Postcards from Somewhere

My apartment.

2011-11-05T08:47:00.000-07:00

I finally took some pictures of my apartment for those of you who care to see them. Its nice, the best thing about it is that it's free. My last apartment, which was what they call a "villa", was... let's say 'charming'. It was old and had a lot of 'character'. This new place however, which is an 'officetel', is quite different. With the exception of the death trap that I am faced with once bedtime rolls around, its pretty nice. Officetels are like studios, one large space. Mine has a loft with the sleeping area so my bed doesn't have to double as my couch... which is nice. Its simple and minimal. I am thankful to have it and look forward to calling it home for the next 11 months.

Kitchen.

Living Room.

Table. Map.

Closet.

Stairs (DEADLY) to loft.

Bedroom (loft) with super low ceiling.

View from bed with shades drawn.

View from bed with shades open :>
Just kidding. I wish.

Wallow with me.

2011-11-03T07:32:00.000-07:00

So its been one month now. Feels like its been that times ten. By this time during my first contract I had been to temples and mountains, and museums, a whole slew of touristy stuff. My Facebook was rampant with albums of all my cool sightseeing adventures. This time is different. I'm burnt out on sightseeing. I've been to all the museums. If I visit another temple I may puke. And climbing mountains... forget about it. As my 28 year-old knees have recently decided to turn into what often feel like 80 year-old knees, I try to avoid anything with much of a vertical incline. Since I don't want to go be a tourist, and I want to avoid the temptation to spend money on things like cameras, tacky sweaters, scarves, and button themed hair accessories, I just opt to staying indoors. Cleaning my apartment repeatedly, watching bad movies and wallowing. Today for example, I had very seriously planned on waking up early (before 11) and going to get myself a pet goldfish and maybe a couple plants to spruce up the place. Yeah, that didn't happen. Instead I decided that I was deserving of some extra hours of sleep so I woke up at 1. I watched 5 episodes of Peep Show, read half of a book, took a short nap, after the nap I laid there for another hour trying to muster up the energy to get my pitiful self showered and dressed. Finally by 5 I was decent. I went to the store and got groceries then came back home. I felt proud of myself for getting something done, but then I looked in the refrigerator after unloading the $110 worth of food that I had just purchased only to see a fridge that still looked empty. That made me depressed so I put my PJs back on and reverted back into wallow mode. I did get food, and now I am doing this blog so I suppose the day wasn't completely unproductive.... Side Note: I am realizing that, though I love living by myself, my habits (especially the bad shameful ones) are definitely different when I am living with another human being. Hopefully a year of living alone, with nobody to witness my daily routines, wont turn me into an apathetic ball of filth who sits atop a pile of dirty laundry surfing the web for hours on end. :>

That said, here is a little something that I found mildly amusing at the grocery store today.

Housewarming Gift to Myself

2011-10-25T10:33:00.000-07:00

My new peekaboo pillow case.

Adorably Korean and I love it!

Anomaly of the Century (... and flea markets)

2011-10-24T05:04:00.000-07:00

Over the summer my sis and I spent a short week in oregon visiting my family. So great seeing family, they are dear people whom I love and admire. Lets be honest though, aside from catching up with the fam the highlight of the trip was the thrift shopping. My sweet aunt Patsy took us to what arguably may have to be some of Oregon's finest thrift stores. We got oodles of stuff for what some would spend on a single pair of jeans... probably half that! Thrifting, its a beautiful thing. Garments upon garments, more housewares than one knows what to do with, all for a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of what they'd value at retail. I like to be green and I like having stuff that nobody else has, I like not spending a butt load of money, and thus thrift stores have become something that I love and want more of in my life.

And so, upon my initial arrival to the Orient, some 26 months ago, I instinctively began weekend outings geared towards the great reveal of a Korean equivalent of the Salvation Army. But to no avail. Two weekends of searching rapidly turned into two months, four months...

That said, there's an interesting phenomena here that becomes obvious relatively quickly, especially if you are into thrifting and second-hand stuff like myself. It is this: in Korea, shopping for new clothing is an extremely popular pastime (and a huge contributor to the economy). People in this city are more crazy about fashion than I have ever seen. The anomaly is that while they eat up new fashion trends (nearly at the same pace at which they consume rice), there are no thrift stores to house and sell all the garments that are orphaned and replaced with shinier, pricier, "prettier", Gucchier, new garments. It is absolutely maddening!!

So now the dying question, what do they do with all of the clothing that is discarded as soon as trends make their inevitable shifts? They chuck it. Yes, garbage. They put it in the garbage. I had heard this thru some other people and had read a couple other blogs that mentioned this. And so I presented my information to a close Korean friend of mine, hopeful that she would tell me my information is bonkers and Koreans recycle their clothes of course, just like everything else that they dispose of. Not so. She confirmed. It was true. I shuddered.

While I know that this is probably not true for every single one of the 10 million+ people in this city, it seems to be generally what happens. If its not stylish anymore, its garbage. Take the lack of space for landfills, couple it with the fact that this city is totally on their game as far as recycling goes... it just doesn't make sense why they don't recycle their clothing as well. Seriously though, Korea recycles everything. I kid you not. Plastic, paper, metal, they even compost discarded food. They have color coded trash bags, yellow=compost, white=garbage, green=bottles for recycling and so forth. In my old neighborhood they had some metal bins at the end of the streets where you could deposit unwanted linens (clothing) that could be salvaged. I took complete advantage of these bins and make weekly deposits. Unfortunately, I have yet to see any such bins in my new neighborhood.

I did read somewhere that there is a group of people, dumpster-diving types, who frequent the big apartment building dumpsters in search of clothing. They then bring all the clothing to some kind of a broker who bundles it for export to other poorer countries... or something like that. I need to look into it more...

Lack of thrift stores aside, what I have manage to discover is that Seoul has a couple of semi-cool flea markets that sell everything from used accordions and life-size gold plated statues of Buddha, to army fatigues, Santa costumes, old Korean vinyl, and whole slew of other crap that I am pretty uninterested in but still have fun looking at. I have been to a couple that did in fact have some used clothing, so I should be thankful for that. However, the clothing basically looked like is had been dumped right onto the sidewalk as it formed and mountain-esq heap that I could easily get armpits deep into if I really wanted to. Which I didn't.

Korea. Round 2.

2011-10-16T03:59:00.000-07:00

After much contemplation & procrastination, probably more of the latter, I have finally decided to revive this blog. I am not going to bother recapping what happened between the last post and now, because it will only bore you to tears. What will not bore you to tears will be all the fun and exciting experiences that lie ahead. Whoo-hoo.

That said, tomorrow will be the beginning of week three. My school is called Elite, its really great. So different from SLP, where I was teaching before. SLP had something like 17 foreign teachers, 12 Korean teachers, a bunch of counselors and then the handful of girls who worked at the front counter and shopped for shoes online all day long every day. SLP had a classroom for every letter of the alphabet (literally), the place was massive. With an institution of such grandeur, comes impossibly high expectations and unrealistic goals. The place was buzzin' with some 300 kids in and out throughout the day, it was high stress, and if you had a problem with micro-management you had a long tough road ahead. I had fun and proved to have much better stress management skills than many of my co-teachers, and just by being my charming lovable self I was able to earn the trust of my bosses so they were pretty much off my back after my first few weeks. While all hogwans share a common general goal, they are not all run the same way and in this respect Elite is quite opposite of SLP- its like the academy that we all would fantasize about. Total staff = 6. Four teachers, the director and then a coordinator. Class sizes are small, nobody tells us how to teach, there are no cameras in our rooms, only 4 classrooms, no 'open classes', and we don't have to mark papers. Its truly wonderful. The pay is more and the stress is less. I teach 4-6 classes a day, my biggest class has 8 kids and the smallest has 2. They are all 55 minutes long with 5 minutes in between, like 1:30-2:25, 2:30-3:25 and so on. The kids are great. I have yet to encounter any behavioral deviants that come even close to those that I had to deal with at SLP. I don't mean to knock SLP, that place was awesome and treated me so very well. If anyone wants to come to Korea and enjoys a challenge I would encourage SLP as a place to consider for sure! Anyway, Elite is a short walk from my apartment, or a super short bus ride. Its in an awesome location. Close to everything. So far I love my kids, and they seem to have taken an immediate liking to me. I look forward to getting to know them each over the next 11 months.

Shifting into Reverse

2011-06-16T05:33:00.000-07:00

I have heard people claim to experience 'reverse culture shock' upon returning to their homeland after an extended period of time abroad... as if being thrown back into the country in which you spent 95% of your life would be as confusing and strange as stepping foot in, say, Korea for the first time. I always enjoyed listening to others tell about how when they got home from wherever it was so 'challenging' and felt so 'foreign' to them. During these discussions I would nod my head in agreement, like saying "yeah totally, I can only image how hard it would be to get used to having an electric dryer again, and not having to eat salad with chop sticks". Seriously? I was laughing on the inside. How hard could it be?

The thought that I too may experience this phenomena, this culture shock in the reverse, upon my much anticipated home arrival didn't even cross my mind. It was a joke to me and I secretly laughed at people who spoke of it as though it were real. It was one of those things, you never believe it is real... until BAM! its all up in your face happening to you, and it very much happened to me. I remember going to get lunch with a friend during my first week home at Panda Express. After giving the lady my order and placing my items on the counter, I just waited... waited for her to kindly punch the amount that I owed into a calculator or scribble it onto a piece of receipt paper and show it to me just like the friendly Korean cashiers do in case I don’t understand them. But she didn't. After a slight delay, I realized that she had told me the total and I actually understood. I gave her my money. She probably thought I was mental as I stood there staring at her. I still hadn’t spoken at this point, but at the last minute, before walking away to devour my orange chicken, I turned back made slow eating motions, and said, “fork?” The cashier, obviously confused as to why I was air-feeding myself, moved her eyes down to the tray that I held in my hands at which point I realized there was a fork (and a knife!) right there in front of me.

