South Korea

On a sign at COEX mall...

I rather like the second row.

In the road next to my old apartment.

Was a pig killed here and this is its chalk outline?

Or are we advertising a new sam gyeop sal restaurant?

Last weekend, the weekend before, and probably this weekend, I have made use of the bike that I bought from Scott for $50 and ridden into Seoul from Bundang.

It sounds more dangerous than it is, but one of our little rivers meets up with the Han River in Seoul and has a great biking/walking path the whole way there. No cars whatsoever.

The first time was a fluke. I wanted to ride, but not that far. Then I passed everything I had recognized up to that point and stumbled across a flat seemingly deserted area (all but for the large concrete wall with barbed wire...I assume this is a military base as I have seen several helicopters taking off and landing there). The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by overpasses, underpasses, and even crazier people than I had seen in Bundang.

The second time I went with Rachel with the intent of Making It to the Han River. We set off with our MP3 players (riding side-by-side is dangerous and downright annoying) and water and made the 1.5 hour ride into Seoul, stopping for pictures along the way.

The Tancheon, by the military base...or something.

My gear for the ride. Haphazardly scattered? Or carefully posed?

I assume that the Han River is there somewhere, but we were on a deadline and didn't quite make it.

Rachel and I are tired, but accomplished. La venganza es nuestra!

On the way back, I ditched Rachel for this shot. There were about 4 or 5 helicopters around this area, but I only had time for one shot.

Unfortunately, the obliviousness of the Korean population translates to biking and I have come very close to, and actually hit, several people who weren't paying attention. People either ignore the bell or move without thinking or looking and veer in front of the bikers.

The worst (in order):
1. Couples. For some reason, couples love to walk in the bike lane. They also love to ignore warnings. And if they are on bike, the girl is usually acting cutesy, silly, or just plain stupid to play the damsel in distress, leading to a lot of shrieks, bell-ringing, and curses.

2. Ajummas. The Korean ajumma is a class entirely unto herself. Normally travelling in flocks, they are the most oblivious to the world around them. When walking, she likes to zigzag to ensure that no one can pass her, thereby guaranteeing she will get to any destination 2 seconds faster than you. This applies on bikes as well.

3. Children. For some reason that whole "looking both ways" thing doesn't work here. The kids dart out into oncoming traffic, ride their bikes with disdain, and rollerblade in and out of any moving thing. Unfortunately, their motor skills aren't always so developed. I actually ran into 3 kids (actually, teenagers around 13) who were warned by a bell but just didn't pay attention.

I think I need a hat with a giant police siren and flashing light. But like the ambulances here, I would probably be ignored...

This is wonderful bondegi, or as you can read in English, silkworm pupa.

It is often sold in big vats of silkworm juices, put into individual cups with toothpicks, and once you smell it, you know exactly what it is.

Apparently now you can buy it by the can. This was taken at the convenience store, right next to the beer. I think it was 1,300 won (about $1.25).

I would try it, but I can't get past the smell.

These ajummas wander around and sell milk to schoolchildren.

Yay milk!

This is from the 25th floor apartment in Sunae. It was small, but had this great view...

I cannot stress how much I LOVE FOOD. It drives me nuts, but fortunately I've started doing tae kwon do in order to balance it out.

I've done one food blog and I think since it's been a year, and I've eaten a lot more food, we should pay another homage to that which makes our mouths water, our bellies groan, and at times, brings a collective tear to our eyes. Le sigh.

First of all, Vietnam:

Not only is it delicious, but look how gorgeous that pho is. This was from a famous Pho restaurant in Saigon, one that Clinton came to. There are pho restaurants in Korea, but they are sorely lacking.

This was not as tasty. Featured in a previous blog, this is the pigeon that Mikey had for dinner in Ha Noi. We had always joked that the chicken we eat in Korea is really pigeon. Oh do we know differently.

Now this is how we do it. My friend, Mr. Thanh's wife made this delectable spread in Nha Trang. Eating off of newspaper on the ground. Perfect. There were plenty of spring rolls, noodles, cucumbers, and pieces of tofu stuffed with beef.

Japan:

One of the best Mexican restaurants I've ever eaten at. Amazing.

Although I've had some really tasty sashimi and sushi here in Korea, Japan still wins. Ask anyone from that night, I was almost in tears.

