After a long, long wait (sorry for all you anxious readers out there, I know this is way overdue), it's time for a new entry! Where to begin? Man, it's been so long that I can't even think of where to pick back up again. Well, the reason for me not writing is just that I've been busy enough - really more like having enough fun - that I haven't had much time for internet stuff for a while. Plus the thought of sitting down and dedicating who-knows-how-long to reminisce about things I've done rather than get out there and doing more things to write about is difficult. If there's another long delay in the future, it's most likely for this same reason.
Anyways, as for what I've done....I suppose one of the most fun/interesting things I did during this absence was climb Mt. Halla, the tallest mountain in Korea. We drove part-way up it, then started our climb, which happened to be the steepest, most difficult trail available. Other trails can take up to 8 hours just one way while ours was supposed to take 2 and a half hours. We ended up beating that estimation and finishing with a time of just under 2 hours to reach the top. We didn't reach the "real" top as during this season, the trails to go all the way up are blocked off, but it sounds like we did the majority of the hike. Later, hopefully in spring when it's a bit warmer, I plan on doing the whole thing.
So when we started off, it was myself, my friend Chris, his buddy Sam who was visiting from Seoul, and the captain. I call him this b/c he was actually my friend Min Bum's military captain....a guy whose job it is to train soldiers how to use machine guns all day. I asked him what exactly his job was and he said "train soldier to shoot gun." I asked "That's all?" And he said, "Yes". I asked him if it was a big gun or small gun and he showed me with his hands while saying "big gun." I got a pretty big kick out of it (and out of him), and he's a really nice guy, too, so it's fun to hang out with him. So we started climbing up after a night of drinking and a morning of eating Loteria, a knock-off Korean-style McDonalds and the stomach was complaining from the get-go, but after the first kilometer it went away. After about a half hour, the captain and I broke away from Sam and Chris, who seemed to be having more fatigue in both their stomachs and legs than the captain and I.
We saw plenty of trees and types of flora (but not much fauna) and mist as we made it to the top. We never got a very good view b/c of the mist, but it was still really pretty and the air was fresh as could be. If it were about 15 degrees warmer and a bit clearer it would have been perfect. At the top, we ate some ramen noodles, then climbed back down. It was quite a leg workout as for probably a straight hour of the trip up it was nothing but climbing stairs. No hill-walking, no. Just stair after stair after stair. Probably about 3 or 4 of the 6 kilometers (or about 2 miles) to give you guys an idea. It's a good thing I'd been working out my legs quite a bit or that climb, which seemed fairly difficult, would have gotten really difficult.
Other than climbing Mt. Halla, I've just about broken my wrist, gone to "the five-day market," and continued to make new friends and do random fun things with them. So the first story, the almost-breaking-my-wrist story, happened when my friend Chris and I walked up to this punching machine (they have these fun, dumb, and dangerous little street games all over in korea) and decided we were going to get the high score. He punched first and immediately after was in pain, but on the bright side, nearly set the record. Then I punched, felt my wrist crunch a little, but got the high score. We found out later that he had broken his wrist and I had likely sprained mine. He was pretty upset that he sacrificed his hand and didn't even manage to get the high score.
The next story, the five-day market, is a market that is strangely held once every five days....it doesn't matter which day it happens to fall on, it is held. You'd think they'd do it every weekend or something, but nope. Anyways, it's this huge market that sells a lit bit of everything. I went in there on a coat hunt, and managed to find a decent winter coat for thirty dollars (THIRTY DOLLARS!) as well as a ton of other stuff I needed and some other things I only kind of needed. I came away with two pairs of sweat pants, two long-sleeve outdoorsy sort of tops, a ridiculous bright-yellow sweatshirt that says "PIMP" at the top and has a giant picture of a black guy with gold teeth, a cane, and top hat (only eight dollars I might add....otherwise i dunno if I could have been tempted into buying it....its one of those wear twice-per-year things), and some gloves and a hat. I bought all of this for UNDER $100. Shazam! I was pretty happy and will definitely be back for some more deals. Maybe next time I'll buy one of the chipmunks or one of one thousand different types of other baby animals they had. I want to buy a ton of them, set them free in my room, and encourage moss to grow on the walls to get a good jungle theme going. And then to top it off, I'll get a good jungle soundtrack to play repeat on my computer and take on an australian crocodile hunter-esque accent. A little eccentric? Maybe.
I've been continuing to make friends and having fun doing a variety of things with them. Usually we just go out and get food, have a few drinks, maybe go to a karaoke room or play basketball, but sometimes my friends and I (old and new) end up doing something completely out there, and it almost always turns out to be tons of fun. The only time that WASN'T that fun was when we met this guy (Chris, Sam, and I) that told us he wanted us to come to his party. Knowing how safe Korea is and judging from the pure odds of 3 to 1, we thought what the heck, we'll go. He didn't speak much English, but was pretty enthusiastic and we all have the adventurous kind of mentality that would lead us to say yes. So we did, and we ended up going to a restaurant with a few of his friends for two hours or so, eating all sorts of small dishes, when right when we were about to go, his friends "went to the bathroom," and never came back and he did shortly after too, refusing to accept our money to pay. After waiting for a few minutes, noticing that things just felt wrong, we came to find out that he had left the restaurant and nobody had paid. We chased the little bastard down on the street, flipped him around, and marched back to the restaurant to make him pay at least half of the bill. He suddenly "forgot" all his english and was very standoff-ish as we forced him to pay. He said he didn't have cash, but we saw his credit card, so he paid with that and then for about 30 seconds refused to take our money saying it was a gift. Even though he had been such a conniving son of a you know what, my friend Chris continued to offer to pay part of the bill, which he "reluctantly" accepted....then when Chris started to pull it away to double-count it, he snatched it and would not give it back. Chris gave up and we left to go back to our homes at 7 AM. What a night.
