals. No real Zoo with a breeding program would have over six lion cubs. The other disturbing part of the zoo was the random pairings of animals in cages for example.

The worlds worst smelling Meerkat.

Lions,Tigers and Fennec Foxes. There was also a black bear and a baby monkey. The monkey of course cowering in the corner.

After exiting the zoo part we attempt to go on another ride but, it ending up being a bus Safari. A hour wait for a awful Safari. This almost made up for it however...

LIGER!

The rest of the trip went downhill from there. Long lines and disappointing rides. I ended up only going on three rides all day...A brief beam of light was the "American B-Boy Funny Battle" in America land. Which was basically break dancing and bad rap. However it did star REAL AMERICANS. We look like this by the way.

Hours later we left Everland took the train back to Seoul and went to Itaewon the vibrant international district. We ate Kebab! Why can't Daegu have any place like that? The hostel we wanted to stay at fell through and we were scared that we couldn't find a place to stay. We found one place. A Love Motel. Remember when I said that all love Motels were clean and surprisingly classy? Not this one. It was on Hooker hill and we had obvious brothels across the street. Obvious like girls in bras standing in the doorways... It was incredibly gross but we managed to survive with out any rashes. (Key is sleeping in your clothes).

The next day was a vast improvement. First we at a American style breakfast, pancakes with syrup! And then the group went to GyeongBokGung Palace. Founded in 1395 the Palace has been destroyed twice by the Japanese and was rebuilt in 1990. The name means "Place greatly blessed by Heaven" and was the seat of the Capital after it moved to Seoul in the 1300's. The castle grounds are just 15% of what they once were but still enormous. We where there for over two hours and didn't have time to see all of the buildings. We arrived just in time for the changing of the guard, a ceremony I have seen in five different countries.

This is the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion or King's party pad. Rebuilt in 1867, the closer you sit to the top center, the higher your rank. Many buildings of the place were built in accordance to the I Ching (the Chinese book of changes, the base of Chinese philosophy and therefore Korean as well).

After the place we went shopping Insadong and then went out for dinner. MEXICAN FOOD! You can find international food in Seoul that is non-existent in Daegu. I can't wait to take the KTX back to Seoul. This trip barely scratched surface of this blended old and new city.

Dr. Fish

2009-07-21T23:42:00.004+09:00

On Sunday I went with a group of friends to another Korean experience, Dr. Fish. Dr. Fish is a Korean coffee shop with a entrance fee that strangely enough includes a bread bar consisting of white bread, french bread and dinner rolls. Whole grain is still catching on in Korea. Other than atmosphere and coffee the real draw of Dr. Fish is well, the fish! For only 2,000 extra won you can experience a fish "foot scrub". I had heard of this before I went to Korea and couldn't wait to get my feet in the sink were fish would literally eat the dead skin off my feet.
The experience was less ticklishness than I expected the fished tended to stay away from the soles of my feet and instead focused on my heels. Better eating I suppose. It didn't hurt at all, in fact if you closed your eyes it feels like a light Jacuzzi massage. However there was one fish, Jaws we dubbed him, who you could feel. It still didn't hurt but you could tell where that monster was chowing.

Downtown Daegu has plenty of sights and sound to puzzle a non-Korean. Believe it or not Dr. Fish is just the beginning. I'll leave you with this picture of two feuding cosmetic sales girls in their standard pink and yellow uniforms.

Korean California?

2009-07-19T12:11:00.004+09:00

I'm afraid I have been a lazy blogger lately. One post a week?

This week I saw Harry Potter on Wednesday. Korea is strange in the way that it can sometimes feels like your the only foreigner for miles around and then you walk into the Harry Potter theater and half the audience is foreign. I enjoyed the movie but none of my friends over here have read the books. Which bothers me for some dorky reason... plus the ending was a bit less of a shock for me.

On Friday was my Hapkido white belt test. I was tested on three types of kicks, three self defense moves and three types of falls. Oh yeah and fifty push ups. The judges seemed to go easier on us foreigners. The judges sit at a table at the front of the room as we went through all our kicks and moves. Four of us were testing for yellow and the others for upper level belts. It was a bit intimating to see what I will be expected to do in the future. After a hour everyone passed the test. I'm now a yellow belt!