Compared to the delightful Korean chatter that I had grown so accustomed to being surrounded by, English sounded abrasive and annoying when I got home. You know how sometimes you get that high pitch sort of ringing in your ear and you tilt your ear towards your shoulder and stick your finger in your ear in an effort to alleviate the annoying ringing... understanding what everyone around me was talking about was kind of like that annoying ring. I just wanted to stick the tip of my fingers into each ear, wiggle them then have the noise be gone. I was immediately distracted by the conversations that were taking place in my midst. My disturbing inclination to eavesdrop was so distracting and I did not enjoy it at all. It was virtually impossible to not hear what everyone was talking about around me. I didn't want to hear them talking about their overbearing boss, their dysfunctional relationship, the upcoming Gay Parade, or how their boyfriend always leaves the toilet seat up. There was a time when eavesdropping was something I enjoyed, but not anymore. Now I just want to cover my ears whenever I go into a public place. The noise pollution of all the English voices chatting, gossiping, complaining... it hurts my brain. Call it reverse culture shock, call it whatever you want, but I definitely didn't feel like I fit in for several weeks and there were many times I felt downright depressed about it and wondered, with much bafflement, what on earth happened while I was away?

Little Korea

2010-06-23T17:11:00.000-07:00

"Come to Yanggu and you will become ten years younger."

Last weekend Emma and I made a trip to visit our friend Nancy. Tucked in the mountains of the Kangwon Province, the small town of Yanggu (population = 21,000) is not only quaint and lovely, but apparently is the place to go if you are seeking youthful rejuvenation. The slogan seems odd to me for such a small town, but then again I can see where it may possibly be coming from considering the fact that in Yanggu the air is not yellow and the soju induced business culture that is ever present in Seoul is non existent. Life in this small town is like living in the sticks compared to city life here in Seoul. The population is just over 20,000, there are 2 high schools (the boys high school and the girls high school), a grocery store, a few small museums (one of which we tried to visit but it was closed...on a Saturday afternoon), one fast food restaurant, no movie theater, no shopping mall, no subway, no city bus... you get the picture. I love small towns because there are certain experiences that one can only have in a small town such as Yanggu... like enjoying a local talent show for example. Watching the community kids (outside in the rain) sing Korean ballads, perform K-Pop dance routines and step outside their school uniforms into their black eyeliner and skinny jeans then get all emo on stage... stuff like this just doesn't go down in the city. We managed to walk a large portion of the entire town in less than a day, and Nancy's friend (the coffee shop lady) spent her Saturday evening driving up and down the windy roads of Yanggu showing us the 'gems' of this place that is her hometown. The air was clean and nobody was wearing a face mask. It was a lovely weekend and I really do hope to visit Yanggu again before I leave Korea.

This bridge takes you to 'Little Korea', a man-made island that was
built in the shape of... you guessed it, Korea.

The view from our room in the love motel.

Old Incheon

2010-05-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

We had the day off work this past Wednesday because of 'Children's Day'. I took the subway about 2 hours and wandered around Incheon for the afternoon.

Hiking Gangcheonsan Mountain

2010-05-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

With sister winter having just made her exit and the cherry blossoms commencing the arrival of spring, some of my fellow teachers and I headed south to Jeolla-do, which is the southernmost province of Korea, to enjoy the nice weather and the company of each other, of course. It was the perfect trip to get us into the spirit of spring and put some color on our pasty white noses. It was a pretty good time except for the 1 hour of the 5 hour hike where I felt like I was going to die. At one point I was like "to hell with the view, I'm turnin' back!" but, the trooper withing me kicked my A into gear and I complainingly managed my way to the top, and with every step up that cross between stairs and a ladder (I like to call them lairs) I was reminded of how badly I need to get into shape, but that is besides the point. And yes, the view was pretty awesome. Over the course of the weekend we climbed the mountain to a pretty sweet fortress, saw some temples (as is to be expected), those of us who are down with getting nakie with all the Korean women went to the bamboo hot springs (myself not included), and on the second day we had the absolute time of our lives at the butterfly festival. Really, you should be jealous.

We climbed up and over this huge dam on the way up the mountain.

Gangcheonsa Temple

Here we took a breather (and took advantage of the nice photo ops).
This was just the beginning.

It is not all fun and games here in Korea

2010-03-23T08:33:00.001-07:00

So this past Saturday I took the bus to meet a friend at one of my favorite coffee shops. On my way there I noticed a lot more people wearing their face masks than usual. This prompted me to look at the sky and see just how severe the shade of gray was. Only it wasn't even gray... it was yellow... well like a yellowish grayish color. It looked putrid. Apparently these lovely yellow skies welcome spring here in Korea every year. It happens at the very beginning of every Spring: clouds of yellow dust make their way to and across the Korean peninsula, causing decreased visibility and a variety of health problems. Who do we blame for this? China, but of course, for it is Korea’s habit to blame all problems on the neighbors to the west (and east). This time though…well, it is kind of China’s fault. At least partly.

So, according to wikipedia, these seasonal dust storms (known as ‘Asian dust’) originate in the desert regions of China and Mongolia and blow south over the Korean peninsula and Japan. “High-speed surface winds and intense dust storms kick up dense clouds of fine, dry soil particles. The clouds are then carried eastward by prevailing winds and pass over China, North and South Korea, and Japan, as well as parts of the Russian far east.” Every year the phenomenon gets worse mainly due to increased desertification in China. Thankfully, my health is not at too much of a risk. Though the yellow dust is loaded with sulfur, soot, ash, carbon monoxide, carcinogens, heavy metals and a slew of other bad things, it actually doesn't do too much damage to your body. Sure, with enough exposure to Asian dust, one can develop asthma and sore throat, in addition to permanent scarring of lung tissue, but I am not here for much longer. But if any more yellow dust storms creep up, and they are expected to, I will be sure to have my face mask handy. It is not all fun and games here in Korea.

Speed Dating

2010-03-12T07:30:00.000-08:00

The dating scene amongst foreigners in Seoul, if we’re honest with ourselves, is lackluster at best. Everyone has the same job, goes to the same places and nearly everyone has come to this country for one of three reasons: job’s easy, money’s alright or there’s nothing for them back home (or we're running from something back home??). There’s also the added fact that as a foreigner my stay here is temporary, which also makes it difficult to pursue the possibility of meaningful relationships (romantic, or friendship) while here. Anyways, I picked up on this general state of things pretty quick once I got to Seoul and was kinda sad.

I like a good time like anyone else, but more often than not I find that this entails great deals of alcohol consumption, smokey clubs filled with sweaty strangers gyrating on you, headaches, vomiting, hair that smells like cigarettes when you wake up in the morning, and well... you get the picture. Maybe I am being harsh... yeah I'm pretty sure I am. But for the most part, the pastimes of choice seem to revolve around anything that includes getting your booze on. I'm not judging, I say 'do what ya like just don't hurt anyone while you're doing it' and its all good by me. But this crazy drink fest just isn't my style. I wont lie, sometimes I really do wish that it was my style, cuz its not unlikely that I am the only one home on a Saturday night while everyone else is out having a blast and getting tanked.

In an attempt to combat this sordid state of affairs, two brilliant women founded an international speed dating organization here in Seoul called The Fresh Catch. I think it is a brilliant way of attempting to shake foreigners out of their soju induced stupor and give them a crack at something more than a drunken grope fest in a DVD bang at 5:00 A.M. with someone you’d never touch without a lot of booze and low lighting.

One of my coworkers got a bunch of us girls to sign up for an evening of speed dating. My initial reaction was something like "HA! Yeah right. Have fun without me," but then I figured I had nothing to lose and if I really wanted exposure to people in a drunk-free atmosphere who like books, music, art and normal things like me then I ought to go. So 8 of us went...

The daters, it goes without saying, were like 99% teachers, and to my surprise most of them were a bit 'older'. They came from the places English teachers come from: The U.S., Scotland, Ireland, Canada, the UK and there were a few Korean's. You get three minutes to talk to each person before moving to the next. The girls stay in their seats and the guys rotate around the room. Each person has a card which has the names of all the 'daters' on it. You get three minutes to chat with each dater, then on your card, you circle DATE, FRIEND, or NEVER. At the end of the event, the papers were collected and the responses were emailed to us accordingly.

Would I do it again? Sure, I guess. It wasn't torture and definitely has potential. I think that we just got stuck with a crummy batch of guys is all... sorry guys.

8 months later...

2010-02-15T03:38:00.000-08:00

How did 8 months go by already? While life in Korea is good, I am really beginning to miss home. I should be looking forward to going home come summertime but I am feeling like that would be a foolish thing for me to do with the job market in such a bleak state and all. So I am now stuck having to decide if I am going to stay here longer or not.I could stay here and keep making money, paying off the debt that I so desperately want to be gone. Or, I could go home and sleep in my bed, eat mom's dinners, enjoy my family, swim in the pool (ahhhhh), play with my dogs, get lunch with my friends, get crazy with my sisters.... but then what? I haven't really felt that homesick feeling since I got here, but it has definitely begun to settle in. It comes in really bad like waves and it is during those 'crashing' moments that I "romanticize" or remember all the best and coziest feelings of my family and friends, home. As of late, I have definitely been dwelling on and exaggerating the best things about 'home' and forgetting about the mundane, day to day grind of life. Someone recently reminded me that those warm fuzzy moments that I so often romanticize about are NOT the daily (or even weekly) standard and that deciding whether to stay or go is not a decision that should be made on emotion. That same someone also reminded me that the bottom line is that only I can know where God is leading me as He speaks to MY heart about what He has for me. So, I will seek Him.

Government workers sent home early to "Make Babies"

2010-01-30T03:51:00.000-08:00

While some countries have no work, and others have no food South Korea has no babies!! In case you don't already know this, South Korea has one of the world's lowest birth rates. The average number of babies born each year continues to go down and is currently at something like 1.19. This is a huuuuuge problem, the most critical issue that the country is dealing right now. If the birthrate continues to fall the country will be faced with a declining labor force in years ahead, which in turn would lead to a weakened economy and failed social security system. In other words, Korea losing out in the world's competition for economic power... all because of a lack of manpower!! YIKES. Its one big economic cluster!

