Not to Worry Folks

I just realized how negative and intense the wording of my last post was, things are most likely going to be fine here in South Korea, my worrying(as usual) was over the top. I've registered with the embassy and am keeping an eye on various news sources. Everyone around me seems to agree that it's unlikely Kim Jong Il with decide to go military adventuring.

I'll post new photos later.

North Korea Themed Fear

It's hard to know exactly what's going on in the North. Some American teachers have broken their contracts with their schools and come home to the States because of the recent panic, ESL teachers from other parts of the English speaking world seem remarkably unconcerned. Some, amazingly, didn't even realize or know about the current North Korean situation.

After reading some frightening articles about their recent declaration of war on the South , I left my computer at work in search of my co-teacher, assuming she would be able to paint a more accurate picture of what was actually going on. Scarlett laughed off my fears and told me that the running joke among South Koreans is that North starts throwing fits every time it's people are starving and it needs economic aid. She said, "Picture a small child throwing a fit in the corner, screaming for supper. That's North Korea."

While I appreciate Scarlett and respect her perspective I could not really help but wonder if that perspective is bit naive. Shortly after this conversation my school had a "Tornado drill". Now I'm not an expert on twisters but I am fairly sure that when a "tornado" hits, the correct response if rarely to go outside-but that's what we practiced.... I went to a baseball game last night with some ESL teachers and we discovered that all of our schools have had "earthquake", "tornado", or "moonsoon" drills this past week. Clearly these are bomb drills aimed at getting the children outside the building as quickly as possible. So even if my co-teacher and other South Koreans I meet aren't frightened or scared by North Korea it seems like our school board is at least a little worried.

Yesterday I was sent a letter from the Canadian embassy outlining the different ways I could reach an evacuation point should one be called for. I called the embassy from my school to try and get a better sense of what's going on. They basically told me not to worry but to be ready and prepared to move quickly. They reccomended having an evucation pack handy. For all their reccomendations and suggestions, the Canadian embassy couldn't really offer any insights into the current situation.

Anyway my point is that I have no idea what's really happening over here and I'm a little worried.

All of the talk of Nuclear Testing and Sad Little Girls Had Made Me Hungry

I'm off to grab a green tea cone.

Picture of the Former Prez

Sure you could just google it, but regardless, here's a picture of the old president.

This might seem melodramatic and for that I'm sorry and also please note that I'm dealing with situations far beyond my actual maturity level.

There's a shy little girl named Susan in my grade six class who has lived in Seattle Washington for years. Her family has only recently moved back to the land of kimchi and sometimes she looks a little lost. Susan's English and her Korean are both perfect and she's been one of my favorites from day one. I can tell she likes me(in that way that young kids always hero worship the smiley young teacher). She wants to be an artist and we tend to exchange secret smiles when the other students make hilarous blunders. Susan asked me at the start of class today if she could stay after school to talk with me. I agreed and assumed she just wanted to speak English for a few extra minutes. Existing in Korean day in and day out is exhausting and I thought maybe she was feeling the same way. I waited around while she stuffed her crayons into her bag and then she asked me a question that completely caught me off guard.

"Do you think people are supposed to mate for life?"

I had no idea what to say to this. I racked my brain for an answer and came up with nothing. "I don't know Susan. Maybe sometimes?" She started to cry and told me that her parents were getting a divorce. I didn't really have a response to this so I just hugged her while she sobbed and ate lunch under a tree with her(much to the charagin of my co-teacher; in Korea it's not okay for teachers to eat lunch with their students). I'm not really sure why she decided to tell me, maybe because I speak English and she's more comfortable sharing in this language than her own. Maybe she just needed a grown-up and I seemed to fit the bill.

Either way, it's the first time I ever really thought about how heartbreaking divorce is for young kids.

Good Bye Former President. Hello Nuclear Testing

On Saturday I was hiking(shocker) with a small group of Koreans and Canadians. We were searching for the hidden wall of Korea in Mount Buhtakensen when one of the Korean ladies mentioned in a quiet voice that the former president of Korea had committed suicide that morning. He had apparantly thrown himself off a mountain(which seems like a gruesome way to go about it).Dave and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows, asked a few questions, and then promptly forgot about the whole thing.

