Its been raining hard here in Korea for the past night and day, and its scheduled to continue until Sunday. I've been told this is Korea's rainy season, but I remember it raining a lot in late August and early September when we first arrived in Korea. The rain is really beautiful, it keeps the sky dark and the clouds are continuously swirling above. I read on the weather report that the rain tomorrow will actually be from a tropical storm! The rain does make it a little more difficult to get around quickly and to keep dry, but its a nice change from the super hot and humid temperatures we had last week. Yesterday morning I had to walk to the bus stop to take the one hour ride to my country school. The bus stop is about a ten or 15 minute walk. Yesterday was quite the obstacle course though! I had to dodge hordes of students with umbrellas, puddles, cars and rain! By the time I got to the bus, my shoes and socks were compleatly soaked! Luckily there is a pair of sandals waiting for me at my country school, so I was able to let everything air out during the day. Some of the boy students did notice my less than fashionable shoes (they were lent to me by the school for the year) saying they were men's shoes. We all had a good laugh.
Other than the heat and the rain we've been doing very well lately. We haven't been up to much since Sokcho a few weekends ago, but the last few days of teaching are quickly approaching. We have one more week until final exams and then the majority of the school goes on summer break. I'll be teaching for two weeks of the break, two classes in the morning and one two hour conversation class in the afternoon, the same schedule I had over winter break. I'm pretty positive about the classes and am just planning on having some fun with the kids before I leave. I mean it is their summer break too, so why not make it a little fun? So far I'm planning on watching Shrek, Tangled and an episode of Glee. After each show we'll stop and do worksheets and talk about what we see. I also think I might do a photograph scavenger hunt and then make a slide show to show the kids. I also have a few fun lessons like "How to Survive a Zombie Attack" and how to make a PBJ sandwich, to which we will then make the sandwich in class. I just hope the students are easy to deal with. I know a few of the girls who signed up for the conversation class and they are really sweet.
Anyhow, like I said only a few weeks left of teaching! There are a lot of students I'm really going to miss! Remarkably I've had a few really open up to me, which is I guess what teachers say always keeps them coming back. One girl likes to talk with me about America, another told me she is a lesbian, one boy asked for advice on how to approach a girl he likes... warms my heart and makes me feel so proud of them and happy to be here! Oh course in the end I can say things like that, now that is over! I do think if I were staying a second year things would be much easier, but I also think I'd get more and more bored.
Last weekend Jason and I visited Daegu to see our friend Tim from UCI and Campus Tours. There are just so many of us in Korea! Daegu is a big city, like Busan, so there was a huge variety of shops and restaurants. We didn't do much but eat Mexican food and walk around, but it was a nice time. It would be such a different experience in a big city! Everywhere we went in the popular downtown Tim ran into foreigners he knew, they were just everywhere! Plus we went in two apartments and they were tiny and old, mine is 10x nicer! And while variety would be nice, a few bars and resturants wouldn't even take in foreigners because we would have just overan the place. I could totally understand the Korean's not wanting a loud group of foriegners crowding up their space. The city was really nice but I feel like I get a better "Korean" experience being in Wonju.
Also in Daegu we had our first experience with a taxi driver trying to rip us off. That never happens in Korea! Our friend Tim lives about a 10 minute drive outside of the center of Deegu, he takes taxis back late at night all the time and it always costs 15,000 won. We got in and drove a little and then the driver pointed to his meters saying something like "oh, no meter, its 25,000 won." Tim argued with him right away, "no 15,000," to which the driver replied, "no, 25,000." This went on for about a minute before Tim just had the taxi pull over and we got out to find a new one. By this time the fare had gone up to 3500, not much. But Tim said no way were we going to pay. We jumped out of the taxi and immediatly flagged down another one, quickly got in and told the man to go. But our original taxi had not left, and the driver was out of his car. He came over to the window where Tim was sitting and yelled at him, demanding money, Tim kept saying no and speaking English to him, but I think that helped, he was explaining why we wouldn't pay in an angry tone, even if the guy couldn't understand him. The two taxi drivers said a few words to each other. Tim finally said, "no, your service is bad!" and the guy said "good service!" Tim told the new driver how much the first one was going to charge and he scoffed, obviously knowing it was rip off! The original driver went as far as to open the passenger door where Tim was but then finally just walked away muttering under his breath. I was really proud of Tim for sticking to his guns! I would have given in long ago! Who did this guy think he was though, that was a huge overcharge! The new driver was really nice and agreed we were being overcharged, asked us if we were teachers and then pointed out that he lived near to Tim. Exciting times!
