So, a couple of hours after posting the last update on Saturday, I was sitting around, reading my book, when the building starts to shake. I thought at first that maybe some heavy vehicle was going by, but it seemed to be taking an extraordinarily long time to get past. The shaking wasn't much, but it was consistent and last about 30 seconds. I began to suspect an earthquake. I looked online for live earthquake trackers, but they came up with nothing for this area. I figured I was still checking too early, and left it until Sunday morning. Turns out, I was right. A shallow earthquake out in the Sea of the East (aka Sea of Japan), just off the South Korean coast, an earthquake of 5.3 on the Richter Scale occurred (considered a moderate quake). It was apparently felt throughout the country, but no damage or injuries occurred. I thought that was pretty cool. Click on the title of this posting for the link to the site that confirmed what the shaking builing told me.
Other than that experience, my weekend was extremely uneventful. I listened to the hockey game on Sunday morning, then went for lunch with Edward and his family. We went to a new nearby Japanese restaurant and had pork cutlets. They were tasty enough. Nothing spectacularly good, though. He also bought me a book to help me learn Korean. I thought that was awfully nice of him. I spent the rest of the day reading and looking at potential lesson plans for classes next week.
This morning (Monday) I again did very little. I looked at more lesson plans and chatted on the computer. In the afternoon I met up with my fellow teachers to discuss tomorrow's plans. Classes begin on Tuesday and it was time to prepare. There really wasn't much for us to do. We saw our schedules and I'll be teaching a well advanced 15 year old girl first, then a class of younger kids just starting out. My day starts at about 4:00pm. I'll also be teaching a class of high school students and adults who are also fairly well along in their English until about 10:30pm. And that is my schedule every night for next week and likely at least a little while after.
On a side note, I discovered that there is a stalactite forming in the stairwell leading up to my rooms. I've named it Roger.
I'll let you know how my first day of teaching went in my next posting.
Go Flames.
Crocodile Steve
Monday, May 31, 2004
Saturday, May 29, 2004
Entry 6: Change and Power
I may have mentioned in a past update that plans change. The following provides some examples.
I left off last mentioning that we were going campaigning again and that I would be in Ulsan on Friday. This is all true. First, it was decided that I should be given a quick overview of the books we use in class before we went out campaigning. Ok, no big deal. I flip through the books, listen to some learning tapes (which are really quite irritating; you'd think they could choose some better music), I'm asked my opinion on which books are better, then we're off to campaign. This is a small example of a very minor and inconsequential way things change.
Campaigning this time took place outside the McDonald's, which is downtown. Koreans, possibly even more than the average North American, are drawn to this place. This was our shortest and most successful day of campaigning this week. We were able to dispose of all of the pamphlets and rulers in about 2 hours. By this time it was 4:45 and we headed back to the school where we spent another hour reviewing books and such.
The plan for the next day was set up that I would be taken to the Miryang bus depot by Mr. Ahn (aka James) around noon and I would be met at the Ulsan bus depot by Cindy. I would spend the day at the ELC in Ulsan observing the teachers and getting advice from them, as well as get my Korean ID. They would put me up at a hotel or with one of the other teachers for the night then I'd get a ride back into Miryang on Saturday with Cindy.
I left for the grocery store with that in mind, picked up supplies to make a tasty seafood/seaweed spicy soup with plans to get myself ready to go in the morning. All was well for most of the evening. At about 7:30, as I was preparing to make my soup, James comes in, says there's been a slight change in plans and that he'd be back after his class to tell me about it. He seemed fairly nonchalant about the whole thing so I figured that maybe we'd be taking an earlier bus or that I'd be coming back home on the bus tomorrow instead of staying the night.
I finished making my soup, which turned out remarkably well, and was getting ready to do the dishes when James appears and says, "Ok Steve, let's go. Cindy's waiting downstairs." And once again, almost exactly a week since I last had to do something similar, I hurriedly threw some stuff in a bag and went on a trip to a place I'd never been. I at least managed to also get my leftover soup into the fridge. It would have been a shame to waste it.
So, the new plan was that I'd be staying in Cindy's spare room on Thursday night, go to the school in Ulsan on Friday afternoon and take the bus home Friday night. There would be no Korean ID on this trip, nor the chance for a night out with like-minded people on Friday night.