The next day we were exploring the Insadong region in Seoul and were attempting to discover the exact location of city hall when we happened upon a gigantic throng of people. Everyone was crying, wearing black, lighting candles, and lining up to pay tribute to the former president. Hundreds of riot police were carrying machine guns and patrolling the area. It`s how I imagine London was after the death of Lady Diana. It was very intense and emotional and I felt like I was trespessing on their mourning. Dave and I walked away from the whole scene as fast as we could.

I`m quite surprised by how distraught Koreans are over this particular death. Most Koreans that I have met seem to have had a very low opinion of Roh, Moo-Hyun and felt that he was an awful leader. My own co-teacher had described him as being the `George Bush of Korea`, and if George Bush were to kill himself I think it`s safe(albeit controversial) to say that there might very well be parties in the street. I asked Scarlett(my co-teach) why there were so many vigils being held and she explained that at the beginning of his career Roh, Moo-hyun was very popular amongst the lower-to-middle class citizens. He was apparantly viewed as a political martyr, as he tried to spearhead the concept of “honest politics” during his tenure and shy Korea away from the reputation of being a nation of political corruption.

Ironically, One year and two months after leaving office, Roh, Moo-Hyn was being investigated for a bribery scandal. Wikipedia printed his suicide note this morning and I`m going to post it here.

I have owed to too many people. The amount of burden I have caused to them is too great. I can't begin to fathom the countless agonies down the road. The rest of my life would only be a burden for others. I am unable to do anything because of poor health. I can't read books, nor can I write. Do not be too sad. Isn't life and death all part of nature? Do not be sorry. Do not feel resentment toward anyone. It is fate. Cremate me. And leave only a small tombstone near home. I've thought this for a while

On another note, North Korea had confirmed that it conducted a nuclear test underground(one that was intense enough to cause a mid-size earthquake).

An interesting and scary time to be living in the Asian Pacific.

Shamefully Lazy at Blogging and Extremely Active on Facebook

Sorry everyone. I have been having the time of my life and have been ignoring my blog in the process. My school has blogspot blocked so I can`t write from work. Amazingly, my school hasn`t blocked facebook. I`m almost living on that site and I`ve grown to love facebook statuses. It`s such an artform. I`ve been changing mine eight times a day and I feel like they sum up life in single sentences. Here are a few gems that will shed a little light on exactly how much free time I have.

My extra help class just begged me to give them English names. My class now consists of Luke, Hans, Bruce, Clark, Wally, Lando, and Mary-Jane. I am a nerd.

"It is not known exactly when Road Trips were ‘invented’, but technically they have been around as long as people have had roads to travel and vehicles to travel with." HEY THERE, THANKS WIKIPEDIA

Amanda is bored and has decided to create zombie themed Fresh Prince of Bel-Air lyrics: "I got one little bite and my mom got scared"

Power ballads are the best sort of ballads.Fact.

Buyer's Remorse

I bought another plane ticket and I have a little bit of buyer's remorse/guilt. Every cell in my brain and bone in my body was telling me to save that two hundred dollars and put it on my somewhat sizeable student loan debt. Then my money spending justification habits kicked in, and I told myself that I'm "only young once" and that, "I deserve it". Neither of things are especially true. I'll be young for another decade and I hardly earned an amazing vacation. Still, I am going to be seeing the Great Wall of China on my birthday, and how many people can say that?

P.S My friend Erin just informed me that the Broadway production of Rent featuring original star Anothony Rap is going to be touring Seoul in September!! I've wanted to watch Rent live for years, it's actually on my list of 100 things I have to do before I die(which probably makes this list seem especially lame).

Cover Up

In the last few days I've recieved a few messages from some possible future teachers, asking me for some helpful hints in regards to moving to Korea. I can think of a million but these are the two things that I noticed at once and have helped me the most.

1) Girls should cover up
There are many Russian prostitutes in Korea and revealing clothing often leads men to believe that you are, in fact, one of these women. Wearing conservative clothing is a good way to protect yourself from any unwanted sexual advances. Some palaces and temples also often have rules regarding female dress; it would be a shame to miss out on an interesting world heritage site because you decided to wear a tube top. Covering up is also a good way to just simply avoid stares. A friend of mine had adopted an "I don't care what Koreans think I'm going to dress how I want" attitude. While I admire her braveness, it can actually be uncomfortable sometimes because of the amount of glares her bare shoulders warrant.

