Adventures and Misadventures in NeverLand

My favorite Korean Food

2009-08-07T00:34:00.000-07:00

It's called Kimchi Mandu and my cravings for it are extreme. The mandu part is rubbery, soft, and warm. The Kimchi is hot, spicy, and lingers linger lingers on your tongue.

How to Do a Birthday

2009-08-07T00:17:00.000-07:00

Step #1. Open your eyes

Step #2. Find a mirror. Discover(with delight and a happy dance) that being twenty-three does not automatically equal crow's feet and smile lines.

Step#3. Realize with glee that you're celebrating your birthday in the far East and decide(randomly) to spend an entire day doing whatever it is you want to do most.

Step #4. Treat yourself to a wonderful Western breakfast that consists of warm and fresh crossiants and a cafe latte.

Step# 5. Go to Seoul(one of the greatest cities on the planet) and meet up with one of your most favorite expat friends.

Step#6. Locate Seoul Art Center and check out a traveling show put on by one of your favorite photographers(Terry Richardson). Hold breathe for an entire minute while you take in your favorite photo of all time(in this case the infamous kiss between Batman and Robin).

Step #7. Hike up Seoul hill for an awesome panoramic. Make favorite expat friend pose for photos with random Korean hikers. Go check out famous temple. Get the giggles during Budhist prayer and incur the wraith of everyone surrounding you.

Step #8. Have a greek salad, glass of Chardonay, and piece of cheesecake at the Louis Vuitton flagship store. See Lady Gaga in the flesh. Admire her interesting cone dress and purple hair bow.

Step#9. Go shopping and buy a new outfit that you can't really afford but feel you deserve.

Step #10. Go back to Incheon and get a call from one of your nearest and dearest.

Step #11. Surprise dinner with twelve expat friends at a great Indian food place. Devour Naan bread, chicken salad, and mint chutney.

Step 12. Have a few drinks in the bustling downtown area and then head home for a deep twelve hour sleep

Pro Soccer

2009-07-23T03:46:00.000-07:00

Korean Pro Soccer=Even more boring than Korean Pro baseball!

Who would have thought?

On the plus side, the stadium sells some amazing snacks.

Brandon's Band is Releasing an EP!

2009-07-23T03:32:00.000-07:00

I say it in the title.

I love Milks and Rectangles and am a little sad that I can't be a rectanglette/Roadie(I think I just invented a word) for the band this August when they tour their upcoming EP release Civic Virtues.

The credit for this awesomem photo goes to my enormously talented friend Patrick Callbeck.

http://www.myspace.com/milksandrectangles

Tripping the Light Fantastic

2009-07-23T01:11:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to witness the longest solar eclipse of the century yesterday.

It partially blacked out the sun for about six minutes. Wikipedia had led me to the believe that the smog and pollution in Incheon would prevent those living in this industrial city from seeing it at all, but, as it turns out, wikipedia had led me astray again. My school passed out wax paper to the students and teachers and we were taken outside to spend a few minutes staring at the sky.

The eclipse started in India and moved east over China before it cast it shadows over Japan and South Korea; it ended in Hawaii and peaked at twenty percent. Scientists(according to the BBC) said that it was the first time in the history of the world that so many people witnessed a solar eclipse.

It was kind of surreal.

Bloggin Blahs

2009-07-19T04:51:00.000-07:00

I haven't been blogging. Obviously.

A couple of weeks ago, the gang(there are about twelve of us who hang out on a regular basis) got together to watch a baseball game and a debate about the nature of blogging broke out. One side of the group thought blogging was a great way to keep in touch with those back home, that it kept our lazy minds sharp, and that it would serve as a good record of our adventures. The other side argued that it was self indulgant and vain. I didn't pick a side and just felt gulty about keeping a blog instead. I have also been plagued with those "what am I going to do with my life?" worries, have been doubting my writing skills, and I managed to get an SD chip caught in my lousy joke of a laptop which means that I can't upload my photos onto my computer.

My apologies to everyone who reads this on a regular basis and who have felt disappointed by my blogging laziness.

Here's an update on my activites.
-The embargo I love to complain about has finally been lifted and now, due to various random weird circumstances, I'm travelling to the Phillipines for a week in August instead of China as was orginally planned. I am wickedly excited. I'm flying to Manila on August 8th!

-Teaching has become my one true love. I know there are no jobs in Canada in this field so I'm not going to pursue it, but I'm enjoying it more than any job I've ever had.

-I went to a mud festival in Boreyang last weekend. We coated ourselves with healing mud and swam in the ocean for hours. That night, there was an amazing fireworks display set to music and the skies opened up and poured(moonsooned) rain on us. It was awesome.

-This weekend I pubcrawled with friends on Friday, went hiking and shopping with Sharon on Saturday, and enjoyed an excellent raw seafood buffet today.

Here's an Update on How I've Been Feeling

-Tired. The heat makes it impossible to get anything close to a decent rest.

-Worried. I was hoping the Korea would shed some light on the ever present question of what I should do next. It hasn't. I still have no idea where my talents(if they exist) lie. The question that always dogs me is whether or not I should do something that I enjoy(but makes next to no money), or if I should go back to school, get my masters, and attempt to find a legitmate job(law, library science??) that earns a decent wage. I like writing. I really enjoy taking pictures. I love traveling. There aren't many jobs that combine these three things. I'm also not talented at any of these things. It really really hurts to be bad at the things you love doing.

-Excited. There's always something to do in Korea. If I'm not hiking, traveling to a festival, camping, or sightseeing than I'm at a baseball game or friend's house relaxing with the best group of people I could imagine. I'm always looking forward to something and it's nice to have that kind of anticpation in my life.

Books, Quakes, and Rain

2009-07-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

It's rained all week and I've caught up on my reading. I finished Love in the Time of Chlorea and The God Delusion this week. Both were kind of depressing which made them perfect cloudy dark weather reads. Next I'm going to tackle Enders Game, which seems like the opposite of a sunny day beach read.

Anyone else try to match books to the weather?

There was a small earthquake here yesterday. I felt the ground tremble a little as I walked into school. Three girls on the playground stopped playing jump rope and looked at me, and I shrugged, I didn't really know what was going on. My co-teacher told me it was a small tremour(barely even on the richter scale) when I walked into the staff room. It was kind of exciting. and I spent hours yesterday researching earthquakes on the internet.

What would be a good eathquake read?

Slacky Mcslackersen/Living the Dream

2009-07-06T03:49:00.001-07:00

I spent the last three days sprawled out like a lizard in the sand on a beautiful secluded Island.

I realize that I can do this exact thing at home. The difference being that my summers on Prince Edward Island usually involve working sixty hours a week so that I can save money for the University school year. Now I work nine-to-five and can actually take the time and spend the cash to really enjoy a weekend in the white sand.

Getting to the Island was an adventure and half. Four of my new friends and I decided that we wanted to spend two nights on the beach, rather than just Saturday night like the rest of the ESL gang. So as soon as the school day on Friday ended I rushed home via the express bus(which I never take because it's basically a suicide mission), jammed my stuff into a kitbag, bought some fireworks, and jumped onto the subway. We rode the subway to airport Island where we then jumped in a cab. The cabdriver informed us in Korean(AND I UNDERSTOOD WHAT HE WAS SAYING!!!!!!!!) that the ferry to the Island was leaving in twenty minutes and that he was going to have to drive very, very, very fast in order to get us there on time. We all looked at each other hesitantly and collectively told him that driving fast was fine.

The cab driver drove 170 kms an hour. And got into a car accident! He was driving dangerously close to an old fashioned looking truck and knocked his rear view mirror off....and he still didn't stop. We made the last ferry of the night(eight O'clock) and were at the camp-site by nine.

It was an amazing weekend. We spent Friday night singing along to a guitar and building a truly impressive bonfire. The next day I woke early and went for a three hour long hike, the views were spectucular. The rest of the gang showed up around noon and we played ultimate frisbee all afternoon. I also went for my first official dip in the Yellow sea, it was warm like bathwater, and a few of us spent a couple of hours diving and looking for crabs. We watched fireworks for hours that night and listened to some more guitar.

I love weekends(also I promise to be a better and more consistant blogger)!

Lazy

2009-06-29T14:56:00.001-07:00

SO
I haven't really updated in a while. I don't really have an excuse other than just the usual "I am totally lazy" routine. Now that I've been here for a while things are beginning to feel routine and so I have less to write about. Tomorrow I'm going to make a real effort to blog about what I've been up to in the last little while.