On Saturday my friends and I took a hour long bus ride out to Gyeongju to go to California Beach, a water park. I didn't get to take any pictures but you can see some here. It was really expensive but it was a perfect way to spend a day with such high humidity. I went on every slide even met a hilarious group of Korean guys. My body image in Korea is always flip-floping from feeling like a movie star (standing out, people waving) to morbidly obese (thanks students...). Korean water parks have a allot of rules that my friends and I found irritating including having to wear a six dollar life jacket to go in a meter of water and covering your hair at all times. At least my friend was smart enough to bring bandannas so I didn't have to pair my bikini with a swimcap.

I just realized that I have left Deagu six weekends out of the last eight. I have seen more cities than some of my friends who have been here for a year! I love getting out, seeing the country and I'm already thinking of my international vacations. Anyone want to met me in China or Thailand?

Boryeong Mud Festival

2009-07-13T01:16:00.000+09:00

Hello everyone! This weekend was Mud Festival, the largest festival for foreigners in Korea. I would say the festival population was almost half Koreans and half foreigners. All that English being spoken, crazy! The idea of Mud Fest is that the Mud at Boryeong Beach is great for your skin, so why not paint it all over your body? There was mud pools, mud slides and mud pots where you painted yourself (these where strangely called self massage zones...).

My group arrived around noon and made it down to the beach to get dirty at one. It was a blast, get dirty and then wash off in the Ocean. Repeat. I even went to a color mud station were I painted myself with yellow, blue, red and green mud. This lasted until around six when it started to pour. A non-stop downpour that lasted till the end of the next day. I went back to the hostel, ate the school bbq (only potato salad I have ever liked!) and got ready to go out in the rain for fireworks and a stage show.

I ended up missing the shows because a 30 minute walk was doubled by the rain. My friend Kelly and I then tried to meet up with friends a a house party...for three hours. We went home at one, managing to not attend a single party at the largest party weekend of the year. I was pretty upset.

The next morning I was planning on swimming before the bus left but it was a thunder storm and no one was allowed in the water. My friends an I played 4 hours of cards to pass the time. It was a wash out all around. I am pretty disappointed about my once in a lifetime chance being rained out. The beginning was prefect however and I'm glad I went. This week is my first Hapkido belt test so I have been training extra hard. I'll post again soon and hopefully I'll have my yellow on Friday!

Weekend in Bijindo Island

2009-07-06T23:28:00.008+09:00

This weekend started off as many great weekend do, with no plans and a bus ticket. My friends and I took a bus to Tongyeong city hoping to find a beach and maybe a nice hike. Tongyeong is the largest city in the archipelago of South Korean island. We had over 20 little islands to pick from and so we picked Bijindo because it had two sentences in Koreas Rough Guide. As we boarded our spacious ferry one of my friends remembered that she knew someone who had traveled there a few weeks before. She called him and he informed us that Bijindo had no hotels and no place to buy food. Uh oh, we were completely unprepared. We all rushed to the ferry store in panic. Our boat leaves in 10 minutes, hurry! We bought seven cups of ramen and hoped that we wouldn't have to eat it with seawater. We joined the other crammed tourists on the ferry and we were off.

I knew nothing about this island before we arrived but any hopes I had were outdone. Bijindo is actually two island connected by a man-made and constantly maintained beach. It also had a nice little hotel made affordable by the seven way split. The water was warm (by Oregon standards) and the beach was uncrowded. We even met up with a group of Americans so I wasn't solo in my Forth of July celebrations. After a full day at the beach the owners of the Hotel were kind enough to play restaurant with us and made us a delicious dinner. Fresh caught fish, Korean potato salad (sweet and eggy) and cold noodles, yum! Of course no night in Korea is complete without a little Norebang and we rocked out to MJ after dinner. Then we joined the other group of teachers for a bonfire and fireworks on the beach. Fantastic day compared to the starving cold night on the beach I was expecting.