2. Live like a Korean and You'll Save More Money
The living is easy in Korea. Clothes are cheap. Food is tasty and cheap. Traveling is super cheap.
That being said there are still some teachers who blow through their money and live pay cheque to pay cheque. The closer to a Korean lifestyle you're able to adopt the more money you will save. You can easily live on five to ten dollars a day if you take the subway or walk to work, eat lots of Korean food vs. Western food, and try to reign in the shopping. Koreans also usually partake in free activities like hiking on the weekends. Try not to just head into Seoul each weekend-Seoul will eat your money if you're not careful. Also just try to forget about coffee and wine. It's hard. For me forgetting about coffee is proving to be damn near impossible. But if you switch to tea and soju then you will save way more cash. Also forget about cheese entirely. There's no way to save money and have cheese 24/7.

I miss cheese.

Green Tea Ice Cream

I have four new favorite ice cream flavors: Green Tea, Strawberry Cookie Dough, Ginger Root, and Chocolate flag. Not exactly a huge revelation but these flavors are completely impossible to resist. It's been a boring week. I've mostly been going for long runs, eating ice cream, and listening/dancing around my apartment to Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, Beck, and The Fleet Foxes.

Is Korea the capital city of WTF?

My weekend in bullet points.

-Went to National Musesum of Korea(which is free) and amazing.
-Walked past giant violent protest in Yongsan
-Tried not to get in the way of the flying bottles full of lit oil that were being thrown by said protesters
-Tried not to get in the way of Korean police waving tear gas around and dressed in full on riot gear
-Came across traditional market
-Bought a Korean version of one of my favorite books(Prince Caspian). Realized that I have to stop buying different versions of this book(I have seven copies).
-Tried fried minnows. Gross.
-Went to Kelly's for a sleepover
-Lit fireworks in the park for Kelly's birthday
-Woke up at five thirty
-Jumped on a bus with Callie, Kelly, Dave, and Bonnie
-Rode bus for three hours
-Jumped on a ferry that sailed for two hours past some beautiful mountains
-Jumped off ferry
-Explored limestone caves
-Trekked around some nearby mountains
-Tasted fresh air for the first time in weeks
-Discovered a Neon glowing outdoor Karokee stage in the midst of wonderful natural scenery
-Collectively agreed that Korea can be strange
-Felt exhausted
-Bus took forever getting back to Seoul
-Went straight to Chloe's birthday(at this point it's ten O' clock at night)
-Went to a bar
-Couldn't get into bar because of whiteness
-Went to another bar
-Went to Nore Bang(Korean Karokee).
-Went Home at five thirty in the morning.

Teacher's Day

I love teacher's day. My students brought me gifts and wrote me love letters. I've written my favorite one below and didn't edited it because it's more charming this way. The author of this piece is one of my favorite students(am I allowed to have favorite students?). He's an eleven year old toublemaker who always wants me to be on his team when I play soccer with the kids. He also loves to use English swear words and I hate punishing him for it because his pronunciation is flawless.

Dear Teacher,
I never like English before. I thought it was stoopid. Everytime the old teacher called on me I thought, Oh shit. But I like English class now because you always bring candy and smile. I hope you stay a long time and I think your eyes are pretty.

Love John

The Great Soft Drink Taste Test

Korea is the land of the interesting soft drink. Below are some of the more interesting drinks I've tried and my reactions to their existence and taste.

Yogurt Pepsi
Gross. My co-teacher informed me today that this is actually bottled in Japan, but is extremely popular in Korea. I'm not really sure I care whose responsible for this soft drink disaster. This is worse than Pepsi blue. It's like someone poured curdled milk into my pop.





Coolpis Kimchi Drink
I'm just going to go right ahead and ignore the obvious jokes about this product's name. Kimchi is the most popular dish in Korea, it's basically spicy fermented cabbage. I actually quite like Kimchi as a side dish. This drink, however, fills me with fear and I hope to avoid it for the remainder of my days. It is the juice left over from the fermentation process. Imagine, if you will, drinking the leftover pickle juice straight from the can. That's what this is; it's also terribly spicy.


Ginsing Juice

This is surprisingly refreshing. It has a sharp taste and seems to be mixed with ginger. There's also some nutty after tones. It's carbonated so it's not good for you, but it kind of has a healthy feeling to it. I would buy this again. Maybe on my next hiking adventure.