The only other update I have is that in August Amber, Jason and I will be going to Taiwan! We leave on a Saturday and return the following Sunday! Not a super long trip, but I think we can still do and see a lot! The flight is only 2 1/2 hours from Seoul, it will take us longer to get to the airport on the bus from Wonju. Should be really fun and we've got to get planning!
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weather. Show all posts
Friday, June 24, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Put my ski jacket to the test!
In December a group of friends and I took a trip to an outlet mall in Yeonju. Not only did it have two Starbucks, it was filled with countless high end stores and American retailers. My goal was to find and buy the perfect down jacket. For weeks people had been telling me that "to survive winter in Korea you must have a down jacket." Whether that is truth or not, I took the advise to heart. Finally at the end of the day we wandered into a jam packed Nike store. There in the 30% section was a bright pink and purple down jacket. I quickly tried it on, it was perfect, not drab nor too short. It was mine.
Ever since, whenever I wear it to school I am bound to have at least one person, student or coworker comment, "so are you going skiing? haha" While the jacket is cute, it is not exactly "professional work attire." I also did not realize when I bought it that it was a "ski jacket" and not just a winter jacket. Koreans are very specific about what types of clothes are worn for specific events, i.e. hiking gear for hiking, work out gear for working out, ski gear for skiing, evening wear, school uniform, etc. Perhaps I committed a slight faux pas. In conclusion how often I wear the jacket has steadily declined.
But yesterday my ski jacket was put to the test! We went skiing! This week is Lunar New Year in Korea so Wed/Thurs/Fri are national holidays. We previously requested Mon/Tues off as well. Originally we were hoping to go to Japan for the week but after looking at the cost of airfare and train tickets, it just seemed too expensive at this point. So instead we decided to get up early on Monday anyway and head out to Phoenix Park.
Phoenix Park is one of Gangwon provinces most popular ski resorts. It is only about 45 minutes from Wonju by bus. Pyeongchang, the region its located in, hopes to be the host to the 2018 Winter Olympics. They have made the bid (for the third time, hoping to be successful this last time!) and are now just waiting. As I've said before the area is beautiful, filled with mountain after mountain, tall and looming in the horizons, with winding rivers and small clearings in between.
Since Jason and I obviously don't own ski equiepment or ski gear we had to rent everything at Pheonix Park. They made it extremely easy to do so. You walk in to a huge open area, with ski and snowboard rentals to your left, and clothing rentals to your right. Upstairs is the food court and the entrance to the slopes. Also upstairs and outside in a near by building we discovered Starbucks, more restaurants, an arcade and bowling alley. These are to serve the various large hotels near by.
We got to the resort around 11am but couldn't start skiing until 1pm. That gave us time to rent snowboard pants and eat some lunch. It was really cold outside and I was worrying about freezing on the slopes. I had about four layers on (ski jacket of course) but was still cold. Jason was so nice he picked out a new head band, long thick socks and gloves for me while I was changing. When I came back to the store he was ready to buy them! I was so impressed that he even picked out cute girly things! (What a great guy.) We had an American lunch at Popeyes and shared a Peppermint Mocha at Starbucks. By then it was time to purchase our tickets and gear up! Jason wanted to snowboard while I decided to ski. I'd only been skiing one other time before this, when I was 12 (thus 12 years ago!) but Jason is a decently experienced snowboarder. I didn't realize this meant he had never skied before and when he was attempting to guess at and teach me the basics I kept wondering why I didn't choose snowboarding too!