The next morning my friends and I made the foolhardy decision of hiking up a 305m high mountain in flip-flops. And when I say climb, I mean rock scramble. I was exhausted when we reached the top but the pictures alone were worth it. I wish the sky had been clear so I could have seen more of the surrounding islands.

By the time I made it back down the mountain I was content to just float in the water all day. Sadly our ferry back to Tongyeong left at one. We stayed for lunch in Tongyeong and explored the town. Tongyeong is famous for its role in the war of Japanese invasions of 1592-1598. It's naval forces, lead by national hero General Yi Sun-Sin were undefeated. Yi is also famous for his use of the Turtle Ships, hotly debated as the world's first iron clad dating back to the 1420's. Turtle Ships had a spiky iron roof and a smoke breathing dragon head to confuse the Japaneses. Tongyeong has reconstructed one as tourist attraction and it was fun to climb around inside.
After all the excitement of weekend in paradise it was time to return home, to Daegu :(. But next weekend is the infamous Mud Festival. Huzzah!

Norebang

2009-07-02T23:15:00.003+09:00

Last night was my first time in a Korean Norebang (Nore=Singing Bang=Room). It was a Korean karaoke bar. Our group of eight rented out a room which is equipped with a large screen TV, couch, table with snacks, two microphones and two tambourines. You pay for a hour of the room and can program the TV with a large selection of English language songs and a seemingly limitless selection in Korean. The Norebang also gives you a score for every song you sing. My epic rendition of "Livin on a Prayer" got a 98 whereas "Break Free" was a measly 58. It was a great way to end the night after a couple drinks and it was just plain fun! Also I have no shame and will sing anywhere but the appeal was being surrounded by only friends.

Norebangs a huge in Korea, the picture above is of a portable Norebang in a Reststop (which are more like mini shopping malls placed every 30 minutes down the highway). Their popularity exploded around 2003 and my Korean friends told me it used to be difficult to find a room. I find this difficult to believe considering if I look out the door from my school building I can see four Norebangs in one intersection! If anyone comes to visit me I can promise one rocking group Norebang.

Cheorwon Weekend Trip

2009-06-30T13:11:00.004+09:00

This weekend I went on a overnight trip to Cheorwon County. The trip was run by a travel company called "Adventure Korea" and nine of my friends went on it. The whole group was foreign ESL teachers and I got to meet some great new people. The tour bus picked us up in Daegu and then we drove for six hours northward to get to the Hantan river were our group went rafting. Years ago I went on a fantastic rafting trip on Idaho's Salmon River compared to that this was like the jungle cruise. It was nice float down the river with beautiful scenery. The best part of the trip was jumping out of the raft and swimming in the river. It was a perfect temperature on such a humid day. After rafting we were driven to this bridge. It was here that 26 brave souls were going to bungee jump off of this 50 meter bridge.

I heard about this trip seance my first night in Korea and my response was always. "There is no way I am going bungee jumping." It has always looked scarier than sky diving and I had no desire to throw myself off of a perfectly good bridge. Yet as we drove up to the bridge I got off with the jumpers thinking "just in case". I continued to this "just in case" until I found myself strapped to a rope looking 50 meters down into a river.

I have never been more scared. Ever. The first time I walked to the end of the platform I wimped out. As I watched others go my only thought was "I can't be the only one who wimped out". Then at 8:30 at night with the crescent moon shining and my shame as motivation, I closed my eyes and ran off a bridge.

I watched every person jump and one thing everyone shares. You might scream a little at the top but you don't start to really scream until you bounce back up. Until then you simply too scared. I spoke to one girl after the jump who said she blacked out. She couldn't remember anything until she bounced back up at the bottom. For me everything went silent. I have never been so scared in my entire life. After what seemed to be a lifetime I hit bottom and bounced back. I then flipped onto my back and fell again watching the night sky, by this time I'm screaming like a crazy person. My friend took a video of this by the way and I promise to upload it the moment I have a copy. When I used up all of my momentum I hung by the cord and waited for the man in the inflatable boat to come and pick me up. I had to stand up for him to remove the harness but I was shaking so hard the most I could manage was a squat. Would I do it again? Without a doubt (although it will surely cost more, this was just 30 bucks). Never have I felt adrenaline like that and maybe next time it will be more fun than fear.