Bang Culture

2009-06-24T01:16:00.000-07:00

Bang is the Korean word for "room" and it's a word that dominates and pervades Korean life. It's used as suffix and is connected to places where locals and (sometimes ESL teachers) like to have all kinds of weird fun. It's pretty hard to come to Korea and not become immersed in bang culture.

Da-Bang: I have yet to go to one of these places but they're basically coffee shops where you pay extra to have the waitress flatter you. It's unusual in cities like Incheon or Seoul but it is a pretty common way for young ladies to make money in the countryside.

DVD Bang: This is a room with wipe clean sofas, tissues, a large TV, and an extensive movie selection. Sometimes it's used by those who just want to catch a flick, but more often than not it's used by young Korean couples eager for alone time outside of the watchful eyes of parents and guardians. Kind of sketchy.

PC Bang: These are twenty-four intenet cafes. People come to these for gaming marathons(usually Starcraft) and at least a few times a year people die from exhaustion in a PC Bang. Basically they play until they quite literally can't.

Game Bang: Just a giant room open twenty four hours a day where you can choose from any number of board games(including scrabble and snakes and ladders). These are cheap and because they're open at all hours, many ESL teachers choose to crash here on a night out.

Jimijibang: I love these! These are Korean saunas. You walk into a Korean sauna, pay eight dollars, and for twenty-four hours you can stay in the jimijibang. Many broke travellers sleep on the floor or the benches of a jimijibang rather than shell out money for a hotel or hostel. Picture three steam rooms and five or six different flat pools of water with orchids floating everwhere. Each pool of water is a different tempature and you're supposed to change pools every so often.

Nore-Bang: Twenty-four house Korean Karokee joints. Anytime I've gone out up for dinner with my Korean Co-teachers they always want to go sing at nore-bang after. The songs that you can choose from at Nore Bang are always English songs, but they're really random and weird English songs. Songs that were maybe played for three months on the radio in the Western world are Karokee classics here. It can be very weird to hear your Korean co-teacher suggest a sing along to a band like Marcy Playground.

Korea..Kor-eh-ah..you remind me of the west side story..growin' up in Spanish Harlem!

2009-06-19T02:30:00.000-07:00

Oh Korea.

I love you alot. I have come to adore your food. Your people are kinder and more compassionate than I could have ever possibly imagined. Your scenery is serene and beautiful, your cities are bustling, and the nightlife is ridiculous. I love that I can't throw a rock without hitting a Budhist temple. I love that I can't go a week without craving Galbi . I love that ice cream tastes better here. Korea, I have even come to understand your obsession with delicous burning hot kimchi,(although that rumor that it cures everything from ADHD to male homosexuality....yeah Korea...I don't think that's a substantiated scientific fact).

I like most everything about you Korea... But sometimes, Korea, sometimes, I feel like you are the land that logic forgot.

Now Korea(and Korean friends of mine who might be reading this), I don't mean this in a negative way. The lack of logic I encounter(or rather the logic I don't encounter) makes everday a treasure trove of surprises. I love that I can never be one hundred percent positive that the bus I'm riding is going to end up where it the bus schedule claims it will. I love that my classes get cancelled at random and I'm often left with a ton of free time.I even love that the Korean sense of time is completely arbiatrary and that everyone is always late for everything.

I love it. I just don't "get" it. Why do you believe in fan death? Why don't you sell cheddar cheese? Why is my bus driver insane? Why is your sense of time different than my sense of time? Why is drinking and driving so common? Why do you both love and hate Westerners? Is your idea of punishment(corporal punishment) and your focus on personal appearances morally and ethically wrong? Or am I just socially constructed to believe one thing, and you're socially constructed to believe another? Perhaps most importantly, why, oh why, do you find insect larvae delicous?

Sincerely,
A confused and naive western girl

Random Thoughts

2009-06-18T14:54:00.000-07:00

Here are some random thoughts. I'm too brain dead to come up with any sort of cool topical segway. Bare with me.

1. Today was hectic. I taught seven classes back to back and didn't murder anyone. This deserves a pat on the back right? I have no idea how someone could teach for fifty years and not end up spending retirement banging their heads against the walls of a rubber room. I've said it before and I'll say it again, teaching=a huge challenge.

2.Thank god for my new bike. I come home and take out my frustrations on the roads and sidewalks of Incheon Korea. And how awesome is my new bike? It only cost forty Canadian dollars and it's so wonderfully, perfectly suited to me. That vintage frame melts my heart everytime I see it.

3. This is not a reasonable temperture. It's plus thirty five degrees today. I'm sitting at my desk at work encircled by pools of my own sweat. This isn't pleasant for anyone.

4. I love Paris Baguette. It's a bakery chain in Korea and is the only place that sells decent cookies. I gorged on three as a reward for not killing anyone today. Here's hoping this young fast metabloism holds out.

5. The weekend is coming. I'm taking my friend's daughter to the zoo on Saturday. I'm kind of excited, I never get to spoil kids rotten. Saturday night all of the ESL teachers are going to a professional soccer game, I'm on the fence, pro-sports always seem a little deathly dull to me. Tonight(Friday) is french toast night at my house. Weekends are always better.

6. I am sick of squid and seaweed soup. My school's serves this almost everyday and it smells like feet. It's rude to say no to any dish that's been offered, so sadly, feet soup is a part of my daily diet.

I could Kill My New Co-Teacher

2009-06-17T15:10:00.000-07:00

One of my beloved co-teachers is officially on bed rest until her baby is born.

My new replacement co-teacher is the most awkward shy person I have ever met in my life. He's twenty-two, and admitted to me yesterday that he's never really talked to a girl before. Girls and Boys are seperated at middle school in Korea, and don't interact socially until University where they are set up on blind dates by their friends and parents. This means that many young men, have never really had female friends, and therefore have no real sweet clue how to talk to women. Yesterday I was showing my class how to shake hands with each other and say, "nice to meet you", (in Korea, bowing is what they do instead), and he refused to touch my hand! I tried to explain to him, "But, we need to demonstrate shaking hands to the students", and he responded, "I'm sorry but I can't touch your hand if we're not dating". It was kind of hard to not roll my eyes to this, and I accidently said out loud, "Oh my God...seriously???"

Maybe I'm an insensitive jerk.

He's also horrible at keeping the class in order. He won't yell at the students and things get a little chaotic sometimes. I'm opposed to the usual punishment(hitting the children), but yelling, is an absolute must in the classroom. Co-teaching with guy is torture. I would rather inject the ebola virus into my eye than go to school and have to deal with this all day.

Muido Photos

2009-06-16T06:15:00.000-07:00

I love the beach. I am going back here as soon as I can.

My New Ride!

2009-06-15T06:41:00.000-07:00

Two things happened today.

1. I was incredibly homesick and spied on all my friends and Brandon via facebook for hours. This, of course, made the whole "missing everything about Prince Edward Island" far worse. My entire afternoon was lost in daydreams about going to Cedars/Leo's Thai/Beanz and gossiping about inane random pop culture tidbits with the Katie/Darrah/Kira/Gil. I also missed out on seeing the Barnkats(Katie and Gil's band for those who don't know) on the local news, which would been so much fun! I'm kind of hoping you girls played up the fashion and wore rompers and animal prints on Compass.

2. I cured my homesickness by buying myself an awesome used bike. It's fire engine red with a vintage low riding frame and white basket. It's amazing. If I had to be defined by something I owned then this would probably be it(or maybe my lucky blue dress...or my camera..or my library). Anyway it's made the day brighter.

Oh yeah

2009-06-14T03:10:00.000-07:00

Korean women do not wear bathing suits at the beach. They cover up from head to toe and wear giant scarves and head visors to protect from the sun. It seems counterproductive to go to the beach if you're that worried about being exposed to all of the ultra violent radiation. People are very anti-wrinkle here.

Muido Muido Muido

2009-06-14T02:56:00.000-07:00

It was another great weekend.

It took two ferries and three buses to get to this elusive little Island, but it was well worth the effort. Muido was the sight of a major battle in the Korean war(a South victory) and as a result is supposedly a huge tourist destination. However, for only five dollars Canadian(5000 kwon) we are able to stay in a hut on a pristine deserted beach. The sand was white and giant green hills made for a fairly awe-inspiring back ground.

