Thursday night found me in Kongnam, sandwiched between Kyle and Caitlyn (uber-cool coworker, archaeologist and traveller extraordinaire... plus fellow Canadian... straight from Peterborough.) and basking in the neon glow of the excessively lit streets that permeate this country. It’s like Times Square on acid, everywhere.
Anyway, I think they were feeling a bit sorry for me, seeing as that day I’d been shipped out to the hospital for my obligatory drug and STD testing, for which I had to starve myself for eight hours (anyone who knows me knows what a huge deal THAT is), have blood drawn and pee in a plastic cup. They were feeling sorry for me, and therefore decided to show me Kongnam.
This place is pretty much ridiculous.
After shopping for a while, they took me to this tea house where we shared smoothies and gelato, and I had my first Dr. Fish experience. Dr Fish is a very interesting concept. You sit on cushions with your feet in, well, in a fish tank. For fifteen minutes these teeny tiny little fish swim around your feet eating all the dead skin off. It tickles like you wouldn’t believe, gives you the heebie-jeebies and leaves your feet feeling pedicure-fresh!
Once our feet had been beautified by our little friends, I was taken to Rainbow, this cool hooka bar/ lounge. It’s a traditional type of place where you take off your shoes at the door and sit on cushions on the floor. Traditional in a Korean sense, but with a crazy Bob Marley vibe. Kyle swears that’s what Thailand feels like, only outside. I can’t argue with him, having never been there. But if that is the case, then you can sign me up. It’s the type place I could spend many an evening in!
We made a relatively early night of it, seeing as we had to wrangle five year olds the next morning. Deciding that a bus would be our fastest option home, we found one going in our general direction and hopped on. This was also my first Korean bus experience, and let me tell you! Korea has public transit figured out! City buses here are like Greyhound buses back home. If public transportation in K-W was anything like Seoul, you might almost be able to convince me to use it ;)
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
A Little Seoul
My first weekend in Seoul was an interesting experience, with ups and downs, highs and lows. The lows primarily consisting of my catching a brutal cold and spending my Sunday with Julia dragging me around trying to find appropriate cold medication. Which was greatly appreciated—thanks darling. :)
Thankfully, the ups far outweighed the downs.
Saturday Julia met me in Bundang so that we could visit her friend Juni who’s in a hospital here. As it turns out, he only has to sleep in the hospital. Despite having a broken back. Seriously. He met us at a restaurant with another one of Julia’s friends, Matt, where we proceeded to drink the biggest pitcher of beer (mixed with soju, of course) that I have ever seen. And to eat what look like dried minnows. Well, they’re definitely some kind of little mini dried fish, but I’m not sure exactly what. Minnows is that best I can come up with. Either way, it’s an appetizer of sorts, and I ate it. Definitely. I even have proof!
We then went back to Julia’s place, where I got to meet a bunch of her friends, and some of her friend/ colleague’s (Ashley) friends as well. It was a great party, with a ton of expats from all over the world. Eventually we took the party to Hongdae, a sort of clubbing district in Seoul. There I was introduced to the one and only robot bar “Vinyl”, where you get your drinks in a Ziploc baggy that you take away; the Rocky Mountain Bar, where I played endless games of drunken darts, without ever actually winning a single game, and finished the night off getting our groove on to the sweet sounds of Cyndi Lauper at the 80’s Bar. Ok, so that wasn’t ACTUALLY the end. The end was the delicious Dok-Poke-Ee (think noodles of a sort in a spicy red sauce that you buy from street vendors and eat with a toothpick. It’s basically Korean drunk food...) and a drunken cab ride back to Julia’s luxury long term stay hotel.
Then I woke up at seven, which is a god forsaken time to wake up when you went to bed at four. Not to mention, when I woke up, I was sick. Really sick. Nose running, sore throat, coughing sick. Which means that I also woke Julia up at seven. She insisted she didn’t mind, but everyone minds getting woken up after only three hours of sleep. However, she was a great sport, and I will be forever grateful.
She then set off a on a mission: to find me Kleenex, before I ran out of toilet paper, and something to help with the...nastiness... all while showing me around Insadong.