After bungee jumping we drove to Odeami village. Odeami's farmland is famous for two things, legendary rice and on of the bloodiest battles of the Korean war. Our group ate dinner and then two of my friends and I took our stuff to were we would be staying, a traditional Korean home. The family who lived there must rent out that room to tour groups every weekend because they completely ignored us everyone squeezing into one room as we took the other. When then returned for a "campfire" which in Korea looks more like this.

At midnight we all went for a walk in the dark past the Baengmagoji Monument were the Battle of White Horse took place in 1952. The monuments themselves were hard to see because it was midnight but they weren't the really reason we hiked up there.

This picture might not look like much yet it was exciting being close enough to the worlds most secretive state to take it. The three white lights in the middle is the central tower in the middle of the DMZ. If those three lights go off for any reason locals know something big is happening in the DMZ.

The next day we toured a few of the more scenic areas of Cheorwon including a little river and a rather pathetic waterfall (living in the northwest spoils me, i'm sorry!). We where on our way to the DMZ. Between 1974 and 1990 four tunnels have been discovered connecting the two Koreas. Our trip was to the second tunnel which is one of the least visited. The second tunnel is six and a half feet tall and wide but is often much lower as it was common to hit your head. For once in my life I needed the hard hat my tour guide forced us to wear. The tunnel was about a 15 minute walk and drops us off in a larger cavern with a armed guard. A grate at the end of the tunnel says that I was now 200m from North Korea. Looks like they might have a tourist invasion on their hands. Watch out!

Although the South Korean soldiers manage to keep us on our toes with a well placed sign or two.

After the tunnel we continued our "security tour" by going to numerous other observation towers, bombed out remains of a train that connected North and South and strangely enough a museum consisting entirely of taxidermy birds. As we were shuttled to each site we had to drive through numerous security check points and military barracks. Every time drove past one I was shocked by the number of cute and cuddly painting. One even had two soldiers making their arms look like a heart?! I managed to take this picture on the back of a checkpoint, armed by three men with automatics. I had to take this or else no one would have believed me!

I had a great time during my trip. It took me out to the Korean country and I jumped of a bridge, two things I would have never done otherwise! Thank you Mom and Grandma for your letters. Its been fantastic to come into work and find a letter on my desk. I have lived in Korea for exactly one month now and time has flown by. It's because there is so much to do here in the summer. I'm sure winter will drag on...

Bizzare Foods with Katie Kalk

2009-06-26T12:22:00.014+09:00

I've been killing allot of time by watching Bizarre Foods on youtube. For those not familiar with the show, its a travel show were the host travels the world trying local cuisine. As I was watching I realized that I have been in South Korea for three weeks and I have still not written a blog about food. Well folks that is about to change.

Korea food is all served family style so grabbing a snack for one is extremely limited outside of the grocery store. One of the few options for solo dinning is Kimbap, the picture at the head of this post (Do you like the Beanie Baby? As the only non-Canadian at my school I inherited from the teachers before me.). "Kim" means seaweed and "bap" means rice. Kimbap is like a fishless sushi roll filled with pickled vegetables and a little egg and ham. Its a good snack to take to work for a 77 cents (1,000 won). Kimbap,the one sandwich sold in my area (thank goodness its fantastic) and a few flat dumpling carts are the only way to get out alone.

Next segment on bizarre foods with Katie is bar food. You've heard the saying that "New York is the city that new sleeps", well that may be right but the entire country of South Korea sleeps even less. Even in far out Sangin suburb of Deagu (population only 2.5 compared to Seoul's 11 million) people walk the streets until dawn everyday of the week. The drinking scene in Korea is huge and this makes up a large chunk of the night owls. A few nights ago a large group of teachers and Kaitlyn visiting family went out for makkolli (milky rice wine) and bamboo soju. The makkolli has a very pleasant neutral flavor and contains flakes of ice. Its served in traditional metal teapots who's likenesses adorn every makkolli bar. The bamboo soju is served by the shot is poured from a bamboo stem piece. Although soju is usually made from sweet potatoes, this soju is made from bamboo and tastes exactly like sweet apple cider.