Falling birthrate... eventual lack of workforce... complete loss of economic power... clearly a serious problem. Even though the numbers keep dropping instead of babies, you have to give the government props for trying. They have offered numerous incentives in an effort to get people to make more babies. Some of the measures that have been implemented include prenatal care, government paid fertility treatment and increased childcare subsidies, more paid 'parental leave', and in the "gu" districts cash is given to families with 3+ children. Its very thoughtful of them to give cash to people with more babies, but seriously... I really don't think that giving money as an incentive to have more children is gonna reverse the 'grave problem' of the falling birthrate. Would a one-time cash reward of $1000 prod you to go and make a baby that will end up costing you like a hundred times more?

On January 20th at 7pm in Seoul, the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Family Affairs really pushed the creativity bar when they launched a new "Lights Out" policy. Apparently as of the 20th of January, on the third Wednesday of each month the lights in all government buildings will be turned off and workers will be sent home early. This day will be recognized as "Family Day" and is supposed to give those workers who typically work 12+ hours a day a deeper appreciation for family time... or is just really intended to provide couples with some extra time so that they can get to bangin'...? An interesting tactic to boost the country's population to say the least. Here's to leading by example!
Read more & watch a video here.

Listen to an excellent podcast on these issues:
Birthrates & Banging

This poster from the 60's reads "Two is too many."
A time when Korea experienced a 'baby boom' of their own
and birthrates were at a high.

Sokcho and Seoraksan Mountain

2009-12-06T04:56:00.000-08:00

About a dozen of the teachers that I work with and I took a weekend trip to Sokcho a couple of weeks ago. Sokcho sits on the East coast of Korea, in between the famous Seorak mountains and the Sea of Japan (East Sea). It was cold and a wee bit windy, but beautiful nonetheless. After the two hour bus ride, we checked into our hostel, The House. It was so adorable and cheap! I think it was like ₩15000, that's like $15. The owner was super nice. The place was clean clean clean, had free internet and breakfast, bikes that we could use... it was a great find! The owner even made our dinner reservations for us and then walked us to the place! I don't think I've ever had such lovely service in the states. After we got into our rooms we took a bus to the great Seoraksan Mountain, it is a large tourist attraction and I would imagine that it brings lots of business to the small fishing town of Sokcho. So I was all excited because everyone had been talking about riding the cable car to the top of the mountain. I'm thinking cable car = cable car like in San Fran... right? As it has been years since I rode the cable cars in San Fran I was looking forward to experiencing a cable car ride up the side of a massive mountain. Well, to my disappointment, the 'cable car' turned out to be what we would call a tram or a large gondola back in the states. It was just like the tram that goes to Idylwild, only not as cool because it didn't rotate 360°. I didn't complain too much though because it was crazy cold outside and I figured that it was warmer in the tram that it would have been on an open air cable car. Once the tram go to the top we hiked a bit to get to the tippity top. The view was sooo beautiful. We took lots of pics, admired the bold Korean women who made the icy hike in their 3-inch heels (seriously), and took in the views all around. It was ace!

The place where we had dinner had all you can eat meat buffet for only ₩7000, some of us ate our own body weight in meat (not me) while some of us stuck to the simple stuff and watched our colleagues indulge. Anything from chicken and galbi (traditional Korean dish of grilled marinated beef or pork) to cow intestine, clams, baby squids and a bunch of other stuff that I found to be less that appetizing. I'm a whimp, I know. On day 2 we all went different directions. Some went in search of the caves and hot springs, some went to someplace...I don't know where, and Andrei, Kelly, Emma and I wandered the local streets and checked out the fishing ports. There was a super nice French girl staying at the hostel and she told us that it was fishing season for squid, sure enough when we got closer to the water there were squid everywhere... amongst countless other interesting looking sea creatures. Back to that French girl for a second... so she is traveling all over Korea because she is writing a travel book for some French publisher or something because apparently there is an insufficient amount of travel books for Korea that are available in the French language. So basically she gets paid to go all over the place, check out the cuisine, eat at all the restaurants, go to the clubs, scope out the shopping, check out the music and culture, visit the big touristy attractions and then go back to her hotel or hostel and write about it. Everything paid for and a paycheck in the mail (probably not a fortune, but still...), I want her job. Where do I sign up? Sorry for my digression... back to Sokcho... the town was small, nothing to brag about as far as glam or awesomeness. It was just cool to see all the squid boats, and the countless tanks of sea creatures lining the small streets. We went up this funny looking tower and were able to get great views of the whole city. The funnest part of all, yes I said 'funnest', was riding the minibikes. OMG! While wandering the small streets we came across this area where there were some markets and a big open square and a guy with all these different kinds of bikes that you could rent. I spotted these bikes that looked like shrunken motorcycles and proposed that us girls have a mini motorbike race. We each rented a bike and rode them around and around the square for 30 minutes and it was a blast. I feel dumb because I think that I may have enjoyed it a bit too much. Now I want a mini motorbike of my own. They went fast and were just my size.

Sokcho was fun and I want to go back. Next time I want to see the big Buddha, go to the Teddy Bear Museum, and spend a day at waterpia!

Killer Fan

2009-11-18T07:16:00.001-08:00

I think superstition is silly. I've walked under lots of ladders, opened many umbrellas indoors, broken countless mirrors, I have never thrown salt over my shoulder, I've deliberately made it a point NOT to 'knock on wood' and I've failed to lift my feet when driving over train tracks... Have I endured years of bad luck? No. I don't even believe in luck. Anyways, I have always found western superstitions ridiculous, but Korea definitely tops the charts when it comes to the level of ridiculousness. So, if you ever come to SoKo keep the following in mind:

4. Fan Death
Koreans of all ages and levels of education believe that if you sleep in a room with an electric fan and without the windows and doors open, you will die. This isn’t some hokey story – apparently every Korean, from every strata of society, believes it.

Another American guy who I work with introduced me to the 'Fan Death' fallacy. He is a white guy, he has a Korean girlfriend. It was the middle of summer, he and I were sharing our frustrations over the fact that neither of our apartments have a/c. Trying to stay positive, I said something like "Oh well, at least we have our fans." I told him that I was sure I would have been dead if I hadn't had my fan to blow, full blast, on me all through the hot humid nights. This is where he proceeded to explain to me that he does not use a fan at night because his girlfriend told him that he might die. Later when I saw her and inquired about this fan death phenomena she explained to me how many people every year die of fan death, and how there had recently been an especially bad case of fan death that was broadcast on the local news. She was so convinced. It made me laugh. I told her its crazy and that she should let her poor boyfriend sleep with the fan on. Poor guy.

So many websites have been created to examine this bizarre phenomenon amongst one of the most technologically adept nations on this earth. According to one of the sites:
“The only country to believe in fan death is South Korea. If you ask any Korean about fan death, they will almost certainly vehemently argue that it is indeed true. It seems Koreans of all ages, professions (including doctors) and education backgrounds believe it. Koreans use the media as proof. Newspapers and TV continually attribute deaths to fans. If you approach a Korean about this issue, their first instinct is to defend their culture to foreigners even though they may not agree with the belief themselves. I will commend anyone on their effort to convince a Korean that fan death may not be true, but I think it would be a very difficult task. Even if they did believe you, I still secretly believe they would turn off the fan, or make sure the window or door was open, when they went to bed.”
I love that last bit.

2. Fingernails
I bite my nails, it is a terrible habit I know. One day one of my junior high students noticed me biting and kindly warned me to never throw my fingernail clippings on the street or anywhere on the ground for that matter. They must be carefully disposed of in the trash or better yet, flushed down the toilet. Otherwise, if strewn on the ground it is very possible that a rat will eat them! So what right? I could care less if some stinky rat eats my fingernails. Well, apparently in consuming your nail clippings, the rat consumes a part of your soul...this can't be good! If by accident you do happen to toss those nail clippings onto the ground and find a little critter munching on them (highly unlikely), worry not! All you have to do is recruit a cat to devour the fingernail-eating rat. Wha-la! -you've got your soul back. I don't think that many Koreans really buy into this nonsense, yet it's not too uncommon to see Koreans wrapping their clippings in a paper towel or toilet paper before disposing of them.

3. The Morning Spider
I have heard that if you kill a spider before 12:00 noon, you are doomed for ungodly amounts of bad luck. Why? No idea.

4. The Red Name
If you are teaching or have taught kids here in SoKo, surely you are familiar with what happens when someone's name is written in red. This suggests that they are dead. Or, if they are still alive, then it's bad luck. Sometimes I do it just to get my naughty kids riled up. Haha, I am so mean. I still end up giving them candy, lucky little brats.

Colors of Fall

2009-11-13T07:06:00.000-08:00

It was a beautiful Fall. Wish it would have lasted longer.

Happy Pepero Day!

2009-11-11T07:58:00.000-08:00

Relationships and love are not taken lightly in South Korea, if you have read any of the previous entries this should not come as a surprise to you. There are over twenty holidays devoted to celebrating one's affections for family, friends, and beloveds. For starters, the 14th of each month is set aside for sweethearts. Also, just as in North America, Valentine's Day is celebrated in South Korea, but with a slight variation on the tradition. Only the women give gifts on Valentines Day. To balance this out there is "White Day" one month later when men take their turn giving gifts. This is one of the many holidays that have been named after a color with "Black Day," "Silver Day," "Green Day," and "Yellow Day" dotting the South Korean calendar.

November 11th is one of these special days, but it's not named after a color, but a particular brand of chocolate. While the U.S. celebrates Veteran's Day and other countries pay tribute to the sacrifices made during times of war under the name of Remembrance Day and Armistice Day, South Korea has set aside November 11 for a much more lighthearted holiday. It's known as Pepero Day. Pepero is a brand of cookie--a long, thin crunchy wafer half dipped in chocolate. The day is centered around the exchanging and eating of these Pepero sticks with as many family, boyfriends, girlfriends, and acquaintances who are willing to accept your offering. This practice is extremely popular with children, so if you don't happen to like the snack, it's a bad day to be a schoolteacher, as your desk will become a buffet table of Pepero products.