Insadong is this really cool market-type place. They have a little bit of everything Korean, and you can bet that, if you’re lucky enough to receive gifts from me when I get home, they most likely will have come from this place.
After shopping for a while (without finding cold meds... it just so happens that drug stores and hospitals are closed on Sundays here...) we decided to hang out in this cool little park while we waited for Ashley and Steven (American expat) to meet us for lunch. There’s a really cool pagoda in the middle of the park, and while we were sitting there this really sweet Korean man starting chatting to us. He was probably about 75, missing most of his teeth, and tickled pink that he got to talk to a couple of Western girls and practice his English. In fact, that happens a lot here. People are really excited to speak English, so you start having the most random conversations with the most unlikely people in the most interesting places!
Anyway, we spoke to this man about the American presence in South Korea, and about interracial dating and marriage. Solid, intellectual discussion. And then he dropped the bombshell. “You look like Grace Kelley,” he told me. Despite being sick, carrying around a roll of toilet paper and blowing my nose constantly, this man compared me to one of the most beautiful, elegant women to ever grace the silver screen (and the throne of Monaco). I don’t care if he was lying through his non-existent teeth: that man will forever be one of my favourite people.
Following our lovely chat chit (a little D.C. for a few of you there), we met up with Ashley and Steven for the most amazing vegetarian meal I have ever experienced. Ever. And I’ve eaten a lot of good vegetarian food in my day. I won’t say more about it—if you want more info, you’ll have to come visit. Ya, that’s right. I’m willing to resort to bribery.
Upon completion of our delicious meal, Ashley and Julia promptly put me on the subway headed straight to Ori Station with explicit instructions to go to bed. I, of course, obeyed submissively. Despite an hour and a half ride home, I was in bed by seven.
Thankfully, the ups far outweighed the downs.
Saturday Julia met me in Bundang so that we could visit her friend Juni who’s in a hospital here. As it turns out, he only has to sleep in the hospital. Despite having a broken back. Seriously. He met us at a restaurant with another one of Julia’s friends, Matt, where we proceeded to drink the biggest pitcher of beer (mixed with soju, of course) that I have ever seen. And to eat what look like dried minnows. Well, they’re definitely some kind of little mini dried fish, but I’m not sure exactly what. Minnows is that best I can come up with. Either way, it’s an appetizer of sorts, and I ate it. Definitely. I even have proof!
We then went back to Julia’s place, where I got to meet a bunch of her friends, and some of her friend/ colleague’s (Ashley) friends as well. It was a great party, with a ton of expats from all over the world. Eventually we took the party to Hongdae, a sort of clubbing district in Seoul. There I was introduced to the one and only robot bar “Vinyl”, where you get your drinks in a Ziploc baggy that you take away; the Rocky Mountain Bar, where I played endless games of drunken darts, without ever actually winning a single game, and finished the night off getting our groove on to the sweet sounds of Cyndi Lauper at the 80’s Bar. Ok, so that wasn’t ACTUALLY the end. The end was the delicious Dok-Poke-Ee (think noodles of a sort in a spicy red sauce that you buy from street vendors and eat with a toothpick. It’s basically Korean drunk food...) and a drunken cab ride back to Julia’s luxury long term stay hotel.
Then I woke up at seven, which is a god forsaken time to wake up when you went to bed at four. Not to mention, when I woke up, I was sick. Really sick. Nose running, sore throat, coughing sick. Which means that I also woke Julia up at seven. She insisted she didn’t mind, but everyone minds getting woken up after only three hours of sleep. However, she was a great sport, and I will be forever grateful.
She then set off a on a mission: to find me Kleenex, before I ran out of toilet paper, and something to help with the...nastiness... all while showing me around Insadong.
Insadong is this really cool market-type place. They have a little bit of everything Korean, and you can bet that, if you’re lucky enough to receive gifts from me when I get home, they most likely will have come from this place.