It really seemed fairly undiscovered and I kind of felt like Leo Dicaprio in The Beach.

We spent the day swimming, playing frisbee, and BBQing(traditional Korean style which means lots of pork belly and hot kimchi=yum). We all stayed out late to see the stars, which was quite a novelty, the light pollution in Korea is extreme and I haven't gotten to see stars since I left Canada. In the morning, I woke up early and went for a walk on the beach alone. I was climbing over some rocks when I saw, near my toes, my first wild Tarantuala. It was black and hairy and about the size of my fist. Pretty much the most terrifying thing ever.

I'll post some pictures later.

Beach Bummin'

2009-06-12T16:10:00.001-07:00

Today's the day! Beach day!

My co-teacher told me that Korean women don't usually wear two piece bathing suits because of the high value placed on being and looking modest. I'm kind of excited to see the Korean beach styles that have replaced the ever present, sometimes boring, bikini.

A Plan, A Woman, Not a Canal (kind of joke)

2009-06-12T15:48:00.000-07:00

Okay. I have decided what I'm going to do next. I am going to apply for two Masters programs. Library and Information Science at Dahlousie University in Halifax and a Masters in Women and Gender Issues at Memorial are the programs and universities I've chosen. I'm also going to live with one of my favorites-Katie Rankin!

Living with K-Ranks will be killer, our combined book, records, art, and cute dress collections would make for or one heck of a homestead. We're already both busy envisioning all the fun sheniagans we'll most likely get into(although I do have these nightmares about her robbing an American Apparal, which are less fun).

She would probably attend the awesome journalism and writing program at Kings, and I would either take Library Science or work/take a few creative writing classes/continue to do freelance writing with FASHION. We've also been talking with my super talented artsy sister Alexis and have agreed that next year will also be devoted to writing(and in Alexis's case drawing and painting) a graphic novel. I can't tell you what it's about, but I can tell you the possible title.

"We have Decided to Live Wild and Eccentric Lives"

This is a quote from the Mary Jacobs Phelps, A New York socialite/ activist/poet, who also invented the bra. She wrote this sentence in a letter to her parents, after she and her boyfriend eloped to France, where they became giants in literary circles.

Anyway that's the plan. It feels good to finally have one.

Muido Beach

2009-06-10T15:14:00.000-07:00

I'm sleeping in a hut on an Island beach near the Eastern sea this coming weekend. Swimming! Frisbee! Soccer! Bonfires!

On a less positive note(and perhaps a sign that my youth is already beginning to decline??) my back hates me in advance.

Somehow I Don't Think That Beating Racism Out of Young Kids is the Answer

2009-06-09T03:31:00.000-07:00

My grade four class was hard at work this afternoon. I had given them word searches and they were perfectly silent for a good twenty minutes. It was delightful. Peaceful. Relaxing. I sipped tea and felt pretty pleased with myself. Then one little boy(for the sake of the story we'll call him "Jeff"), reached over and pinched his neighbor. I told him to stop and get to back to work. Clearly I didn't use my scary "I mean buisness voice", and "Jeff" decided that using his rather large and thick English text book as a blunt weapon was a good idea. Kid number two had a bloody nose and I had minor chaos in the classroom.

It gets worse.

I decided that the suitable punishment for "Jeff" was to stand in the corner for the remainder of class. This is considered a degrading punishment at my school and I'm only supposed to use it for the very worst offenses. It was also made clear to "Jeff" via my co-teacher's Korean translation that he could expect to be punished by his homeroom teacher after English class was over. "Jeff" glared at me, threw his kitbag at my face, and called me a "dirty nigger". I caught the kitbag before it hit me and thought to myself , "Okay this is a teachable moment". After punishing Jeff further(lines and lots of them) I launched into a speech about why it's not okay to use racist terms like the "N" word.

This confused every child in my class and at this point turned the classroom into a racist slapstick Wayne and Shuster routine. Awkward questions were thrown at me from all angles and my teacher had to translate at break neck speeds. The kids seemed to think that the problem with the above described situation wasn't the use of the "n" word, so much as the fact that "Jeff" had used it on a white person. They weren't concerned with the ethics of the situation, just the inaccuracy. I tried to explain to them and things began to go awry.

Here are a few of the questions that my impromtu anti-racism speech warranted.

"Why can't we make fun of people from Africa, everyone knows they don't have any money and they have dark skins?"

"but teacher dark skin is not as good, everyone knows that!?"

"but teacher everyone is not equal, some people are dumb!"

At this point I felt incredibly guilty. I had no idea how to convince these students that all people are equal. I felt like a hypocrite because I know that some people are born with advantages that others lack. I had lost all control of my classroom, was in way over my head, and had begun to realize all the ethical problems that surround the fact that I'm a white Westerner lecturing a class of young Asian students on Racism. Basically, I was reduced to watching the hands on the clock and praying to God that there would be a fire drill, something, anything, to end the class early. The kids kept firing away with the questions and my co-teacher grabbed my elbow and said, "do you want me to hit the next child that speaks out of turn?"

"No" I said pretty quickly "no, that's okay"

It seemed I hadn't said it clearly. A little boy, who has always been well-behaved and who tries really hard in my classes, raised his hand and called out, "But teacher if Nigger is just a word, the same as other English words, why can't we say it?" I was suitably impressed with this question and my mind rased to try and find a way to answer it that wasn't total bullshit. My co-teacher, meanwhile, barked something in Hangul at him, reached across the desk, and shook his shoulders with both hands. When the bell rang he was still crying.

This isn't even an unusual classroom scenerio. This is an average day.

Watermelon Heaven

2009-06-08T01:31:00.000-07:00

I just bought an entirely huge juicy watermelon for three dollars Canadian. Glory days.

Dog Soup

2009-06-07T15:35:00.001-07:00

Tastes like lamb. Smells like Hell.

Dropping Out of the Rat Race Vs Re-enlisting

2009-06-06T03:53:00.000-07:00

Another hiking day, this day was especially interesting, I gained alot of insight into Toronto culture and lifestyle. I convinced my friend Karen to come climbing and she brought her friend Patrick. Karen in the most amazing girl. She's 27 and is the definition of the word free spirit. After univeristy she broke up with her long term boyfriend and backpacked around Europe alone, then she moved to the Cayman Islands where she bartended for three years. Apparantly this type of service industry work equals big time bucks in the Cayman Islands and Karen lived on the beach in an apartment with it's own pool and fitness complex. After her years of exotic living in the South, she took a long vacation(by herself) and backpacked around Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. She's a citizen of the world.

Her friend Patrick is also well travelled. He's lived in the Middle East, Switzerland, and Asia. His family is spread out all over the world(his favorite brother is now in the Middle East). While travelling he became an awesome snowboarder, a hiking enthusiast, and he can now speak several languages. After teaching here for a few years he plans on climbing Mount Kilamanjero(or however it's spelled) in Africa. Pat plans on circling the globe as often as he can.

They were telling me their uber interesting life stories(I often feel very dull and small town compared to the people I meet in Korea), and we somehow managed to get seperated from the main group. Pat, Karen, and Myself ended up trekking through wild bush, off the beaten path, with several Koreans(who didn't speak any English). We all got massively sunburnt and were scratched to pieces by thorns, and eaten alive by bugs. After hiking for about five hours we came to a giant temple and from there we decided to climb down the mountains, sans our Korean mountain guides, we basically found a path alongside a stream and hoped that it would lead us down to Seoul. It did. Once we reached the bottom of the mountain we found an outdoor patio and sat in the sun sipping wine coolers and eating a bucket of complimentry almonds and rice cakes.

It was an amazing day.

The coolest thing about Pat and Karen is that they've decided to entirely drop out of the rat race and have seemingly won or defeated the rat race because of this decision. Pat was a computer programmer in Toronto and says that he was really caught up in the idea of owning material things. He graduated from University and went to work for IBM, got a pretty girlfriend, put a small down payment on a fancy downtown Toronto Condo(one that caught 300,000$). Then, in his own words, his life began to suck. The condo payments and car payments were so high that he had to start bartending at night in order to keep making regular payments, he never got to see his pretty girlfriend, and because of the stressful schedule he kept, he began drinking way too much.