And why is today the special day for celebrating Pepero? The date of November 11 was chosen because when written as 11/11, it resembles four, long Pepero sticks. The legend is that Pepero Day began in Busan (South Korea's second largest city after Seoul) when some middle school girls started exchanging the snack with the wish that they would become "as tall and slender as a Pepero." But it is more widely accepted that the custom was begun by Pepero's manufacturers LOTTE who, by making their product an unofficial national holiday, have perhaps found one of the most effective means of marketing possible.

Regardless of Pepero Day's origins, its celebration has become an annual tradition since 1994, and, each year as the day approaches, South Koreans stock up on these little confections to be ready to use them as an expression of their esteem and affections for those they hold near and dear. So, if you can't wait for Valentine's Day, and you want a way to let that special someone know that you care, check out your local specialty store for these crunchy treats. If he or she looks at you quizzically when presented with these gifts, just smile widely and say "Happy Pepero Day!"

Pretty girls

2009-11-03T07:16:00.000-08:00

Dressed up in Hanbuks for Chuseok.

Happy Halloween 해피 핼러윈입니다

2009-11-01T04:31:00.000-08:00

Korean culture does not recognize Halloween as a holiday like we do in America. They know what it is and what it entails but nobody dresses up or goes trick-or-treating. If such nonsense were attempted, your neighbors would surely think you are crazy. Anyways, at SLP (and most of the private hogwans) we celebrate all of the so-called 'American holidays'. So on Halloween, all of the preschoolers got dressed up and then got to go to trick-or-treating at COEX (the local shopping mall). This equated to a bunch of volunteering mothers who stood at selected locations around the perimeter of the mall with candy. It was a 'fake trick-or-treating' but the kids loved it.

Thank you Bailey and Jessica Teacher for the pics!

Welcome to Jewel Room

2009-10-29T05:46:00.000-07:00

This is my classroom, Jewel room. What exactly does Jewel mean anyways? Other teachers have rooms with names like 'Opportunity', 'Ability', Courage', 'Belief', 'Hope', 'Wisdom', 'Spirit', 'Knowledge'... I want to know how 'Jewel' fits into this set of nouns because I think is sounds plain dumb. The rooms were named alphabetically, so when they got to 'J' why didn't anyone think of 'Justice', or 'Jubilee', or 'Joy' for Pete's sake! But Jewel? Anyways, it is my room and I quite like it. Thanks mom for all the great Dollar Store decorations! Do you see all the cards that you have sent me pinned up on the wall next to my desk? My students especially like the card with the pooping fish on it.

Only in Korea

2009-10-27T10:40:00.000-07:00

Insane Street Clutter

Matching couples EVERYWHERE! No special occasion needed.

Cocoons to eat. Hot and delicious!!

Olympic Park

2009-10-27T08:15:00.000-07:00

This place is so massive and so beautiful. I just love it! I have gone to the park several times since I have been here in Seoul and it is a lovely place to go no matter what kind of mood I am in. There are fields of sunflowers, trees everywhere, ponds, secret hiking paths, and a huge picnic area where they have music playing over speakers all day long. Last time I was there picnicking with a friend they were playing the Beatles, for like 4 hours straight! The park was made for the '88 Olympics and has a HUGE sports coomplex, swimming pools, tennis courts... all that sporty stuff, and it is all indoors.

Why do Korean girls go crazy over white boys?

2009-10-02T07:48:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest differences between being an expirate in a European country and an Asian country is that you stick out like a sore thumb in Asia. With Korea being homogeneous and all, this is especially true. As a foreigner I know I stick out, I have embraced it and have found new ways to have fun with it. For example, when I feel the glare of an ajumma upon me while walking to school in the morning, I will make eye contact with her, give a warm smile and stare her down until she either a.) curls her mouth into a grimacing sort of grin back at me or b.) turns her head and stops staring at the foreigner. I like this game because either way, I win. So stare all you want! Games like this are especially fun on the subway and allow for an extra does of awkwardness since you have to be within tight quarters with each other for at least a few minutes at a time. Getting to my point... If a single foreigner like myself has an inescapable glow about them saying look at me look at me I am not one of your kind, then what about couples? I'm not talking about the Korean-Korean couples, they are everywhere, but the Korean-White couples. 'Interracial relations' are not a regular occurrence in the ROK. While a single foreigner draws a certain attention to himself, a foreigner 'coupled' with a Korean will steal the attention in a second. The couple defies the Korean perception of homogeneity and causes its bystanders to ask themselves, 'What’s up with the race treason?'. This is not something that the Korean people have just 'gotten used to', it is something that is ingrained in them at a young age. Still today, in school they are taught that all Koreans are of the same ancestry. While this has been the truth for many years, the country is slowly transforming into a multicultural society as the number of immigrants coming to South Korea increases every year.

Seoul is super 'coupley'. Couples everywhere! Going to certain places can be an uncomfortable experience if you are single. There are many places that are deemed as 'couple spots' and should be avoided... unless you enjoy the awkwardness that comes with being the only person in the room without a companion to smooch, hold hands with. Personally, I make sure to, and will go out of my way to avoid these places. Outside of the 'couple' hots pots, I have observed lots of what seem to be typical Korean couples. On the subway, on the bus, at the park, just walking around town, at the movies, in the supermarket, at the bookstore, waiting for the bus, etc. The Korean bf is unlike any American bf that I have ever seen or known. He looks at her sweetly, he carries her purse for her, on the hot sticky summer days he holds her hair off her neck for her, and if its really hot he will dab the sweat from her brow for her, he smooches her nose and forehead and doesn't care of there is a hundred people around to witness it, if it is raining and they have no umbrella he will take off his coat and hold it over her to ensure that not a single drop of the acid rain touches her perfectly shiny Asian hair or if he is not wearing a coat maybe he will use his man purse to shield her from the rain. Now, I can see some American bfs shielding their girl from the rain with their coat, I'll give them that. The only difference is that they would be trying to squeeze under the coat too. The Korean bfs are not ashamed to wear a matching tee-shirt as their girl (this has its limits though, there is a fine line between 'awww, that's cute' and 'are you kidding me? are they really wearing matching overalls, turtlenecks and sneakers?').

Whether foreign or Korean, interracial couples are easily noticed and are fun to stare at. Even I stare. Within the first couple of weeks of being in Korea, I noticed lots of Korean-White couples...always white guy and Korean girl. Always. I really don't think that I have seen a single Korean guy-white girl couple since I have been here. I also find it ironic that while more and more Asian women are dating white men, the Asian men are growing more and more attracted to Asian women with Caucasian-like facial features but 'Korean' personality traits (non-outspoken, won’t challenge the male ego types) and are not interested in girls with 'western personalities'. So why? At what point did all of these Korean girls turn their eyes from the teachings of their well-intentioned Korean parents and the Ministry of Education to the tall, skinny, white boy with hairy arms and a big nose? ... and then allow him to steal her heart? Why? Why? Why?

You see, this is troubling to me because I had myself convinced that Korean boys were the poster boyfriend and I thought that if only American boyfriends would act more like the Korean boyfriends the world would be such a better place and us girls would be so much happier. But as I began to notice more and more of the Korean guy-white girl couples I became more and more curious about this phenomena which I eventually learned was referred to by many as 'Yellow Fever'. Now I am dying to know what everyone else thinks about it. I have not yet formulated a theory of my own yet as to why the Korean girls go nuts over the white boys, or what it is about the Korean girls that drive the white boys so wild, or why the Korean boys don't seem to have much interest in white girls (or do they?); there is still much research to be done and observing that needs to take place on my part. One thing I do know is that I am not the only girl out there who is trying to understand all of this, my time spent in the blogosphere has assured me of this and has introduced me to a variety of theories that people have come up with. The arguments that I have stumbled upon have ranged from absolutely ridiculous (but entertaining) to one-sided and ethnocentric to intelligent and culturally relative.

Some of my findings...

Theory One: "White men consider their overly-large nose to be a symbol of authority, strength, and moral fiber. They know that Asian women subconsciously recognize this as an important facet of western history and are deeply attracted to his nasal mojo. However, the white man is stuck in a dilemma- although the disproportionate nose carries with it power, he knows that if his kind continues to breed with other big-nosed types then one day there will arise one who can woo any women in the world with one flare of his nostrils. In defense of men everywhere, then, the white man must bear the burden to ensure noses don’t grow too large anywhere in the global gene pool. The best way to do this is to couple their genes with smaller-nosed Asians. People should know."
- Steve, StuffAsianPeopleLike.com

Theory Two: "Asian Fetish, Yellow Fever. Whatever you call it, there’s plenty of literature out there telling white men that slant-eyed princesses are the exotic, submissive, and hypersexualized women of their dreams."
- Unknown

Theory Three: "The concept of market segmentation is both basic and powerful. Businesses succeed by identifying the market segments with the greatest willingness to pay, and then catering to them. There’s no value judgment involved–if young people want to watch trashy reality television, let there be “The Hills”! In the case of Asian women, over the past several decades, they discovered an important fact: Most white guys have an Asian fetish. Heck, pretty much all (non-Asian) American males do. For example, take the Outkast song "Hey Ya", implying an equivalent level of attractiveness between Beyonce and Lucy Liu. I consider myself an connoisseur of female beauty, and I can tell you that Lucy Liu would not be considered hot if she weren’t Asian. Beyonce is way hotter than Lucy Liu (though neither can hold a candle to Jessica Alba or Megan Fox)."
- Harvard Grad

Theory Four:

I know the whole 'Yellow Fever' thing has been debated to death, but I am a newbie to the ROK. I find all of this Korean dating stuff entertaining, reading people's rationales for stuff is the best part of it all. So if you have a thought or opinion as to why it is that K-girls go nuts over white boys, or why white boys are so enthralled by K-girls, or why K-boys seem to have a lack of interest in white girls and so on... please share!