Friday went exactly as plan two designated, other than a little bit of extra time I had while others were in meetings to go wander around Ulsan University and watch the tail end of a soccer match (the team in white won, if anyone is curious). I picked up some good pointers from the teachers, got to sit in on a couple of classes, I even was in charge of a class, reading about kangaroos and asking reading comprehension questions of the students for about ten minutes while the other teacher gave a test to a student who missed the previous class. That went really well. I wasn't the least bit uncomfortable, surprisingly. Afterwards, I was taken to the bus depot, and it was back to Miryang. My whirlwind tour of Ulsan was over.
The bus trip was pretty damned good, to tell the truth. I've been on many an intercity bus trip and this one was easily one of the most comfortable, attentive to schedule, clean, and most scenic I've been on. It had been raining all day and the clouds clinging to the mountains were really amazing. It reminded me of bussing through Chiapas in Mexico, only a much shorter ride.
When I got in, I met up with James and another teacher and they finished setting up the computer in my room, which I am now using.
This morning, I lounged around, met up with James and we went looking for a power converter so I could charge up my mp3 player and check out the prices of cell phones. The cell phones were too much, they're hunting out a deal for me now, but the power converter was an excellent price at about $25. It's a huge thing, but it appears to be doing the trick. I'll be leaving that here for whoever comes to replace me next year.
And that catches us up to the present. I'm sitting here, thinking about making up a stirfry and drinking some "Korean Traditional Glutinous Rice Wine" as the bottle says. It's got kick.
Crocodile Steve
I left off last mentioning that we were going campaigning again and that I would be in Ulsan on Friday. This is all true. First, it was decided that I should be given a quick overview of the books we use in class before we went out campaigning. Ok, no big deal. I flip through the books, listen to some learning tapes (which are really quite irritating; you'd think they could choose some better music), I'm asked my opinion on which books are better, then we're off to campaign. This is a small example of a very minor and inconsequential way things change.
Campaigning this time took place outside the McDonald's, which is downtown. Koreans, possibly even more than the average North American, are drawn to this place. This was our shortest and most successful day of campaigning this week. We were able to dispose of all of the pamphlets and rulers in about 2 hours. By this time it was 4:45 and we headed back to the school where we spent another hour reviewing books and such.
The plan for the next day was set up that I would be taken to the Miryang bus depot by Mr. Ahn (aka James) around noon and I would be met at the Ulsan bus depot by Cindy. I would spend the day at the ELC in Ulsan observing the teachers and getting advice from them, as well as get my Korean ID. They would put me up at a hotel or with one of the other teachers for the night then I'd get a ride back into Miryang on Saturday with Cindy.
I left for the grocery store with that in mind, picked up supplies to make a tasty seafood/seaweed spicy soup with plans to get myself ready to go in the morning. All was well for most of the evening. At about 7:30, as I was preparing to make my soup, James comes in, says there's been a slight change in plans and that he'd be back after his class to tell me about it. He seemed fairly nonchalant about the whole thing so I figured that maybe we'd be taking an earlier bus or that I'd be coming back home on the bus tomorrow instead of staying the night.
I finished making my soup, which turned out remarkably well, and was getting ready to do the dishes when James appears and says, "Ok Steve, let's go. Cindy's waiting downstairs." And once again, almost exactly a week since I last had to do something similar, I hurriedly threw some stuff in a bag and went on a trip to a place I'd never been. I at least managed to also get my leftover soup into the fridge. It would have been a shame to waste it.
So, the new plan was that I'd be staying in Cindy's spare room on Thursday night, go to the school in Ulsan on Friday afternoon and take the bus home Friday night. There would be no Korean ID on this trip, nor the chance for a night out with like-minded people on Friday night.
Friday went exactly as plan two designated, other than a little bit of extra time I had while others were in meetings to go wander around Ulsan University and watch the tail end of a soccer match (the team in white won, if anyone is curious). I picked up some good pointers from the teachers, got to sit in on a couple of classes, I even was in charge of a class, reading about kangaroos and asking reading comprehension questions of the students for about ten minutes while the other teacher gave a test to a student who missed the previous class. That went really well. I wasn't the least bit uncomfortable, surprisingly. Afterwards, I was taken to the bus depot, and it was back to Miryang. My whirlwind tour of Ulsan was over.