And because I had eaten pigeon and frog's legs (complete with toes) in Vietnam, I couldn't resist horse sashimi. Surprisingly it was really good.

Korea:

One of the things that I enjoy about living in Korea is the access to international food. Because on the daily I have to eat things like this, (when we took the kindies sledding, this was our lunch), I appreciate a good turkey dinner or gorging myself on Indian food. Hey. I deserve it.

In Korean bars, there are often some pretty questionable side dishes. This is one of them. Purple salad dressing? REALLY?!

And apparently, it's faux pas to drink without eating. This was part of the Korean Christmas experience. Very spicy, very questionable.

However, THIS was another part of my Christmas experience. God bless Chantal, keeper of the oven that cooks beautiful things like turkeys, pies, cookies, bread, etc. Needless to say, I had to wear my stretchy pants!

Butter chicken and mutton masala. Absolutely beautiful.

This may fool you in appearance because it looks like baby food (or something that came out the other end). In actuality, it is the best thing in the whole entire wide world: saag gosht. We are lucky enough to have a beautiful Indian restaurant in Itaewon. Come to think of it, we are past due for a trip there.

Don't get me wrong. I still love a good kimchi chigue or sam gyeop sal. I'm just not as keen on the crappy stuff I eat for lunch. But not all of us feel that way:

(Rosey stealing the kids' food)

Welcome back, all, to the fabulous life of an English teacher in Korea. We had a rough couple of months back there, but now I'm better than ever. New job, new apartment, additional friends. It's great.

I mostly want to talk about the new job here today, as my title suggests. I was teaching TOEFL (the most ridiculous English test in the WORLD) to middle/high school students for about 3 months for a small hagwon in which I was the only foreign teacher. I did not like it. We will not go into details exactly how much.

I've rung in the new year with a new job at a kindergarten in Jeongja, one subway stop from where I've always lived, Sunae. It's called Worwick and the kids pay an arm and a leg to go here. As you know, I had a relapsing dislike for children. Then it came back...but now it's pretty much gone again. I have 6 kids that I teach almost all day everyday, from 9-2:30. We learn subjects such as phonics, drama, reading, writing, and math. I am also the "social studies" teacher, where I go teach other classes while my students learn art, cooking, PE, and science.

So far, so good. Why I especially wanted to write this blog is to show pictures of the kids I see day in and day out. My students are 7 in Korean age, so about 5 or 6 in Western age. And let me tell you, people, they are almost edible they're so cute. Behold:

This is John L. Every day he tells me new words in Korean. He is actually really smart - the kid's a whiz with math.

This is John C., known as "Taco John." Without sounding racist, he is called such for his latino features. When I first started, he was the most depressed little 7-year-old ever, but now with his fascination of kissing me on the hand every 5 seconds, he seems to be a bit happier.

This is Clara. She was described by the former teacher as having a "princess syndrome." She seems more mature than the others, and her table manners are great. Other than that, she is one of the sweetest students at our school, and also a very clever girl. I love Clara.

Careful folks. He may look cute, but he will throw a tantrum, roll around in rice, or scream at any moment. This is William. He is overall a sweetie, but he has a really hard time following directions. Out of all of the students, his name is most often heard. Maybe I'll give him an award for that.

This is Taco John again and John K. He is the tiniest, and the third addition to our "John" family. He is obsessed with running into things and flopping down on the floor in a slapstick fashion. His favorite phrase? "Don't liiiiiie!" Thanks, Jason teacher.

This is Amy. She and Clara are the only girls. Amy is a little quiet most of the time and from day to day flits around with each student in my class. Meaning, I guess, that every day she has a new best friend. Overall, I like Amy but she hasn't really stuck out yet.

So that's my class. I'm one of the lucky teachers that has under 10 students. Honestly, I couldn't imagine any more. I suppose this job really is like a babysitting job. Everyday I help them take off their jackets and put away their stuff. I serve their lunch and snacks and make sure they eat them. I give them water. If one of them cries, I console them. I make sure their coats are all buttoned up before they leave.

My classroom, Taurus.

Of course there's playtime!

I can't believe I get paid to do this.

Well, everyone has been in a tizzy over the recent nuclear tests by North Korea. Kim fired missiles a few months ago, once again turning the nation's eyes to the Korean peninsula. Then nothing happened. And now, again, N. Korea has fired. And everyone wonders, what will happen now?