Garlic Juice. Yep. For Drinking Purposes.

There's really no way to justify garlic juice. I thought maybe the whole product was a practical joke. Or for some other purpose, like cooking, or warding off vampire attacks. My co-teacher says it great on humid summer days, but I actually spit this into the sink. Don't try it.





AND THE WINNER=Cucumber Pepsi!

I expected this to be revolting. After the taste Hell that is yogurt Pepsi I almost banished the entire Pepsi corporation to the Street Cent's Pit I keep in my head. Cucumber Pepsi redeems them. It's crisp tasting and almost makes me think of Honey Dew melon instead of cucumber. I love.

Andie/Hyde

I've been a downer this week and my jaded sarcastic Hyde half has been showing itself in my recent posts. Like Milli and Vanilli, I'm going to blame it on the rain. The weather has been miserable.

Not to worry though, things are looking up! It's sunny today, I have a half day off tomorrow for "Teacher's Day", and a limestone cave exploring adventure planned for the weekend. Tonight I'm going for a run in the nearby mountains, followed by watching an Audrey Hepburn movie, and devouring a huge bowl of watermelon ice cream.

Almost Arrested in Korea. What Fun!

What a fun day.

So my building is full of Russian hookers(for real) and there are millions of men who drive home drunk everyday in Korea, but I get busted for hopping a fence at the subway station when my T-card fails to work. A T-card is a card the allows you to ride the subway for only a dollar, it saves you the trouble of having to buy a ticket each time you ride the subway. Tonight my T-card didn't set the machine off like usual, so I did what I've seen a million Koreans do in this exact situation. I jumped the gate.

Mom, you can stop reading any minute now. I don't want you to have a heart attack.

The subway security guards were on me like white on rice(it seemed like a place specific metaphor), and I found myself surrounded by three yelling, angry, middle aged men, which felt like overkill. It was a very "Paul Blart Mallcop" reaction. So I tried to explain myself calmly and pointed to my T-card, explaining that it didn't work. I repeated "Me an ham ni da", which is Korean for sorry. And I tried to see the humor in the situation. I figured that if I acted freaked out or upset they would assume that their was a reason for it. So in the spirit of having fun, I taught a security guard how to say " You broke the law and now you must pay" in English. Very Terminatoresque.

I was detained for two hours while they searched for a subway security guard who spoke English. When he finally arrived, I handed him 1000 won(a dollar Canadian), and explained the situation. He let me go at once and told me to "enjoy my stay in Korea".

It was a pretty fun experience.

A Short List of Things I MIss

1. Whole Wheat Bread with a thick crust and fresh raspberry preserves.
2. Decent Coffee with real cream and sugar.
3. Dark Chocolate. I would do just about anything to get my hands on some dark chocolate.
5. Five Cent Candies. How this country operates with hot lips and fuzzy peaches, I don't know.
6. Good Mascara. The mascara in Korea is chunky and goopy. Completely ineffective.
7. Maid Marians. Words cannot describe how much I crave the bacon at Maid's.
8. Not being called fat by sales clerks. I never realized how nice this was.
9. Acid-free Rain. It's so sweet when the rain does not burn your scalp.
10. Drinking water from the tap.
11. English Books

I have a birthday coming up, this is a tacky plea to please send any of the food items above. Especially chocolate.

Chloe and Andie Vent Their Frustrations

Chloe and I are sick of being called "fat" by shopgirls and co-teachers.

Here's a link to an interesting forum about the "Asian Weight Debate". http://caloriecount.about.com/myth-asian-girls-naturally-slim-ft45313

My Phone a Friend

I've become close and intimate with two types of lifelines here in Korea. The first is an actual life line, the kind that keeps me from plummeting to my own gruesome death every time I stupidly decide to climb a mountain. My new friends are my second lifeline. Without this solid little core group of friends I don't know what I would be doing here in Korea.

A New and More Dangerous Hair Treatment

So the past week has been a little rainy and because I like the way the rain makes my hair a little wavy I have been going to school sans umbrella. And yes, I know that's vain. I've also noticed that my hair has been thinning and my drains are clogging at a faster than usual rate.