Ski boats are ridiculous to walk, I think everyone looks like robots the way they pick their feet up, but I made it outside carrying my skies. I snapped in and Jason pushed me around on the flat ground for awhile. All I could remember from my pervious experience was that to stop you made a snowplow. I was trying to watch what other skiers were doing and Jason was vainly trying to instruct me how to turn. I made one successful run down a slight incline and we decided we were ready to head up the hill to the bunny slope. We easily made it onto the chair lift, to my relief, and when we got off were greated by the many snowboarders who were plopped over in the snow, strapping themselves onto their board and unable to move. Jason insisted it is extremely difficult to stand up without sliding once you have both feet locked into your snowboard so that was his first time getting on the board. Eventually we started to make our way down the hill.
Things were going okay for the most part, it was a bit scary to try to dodge all the people on the bunny hill who were stopped or fallen over or zig zagging out of control in front of me, but I managed. I just kept snow plowing so I would go slow. Jason was really good at snowboarding from the beginning, able to pace himself and stay with me. We almost made it to the end of the slope when suddenly there was a rather steep decline, right at the end, especially steep for the bunny hill.
I gulped as I looked down at it. Skiing was already terrifying enough for me. While zooming through the breeze was fun, there were definite moments where I wanted to panic. I don't think winter sports are necessarily my "thing." I'd already complained to Jason quite a bit about how dumb this all was. I even compared skiing to playing softball, something else I loathe. Jason said he was going to tell my Dad I was a wimp. But after my successful trip down the slope I was loosening up a little. But it didn't help that right as we approached the final drop and end to the bunny hill we saw this little girl zoom by down the slope, out of control fast, she hit the snow, flipped and was done for. She sat up only to cry. Her dad quickly fell over next to her, attempting to get to her as fast as he could. It was not an encouraging sight. I wanted to walk down but Jason said I couldn't. And I knew I couldn't so I finally decided to just go for it.
Exactly as I thought would happen I picked up speed, lots of speed. My snowplowing wasn't working, I was trying to turn a little from side to side but wasn't good enough to have that much control. On my right was a fence marking the edge of the slope, on my left were people. Directly in front of me were people. I tried to turn to the right but definitely didn't want to hit a fence. The kid in front of me, 30 feet, 20 feet, 10 feet in front of me wasn't moving, he was stopped in the middle of the slope. I knew I was going to hit him even though I tried to move. And boy did I! Slam! Right into him I went. The kid, probably about 11, went right over me as I knocked him out of his skiis. I slid under and wasn't hurt one bit, or even really knocked over. He pretty much broke my fall. And I thought I had broken him. His Dad quickly rushed over and I mumbled "I'm so sorry!" over and over. He looked like he was kind of laughing at first, or was he just surprised? He and his son had matching stripped wolf hats on, complete with ears. Jason quickly zoomed over as did the safety skiers with their first aid. They asked if I was fine, I was. They asked the kid. He just kind of sat there not saying anything at first but then, so I gathered, said yeah, he was fine. He had goggles on and I think he kind of hit himself in the face, or I hit him, and then he landed on his back. He was fine and he and his Dad slid away as I stood shaking trying to get my skis back on. Needless to say I was not happy. I was super sad and felt really bad. And was convinced that I was right and skiing was a horrible dangerous sport. Confidence shattered Jason encouraged me until I went down the rest of the way.
But we didn't stop, we went back up the lift and started down the mountain again. This time when I got to the same spot I stopped again, looking down at the path below. I felt like I would never make it down the stupid hill now! I sighed and went for it. I don't think I really needed to, but because I felt like I was getting too fast again and because there was a man far below me on the same path, I decided to just sit down, while skiing. I couldn't stop any other way so I just tried to fall back. And it worked, I stopped, a ski popped off but I was totally fine. But then to my left I heard some yells and saw a girl falling and then saw Jason. In trying to come over to me and help me up he had run in front of some girl, whom he startled and caused to crash into him. Then I was even more upset because now not only had I hurt some little kid, now my inability to ski properly had caused more potential injury! (Again everyone was fine.) Even though I was crushed at this point I knew we couldn't stop, we'd paid $100 and had only been down the slope two times! Instead of making fun of me Jason knew I just needed to pitifully vent and hear some encouragement so up the mountain we went again. This time we didn't stay together, which was much better. And when I neared the bottom again I just sucked it (and waited until it was as clear as could be in front of me) and went for it! And I made it!
