Just a typical Monday

Mondays are usually my long day I'm at school by 8:05 because I have to be on the school English broadcast by 8:25am. Honestly I am usually typing out my book to read right before I go downstairs for it. This week I'd gotten everything done the week before so I was ready when I ran to the broadcast room at 8:20. I got there and the four students who usually run things were trying to set up. They'd had a few mistakes the last couple of weeks so I was going over things with them that might need to get checked. Then I started to read. The announcer was next to me and asking for a pen so while I was reading I quickly handed it to her. Then one of the 6th grade boys who is the president of the student body was acting silly on the other side of the camera trying to make me laugh. About the time the Third Billy Goat Gruff went across the bridge I had the two announcers both petting my hair cause they liked the curls. I somehow managed to get through the rest of the broadcast without losing it. There was one swift kick under the desk at one of the students petting my hair.
After the broadcast I come back to the English Center where I planed my lessons for the day with Miss. Kim. It was an easy lesson for the sixth grade so not much to worry about. We taught the three classes and nothing to strange happened, just the usual student antics. One of the classes got punished because they think they are the worst class. They are going to be better this month we hope because if they aren't they get to do a whole period of squats and chanting that they are the best class.
Lunch was the usual collection of young students really excited to see me and talk and older students trying to be cool.
Back in my office once more I was visited by three 6th grade girls who practice their English by helping me practice my Korean. They went over my homework for Korean class and then talked with me in English about Pepero day which is Wednesday.
I then had 2 periods to plan a lesson for the teachers. I used the books the school has assigned and came up with a short lesson that should have been relatively straight forward and easy. Of course nothing goes as planned. The class was to start at 3:30 and go for 20 minutes. My part got started around 4:00 and lasted till 4:20. My regular Miss Kim was out at a training so I got my old Miss Kim to translate for me. This lesson is done in front of the principal, Vice principal, head teachers and basically the whole faculty of the school.
The first round of giggles started when I made the comment that I really liked the next saying. It was "Are there any tickets available on the Monday morning flight to Atlanta?" I swear it was in the book and I didn't change it at all. Miss Kim turned and looked at me with wide eyes going Why?!? Do you like that! All the other teachers were partially confused because they don't all remember I'm from Atlanta. I said don't worry I'm not going to go home right now. I just like the idea of it. She then had to fill in everyone. Who started laughing at the idea that I was going to take off for home.
The next dialog I was teaching talked about wanting to take a trip to swim at the beach. I'd spent 30 minutes one day after school helping my translator for the day practice the right way to say "Bitch" (she'd been watching too much gossip girl.) So when we got to the line and all the teachers and principal said Beach as Bitch... there was laughter. Miss Kim then had to explain that this was one of those words where one letter mispronounced could make a HUGE difference. Of course in the middle of this one of the older female teachers who I really respect busted out with "OH! Son of a BITCH! Asah!" She had made the connection very loudly... and anyone who wasn't laughing before was then. I had to have them practice saying both words so they could hear and feel the difference in saying both of them. By the time I headed home at 4:30 I was exhausted. Having a cold, teaching, and trying to keep both students and teachers interested in English all day can be exhausting.

Love Motels

From Busan with Desi

If you travel enough in Korea you will eventually stay in a "Love Motel" I just hadn't had the guts to do it yet. Mainly due to the stereotypes I had about them. I guess I should give a little background here. Koreans live with their families till they get married, unless they get into one of the SKY colleges (Big universities in Seoul.) So if they want to have sex outside of marriage or just before they get married they have devised many places to have a little privacy to do so. They have DVD bangs, which are rooms with huge padded sofas and big movie screens so you can either a) watch a movie or b) cuddle in private with your special someone. Then they have Love motels where pretty much all pretense of doing anything other than having sex is given up. They are designed for anonymity. Garages and parking lots have curtains or barriers up so that you can't recognize the cars that might be parked there. You check in and pay in cash through a small window so your face can't really be seen. There is a light up board with pictures of the rooms available and you choose your number pay the money and they hand you a key and toothbrushes.

From Busan with Desi

The rooms are pretty nice but you know they are designed with one thing in mind. Huge beds, nice tvs, large spa tubs and showers, and a selection of condoms and porn on the tv.
Desi and I stayed in one in Busan this weekend right near the beach, it was cheap, clean, and thankfully fairly sound proof once we closed the second set of doors. Since we were only going down for one night and most of the hotels in the area where we were spending most of our time cost over 200,000\ a night. A love motel at 120,000\ was a pretty good deal since it was less than a block from the beach. I may crash at a few more of them in the future, purely to save money and they are fairly nice so long as they have good sound proofing so you don't hear your neighbors all night.

It's my parents and National Geographic's Fault

I haven't fallen off the face of the earth but I have been very busy recently. Along with my regular teaching and trying to make sure I see my friends here in Daegu, I've been planning. Well, really planning, plotting, saving, reading, researching, and trying to make some general plans for this coming winter break.  So where am I headed?
I leave New Years day for Beijing, China. It's a short 3 day 2 night tour but it covers the highlights.  I'm going with a good friend here who will probably head home next fall,  we wanted to do a big trip together before then.  I've wanted to go to the Great Wall since I was in Elementary school. I would sit and read and look at the pictures in my parents National Geographics and think that I'd really like to see that but probably never would. Heck, I didn't really like the stir-fry when Mom made it so how would I survive traveling in a country where that was like most of what they ate. UGH! YUCK!! Not for me. Of course I grew up and I've discovered they eat a lot of different things and stir- fry is not the only thing.  Of course when I was in seventh or eight grade... I can't remember which I just remember it was Social Studies with Mrs. Grierson. We talked about China and the riots in Tienanmen Square.  I still had that hang up about the food but, kept thinking that would be so amazing to see.  So now it's twenty years later and I just paid for my trip to Beijing. I'm actually going to see those things I sat and dreamed about when I was about 10 years old. Some of the people I've talked to about this have been going... um it's two months out... if you're this excited now you're going to be bouncing off the inside of the plane when the time gets here.  I know... I'm working on trying to stay focused on work and not build it up too much... but the inner 10 year old is winning some days.

I'm also taking a second trip in mid or late January not sure which thanks to having to wait on my winter camp assignments from the DMOE. This one is more my Mom's fault. Around the time I started getting really burned out teaching in Atlanta, she handed me a book "Eat, Pray, Love" told me she thought I'd like it.  What came from it is another little kernel of a dream to travel to Bali. Add in a couple of years of cold weather and craving a beach and warmth in the middle of winter and you have my second destination this winter.  I'll be there for around a week and try to see a good chunk of the island and relax and get ready for the new school year with a new co-teacher.

Along with those two big trips I've been doing short trips to Busan and Seoul, trying to soak up as much as I can in short periods of time. This weekend I'm going to Busan on a "Girls Weekend" with Desi, since she'll be heading back to Atlanta for good in February. Hopefully the weather holds and we get sun and maybe something warmer than the 55 degrees it's been averaging most of this week.