The bus trip was pretty damned good, to tell the truth. I've been on many an intercity bus trip and this one was easily one of the most comfortable, attentive to schedule, clean, and most scenic I've been on. It had been raining all day and the clouds clinging to the mountains were really amazing. It reminded me of bussing through Chiapas in Mexico, only a much shorter ride.
When I got in, I met up with James and another teacher and they finished setting up the computer in my room, which I am now using.
This morning, I lounged around, met up with James and we went looking for a power converter so I could charge up my mp3 player and check out the prices of cell phones. The cell phones were too much, they're hunting out a deal for me now, but the power converter was an excellent price at about $25. It's a huge thing, but it appears to be doing the trick. I'll be leaving that here for whoever comes to replace me next year.
And that catches us up to the present. I'm sitting here, thinking about making up a stirfry and drinking some "Korean Traditional Glutinous Rice Wine" as the bottle says. It's got kick.
Crocodile Steve
Thursday, May 27, 2004
Korean Dispatch #5: Buddha on the Mountain, Drunkard down Below
I took said walk along the river. Along the way I passed playgrounds, tennis courts and picnicking families. I also walked though a semi natural grove of trees, with fenced pathways and such. This was right between the river and an apartment complex (which, if I haven't explained previously, isn't just one large apartment building, but many). I wasn't sure what this grove of trees was for or why there were fenced, yet meandering paths through it and large straight paths on either side, but I chose to walk along the meandering path. It was pretty, in a sculptured-wilderness-in-an-urban-setting sort of way, and other than the proliferation of small flying bugs, it was quite nice.
After this, I reached what had once been a point where the river course split. This was still right inside the city. It no longer split, because it appears they are converting that section of what likely was the main body of the river into a large cement area. This is no small project. The entire area they are converting looks to be about 500m wide and a good 2-3km long. They have nowhere near completed it, but what they have is available for all to walk across, play on, or fish off of. I chose to walk across.
This lead me to the base of a small mountain with a steep face that fell into the river. Along the base of this steep face was a road lined with shops, and next to the river, a path where many people were spending their evening fishing. It was all quite pleasant. I followed the road around the mountain, and at its end was steep, winding path bordered by a chain fence that lead up the mountain. I couldn't resist, so up I went. The views along the way up were spectacular, overlooking the river valley to the south of the city and the farm land contained within. At the top was another, much more secluded and larger Buddhist temple. This one was populated, not by sightseers like the one mentioned before, but with families and couples come to honor Buddha on his birthday. I was invited in, but felt a little uncomfortable, not being a Buddhist, and my stay was short. I did greatly appreciate the invitation, however. I decided that I would make way back down the other side, along the way having various children yell "Hello!" to me and then run off.
At the bottom of the other side of the mountain was another Buddhist temple, this time with a giant, inflatable Buddha in its courtyard. People were bowing to it as they would a bronze statue in the temple proper. Also, the courtyard, as well as the path up the mountain, was decorated with many very pretty paper lanterns. I watched and admired for a short while, then decided to go home.
I was in a new area of town, across the train tracks and slightly unsure how to get back without going back up the mountain and down the other side, the way I came. So, I made my way to a road and aimed approximately for home. This was the wrong way. First, I was accosted by a very amiable, at least at first, man, who was obviously more than a little intoxicated. He attempted rather earnestly to have me go into a house and join him for a drink or two. I declined. He insisted. He also then showed me his money, then pointed at me, as if to ask if I had any. I said no. He continued to attempt to get me to drink with him while I continued to politely try to escape. He then began to point in the direction I was walking and mime the shooting of a machine gun. All I wanted to do was get home. A car came around the corner, he had to move, and I quickly bowed to him and made my escape.
I eventually found my way to the right side of the train tracks, picked up a little food on the way and went home, as it was just starting to get dark. Along the walk, I noticed that early evening appears to be the time when young adults roam the streets in packs.
That about accounts for last night. This morning was quite dull, actually. I sat around reading, took a trip to the grocery store and waited for someone, anyone, to show up at the school so I could find out what was going on. I now know. In a half hour or so, we'll be going out campaigning again. Wheeeeee!!!
I'm told that tomorrow I go to Ulsan (a big city about an hour to the east) to report in with my work visa and meet some of the teachers at the ELC there. Sounds like fun, but they haven't exactly told me how I'm to get there yet. I'll let you know what happens.