After that we did a total of about 8 runs before deciding to call it quits, the slopes were becoming icy and littered with more and more falling snowboarders and young skiers, thus it was becoming more and more obsticle ridden. I was very impressed with Jason, before skiing and skating I didn't know he was so athletic. He looked a lot better than most people and was easily able to stop and control his speed. Me? Well I did improve but I was still wasn't good at speed control. I would zoom down the mountain, praying no one would get in my path because I could not have avoided them.
I'm not sure skiing is for me, but it was a really fun day! Maybe if I had a private course I could get over that fear of hitting something? Haha, I'll keep dreaming. My reward for the day was one more Starbucks right before we boarded the bus back to Wonju. I enjoyed getting away and spending so much time outdoors, which in the end wasn't so cold. And the scenery was beautiful, mountain after mountain covered in snow.
Ever since, whenever I wear it to school I am bound to have at least one person, student or coworker comment, "so are you going skiing? haha" While the jacket is cute, it is not exactly "professional work attire." I also did not realize when I bought it that it was a "ski jacket" and not just a winter jacket. Koreans are very specific about what types of clothes are worn for specific events, i.e. hiking gear for hiking, work out gear for working out, ski gear for skiing, evening wear, school uniform, etc. Perhaps I committed a slight faux pas. In conclusion how often I wear the jacket has steadily declined.
But yesterday my ski jacket was put to the test! We went skiing! This week is Lunar New Year in Korea so Wed/Thurs/Fri are national holidays. We previously requested Mon/Tues off as well. Originally we were hoping to go to Japan for the week but after looking at the cost of airfare and train tickets, it just seemed too expensive at this point. So instead we decided to get up early on Monday anyway and head out to Phoenix Park.
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| Yes its a ski jacket! And it changes color! |
Since Jason and I obviously don't own ski equiepment or ski gear we had to rent everything at Pheonix Park. They made it extremely easy to do so. You walk in to a huge open area, with ski and snowboard rentals to your left, and clothing rentals to your right. Upstairs is the food court and the entrance to the slopes. Also upstairs and outside in a near by building we discovered Starbucks, more restaurants, an arcade and bowling alley. These are to serve the various large hotels near by.
We got to the resort around 11am but couldn't start skiing until 1pm. That gave us time to rent snowboard pants and eat some lunch. It was really cold outside and I was worrying about freezing on the slopes. I had about four layers on (ski jacket of course) but was still cold. Jason was so nice he picked out a new head band, long thick socks and gloves for me while I was changing. When I came back to the store he was ready to buy them! I was so impressed that he even picked out cute girly things! (What a great guy.) We had an American lunch at Popeyes and shared a Peppermint Mocha at Starbucks. By then it was time to purchase our tickets and gear up! Jason wanted to snowboard while I decided to ski. I'd only been skiing one other time before this, when I was 12 (thus 12 years ago!) but Jason is a decently experienced snowboarder. I didn't realize this meant he had never skied before and when he was attempting to guess at and teach me the basics I kept wondering why I didn't choose snowboarding too!
Things were going okay for the most part, it was a bit scary to try to dodge all the people on the bunny hill who were stopped or fallen over or zig zagging out of control in front of me, but I managed. I just kept snow plowing so I would go slow. Jason was really good at snowboarding from the beginning, able to pace himself and stay with me. We almost made it to the end of the slope when suddenly there was a rather steep decline, right at the end, especially steep for the bunny hill.
I gulped as I looked down at it. Skiing was already terrifying enough for me. While zooming through the breeze was fun, there were definite moments where I wanted to panic. I don't think winter sports are necessarily my "thing." I'd already complained to Jason quite a bit about how dumb this all was. I even compared skiing to playing softball, something else I loathe. Jason said he was going to tell my Dad I was a wimp. But after my successful trip down the slope I was loosening up a little. But it didn't help that right as we approached the final drop and end to the bunny hill we saw this little girl zoom by down the slope, out of control fast, she hit the snow, flipped and was done for. She sat up only to cry. Her dad quickly fell over next to her, attempting to get to her as fast as he could. It was not an encouraging sight. I wanted to walk down but Jason said I couldn't. And I knew I couldn't so I finally decided to just go for it.