As far as my more daily life, I've got a pretty set schedule of working (still 1 to 8 PM daily), then going to work out probably 3 or 4 nights per week until 11 pm, and then going out and/or traveling on the weekends. I really feel comfortable with being here now, and it feels great to know my way around, speak some basic Korean for communication (still very far from REAL communication), and have friends to help me out with things. Yep....I'm a pretty happy guy! And without any further ado.....the end!
Basketball
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Sunday, October 4, 2009
My Super-packed Sunday
I started coming down with a cold on friday, but I haven't let it slow me down much. I got some rest on friday (which I had off because it was the first of three days of Chuseok, basically the Korean Thanksgiving) and most of Saturday so that I could go out that night to a few bars where we played pool, people watched, I learned a bunch of Korean from friends (I'm not the proud counter of 1-20 in Korean), and played random street games they have all over the place.
The night scene is tons of fun, especially after you discover all there is to do. Heck, I could just play the funny little street games they have all night! Some are arcade-ish, others are sport-related and some are just kind of silly. It's pretty funny to watch the Koreans who've obviously had a little too much to drink try out the punch or kick machines and end up on their rear ends when they completely miss the target. I'm still surprised at how popular drinking is, and that it's that popular for nearly all ages, especially for men. One of my friends told me that it's not that uncommon to see a grown man with a good-paying job passed out on the sidewalk after a long night of drinking, possibly still dressed in their business clothes from earlier that day. Very different. And it's strange how Koreans treat drinking. They hate to be labeled "drunks" and will try to avoid it in any way possible, including temporarily disowning their friends. I've been with a few Korean friends when a friend of theirs comes up to them, obviously drunk, and they say hi, goodbye, and walk away and say how sorry they are to me for him being drunk and not to pay attention to him, despite the fact that all he said was "hello". And in a few hours, they might end up in the same state (seems they really have a hard time holding their liquor compared to Americans....reminds me of a bunch of Korean college freshman running around).
But aaaaanyways, I wanted to write about the super-packed Sunday I had earlier today. So here it is....first, I got up and got picked up by my friend Bok-Young, then swung by to get our friend Sarah, a British english teacher, and headed out to Seogwipo, the only other "city" on the island, located directly south on the other side of the island. We drove for about 45 minutes before stopping to get a bite to eat, then got back in the car (this time with me driving), and drove to some cliffs on the edge of the ocean. Man, are the Koreans bad drivers. They slowly cut you off, seem very unaware, and randomly brake at odd times. Very frustrating to drive with.
The cliffs were really neat....steep, jagged rocks that went down and almost looked like long black crystals because of their shape. Hard to describe, but really neat. Almost all of the other people there were Chinese tourists, but I couldn't really tell....looked the same to me other than a slight difference in clothing style. The Koreans were very surprised, though, that I didn't see the difference and we discussed how the two were different. I guess the Koreans seem to think the Chinese in general are less attractive and "dirtier," but I think they just meant that they aren't as environmentally friendly...their cities are polluted and just not quite as clean.
After driving to the Cliffs, we drove into Seogwipo, looked around, then continued on to this big bay where there was a big bridge built just three days ago for people to cross to walk in a circle around this small island, then come back. A few good pictures, but kind of boring following slow Koreans at a snail's pace for 20 minutes. The bridge was neat, though...really modern-looking, very big, and good to take pictures from. After walking back, we hopped back in the car and headed back towards Jeju City. We dropped off Min-Hee, one of Bok-Young's friends from Seoul, then headed out to do go-carts! They were 2-passenger carts and oddly enough, had 2 steering wheels that both controlled the steering of the car. Luckily Sarah and I had the same driving style - fast - and didn't fight with the wheels much. It was pretty fun flying around the track, passing the Koreans and waving at them as we went. A few times we almost crashed because we really flew around the turns and we'd start to skid out, but we always righted the car just in time. And we lapped our Korean friends....twice. Haha.
After go-carts we went to get Korean barbecue, which actually has no BBQ sauce involved at all. It's just an open grill they put in front of you full of meat. They also give you a TON of little side dishes (this is typical of every korean meal) that you can mix with your meat in this lettuce-like leaves used to wrap the food in and stuff in your mouth whole. It's probably the best food native food I've had - thus why I've had it 8 times now - and it hasn't gotten old at all! Good thing, because some of the other stuff has. I just can't eat rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday! So after eating, we dropped Sarah off and Bok-Young and Q (her korean name is really difficult to pronounce so I decided we'd nickname her Q since it starts with that and she liked the idea) and I went back to the Tap-Dong amusement park, the same place where I saw the hilarious rides earlier. This time, unfortunately, there were no chubby little kids, but teens and the older crowd since it was a bit later. We tried riding this giant pirate ship thing, did some people watching, then went to Sara-bang (or Sara mountain). We looked out over the ocean and could see the coastline for miles, including lighthouses, several ports, cars, people, ships, fishing boats....it was really neat.