Crocodile Steve
After this, I reached what had once been a point where the river course split. This was still right inside the city. It no longer split, because it appears they are converting that section of what likely was the main body of the river into a large cement area. This is no small project. The entire area they are converting looks to be about 500m wide and a good 2-3km long. They have nowhere near completed it, but what they have is available for all to walk across, play on, or fish off of. I chose to walk across.
This lead me to the base of a small mountain with a steep face that fell into the river. Along the base of this steep face was a road lined with shops, and next to the river, a path where many people were spending their evening fishing. It was all quite pleasant. I followed the road around the mountain, and at its end was steep, winding path bordered by a chain fence that lead up the mountain. I couldn't resist, so up I went. The views along the way up were spectacular, overlooking the river valley to the south of the city and the farm land contained within. At the top was another, much more secluded and larger Buddhist temple. This one was populated, not by sightseers like the one mentioned before, but with families and couples come to honor Buddha on his birthday. I was invited in, but felt a little uncomfortable, not being a Buddhist, and my stay was short. I did greatly appreciate the invitation, however. I decided that I would make way back down the other side, along the way having various children yell "Hello!" to me and then run off.
At the bottom of the other side of the mountain was another Buddhist temple, this time with a giant, inflatable Buddha in its courtyard. People were bowing to it as they would a bronze statue in the temple proper. Also, the courtyard, as well as the path up the mountain, was decorated with many very pretty paper lanterns. I watched and admired for a short while, then decided to go home.
I was in a new area of town, across the train tracks and slightly unsure how to get back without going back up the mountain and down the other side, the way I came. So, I made my way to a road and aimed approximately for home. This was the wrong way. First, I was accosted by a very amiable, at least at first, man, who was obviously more than a little intoxicated. He attempted rather earnestly to have me go into a house and join him for a drink or two. I declined. He insisted. He also then showed me his money, then pointed at me, as if to ask if I had any. I said no. He continued to attempt to get me to drink with him while I continued to politely try to escape. He then began to point in the direction I was walking and mime the shooting of a machine gun. All I wanted to do was get home. A car came around the corner, he had to move, and I quickly bowed to him and made my escape.
I eventually found my way to the right side of the train tracks, picked up a little food on the way and went home, as it was just starting to get dark. Along the walk, I noticed that early evening appears to be the time when young adults roam the streets in packs.
That about accounts for last night. This morning was quite dull, actually. I sat around reading, took a trip to the grocery store and waited for someone, anyone, to show up at the school so I could find out what was going on. I now know. In a half hour or so, we'll be going out campaigning again. Wheeeeee!!!
I'm told that tomorrow I go to Ulsan (a big city about an hour to the east) to report in with my work visa and meet some of the teachers at the ELC there. Sounds like fun, but they haven't exactly told me how I'm to get there yet. I'll let you know what happens.
Crocodile Steve
Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Chapter 4: Roosters and Politicians
And so again, yesterday morning, I am awakened by a lightening sky and the sounds of roosters. This very early morning thing is not normal for me, but it doesn't appear to be killing me, so I'll just learn to deal with it. I very casually made some breakfast, showered (hurray! I have hot water!), read a little bit then went out for yet another morning walk. All in all, it was a very tame morning. Nothing truly exceptional happened at all.
The afternoon arrived, and with it the director, Cindy. She let me know that we'd be out doing more recruiting at about 2:00. So at five after one, everyone comes looking for me to tell me it's time to go. Things change, I guess. We get set up outside another apartment complex on the other side of town and wait. No one is around. No children, no parents. It's very hot. The occasional person straggles by and we launch ourselves at him or her and force pamphlets and rulers upon them. At around 4:00, we start getting kids coming home from school and taekwondo. Good, now we can do stuff. One child apparently called me a crocodile. No one is sure why. So, if you don't mind, I think I'd like to go by Crocodile Steve from now on. Or maybe not.
At 5:30 or so, we're taken home, and despite the lack of activity during the day, I was quite tired. However, I discovered that a computer had been moved into my room. All I needed to was hook it up. So, I did. However, not only was the internet not a possibility due to a lack the proper length of wire, but Windows didn't seem to want to open either. Oh well, the computer in the room is a luxury I wasn't expecting to begin with. I did explain the issue to the person who put the computer up there, the math teacher (I didn't catch his name), but everything got very confused and he ended up leaving me his key to the school so I could get in the following day to use the computer. That wasn't what I was after, but I thanked him profusely anyway and accepted it.