Exactly as I thought would happen I picked up speed, lots of speed. My snowplowing wasn't working, I was trying to turn a little from side to side but wasn't good enough to have that much control. On my right was a fence marking the edge of the slope, on my left were people. Directly in front of me were people. I tried to turn to the right but definitely didn't want to hit a fence. The kid in front of me, 30 feet, 20 feet, 10 feet in front of me wasn't moving, he was stopped in the middle of the slope. I knew I was going to hit him even though I tried to move. And boy did I! Slam! Right into him I went. The kid, probably about 11, went right over me as I knocked him out of his skiis. I slid under and wasn't hurt one bit, or even really knocked over. He pretty much broke my fall. And I thought I had broken him. His Dad quickly rushed over and I mumbled "I'm so sorry!" over and over. He looked like he was kind of laughing at first, or was he just surprised? He and his son had matching stripped wolf hats on, complete with ears. Jason quickly zoomed over as did the safety skiers with their first aid. They asked if I was fine, I was. They asked the kid. He just kind of sat there not saying anything at first but then, so I gathered, said yeah, he was fine. He had goggles on and I think he kind of hit himself in the face, or I hit him, and then he landed on his back. He was fine and he and his Dad slid away as I stood shaking trying to get my skis back on. Needless to say I was not happy. I was super sad and felt really bad. And was convinced that I was right and skiing was a horrible dangerous sport. Confidence shattered Jason encouraged me until I went down the rest of the way.
But we didn't stop, we went back up the lift and started down the mountain again. This time when I got to the same spot I stopped again, looking down at the path below. I felt like I would never make it down the stupid hill now! I sighed and went for it. I don't think I really needed to, but because I felt like I was getting too fast again and because there was a man far below me on the same path, I decided to just sit down, while skiing. I couldn't stop any other way so I just tried to fall back. And it worked, I stopped, a ski popped off but I was totally fine. But then to my left I heard some yells and saw a girl falling and then saw Jason. In trying to come over to me and help me up he had run in front of some girl, whom he startled and caused to crash into him. Then I was even more upset because now not only had I hurt some little kid, now my inability to ski properly had caused more potential injury! (Again everyone was fine.) Even though I was crushed at this point I knew we couldn't stop, we'd paid $100 and had only been down the slope two times! Instead of making fun of me Jason knew I just needed to pitifully vent and hear some encouragement so up the mountain we went again. This time we didn't stay together, which was much better. And when I neared the bottom again I just sucked it (and waited until it was as clear as could be in front of me) and went for it! And I made it!
After that we did a total of about 8 runs before deciding to call it quits, the slopes were becoming icy and littered with more and more falling snowboarders and young skiers, thus it was becoming more and more obsticle ridden. I was very impressed with Jason, before skiing and skating I didn't know he was so athletic. He looked a lot better than most people and was easily able to stop and control his speed. Me? Well I did improve but I was still wasn't good at speed control. I would zoom down the mountain, praying no one would get in my path because I could not have avoided them.
I'm not sure skiing is for me, but it was a really fun day! Maybe if I had a private course I could get over that fear of hitting something? Haha, I'll keep dreaming. My reward for the day was one more Starbucks right before we boarded the bus back to Wonju. I enjoyed getting away and spending so much time outdoors, which in the end wasn't so cold. And the scenery was beautiful, mountain after mountain covered in snow.
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| Ski monster! |
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| That's me in action, in the center with the black pants. Watch out if you know what's good for you! |
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| Looking up at the bunny slope. |
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| Phoenix Park |
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| He said he only fell twice. |
Monday, January 24, 2011
Winter Time
Winter in Korea has been very cold. Most days it doesn't get above 10 degrees F. Actually yesterday it was about 30 degress F. It was noticibly warmer, thankfully. So warm in fact that the ice that has coated every street for the past month finally melted. It was a nice change of pace to finally be able to see the pavement again and not slip your way around. The slight warm up also brought clouds, or was caused in part by the clouds, clouds that in warmer weather would have brought rain brought snow, lots of snow. But for the first time this winter when we woke up to find the ground freshly covered, the snow was not packed tight or frozen, it was light and fluffy, shining in the sunlight. There was a few feet of it and people everywhere were emerging from their homes and business to shovel it off their front walk. This is the kind of snow I don't mind, where everything looks perfect, like a set from a movie or decorations at Disneyland, with the snow sitting among branches and shrubbery. Instead of freezing and slipping on my way to school today, instead I looked around and smiled, hearing the snow squish and crunch beneeth my feet. In a few days things will undoutably be icey, dirty and slushy, but for now, I welcome the change.