I'm a conservative?

I get some interesting information some days by just sitting around forcing the Korean teachers to speak in English. Yesterday afternoon I was eating cake and talking to Sunny. We were talking about Halloween coming up and what I was going to do for it this year. I said as much as I love Halloween in the states, really wasn't planning on joining in on any of the craziness this year here. I knew there are things planned here, but after last year I realized that it probably wasn't the best idea. She asked me why I said that. I explained that I'd realized it really didn't help the cause of foreign teachers here to dress up and act foolish. That it just gives people a bad idea about us.

She then quickly looked up a word in Korean online and then said that I must be really conservative. I almost snorted my coffee out my nose. I explained that no I really wasn't conservative but I realized that I had to act more conservative here so that I could be respected.  She said I was well liked by all the other teachers because I acted respectful of their culture.

I started thinking last night about how much I hide here. I don't just hide the big things but there are little things I change. I don't do it to be deceitful but I know that if they knew everything about me their opinion of me would change drastically.  I know I'm not conservative but I know I act like one in someways here just so that I can be respected. Its one of the prices I pay to make sure that I'm seen as a real teacher not just a dancing monkey that most foreigners are seen as.

ok time to go teach...  will work on this more later

The Best Job in the World.

My favorite co teacher is taking an English discussion course this fall. So of course I offered to help her with her homework and anything else I could do to make it a little easier on her. Yesterday's topic was the Best job in the world. I quickly threw out that I knew I had it. She was like "WHa?!?" I said I know I did... but then again it might just be the best job for me. This then followed with a mixture of discussion about why I loved it.
I started listing the reasons. 1. I get to travel and live in another country while getting paid for it. 2. I get to work with children which means I get to act like a kid about 75% of the time. 3. I have all the respect and perks of being a teacher with about a third of the paperwork I would have in the US. 4. I have a good schedule and a decent amount of time off.

About half way through she was agreeing with me. I do have the best job in the world. I told her my theory that if you don't like your job either you're in the wrong job or you're working in the wrong place. I'm wondering how the class went. I'm sure we'll talk about it a bit this morning as we get ready for to teach the 5th graders.

Diffrences between Teaching in the US and Korea

Today has been one of those surreal sort of days. I was giving the practice golden bell quiz to the 5th grade. The schedule had been changed cause the 5th grade also was getting their yearly sex talk. I taught two periods of 5th then my one period of first graders. We were working on parts of the body because they are starting the clinic zone. The plan called for the students to label a cut out of a little boy and say the parts of the body. So I had kids coming up and sticking the labels on. This one little girl got up and stuck the label on for Arm. Then proudly turned around and shouted ARSE! The whole class responded "ARSE!" I somehow managed not to start giggling and then said arM! and the class after 2 more rounds of listen and repeat figured out it was an arM not and arse.
The next period it was back to the 5th grade. One of the boys, who actually is rather smart and good at English, decided while Sunny was out wrangling other students to draw an anatomically correct penis and testicles and label them. After he drew them he then turned his white board to me and asked if it was right.
I think the second he saw my face he knew he was in trouble... I told him to erase it and we'd talk about it after class. I sat down with him and explained that he was in trouble and that for a change I was going to punish him US style not Korean style. (Koreans still use corporal punishment.) He has to over night copy a poem in English 4 times. I gave him "A Picture Puzzle Piece" by shel silverstien to copy. Hopefully that will keep the drawings at bay. He actually came back after school to get the poem cause of course I don't keep things like that ready.

It's been a long day of having to really tighten down on the students. Hopefully the 6th grade boys being kicked out of the English Center except for class for 2 weeks will get them back in line.

Cheusock can not get here fast enough. I'm ready for a long weekend of travel with friends.

Perfect weekend back in Korea.

Round trip ticket to Busan = 32,000 won
Motel for the night= 39,000 won
Drinks, dinner, cab fare= 28,000 won
Playing 6 degrees of separation with a group of Lesbians in Korea and finding less than 1 degree using friends back home = PRICELESS!!!!


Went down to Busan on Saturday and spent the afternoon, evening, wee hours of the morning with an amazing group of women. I'm going to have to make sure I can make it to a few more of these weekends. Not a hook up group just like minded women hanging out and having fun. It was exactly what the doctor ordered. I'm now back in Daegu and getting ready to go do some shopping for the new place and I'm completely relaxed and grounded for the first time in what feels like forever.

I'm probably going to crash hard later today but it was completely worth it.

New place... no more showering with the washing machine.

Here is a short Photo tour of my new place... staying on a second year does have it's perks.

I now have an electric lock on my door. I just have to remember the combination when it's time to get in.


Inside the door I now have a shoe closet so it doesn't look like a centipede lives in my place. I'm really enjoying these and might want them in whatever place I land next.

I have a much nicer Kitchen. The big black box over the sink is a dish drier/ sanitizer. Hopefully I'll figure out how to use it properly soon.

View from the doorway through the kitchen, through the bedroom, to the porch/ laundry area. The bathroom is on the left hand side.


My very blue bathroom, I like it except it's so dark that I have to be very careful if the lights aren't on.


View from my window. It's nice and in the evening I can here the call to meditation from the temple. The tree below my window is a persimmon tree. I'm hopeful I'm not allergic to it.

Counting Down

I've been trying to keep it to a minimum but with tomorrow making it one week till I take off on a plane to the US, it's not easy. A week from today I will finish my last English camp and hop on a train to Seoul, then take the subway to Incheon, crash for the night in a hotel, and then grab a plane to Tokoyo and then on to Atlanta. To say I'm excited is an understatement. I'm ready to see my friends and family. It's been 11 months. Have things changed in the last 11 months, yes. But it will be good to see everyone.
I was thinking last night as I was eating a yummy bowl of bibimbap and some gu mandu that, I've come a long way. When I got here I had no clue how to order food in Korean. Much less what anything was. Now I can order food and know what I'm ordering. I also have made new friends, done some things I never would have thought about doing before, and generally had a good year.

I no longer feel like beating my head against the wall when I get told things that would have seemed totally asinine if I was in the US. For example, last week I was chatting with my co-teacher Sunny and we were talking about what needed to get done when I get back from the US. She said, she had bad news from the VP. I have to be in quarantine in my apartment when I get back. I can't go to school on that Wednesday like planned. Why? you ask. Because they are afraid I will be bringing Swine flu back with me. Now I might have been offended, if it was just me, but anyone, teachers or students, who go overseas during the vacation can't come back to school till they have been in Korea for at least 4 days. That gives me plenty of time to get over my jet lag. The nice and sweet part of this is that Sunny was mad cause she said she's going to miss me and want to see me after my vacation, she doesn't want to have to wait for the quarantine period.

I'm sure some of my vocabulary has changed. I have a bad feeling I'm going to answer someone in Korean when I first get home. I've just gotten in the habit when it's easy questions of just using Korean to make things easier and clear for the Koreans I'm around. I'm fairly sure I will answer some question I've been asked with a "Nay!" not a "Yes." My newest muttering of "I-go" will get some strange looks where as it is normal here. My "oye!" has slowly been changing. They are little things that I have noticed I picked up but they don't surprise me here. But the strangeness of them in Atlanta will be a bit of a shock.