So, that leads to today.
Today, instead of being woken up by sunrise and roosters, it was sunrise and politicians. Well, one politician, really. He was just across the bridge (which is really close to the school), playing loud and happy techno music to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb, among other children's songs, all overlaid with glorious rhyming political propaganda. I discovered after getting dressed and going for a walk, that he was standing on the side of the road, bowing and waving to all passersby, except me. I guess I'm not part of his riding. The rest of my walk was pleasant, I spent it exploring the not-quite-open-yet central market. It's kind of interesting to watch everyone arrive and begin setting up their vegetables and fish. This walk was mostly to kill time until I went to the computer to listen to the hockey game. Yes, I listened to the game while in Korea. And I couldn't resist having a beer as well. Sure it was 9:00 in the morning, but it was game one of the finals. The game went well and many of you, I'm sure, know.
After this I went back out the market, had some really tasty fritter type things filled with cinnamon and sugar as well as some sort of doughy substance with various vegetables in it on a stick, then bought far more strawberries than I intended to (I only wanted a few, but she made me take the whole basket). This was followed by another trip to the hill with the Buddhist temple on it. This time, being the middle of the day as well as Buddha's birthday (a national holiday) everything was open. The old temple was gorgeous, the woodwork and painting was spectacular. I also went to the municipal museum, which was interesting, yet not very informative to me seeing as all the information was in Korean.
And that about catches us up. I'm going to go back out in a moment, hang out by the river until sunset. I'll let you know if anything interesting comes of it.
Crocodile Steve/Guy
The afternoon arrived, and with it the director, Cindy. She let me know that we'd be out doing more recruiting at about 2:00. So at five after one, everyone comes looking for me to tell me it's time to go. Things change, I guess. We get set up outside another apartment complex on the other side of town and wait. No one is around. No children, no parents. It's very hot. The occasional person straggles by and we launch ourselves at him or her and force pamphlets and rulers upon them. At around 4:00, we start getting kids coming home from school and taekwondo. Good, now we can do stuff. One child apparently called me a crocodile. No one is sure why. So, if you don't mind, I think I'd like to go by Crocodile Steve from now on. Or maybe not.
At 5:30 or so, we're taken home, and despite the lack of activity during the day, I was quite tired. However, I discovered that a computer had been moved into my room. All I needed to was hook it up. So, I did. However, not only was the internet not a possibility due to a lack the proper length of wire, but Windows didn't seem to want to open either. Oh well, the computer in the room is a luxury I wasn't expecting to begin with. I did explain the issue to the person who put the computer up there, the math teacher (I didn't catch his name), but everything got very confused and he ended up leaving me his key to the school so I could get in the following day to use the computer. That wasn't what I was after, but I thanked him profusely anyway and accepted it.
So, that leads to today.
Today, instead of being woken up by sunrise and roosters, it was sunrise and politicians. Well, one politician, really. He was just across the bridge (which is really close to the school), playing loud and happy techno music to the tune of Mary Had a Little Lamb, among other children's songs, all overlaid with glorious rhyming political propaganda. I discovered after getting dressed and going for a walk, that he was standing on the side of the road, bowing and waving to all passersby, except me. I guess I'm not part of his riding. The rest of my walk was pleasant, I spent it exploring the not-quite-open-yet central market. It's kind of interesting to watch everyone arrive and begin setting up their vegetables and fish. This walk was mostly to kill time until I went to the computer to listen to the hockey game. Yes, I listened to the game while in Korea. And I couldn't resist having a beer as well. Sure it was 9:00 in the morning, but it was game one of the finals. The game went well and many of you, I'm sure, know.
After this I went back out the market, had some really tasty fritter type things filled with cinnamon and sugar as well as some sort of doughy substance with various vegetables in it on a stick, then bought far more strawberries than I intended to (I only wanted a few, but she made me take the whole basket). This was followed by another trip to the hill with the Buddhist temple on it. This time, being the middle of the day as well as Buddha's birthday (a national holiday) everything was open. The old temple was gorgeous, the woodwork and painting was spectacular. I also went to the municipal museum, which was interesting, yet not very informative to me seeing as all the information was in Korean.