If the makkolli is in the yellow bowl and the soju in the glass, then what is the brown stuff? That my readers is a traditional Korean snack pondegi aka silk worm larva. These little fellas are sold in large tubs in by some of the vegetable vendors and let me tell you their smell could knock over a lineman from 10 yards away. Once it makes it to the table however the smell is knocked down to strongly soy saucy. Other Korean bar foods include large cereal balls that taste just like Fruit Loops but it was pondegi that I had to write home about. The taste is bitter soy but the texture, the gusher-like pop was awful. I knew too well what I was eating. My curiosity was suppressed at one larva and I commenced to eat a entire bowl of Fruit Loops to dilute the flavor.

The last information I want to share about Korea food (for now..) is about side dishes. Yesterday I went out with Kaitlyn and her family for a traditional Korea meal, served sitting on the floor and in multiple courses. Anytime you buy food in Korea it comes with side dishes, usually a small plate of Kimchi and something else pickled. However, in this opulent traditional feast this side dishes stole the show. Six of us were sharing these things, fyi!

We started with a delectable pumpkin soup and a cold brine soup.

A salad and ice noodles (cold clear noodles served with vegetables).

Flounder shashimi (1st i've had all trip), soy noodles and spicy cooked tuna.

Batter fried mushrooms.

Sizzling spicy mussels.

Pork bacon and steak mushrooms with noodles.

Bulgogi served as stew with shredded beef.
This is the part of the meal were we asked our Korean friend if we were done. She laughed at us...

A cold spinach dish with many more pickled vegetables. See the pickles? Those are all incredibly sweet here.

Finally the main event, rice with beans and peas served in a hot pot. After you eat the rice you pour bowling water in with the burnt rice left in the bowl to make a soup. Koreans love burnt rice flavor, they even make candy out of it. I thought it was too bland hot, watery rice.

Dessert was coffee, asian pears and watermelon. Whew!

I hope everyone enjoyed this epic introduction to Korean food. I'm sure I'll have more to share very soon!

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Super Rad Weekend

2009-06-21T22:24:00.007+09:00

So this was my third weekend in South Korea and probably the one where I had the most fun! On Friday night a large group of ten teacher all rented a movie and ate delicious green tea crust pizza. We rented Valkyrie which despite Tom Cruise wasn't half bad!

On Saturday I went to Korean Lessons and then went downtown with three other girls for a "double date" dinner and a movie. We went to a restaurant run by a Canadian ex-pat and I had a fantastic taco salsa in the only restaurant that sells Mexican food in Daegu. Then we all watched "The Brothers Bloom". We didn't have many choices when it came to English language movies but I really enjoyed it! It was quirky and romantic. After the movie I watched my friends ex-pat community theater one acts. I went on to have my butt kicked in a game of darts and danced to K-pop.

On Sunday there was a world music festival going on in the main park. The festival was a little underwhelming and competitively unorganized. What more than made up for it however was that we all rented bikes! Let my tell you nothing draws attention like six foreigner women cruising around on cute bikes. We managed to create a scene wherever we rode, not to mention we finally cooled off from the oppressive heat. After we got our moneys worth on the bikes (2,000 won or 2$ for two hours) we ate a snack before the main performance. I decided to try patbingsu a Korean ice dessert. I was told that I was trying a a basic concoction of the desert and despite the crazy sweet bean paste on top, I loved it. It was sweet and refreshing but not too filling like a ice cream. Finally it was time for the main performance of the international music festival which was strangely all traditional Korean. A parade of traditional drummers came down the path to the stage. They are hard to find in this picture but try to find the guys with the ribbons on their hats, they would nod up and down as they walked to created a hula hoop effect.