We were thinking about ending the day/night there....but it continued! We drove out east to Hamdeok where we went to a beach which had a small bridge out to a small island, then another small bridge to another island. This island was in the center of a large bay that was really pretty....the water was pretty shallow, and with the dim lights put around the edge of the island, I could tell it was a light blue color. Around the bay, there were little stores and bars, and it was neat to see everything around the water all lit up while we were in the center of it all. Sometimes I'm surprised that Korea has such pretty scenes to offer. I had never thought it would be like this prior to seeing a few pictures, but it can be stunning in certain places.
After crossing the bridges back, we dropped off Q at her place and Bok-Young started to drive us back, but took a wrong turn and we ended up on this tiny gravel-ish road that had rock walls on either sides (literally rocks stacked on top of eachother without cement used to hold them together....pretty impressive, but in this case realllllly tricky). Bok-Young made the wrong decision to continue on this tiny road which twisted sharply 2 or 3 times and got smaller and smaller until the rocks were about 8 inches from the car on either side. It wouldn't have been a problem if this strange path led us out, but it continued shrinking until the car would have been scraping rocks on either side. The only way out was to reverse the whole way out. Wayyyy easier said than done as it was going uphill, over both small and large, loose rocks with very close rock walls at night with very little light. I barely managed to get out of the car to help direct Bok-Young's driving, but after about 5 minutes spent moving 6 or 7 feet, we traded places and I did my best to back the car out. A few times I was only an inch or two from the rocks (which was much more nerve-wracking than it sounds because when moving on this road it wasn't smooth and easy to control due to the loose rocks that would shift and the fact that the road was a steep hill and you'd have to be really careful with the clutch/accelerator to move slowly.) But, eventually I did make it out (I think it took almost 15 minutes!) without a scratch on the car. Man, was that scary. Looking at it, I was wondering at first how the heck we'd get the car out of there....but we did! From there, Bok-Young dropped me back off at my place to end the fun-filled day/night and weekend. Quite the day, huh?
The night scene is tons of fun, especially after you discover all there is to do. Heck, I could just play the funny little street games they have all night! Some are arcade-ish, others are sport-related and some are just kind of silly. It's pretty funny to watch the Koreans who've obviously had a little too much to drink try out the punch or kick machines and end up on their rear ends when they completely miss the target. I'm still surprised at how popular drinking is, and that it's that popular for nearly all ages, especially for men. One of my friends told me that it's not that uncommon to see a grown man with a good-paying job passed out on the sidewalk after a long night of drinking, possibly still dressed in their business clothes from earlier that day. Very different. And it's strange how Koreans treat drinking. They hate to be labeled "drunks" and will try to avoid it in any way possible, including temporarily disowning their friends. I've been with a few Korean friends when a friend of theirs comes up to them, obviously drunk, and they say hi, goodbye, and walk away and say how sorry they are to me for him being drunk and not to pay attention to him, despite the fact that all he said was "hello". And in a few hours, they might end up in the same state (seems they really have a hard time holding their liquor compared to Americans....reminds me of a bunch of Korean college freshman running around).
But aaaaanyways, I wanted to write about the super-packed Sunday I had earlier today. So here it is....first, I got up and got picked up by my friend Bok-Young, then swung by to get our friend Sarah, a British english teacher, and headed out to Seogwipo, the only other "city" on the island, located directly south on the other side of the island. We drove for about 45 minutes before stopping to get a bite to eat, then got back in the car (this time with me driving), and drove to some cliffs on the edge of the ocean. Man, are the Koreans bad drivers. They slowly cut you off, seem very unaware, and randomly brake at odd times. Very frustrating to drive with.
The cliffs were really neat....steep, jagged rocks that went down and almost looked like long black crystals because of their shape. Hard to describe, but really neat. Almost all of the other people there were Chinese tourists, but I couldn't really tell....looked the same to me other than a slight difference in clothing style. The Koreans were very surprised, though, that I didn't see the difference and we discussed how the two were different. I guess the Koreans seem to think the Chinese in general are less attractive and "dirtier," but I think they just meant that they aren't as environmentally friendly...their cities are polluted and just not quite as clean.
After driving to the Cliffs, we drove into Seogwipo, looked around, then continued on to this big bay where there was a big bridge built just three days ago for people to cross to walk in a circle around this small island, then come back. A few good pictures, but kind of boring following slow Koreans at a snail's pace for 20 minutes. The bridge was neat, though...really modern-looking, very big, and good to take pictures from. After walking back, we hopped back in the car and headed back towards Jeju City. We dropped off Min-Hee, one of Bok-Young's friends from Seoul, then headed out to do go-carts! They were 2-passenger carts and oddly enough, had 2 steering wheels that both controlled the steering of the car. Luckily Sarah and I had the same driving style - fast - and didn't fight with the wheels much. It was pretty fun flying around the track, passing the Koreans and waving at them as we went. A few times we almost crashed because we really flew around the turns and we'd start to skid out, but we always righted the car just in time. And we lapped our Korean friends....twice. Haha.
After go-carts we went to get Korean barbecue, which actually has no BBQ sauce involved at all. It's just an open grill they put in front of you full of meat. They also give you a TON of little side dishes (this is typical of every korean meal) that you can mix with your meat in this lettuce-like leaves used to wrap the food in and stuff in your mouth whole. It's probably the best food native food I've had - thus why I've had it 8 times now - and it hasn't gotten old at all! Good thing, because some of the other stuff has. I just can't eat rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner everyday! So after eating, we dropped Sarah off and Bok-Young and Q (her korean name is really difficult to pronounce so I decided we'd nickname her Q since it starts with that and she liked the idea) and I went back to the Tap-Dong amusement park, the same place where I saw the hilarious rides earlier. This time, unfortunately, there were no chubby little kids, but teens and the older crowd since it was a bit later. We tried riding this giant pirate ship thing, did some people watching, then went to Sara-bang (or Sara mountain). We looked out over the ocean and could see the coastline for miles, including lighthouses, several ports, cars, people, ships, fishing boats....it was really neat.