One day he decided that he had it. He broke up with his girlfriend, sold the condo, quit the job, and took off to teach ESL. He's been at it for years now and he hasn't looked back. The money he makes doing this job, the destressful nature of the work, and the traveling are way more fun to Pat than being caught up in life in Toronto. He wants to do this for life. Karen shares this perspective. Their only problem or doubt surrounding their chosen wandering lifestyle is that they both love Canada and it's beautiful mountains, fields, and free healthcare.

On one hand I totally understand this attitude. My lifestyle in Korea is one hundred percent better than my lifestyle at home. I can afford to go out for dinner every night if I want, I can do cool things on the weekends(In July I'm going to see Oasis and Weezer play live!), I can travel to other countries in Asia for only a few hundred dollars. I was always stressed about money on Prince Edward Island. I am never stressed abotu money or bills here. It`s great. On the other hand, I can't help but think that life doesn't have to be one of these two options(rat race vs. traveling forever), it can be a little more if you plan it right.

I suggested that living on the East Coast is a good way to both avoid the pitfulls of getting trapped into a super material driven lifestyle and enjoy what Canada has to offer. Karen and Pat scoffed at this idea, "yeah, but who wants to live on the east coast?", which is a fair question. To people living in Calgary, Toronto, or Montreal, the notion of living in the East probably does seem bleak. We don't have that same type of fast paced excitement. We also don't have traffic jams or crazy crime rates. Drugs aren't the same problem that they are in TO. We have reasonable tution rates at out universities and are surrounded by beautiful natural scenery. It doesn`t really matter if I don`t own a nice car(or even know how to drive) in Halifax. I can walk wherever I want to go.

I guess the whole point of this whole rant is that I keep rediscovering how much I love and appreciate Eastern Canada. I don`t think that moving back there is re-enlisting in the rat race, it`s like an option C.

It's early in the Morning

2009-06-05T15:22:00.000-07:00

My Korean co-teachers are taking me out for a dinner of dog soup and live(still moving!) Octopus tonight. I'm thinking about cancelling on them. Yesterday I was gung ho about trying all the Korea has to to offer...today....the idea of dog soup is making feel sick.

Gaps

2009-06-05T01:07:00.000-07:00

There is a serious gap between the wealthy and the poor in Korea. Yes, I am aware that this particular gap exists everywhere, but in Korea the wealthy and poor seem to live right next to each other. The contradiction and difference in lifestyle is extremely noticable. Check out these photos!

Yohaenghago Issumnida/I am Traveling Alone

2009-06-02T04:36:00.000-07:00

"I am traveling alone"

This is THE only sentence that seems to stump BOTH my Korean co-teachers and my new Canadian/American/ British friends. I had assumed that in this day and age there would tons of single girls flocking to Asia to find work and have adventures. Teaching ESL in Asia in not unlike the gold rush days in the Yukon and Alaska. There's money to be made, a new countryside to explore, and an exciting, fascinating, and unique culture to embrace. It's also relatively safe(outside of this whole North Korea fiasco) and ultimately seems like the perfect place for young girls fresh out of university to come and explore.

Instead it seems like the majority of young women who come to Korea to teach are accompanied by their boyfriends or husbands. There are a few single women to be found but they are the minority. Even more rare is the girl that leaves her boyfriend at home to travel. Usually when I tell people that I have a boyfriend at home, I'm met with disbelief, disgust, and shock. I get asked questions like, "If he's so great why are you in Korea?", "Wow. Is he angry that you're here?", and my personal favorite, (that's so rude I usually can't help but act a little incredulous), "Don't you think it's selfish to be traveling while he's home?". In fact I've even gotten comments on this very blog( cowardly comments that I've chosen not to post, because hey, it's my blog, and I'll do what I want) suggesting that I'm a huge, selfish, naive jerk for leaving Brandon behind for a year.

Here's the thing. I think everyone should try traveling alone. And living alone. It's not selfish to want to get know yourself a little better. When Brandon and I've traveled in the past, I've let him handle certain things that I'm now forced to handle myself. I'm learning Korean fairly quickly and I study it every night. I can read maps. I haven't lost a single important document. If Brandon was on this trip we would probably be spending time together and the studying would most likely not be happening, my map reading skills would be useless, and he would be carrying my passport for me. Discovering that I can do these things on my own is a huge confidence booster.I'm also in complete control of what I want to see and when I want to see it. Prada transformer? Sure. Modern art musesum at eight on a Saturday morning? No problem. Ten hour hiking trip? Yep.

I think it's important to live alone too. I'm learning how to cook new and interesting dishes. I'm discovering new hobbies(I just transformed a pillow case into a totally adorable dress). I'm making new friends. I also get to indulge in guilty pleasure behavior whenever I like and I don't have to consult anyone. I buy myself flowers once a week. I eat peanut butter straight from the jar. I dance to Metric, Teegan and Sarah, and various Musical Soundtracks without any shame whatsoever. I reread my favorite parts of books and watch Roman Holiday every third night. I go for fifteen Km long runs. I'm twenty-two and now is the time to live completely for myself, and that shouldn't have to come with any guilt.

It's also a two way street. I fully expect, want, and encourage Brandon to go have adventures too. When I return to Canada it will be time for another sea phase for Brandon, and he'll be on a ship for four months. I'm hoping he chooses to go somewhere far away and exotic(maybe up North with a possible trek to Greenland).

So yes, Yohaenghago Issumnida, and no, I don't think it's selfish.

Police and Temples

2009-06-01T05:21:00.001-07:00

Photos of hiking trips/police riots

2009-06-01T05:08:00.000-07:00

There's an endless stream of protests in Seoul. There are obviously different motivations behind each protest and as a non-native it can be a little hard to understand what or why a protest is happening. The pictures here were taken in front of the blue house, which is where the current president lives. The police are attempting to protect President Lee's residence(and I would assume life) from the angry mobs that gather in front of the building everyday. The Korean people feel that Lee's brutal and relentless investigation of the former president's spending habits were the main reason that the former president killed himself.

The other pictures are of a temple that we discovered while hiking.

Thanks Alot Swine Flu!

2009-06-01T04:48:00.000-07:00

A travel embargo that prevents ESl teachers from leaving and returning to Korea on their vacations is now in place thanks to the dreaded swine flu(or as my students like to call it, "the mexican pig headache". My ticket to China is currently rendered useless. Anger has set in.

Not to Worry Folks

2009-05-29T02:01:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-28T13:06:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-26T02:45:00.001-07:00

I'm off to grab a green tea cone.

Picture of the Former Prez

2009-05-26T02:41:00.001-07:00

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.

2009-05-26T01:44:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-25T03:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-25T03:17:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-19T04:24:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-19T03:06:00.000-07:00

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?

2009-05-16T21:28:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-14T22:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-14T03:12:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-14T01:42:00.000-07:00

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!

2009-05-13T05:08:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-12T15:32:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-12T07:11:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-12T06:00:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-12T01:12:00.000-07:00

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.

2009-05-11T15:34:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-10T07:32:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-10T03:05:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-10T02:26:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-10T02:20:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-09T23:15:00.001-07:00

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

2009-05-08T13:39:00.000-07:00

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

Good god baseball's boring.

Check up on Goal Three

2009-05-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-07T15:07:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-06T06:59:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-06T03:48:00.000-07:00

Lazy Blogger

2009-05-06T03:25:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-03T15:14:00.001-07:00

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

Because We Can't Understand

2009-05-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

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

2009-05-02T17:54:00.000-07:00

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.

More Tales of Miming.

2009-04-30T14:28:00.000-07:00

I've haven't felt great this past week and yesterday morning I woke up with an incredibly sore throat. Which made it time for everyone's favorite game "Miming at the pharmacy"! All drugs are over the counter in Korea, even Tylenol and Aspirin. I was trying to buy Halls or something of the like and spent twenty minutes trying to suggest this in sign language. Korea has one of the most strict anti-drug policies in the world and this carries into being extremely alarmist when it comes to the most basic of cold medicine. I went home and copied the proper characters from my Hangul to English book. The pharmacist still had no idea what I wanted and I went home feeling like an idiot sideshow freak for having to play charades in such a public place. Now I have a sore throat, wounded pride, and still no throat soothers.

Frustration.