After shopping for a while (without finding cold meds... it just so happens that drug stores and hospitals are closed on Sundays here...) we decided to hang out in this cool little park while we waited for Ashley and Steven (American expat) to meet us for lunch. There’s a really cool pagoda in the middle of the park, and while we were sitting there this really sweet Korean man starting chatting to us. He was probably about 75, missing most of his teeth, and tickled pink that he got to talk to a couple of Western girls and practice his English. In fact, that happens a lot here. People are really excited to speak English, so you start having the most random conversations with the most unlikely people in the most interesting places!
Anyway, we spoke to this man about the American presence in South Korea, and about interracial dating and marriage. Solid, intellectual discussion. And then he dropped the bombshell. “You look like Grace Kelley,” he told me. Despite being sick, carrying around a roll of toilet paper and blowing my nose constantly, this man compared me to one of the most beautiful, elegant women to ever grace the silver screen (and the throne of Monaco). I don’t care if he was lying through his non-existent teeth: that man will forever be one of my favourite people.
Following our lovely chat chit (a little D.C. for a few of you there), we met up with Ashley and Steven for the most amazing vegetarian meal I have ever experienced. Ever. And I’ve eaten a lot of good vegetarian food in my day. I won’t say more about it—if you want more info, you’ll have to come visit. Ya, that’s right. I’m willing to resort to bribery.
Upon completion of our delicious meal, Ashley and Julia promptly put me on the subway headed straight to Ori Station with explicit instructions to go to bed. I, of course, obeyed submissively. Despite an hour and a half ride home, I was in bed by seven.
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The Stuff of Legend
Kyle and I went shopping the other day and decided to buy some wine. Which you buy in the grocery store. Along with 2 litre bottles of soju. More on that to come... Upon reading the label on a bottle of Slim wine, we decided we had to have it. This was the selling point:
“Black Raspberry is a legendary fruit down the Earth allowing the secret scent of ancient time in oriental society. Black Raspberry Wine, Bohae Slim will deliver an exceptional experience of the legend.”
I’m always up for an exceptional experience of the legend!
“Black Raspberry is a legendary fruit down the Earth allowing the secret scent of ancient time in oriental society. Black Raspberry Wine, Bohae Slim will deliver an exceptional experience of the legend.”
I’m always up for an exceptional experience of the legend!
Friday, September 19, 2008
My Life in Korea, Thus Far
Although I haven’t actually been here that long, and haven’t seen much of my dong (neighbourhood) other than that immediately surrounding my apartment and the school, here’s a brief rundown of what I have experienced, and how I feel about it:
1) My apartment.
It’s small, which I expected. My shower is a shower head in one of my bathroom walls, and a drain in the floor – also expected. The location is pretty good: close to the subway, the school, Kyle and an awesome French boulangerie-type place.
2) My job.
I love the kids, they’re really sweet and cute. I teach kindergarten from 9:45 to 2:15 everyday, and the schedule is CRAZY. It’s very structured and well organized, but very different from what I’m used to. The school uses an American curriculum designed to teach native Spanish speakers English, so it’s “tried and true”, but that doesn’t make it any less confusing! It’s all going to take some getting used to.
In the afternoons I teach anywhere from one to four classes of slightly older students, which is a lot of fun. Although we’re all usually exhausted by the time these classes start, I love being with the “older” kids. I’ve known for a while that I love ESL and, so far, this experience is confirming that fact.
That being said, I’ve also quickly realized that I will never, ever be a kindergarten teacher. It takes a special kind of person to be able to do that job; they are Saints. I am not. Already I have stood in the middle of a classroom, with ten five year-olds running around, singing, dancing and screaming, and realized that I could do absolutely nothing to stop them. That’s when the principal walked in. THAT’S when I wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out. I’m sure that part of it is the fact that they have their reading and phonics classes immediately after lunch. I know that a lot of it is developing a rapport and a routine with them, and I also know that things will get better. But I’m also confident that when I get home, I will not be working in a kindergarten class!
There is a silver lining... The great thing about primary students is that they love their teachers—they’re always hanging off of you, and yelling “Hi Jacquie Teacher!” as soon as they see me. In Korea, it’s expected that you hug the students and basically show affection towards them. This is WAY different from the North American “don’t-even-try-to-touch-my-child-or-I’m-calling-the-cops-you-dirty- paedophile”. On the first day, one of my students ran up and hugged me and I almost had a fit! While I realize that we do have to protect our children, after having been here for a mere week I’ve began to see exactly how ridiculous and paranoid Canadian (Western?) society is... but more on that later.