I'm sure I will be having reverse culture shock. I'll probably bow at someone, yell out Anyoung haseo as I walk into a store. Things that are normal and expected here, but never done at home.

I also know, but I'm not sure how it will feel, that people and things at home have changed also. There has been a year of events, relationships, growth, etc. That has happened while I've been gone. It's tough to think about how my relationships with my friends are going to be different, I'm just visiting this trip. I no longer live there. My home, is in Daegu.

There will be questions about how many more years are you going to be in Korea? Answer: I don't know. Do I have my future planned out right now... nope. I just know that I've signed a contract saying that I will be teaching for the DMOE for the next year. I'm fine with that plan. But I know others will be interested in answers I don't have yet.

It's not time to worry yet....

I've been jokingly asking Sunny since the first rumblings with North Korea started and she said don't worry about it. It's not a big deal. So every time something happens I ask her "Is it time to worry yet?" She always says "No, don't worry." Today at lunch I was eating with the 6th grade teachers and Sunny and I said ok I'm asking with everyone here. I then prefaced the question with there is a lot of coverage in the US papers and International news about North Korea doing things. After the missiles this weekend "Am I allowed to worry yet? I know my mom is worried and I'm going to have 3 weeks at home dealing with my mom worried about it." They all said nope. We'll tell you when it's time to worry. So then it was follow up question time. So if everyone else is worried how come you aren't worried? We're not worried cause we have the US Army here. Why would any one attack us when we have your army here? I was like... hold it. All of your men have to do military service and yet you are counting on the US Army? Yup.
Then they changed the topic. It was interesting. But as I've said before to people it's not time to worry. The South Koreans don't think it's a big deal so, all of us over here really aren't worrying.

Food thoughts

After being here almost a year I've discovered a few things. Firstly my taste in food has expanded and changed. Over the last week I've tried a few new things and eaten somethings that I've learned I love. I"m sure my mother will have a small heart attack reading this next bit but. When I was at the Organic, Vegetarian, Korean buffet with some of the other teachers and the principal and VP I found and dug into one of the traditional foods I've developed a taste for. They are a type of mushroom that are cooked in a tempura batter and then covered with a sort of sweet and sour sauce. I also ate quite a few other mushroom dishes. There are so many different types of mushrooms here that I'm learning to like them. `I'm still not a fan of the plain old mushrooms that are slimy and everywhere in the US.

I've also developed a taste for this soybean and red pepper paste that is a main stay of Korean cooking. I've been really lucky. In recent weeks thanks to the cafetria being under construction I've been bringing my lunch. I've also been invited out to lunch or invited to have lunch with a couple of different grades. 6th grade took me out for noodles one rainy afternoon. They were wonderful but burnt the heck out of my mouth they were so hot. This past week one of the 1st grade teachers made Sunny and I lunch. It was wonderful. It was 2 different types of rice, the soybean/pepper paste, chicken, lettuce wraps, and homemade Kimchi, a cucumber and some red spice salad. It was wonderful. There has been a lot of talk around the school about how "Korean" I am. I was given a great complement by the Vice Principal she said I must have been Korean in the past because I have done so well at picking up customs and taking to the food.

I should probably talk a little about the soybean/ red pepper paste. When I first got here I could only tolerate a very little bit of it. Now I love the stuff. I slather it on when I have BBQ. I also have bought some to have a home to make a meal of it's wonderful.

This was dinner tonight, lettuce, rice and the paste. It's all that's needed. I'm wondering how my new taste buds are going to react to eating food back in the US. Are things that used to be too spicy be bland now? Is my body going to react well to the switch back to American food for 3 weeks? Just things I'm thinking about right now.

Shoes and Socks!

Guess it's time for a cultural interlude. In Korea, like may Asian countries. You take your shoes off when you go inside many places. At school every morning my first stop is the shoe cabinet for teachers. Inside sit in nice neat rows the slippers or shoes for all the teachers at the school. I pull off my tennis shoes and slip on a pair of slippers and then head up stairs. Meanwhile the students go in two side doors where they take their school slippers out of the shoe bags they carry every day and put them on. Then they put their tennis shoes or whatever they are wearing in the bag. When they get outside the classroom there are rows of shelves where they line up their shoe bags. They wear their slippers all day with the exceptions of in a few classrooms. The English Center is one of those exceptions. Because the students sit on the floor they take off their slippers at the door. They then are supposed to line them up against the wall. They don't always get them perfect but since it has been part of the class score in the English center, they are getting better at it.
I've talked to a couple of students and they were telling me that if they wear their shoes inside at home their parents get really angry at them. They were asking me why we don't take our shoes off in the US. I said I think the difference is that our floors aren't heated.
One by product of all this time spent in slippers or without shoes on is that the socks here are really fancy. I have acquired a few pairs of fun socks while I've been here. I have a pair of Mickey Mouse ones that even have little ears that stick out. I also have a pair of Starbucks socks (copyrights aren't really respected here). The best pair I have so far are a pair I don't wear at school. I found some Obama socks the other day that I've been debating picking up and bringing home with me. You can find anything on socks. Most socks for kids are band members, cartoons, sports people, or just whatever current trend is going on. Adults tend towards simple patterns or plain. I figure I can always play the crazy American card and go for a mix of fun and plain socks at work most of the time.

Korean Queer Cultural Festival

Adventures in Korean communication

Cellphones are everywhere in Korea, if you don't have one you are way behind and will probably get laughed at. I've had a phone here since I got here but it was a "pay-as-you-go" phone. Which meant that every month I had to hike down the street to a store and hand over some won to make sure it kept working. Occasionally I'd go through the won on my phone quicker than expected and suddenly I'd be without a phone. It happened at odd times. Usually while I was out of town or even on a weekend when I couldn't go add minutes so I was not accessible on a weekend. I have enough ways to get in touch with people it wasn't really a big deal for me except when I was out of Daegu and trying to meet up with people. My cellphone was in the name of a nice Korean guy who owns a cellphone store at the corner. I started talking to Sunny about her helping me get a phone in my name. She was more than willing and we took off from school one afternoon to visit a couple of stores in the area and get me a phone in my name that would direct bill from my bank account. We walked into 3 stores and they would be friendly but say nope we don't have the right type of phone to let a foreigner have. I was like is it because they are in Korean? Nope. Is it because they are afraid we will leave the country and not pay our bills. (well maybe.) Nope. If you want a phone in the name of a non Korean here. It can't shoot video. This is in a country where cellphones can be used to pay for everything from subways to food. You can listen to music, watch tv, play games, everything on the cellphones. But they lock them down so that foreigners can't use all the features. We eventually had to take a bus downtown and ended up with the phone in Sunny's name but auto-pay from my bank account.
It's just another reminder of how things work over here.