In other news, today is "Sports Day" at my school so I have no classes to teach. I'm going to be refereeing a soccer game in the afternoon and yelling out English instructions in a relay race. Should be fun. Girls don't play soccer in Korea, it's considered a "man's sport". Whenever I've told the kids that I play soccer they all gasp. My co-teacher kindly explained that they are really not used to that and think that I must be a big "tomboy" and that I must be really "tough".
Now that they all know I play soccer they've been much better behaved.

It's the ultimate discipline tool.

Plant Killer

2009-04-30T08:53:00.000-07:00

I am a slayer of houseplants and cacti. A serial killer of the leafy green sort. Now my Korean apartment is decorated by dead branches and plants that needed more love than I could give them.

Everyone is Kung Fu Fighting..

2009-04-28T06:40:00.000-07:00

Many South Koreans have been raised on a diet of Taekwondo. Lessons often begin at the age of five and people study this martial art throughout their lives. It's the national sport of Korea and it makes Koreans so tough that I'm quite sure that there are six-year-old girls in my grade one class who could effectively kick my ass.

This is why the fight I witnessed just five minutes ago looked like a deleted scene from Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. There's a bar outside of my building(one that plays a ridiculous amount of Rita McNeil) and I walk past it every time I go to the nearest seven eleven. On my way back from buying a bottle of water I watched as two men, surrounded by other shouting men, argued back and forth. One men screamed and spit on the other(considerably larger) man and the whole scene erupted into one giant mass of flying leaps, kicks, and karate chops.

I'm now officially taking my camera with me everytime I walk to the seven eleven.

'Bueller.... Bueller... Beueller?'

2009-04-28T01:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I feel like I'm the greatest teacher who ever lived, a cross between the Ms. Honey of Mathilda fame and a one line cracking comedian a la Demetri Martin. Other times I find myself screaming at the kids like a fourteen year old girl at a Jonas Brothers concert.

Teaching is a challenge.

Really horrible videos.

2009-04-27T05:11:00.000-07:00

I suck at videos.

2009-04-27T05:08:00.000-07:00

Please work video blog!

2009-04-27T05:00:00.000-07:00

I don't think I'll ever be this carefree again!

2009-04-27T04:55:00.000-07:00

No money problems. A fun job. Lots of free time. I like it.

Bought some tickets!

2009-04-27T01:53:00.001-07:00

In the last few days I bought a ticket to Singapore China(it was only 25o dollars rounds trip), a ticket for a weekend at a world famous mud festival in July, and a ticket to the beaches in Busan for this upcoming weekend.

I love looking forward to things. It's almost more fun than the actual doing.

More pictures and a further explanation

2009-04-27T01:03:00.000-07:00

Sunday was weird.

I set out at eight in the morning-the art gallery opened at ten and I wanted to give myself time in case I managed to get lost. I really have to start giving myself more credit because I always end up being hours early for everything and I've yet to get lost(although I have been very confused as to where I was on several occasions). The gallery was on the orange subway line and I wasn't to sure where my transfer stop was. I must have looked bewildered because a sweet elderly Korean man asked me if I needed help. After explaining to him where it was I wanted to go, he exclaimed "Oh that's my stop too! I'll show you where to transfer!".

The gallery was still about twenty minutes away at this point but conversation between myself and Mr. Pa flowed relatively easily. He was delighted to practice his English and even more delighted to find out the I was from the Island. He's been to PEI several times(small world syndrome) and he sells solar panels to a few companies on Canada's East Coast. When it became time to transfer he insisted on introducing me to his daughter and his granddaughter who were waiting at the subway station for him. She was as lovely as he was and insisted that I come to breakfast with them. Feeling like I would hurt there feelings by refusing I agreed and was practically force fed an amazing Western style brunch.

I've never been so happy to see whole wheat bread.

We had a great time together and they are eager to show me their favorite places in Seoul. They've invited me for a personal tour next weekend. After brunch they dropped me off at the gallery. The exhibit was amazing-but was even more wonderful was the arts center itself. It had everything; a maze garden, sculpture gallery, an opera house, ballet theater, and a center for musical theater. I picked up a program and was delighted to find out that a traveling troupe
from Broadway will be Phantom of the Opera all throughout July. Which makes that the best possible birthday present I will probably ever give myself!

After exploring for hours I jumped on a train to Insadong where I had made plans to meet up with other expat Islanders. Five minutes into the ride the train lurched forward and screeched to a halt between stations. An anxious voice came over the loudspeaker and because my Hangul still sucks I had no idea what was going on. Everyone around me was starting to look freaked out, so I began to worry that there was a fire. I wondered from cab to cab trying to find someone who spoke English. Finally one Korean girl removed her i-pod from her ears and said rather nonchantly "Oh someone's committed suicide on the tracks, we should be going again in twenty minutes".

I didn't really know what to so at this point so I called Dave and explained that I was going to be late(he was awed by the randomness), and then after letting him go I pulled out Manchester Park and began reading, feeling like a jerk. The train started up again after thirty minutes and I found Dave and Kelly in Insadong.

We spent the afternnoon watching street performers, small parades, and attempting to make our our paper lotus lanterns for the parade. Dave and Kelly made pretty lanterns but after twenty minutes I only made a giant mess and was covered in gross thick glue-so I bought one instead. We also stuffed out faces with the amazing street food. Street food here is either delicous or bordering on insane and possibly illiegal. People regularly knaw on octpi tenacles and giant legs of uncooked pork which worries me especially in light of Swine flu! Insect larvae is another gross one-people pop these gross things into their mouths and it releases a yellow pus. I can't understand the appeal.

We then met up with more friends and watched the world's biggest parade. It was totally different than a Western parade and featured thousands of orange robed monks carrying lanterns, floats made of paper that breathed real fire, and beautiful women performing traditional dances.

All in all it wasn't a day that I'll forget anytime soon.

Another Interesting Day-A-Sa

2009-04-26T14:58:00.000-07:00

ak
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Wow. Sunday was amazing-random and weird and lots of other adjectives. I have to get to work so I can't begin to explain and express it. I'll summarize.

Woke up at eight
jumped on train
Had breakfast with a Korean family I met on said train
Saw amazing art show
caught a train
train halted suddenly
someone had thrown themselves onto the tracks
train gets going again
meet up with Dave and friends in traditional market
made a lotus lantern
explored world famous temple
watched world famous parade
went home

Ignore the Spelling Mistakes Please!

2009-04-25T16:32:00.000-07:00

I hate editing and these posts are written on a whim and are supposed to be and look organic. So please ignore the spelling errors!! I know these posts are riddled with them and I prefer it like that!

Gustav Klimt in Korea

2009-04-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

Catching a train to see the Gustav Klint show in Seoul! I couldn't convince anyone to wake up at eight on a Sunday to see an art show so it's a solo trip-but I'm thinking that could make it more fun.

Then I'm meeting up with some Islanders who got in touch with me via facebook-they're determined to show me their favorite places in Seoul and I think we're going out for Middle Eastern food. I've really missed chickpeas. and Shwarama. The word Lebenese food had a Pavlov effect on me, and I'm already starving and salivating in antcipation. Finally tonight, after this already awesome day, I'll be sitting alongside the road watching thousands of practicing Budhists wave lanterns and sing in celebration of Budhuh's birthday.

What a day!

Everything's Coming Up Roses

2009-04-25T05:11:00.001-07:00

I had big plans to go hiking today but with the combination of huge buckets of rain falling from the sky, and last night's craziness I ended up sleeping until late this afternoon. I was pretty bored when I woke up so I took a stroll around the blocks due West of my building. Turns out there's a decent looking Japanese sushi place, a movie theater(that plays English movies!!), and an indoor rock climbing gym. I rushed home, grabbed some gym clothes, and spent the next two hours taking a climbing lesson. The lesson was in Korean but with my broken Hangul, my instructor's broken English, and an impressive amount of miming the lesson went surprisingly smoothly.

On the way back to my apartment I literally stopped to smell some yellow roses that were being sold at a little shop near my apartment. I ended up buying twelve yellow roses for three dollars Canadian. My apartment smells so sweet now.

In other completely unrelated news-the music from a nearby bar floats up to my room every night. Usually I hear classic rock tunes, but for some odd reason every night at nine the piano bar plays a Rita McNeil and Men of the Deeps Song, and the entire bar sings along! I have no idea how an awkward song about the 92 Springhill mining collapse could become such a breakaway hit in the Asian Pacific.

Rita McNeil is big in Korea. Insert joke.