3) The cost of living.
Everything is REALLY inexpensive. Three of us went out for dinner the other day and it basically cost the equivalent of $10. I bought a case of 6 2 Litre bottles of water for $4 from the convenience store down the street. A twenty minute cab ride was $6. It’s pretty crazy.
4) The language.
I was hoping to teach myself some Korean before I left home, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to retain anything! Now that I’m here, it’s not much better. Once I get settled I think I might try to find a course or something to take. Most people speak at least a little English, but it would be nice to be able to go to a restaurant and order in Korean, or at least be able to decipher the menu!
5) The food.
So far I really like Korean food! I haven’t had a ton of it, but what I have had has been really good. I’m pretty much in love with kimchi (pickled cabbage in a spicy sauce that is served as a side dish with every meal). There’s also a lot of international food. Last night we went to this AWESOME Mexican restaurant and I had the best burrito I’ve ever eaten!
This weekend I’m going to visit Julia and she’s going to show me a bit of Seoul. I’m really excited about that, and I’m sure I’ll have more to write about when I get back!
1) My apartment.
It’s small, which I expected. My shower is a shower head in one of my bathroom walls, and a drain in the floor – also expected. The location is pretty good: close to the subway, the school, Kyle and an awesome French boulangerie-type place.
2) My job.
I love the kids, they’re really sweet and cute. I teach kindergarten from 9:45 to 2:15 everyday, and the schedule is CRAZY. It’s very structured and well organized, but very different from what I’m used to. The school uses an American curriculum designed to teach native Spanish speakers English, so it’s “tried and true”, but that doesn’t make it any less confusing! It’s all going to take some getting used to.
In the afternoons I teach anywhere from one to four classes of slightly older students, which is a lot of fun. Although we’re all usually exhausted by the time these classes start, I love being with the “older” kids. I’ve known for a while that I love ESL and, so far, this experience is confirming that fact.
That being said, I’ve also quickly realized that I will never, ever be a kindergarten teacher. It takes a special kind of person to be able to do that job; they are Saints. I am not. Already I have stood in the middle of a classroom, with ten five year-olds running around, singing, dancing and screaming, and realized that I could do absolutely nothing to stop them. That’s when the principal walked in. THAT’S when I wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out. I’m sure that part of it is the fact that they have their reading and phonics classes immediately after lunch. I know that a lot of it is developing a rapport and a routine with them, and I also know that things will get better. But I’m also confident that when I get home, I will not be working in a kindergarten class!
There is a silver lining... The great thing about primary students is that they love their teachers—they’re always hanging off of you, and yelling “Hi Jacquie Teacher!” as soon as they see me. In Korea, it’s expected that you hug the students and basically show affection towards them. This is WAY different from the North American “don’t-even-try-to-touch-my-child-or-I’m-calling-the-cops-you-dirty- paedophile”. On the first day, one of my students ran up and hugged me and I almost had a fit! While I realize that we do have to protect our children, after having been here for a mere week I’ve began to see exactly how ridiculous and paranoid Canadian (Western?) society is... but more on that later.
3) The cost of living.
Everything is REALLY inexpensive. Three of us went out for dinner the other day and it basically cost the equivalent of $10. I bought a case of 6 2 Litre bottles of water for $4 from the convenience store down the street. A twenty minute cab ride was $6. It’s pretty crazy.
4) The language.
I was hoping to teach myself some Korean before I left home, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t seem to retain anything! Now that I’m here, it’s not much better. Once I get settled I think I might try to find a course or something to take. Most people speak at least a little English, but it would be nice to be able to go to a restaurant and order in Korean, or at least be able to decipher the menu!
5) The food.
So far I really like Korean food! I haven’t had a ton of it, but what I have had has been really good. I’m pretty much in love with kimchi (pickled cabbage in a spicy sauce that is served as a side dish with every meal). There’s also a lot of international food. Last night we went to this AWESOME Mexican restaurant and I had the best burrito I’ve ever eaten!