We were thinking about ending the day/night there....but it continued! We drove out east to Hamdeok where we went to a beach which had a small bridge out to a small island, then another small bridge to another island. This island was in the center of a large bay that was really pretty....the water was pretty shallow, and with the dim lights put around the edge of the island, I could tell it was a light blue color. Around the bay, there were little stores and bars, and it was neat to see everything around the water all lit up while we were in the center of it all. Sometimes I'm surprised that Korea has such pretty scenes to offer. I had never thought it would be like this prior to seeing a few pictures, but it can be stunning in certain places.
After crossing the bridges back, we dropped off Q at her place and Bok-Young started to drive us back, but took a wrong turn and we ended up on this tiny gravel-ish road that had rock walls on either sides (literally rocks stacked on top of eachother without cement used to hold them together....pretty impressive, but in this case realllllly tricky). Bok-Young made the wrong decision to continue on this tiny road which twisted sharply 2 or 3 times and got smaller and smaller until the rocks were about 8 inches from the car on either side. It wouldn't have been a problem if this strange path led us out, but it continued shrinking until the car would have been scraping rocks on either side. The only way out was to reverse the whole way out. Wayyyy easier said than done as it was going uphill, over both small and large, loose rocks with very close rock walls at night with very little light. I barely managed to get out of the car to help direct Bok-Young's driving, but after about 5 minutes spent moving 6 or 7 feet, we traded places and I did my best to back the car out. A few times I was only an inch or two from the rocks (which was much more nerve-wracking than it sounds because when moving on this road it wasn't smooth and easy to control due to the loose rocks that would shift and the fact that the road was a steep hill and you'd have to be really careful with the clutch/accelerator to move slowly.) But, eventually I did make it out (I think it took almost 15 minutes!) without a scratch on the car. Man, was that scary. Looking at it, I was wondering at first how the heck we'd get the car out of there....but we did! From there, Bok-Young dropped me back off at my place to end the fun-filled day/night and weekend. Quite the day, huh?
Monday, September 7, 2009
Hilarious Korea
And now for some news from Korea.....life has gotten quite a bit busier (in a good way) as I've gotten to know more and more people, places, and things to do. I've met around 10 other teachers which is pretty cool because it's tough to find them around here. Kinda funny, whenever I see non-koreans out and about my reaction is probably similar or even a little more exaggerated than that of the natives... "hey look, white people!"
Two of the people I met (and luckily probably the ones I get along with best) are actually in my same building and I hadn't even known it until I met them online through Jason, the recruiter that recruited both of us for jobs on Jeju. I've been out with my new white friends a few times lately. We all went to a small, dark sand beach on the eastern side of the island first, and the next day we went to an large, white sand beach on the west coast. The dark sand one was pretty, but the white sand beach was BEAUTIFUL! The color of the water was almost carribbean-like, and there was an island not far off the beach that really enhanced the scene. I'll try to get pictures up somewhere soon....
Also, we went out to the pier, which was my first time just due to the distance. Jeju is no small city. It has about 400,000 people and feels like more than that. Going end to end would probably take a half hour via bus. But anyways, we went out there and saw a lot of really neat things. On the way out there, they have giant stores and markets that sell fish, fish, and more fish. They smell terrible but look pretty cool. They have some big tanks outside with abalone, all kinds of fish, squid, snails, and other things. After you pass the fish markets, you come to the pier and there are lots and lots of boats near the sea wall. At night about half of them are out fishing for squid (which seem to be everywhere here). It looks really neat, though, because they all have reaaaally bright lights that I guess attract the squid, so the ocean is lit up by hundreds of lights. Along the sea wall are all kinds of stores, shops, and a big park that has a series of basketball courts (that I've taken advantage of several times already!), tennis courts, and odd mini tennis courts that are actually used to play a Korean game that is exactly like tennis but played with a soccer ball, no racquet, and no hands. My favorite part, though, (even though the brand new basketball courts are hard to beat), is an amusement park. It has several rides, arcade games, and food. Sounds pretty typical, but a Korean amusement park is a lot different. The food, obviously, is different, the people treat the park differently, and the rides are a bit behind on safety standards.
I probably laughed harder than I have laughed in a year when i saw this one ride where chubby little korean kids are bounced and tossed around on a spinning wheel. The man who operates the ride has complete control....he controls the music, how fast it spins, what he says on the microphone, and the best part.....the bouncing. The ride looks like one we'd have in the US where about 30 people can get on and spin in circles for like 2 minutes, feel dizzy, then get off. But this one is MUCH more entertaining. The ride spins while the oddest collections of music is played (from michael jackson to hardcore rap to soft Korean music) while the ride operator controls the "bouncing" of one side of the ride, sending kids flying out of their seats for around 15 minutes straight. Watching it is absolutely HILARIOUS, watching the kids bounce around, hair flying and arms flailing. Some of them wander out to the center (there were no seatbelts or anything, and despite the signs all over telling people not to get out of their seats, it didn't seem to matter....actually, it was probably unavoidable with the bouncing) and the ride operator teases them, changing the angle of the ride so they stumble across the center area, crashing into other kids, then go back again. I stood there watching for about 20 minutes before finally moving on.