My kiddos & Mr. Potato Head

2009-10-02T06:47:00.001-07:00

We spent a week learning 'face' vocabulary. 'It is an eye', 'They are eyes', 'It is an ear', 'I have two ears' etc. We colored Mr. Potato Head faces at the end of the week. The kids had never heard of Mr. Potato Head, nonetheless, they seemed to enjoy the silly potato head faces.

Aiden

Sweet Lina

Alex & Mr. Potato Head in his gardening attire

Locks for Love

2009-09-30T08:11:00.000-07:00

I know that locks and love aren't exactly synonymous and many believe that love is supposed to be that one force in life that 'sets you free'. However, in Korea nothing declares true love like the act of putting a lock on a chain link fence and then throwing away the key (er, last time I checked this was a concept often associated with marriage). At the N Seoul Tower in Namsan Park you will find thousands upon thousands of locks adorning the fences on the tower's terrace. Korean couples, young and old, who love each other and are in for the long haul (or so they think) will add a lock to the fence and then chuck the key to ensure that the sweethearts' vows to never separate are kept forever. Here are some photos on Flickr!

2009-09-13T22:35:00.000-07:00

“It is a curious emotion, this certain homesickness I have in mind. With Americans, it is a national trait, as native to us as the roller-coaster or the jukebox. It is no simple longing for the home town or country of our birth. The emotion is Janus-faced: we are torn between a nostalgia for the familiar and an urge for the foreign and strange. As often as not, we are homesick most for the places we have never known.”
Carson McCullers (American Writer, 1917-1967)

Bongeunsa Temple

2009-09-11T03:23:00.000-07:00

If you are intrigued by my lovely photographs and want to visit Bongeunsa Temple, here are directions. It is easy to find, and if you are familiar with the COEX area then finding it will be cake!

By Subway:
- Samseong Subway Station (Line No. 2 - the Green line), from exit 6 walk 100m toward Asem Tower, then turn left and walk through the Bongeunsa Temple trail. Beongeunsa Temple is located on the right. (10 minute walk)

- Cheongdam Subway Station (Line No. 7 - the Dark Green line), from exit 2 walk 150m toward Gyeonggi High School and turn right.

Things I love about SK - Part 2

2009-09-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

7.) Man purses
These Korean boys and their man purses. I love it. I think its hot when a guy has a man purse. Why don't American boys carry man purses?

8.) Tailoring
I can get two pairs of pants hemmed for $11, and it only took 2 days.
3 shirts dry cleaned for $4.
Oh yeah, and when I blew the crotch out of my favorite pair of jeans the sewing lady at the dry cleaner made them like new for $3! I love that lady.

9.) Presents
My kids bring me random presents for no apparent reason and it is wonderful!! A little glass bottle of some vitamin C juice, an iced coffee, something weird and gummy (I don't know what it was, but I did not like it), a huge bar of chocolate, a piece of fruit... they are so sweet.

10.) The subway
I hated it the first month or so, but now that I (kinda) know my way around I can't get enough of it! Sometimes I say that I have to go to such and such place, but really I just want to ride the subway. I never really reach whatever supposed destination I told my roommate or whoever that I had to get to. When I ride the subway, each experience is unique in its own special way. There was the time that Emma nearly got her foot cut off because the crowd was so dense that she couldn't push her way off of the car. Luckily this adventure only resulted in a broken flip flop, which we later were able to repair easily. Then there was the time when a drunk man sitting across from me puked, the projectile was so massive that his vomit was not far from my lap. Drunk business men always make for good stories (see 'I have a stalker'). Recently on my way home from the English bookstore I was wildly entertained by a gamer boy for a good solid 40 minutes. The kid was a 'bigger than average' 15ish-year-old boy. Attire: Bugle-Boy baseball tee, leather velcro sandals (with socks of course) and slightly small fitting cargo shorts. He had clearly just finished making some purchases at a video game shop, probably the highlight of his weekend. (I am not judging, nothing wrong with guys who obsess over video games). After opening every one of the 4 games that he had and reading their jackets cover to cover he proceeded to try and fit all of the games into his pocket. This sounds so lame but it was absolutely hilarious. He had no shopping bag so resorted to his pockets. I don't know why he couldn't just carry the games in his hand, instead he made a 30 minute attempt to shove all of the games into his one pocket. Oh yes, and his cell phone and mp3 player as well. He tried once and got it all in but one game so took it all out and made another attempt, then another, then another... All the while totally oblivious to the prime entertainment that he was providing to not only myself but the old lady next to me and the younger emo-looking guy across from me. Riding the subway makes me wish that I had cameras in my eyes. I love the subway so much. I love watching people, what better place is there? I also love the subway because it is a great place for reading and listening to my ipod...as long as I have a seat. It is no bueno when I have to stand because I have really poor balance and I fall over easily. Here is a map of the subway lines. I think that I have ridden 4 or 5 different lines, several to go.

Click the map to go to the Urban Rail website,
where you can see the actual subway map...big enough to read!

My kiddos

2009-09-10T07:52:00.000-07:00

This is Max. Definitely not the brightest little guy, but I just love him to pieces. He so sweet and squishy...great for hugging! He loves to draw battle pictures on the board of the Koreans killing the Japanese and he always says "Teacher see this see this!" until I acknowledge his drawings.

Sally with her cute little glasses, and Emily lining up after the bell.

This is my Hi Kids 1 class. They are the sweetest, they are the youngest students that I teach. We have been having a blast learning phonics for the past two months. They are so bright and so silly, they work so hard. I love them. From left: Jessi, Alex, Ryan, June (with glasses), Aiden, Sally, Michelle, Emily and Lina.

Jenny throwing up her peace signs. What is it with the Koreans and peace signs for photographs? Weird.

We Survived Naerincheon Stream!

2009-08-31T07:55:00.000-07:00

So I found this really great church called Jubilee. It is so wonderful and such a blessing because I was really starting to feel homesickness sink in. I have been able to meet new people and establish beginnings of what hopefully will become lasting relationships with other young people who love the Lord. On my very first Sunday attending the church, the announced a rafting trip that was going to be hosted by the Men's & Women's ministries from Jubilee. My friend Elizabeth and I signed up right away. It was a blast and I cannot wait for the next outing.

I have always wanted to do the white water rafting thing, the whiter the rapids the better! So I was very much looking forward to conquering the Naerincheon. The night before the trip I got online and did some googling because I wanted to see whereabouts these rapids were. In doing so I learned that it is not called Naerincheon River, but Naerincheon Stream...and a stream it was! Located in Inje, Gangwan-do, what I had expected to be some version of the Colorado River or maybe the Kern ended up being a lovely little 'stream'. While the level of exhilaration was slim to none, I still had a blast! We set out from Seoul aroun 9 a.m. and arrived at the Family Outdoor Center in Inje about 2.5 hours later. After a delicious meal, we set out on the Naerincheon Stream. On our way back to Seoul, we stopped for Dak Galbi in Chuncheon. I met so many new people! It was such a great day!

Random #2

2009-08-22T22:39:00.000-07:00

This pic was taken the first week that I was in Korea. My school (SLP) has a dinner party every month at this Korean barbecue place called 'Number 1 Zip' to welcome all the new teachers and say farewell to those who will be going back home. It was a lovely evening. Michael and Jeremy did the 'Banana Dance', Kyle made himself bleed trying to open a bottle with a spoon and my boss got drunk. Good times.

This is my favorite little coffee shop. Jesse and Luisa showed it to me and I fell in love with it. It just sits here in the middle of our residential area and it is so very cute. The decor is perfect, the music is nice, the sandwiches are delish, coffee is yum and the sweet lady that owns the place is a doll! Oh, and it is air conditioned, which is a huge plus!

Lori, Elizabeth, Emma and I at Changdeokgung Palace

Blue Skies to China

2009-07-25T07:58:00.000-07:00

Look at this! Do you see it? The skies were brilliantly blue the morning that I was supposed to leave for China. I just about pooed my pants because I haven't seen the sky so clear in the near two months that I have been here in Seoul. I read the clear skies as a sign of good luck and smooth travels. Sadly my travels were lacking in the luck department and ended up being anything but smooth. After a frustrating experience with a numb-nut of a cab driver, one missed flight two unnecessary hour-long bus rides costing me near W50,000 that I had not planned on spending and an extra long layover in an airport that wanted to charge my up the you know what for 1 hour of WiFi I finally arrived to Chongqing and was happily greeted by my lovely British friends Jenny and Katie. Gosh I love those girls. They are the coolest, in a super intellectual version of Bridget Jones sort of way.

On my last day in Chongqing we went to the Ancient town of Ciqikou (磁器口). This sleepy old town was built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and has been preserved as a tourist town. Two main streets are lined with shops filled with traditional Chinese goodies and all kinds of interesting cuisine. From taffey sculpted dragons and candy coated fruits and nuts (very beautiful) to pigs snouts and deep fried baby crabs, you never know just what you will find. I really enjoyed Ciqikou, its too bad I ran out of money because there was so much cool stuff that I wanted to buy and everything is crazy cheap.

They say that Ciqikou offers a glimpse of the peaceful laid-back life in the Sichuan countryside and is somewhere to take a break from the busy metropolitainness of Chongqing. The town is nearly 1800 years old and is filled with typical traditional and cultural characteristics featured in mountainous areas, where mountains and rivers cross with each other, buildings manage to remain standing in a picturesque disorder. Once we got through all the shops, we wandered of the main streets down a maze of tiny stone stairways and narrow alleys and got to see some of the houses that are still in tact up against a hillside that overlooked a strip of factories and the outskirts of the city. This was probably the coolest part of my trip. We just wandered, people had their laundry hanging all over the place, their chickens wandering on the sidewalks, we passed a woman shampooing her hair in a bucket outside her front door, some old people crouched on the cement playing Mahjong, lots of little doggies and cats roaming around.