Because the weather has been so downright COLD I haven't been up to much in the past month. I don't think I'm the only one either. Many of my friends are also buckling down in their apartments, bored yet unmotivated to go out, eagerly awaiting their vacation plans which will take them home or to tropical lands. In three weeks Jason and I will be going to Thailand and Cambodia for a little R&R and sightseeing. I can't wait! Until then we've been very content watching episode after episode of the X-Files and Avatar, the Last Airbender. We met up with friends Saturday night for what turned into an all night eating and drinking fest, which I think was much welcome by all of us who have a bit of "cabin fever." We also spoke of the underlying stress that keeps us all up at night, its just the stress of it being winter coupled with the fact that we are nearing our six month mark of living in a foreign country, a mark always cited as the time where you reach the hight of your culture shock and homesickness. Saturday was a fun relief from it all, full of laughing and funny stories. I'm sure the taxi driver who picked us up at 4am thought we were crazy. A group of four foreigners asking for a norebang, standing outside in freezing weather, otherwise totally alone? But we did make it to the norebang, for better or worse (I think the worse, our singing voices were not good come 5am.)
Jason and I also did emerge from our cave for a short trip on Friday. We booked a night at a small resort spa just an hour outside of Wonju in Pyeongchang. (Pyeongchang just made a bid for the 2018 winter Olympics, let's hope they get it, third times the charm, right?) It was an excuse to get out and into the country. The resort was small, with only a handful of rooms. We stayed in the "Patio" room which included a cute patio area with BBQ (all covered in snow of course), a flat screen TV set up to play Wii and a private jacuzzi tub! It was super cute and lots of fun. We had breakfast at the resort in the morning and were able to choose an "American breakfast" instead of Korean. That was awesome. We stared in wonder at our plates filled with delicious food: french toast, garlic bread, tater tots, egg, bacon, sausage, fruit... oh it was delicous!! Its been so long since we had a proper breakfast like that. Breakfasts in Korean usually consist of rice and kimchi.
Originally we were planning to just head back to Wonju after the hotel but Scott and Amber called saying they were going to go to the Pyeongchang Trout Festival. Since we were in the area we decided to meet them. It turns out Amber and Scott were on the wrong bus and took the wrong route to get to the festival so Jason and I accually arrived two hours before them. We tried to stick around a wait for them but it was so cold we left after and hour and a half, missing them compleatly. (But we did see them for dinner.) The trout festival was the one we had planned on going to with my family but due to an outbreak of foot and mouth disease they had temparerly canceled it when they were here! But Saturday we made it to it. It was a funny sight to see. The river was a huge frozen mass that you could walk out on, skate or sled around on. Farther down the river there was a designated area for the trout fishing. This consited of either pre-purchasing a tent for you to sit in or on the spot buying the cheaper day pass to the come as you please area. Jason and I did not enter either area because we didn't want to trout fish, but we stopped and looked. People took large poles and had to dig their own holes in the ice to fish from! They would scrape out the ice and then stick some bate in the hole! It was strange and hilarious! There were all kinds of people too, from old men to little kids with thier families. Everyone just sat or stood around hoping for a bite. If they got one the fish was hooked and they pulled them in. We saw a few people leaving with trout. We later learned from Scott and Amber that farther down was the area where for 10,000 won you could put on a sweatsuit and jump in a portion of the river and try to catch the fish with your bare hands. Apparently Scott did this!! I was sorry to have missed it. He even caught a fish! What a man!
The rest of the festival included food tents and areas for sledding and ATV riding. A John Deere tractor was pulling people around on these giant sleds, so they would go quickly over the bumps and hills. I slid down a slide made of ice that was cut into the hillside. The festival was fun to see but it was also very cold and we weren't dressed that properly for it. When the wind picked up and blew the ice around the frozen river it was quite the chill.