Dancing in the Dark

2009-04-24T20:23:00.001-07:00

So last night/this morning was a complete mess. A fun mess. But a mess nonetheless.

We began the night in Bepyeoung where I met up with Iman, Hung, Elisha, Matt, and Ryan. We're all pretty much strangers to each other so our hour long subway ride into Seoul was spent on the typical get-to-know-you questions. Then we walked(which was beyond painful in the stupid high heels I decided to wear) to a small hole in the wall bar. Matt, a Bush-loving American who always talks about "his awesome frat brothers", insisted on carrying my kit-bag. He's from the deep south so he was trying to impress all of the girls with that stereotypical fake chivilary that the red states are so well known for. I don't think we could less in common-he doesn't like books, anything that isn't Westernized, and Obama. The main thing that he misses from home is...beerpong.

Silly American.

Dave joined us and we moved on to the next bar where we danced for a solid hour. Then the girls(not including myself) decided to step outside. After this decision was made the seven of us became seperated and lost in Hongdae. There were just too many people in the streets and getting seperated, in retrospect, was inevitable. If I had been alone and lost in Seoul, I might have been terrified. But the boys(Dave, Matt and Ryan) all share a devil-may-care, relaxed attitude, and we decided to make the most of the night. This involved befriending a good natured Korean BBoy dancer named Billy who took us to his friend's bar where we had unlimited free drinks. We danced until three in the morning with our new Korean friends before realizing that Matt(and my bag) had disappeared.

Silly American.

We then spent half an hour searching for Matt(and more importantly my bag). After coming to the conclusion that Matt probably ran into some Pi Beta Delta frat brothers(they are everywhere-like an incurable and obnoxious plague), we decided to dance some more and stayed out until five in the morning, then caught the first Subway back to Inchoeon. Ryan and I then embarked on a calling Matt relentlessly mission because my bag had keys, money and ID in it. Finally we were able to get a hold of him. It turns out he left the bar because he was craving KFC...which was just so perfectly American, stereotypical, and hilarous that I couldn't even be angry that he took off with my bag. All in all it was an awesome night...but so much for "going out with the girls".

Iman, Elisha, and Hung have invited me to go lie on the beach with them next weekend so I might still make some good girlfriends yet!

Golden Girls/ Thank You For Being a Friend!

2009-04-24T02:08:00.000-07:00

Katie was online last night and she and I had a great little chat about how hard it is to make good girlfriends. We both agreed that it's easier to befriend guys, they're generally easy-going, fun, and not into playing the role of a friend/rival. It's also hard to find girls with similar interests(especially when you're a girl who loves comic books, thrifting, musical theatre, black comedy, and writing). It seems like most girls I've met here love shopping, clubbing, gossip...and various other things I have no interest in....

The girls I've met here are nothing like me and I've mostly been hanging out with guys. But! I've decided that not making girlfriends for an entire year is lame and I'm going to try and broaden my social circle and thus I'm going "clubbing" in Seoul with five other girls tonight....I even bought a new lipstick to commerate the occasion.

I miss you Katie/Darrah/ Gil/Kira/Dee !

Pay Day Plans!

2009-04-23T02:44:00.000-07:00

Upcoming plans!

This weekend=The birthday celebrations of Budha at the temples in Seoul! I'm going to witness the world's largest parade!

Next Weekend=A four day weekend on the beaches of Busan with a few of the ESL teachers!

The weekend after that-Potentially exploring the DMZ(the border between South and North Korea)....and bungee jumping!

Also I'm going to buy a new book on payday-I've managed to burrow through all 26 I brought with me.

Korean Street Fashion

2009-04-22T07:22:00.000-07:00

I can't accurately describe Korean fashion to you.

It's horrible and wonderful and brazen and completely stupid all at once. I have witnessed every fashion look that has been trendy for the last thirty years on various locals. There are punks, princesses, David Bowie wannebes, ironic mustaches, label queens(Marc Jacons is revered as a God here), and sailor moon inspired outfits every which way you look. It becomes impossible to define. Yet, there are some looks that I see every single day, worn by the exact same type of girl.

I call it Korean barbie. This girl will inevitably be wearing three or four inch high stilletos(which is crazy considering that the roads are basically giant potholes with the occasional flat spot), tights that cut off at her ankles, an ill-fitting short skirt, and a shrunken jacket. I hate this look! But to be fair, for every girl wearing a version of this stepford assemble there's a girl wearing something inspired and original. There was a girl on the subway tonight who was looking pretty great in mens inspired fedora, doc martens, and a radiohead t-shirt!

Couple look is another wonder. Young Korean couples will wear matching outfits to signify that they're together. Sometimes celeberities appear to do this as well(see Tomcat, Bennifer, and Brangelina). I can't help but wonder if this fashion trend is really necesary?? Isn't wearing the same top as your boyfriend overkill?

Flashdance Girl is a trend that combines every thing that made the eighties great(off the shoulder tees, tights, rubber bracelets etc) in a single outfit. I'm unsure about this one...on the right person it looks terrific.

The above photos are my attempt to catpure all of these things. Couple look in celebrities(please note I didn't take the photo), couple look at a Korean school, flashdance girl(Adidas Hoody), and the usual Korean barbie look.

Vitamin Delicous

2009-04-22T02:27:00.000-07:00

Delicous. These little drinks are a 35 calorie shot of delicous vitamin C extract. I've drinking three a day. There's no artifical sugar or any weird chemicals. I love them. On another interesting drink related note-Redbull is (according to my co-teacher) illegal in Korea. This makes a ton of sense as the main ingredient in Redbull, taurine, should probably be renamed Satan's chemical helper.

Read on for an interesting article on the potential fatalness of Redbull( and yes Deidre I've jumped on your redbull hating bandwagon). http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1435409.stm

Seoul and Zombie Doom

2009-04-21T03:26:00.000-07:00

I've been reading a lot of zombie themed graphic novels, books, and survival guides(obvious and clear signs that I have entirely too much free time), and have reached the conclusion that I'm probably in the worst possible place in the world if there was ever a zombie outbreak. Korea is one of the most populated countries in the world and the climate is the perfect breeding ground for all kinds of terrifying air borne viruses. The only place worse to be living during a zombie apocalypse is Cairo. Which is the most terrifying sentence I've ever written.

Check out the crowded streets of Seoul and please note that this was taken on a Tuesday evening.

Interesting factoid

2009-04-20T03:38:00.000-07:00

There's a hot-line for new moms in Korea. Basically if a mom is feeling depressed, has a question about breastfeeding, or just needs to talk to someone, she can call toll free and seek help. No jugdement. No names given. No lectures. My co-teacher says that she called a million times during her first year with her daughter.

It sounds like a great service-do we have this in Canada?

It's moonsooning Out.

2009-04-20T01:51:00.000-07:00

My co-teacher called it a monsoon. Doesn't the word monsoon inspire intense ideas like fear and panic? And does it not belong in the same category as words like earthquake, twister, natural disaster? This feels pretty tame...I think it's just a thunderstorm. Whatever it is, I'm actually kind of welcoming the rain, I now have an excuse to catch up on some writing, and later I'm going to get cozy with a glass of Shiraz and Jane Austen.

Now an update

My Korean co-teacher(Jerry is her English name) is six months pregnant and she has been really worried that her baby is going to be a girl. In Korea it's unusual to have more then one or two children, and after Jerry gave birth to her first daughter she had every intention of stopping. With a career and a tiny income she figured that one child was enough. However Jerry's father- in -law pressured her and her husband to keep trying to have children until they were able to have a son. He wants someone to pass on the family name and has said some rather nasty things about having grand-daughters. Jerry's been really stressed about it. Today she got the good news that the baby is a boy. So for the first time since I've met her today she was completely happy and relaxed.

I was happy for her, but it feels so weird to root for a specific gender. Girls are usually met with disappointment here.

2009-04-20T01:46:00.000-07:00

You Shouldn't visit a Budhist Temple with an Advid Budhist

2009-04-19T04:10:00.000-07:00

They will want to pray for hours and you'll eventually run out of things to look at.

Especially when you have the attention span of a highly caffeinated three- year- old.

I joined a Hiking Club.

2009-04-18T15:30:00.000-07:00

Dave is a member of a weekend adventure/hiking club and invited me to come along this past Saturday.

Such an excellent day.