Kidnapping at my school

I waited to write about this till things have finally settled down about this here. About two weeks ago now I started hearing strange announcements during the school day. Sunny told me that one of the 3rd graders hadn't made it to school and the principal wanted to know if anyone knew anything about it. At the end of the class day the students all went home but the teachers walked around the area trying to find him. Around 4:30 when I go home I was walking down wondering what was going on and I found out that the student had escaped from where his hands, feet, mouth and eyes had been tapped and he'd been put in an abandoned house in another part of Daegu. The boy's father had been called for a ransom but the student had escaped and been heard by a neighbor and they got him to the police. He was back in school two days later but they still hadn't found the kidnapper. So for about a week I walked to school past crowds of police both in uniform and out. It was a little crazy. I know that the only reason I wasn't stared at harder was that every morning I'd walk with some students and they always came running at me and yelling my name.. so it filtered through the police ranks that I was the English teacher at the school so I wasn't a threat to the kids.
I heard yesterday that they finally caught the guy in Busan. I guess he'd run to a family members house. Through the whole thing I was thinking that I really hadn't appreciated amber alerts and such much till now. Cause there are no systems like that in place here in Korea.
I'm just glad the kid is back safe and sound with no major injuries. (though that is a relative statement cause I've got 3 students with casts on right now.) But he's actually really good no injuries and back happy and talkative in class.

Been Slammed

Not sure where to start. There has been a lot going on over here. I've been grappling with getting to know the kids better and running head long into some of the same things I found in Atlanta. Kids learn what they see around them so if all they see are negative images of people other than Koreans they are going to pick them up. I had a child tell me that she likes Africans cause they are made of chocolate. I'm not sure if that is just the color she knows their skin is or if someone unthinking said that and it stuck with her. I showed her some pictures of my old students and she was trying told me they were all chocolate. It was then followed by a conversation about why their hair was in braids. I've been talking to a friend here who has it worse. His students pull on his skin and say "Yo, Man!" in greeting because that's what they see.

Then I have the joy of listening to and judging speech contests. I really hate that I feel like some of the kids got an unfair advantage because their homeroom teachers came to me and asked me to edit their speeches. Which I did happily. The ones who didn't had potential but the English was so bad it took away from their over all scores. I'm taking time these days to work with the students more on finding a rhythm and tone in how they speak. It's interesting to see the kids realize without fully understanding my words that you don't yell when you are asking someone for directions so it makes sense to speak in a normal voice while practicing. Some days teaching here is easy and fun others it's painful. Overall I love my students and I really enjoy working with them. The current class of 6th graders are really getting comfortable with me so they come in to my office and hang out and talk with me. The only downside of this is I'm picking up more and more Kpop references. I now can throw out singer and band references at them and cut them off before they start singing things like Super Junior at me.
I thought American kids were good little consumers but these Korean kids have them beat. They can rattle off cellphone ads, chicken ads, you name it. They also can do all the dances that go with the songs on command (I just had 3 girls doing the dance to that video in my office when they heard it playing.)

Time to get back to teaching... I'm staying in Daegu this weekend to go to a festival downtown and catch up on sleep. Next weekend I'm headed to Seoul. I'm going to really miss being able to hop on a train anytime I want to get anywhere when I go back to the States.

Lotus Lantern Festival in Seoul

Sports day in Pictures

Korean Questions

There are certian questions Koreans always ask. They know that they aren't proper questions in other places but here they are. So as I was sitting at the accupuncturists on thursday afternoon. He was examining my ankle and heel and making small talk. He asked "I know you must get asked this all the time but, are you married?" My standard reply no, I'm not. A little while later after he'd put 6 needles in my ankle he started asking me about what exercise I do and did I know fleps? huh? Phelpsa? Ah... yes Micheal Phelps. Typical Korean pronunciation with an added vowel. It comes from how Hangul is written and spoken. It makes much more sense to me now that I've been studying Korean.
Then after twisting the needles and checking them. Every time he'd go out turn the lights off in the room, I'd hear him talking to the other doctor and nurse in Korean. He'd come back in with another set of questions. I started getting the feeling that even though his English is good he was going out and discussing my answers with the other doctor and looking up words to ask me another set of questions.
The last time he came in for my foot he took out the needles and asked if he could give me a treatment for my shape as service. For those of you who don't know service here is when you get something for free. So he wanted to stick me with another set of needles for free. I was like ok why not. Then he asks so what shape is your sister? I was like...um.. I don't have one. I have a brother. He's tall and thin like my father. He was then like what shape is your mother. Oh.. my mom... she's short and round. He palpitates my stomach and then pulls out the longest needle I've seen yet it was probably 5 inches long but as thin as fishing line. I got 4 of those in my stomach. Two on each side. I really find it funny. The doctor says I'm fat and gives me a free treatment to try and fix that. The school lunch ladies say I'm getting to skinny and need to eat more. Not sure which it is... but hey if the needles work I'm willing to go with it.
Anyway you put it my heel is feeling a bit better and the doctor is nice and it's not too expensive to go in and see him I'll go back on Monday for another round on my foot.

Bullying in schools

This post isn't about Korea. It's about the load of bull that is being talked about at home. I know the programs that Dekalb county says they are using. I know about teachers and administrators SAYING that they have a zero tolerance. Note I said saying. Their actions speak much louder. I taught at schools were a copy of the Anti bulling law was posted in the classrooms. I have seen teachers and principals give lip service to the idea that they will put a stop to the bulling. I've also seen those same teachers and principals say things about gays and boys who might be slightly effeminate. I've watched them turn their backs when those students get teased. The facts are that there is a lot of lip service in the US education system and not much really happening about it in the lower grades. Once it becomes uncool in rap music and pop culture to say things are Gay then it won't be the trend so much in schools. However what get's taught at home both good and bad will come into the schools. The raising of kids to day is the job of both the parents and the teachers. But sometimes its being done by neither.

When in Korea....

I hurt my heel probably a month ago. It didn't hurt except when I stood on it for long periods of time or walked a lot. I finally figured that it was time to do something about it. I talked to my Dad and he said western medicine the best I could hope for was a shot or cortisone or some pain medicine. I was like I've been popping Advil for weeks. That's not going to cut it. I'd heard a few teachers over here talk about going to get acupuncture. Why not I figured... how bad could it really be. A few needles in my foot or something. Eh, I could take it. So I walked into school and asked Miss Kim to help me find a Chinese Doctor to try it for my heel. We found a place after school today. The doctor actually spoke pretty good English. He did an ultrasound on my heel and there was nothing wrong with the bone. He checked a few things out. Then he said I needed to get a little acupuncture. I was like ok.
I was lead into another room where he stuck a bunch of needles in my heel. Then he played with them and it was like HOLY CRAP!!!! THat HURTS! About 15 minutes later he pulled them out and handed me something to drink. The first sip wasn't bad. Tasted sort of like molasses. Then as I continued to drink the liquid. It went from not bad to oh my lord that's nasty. Then he told me I had to take more of it after the next two meals.
We'll see how it goes I figure give it 24 hours and if I feel better. I'm supposed to go back on Thursday for another treatment.