I have one more week of teaching before I get a week off! I thought I would be "desk warming" all winter vacation, meaning I have to come to school and just sit at my desk instead of teaching (because no kids are here, its vacation) or instead of sitting at home. But my school actually put together a schedule and I've been teaching for three weeks, two classes in the morning then a two hour conversation class in the afternoon. Its been surprisingly fun and okay. Its the higher level kids and the classes are small which is awesome! In my conversation class their are actually only two girls, of very different ability levels, which makes it a challenge to plan for them. Usually we just end up talking, which is also hard to do for two hours. But I can't complain, the girls are nice and hey, Thailand in three weeks!
Because the weather has been so downright COLD I haven't been up to much in the past month. I don't think I'm the only one either. Many of my friends are also buckling down in their apartments, bored yet unmotivated to go out, eagerly awaiting their vacation plans which will take them home or to tropical lands. In three weeks Jason and I will be going to Thailand and Cambodia for a little R&R and sightseeing. I can't wait! Until then we've been very content watching episode after episode of the X-Files and Avatar, the Last Airbender. We met up with friends Saturday night for what turned into an all night eating and drinking fest, which I think was much welcome by all of us who have a bit of "cabin fever." We also spoke of the underlying stress that keeps us all up at night, its just the stress of it being winter coupled with the fact that we are nearing our six month mark of living in a foreign country, a mark always cited as the time where you reach the hight of your culture shock and homesickness. Saturday was a fun relief from it all, full of laughing and funny stories. I'm sure the taxi driver who picked us up at 4am thought we were crazy. A group of four foreigners asking for a norebang, standing outside in freezing weather, otherwise totally alone? But we did make it to the norebang, for better or worse (I think the worse, our singing voices were not good come 5am.)
Jason and I also did emerge from our cave for a short trip on Friday. We booked a night at a small resort spa just an hour outside of Wonju in Pyeongchang. (Pyeongchang just made a bid for the 2018 winter Olympics, let's hope they get it, third times the charm, right?) It was an excuse to get out and into the country. The resort was small, with only a handful of rooms. We stayed in the "Patio" room which included a cute patio area with BBQ (all covered in snow of course), a flat screen TV set up to play Wii and a private jacuzzi tub! It was super cute and lots of fun. We had breakfast at the resort in the morning and were able to choose an "American breakfast" instead of Korean. That was awesome. We stared in wonder at our plates filled with delicious food: french toast, garlic bread, tater tots, egg, bacon, sausage, fruit... oh it was delicous!! Its been so long since we had a proper breakfast like that. Breakfasts in Korean usually consist of rice and kimchi.
Originally we were planning to just head back to Wonju after the hotel but Scott and Amber called saying they were going to go to the Pyeongchang Trout Festival. Since we were in the area we decided to meet them. It turns out Amber and Scott were on the wrong bus and took the wrong route to get to the festival so Jason and I accually arrived two hours before them. We tried to stick around a wait for them but it was so cold we left after and hour and a half, missing them compleatly. (But we did see them for dinner.) The trout festival was the one we had planned on going to with my family but due to an outbreak of foot and mouth disease they had temparerly canceled it when they were here! But Saturday we made it to it. It was a funny sight to see. The river was a huge frozen mass that you could walk out on, skate or sled around on. Farther down the river there was a designated area for the trout fishing. This consited of either pre-purchasing a tent for you to sit in or on the spot buying the cheaper day pass to the come as you please area. Jason and I did not enter either area because we didn't want to trout fish, but we stopped and looked. People took large poles and had to dig their own holes in the ice to fish from! They would scrape out the ice and then stick some bate in the hole! It was strange and hilarious! There were all kinds of people too, from old men to little kids with thier families. Everyone just sat or stood around hoping for a bite. If they got one the fish was hooked and they pulled them in. We saw a few people leaving with trout. We later learned from Scott and Amber that farther down was the area where for 10,000 won you could put on a sweatsuit and jump in a portion of the river and try to catch the fish with your bare hands. Apparently Scott did this!! I was sorry to have missed it. He even caught a fish! What a man!
The rest of the festival included food tents and areas for sledding and ATV riding. A John Deere tractor was pulling people around on these giant sleds, so they would go quickly over the bumps and hills. I slid down a slide made of ice that was cut into the hillside. The festival was fun to see but it was also very cold and we weren't dressed that properly for it. When the wind picked up and blew the ice around the frozen river it was quite the chill.