Random #1

2009-07-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

Coke, almost always served in a glass bottle. This is at a little sushi place near where I live. I go there a lot. They don't even have to wait for me to tell them that I want one #2 anymore because I am a 'regular'. That's right, this is my neighborhood.

A fruit stand just up the street from me.

So last week it rained like crazy for a few days. Roads flooded, umbrellas sold out... we definitely experienced some serious moisture. Well, apparently it was the heaviest downpour that Seoul has seen since 1945 and the third heaviest since Korea began forecasting weather in 1908. There was over 5.5" of rain by 10pm on Tuesday, which is a lot considering that there has been about 25" of rainfall total since the beginning of the rainy season began (middle of June). Crazy weather is exciting and I quite enjoy it.

3 Dog Days of Summer = 보신탕

2009-07-16T06:44:00.001-07:00

All the talk about eating dog sparked some interest and curiosity in me. The notion of such cuisine is fairly disturbing to me, and so I did a little research a couple day ago. Now, I know everything is relative... yeah yeah I know I know. You are all probably thinking to yourself "But imagine how the Hindus feel about you eating cow," I understand the relativity in this context but please, allow me to be narrow-minded for just a few moments. Perhaps my two adorable puppies at home are partially responsible for all of the angst and disgust that I feel towards this dish called boshintang (보신탕). Boshintang (dog meat) comes from a particular breed of dog called noranke (노란개), which basically translates to 'yellow dog'. These dogs are specifically raised for human consumption and killed for their meat. Ironically, I also learned that yesterday (June 14th) was the first day of what are referred to as the '3 Dog Days of Summer'. The 3 Dog Days of Summer, always mid-July, mark the beginning of what will be the hottest days of the year. In an effort to combat the brutal heat and humidity of this period some Koreans will enjoy traditional foods many of which use man's best friend, the highly controversial dog meat, as the main ingredient. So does dog meat really make the miserable July heat all that more bearable? Or the stickiness of the 85% humidity less sticky? I mean really, its ridonculous!

If you are ever visiting SK and are in the mood for this fine dish, go for it! But bear in mind that unlike the states, not all businesses that serve food have to pass a formal health inspection, and since the killing of dogs for human consumption in South Korea is actually illegal (since 1986) restaurants that do still serve it are doing so illegally and probably try to keep it semi hush-hush. Point being, if you try boshintang, you do it at your own risk! If the fact that it is illegal isn't enough to make you scratch boshintang off your 'things to taste' list.... I found out how violently the dogs bred for this 'cultural dish' are killed, look at this and this. It is so sad. The cultural relativism argument is too weak to make me accept violence. Also, it is my understanding that many Koreans don’t even believe that boshintang is really a traditional food at all. I suppose that there is a wee bit of comfort in knowing that boshintang is not a typical meal in South Korea. You will have to search hard to find places that serve it and it does not come cheap. Reportedly a small bowl may cost $10 or more U.S. dollars.

Initially, though I never verbalized it, I was kinda open to the idea of trying me some dog soup. I mean, trying the food, especially those few especially unique dishes is part of the traveling experience, right? But the more I thought about it, (and my little puppies at home), the more curious I got and my curiosity has led me to definite change of heart!

Things I love about SK - Part 1

2009-07-14T08:21:00.000-07:00

I have been in Seoul for one month now, it has gone by fast. Before I got here everyone was telling me how wonderful the city is and how good the food is, and how nice the people are and how this and how that... All this talk had me pretty pumped. I figured I was going to be living in the lap of awesomeness for 12 months, can't go wrong with that. Now that I am here, I am sad to say that I have yet to experience the 'awesomeness'. The people aren't exactly mean, but I would not classify them as the 'friendliest', the food is alright... you are getting my drift. I suppose this is another prime example of me having too high of expectations. Anyways... I feel like I have put a wee bit too much energy into complaining about the things that suck rather that sharing the totally awesome things about Seoul. So it is time to counter-act the negative with some positive. Here goes...

LOVE

1.) The Kids
They are just adorable. They are so smart and work so hard (most of them), I just want to steal them all and take them on a vacation, with no homework! I need to get some pictures of my kids up here for you all to see.

2.) Things are cheap
I am going to go to China for a week and its costing me less than $500. A bunch of my co-workers are going to Bali for a week... when would I ever have had the funds to consider a week long trip to Bali while living in the states? Uh...NEVER! Drugs are like 5 bucks! Visit the doctor for $3, get a prescription and fill it for $5. Its craziness!

3.) Subway station shopping
So there are a few major subway stations that have all these corridors full of stores, mostly clothing stores but some other stuff too. The stuff is cute and cheap. Lots of pretty sparkly jewelry too!

4.) Where I live
I love my little neighborhood. It is quaint and quiet. There are trees all around, parks hidden throughout the crisscrossing streets, and practically everything that I could possibly need in less than a couple blocks distance from my front door.

5.) Monsoon season
I love falling asleep to the sound of rain dumping down right outside my window and I love using an umbrella.

6.) Funny English
There is a clear sense of pride that comes with knowing the slightest bit of English. Funny sayings are printed onto everything from tee shirts, tote bags, purses, pencil bags and stationery. I bought a bottle of facial cleanser at a Korean version of Bath and Body works. The label reads "Food Therapy. Special food for the skin to eat. Contains lots of nutrtive and energetic ingredients such as fruits, plants and etc. Formulated for treatment of acne and trouble. Also effectively removes makeup and dirty." The tee shirts really are the best though...

2009-07-13T06:59:00.000-07:00

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” -Mark Twain

Three weeks

2009-07-07T06:01:00.000-07:00

Because I know that there are like 2 people who actually read this blog, and I have neglected to update them on the happenings of my life as an expat here is SK, I am going to recap on everything that I have done, seen, eaten and heard in the past three weeks. Here goes... Went to Dos Tacos in downtown Gangnam with SLP peeps (this is a Thursday night ritual) the food was good but definitely not the authentic Mexican stuff you can find in the valley, they didn't even serve rice and beans with your order. Tasted mondu for the first time, its like a Korean dumpling, don't know whats in it but it was very tasty. Went to Itaewan for the first time and enjoyed 'ladies night' at some bar called The Loft. Free drinks for all the ladies...too bad I am not much of a drinker. I watched everyone else get wasted and quite enjoyed it (not really). Went to some gay bar called... well I forget what it was called but it had the word Rainbow in it (I wanted to bail but didn't want to pay the entire cab fair on my own). Ate food at a place called Number 1 Zip (I think that's what its called). Its one of those places where you enjoy your meal while sitting on a little mat on the floor. Preparing of the meal is quite a production and involves cutting kimchi, garlic, and meat with scissors and then cooking on the grill at your own table to be wrapped in a small green leaf before popping into your mouth. Operating the scissors, BBQ, and chopsticks can become more and more dangerous with every bottle of soju delivered to the table. The food was good, but I couldn't handle all the garlic. I had my first taste of soju, just a taste though. I bought a cool little bopper, its basically a stick with a stuffed animal at the end of it and is used to 'bop' the children on the head when they are not paying attention to Kelly Teacher. My kids think its a toy and try to steal it from me and play with it, it has lost all value as a disciplinary tool. I bid my old roommate Jess farewell, I say that as though she was my roommate for tens of years but it was really only like three weeks. She's going to camp in the Alaskan wilderness for two months now, Cool! Moved all my stuff into Jess's room because it is much larger. Then I heard some sort of animal scratching in the ceiling, it creeped me out so I moved all my stuff back into the small room. I rearranged our living room so that it is actually like a real living room now, kinda. It may not be very cute, and it definitely lacks the touch of coordinating accessories, but I think I have achieved 'cozy' if nothing else. Paid the apartment bills for the first time. Had I known that I was gonna have to pay for the cable I would have told them to cancel it when I got here. Bought some really expensive apples, W10,000 (=$10) for six apples. Was craving an avocado but at five bucks a piece I settled for some avocado ice cream instead. Was craving a plain cheeseburger one night so I had some McDonald's food delivered. Speaking of food, I found a restaurant near my apartment that serves dog soup. While there are definitely some questionably edible oddities that my brain just wouldn't allow to enter my mouth including deep fried miscellaneous insects, whole squid, and live squirming octopus that was freshly chopped into writhing bits of tentacles, there is something especially disturbing about dog soup... probably the fact that it requires killing puppies. Just not right.

These are my eel friends. I pass them on my way to school every morning.
If eel is your thing just take your pick and they cook it up for you right then and there.

Some of the more visually appealing edibles likely to be seen
in the outdoor food markets or on the local street carts.

Open class, dancing monkey?

2009-06-23T17:54:00.000-07:00

So this is my first week teaching. Jess, the teacher that I am replacing, is still in the room with me but I am running the show. I have no problem with running the show and I am comfortable with all of my kids. However, the mothers I am no so comfortable with. They can get crazy. So of course, as luck would have it, I will be having an 'open class' on Friday. I am not sure if Jess is gonna make me teach that day or if she is gonna be nice and take over as a gesture of kindness. When asked how to deal with being thrown into an open class as a brand new ESL teacher, my friend The Expat gives the following advice...

Open Class is something that most of us have to deal with at one point or another. To a new teacher, the thought of them can be terrifying and there's nothing I can say that will make that initial fear go away. However, I can offer a few tips.

Open Class is not an impromptu lecture that you conjure up during the actual class. It is a practiced, staged exhibition designed to appease mothers and make them believe their little ~~Johnny~~ Seung-ju is just as good better than the rest. In most cases, teachers will suspend regular classes and focus almost exclusively on the material that will be presented in open class. Every aspect of the open class is essentially manufactured. From the excitement and hand raising to your jokes and segues, all of it is totally scripted and ready for the mothers to eat up.

Now, don't be foolish enough to think that the mothers aren't onto this trick. They know it, but still treasure rote memorization and any opportunity to elevate themselves though their children. However, it is the mothers who truly define whether or not your open class was a success. The best way to ensure that is to carefully craft the class and manage your time so that each student gets to speak for roughly the same amount of time. Bribery and favoritism is rampant in Korean education and if a mother sees that her son/daughter is not the teachers favorite, then she will complain that the teacher ignored her child. Do yourself a favor and balance it all out. They don't expect their child to answer every question or even get them correct, but they do expect you to call on them.