Bad Gifts for the Boyfriend

2009-04-17T05:48:00.000-07:00

I bought mouse wine for Brandon as a gift.... it seemed like an authentic memento at the time. Now it just strikes me as the most disgusting food I'll ever see. Basically these baby mice are taken from their mothers and shoved into the bottom of a wine bottle.

It seems that Koreans(note that I'm not generalizing, some Koreans probably agree with me on the ick factor), believe that drinking wine that has fermented baby mice in the bottom of the bottle will cure back pain and increase longevity. I'm not sure how it's supposed to work-but I do know that this is probably what's consumed on the fifth and seventh levels of Hell .

Check out the gross picture.

Also I bought this on the side of the street.

Frustrations Fixed

2009-04-17T05:28:00.000-07:00

My week improved considerably after my most recent blog.

I went hiking. I went to dinner with some new girlfriends. I recieved a great letter from my FASHION editor telling me that readership was up forty percent on the East Coast for the magazine and that my blog was one of the main contributing factors! Most importantly I solved or got myself on the road to solving some of my frustrations.

My most recent post was a Debbie downer of a blog, but it did yield some results-my friend Rachel suggested that I seek a language partner and shortly after reading her comment, one fell right into my lap! The waitress who spoke English to Chloe and I when we went to a nearby bar for drinks was working again two nights ago when we needed a fix for our Kimbap craving. She explained to us that English had been her major at Univeristy and that she was looking for a language partner. In exchange for a free meal and a Korean lesson I'm going to tutor Moon-Nun every Tuesday-hopefully this will help ease my communication frustrations.

I also received a really positive note from Jennifer Han, one of the young Korean girls, I tutored last year. It basically reminded me how difficult she found Canada when she first arrived, and how these challenges make us better. Thanks Jennifer!

First Negative Post..uh oh

2009-04-15T04:56:00.000-07:00

Everything in Korea is great. Wonderful. Beautiful. Exotic. Temples and mountains on every corner. Cherry blossoms. Spicy food and tasty rice doughnuts. Strawberries are in season. There isn't any snow and I can wear shorts without looking like a crazy person.

I still managed to have a horrible day.

I really did not want to write negative things in my blog, but I also do not want to write a blog that's completely biased and rosy-hence the inclusion and discussion of corporal punishment. There are a few things that are driving me crazy and I'm hoping that someone reading will have some kind words or advice.

1) I'm studying Hangul every night and I feels like it's getting me nowhere.

For example, today I caught the early bus to work because one of my co-workers had informed me that there is a Starbucks(which is like the Holy Grail in coffee free Korea) on a street near my school. I started to cross the street in the direction of Starbucks, when a thirty-something-Korean lady grabbed my arm and starting hollaring at me in Hangul. She was talking to fast for me to be able to understand what she was saying. Next she grabbed my hand, held onto it, and walked/frogmarched me to school.

I felt like a petulant child.

While this was happening I desperately tried to explain to her that I was not lost, that I had no idea who she was, and that I needed her to let me go so I could get my hands on some much needed caffeine. By this time I was so uncomfortable, panicked, and uneasy that I could only remember the most basic Hangul. I was basically repeating the following phrases

"Ka-saw-me-da, anyong has say young, pungo set me, coffee!"

Which is the phonetic Korean spelling of "Help! Hello! Thank You! Coffee!". She clearly thought I was crazy. When we arrived to the class that I normally teach(forty minutes early), this woman then told my co-teacher(who speaks decent English) that I had almost gotten lost, that she had saved the day by catching me just in time, and that I might be sick because I had been repeating the word help. She hadn't realized that I was going to get coffee and that I had zero problem navigating my way to the school.

She also turned out to be a parent of one of the children I teach.

My co-teacher got a huge kick out of the whole situation, but I have yet to be able to laugh. This inability to communicate is so frustrating, and it's doubly frustrating because I have no one to blame but myself. I'm the one from away so I can't be angry with someone for not understanding me. This woman thought she was being a hero and it was my inability to learn fast enough that made for a coffeeless cranky morning. So how does one learn faster? I mean I'm already putting two hours in a day while the other ESL teachers I hang out with spend that time hanging out and having fun. I'm really struggling with this language-it has no relationships whatsoever to Normandic or Romantic languages. It's entirely new set of vowels, sounds, and shapes and I'm really beginning to doubt my ability to become fluent in a single year. Language tapes, rather than books might help-but how I can explain that to a non-english speaking sales clerk?? I feel like I'm caught in a vicous circle.

2) Public Smoking
I'm used to gruesome images on ciggerette labels, anti-smoking laws that reign supreme, and a general anti-smoking attitiude. And yet in Korea people can smoke everywhere and anywhere. In resteraunts, bars, cars, buses, and even in a certain part of the plane on the Korean national airline. A pack of ciggerettes only costs 1.50$ Canadian in Korea and smoking is rampant. My problem is not with the smoking so much as the fact that there is no enforced age limit on buying ciggerettes. In my school cafeteria today eight-year-old boys were smoking...and no one blinked an eye. Would teaching an anti-smoking English lesson be falling into the realm of "holier than thou" Western teacher who's trying to enforce her personal beliefs onto others? Or I can have an anti-smoking themed lesson..I mean facts are facts, it's not really me shoving a personal belief their way...right?

3) I get stared at constantly. I get approached by stange men constantly. I have random strangers tell me very specific and rude things about my appearance.

At my first meal with my principal, who in Korea is revered as a God at the top of a long list of Gods, he commented on what a pretty girl I was. I replied with a modest "Thank you". He then told me that it was "Too bad about the big nose and big hips but no one can have everything".
I really didn't know what to say to this.. so again I went with a simple "Thank you". My students do the same thing.They're constantly telling me that I'm pretty but that I should have a nose job or get my teeth straightened. It doesn't really concern me much when it's my superiors at work or my students. I know that the words are coming from a culture that places a high value on beauty and scrutinizes it very closely. I also have enough self esteem that said words don't mean anything.

I worry when the comments come from strange men on the subway. I worry when it comes from men in the elevators of my apartment building. I especially worry when it happens on the street. Obviously, I'm careful and I travel in groups at night, but I'm surprised and shocked by the aggressiveness of the men and the things that they say. Being white means that you stand out. At times I feel like a target. My Korean co-teacher says that the men in Korea didn't do it to women until the American occupation of Korea during the Korean war. She says that the American influence is huge, and that the large number of American soldiers in Seoul(which is near the DMZ) means that this attitude will probably remain. She argues that this verbal and sexual aggressiveness is a learnt behavior, and that venturing into the area surrounding the American base in Seoul would be far more dangerous.

She's right. Korea has one of the lowest rates of physical sexual assualt in the world(I had some free time today so I did some research), while Itawon the American base in Seoul had had numerous issues revolving around sexual assualt to women in the last few months alone. All of this is hard to take...to me it seems possible that the low rate of sexual assualt might have something more to do with the frequency women in Korea would be reporting these crimes? This is a country where women live with their parents until they marry and where arranged marriages still happen quite frequently. Would a woman here report a sexual assualt? Could the low numbers be bogus? ..and can verbal aggressiveness be caught like a bad flu from one culture to another? Or is my Korean co-teacher just feeling anti-American? She's mentioned before that she resents the American presence in Seoul. All interesting things to consider.

Anyway these are a few frustrations and when I write them I'm not trying to show what an awful country Korea is or anything like that. There are good days and bad days everywhere and both types of days are probably exaggerated when living in a country where no one speaks your language. The frustrations are things that I'm almost grateful for because they make the experience more authentic in some ways, and more challenging and exciting. So please do not to read this and think that I'm complaining-it's more like exploring the reasons behing my frustrations.

If anyone has any ideas about how to handle these frustrations or has an opinion on anything I said please e-mail or facebook me. I'm curious to hear some other perspectives.

And next I forced Chloe to hike with me

2009-04-14T05:41:00.000-07:00

Today I returned to the hidden temple/World Heritage Sight with my new British friend Chloe.

It turns out that Chloe lives two buildings over and we met after work to hike! We both wore our grubbiest sweats and looked disgusting which is a major no-no in appearance obsessed Korea. Being foreign attracts enough attention as it is, but being foreign and disgusting brings on a whole new level of staring from the locals. We both had long days and were beyond caring.