I mentioned this to my co-teacher, who responded in-an-oh-so-calm voice, "I noticed you don't use umbrellas, this is bad for your hair because the acid rain eats into your head". I had hard time responding to this without letting a note of extreme panic slip into my voice, "My hair is falling out because acid rain is eating into my scalp!!!" Jerry smiled and informed me that, "It's no big deal Andie, your hair will grow back, but maybe you should use an umbrella from now on."

I'm this close to gluing an umbrella to my hand.

I've got Seoul but I'm not a Soldier. Horrible Killers Reference. Sorry.

About thirty soldiers with machine guns are relaxing and drinking coffee at the park near my house. Not sure why. It's like Charles De Gaul airport but more extreme.

Mother's Day=Not so important in Korea

There's no Mother's day in Korea. Although all of my female co-teachers think that it sounds like a wonderful holiday.

Shameless Self Promotion

FASHION just published one of my blogs, photos were taken by the always awesome Patrick Callbeck, and Jill Stewert has a starring role as a backpacking model. I have to admit that I love writing these short fashion pieces, I never thought I would get to see my work published by a National magazine. It might be vain to admit this. Sorry.

http://www.fashionmagazine.com/blogs/fashion-reporters/2009/05/07/charlottetown-style-tips-for-backpacking-trips/

Korean Pop Music is Amazing

Indie music in Korea is exceptionally banal. Pop music in Korea will rock your socks off! My favorite band is Super Junior. It's a group of thirteen emo Korean kids under the age of twenty who do one heck of an NSync impression. Check out this video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QO6SjMsmY8

I'm a pro at maps now

I haven't gotten lost and am no longer intimidated by navigation. One month in and this goal is checked off!

Korea's Answer to Willy Wonka

Remember how Gene Wilder played Willy Wonka in the sixties? He acted like a perpetual jester-on-methaphetamenes, jumping, hopping, skipping and singing, even when things were dangerous and little girls fell down squirrel holes. That's what my climbing instructor Mr. Kim is like. Dave, Callie and I were the only members of our thirty plus member club asked to join the climbing team leaders on this past Saturday's climb. This is because the climb we went on was ridicuously dangerous and as Mr. Kim subtly put it,

"If others join us, they maybe die because climb is too hard".

Instead of being scared or nervous like a normal person, I was stupidly excited and honored to be asked. Dave, Callie, and I strapped ourselves into harnesses and had an hour long lesson where we worked on our boldering and rappeling skills. The practice and lesson was intense, but it was nothing when compared with the actual climb. We bouldered up a four hundred meter high ninety degree incline. I started this journey like a pro, reaching for each foothold like I had been doing this for years. Then, halfway through the hike, I found myself clinging to the rockface, death gripping a small tree, and saying things to myself like "please God let me live through this". Even more traumatizing was the extent of Mr. Kim's positive attitude. He was reenacting musical theatre for us on the mountain. He danced and made bad jokes, mocked our fear, and showed us how to perfect the "no hands" rappeling move.

It was beautiful, crazy, and scary day. Very Wonkaesque.

Baseball in Korea

I went to a professional Korean baseball game last night with friends.

Good god baseball's boring.

Check up on Goal Three

Well it's five in the morning and I'm awake so I can catch a train to this weekend's hike. I think this is proof that I've been able to nail my goal of finding a new way to exercise. Today's hike is all rope work(I'm worried), and I bought new hiking boots for the occasion. The hiking club I've joined is my favorite thing about Korea. I always loved climbing the rocks at the beach when I was little and I still get excited about scrambling around rock faces now.

I've also rediscovered a passion for running. I know what you're thinking:How can anyone be passionate about running? Well it's kind of like medatition for me, I can't think of anything more relaxing than a good long run, it just puts things in perspective. Dave, Callie(another new friend) and I have signed up for the Seoul half marathon in June and I'm up to a sixteen Km training run. I suspect my time will be brutal, but there's another half marathon in October and I'll tain harder and smarter for that one. Somehow during school I forgot how awesome it feels to be in shape, I love how healthy and wholesome Korea's made me feel.

Five Words a Day

Well that was a bit optimistic. I'm learning, on average, a saying of five or six words every two days. Days when I hike or just spend with my English friends usually equal zero new words. That being said I'm able to get by much easier than I was at first. I can request no pork or no chicken, I can ask someone how to get somewhere, how much something costs, and what time it is. I can kind of understand what people are saying. I'm pretty sure that I overheard an older man say "I wish that the English teachers would all go home", while glaring at me on the subway.