There was also fan dancing and traditional music. If your wondering what traditional Korean music sounds like feast your ears on these horn riffs! (I took a video but I can't manage to up load it. I'll try again later..)

I had a great weekend which makes me almost ready to go back to teaching tomorrow.

Korean Lessons

2009-06-20T16:27:00.003+09:00

Today was my first Korean lesson. I go to the downtown YMCA for two hour lessons every Saturday. I know that its impossible to become fluent in a year but I want to learn survival Korean. Numbers, directions, what the hell am I eating, you know the usual.
Today we spent the entire time with alphabet. Korean letters are stacked consonants above vowels and then the pairs are combined to make words. Korean is also a very soft sounding language which is completely unlike every other language I have tired to learn. I want to make the words sound like German or Arabic and the instructor cringes at every letter I say.
This is going to take allot of work! Until then enjoy this alphabet rap!

Ba-nana

2009-06-18T00:10:00.002+09:00

When I first arrived in South Korea I remained in bed until the decadent time of 5:30 am. Jet lagged I paced back and forth exploring my new place (the bathroom/shower, the fridge conveniently touching my dresser). When I heard a announcement projected from outside. It sounded like something prerecorded and I couldn't understand a word of it.

I panicked, sure that North Korea had attacked. I ran outside of my apartment and saw no signs of chaos on the street. Just as I was about to head inside I heard the words “Ba-nana ba-nana”. Around the corner came this small flatbed truck with stacks of fruits, veggies and a loudspeaker.

Fruits and vegetables are sold on street corners in South Korea. They are cheap and super fresh. There are two types of vendors; the little old women (Adjuma's) with one type to sell and the men in the trucks. The problem I've had with them so far is that when I bring the fruit into my house the plague of fruit flies always come with and the berries can't take sitting outside all day. I just bought a bowl of red mountain berries and over half were moldy. The produce is sold super fresh. I was told that I just missed strawberry season and that if I like something I better buy it now because who knows when it will disappear!

Hapkido

2009-06-15T13:22:00.002+09:00

After two weeks of waking up past noon and then watching Americas Next Top Model, Britain Next Top Model and week old reruns of the Tyra show (there's not allot of selection in English, please forgive me!) I decided to do something. So in a effort to fight off laziness I joined Hapkido classes! The class fits into my schedule perfectly. Its at 11, Monday thru Thursday for a little over a hour. There are four other teachers in the class and a Fijian cop who is learning it for a year to take it back to the force. The teacher speaks enough English to teach and best of all has a great sense of humor. I went to class on Thursday but today was my first real day. I got my uniform and let me tell you that thing is a sauna! I start to sweat when I first put it on and by the end of class I am a sweaty wreck. The uniform looks pretty badass but it is super stiff for the first few weeks. Its like I'm working out in Canvas. This is going to get me in shape and it is completely possible to make it to black belt level one within the year.

This picture is of the gym and those black belts are just showing off after class. The Fifth level black belts in my class are super impressive yet help me out with form and give plenty of encouragement. Oh and do you like the anime fighters in the windows? That totally pretty much sums up Korea, nothing is too serious for a cartoon.

Seomun Market

2009-06-11T23:07:00.006+09:00

Hello again everyone! I wanted to tell you about my Tuesday trip to the Seomun Market. To quote my hilarious Daegu tourism book "Seomun Market is the largest in the country (outside of Seoul)." What?! That's like saying L.A. has the best shopping in the country! outside of New York.

Seomun Market was fantastic. All the chaotic selection of a Tunisian Souk with no bartering or cat calling! It has everything. Umbrellas, seafood, Korean nicknacks and fantastic noodle lunches served boiling hot for under three dollars. The market is open air for the food and in a catacomb like building for everything else. My favorite part of the market would have to be.. the parking lot attendant.

She had her crazy outfit and and microphone and was greeting every car that drove in and out. Strangely enough this is pretty standard for Korea.

As my friends and I were walking out of the market to catch the subway one of the crates in a seafood stand started moving... I ransacked my purse for my camera and by the time I gabbed it, I was no longer alone.