Here is my understanding of the problem (and to be honest, my location in Seoul has not bettered my knowledge of this topic. I have the same access to the English-speaking news that you all do, and access to the Korean-speaking news that I do not understand, which renders it useless). For years, Kim has threatened that he would interpret any sort of UN sanctions as a declaration of war. As most of the American media says, this could be as it has always been empty rhetoric.

The Pyongyang government wants to see these sanctions lifted, as it sees its actions as defensive against the West, which would like to see a regime change, but has not declared so formally.

The North knows that it cannot launch a nuclear war without swift retribution, and indeed claims that it wishes to see a "nuclear-free Korean Peninsula." But fearful of appearing weak or submissive, the North has also said that another launch could happen.

So, in short, when asked what I think about this, I have been saying that I don't. While it alarms the recesses of my mind, it is not an out-and-out worry, and I hardly think of it day to day, particularly as time goes on. I worry more about getting paid on time, or how exactly I'm going to teach TOEFL speaking and essay to certain classes at my new job. So to my friends and family NOT living in Korea: that's all I have to say about that.

I was just going through and I found some pics of students I forgot about. Just to pay homage to the crazy nuts.

This is my favorite EB class.
L-R: Ellen, Emily, Jenny, Hally, Jane, Betty, me, Nancy, John, Terry, Andrew, Aragon (they get to choose their own English names), Andy, and Tom.

My zoo class. Everyday was crowd control, but they were all so sweet and funny. Especially the twins, Aaron and Frank (who I called Puh-ranken-shtein).
L-R: Anna (Banana), Natalie, Justin the monkey boy, Kelly, To-To-Tony the Tiger, Robert (Robot), Andrew. Standing up on chairs are June and Puhrankenshtein. In the front is Ajumma Aaron.

Another class that became a zoo after so long of silence and shyness.

I'm going to miss these guys.

I said no more blogs until I got to Vietnam, but Tuesday was Korea's Independence Day. For once I had my camera at the ready to take pictures of the copious amounts of engrish t-shirts, advertisements, and graffiti.

The following were taken in Hongdae, the funky area around Hongik University.

"The Critics Loved Moby Dick the Typesetters Didn't."
I suppose that's true, but most Koreans are willing to buy a shirt without understanding a word that it says. I guess the reverse holds true in English-speaking countries.

"Wild Style Lover's Rock Triple Fat"

this makes no sense whatsoever...promoting environmentalism maybe?

This is an advertisement for a bar. Boy, do I want to drink there...

No Engrish, just a cool mural.

One guess what this advertisement is for...

To show you how terrible Korean fashion is...

As opposed to the NORMAL world history.

And to commemorate Korean Independence day...

So that's all for now. There have also been shirts that say "I have no potential." Or, "To be honest, I never liked you that much anyway." Etc., etc., etc. Bask in Engrish's glow.

I realize it has been almost two months since my last blog entry. To which I can only reply:
I'm sorry. Forgive me. Mea culpa.

This is basically because my life has been routine after boring routine. I work, I sleep. I watch TV shows on DVD. I complain about work (including, but not limited to, shuffling around of teachers and lack of air-conditioner in 95-degree weather). On Saturdays we go to Itaewon and stay out all night (for my grandmothers and other family that looks at this, I will spare details). I am either at work or out with my friends.

What I want to write about today is the future. But I will refrain from my theory that one day tiny robots will take over the world and we will be their servants, or that the Planet of the Apes movie will come back to haunt us with all of those nerds saying, "I told you so." No, no friends. I will be talking about what is in store for me. I realize that is selfish and maybe a bit boring, but it is my blog and I will do with it what I please. To the 10,000 + people that have visited this blog, well done.

Vacation Time:

My contract ends exactly two weeks from today. Exciting? Yes. A relief? Yes. Scary as anything? Yes. For one year my life has been secure and safe, and as I have mentioned, very routine. I stand by the theory that we are creatures of habit and want nothing more than a good old-fashioned routine. Staying in this routine for too long can be a bit alarming and irritating. So it is time to change it up, which is why I came to Korea in the first place.