Spring has Sprung!

I've been busy the last few weeks with traveling to Suwon and keeping up with things down here in Daegu. My school is full of fun moments the current amusement is the students and teachers all practicing for Sports day on May first. From what I've seen of the rehearsals on the field at school I will be dying with laughter before it is over. The whole school does a group exercise that looks like a mix of Tai chi, stretches and tae kwon do.
On Friday I got a Flat Stanley from Kristy who I used to teach with at Benteen. She does the project yearly so I was excited to get to participate finally and be able to share with a few students in the US my experiences over here. I took Stan with me to meet up with Jamari for dinner. He got to see a bit of Downtown Daegu and enjoy a Kraze Burger. I'm going to be taking him around with me for a couple of weeks then I will send him back to Kristi's class with a few things from Korea.
Saturday was Korean class. I'm plodding along in it. I can do somethings pretty well but others I'm having troubles with. I don't really mind that. I've never been great with languages so I'm trying to be forgiving to myself, rather than the usual beating myself but with frustration. After class I took a wander around Daegu to take pictures of some of the spring flowers, and lanterns that are out for the festivals that are coming up.

I should probably mention that I did my renewal application last week. It was fairly easy. I really hope I get to stay here at Boykmyung Elementary. I've really grown to love the students and I enjoy the faculty. They are all trying hard to learn English and I know my struggles with Korean make them feel like I'm really making an effort to understand them better.

Friday Morning Smiles

Not that I wouldn't normally be happy about it being Friday morning. Today my smile was made even bigger by my walk to school. I had just turned the corner where I can see the school and many students walk this same street to school. The new safety guy was standing at the crosswalk, he's an ex VP and watches out for the students as they walk to school since there are no sidewalks most of the way there.
I heard from behind me "O-----y TEEEEEEAAACHHAAAAR!" and the sounds of little feet running. One of the little 3rd graders who loves me had spotted me and wanted to walk to school with me holding my hand. She's pretty fluent in English so she told me that she was sorry she didn't get to have class with me this week. I bowed as we walked past the safety guy who I could tell thought it was funny that this huge American was so loved by the students, and that I was holding this little girls hand. We got to the gate of the school she was joking that my hand was big. I said yes... Teacher's hand is huge. Then she hugged me and ran over to the steps where the students come in and change to their slippers. I also go a chorus from the students standing there of Hello! Hi! OOhh! Teachar!
I do really love my students... they make teaching fun again.

Korean Bullfights

Last weekend I got together with a mixed group of Expats and Koreans. The group had arranged for 2 buses to go to Cheongdo, where there is a bullfighting festival. I got downtown and found the group and hopped a seat on the bus not sure what I was going to see but knowing that it was important for me to try something new. It's been one of the pieces of advice I got before I left home that I've found to be incredibly valuable. It was just to be open to everything. So even though I had heard lots of people going off about how cruel it would be and that it was wrong. I went with open eyes and an open mind.
There were many things that were typical to Korean festivals as I've learned. There are crowds that shove, food stalls, exhibits, bad singers and dancers. I wasn't there for those I wanted to see the action. We walked around before we went into the stadium and I saw where they were keeping the bulls before hand. It looked like a typical barn. Stalls with roofs, animals tied up so they didn't wander too far and lots of handlers making sure the bulls were ready for the fights. I watched for a minute and saw bulls being lead by ropes, and generally it looked like they were well cared for.
Then we walked into the stadium which was packed. We found some seats near the top with good sight lines to the ring.

Then the bulls were lead out and lined up with each other. Usually they weren't too happy about being near another bull so there was some pawing of the ground and snorting. Then the test of wills would start. It wasn't like they were charging each other they just butted heads and pushed against each other till one gave up and walked away. The one who stood their ground won.


It was interesting to see and hear the crowds cheering for bulls and the trainers were in the ring yelling at them like a corner coach would in a human fight. The ref was there to make sure the animals didn't get hurt and declare the winner.
After that the bulls were checked as they left the ring and another pair was lead in. It seemed fairly harmless... like too big jocks trying to get a cheerleader by showing who was stronger.
After we left the festival we went to a wine tunnel that had previously been a Japanese rail tunnel. It was pretty cool. I liked the persimmon wine and then we got to go back in the storage area where people normally aren't allowed. It's a nice sweet but dry white wine.

I picked up a couple of bottles for my apartment... I figure if I ever get visitors over here it'd be nice to have something other than soju to offer them.

Keeping in Touch while in Korea

I had a couple of fun experiences in the last couple of days that show how easy it is if you want to to stay connected while overseas.

First yesterday on the bus I got the urge to write what was happening as I was riding. Then I was like crap I'm just going to have to retype this to get it from my itouch to my computer where I could post it or do something with it. Then I realized I could email from it to my home account. There is enough free wifi if you look for it to do that easily here. So here is a short bit of a typical bus ride for me.
Making friends on the bus.
It's good to let the little bent over old ladies on first. Then get smiles from the nuns as I stand so they can sit. This street is fun Buddhist shops on the right pet shops on the left. Everyone on the bus wondering what I'm doing typing on my itouch just observing the world. Its funny how normal this ride has become used to be in awe the whole way now it's normal to see everyone and the shops. I look out the window and try to practice what I just learned in Korean class and pick out characters from the signs. Still have a long way to go to get to the point where I can read a whole sign.

I also got to see my nephew the other morning as he was climbing and walking around. A web cam and skype makes keeping up with my family pretty easy. I talk to my parents weekly usually and I can call and see my friends back home, so long as I and they both remember that it's a 13 hour time difference.

Then this morning I got up and uploaded pictures and twitterd about my night. I replied to a friends tweet and got a reply to my gmail chat from a text message. I could text her back thanks to gchat being able to chat to cell phones in the US. If I really wanted to I could have then Skyped her and gotten to talk to her directly.

Between Twitter, Skype, Facebook, and my blogs I can keep everyone at home and they in return can keep me up to date with what is going on, with in reason... not everyone needs to know about that night in the norebang with the soju and the crowd of Expats.
Though they happen to all of us over here.

We also have nice nights like this one.

Happy Birthday Jamari!

Someone thought this was a good idea... why?