And that about catches us up. I'm going to go back out in a moment, hang out by the river until sunset. I'll let you know if anything interesting comes of it.
Crocodile Steve/Guy
Monday, May 24, 2004
Episode # 3: Hello, My Name is Steve
And so, immediately upon sending my last update, I am whisked away by another teacher (a Korean man known as Edward) and his family to a restaurant just outside of town. It is beautiful. It's inside a traditional house, well over a hundred years old, and is simply gorgeous. This was my first traditional setting and traditional Korean meal. We sat cross-legged on mats at a low table. They were far more at ease with this than I was, likely more so than I'll ever be (I lost feeling in my legs more than once and was a little wobbly when we left, people probably thought I was drunk). We were served some Kimchi (spicy-ish vegetables, sort of pickled/fermented, very good), which comes with all meals. Then we had Jeon, a pancake type food made with grated potato, also quite good dipped in soy sauce. This was all followed by Dolsot Bibimbap, which is a dish with various vegetable like bean sprouts, seaweed and other things I didn't quite recognize topped with a fried egg and rice that for some reason was purple. It was excellent, especially when mixed with hot pepper paste. A very tasty meal. I was quite happy, not to mention full.
After this, I was taken home, and decided that I should get some groceries to make up for the botched attempt earlier. I got some of that hot pepper paste, some real mustard, more beer, and some octopus tempura, tea, and some tomatoes. Not a great accomplishment, but I felt satisfied. I then proceeded to go home. I was expecting one of the teachers to come by, but I ended up passing out at around 4:00 in the afternoon. I didn't wake up until this morning, reeeeeeeeally early (slightly before sunrise). I casually made some eggs for breakfast, some tea, and then went for a good long walk to kill time until the banks opened and I could cash my traveler's cheques. I ended up climbing a hill (some might call it a small mountain, but no, it's a hill) with a Buddhist temple on it. It was amazing. I could see the whole valley, the temple was beautiful, and it was covered with people jogging. I still had time, so I wandered around the town after that, noticing that Koreans really seem to like fried chicken. I'll have to try some later. I was especially impressed with the types they advertised, such as "Donky Fried Chicken" and "Buchon: The Always Funny Chicken." They're tops on my list.
Eventually the banks opened, I got some money and an account and went home.
Then came the recruiting. Today we got to go out to an apartment complex and attempt to recruit students. It was weird to sit on the side of the road with a banner taped to a table and lure children over with rulers as bait. It seemed to work. The kids were all quite cute and entertaining. They mostly were very shy with me, saying hello, then running away, or just giggling incessantly whenever they looked at me. I enjoyed it, though. Made me realize just what a freak I am here.
During this, it was pointed out to me that my name was not a good one for Koreans to speak. It seems both pronunciations of Guy have Korean meanings that aren't overly flattering. They have decided to call me Steve. That's fine, it seems to be the way to go, as the other teachers go by an English name they wouldn't normally use, I might as well, too. The director, a Mrs. Kim, did not have an English name. She wanted me to give her one. She didn't want to go by Kim, which I assured her was a fine English name. Names that were suggested by others included Janet, Chrissy and Cindy. I found the Three's Company theme a little strange, but she decided on Cindy. Ok, I can deal with that, but now I will forever hear "Come and knock on our door..." whenever I see her.
And now you are up to date.
You'll hear from me again soon, I'm sure.
Steve
After this, I was taken home, and decided that I should get some groceries to make up for the botched attempt earlier. I got some of that hot pepper paste, some real mustard, more beer, and some octopus tempura, tea, and some tomatoes. Not a great accomplishment, but I felt satisfied. I then proceeded to go home. I was expecting one of the teachers to come by, but I ended up passing out at around 4:00 in the afternoon. I didn't wake up until this morning, reeeeeeeeally early (slightly before sunrise). I casually made some eggs for breakfast, some tea, and then went for a good long walk to kill time until the banks opened and I could cash my traveler's cheques. I ended up climbing a hill (some might call it a small mountain, but no, it's a hill) with a Buddhist temple on it. It was amazing. I could see the whole valley, the temple was beautiful, and it was covered with people jogging. I still had time, so I wandered around the town after that, noticing that Koreans really seem to like fried chicken. I'll have to try some later. I was especially impressed with the types they advertised, such as "Donky Fried Chicken" and "Buchon: The Always Funny Chicken." They're tops on my list.