Watching bumper cars was pretty funny too. The Koreans should really change the name of their bumper cars to "avoid-a-cars" or something like that because the goal seems not to crash into other people, but avoid them. Another funny thing there were these little camel/donkey things that you could stick 50 cents in and ride around at about half a mile per hour (seriously, they were SO slow) built for little kids. So of course I took advantage of the opportunity to get on one and ride it around crowds of Koreans, waving at them while they all stared, pointed, and laughed or just looked confused. It made me laugh pretty hard that I'd pass by them on this beat up, one-eyed donkey thing at half a mile per hour getting these looks. I think I got the best ab workout I've had for a while just watching them.
I've also been out with my Korean friends a lot, all of whom I met at my gym or who were friends of people I met at the gym. We usually go out to a restaurant or a bar or to play basketball. It's a lot of fun talking to them about everything and playing basketball with them. Another funny thing is how they play basketball. It's the opposite of american b-ball where if you get the open shot, you take it. You basically pass in circles until somebody has the opportunity to shoot a lay-up. And nobody ever shoots from deep, JUST layups or short jump shots. Pretty funny to watch/play.
But maybe the FUNNIEST thing (pretty close to tied with the korean ride) were the names of the students that my friend Madison teaches. I guess the kids got the opportunity to pick English names in previous classes and their names are absolutely hilarious. Madison has two fat kids in her classes and their names (which they picked!) are Cow and Hammy. The biggest of all of the kids, though, is named Boss. I laughed for a good ten minutes after hearing that. She says that Michael Jackson is the most popular name and has at least one Michael Jackson in every class. A few other good names include Milk, Money, Coin, and Tom Cruise. But to save the best for last....she also has an Obama and a Bush that ironically sit at the same table in one of her classes. I don't know how she can teach that class....I'd laugh so hard at the names that I don't think I could do it! Anyways, this is getting pretty long so I'm going to cut it off. Hope you enjoyed it!
Two of the people I met (and luckily probably the ones I get along with best) are actually in my same building and I hadn't even known it until I met them online through Jason, the recruiter that recruited both of us for jobs on Jeju. I've been out with my new white friends a few times lately. We all went to a small, dark sand beach on the eastern side of the island first, and the next day we went to an large, white sand beach on the west coast. The dark sand one was pretty, but the white sand beach was BEAUTIFUL! The color of the water was almost carribbean-like, and there was an island not far off the beach that really enhanced the scene. I'll try to get pictures up somewhere soon....
Also, we went out to the pier, which was my first time just due to the distance. Jeju is no small city. It has about 400,000 people and feels like more than that. Going end to end would probably take a half hour via bus. But anyways, we went out there and saw a lot of really neat things. On the way out there, they have giant stores and markets that sell fish, fish, and more fish. They smell terrible but look pretty cool. They have some big tanks outside with abalone, all kinds of fish, squid, snails, and other things. After you pass the fish markets, you come to the pier and there are lots and lots of boats near the sea wall. At night about half of them are out fishing for squid (which seem to be everywhere here). It looks really neat, though, because they all have reaaaally bright lights that I guess attract the squid, so the ocean is lit up by hundreds of lights. Along the sea wall are all kinds of stores, shops, and a big park that has a series of basketball courts (that I've taken advantage of several times already!), tennis courts, and odd mini tennis courts that are actually used to play a Korean game that is exactly like tennis but played with a soccer ball, no racquet, and no hands. My favorite part, though, (even though the brand new basketball courts are hard to beat), is an amusement park. It has several rides, arcade games, and food. Sounds pretty typical, but a Korean amusement park is a lot different. The food, obviously, is different, the people treat the park differently, and the rides are a bit behind on safety standards.
I probably laughed harder than I have laughed in a year when i saw this one ride where chubby little korean kids are bounced and tossed around on a spinning wheel. The man who operates the ride has complete control....he controls the music, how fast it spins, what he says on the microphone, and the best part.....the bouncing. The ride looks like one we'd have in the US where about 30 people can get on and spin in circles for like 2 minutes, feel dizzy, then get off. But this one is MUCH more entertaining. The ride spins while the oddest collections of music is played (from michael jackson to hardcore rap to soft Korean music) while the ride operator controls the "bouncing" of one side of the ride, sending kids flying out of their seats for around 15 minutes straight. Watching it is absolutely HILARIOUS, watching the kids bounce around, hair flying and arms flailing. Some of them wander out to the center (there were no seatbelts or anything, and despite the signs all over telling people not to get out of their seats, it didn't seem to matter....actually, it was probably unavoidable with the bouncing) and the ride operator teases them, changing the angle of the ride so they stumble across the center area, crashing into other kids, then go back again. I stood there watching for about 20 minutes before finally moving on.
Watching bumper cars was pretty funny too. The Koreans should really change the name of their bumper cars to "avoid-a-cars" or something like that because the goal seems not to crash into other people, but avoid them. Another funny thing there were these little camel/donkey things that you could stick 50 cents in and ride around at about half a mile per hour (seriously, they were SO slow) built for little kids. So of course I took advantage of the opportunity to get on one and ride it around crowds of Koreans, waving at them while they all stared, pointed, and laughed or just looked confused. It made me laugh pretty hard that I'd pass by them on this beat up, one-eyed donkey thing at half a mile per hour getting these looks. I think I got the best ab workout I've had for a while just watching them.