It's a new semester her at BM (yes those are the initials of my school) Elementary. With it I got a new schedule, new co teachers and new students. As much as I respect and like my principal her latest idea is a bit of a train wreck at the moment. I have sixteen (yeah, you read that right SIXTEEN) co teachers now. That's the main English teacher, plus three 3rd grade teachers, three 5th grade teachers, two 4th grade teachers, two 1st grade teachers, two 2nd grade teachers, and three 6th grade teachers. I respect that every teacher has a different style of teaching, a different level of comfortableness with English, and every class is different. But to juggle that many different styles of teaching is a bit insane. This is the first full week of trying this schedule out. I'm thinking it needs to get a little work done on it. Like can we get one contact person for each grade... so I can do some co teaching and get some sort of plans set up?
So far I've had teachers sit with the students and take the class, hide in another part of my classroom, walk out of the room, attempt to co teach, and actually co teach. The last two are my favorite groups of teachers... well that and the ones who sit with the class and try to learn too. I can handle a class if I know they will at least help out with a few translations and the management.
Old Miss Kim and I had a heart to heart this morning about how I'd really like a contact person on each team... someone who is willing to meet with me once a week to go over plans and talk about how the class is going to run. I'm willing to meet with people after school and practice English with them so they feel more comfortable. Who knows if any of this will happen. I have a feeling that if the principal figures out how unhappy I am things will change a little. I don't want to kill her idea... just let me tweak it a little to make it work. I'm going to give it another week then I have a bad feeling I'm going to have to sit down and talk with my main co teachers Sunny and Miss Kim and maybe the principal about how we can make this work for everyone.
So far my ideas are one contact person per grade.. trying to track down 6 or maybe 7 teachers is a lot easier than 16. After school small group (each grade level even) short English lessons for the teachers. Focus these on whatever dialog is coming up and plans for the next class so we are all on the same page and they feel more confident with what we are doing.
I'm not sure what else I can do but I figure if I give it a real try they can't get too mad at me when I make my decisions about next year in May.

Road Trip to Seoul

Last Saturday, Jamari had to go to Seoul to meet his friend Drew who was coming in from ATL for a visit. We decided to make it into a mini roadtrip with a visit to Seoul Grand park. I admittedly was playing Julie cruise director. I had wanted to go to an Art Museum for awhile and I'd heard the Korean Museum of Contemporary Art was pretty good. The park also has a Korean version of Disney World (Seoul Land) and a Zoo there. Plus it was only a half hour by subway from Seoul Station.
Jamari decided that he'd had enough teasing from me about being late that he showed up for the train 45 minutes early. I got there about 35 minutes early and had grabbed breakfast at the station when we ran into each other. Then it was a 2 hour KTX ride north to a station I've gotten to know very well recently. I really need to find out if there is a frequent rider program for the KTX since I've been on it so much recently.
On the way Desi started calling about joining us. We said we weren't waiting for her she could come and meet us at the park. (yes, we have both learned about waiting around and wasting time here.) So we hopped the subway (thank god it was one of the nicer lines and we had no transfers) and landed at the park. We then walked up to the place where you can get tickets for the tram, chairlift and, zoo.
I don't think I've said much about lines in Korea. If you let there be any space(like 4 inches even) between you and the person in front of you, it's a big enough space someone will slide in front of you. I made it through the line and with my limited Konglish got a set of tickets. Jamari got cut off by an ajshossi. We cleared out a whole section on the tram over to the museum. As much as Seoul is bigger and people there are more used to seeing foreigners it still is a reason for them to stare when you have a big black guy running around with a white girl.

I really enjoyed the museum... I wish I'd been able to take some pictures. There were several levels and we started at the top and worked our way down. The first gallery we went into was of Korean works from the 1920's through the 1970's (I think). Thanks to my recent trip to the DMZ and some of my studying of Korean history to understand that I got some of the pieces that were in there. They did a good job showing how the fracturing of the country and the wars had changed the people during that period. There was a beautiful landscape done by No Soo Hyeon that could have been done in the last few years even in the countryside. I've seen that same scene still playing out as I've traveled around. Then there were pictures of refuge life by Lim Eungsik from the 1950's that were amazing in how they framed the life of the refuges from the North as things were still happening during the Korean War (I think).
As we worked down the levels I got sucked into an exhibit done by a Korean who had fled to South America. His works were an interesting mix of typical Asian styles mixed with Aztec looking symbols.

The last exhibit we went through was current works done by young Korean artists... some were very brutal and I was like, ok I can only take about 2 minutes of that, and moved on. Others were much more peaceful and I could have stood infront of them studying them for much longer. There was one that was titled "Buddha and Jesus Enter the city of Seoul" by Lee Heung Duk that I would have loved to talk to some Koreans about cause I'm sure there are things I missed because I don't have a huge background in Korean pop culture but there was enough that I did get that was an interesting representation of the mix of cultures that are happening in Korea currently.

After we left the museum I took a few shots in the sculpture garden and we headed to the Zoo to meet up with Desi. I'm not sure who was on display at the zoo the animals or us foreigners. It was like we were the exhibit with out cages. I'm sure it is a beautiful zoo in the warmer weather. But the plant life was still a bit dead and some of the exhibits were closed due to construction.
It was a fun afternoon though cause all three of us got to be a bit silly and have fun. We eventually took the chairlift back down the hillside. Jamari is a bit scared of heights of it was fun for Desi and I to tease him since we both had recently rode chairlifts for skiing.
Eventually we met up with Drew after he found his way from the airport and we all hopped the KTX back down to Daegu where I went home and crashed and from the sounds of things they went out and had a rowdy night on the town.

I do have pictures I just need to upload them. So I'll add them in soon... hopefully.

What would you do if you couldn't fail?

I was reading this blog and had one of those ah ha moments. You know the ones, where something hits you smack in the face and you can't go back from the moment something inside you has forever been changed.

I answered the question they asked "What would you do if you couldn't fail?" The answer took me completely off guard. Then I started crying realizing that one of the things I was searching for I'd found. I'm doing exactly what I would do if I couldn't fail. I've always loved teaching and travel. So teaching overseas is the perfect mix. I get to travel, and teach, and really live in another culture and explore it.

I hadn't remembered till I finally got my internet back this morning that everyone back home was off at Sugarland right now. But it did explain a few things when I was reminded of it. Does it change that I am happy being here? nope. I miss those things but overall it doesn't change that I'm happy right where I am. I'm where I belong in the world right now. I ran into one of my students last night walking home. He had the typical reaction OH! O--- teacher! Hello. We talked for a couple of minutes and he told me he was excited for Monday. He's ready for the new school year to start. I am too. Though my internal yearly clock is all screwed up with the sights of new school supplies and stacks of new books are all around. I keep thinking it should be fall, and what happened to summer? That's not how it is here it goes with the seasons and I can understand that. New things start in the Spring like the rebirth of the Earth, Fall and Winter are the closing and ending seasons.
Years of conditioning are getting reworked... and it's fun to watch and experience them. At the same time I wonder how it will feel in reverse.

The DMZ Trip

I could talk about what I saw, and did. But really it's a place that means different things for different people. It's a place that shows how one people can be divided for over 50 years. The ribbons hanging near the Freedom Bridge are obviously new so it's not something that is going away. Growing up during the cold war, and remembering when Germany unified... it's strange to me that there are still places in the world where this isn't history... it's current events. They discovered a 4th tunnel to the South as recently as the 1990's. There is a modern train station that gets service from Seoul just waiting for a chance to be used. We drove past mine fields, and barbed wire dividing two groups that at one point were one country.
It was a really long day for me leaving my apartment in Daegu at 5am and not getting back till after 10pm. I figure the pictures will have to speak for themselves at this point.