The octopus has left the building. My friends and I started to scream "Octopus Escape!". I personally couldn't stop shifting my weight. I was literally jumping from foot to foot. The wriggling creature on the ground was completely out of its element.

As the octopus was slowly making a break for it. The women in charge of the stand chased him down and then hammed it up for the foreigners by chasing us with live octopus. Buy Korea for freshness!

One Week Down

2009-06-10T10:08:00.004+09:00

Hello Everyone!
I survived my first week. I also survived my first two days teaching. MoonKkang teaching the same three basic lesson plans (with different stories)so I can see how the teachers might go a little crazy. Lucky I have the same kids every week so getting to know them week after week will spice up the lesson plans.

This is a picture of my school, I work on the second floor. In Korea everything is so dense. A street looks completely different on a different sides because you can see all the signs stacked on top of each other. For example the basement of my building has a singing room and the top floor a Soju bar. (Soju is a cheap potato liquor that is sold on every street corner).

Here is the address for my school if anyone would like to write to me. Hint hint!
Katie Kalk
Moonkkang School
1556-2 Floor 2
Sangin-Dong
Dalseo-gu
Daegu, South Korea
I'll blog again soon, thank you for all your comments!

Pohang Trip

2009-06-06T18:44:00.009+09:00

Hello everyone! This is my first weekend in Korea. I was asked by my friend Kaitlyn and her finance Ace to go on a bizarrely timed beach trip to Pohang. We went with her Korean friend Rosemary and we left last night at 10:30. After were arrived in Pohang it was a last minute search for a hotel. Korea has hotels called "love hotels" which are cleaner then hostels and cheaper than regular. Love hotels are exactly what they sound like a place for the youth of Korea to escape their conservative relatives and have a rendezvous. Unlike American hotels they are super clean. Not that made it any less awkward for Rosemary and I to share a bed with a spotlight over it (I accidentally erased that picture on my camera so i'll leave it up to your imagination) ...also...what the heck was this cup doing in the bathroom?

To be honest I have no idea why we had to spend the night for a short day trip in the first place. However I would have said yes to any idea just so I didn't have to spend my first weekend alone.

We woke up in Pohang which is steel producing capital of Asia (The Excitement!). The beach was cold, industrial and windy. As you may imagine my swimsuit stayed in my bag. Then we had a traditional Korean breakfast which is shrimp stew...Yeah...

These are the fish tanks outside of were we ate breakfast.

After breakfast we walked on the beach and we were accosted by a group of high school girls that wanted pictures with us (and by us I mean Ace). After our short walk we headed up to Bogyeog-sa. Bogyeog-sa is a Buddhist temple built in 1023 and surrounded by waterfalls.

Buddhist temples are made up of multiple buildings and shrines. My favorite in Bogyeog-sa was the one dedicated to success for recent graduates. Maybe I should have place my photo among the Bodhisattvas.

After the temple we took a short hike to the first out of eleven waterfalls in the general area. I wanted to hike out to more but I learned quickly not to mess with a Korean woman with a travel plan! The Korean forests are beautiful lush and surprisingly dry. The local legend surrounding Bogyeog-sa is that Monks traveled from China bringing with them two mirrors. The two mirrors traveled their separate ways, one arriving in Pohang where it was thrown into the lake creating a place were Buddhism was destined to flourish.

Or maybe just a rad place to cliff jump!

After this we turned around and drove back to Daegu. We were back by five making this one of the strangest and most un-necessary overnight trips I have ever taken.

Goodbye Teacher Chad/ Hello Teacher Katie Party

2009-06-05T17:46:00.002+09:00

Yesterday was my last day of training and one of my future classes threw a party. They taped balloons all over the room and made a cake by stacking moonpies and topping it of with a loaf of french bread with candles (Koreans sell real cakes by the way).
The kids are super cute but little devils. They act up for the American teachers because they know that we wont hit them.
My first day of work is Monday and although every lesson is planned out for me I am still nervous. I need to start off strict so the kids don't walk all over me. However Korean students are pretty well behaved even when they are acting up. I have the ability to give jeshi or retest were the kids have to stay for an extra 100 minutes after their classes. I plan on only giving it out as a last resort because some kids have to stay as late as 11:30.
Staying that late at school is completely normal for the kids. My first night I was dropped off at my apartment at two am and I saw little kids walking home with backpacks on. The idea of childhood is completely different in South Korea. I don't think I would have done well in this environment.
I miss everyone so much. Thank you for all your comments!
Oh and I took the national health exam today. Nothing too crazy happened except the chest ex-ray and the nurse whipping out her needle and taking my blood in the hallway.