I need to step this goal up a bit. I'm become so caught up in going out and "doing" things that I'm falling behind. To stay on track I'm going to stop reading all books except my language books for the next week(which is going to be hard as someone just lent me Kingdom Com and Northhanger Abbey). I'm also going to devote thirty minutes to studying Korean a day. By next month I should be back on track!

Goals

Since I have been in Korea for an entire month it makes sense to write several blog entries regarding where I'm at in terms of meeting my goals. The first goal was to embrace Korean food. So how am I doing? Well, I've embraced Korean food in the sense that I eat it every day. I've tried to have an open mind about it and I have found many dishes that I absolutely love. I have discovered a passion for rice doughnuts (they are my kryptonyte and my achilles heel). I also enjoy Kimchi (fermented veggies covered in red pepper paste), Gimbap(like sushi rolls but with pork or veggies inside), Galbi (BBqed pork or beef wrapped in mint leaves), and Bibimbap which is a bowl of rice topped with fresh seasoned veggies, red pepper paste, minced beef, and a fried egg. On a side note Bibimbap is supposed to contain the five principal colors of Korean Buddhism.

While I'm glad that I'm enjoying some dishes and am proud that I'm trying everything that gets placed in front of me, I have discovered that are many Korean dishes that I just don't get. Namely, I have trouble with the gratitous amounts of Octipus and squid I'm supposed to consume. Naki Bokkeum is a dish that just repulses me. A live baby Octupus gets it's tenacles chopped off while it slowly stirfrys to death atop a tray of salad. You can practically hear it cry.

I'm equally grossed out by Beonddegi. This dish smells so bad that I'm surprised it doesn't breach some sort of international law. It's fried silkworm larvae. These little guys burst when you put them in your mouth and release a grimy yellow pus. Yum.

Octpi Tenacles are the most dangerous of the street vending meat I've come across, I haven't tried this yet because..well because it seems like a pretty stupid thing to put into your mouth. It is basically giant still wriggling, uncooked Octipi tenacles. According to my co-teacher, there are a few deaths each year because the tenacles make a last bid for freedom causing suffocation. Like a chicken with it's head cut off...only in your mouth.

It's hard to say where I am with this goal. I give myself points for trying and demerit points for being too scared to try some dishes. In the next months I'm going to try and be more adventureous and open minded with Korean food.

Hiking Photos

Lazy Blogger

I've been out doing so much that I haven't had time to write about it. Which is okay. Sometimes while I'm rock climbing and snapping pictures with my handheld technology and trying to take videos I feel like I'm missing out on the actual experience itself. Same goes with writing about Korea all the time. I inevitably feel like I'm missing out on Korea because I spent so much time in front of my moniter venting about it. I don't have time tonight to update everyone on the goings on, just that I've had an awesome couple of days rock climbing with Mr.Kim and friends. I'm off to search for a baguette(wish me luck)!

p.s-Happy birthday mom!

I hate formatting

The last post looks weird. I have no idea how to fix it. I blame my PC.

Because We Can't Understand

I

I sometime get frustrated. I mean miming all day gets exhausting, but I feel proud that I'm making an effort, too many expat teachers make comments like "Man, Korean culture is weird, look how hard they're trying to be normal". Cultures that we can't communicate with fully are cultures that we can't even begin to understand and appreciate. I feel like most expats feel superior to Koreans because we have English, but Koreans have such a wonderful rich culture that has many more subtlies than English. I guess that what I'm trying to express in this non flowing rant is that Koreans have a hugely rich culture that many expats aren't even trying to get to know. My co-teacher explained to me that Koreans even have emotions that those in the Western world know nothing about. These emotions have no English translations and Scarlett(my co-teacher) thinks that they are concepts English people might not even fully be able to understand.

Han: “Han” is a negative emotional state caused by something outside the individual’s direct control. It is a way for Korean society to make peace with the humiliating injustices they have suffered as the perpetual younger brother of Asian nations around them, particularly Japan and China. One example that was given how Koreans were forced to send their wives to be with Chinese soldiers during times the Chinese were at war. “Han” was a way to internalize emotions without resorting to violence or hatred, which also binds them as a society. It is the suffering of injustice in silence.

Here's a quote about Han that I stole from a friend's facebook account.