I've also been out with my Korean friends a lot, all of whom I met at my gym or who were friends of people I met at the gym. We usually go out to a restaurant or a bar or to play basketball. It's a lot of fun talking to them about everything and playing basketball with them. Another funny thing is how they play basketball. It's the opposite of american b-ball where if you get the open shot, you take it. You basically pass in circles until somebody has the opportunity to shoot a lay-up. And nobody ever shoots from deep, JUST layups or short jump shots. Pretty funny to watch/play.
But maybe the FUNNIEST thing (pretty close to tied with the korean ride) were the names of the students that my friend Madison teaches. I guess the kids got the opportunity to pick English names in previous classes and their names are absolutely hilarious. Madison has two fat kids in her classes and their names (which they picked!) are Cow and Hammy. The biggest of all of the kids, though, is named Boss. I laughed for a good ten minutes after hearing that. She says that Michael Jackson is the most popular name and has at least one Michael Jackson in every class. A few other good names include Milk, Money, Coin, and Tom Cruise. But to save the best for last....she also has an Obama and a Bush that ironically sit at the same table in one of her classes. I don't know how she can teach that class....I'd laugh so hard at the names that I don't think I could do it! Anyways, this is getting pretty long so I'm going to cut it off. Hope you enjoyed it!
Monday, August 31, 2009
Mo' stuff
Guess what I'm eating right now? Octopus. It's actually pretty good....especially in soy sauce. The food options here are actually pretty broad, though, so there's plenty to choose from. Curiosity just got the best of me!
The gym here is great....minus the facilities. The great part is that I've met so may people here...the American/Korean couple I wrote about (I think?) that I've been out with several times, the owner of the place and his assistant (both my age), and a few Koreans. We're all having a get-together over here tomorrow so that should be fun! They've all been really friendly so far and it's interesting how the Korean culture is SO much about sharing and returning favors. I said I was going to have people over, so within the next time minutes, half of them came back to invite me to their house later on and I'm sure the others that didn't were thinking about it. Also, when we go out to eat, they always offer to pay for the meal, but what ends up happening is that one person pays the whole bill, and then the next person at the next place until everyone has paid for a meal, then it starts over.....and the food is always shared. People don't even have their own plates half the time....you have a ton of food in the center that everyone grabs with their chopsticks while they talk and eat. It's a very respectful, social culture.
In another note of just as much if not more interest, I haven't taken that trip to the elevator yet to zap the mosquitoes, but I think I will soon....
The gym here is great....minus the facilities. The great part is that I've met so may people here...the American/Korean couple I wrote about (I think?) that I've been out with several times, the owner of the place and his assistant (both my age), and a few Koreans. We're all having a get-together over here tomorrow so that should be fun! They've all been really friendly so far and it's interesting how the Korean culture is SO much about sharing and returning favors. I said I was going to have people over, so within the next time minutes, half of them came back to invite me to their house later on and I'm sure the others that didn't were thinking about it. Also, when we go out to eat, they always offer to pay for the meal, but what ends up happening is that one person pays the whole bill, and then the next person at the next place until everyone has paid for a meal, then it starts over.....and the food is always shared. People don't even have their own plates half the time....you have a ton of food in the center that everyone grabs with their chopsticks while they talk and eat. It's a very respectful, social culture.
In another note of just as much if not more interest, I haven't taken that trip to the elevator yet to zap the mosquitoes, but I think I will soon....
Yep, the kids looove the stickers. Good thing I have about three pounds of them haha. It's definitely an age range....the younger kids can be REALLY challenging to teach. They really only know the most basic of the basic....hello, goodbye, a few colors, and their favorite animals. Like I say, lots of gesturing and making up ways to get my idea across to them. It takes quite a bit of energy to teach them and by the end of the day I'm pretty pooped, but still manage to go to the weight room (just joined one a few days back) and then go back home, talk online for a bit, then go to bed.
A/C here has been sooo nice to have. Without it, it would be more than a little hot and stuffy here. As far as the bug situation, it's really not bad. For some reason, though, there are always a bunch of mosquitoes in my apartments elevator, but that's the only place so far that I've seen them anywhere in Korea. Weird, huh? I used my bug zapper once in my room, but that was it....and man, did it kill that mosquito. Not just like zzzz and dead.....it was like BANG! The thing made this big spark and then burned up on the metal. I was impressed. I'm thinking about taking a bug-zapping expedition to the elevator, though. Do everyone in the apartment a favor and have a little fun haha.
A/C here has been sooo nice to have. Without it, it would be more than a little hot and stuffy here. As far as the bug situation, it's really not bad. For some reason, though, there are always a bunch of mosquitoes in my apartments elevator, but that's the only place so far that I've seen them anywhere in Korea. Weird, huh? I used my bug zapper once in my room, but that was it....and man, did it kill that mosquito. Not just like zzzz and dead.....it was like BANG! The thing made this big spark and then burned up on the metal. I was impressed. I'm thinking about taking a bug-zapping expedition to the elevator, though. Do everyone in the apartment a favor and have a little fun haha.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Post #2 (creative name, huh?)
Hey guys!
So again, this is just stolen from a few emails to my mom (you guys think I have enough motivation to write messages solely for this blog?! Psha!)
My place is pretty cool! It's only about a 5 minute walk from the school, too. Because of that i don't know if I'll get a scooter or not. Probably eventually since I'll want to travel out to other parts of the island and the city is big enough where walking to the other end would take wayy too long walking.
