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