Eventually the banks opened, I got some money and an account and went home.
Then came the recruiting. Today we got to go out to an apartment complex and attempt to recruit students. It was weird to sit on the side of the road with a banner taped to a table and lure children over with rulers as bait. It seemed to work. The kids were all quite cute and entertaining. They mostly were very shy with me, saying hello, then running away, or just giggling incessantly whenever they looked at me. I enjoyed it, though. Made me realize just what a freak I am here.
During this, it was pointed out to me that my name was not a good one for Koreans to speak. It seems both pronunciations of Guy have Korean meanings that aren't overly flattering. They have decided to call me Steve. That's fine, it seems to be the way to go, as the other teachers go by an English name they wouldn't normally use, I might as well, too. The director, a Mrs. Kim, did not have an English name. She wanted me to give her one. She didn't want to go by Kim, which I assured her was a fine English name. Names that were suggested by others included Janet, Chrissy and Cindy. I found the Three's Company theme a little strange, but she decided on Cindy. Ok, I can deal with that, but now I will forever hear "Come and knock on our door..." whenever I see her.
And now you are up to date.
You'll hear from me again soon, I'm sure.
Steve
Sunday, May 23, 2004
Update #2: Food and Other Things
Let's see, where did I leave off. Oh yes, a lack of money due to the inability to cash my traveler's cheques. This lead to questioning how I was going to eat. I posed my problem to my employers, and after a bit, they understood. First, I was taken to get some food as it was 2 in the afternoon and hadn't eaten yet. They must have figured that I would be craving "food from home" because they brought me to McDonald's. As you all know, that is never my first choice in foods, but I couldn't turn them down, it would be rude. So, I hungrily ate a McChicken, which was subtly different from a North American one, but I can't really describe how. After that, I was lent 40,000 won (approx. $40) to get some groceries. As well, they decided to check why I wasn't getting any hot water for showering/shaving. Turns out, the heater had run out of oil. I'll get to have hot water on Monday.
Anyway, I was taken to the grocery store by a Mr. Ahn, the most fluent of the English speaking Koreans due to having spent 27 years in, of all places, San Diego. He's been in Miryang for 2 months, but it appears that I know my way around the city better. That was a bit alarming. We got to the grocery store and he guided me around, intent on getting me "the food I would be most comfortable with." That ended up being the makings of a fried bologna sandwich. It was horrible, especially seeing as what he picked out as mustard ended up being banana flavored mayonnaise. If I didn't know he was truly sincere in trying to be helpful, I might think he was out to kill me. The only good thing that came from the grocery trip was that I could get beer at the grocery store, and it was dirt cheap. It ended up being a pretty poor excuse for beer, but it was good enough. Next time, I shop on my own. That pretty much gets us through yesterday.
Today has been uneventful. I got up really early, walked around a quiet and deserted city for a few hours. Ate some sushi like triangle things from the convenience store then went home and read.
Very likely, these updates will be less frequent as I get more used to my surroundings, but right now, I just feel like I have so much to relate.
Guy
Anyway, I was taken to the grocery store by a Mr. Ahn, the most fluent of the English speaking Koreans due to having spent 27 years in, of all places, San Diego. He's been in Miryang for 2 months, but it appears that I know my way around the city better. That was a bit alarming. We got to the grocery store and he guided me around, intent on getting me "the food I would be most comfortable with." That ended up being the makings of a fried bologna sandwich. It was horrible, especially seeing as what he picked out as mustard ended up being banana flavored mayonnaise. If I didn't know he was truly sincere in trying to be helpful, I might think he was out to kill me. The only good thing that came from the grocery trip was that I could get beer at the grocery store, and it was dirt cheap. It ended up being a pretty poor excuse for beer, but it was good enough. Next time, I shop on my own. That pretty much gets us through yesterday.
Today has been uneventful. I got up really early, walked around a quiet and deserted city for a few hours. Ate some sushi like triangle things from the convenience store then went home and read.
Very likely, these updates will be less frequent as I get more used to my surroundings, but right now, I just feel like I have so much to relate.