The flight was pretty good because it didn't seem like it was as long as I thought it was. I didn't get to sit next to sarah (ok, gotta tell the background on this one: craziest random happening ever; my friend Sarah from high school was by chance going to Korea the same day I was, but the coincidence doesn't stop there.....we were on the same airline, the same flights, and even sat next to eachother for the first flight!), but sat next to some other english teachers going to Seoul and we talked for a while. The language tapes helped a bit too. And they gave us plenty of food on the plane (one snack and two full-size meals) that was probably the best food I've ever had on a plane before.
So backtracking a bit....when I first got to my apartment it was around 10 PM korean time. The temperature was about 80 and very humid even at night...so if feels really warm, especially in the day. I haven't found out where really anything is yet other than my school, but I'm going to do all of that soon. So far I've found out where two grocery stores are, the cell phone place where I got my phone, my school, and downtown. The city is pretty good sized, though, so there's a lot more to see.
On a side note:
I'm reallllly excited that favre is a viking! I've been following it really closely....sounds like he's other blown others away with what he can do in practice! It's the same system he used for 16 years in green bay, so he said it's like he's really back in his element and that after his recovery from his shoulder surgery, his arm feels better than it has for a year at least....so I'm thinking we'll see big things from him. With him, a good offensive line, a much better receiving core than last year, and the best running game in football (not to mention a good defense as well) I think we have a legitimate chance of going really far this year. I can't wait! Hopefully I get the games here. Andrew, if you're reading this, send the message to your team, (favre's former team coincidentally).....watch out!
So my kids really like stickers. Good thing I brought like three pounds of them haha. The lesson plans I use are really basic...I have kids that are as young as 5 years old, so for them it's more like babysitting than anything else. Even my older kids are probably only 15 at the oldest, so they're not too advanced. The average age, though, is probably around 11 or so. We usually practice basic words with themes like "around town" or "in the house" so they can learn about fire men, stoves, and basic words like that. The older kids start to work on grammar and senteces (which is a nice relief because then I feel I can actually speak like a real person instead of in slow robot talk).
It's kinda tough sometimes because for the most part, their english really isn't that good. Communicating can be tough so I have to get creative with lots of pointing, drawing, etc. I'm excited for this week to be over, though, so that I can start with new books next month. Every month we change books, and for some reason some classes are way behind in their books while others are caught up, so it's a real pain teaching those who are behind because we have to rush so much and I look forward to making my own schedule where we can move at a more even pace.
Maybe the hardest part about teaching, at least at first, was that there's no AC in there! By the end of my first day I probably looked like I finished working out or something because it gets pretty hot, and without AC, it's tough. BUT, there is a fan, so yesterday (my second day teaching) I moved that in there and pointed it directly at me. The students didn't seem to get bothered by the heat, so it worked out well that I had my own constant air flow. It was MUCH more comfortable. There's AC in my apartment though....it has everything from AC to a rice maker....it even came with a bug zapper and video door entry system. So thats nice.
My next week pretty much just holds teaching....I'm going to try to find a gym nearby, also, but other than that i don't really have much going (I don't really plan things though, it's more of a day by day approach). My new phone number is 010 3822 8231 if anyone wants to try to call me....I wonder if it will work. Probably via skype calling....guess we'll find out! Adios!
So again, this is just stolen from a few emails to my mom (you guys think I have enough motivation to write messages solely for this blog?! Psha!)
My place is pretty cool! It's only about a 5 minute walk from the school, too. Because of that i don't know if I'll get a scooter or not. Probably eventually since I'll want to travel out to other parts of the island and the city is big enough where walking to the other end would take wayy too long walking.
The flight was pretty good because it didn't seem like it was as long as I thought it was. I didn't get to sit next to sarah (ok, gotta tell the background on this one: craziest random happening ever; my friend Sarah from high school was by chance going to Korea the same day I was, but the coincidence doesn't stop there.....we were on the same airline, the same flights, and even sat next to eachother for the first flight!), but sat next to some other english teachers going to Seoul and we talked for a while. The language tapes helped a bit too. And they gave us plenty of food on the plane (one snack and two full-size meals) that was probably the best food I've ever had on a plane before.
So backtracking a bit....when I first got to my apartment it was around 10 PM korean time. The temperature was about 80 and very humid even at night...so if feels really warm, especially in the day. I haven't found out where really anything is yet other than my school, but I'm going to do all of that soon. So far I've found out where two grocery stores are, the cell phone place where I got my phone, my school, and downtown. The city is pretty good sized, though, so there's a lot more to see.
On a side note:
I'm reallllly excited that favre is a viking! I've been following it really closely....sounds like he's other blown others away with what he can do in practice! It's the same system he used for 16 years in green bay, so he said it's like he's really back in his element and that after his recovery from his shoulder surgery, his arm feels better than it has for a year at least....so I'm thinking we'll see big things from him. With him, a good offensive line, a much better receiving core than last year, and the best running game in football (not to mention a good defense as well) I think we have a legitimate chance of going really far this year. I can't wait! Hopefully I get the games here. Andrew, if you're reading this, send the message to your team, (favre's former team coincidentally).....watch out!
So my kids really like stickers. Good thing I brought like three pounds of them haha. The lesson plans I use are really basic...I have kids that are as young as 5 years old, so for them it's more like babysitting than anything else. Even my older kids are probably only 15 at the oldest, so they're not too advanced. The average age, though, is probably around 11 or so. We usually practice basic words with themes like "around town" or "in the house" so they can learn about fire men, stoves, and basic words like that. The older kids start to work on grammar and senteces (which is a nice relief because then I feel I can actually speak like a real person instead of in slow robot talk).