We bought coffees(Chloe showed me a local Dunkin Donuts!) and began our fun, gossip-filled hike. Mostly we talked about our experiences in Korea thus far and what we liked(mostly everything) and haven't liked(being stared at, the obsession with beauty, corporal punishment etc) so far. The temple is/was truly amazing and we noticed from our mid-hike view that there is another temple atop a nearby mountain. We're determined to hike to it this weekend. Another interesting and odd thing about Korean hiking trails is that each plateau is marked by work out equipment. Outdoor gyms in a natural surrounding.... It's very strange.

After we watched the sunset we went out for drinks at a bar near my house, that was oddly decorated with Confederate flags. We have no idea why these flags lined the walls, and because we were tired and the drinks were cheap we voted against asking any questions.The owner spoke some English(truly an amazing thing in our neighborhood) and we tried a popular local drink Soju(undistilled sweet potatoe vodka) and mixed it with sparkling grape juice. It was tasty.

More tomorrow!

And Surprise! A Budhist Temple!

2009-04-13T03:26:00.000-07:00

My neighborhood is comprised of tall skyscrapers, blinking neon lights advertising bars, little carts everywhere that sell fresh produce, and Korean saunas. I haven`t explored my area thoroughly because I`m the type of girl that craves green space, and so I`ve been hopping on public transit to different parks, zoos, and sports fields in the city. On Sunday, I bought an ice cream cone(green tea flavored, which is surprisingly refreshing) and decided to walk around my area and do a little local sight-seeing.

To my great surprise,I live near some awe-inspiring mountains. They were hiding behind two blocks of skyscrapers and low hanging smog clouds. These mountains are covered in cherry blossoms, elm, and black spruce trees, and look like something out of cliched Disney movie(specifically Mulan). I didn`t have time to hike on Sunday because the sun was setting.

Today after work, I raced home, threw on my running shoes and went off to explore. I hiked for about an hour and then came across a giant marble statue of Budhha, lanterns were strung all around it, and four elderly men were sitting cross-legged in front of it. Twenty minutes later I walked into a grove of cherry blossom trees surrounding huge, ornate, tombstones that were covered in Hangul script. I turned a corner and was astounding to discover eight huge temples covered in painted dragons, script, and flames. A sign near the entrance read World Heritage Sight.

It was also completely desserted save for one old man kneeling on a bamboo mat. I have no idea how, in a city of 2.5 million, a world famous temple could be devoid of visitors. I didn`t question my good luck and explored until just before sunset, reading all of the signs(English signs! I was so excited!) that explained the significance of the temple, which amazingly had been built in the ninth century.

Tomorrow I`ll return and take some photos!

Smog Blog

2009-04-10T18:39:00.000-07:00

There's a lottery in Seoul where the winner with the lucky lottery ticket gets to spend an hour alone in a room with clean filtered oxygen. People line up for this. It's big business.

Crazy huh?

Korea=Shoe Heaven

2009-04-10T17:57:00.000-07:00

So yesterday I ventured into Seoul for the first time! My Korean co-teacher was heading in to visit her in-laws and offered me a free ride in exchange for a chance to practice her English. She's wonderful and so is Seoul. A few quick notes on Seoul. It's the second largest city in the world and with over ten million people living within it's borders it's completely crowded. It's also very polluted and when you approach the city you can't even begin to make out the sky-line because of the smog clouds. It's the land of yellow dust.

Barring that-Seoul is amazing. I met Dave(a former co-worker of Brandon's and a fellow Islander) at a park in the university area and we just explored and people watched. The fashion in Seoul is out of this world. The shopping in Seoul is also awe-inspiring and everything in this district(in fact in all of Korea) is completely affordable-here are some examples.

An hour long bus ride or subway ride=two dollars Canadian
New hoody-five dollars Canadian
New dress-five dollars Canadian
Nice meal at a resteraunt with drinks-ten dollars each
Ballet flats-Two dollars
Giant Aloe Vera plant=six dollars

Shoes. Korea is a shoe heaven. You can buy the most beautiful, handmade heels for ten dollars Canadian. It's unreal.

Where are your hand hearts?!

2009-04-10T17:12:00.000-07:00

Okay.

So I have tons to write about and there is pretty much zero chance that these topics will flow in any type of coherent narrative. So, I am going to divide the topics and write three different blog posts today. Also I want to thank everyone who's reading on a regular basis! It's nice to know that I'm not just writing for my own amusement.

First things first, I'm going to update you all on my daily routine(it will be more fun than it sounds). I wake up at six(a side effect of jet leg and an ever present fear of being late), talk to Brandon and Katie via the internet, facebook my mom, shower, eat some kimbap, toss on some make-up, and catch a bus. Riding the bus in Korea is pretty much organized chaos theory. The bus drivers weave in and out of traffic at breakneck speeds while the passengers all clutch the railings and pray to god for a safe arrival. After the scary morning bus ride that wakes me up better than any jolt of caffeine ever could, I teach three classes until noon. In the mornings I teach from a text book that's so simple and carefully planned out that my lessons require zero planning.

My afternoons have been spent on facebook and wickipedia-my teachers keep telling me that in two weeks I'll start teaching afternoon classes for parents, teachers, and students who want extra tutoring. These afternoon classes are above and beyond my contract stipulations so I get paid an extra thirty dollars for each afternoon class. I can't wait until the extra classes start! After school I usally meet up with other ESL teachers and explore different parts of the city, or I go home and study Hangul. I haven't been running yet for fear of getting lost, but I've been scouting out safe places to run for the future.

Thus far Korea=fun and shocking.

Teaching is pretty wonderful. In most cases I'm the first white person that the students have ever talked to-so I have a certain rock star status. The kids fall into two camps. The first group is uber respectful and bow deeply when they see me. This group refers to me as Miss Bulman and suck up at every oppurtunity. The second group tackle me, wrestle me, and high five me constantly. Everytime I've walked into a class this week the students make little hearts with their hands and shout "We love you!". It's kind of spoiling me. I'm sure I'll come home to Canada and be amazed that nobody is bowing low or making hand hearts when I do something as simple as enter a room.

The job part of being in Korea is going to be pretty awesome.

I dreamt about bread last night.

2009-04-08T05:55:00.001-07:00

I'm experiencing cheese and bread withdrawal. I wish there was a bread patch, I feel like that would calm my nerves.

Hey Teacher Leave Those Kids Alone!

2009-04-08T04:36:00.000-07:00

Corporal punishment is alive and well in Korea!

I was walking to the staff room today for some brown rice tea when I heard a loud harsh voice shouting in Hangu, I turned around just in time to watch a grown man slap a little seven-year-old boy in the face. The little boy then started to cry and the teacher slapped him again. I could literally hear the little boy's nose break.

I felt pretty useless.

There are a million reasons why I couldn't interfere. I don't speak Hangu so I could not begin to understand the situation, nor could I effectively conduct an intervention. I also thought that it might be culturally insensitive to interfere. I didn't want to come off as a "holier than thou Westerner" who forces their seemingly liberal beliefs onto other cultures. As a foreign female teacher I am also pretty low on the totem pole that is the school's hierarchy; intervening would have been professional suicide. This incident made the day seem especially long and I was second guessing my course of action (i.e ignoring the bloody seven -year- old nose) for hours. My co-teacher told me that I did the right thing and that slapping and kicking children is quite commonplace-especially from the young male teachers.

So at the end of the work day, to cheer myself up, I decided that instead of going home to clean and plan lessons I was going to go hiking in Incheon Grand Park.

I spent an hour on the bus trying to figure out if I was in the right place. I brought my English to Hangu dictionairy with me, but it didn't really help. I'm kind of like a functioning illiterate person in Korea. I can guess and kind of understand but I'm really relying on the kindness of strangers.
After another Westerner told me when to get off the bus I found myself in an amazing and stunning green area(the first I've seen in a week)! Right now the trees in the park are erupting with cherry blossoms, ducks are everywhere, and there is a week long kite-flying contest. I sat beneath a tree and watched the kites swoop around for awhile, then I found a hiking trail and began my climb. Thirty minutes later I was at the top of a foot-hill that overlooks the city. Except for one old man practicing Tai Chi I was completely alone for an hour. It was lovely to get away from the craziness of the city.

The park has tons of hiking trails, a big pond, bike rentals, and a Zoo(with what's rumored to be an exceptional monkey watching arena)!

I think I'll become a regular park attendee.

God I miss Coffee!

2009-04-07T15:32:00.000-07:00

That's all.