The term "dancing monkey" often gets tossed around playfully among teachers on the peninsula. Another personal favorite would be the "biological tape recorder". Well, for open class, being a dancing monkey (especially with the young ones) is something that is almost expected. While we might view it as insulting, degrading or just plain embarrassing, parents view it as energetic, enthusiastic and caring. I never was too great at dancing around. Singing songs and having the kids repeat after you is always a solid route and a pretty good time-killer. I would just try and smile, laugh and pretend that I hadn't practiced the same routine for the past two weeks. I had a friend who was the perfect stereotype of the dancing monkey. He had greasy hair, was slightly overweight, would run into the wall and fall on the ground and do anything he could to make the mothers like him. It worked too. You might discover your inner-monkey. Also, since you don't know your students names yet, go around the room and ask the to spell their names. As they write them on the board, intentionally misspell them. They laugh, the parents laugh and you win (or die inside).

Your hagwon or school expects a few things of you as well. They want you to make sure all the kids are well-behaved, have their books out and are comfortable with you. You should dress smart and at least look presentable. Remember, most private school directors do not care about education. They care about money and a successful open class or demo class is easy and effective advertisement. Perception is king in Korea and knowing how to tune into that ideology will save you time and stress. Good luck!

Koreans got a weird sense of hygiene.

2009-06-23T06:03:00.000-07:00

How good is your dental hygiene? Got a toothbrush in your purse, floss in your back pocket and some mouthwash in the glove box of your car. If you have ever been harassed for obsessing over the cleanliness of your mouth then maybe you should move to Korea. In these parts brushing of the teeth is not just something you do for hygiene, its a lifestyle. I think I mentioned something in a previous blog entry about the adorable preschoolers brushing their teeth at school. So yeah, after lunch there's rampant teethbrushing, teachers and students everywhere brushing their teeth. I found this great video...

So they take good care of their teeth. Fine. The strange obsession is almost admirable. Then there's the feet thing. I get the feet thing. I have a friend who recently shared a story with me about her experience at a love motel. Before entering the love motel you take off your shoesies and slip into a pair 'house slippers' (provided by the proprietors). Similarly, it is not uncommon to find a heap of shoes at the front door of a Korean home, shoes off house slippers on. The carpet stays cleaner longer. I get that. Then there is the no floor rule. Apparently Koreans don't put anything on the floor. I learned this lesson by mistake when I took one of my students' backpacks off the desk and set it on the floor. The student snatched it up right away and gave me some version of the stink eye, as though I had just set her bag in a puddle of vomit or something, which brings me to another Korean habit that I have observed and found to be the most disturbing of all, and anything but hygienic. This demonstration is pure disgust, and based on my experiences is displayed mainly, but not exclusively, by men. Hocking. I’m not talking about a little ejection of excess saliva that you are able to spit in a nearby patch of grass or on the edge of the sidewalk when nobody is looking. I’m talking rip-roaring loogies, definitely contest-winning ones if there ever were such a competition. Walking around Seoul, you will invariably hear some dude pulling up some lung butter or hocking down some boogers to let loose on the road, or sidewalk, or right at your feet...whatever. It’s never quiet. There’s always the gurgling/ripping sound that comes with such activity. The night that I arrived in Seoul, I fell asleep to a sweet lullabye of the neighbor guy's snorting, gurgling and ripping right outside of my bedroom window. I'm pretty sure he never sleeps because I wake up to the same hocking that I fall asleep to every night. Its wonderful. Really. Ah, and this behavior isn’t confined to the outside. In a subway car, buddy launched a greener right onto the floor. Yum. I think I'm gonna start lettin’ em fly too. Now if the loogie-hocking doesn't win you the badge for lack of hygiene, then what I have next is is a sure win. So I am at the medical center this afternoon for my health exam. They do their deal, check my sight, my hearing, blood pressure, x-ray the chest... and then take 'specimen samples'. Nothing out of the norm. They take my blood and then give me a little paper cup to go and fill with my pee. Ew. Basically the equivalent of a dixie cup. A lid to put over the top? No. Some kind of seal to enclose it so my piss isn't wide open to the world and all the germies floating about? Nope. Nada. Dixie is all you get. Fill 'er up and then set it this plastic basket sitting in the hallway with a dozen or so other dixies (already filled up) sitting in it. There was something unsettling about a bunch of cups of pee just sitting there in the wide open.

I love where I work.

2009-06-23T05:26:00.000-07:00

There's just something about being surrounded by children all day long, while exhaustion is inevitable there is a feeling of freshness and cheer that comes with jobs like this. Where else can you hear the sound of a dozen Korean preschoolers singing 'All You Need is Love' by the Beatles in unison. It is the absolute most adorable thing ever. The preschoolers are so cute. I love to pat each one on the head when I pass their perfectly formed line in the hallway. I also find it annoyingly cute when I see all of them rushing to and from the bathroom with their little toothbrushes and rinsing cups after lunch. I only have one class that is preschool-age. Not only is this their first time in a hogwan class, but it is their first time ever in a classroom setting. One can't help but wonder if mom and dad have been drilling them on classroom etiquitte since they were in diapers. These little guys already understand the notion of raising your hand before speaking, they push in their chairs and follow my instructions better than any of my older, more advanced classes. Thinking back to the experiences that I had in perschool classrooms in the states... my Korean kids blow all of those little anglos out of the water. Its no wonder these people are so smart! It is interesting, more so disturbing, how many preschoolers in the US enter the classroom with a novel length letter to the teacher that outlines all of the child's special needs. Not 'special needs' as in they ride the short bus, I mean special needs as in 'my child is allergic to sunflower seeds and grape juice, cannot have any foods with white flower in them, cannot have any foods with red dye in them, only drinks organic soy milk and has recently been diagnosed with a 'mild' case of ADHD and must take the enclosed prescription everyday at lunch time, but he doesn't like taking medicine so you must crush the pill and dissolve it in apple juice and then have him drink it through a straw'. Anyway, I digress... So, I was talking about how much I love my kids... well they are just the best. I look forward to sharing many colorful and humorous classroom experiences in the near future....

Smoggy with a chance of sunshine.

2009-06-17T16:58:00.001-07:00

Sometimes when leaving the valley towards L.A., at about the windmills, you can see a thick layer of what is sometimes haze but more often that not it is smog. It just sits there, usually over the entire San Fernando Valley and within less than an hours drive you are breathing in all of its yummy toxins. The unfortunate thing about Seoul is that the smog here doesn't get carried away with the San Fernando winds like it does back home. It is here to stay. The desert sky is beautiful all the time. I miss you desert sky. Be it clear and blue, or cartoon-like with those big fluffy clouds that are so bright they look like they are glowing. Google weather in Seoul. Mr. Google might say sunny, or maybe cloudy but as far as I can tell it doesn't really matter because the sky is just gray, all the time. I have heard that on occasion a hue of blue may shine through, but not often.

I am an alien.

2009-06-17T16:38:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had to get to school two hours early because I had to go and get a health examination so that I could get my alien green card along with a couple other new teachers. I have a question, why is it that I have to get an alien green card but the new girl who is from Australia doesn't have to? Took the green #1 bus to Seoul Medical Center then got back on the bus after the medical center staff told me I need to come back after 7 days have passed since my arrival to SK before they can do the exam. When I got to SLP I still had time to kill so another new teacher and I went to Hana Bank and opened our Korean bank accounts. Its quite convenient because virtually everything that I could possibly need is in the same building as SLP. Floor 1 - market, bakery, dry cleaner, tailor, jewelry guy, lady selling shoes and fancy hair doodads, travel agent, old lady selling tea and coffee, place that sells eye glasses, lady selling clothes. Its basically what would be considered a 'mini swap meat' in the states. Floor 2 - the bank. Floor 3 - a bunch of doctors and pharmacies. Floor 4 - a church. Floors 5 & 6 - don't know. Floor 7 - SLP.

Getting lost.

2009-06-16T15:47:00.000-07:00

Last night after school I decided to go to Coex because I wanted to get a map at the bookstore. Coex is a huge underground mall that is probably the size of all of Palm Desert, really. After a long while of wandering I finally found the bookstore and got my map. My feet were tired. Then I had to catch a bus to get back to the apartment. Venturing out into the bus system alone for the first time was a very bad idea and I will make sure not to make the same mistake when I am ready for the subway. Long story short, I took not only one, but two wrong busses and ended up in who knows where. Finally I gave up and caught a cab. Luckily my roommate had written down what I need to say to the cabbie if I am ever stuck in a pickle and need to get home, 'Daecheong Yuk'. Funny thing, when we finally arrived at my stop I went to pay him and didn't have enough cash because there was such and insane amount of traffic the fare ended up being quite a bit more than I had anticipated. Luck was on my side again though, he gladly accepted my credit card. Whew! I got home at like 10pm.

Welcome to SLP.

2009-06-15T17:08:00.000-07:00

Monday was my first day of school. It was long. The school is a 'hogwan', hogwans are private schools. My school is called SLP which stands for Sogang Language Program. There are hogwans all over the place, many of the children go to several hogwans every day. They go to public school for the first half of the day and then they come to the language school, or they might go to some other hogwans for music (piano, violin etc.), math or science, taekwondo... whatever. You name it, there is probably a hogwan for it. These kids never get a break, they are learning around the clock and on top of that, they get a truckload of homework. Sometimes the parents even ask for more homework! While the Koreans clearly have an obsession with education, they are crazy about studying and learning English. Anyways... back to SLP... All the teachers seem really nice and the kids are sooooooo cute... the little preschoolers especially. For the first couple of weeks I will be shadowing the teacher that I am going to be replacing, she introduces me to the kids as 'Kelly Teacher', I think thats cute. I'll be teaching 8 40-minute classes on MWF, and 4 80-minute classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The school severs lunch, yesterday's menu included raddish kimchi, korean pancakes, rice and soup, and ham.