Guy
Saturday, May 22, 2004
The Arrival
So there I was, leisurely getting out of bed at 10:00 on a lovely Thursday morning in Vancouver. A quick shower and a phone call to find out what was happening with this Korea thing was the plan.
That plan went off with no problems and indeed, an answer to the question, "When am I going?" That answer was, 2:00 pm. Today. Being an international flight, I would need to be at the airport around noon. It was now close to 11:00. And the fun began.
There's really nothing like scrambling to gather up everything you might have missed for a year in Korea, console a shocked girlfriend, and try to get a hold of someone to give you a ride as well as people who deserve to know the new news. Somehow, it all came together and I managed to get on Singapore Airlines flight SQ017 to Seoul.
The flight was fantastic. Every seat has it's own TV, you get to choose what movie you want to watch and when, or you can play Nintendo games or watch Asian news or Friends episodes. The food was also quite good. You got a choice of a Western, Korean, or Indian meal, We got two meals so I went for one Korean and one Indian. And this was all in economy class! It made an 11 hour plane ride quite pleasant. I highly recommend flying through Singapore Airlines.
My first view of Asia came as we passed over the southern tip of Kamchatka. I thought that was pretty cool. Don't ask why, I just did.
We flew across Japan, but I didn't see much, it was quite cloudy.
The clouds over Korea were strange. As we approached Seoul, which is quite close to the border with North Korea, I noticed that the clouds over South Korea we puffy, while those over North Korea were very smooth. Can a different political climate change the physical climate conditions?
Probably not, but it was a little odd.
Once we landed in Seoul, I moved in a travelers daze through immigration and customs. They asked me what was in my trunk. I said various things. That was apparently good enough and I was passed through.
After that, I was accosted by a friendly, but pushy taxi driver. I ended up paying an exorbitant amount of money to get to the domestic airport to catch my flight to Ulsan. That flight was short and uneventful, but it got me closer.
I was picked up by the directors of the school and we drove to Miryang, stopping at a very cool restaurant with paper love notes all over the walls. The food was very tasty, but I was very tired.
I got into my new place and fell asleep.
I woke up this morning and wandered around my new home, both the apartment and the town. It's all very nice. I still need to change my traveler's cheques into real money, but other than that all is good.
I'll get you more updates later.
Guy
That plan went off with no problems and indeed, an answer to the question, "When am I going?" That answer was, 2:00 pm. Today. Being an international flight, I would need to be at the airport around noon. It was now close to 11:00. And the fun began.
There's really nothing like scrambling to gather up everything you might have missed for a year in Korea, console a shocked girlfriend, and try to get a hold of someone to give you a ride as well as people who deserve to know the new news. Somehow, it all came together and I managed to get on Singapore Airlines flight SQ017 to Seoul.
The flight was fantastic. Every seat has it's own TV, you get to choose what movie you want to watch and when, or you can play Nintendo games or watch Asian news or Friends episodes. The food was also quite good. You got a choice of a Western, Korean, or Indian meal, We got two meals so I went for one Korean and one Indian. And this was all in economy class! It made an 11 hour plane ride quite pleasant. I highly recommend flying through Singapore Airlines.
My first view of Asia came as we passed over the southern tip of Kamchatka. I thought that was pretty cool. Don't ask why, I just did.
We flew across Japan, but I didn't see much, it was quite cloudy.
The clouds over Korea were strange. As we approached Seoul, which is quite close to the border with North Korea, I noticed that the clouds over South Korea we puffy, while those over North Korea were very smooth. Can a different political climate change the physical climate conditions?
Probably not, but it was a little odd.
Once we landed in Seoul, I moved in a travelers daze through immigration and customs. They asked me what was in my trunk. I said various things. That was apparently good enough and I was passed through.
After that, I was accosted by a friendly, but pushy taxi driver. I ended up paying an exorbitant amount of money to get to the domestic airport to catch my flight to Ulsan. That flight was short and uneventful, but it got me closer.
I was picked up by the directors of the school and we drove to Miryang, stopping at a very cool restaurant with paper love notes all over the walls. The food was very tasty, but I was very tired.
I got into my new place and fell asleep.
I woke up this morning and wandered around my new home, both the apartment and the town. It's all very nice. I still need to change my traveler's cheques into real money, but other than that all is good.
I'll get you more updates later.
Guy
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