"But more exactly, what is 'han'? One scholar calls it a 'feeling of unresolved resentment against injustices suffered, a sense of helplessness because of the overwhelming odds against one, a feeling of acute pain in one's guts and bowels, making the whole body writhe and squirm, and an obstinate urge to take revenge and to right the wrong -- all these combined' (Nam-dong:55-72 quoted in Yoo:221).

Cheong: “Cheong” is a positive emotion which can be likened to “love”. But it is a culturally significant term which describes Korea. Koreans are extremely shy at first, but once they have shared experience with someone, they feel bonded (note how collective “han” can bring about “cheong”, the same way two people fall in love after being trapped in an elevator for two 3 days). This explains how a Korean will always talk about “our country’, “”our family”, or even “our wife”, instead of using the pronoun “my”.

These are two little nuts of Korean culture that will crack open Korean behavior for an expat.

Sport's Day and Saturday

I love"Sport's Day". In the morning the kids dressed up in brightly colored costumes and performed folk dances, they banged on traditional drums, and they performed impressive martial arts in perfect unision. In the afternoon the kids played soccer and ran relay races. I felt pretty sick all day but the sight of these little kids playing an intense world class game of soccer made me feel ten times better. There was a lot of cheating going on and I gave out half a dozen yellow cards. Man I miss playing on a soccer team! When I get back to Canada I'm going to get back into organized sports. There were more spectators watching primary school sports day then there was at the both the Legion Track and Field Nationals and the Canada Games. It was pretty impressive. I cancelled my trip to Busan because I haven't felt one hundred percent and so yesterday(Saturday) I just spent the day in Seoul doing various relaxed activities. I jumped on the train at eight and went to see a palace near city hall. None of my new friends are morning people, which is something that really works out for me, because I get to choose what I want to do on weekend mornings. So on Saturday morning I went to the palace(which is beautiful) and then to the nearby Rodin gallery.

At noon I met up with Dave, Bonnie, Kelly, and Callie and we checked out the 63 building. It's the fifth highest building in Asia and for twenty dollars we went to an Imax movie, an aquariam, and an art gallery(which was on the top floor). The Imax was hilarous, we thought we were seeing a documentry about the Nile, instead it was a weird Korean manga film. Our headphones had an english button, but a lot had to be lost in the translation because the movie didn't make a ton of sense. We spent the entire hour bent over in our seats hysterically laughing over the weird broken english and odd nonsensical plot. The aquariam was amazing. There were dolphins, seals, otters, and way too many snakes. The art gallery was just okay. I prefer to do galleries by myself because I don't like to be influenced by other people's reactions to the art. There were some original Warhol's though, which was kind of cool.

Then we went to Itaweon which is the Western section of Seoul. It was dirty and marked by tons of ciggerette smoking and beer guzzling foreignors, Macdonalds resteraunts, and Dunkin Donuts. At first I was skeptical and was doubtful that there was anything worth seeing in this part of Seoul. It's near the American soldier base and is where the off duty soldiers basically go to get drunk. However Dave changed my mind when he showed me an English bookstore(one of the few in Korea) and I tried really hard not to blow my savings. I bought two new comic books(Angel and Amazing X-Men) and a piece of nonfiction entitled God is Not Great by Christopher Hitchens. I'm usually a DC girl and have been convinced that DC is far superior to Marvel comics but I lately I've felt like branching into Marvel territory. I'm also trying to read more nonfiction, I sometimes feel like that the fiction I read is the literary equilvent of a happy meal so I'm trying to challenge my brain a little.

After the bookstore(Dave bought Superman Red Son) we went to a middle eastern resteraunt, where I had a shwarma, a glass of white wine, and hummous. After weeks of meals that have consisted of fish broths, squid, burning hot kimchi, and rice this meal was the best thing ever. We were so appreciative of the food that we couldn't even make conversation. Afterwards Dave and Bonnie suggested going to this weird little ice-cream shop where customers create their own icecream by picking out flavors and toppings and blending them together. It was the perfect ending to an already great day.

Today the kids from Seoul are coming to visit me and we're going to check out my neighborhood. Tomorrow(Monday) I have to work, but Tuesday is a holiday and we're going on a hike with Mr. Kim. Supposedly this hike will involve a ton of rope work and rappeling-I'm looking forward to it.