Making stuff cute and joyful noises.

2009-06-13T11:30:00.000-07:00

Like always, I was up at like 7 this morning. While I had planned on going out and exploring the city and seeing if I could get my self lost, hopefully snapping a few half decent pictures while wondering aimlessly, I decided to stay in and try to make my ugly room cute. Thank God I brought my favorite green sheets and my blanket because the bedding that they had purchased for me was terrible! It was a purple shade of vomit, yeah I left it in the packaging and stuffed it under the bed. I still need to hang the paper star lights that mom got me, they will definitely add some 'cute'. Yeah, and I need to get some posters or something to cover the hundred-year-old wall paper that is bubbling and peeling from the wall in some areas... I am not complaining. One cool thing, that big window is like a sliding door and goes out to a little balcony. Kinda nice. There's these big trees just outside my window, one of which resembles a Bonsai. At the foot of my bed is a wardrobe, nothing special, I really had to work my magic to get all of my clothes to fit in the dumb thing. A couple of makeshift shelves and some creative ingenuity was all it took. Yeah, so its crazy noisy around here. Not the kind of noise you are probably thinking of, not city noises. You'd think the sound of honking horns, trains and traffic would be the background music to life in a city like Seoul. Well I must have gotten lucky because I am tucked away in a special place where there happen to be like a bazillion kids who like to play and scream from dawn to dusk. Saturday afternoon naps - out of the question. I am not complaining though. Most of these joyful noises come from the park that is a stone's throw away from my bedroom. I like that little park, it is quaint, clean and filled with trees.

Things.

2009-06-13T10:58:00.001-07:00

Some things that I brought: 1) Favorite blanket. 2) iPod with lots of new music on it that I got from Cass and Derek: Department of Eagles, CocoRosie, Stars, Built to Spill, St. Vincent, Sky Larkin, White Rabbits, Alela Diane, Wolf Parade, Grizzly Bear, Caribou ... 3) Laptop. 4) Bible. 5) Canvas bag for groceries. 6) Jet-lag stuff that mom got me. 7) Passport & Visa. 8) Disinfectant wipes to protect me from the swine flu. 9) Favorite pic of mom & dad. 10) Korea rough guide. 11) Favorite Party Lite candles to cover any stinkiness. 12) Vitamins. 13) Chucks & Asics - the comfiest tennies ever! 14) Stationary so I can pretend that I am actually going to write to people when I know that in reality I wont. 15) Pic of me and my favorite girls. 16) Harmer book on how to teach English - just in case I forget what I am doing. 17) Pretty paper lights that mom got me in China Town San Fran. 18) A Korean phrase book & dictionary that tells you how to say stuff in Korean. For example, 'Are you gay?' = dohng-suhng-yuh-neh-jah-seh-yo. 19) Penelope Heart clock that Sandy got for me. 20) Lint roller.

Hello SK.

2009-06-13T09:34:00.000-07:00

Arrived to Incheon airport about 7pm (Korean time). Took a bus into Seoul finally ended up at my apartment around 9pm. Things learned during that 2 hours: 1) If you are one of those people who talks about how Asians are terrible drivers, you have seen nothing. My cab was nearly run off the road like a dozen times during the 20 minute drive from the bus stop to the apartment. Oh and on one of the main street corners there is a sign that resembles a scoreboard but rather that keeping score of goals or touchdowns it keeps a daily score of car accidents in the city and deaths that resulted from car accidents. Score as of 10am this morning: 107 accidents, 0 deaths. Apparently Seoul carries the trophy for insane amounts of car accidents. I no longer want to get a scooter. 2) The largest bill that they have in Korean currency is like $10 (10,000 won). I took 7 crisp Benjamins to the currency exchange before leaving the airport and walked away with the fattest wad of cash that my little hand had ever held, over a hundred bills. I felt so rich! 3) I'll be able to stash all the cash that I would usually have to put towards the 'tip'. You do not have to and are not expected to tip here in SK. Its a beautiful thing. Didn't have to tip the cabbie, and if I want to go out to eat or have a pedicure, or have some food delivered I can do it all and not have to tip anyone! I'll stash my 'would be tip money' for when Dee and I go to Easter Island. 4) McDonald's does delivery.

When I got to the apartment my internal reaction to my new housing was a clear indication that my expectations were far higher that they should have been. This is something that I do to myself often, expect way more than is realistic... from people, out of circumstances, just in general. I need to drop the bar a few notches, start having expectations that fall more in the range of 'sub-par' rather than extraordinary... probably experience less let downs that way. I have been accused (particularly by my sister) of having a tendency to complain, so I am going to say no more with regards to my new housing. I am thankful that I have this fine roof over my head, and running water. In the pic, my place is in the building to the left with the blue ghetto gate. Ya know, when all is put into perspective, this whole thing really is a good gig, even if you have to run the risk of having to live in some ghettoish apartment for a year. Its FREE! You work and make money, get free living, and get the opportunity to travel and meet lots of interesting people. I have a roommate, she is nice :) and there are a handful of other teachers from our school that live very close. After I got to the apartment some of the teachers invited me to go out with them. It was fun, I had some Korean beer, it was good. Lori bought me some of Aloe juice and 'Mr. You' cookie things. The cookies were good, haven't opened the aloe stuff yet. I am not very adventurous when it comes to food. I have a feeling that this will be forced out of me.

Night at the Theatre

2009-01-12T15:27:00.000-08:00

Night at the Theatre.
Marcela (she is one of our students), Jenny, Me, Kate and Lucia

Another helpful sign pointing me in the right direction when I am lost.

Its cold outside

2009-01-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

Today it was -6 outside. I know that -6 isn't that cold compared to some places but when you have to walk three quarters of a mile in it (to school in the morning and then home after dark) and the snow is falling it starts to feel just a little chilly. I think that I may need to consider buying a warmer coat this weekend.

Yesterday night I taught my first class. The students are between the ages of 20 and 50. They have English classes 4 nights a week and are very dedicated to learning the language. The class that I taught was pre intermediate (the lowest level). This does not mean that they come to the classroom speaking only their native tongue and expect me to teach them English from scratch, which would be virtually impossible considering the fact that I do not speak a word of Czech. They all speak some English, many of them have been taking English classes for several years. I really admire their dedication and motivation. Many of the students are adults who have families to care for and full-time jobs, there are some single mothers and several young adults who are currently studying at the university. Next week I will teach again on Monday and then again unsupervised on Tuesday. The following week I will move to a different class that is more advanced. This is a picture of the street just outside of the school.

Prague’s architecture spans thousands of years. There are fabulous buildings intermingled throughout the city in Medieval, Baroque and Renaissance styles and are in various colors.

Prague Castle, its the largest ancient castle in the world.

Me. On the Charles Bridge, Prague Castle behind in the background.

First Day of TEFL

2009-01-06T09:09:00.000-08:00

Started my course on Monday (yesterday), it already feels like it has been two weeks... not two days. They definitely utilize every minute of the time that they have with us. We start class at 10 on most days and get home around 6pm. There will be a few longer days that will go 'till 8pm. Today we started to learn Gaelic and will continue with lessons in the Irish language for about four weeks. The lesson was only one hour long, but the instructor spoke only in Gaelic. It was interesting. On Thursday I will be teaching for the first time. I will be working with a class of intermediate level Czechs that come to the school to learn English. The class will be anywhere from 12 to 20 students and I will have to spend 45 minutes with them teaching on a specific topic, which will be assigned to me by one of my instructors. I am nervous.

Walking to school in the snow.

These are my flatmates. From Left: Maria is from Greece, Me, Katie is from the UK, Kate is from Florida and there is Jenny (she's taking the pic), she is also from the UK. The rest of our class mates are staying in another flat across the river. They are from the US and Germany.

After the first day of class the school (Trinity College) took all of us out to a local pub for drinks. We spent a few hours getting to know our instructors as well as the other trainees. Everyone talked about where they want to go and what they want to do once they have completed the course. The pubs are all pretty much the same from what I have seen so far. You can get a soup, entree and a beer for 120 czk, which is a good price (I guess)...? People drink LOTS of beer (when dining out, beer costs less than water) and smoke a lot of cigarettes. Every time that we go out to eat I come home wreaking of smoke. Its yucky and makes me wish that I brought some Fabreeze. We have a washing machine but no dryer, apparently electric dryers haven't exactly made their way over into these parts yet. I have been told that only one in a few people have them. So I will be hanging my clothes to dry.

The Eight Hour Tour

2009-01-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

This is a cute little hotel that is just down the way from me. Places like this are everywhere. I took this picture the day after New Years while walking home after a six hour guided walking tour which turned into an eight hour wandering tour for me. That's what I get for being nice and taking pictures of all the tourists for them. I swear, these people want their picture taken in front of anything that they are physically capable of standing in front of. While standing in the snow with half a dozen digital cameras in my hands and a group of giddy travelers posing in front of a rock or something I was abandoned by my tour group & guide. I did manage to navigate my way back home, and thankfully, I only spent about one hour walking in the wrong direction. It was the best walking tour ever!

Here are some other pics that I took while wandering.

A theatre in south Bohemia. If ever in the mood for live Gypsy music and dancing this is the place to go. Note to self: Marionette Theatre - must go. After all, my grandma always told me that I am part Gypsy.

Wenceslas Square

Ah yes, this is the statue where I photographed the giddy travelers. Statues & fountains like this are everywhere.

This Mosaic is above the main entrance of The Municipal Building in Prague. It was designed by artists Osvald Polivka and Antonin Balšánek (1903-11).

Cool.

8 Benediktska, Prague 1

2009-01-04T13:52:00.000-08:00

This is the view from my bedroom window. My flat is at the top of a 5 level building. At the street level are shops. Below us there is a bicycle shop, Old Prague Hostel, a cafe, a music store and a pub, of course. There are coffee shops around every corner, and for every coffee shop there is at least two bars. I am just a couple blocks south of Old Town Square, the location couldn't be better.