Wandering

This afternoon I had one thing I promised myself I would do. I would sit down someplace outside my apartment and write a stack of postcards to folks back home. Why? Because I've been here almost six months and I finally yesterday found some decent postcards at the Taegu National Museum. I also have a strange family who I knew would all feel loved to get something (slightly illegible) from me from halfway around the world.
I headed downtown and started wandering I wanted to find a coffee shop... instead I landed myself in a market I hadn't been in before and felt the energy I'd felt when I first landed here of exploring and discovering new things. After doing a big loop I found a nice coffee shop grabbed a mocha and sat down to write. Ten postcards later I let myself have a break to come home. Tomorrow I'm going to one of the two traditional markets with my camera to try and take some pictures. Before I get to go there I have to go and sit someplace again and write probably another 10 postcards.
I love wandering and discovering new places in Taegu. Does it take a bit of a leap to do so? yeah, but it's worth it. It's a bit of a leap to trust ones self that you can always find something you recognize so you're not completely lost. I kept seeing Taegu Station over the buildings so I knew that I could find a subway if I needed it. Would I have known that six months ago... nope. Now it's easy. I guess that's why the learning curve is getting easier. I have some basics and I've gotten better about trusting my instincts about which alleys to go down to find cool little shops. I know I would drive most people crazy with my rambling ways but it's fun... if I ever manage to find people who can put up with it I'll know I've found a travel partner.
Now back to my relaxing evening.

Good explination about Korean Education

I found this link through another blog but the video does a decent job of showing some of what goes on in English education here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwjt7zRiWOw

There are better and worse than what they showed... I kind of wish they would show a bit of what goes on from the Native teacher perspective... they all but ignored the idea that there are huge numbers of us over here working along side the Korean teachers to help with the English education in Korea.

Busan recap

I took the KTX down to Busan around the middle of the day cause I'd had to wait for my laundry to dry... yes one of the many issues with laundry here is it's air dry only. I got there figured out how to get to the subway and got a nice little charm for my cellphone that would also double as a fare card for the subway. I took the subway over to Haundae Beach and found my hotel, checked in and relaxed for a minute. Then grabbed my backpack and headed out to see what I could see around where I was staying and find a tourist information center. I've gotten pretty good at finding them and got an English map of Busan and while talking to the nice woman there found out about a city tour bus that would take me around the city stopping at many of the places I wanted to see for only 10,000 won a day. I then figured I'd wander through the aquarium. Honestly after the Georgia Aquarium which was done very well anything was probably going to be a let down... even more so for 16,000won. It was pretty good, just my personal bar for aquariums is very high. However there was a fun and cute exhibit of famous art work redone with fish as the main characters including Lady Liberty as a Penguine.


I wandered and had some street food for dinner and then took a long hot bath at my hotel. I also did my usual plan out the next day. After compareing the list of places I wanted to see from Lonely Planet and the route of the city tour bus I figured it would be a pretty good deal. I then set my alarm and crashed while watching some CNN (which is a perk for me since I don't have it at home.) The next morning I found a Dunkin Donuts grabbed some breakfast and went to the bus stop where the city tour bus would pick up and joined the crowd of young koreans standing around... it was kinda fun cause I've been here long enough I'm not always polite anymore about getting shoved from bus doors by ajumas and cut in lines. I fight back now. I grabbed my place in line and made sure I gave up my personal space like a good Korean and managed to cut off a pushy Ajuma who was obviously younger than me, as she tried to get on the bus infront of me. Sorry I'm not some just off the plane Meigook who can get run over. The bus driver smiled at it and was very kind to me as I gave him my money and got a card that allowed me to ride the bus all day. He also grabbed an English brochure and marked off the loops that were canceled and not running that day. I then watched the city fly by as I rode to the Olympic Sculpture garden. I got lost coming off the bus but eventually found it. I had a wonderful time freezing and taking pictures there. I will probably go back again with friends when it's warmer.

I then hopped the bus and rode downtown were I transfered to the other loop and stopped at the coast at some place called 75. I took a long time there hiking down to the ocean and taking pictures. It was a beautiful jagged coast with fishermen working lines and having fires on the coast. I also had a nice chat with a teacher from Seoul who was on vacation with her mother. She wanted to practice her English and since we were both waiting for the bus it wasn't a big deal. I took the last bus to my hotel eventually seeing a large chunck of the city. I also found mexican at a place called Fuzzy Navels.


That evening I was online at my hotel and got a message from the person I was supposed to crash with in Seoul that basicly sounded like she didn't really want me to stay there. I started replanning and decided to stay an extra day in Busan and just make it a day trip up to Seoul. (That also ment that I could stay up all night and watch Obama's innauguration.) So I called the front deask changed my plans and stayed up all night.
I then with my later start hopped the subway to the Jigalchi Fish market. I admittedly was a scaredly cat and didn't make it into the main market but saw somethings on the outside stalls that had me going what the heck is that. I also wandered through a traditional market north of there where I bought a spurlge and got a new leather coat. It was a rainy day so I didn't do a lot of outdoor things but had fun just wandering the city. Eventually I made it back to the hotel and crashed.
The next morning I got up checked out and grabbed the train back to Daegu.

Tour De Korea (Leg 1 Day 3)

My final full day in Jeju I rented a car. Originally I'd planned on renting a scooter but the freezing temps made that idea rather fool hardy. I managed to talk to the front desk and they did the translating for me with the Avis guy. Due to the nature of multiple translators and such... it meant a late start for the day. I finally got out of the hotel parking lot around 11:30 with a car that ran on LPG (liquid propane gas) and had a Korean only navigation system that also told speed and where the radar traps were. In Korea they don't have cops sitting around with radar guns. They have specific places where they patrol by video camera. So these are all well documented. The little navigation system would start to beep and put a little circle up with the speed I needed to be at in it and when I made that speed going through the zone it would do a fun little ringing sound like getting points on a video game. It would also talk to me in Korean. I really did have fun back behind the wheel of a car again. Thankfully the signs on Jeju are in Korean, English and Japanesse. I was trying to just stay on the road that had the right number so I could go around the eastern side of the Island. I wanted to go to the haenyseo museum and see the women divers that have become very famous for free diving for more than 2 minutes at a time. I eventually found where I was headed and had a nice wander through the exhibits. Most of the gear they use looked like antiques from when diving was starting. I also had one of two really fun conversations there. I was looking at an exhibit and an slightly older gentleman approached me. "Roussian?" I looked at him like really? You serious? and responded "Anio, Meigook" (No, American) He then babbled something that was like oh really where? Why are you here?" I managed "Georgia, Sosingnym, Taegu" There were a few laughs... a big smile "Younglro Sosingnym?" "Nay" (English teacher? Yes) I understood he then wanted to know how many days I was there and I said 3. He turned around and walked off to his friends where I could tell he was recounting what he'd found out. 1. I wasn't a Russian hooker. 2. I was an English teacher in Taegu. 3. I liked Korea. I over heard the conversation replay and realized I was getting pretty good at understanding some Korean even if I can't really speak it yet or read it.