It's kinda tough sometimes because for the most part, their english really isn't that good. Communicating can be tough so I have to get creative with lots of pointing, drawing, etc. I'm excited for this week to be over, though, so that I can start with new books next month. Every month we change books, and for some reason some classes are way behind in their books while others are caught up, so it's a real pain teaching those who are behind because we have to rush so much and I look forward to making my own schedule where we can move at a more even pace.
Maybe the hardest part about teaching, at least at first, was that there's no AC in there! By the end of my first day I probably looked like I finished working out or something because it gets pretty hot, and without AC, it's tough. BUT, there is a fan, so yesterday (my second day teaching) I moved that in there and pointed it directly at me. The students didn't seem to get bothered by the heat, so it worked out well that I had my own constant air flow. It was MUCH more comfortable. There's AC in my apartment though....it has everything from AC to a rice maker....it even came with a bug zapper and video door entry system. So thats nice.
My next week pretty much just holds teaching....I'm going to try to find a gym nearby, also, but other than that i don't really have much going (I don't really plan things though, it's more of a day by day approach). My new phone number is 010 3822 8231 if anyone wants to try to call me....I wonder if it will work. Probably via skype calling....guess we'll find out! Adios!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Alright! The first post! This is actually just a rough copy/paste job from an email I wrote to my mom, but it sums up the first day pretty well.
So the hour here is different from what I thought...instead of having your 1 AM be my 2 PM like I thought it would be, it would be your 1 AM to my 3 PM. Surprisingly enough, I haven't felt any jet lag. Well either that, or like I was hoping, my strange sleep schedule from back home is paying off haha.
Aaaaanyways, things here so far have been really good. The apartment wasn't the same one they showed me in pics, but it seems that that was probably better because I guess that was actually community housing and there were TWO people in the huge apartment. So instead of just being the only english teacher in korea with a two bedroom place, I have a one bedroom, but it's kind of nice to have that privacy. Also, this place is brand new and so has just about everything in it. And they really stocked the place, too. I've got everything from the basic appliances, TV, A/C, etc. to a rice maker, coffee pot, and video intercom system to let people in from outside. But the BEST part about it is the view. I'm on top of a hill where I look down at most of the city and the ocean beyond that. It's really neat at night to see all of the neon lighting down below....bummer you guys can't be here to see it with me!
All the people are super friendly...any time I start a conversation with somebody (which is always in broken english....seems everybody knows the basics very well, but beyond that its not very good. Even my fellow english teachers who are local have pretty shaky english past basic, formal stuff) it lasts for much longer than I plan because they're so interested and love to talk. I haven't had a single bus, plane, or car ride without constant talk with a local or somebody from my program. So yeah! Everything here is good. I'm starting to learn the ropes after going around the city a bit. I went to the hospital today to get checked for swine flu because the koreans are really paranoid about it, and also saw and entered my school where I met the rest of the faculty and got my lesson plan. It's MUCH different than anything you'd get in the US as far as how they go about it. No materials can be taken home (so I'm forced to prepare at the school), and the "orientation" is what I did in about 20 minutes....meeting the other faculty, glancing at the facilities and seeing the schedule. Nothing more. Oh, I was given a brief chance to ask questions. So we'll see how things go tomorrow!
Also, the food is good. Contrary to my prior fears, there are quite a few options, the fish is good, and even kimchi (a strange fermented cabbage dish) wasn't bad. Good thing I'm not shy when it comes to food, I guess.
So the hour here is different from what I thought...instead of having your 1 AM be my 2 PM like I thought it would be, it would be your 1 AM to my 3 PM. Surprisingly enough, I haven't felt any jet lag. Well either that, or like I was hoping, my strange sleep schedule from back home is paying off haha.
Aaaaanyways, things here so far have been really good. The apartment wasn't the same one they showed me in pics, but it seems that that was probably better because I guess that was actually community housing and there were TWO people in the huge apartment. So instead of just being the only english teacher in korea with a two bedroom place, I have a one bedroom, but it's kind of nice to have that privacy. Also, this place is brand new and so has just about everything in it. And they really stocked the place, too. I've got everything from the basic appliances, TV, A/C, etc. to a rice maker, coffee pot, and video intercom system to let people in from outside. But the BEST part about it is the view. I'm on top of a hill where I look down at most of the city and the ocean beyond that. It's really neat at night to see all of the neon lighting down below....bummer you guys can't be here to see it with me!
All the people are super friendly...any time I start a conversation with somebody (which is always in broken english....seems everybody knows the basics very well, but beyond that its not very good. Even my fellow english teachers who are local have pretty shaky english past basic, formal stuff) it lasts for much longer than I plan because they're so interested and love to talk. I haven't had a single bus, plane, or car ride without constant talk with a local or somebody from my program. So yeah! Everything here is good. I'm starting to learn the ropes after going around the city a bit. I went to the hospital today to get checked for swine flu because the koreans are really paranoid about it, and also saw and entered my school where I met the rest of the faculty and got my lesson plan. It's MUCH different than anything you'd get in the US as far as how they go about it. No materials can be taken home (so I'm forced to prepare at the school), and the "orientation" is what I did in about 20 minutes....meeting the other faculty, glancing at the facilities and seeing the schedule. Nothing more. Oh, I was given a brief chance to ask questions. So we'll see how things go tomorrow!
Also, the food is good. Contrary to my prior fears, there are quite a few options, the fish is good, and even kimchi (a strange fermented cabbage dish) wasn't bad. Good thing I'm not shy when it comes to food, I guess.
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