My Apartment!

2009-06-03T21:12:00.006+09:00

I was imagining a unnaturally small place like in Japan or a UO dorm room. This way I was pleasantly surprised when I first walked into my new place. I have two dressers, a fridge, microwave, toaster over, washing machine and brand new TV (Korean television deserves a post of its own).

That's my tiny gas powered stove top.

I only have three complaints about my apartment.
One- The mattress is as stiff as a piece of plywood (because it is one?). I will test this hypothesis when I wash the sheets.
Two- I was really excited for a highrise view of a flashy city. It turns out that I live on the second floor, Daegu is not flashy and this is my view...White picket fence the American dream?

My final complaint is universal to all Korean homes. It's not a big issue just something I must adjust to.
My bath room.

Its also my shower.
The hose is on the wall with no curtain and no basin. The entire bathroom is covered with title and there is a drain in the center. The problem is I have to remove all of my toiletry's and makeup or everything will get soaked. I like the placement of the towel rack right next to the hose.. that was a nice touch.

Well that's my apartment. I really enjoy having a small place of my own in a building with three other teachers. It makes me feel less isolated.

Thank you everyone for reading! Tomorrow is my last day of training and I start work on Monday. Yikes!

Swine Flu

2009-06-02T09:25:00.002+09:00

Swine Flu

It seems that in North America H1S1 flu was just a flash in the pan, a potential epidemic that fell short of its scare tactic. While Asia still has no reported deaths that doesn't stop them from treating H1S1 like a major threat. When my plane landed in Japan all of the passengers had to remain seated while state workers in respirator suits walked down the plane with large machinery. This was repeated in Korea and then I had to wait in a long line to been screened for quarantine. By the time I reached the end of the line I had been traveling for 14 hours and was without sleep for much longer than that. The inspector read over my health form and then my temperature was taken with a neck sensor.

“Relax” He commanded me as broke out into a nervous sweat. “Looks like you have a fever. What state are you from?”. I told him Oregon and then he looked over a chart which told him that Oregon did have confirmed Swine Flu cases. “We may have to put you in quarantine”, this only helped to raise my body temperature “unless you can promise me to try to stay indoors the next ten days.” At this point I would have promised him my first born child to get out of his scary SARs mask o' vision.

After I was picked up at the airport with another new teacher from Ohio, we were driven to Deagu a two hour drive from Busan. Once there we meet with our future supervisor. The first thing he did was hand us a printed out spreadsheet of flu cases and deaths. He then gave us a few numbers of staff members who would drive us to the hospital anytime of day or night. This great news if my allergy symptoms didn't line up so perfectly with swine flu. Whatever I do I thought, I mustn't sneeze!

All this before I have even went to bed! Today is my first day of training so wish me luck, I'm glad the wireless has held out this long so I can share this with everyone. Check back later for a picture tour of my apartment.

Hello Everyone!

2009-06-02T08:52:00.000+09:00

I'm just writing to tell everyone that I arrived safely. I have just woken up on my first day in Korea although with the flight and the dateline its two days after I left. I have already met three other teachers in the program and everyone seems energetic and outgoing! In other good news my apartment exceeds my expectations. I have a queen size bed and enough floor space to fit my whole family (hint hint).
This is just a quick post to say I made it safely. Internet is patchy for me right now but my own connection will be set up after I take the standard government health exam....more on that later.
Katie

P.S.- I knew that I was teaching for a good school when I woke up this morning and uncovered milk, OJ, frosted flakes, toast and jam in my fridge!