On August 21, I will be heading off to Vietnam for one month. Alone. Very much alone. I know my family may be worried about me, and to be quite honest, I share in their sentiments. I haven't travelled alone for more than a week, and that was about 2 years ago. So one month is a huge step for me. I need it though. I want to experience the entire country. From the beaches on the east coast to the central highlands, I want it all. Now aren't you proud, Travellerspoint? And along the way, there will be loads more blogs (just check out my adventures in Spain, as posted in my diary. I wrote more than you could ever imagine, judging by my blog updates, or lack thereof).
I will be flying from Incheon in Seoul to Hanoi. I will spend 1-2 weeks around the north area, including Halong Bay which is rumored to be THE must-see in Vietnam. Hopefully Mikey will be with me at this time and we can drink a beer while sleeping on a boat under the stars. That's the plan anyway.
Then I will hop on a train and slowly but surely make my way to Saigon (aka Ho Chi Minh City). On the way, I will be sure to do anything and everything that strikes my fancy. Hoorah. Then September 21, I will leave from Saigon back to Seoul. Which leads me to my next topic:

Career Opportunities:

This of course is where the vacation ends. Many of you have expressed worry and anxiety about my pending unemployment, but as I said in a recent e-mail, you cannot swing a dead cat without hitting an English-teaching job in Korea (supposing, of course, that you were so inclined to dead cat-swinging). I am currently seeking employment and if all else fails, I will re-enter Korea on a tourist visa and leech onto my friends' hospitalities and look for a job then, being able of course to start at the drop of a hat (again, assuming that you are inclined to hat-dropping).

Then it will begin another year of a new job with new students, new teachers, and new problems. No hagwon is perfect by any means, so of course negative Nancy that I am, there will be plenty of things to complain about.

Romance:

Dating in Korea gets a bit ridiculous at times. One minute you're swearing off men because of the lack of English-speaking, mature, good-looking ones, the next you're wondering if maybe this is it.

You all know about my (mis)adventures with the Libyan boy, Walid. That did not end well. There have been a slew of Korean men in the meantime, and even one Brazilian, that I have been on dates with, but have ended up disappointing all of my lowered expectations of men. Recently I have started dating a lovely Korean man, Jung Ho, who is definitely a diamond in the rough at the bar he works at. He has been extremely kind to me, and is ridiculously good-looking. We get along very well and have plenty of things to talk about. We make each other laugh. He's even taken to holding my hand in public (which to me seemed a scandal after all the stares we received).

So what is the problem?, you may ask. My Korean skills are nonexistent and his English skills could do with some improvement. The culture barrier is ALWAYS there, and with the language barrier, it's sometimes hard to get over. For example, I never EVER have problems buying things for my friends, such as dinners, drinks, movie tickets and the like. I would much rather have their company than not so it doesn't bother me in the least. However, it bothers Jung Ho. He has the idea that men should always pay for everything, and when I did something to the contrary, it was almost impossible to explain the difference. In fact, it ended in a big argument and now I don't know what's happening.

Again, the culture difference/language barrier makes life in another country difficult and frustrating, especially in dealing with matters of the heart. Um...I have no more transitions here up my sleeve, so here are some pictures.

Tsingtao Beer, from China. This is the best beer I've had in Korea.

Jung Ho.

Market street in Sincheon. You can buy anything here, fruit, fish, bras, rice cakes, kimchi, spices, etc., etc., etc.

Ducks.

These pictures were all taken with my camera phone because as we all know, I can't have nice things without breaking them and I broke my camera. So now I have to live, yet again, with knowing that I have to buy the exact same camera again. Boo. Boo-urns, even.

Ok, this blog is done. My next one will probably be from Vietnam, so enjoy!

To say that Korea loves soccer is an understatement. According to one source, there were apparently 1.5 million people in the streets around Korea to watch today's game against Switzerland. And while soccer is not my favorite thing in the world, I will cheer and scream and jump and sing if in a huge crowd watching the game together.

Due to the crappy time difference between Korea and Germany, however, the last two games started at 4 am. Kids were coming into class exhausted because they a) stayed up all night or b) woke up just before the game.

Even though this game was at 4 am, it was on a weekend night so we finally made it to City Hall in Seoul for a World Cup viewing. Seven of us (me, Wayne, Scott, Matt, his gf, Mina and Eunice) piled into Matt's car to hang out in Seoul until 4 am when the game would start.

Eunice and Mina squished together

I had to sit on Wayne's lap. He is a dirty, dirty man.

Here is the traffic going into Seoul. I don't even remember how long it took, that's how long it took.