This weekend I’m going to visit Julia and she’s going to show me a bit of Seoul. I’m really excited about that, and I’m sure I’ll have more to write about when I get back!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Dear Mr. Sandman
I really love sleeping. I’m one of those people who needs a solid eight hours a night, and, for the most part, is ok with that. When I’m tired, I go to bed. Sometimes, if I’m really exhausted, I even get excited about going to sleep. Not so excited that I can’t fall asleep, mind you, but I really, really look forward to hitting the sack, if you will.
Over the past few days, since my arrival in Korea, this particular brand of excitement has continued to grow. And grow. And grow. In fact, it hasn’t ceased to expand and develop. Why? Because I have yet to actually sleep, which means that every night, as an acceptable bed time approaches, my excitement grows exponentially.
Under normal circumstances, excitement is great. However, when you keep getting let down, again and again, eventually it becomes too much; you start to dread the onset of the excitement, because you fear that this time will be just like all the others. It’s basically sleep’s equivalent of blue balls. To make a long story short: jet lag is seriously kicking my ass.
Over the past few days, since my arrival in Korea, this particular brand of excitement has continued to grow. And grow. And grow. In fact, it hasn’t ceased to expand and develop. Why? Because I have yet to actually sleep, which means that every night, as an acceptable bed time approaches, my excitement grows exponentially.
Under normal circumstances, excitement is great. However, when you keep getting let down, again and again, eventually it becomes too much; you start to dread the onset of the excitement, because you fear that this time will be just like all the others. It’s basically sleep’s equivalent of blue balls. To make a long story short: jet lag is seriously kicking my ass.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Numbers, Traffic and All-Around Stress
Well, I can now, honestly and truly, explain to each and every one of you (because I’m sure you’re all VERY eager to know...) what EXACTLY happens once you actually manage to get a visa issuance number and meander down to the Korean consulate... However, I will not, because I’m equally certain that not a one of you really cares. And if you do, you can email me J. Suffice it to say... be ABSOLUTELY certain that you give yourself enough time to fight through traffic and make it to the consulate before noon, when the visa window closes. And by “enough time”, I mean, a ton of extra time, because this day will inevitably be the one when you lose your cell phone, almost run out of gas and get stuck in traffic because the bloody Gardner is down to one lane RIGHT before the exit you need. On this particular day, you will decide how much you hate driving in Toronto and, despite making it to the embassy on time (barely), you will have a stress headache all day because you were forced to rush and speed and become that driver you usually hate down to the very core of your being... True story.
On a more positive note... my interview is scheduled for next Wednesday at 3 pm... which hopefully means I can fly out on Saturday... The deal is even sweetened by the fact that Monday is a holiday, which essentially equals more time to combat the jetlag that everyone is so certain I will not experience. Those people obviously don’t know me very well... I image that, for the first few days anyway, I will have a strong reliance on melatonin pills... and adrenaline...
In other news...
Most of my teacher friends started teaching this week. Many are teaching children they love in subjects they are passionate about. Several are not. One in particular managed to get a job despite never having applied for a teaching position seeing as she decided that she did not want to teach. Ever. As if this weren’t odd enough, she’s teaching a grade level that she has no experience with, nor any desire to get to know. Let’s call her... Lynn. While Lynn is stressing about the students in her Kindergarden gym class getting bloody noses and how to go about teaching grade twos how to conjugate verbs in French, I am getting WAY too excited suggesting that she sing her grade ones the alphabet song in French, find translations of Hannah Montana for her grade sixes, and have her grade fives trace one another on chart paper and dress “themselves” in the attire suitable for their desired future professions. Not just suggesting, but calling, texting, emailing these suggestions “sans cesse”. Not that this incredibly brilliant and wonderfully creative individual couldn’t come up with ideas just as exciting/ interesting as these (if not more so)... it’s just that I, for one, have a problem. I NEED to get back in a classroom. Soon.
Oh, and “Lynn”... I think this will be a great experience for you. The world needs more dedicated, inspirational teachers like you; whether you believe you truly are well-suited or not.
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