After that I drove a little further up the coast to an area that had lava tubes. I found the entrance and paid my fee to go in. As I walked down I saw the signs that crushed my hopes... no pictures. Crap! Ok... lets see what this is like. All of those geology classes in college had developed a decent interest in this sort of thing any way topped off by teaching earth science for a few years. I noticed that there wasn't much light down in the tube and they had signs saying they keep it dark for the protection of the tube. (Not sure if that was a bad translation or what.) I got to the bottom and started walking and realized this is one of those times when having a traveling companion would have been nice. Not a minute later I hear someone slip a little right behind me. I quickly turned around to see if I could help. I asked a woman if she was ok, as I reached a hand out to steady her. She nodded yes. Then asked if I was alone too. This was done in rather broken English and Korean. I was like yeah. She then using hand gestures asked if it was ok if we walked through together. Of course sure. She looked to be maybe 45 not Korean but some sort of Asian decent. (remember low lighting) As we walked (it was a mile long trip) we chatted in a mix of Korean, English, and Japanese. I knew a little Korean, and English. She knew a little Korean, a even less English, and Japanese. So with lots of hand gestures we covered that I was American living in Taegu, and a teacher. She was on vacation from Japan. We talked about geology and how neither of us had seen anything like that before. Now lava tunnels have very uneven floors with cracks and bumps and this one was damp and slick in some places. I did a good deal of walking across choosing paths then reaching a hand back to help her along. When we came out of the tunnel we said good bye and waved and smiled. It's those sorts of encounters that make traveling alone fun. I learned a little more about myself and communication.

I made it to Jeju city and had a nice dinner of bibimbap before heading to Loveland and the mysterious road. I'm not going to describe Loveland. It was fun and went along with Jeju being a place for honeymoons.

As it was getting dark I pulled out the map and figured out the quickest way back to the hotel was across the island. I miscalculated where the road went in comparison to Mt. Halla. I ended up driving over it, with snow, wind and curvy roads.

I got back to the side of the island the hotel was on and realized I needed to add propane to the tank. In Korea it's all full service, it's just a matter of finding a propane not a gas station. I found one managed to explain that I needed a fill up and for 8,000 won or so I refilled the propane tank in the trunk. It was pretty cool. I'll drive in Korea again, but not in the cities where driving is a competitive sport that makes Atlanta look like a leisurely stroll with Sunday drivers who are polite. Here driving is allowed on sidewalks, turn signals are used, but so are Hazards as you cut in front of a car with inches to spare. I've learned to just relax and ignore the taxi drivers' driving. I just watch the tv in the cab or try to not think about how close we were to just becoming part of that bus.
That wraps up Jeju, the next day I caught a plane back to Taegu and did laundry in preparation for my trip to Busan.

Tour De Korea (Leg 1)

Unlike most of the EPIK teachers I decided not to take off for Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines. I stayed right here in Korea. I figured if I was going to save up the cash for a big trip later... stick it out here avoid the potential coups that were going on in various places and see what I could see here.
My first leg which was billed by all my co teachers as the "Hawaii of Korea" and I was told it would be warm and sunny and perfect to relax. Someone missed that it's still winter...
I landed at Jeju Airport around noon, where I was greeted as I stepped off the plane by snow. Yeah, let's just say... it wasn't very warm. I then took the limo bus over the the Hyatt and promptly took a hot shower... for the first time in months it felt like I was really warm all the way to my bones. (my bathroom in Daegu is an whole post of it's own.) Then I headed out. I'd gotten an English map of Jeju from the information booth in the airport which was handy. I just figured I'd wander up the street see a couple of the museums and then find a waterfall. My first stop was the Teddy Bear Museum. Anyone who has known me most of my life would know that I love teddy bears. I had a collection of over 60 diffrent ones at one point in my childhood. So as overwellmingly cute as it was it was also perfect for me.
I walked through the exhibits inside and stumbled upon a whole display case of Santa Bears! I had quite a few of these from Hudsons as I was growing up. I still have a few in storage back in Atlanta. Then I made it outside where it was bears gone wild. There were life size bears doing alsorts of crazy things. I spent probably a good two hours wandering and taking pictures.
Finally I left there and headed in the direction I figured I could find one of the many waterfalls that Jeju is famous for. I found it... and at probably one of the nicer times of day to find it. There were several ways you could aproach the waterfalls and I saw it from several angles.
Then I hiked back to my hotel and crashed after uploading a few pictures to flickr.

Day two dawned with a little more sun and a lot less wind. I consulted my trusty rusty map and figured that I could taxi it out to the far waterfall then hike to the closer one. After that cab it to E-mart where I could then see a few museums and the World cup stadium. I know not many people think hiking around an island getting lost is fun but I had fun doing it. I got a nice driver who spoke some english and between my lonely planet and the english map we made it to the first waterfall, jeongbang.
I then took a wandering hike following the coastline. I took some time to shoot some pictures along the harbor of the fishing boats. Eventually I found the other waterfall I was looking for.
Then it was off to emart... cause the taxi drivers didn't get world cup stadium.. but eh-martah they get.
The 3rd day I had a car... driving in korea will get it's own post and everything.. maybe tomorrow.
But for now I need to take a break and relax after a hecktic first day back.

I've been remiss

or at least that's what my mom keeps telling me. She keeps hearing from my Aunt that I haven't updated my blog... what's wrong? How come I haven't written?

Um... I've been busy and the writting bug hasn't bitten.

Yeah.. that's what's been going on. I've been traveling and teaching winter camps and traveling more. Learning things, seeing cool things, and trying not to get too lost while wandering around Korea. I do have stories to tell from my travels to Jeju, Busan and Seoul. However I also have to teach classes, plan, try to edit some pictures (I only took around 1,000 while I was traveling) upload said pictures and then write captions and then blog about what all I did.
Have I mentioned I like to sleep. Yeah.. so I'm a little behind but fear not I will attempt to start catching up on my blogging and such in the next week or so. If I don't... I'm fine just busy.

Things I've learned recently

• You know you've grown up when you no longer are fearless.
• Snowboarding is not my cup of tea.
• I like to keep my legs independent... don't strap them to something so I can't move them. (makes me an unhappy camper.)
• Karma is orney sometimes. (I'm beginning to get the pay back for all the times I teased Beth and JP about being old.)
• The chain keeps going. Eventually new links get added on.
• I really like traveling by train.
• It's good to just laugh at yourself sometimes.
• It's even better to just lay there an laugh when you slide and flip and still land on your ass with your head facing down the mountain.
• Old skills will come back with a little practice.
• I really am glad to have made some of the friends I have here in Korea.
• Just because you miss people doesn't mean you have to go back and be with them.
• I still have a lot to learn here.
• Some things never fully heal.
• Passing on gifts you've received feels good and is important in building links in the chain.
• Your past will always come and surprise you when you least expect it.
• I've been very lucky in my life.
• The things that have shaped me I would never change. I'm very happy being me and where I am now.