We went to Dongdaemun Stadium, a major shopping area, first to buy red shirts and other assorted accessories. Then we had dinner in a tiny little booth. Street food is the best.

Dongdaemun from the "restaurant."

Then we made our trek to Gwanghwamun, near city hall for the major celebration. After waiting in traffic for a long time and a few illegal maneuvers, we made it and got a parking space less than 50 yards from the Sejong Performing Arts Center.

Wall of mini-Korean flags.

The fancy flag on the Sejong PAC.

We had to pass behind the big stage to get where we were going and this was the first performer to keep everyone awake...circa 1 am.

Then we came to the part that was definitely the most uncomfortable of the night: trying to find a place to sit among hundreds of thousands, according to one source 700,000 in Seoul alone, of screaming, tired, and many of them slightly drunken Korean soccer fans.
This is what we had to work with:

This image is from Chosun Ilbo, but it's the only one I could find of an aerial view.

I WAS THERE!

So you can imagine how much elbowing, pardoning ourselves, trying to ignore dirty looks, and squeezing past policemen and security guards to get the good seats we finagled (deceitful, indeed).

Statue of...that guy...completely surrounded by a sea of devil-worshippers. Er...Korean soccer fans.

Looking the other way. All you see is red.

Fireworks, not fire, to celebrate kickoff. Is that even what it's called? I don't know.

Scott and I were the only white people as far as I could see.

Since the game started at 4 am, of course around halftime the sun started coming up. You can see the mountain in the background.

As you can see from many of the other pictures, there are lots of buildings with these huge soccer posters/advertisements. I don't know what Cheonggye Plaza is, but apparently it's straight ahead.

See? More advertisements. There were also three huge TV screens to watch the game in this general vicinity, depending on which way you were facing.

Statue of the one guy again in the morning.

And thusly, the game was over. Notice that there is nobody jumping up and down and screaming? No fireworks? Neither pomp nor circumstance? No other such celebration?

Yes. You are not mistaken. There was none because..well. We lost. We lost pretty bad. To qualify for the next round, Korea had to win their game or France had to lose theirs.

Korea lost.
France won.

And so Korea's place in the 2006 World Cup is over.
I will say this though: Korea is full of the most gracious losers I have ever seen. Until about the last 10 minutes or so, energy was running high and no one really gave up hope. That last 10 minutes, people started lining up to get out of there.

And when everything was said and done, everyone bent down to pick up their trash, quietly, respectfully, put on their shoes, and left without another word. There were some general murmurings, yes, but had it been in America, and had it been any sport other than soccer, fires would have erupted, cars would have been tipped and the foreigners beaten down.

I had a good time, and it's a good thing I went because I will probably never do anything like that for the rest of my life.

Neat, eh?

On Fridays I teach one high-level writing class. It's a refreshing break from the low-level, high-energy classes I normally teach (I am, above all, a clown for these children).

So while these kids are higher-level English, I seem to forget that they are still the same age as all the rest of my students. I guess I expect better essays from them. Some are really great and others? Well, let's just say at least they're amusing.

In a TOEFL essay about the Vikings vs. Columbus (who discovered America first?) here are some gems:

Many historians say Columbus was crazy wrong.

However, in itself, Vikings were ridiculous. Why didn't they observed the USA well? Today, of that reason, Columbus is the second who discovered USA for the second. There's one. An early bird catches the worm. However, there's sometime it's wrong, isn't it?

- Both from little Jennifer. At least she was paying attention when I talked about Native Americans being first.

We must really look up to Columbus even though he is already dead.
- Simon

I think Columbus is discovered the Americas, because Vikings was pirate.

Important thing is Columbus discovered most lands, so Columbus is 80% and other explorer is 20%.
(apparently some "ghost explorer" discovered it instead.)
-Jun Hyoung

I think he was afraid of die so he go to sail and comeback with no (hand?) and told a lye to king. So I think I don't reached to the america.
- Andy

At 1492, Columbus opened to the door for European settlement. (I bet they were happy.)
-Kyle, the one who says "I bet" a lot.

I wish, I wish to but, I'm a girl, and, and, I don't have braveness just like them.
-Joanah

The essay is pretty much laid out for them in the book. How to write an introduction, the pros and cons of each topic, etc. Where they got these crazy ideas, I have no idea.