I have one more week of teaching before I get a week off! I thought I would be "desk warming" all winter vacation, meaning I have to come to school and just sit at my desk instead of teaching (because no kids are here, its vacation) or instead of sitting at home. But my school actually put together a schedule and I've been teaching for three weeks, two classes in the morning then a two hour conversation class in the afternoon. Its been surprisingly fun and okay. Its the higher level kids and the classes are small which is awesome! In my conversation class their are actually only two girls, of very different ability levels, which makes it a challenge to plan for them. Usually we just end up talking, which is also hard to do for two hours. But I can't complain, the girls are nice and hey, Thailand in three weeks!
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
A Week of Firsts: Faculty, Octopus, Snow and War
The past week brought a number of firsts: the first time I went to a faculty dinner, the first time I ate live octopus, the first snowfall of the year and the first time since the Korean War that North Korea has fired upon South Korean civilians.
As many of you have probably read online or seen on the news, last Tuesday North Korea began shelling a small island claimed by South Korea in the Yellow Sea. This caused South Korea to fire back in retaliation, no more than 100 shells were fired on each side, but it was enough. Homes were burned, people were evacuated, two marines and two civilians were killed. No one knows the casulties on the North Korean side. Since then the Korean news has delievered non-stop coverage of the shelling, the screen showing images of smoke, panic, destruction and soldiers. While no further retaliation on either side has resulted, tension on the penesula is high. While people jokingly said "we're going to war!" I actually believe most people believe, or hope for, the opposite. No one wants a war, especially with Seoul in firing distance of the North. There are all sorts of rumors as to why North Korea fired on the South... In a desperate plead for aid during a freezing winter, in an atempt to illustration the validity of Kim-Jong Il's son as successor (Kim is suspected to be sick and dying)... no one knows exactly why. Currently the South and the USA are engaging in war manuvers in the Yellow Sea, 77 miles south of the disputed border line. The North keeps issuing statements proclaiming any futher movement in the sea will provoke them. In South Korea, the Defense Minister resigned after the shelling on Tuesday, following criticism he did not respond harshly enough, the new Defense Minister warns North Korea that if they provoke the South, they will be harshly dealt with.
We will see what happens. Hopefully nothing. Its hard to imagine something like this happening so close by... its like if the North and South really had become two countries during the American Civil War, families were would be divided, and one side may have ended up poor and the other rich, as with North and South Korea. Everyone wants unification, but at the same time no one knows what really lies in the North. A horribly oppressive regime with thousands in slave labor camps... people fear the USA and South Korea can only bend to the angry will of the North for so long.
To illustrate this news isn't as prevelant in the daily lives of Koreans as one would think, last Wednesday, the day after the shelling, the faculty of Sangji Middle School traveled to Seoul and then had a teacher dinner (we watched the news on the bus.) Thus Wednesday turned out to be another half day I didn't know about. All teachers went to Seoul together on a bus at after lunch at 1:30pm to go to a teaching materials convention. The principal wanted everyone to go. While many teachers told me I should go home and "take a rest" my main co-teacher said he'd like for me to go so that I could feel like part of the group. So I agreed. Everyone fell asleep on the bus. We arrived at 3:00 and left Seoul at 4:30. The convention wasn't all that large so we were able to walk around the entire thing. I hung out with a group of women, all in the mid-30's, whom I usually eat lunch with. It was really nice walking and talking with them. Even though only one of them speaks English, the other two and I would try to talk, even if it was just through gestures, pointing and smiling. They are really sweet women and I was very glad to have been included in the trip. We snuck away for coffee at one point and they refused to let me pay, saying it was Korean custom! They always pay for me, someday I will return the favor!
At 4:30 we all piled back on the bus, fell asleep, and arrived back in Wonju by 6pm, as planned. Then it was time for the faculty dinner, my first one! All 40 teachers traveled to a sashimi resturant. The place was super fancy and contained numerous private rooms for parties. I was told by many different people to guess how much the meal cost, 25,000 won each! When we walked in long tables were set up with about fifteen different appetizers displayed around them. There were shrimp, oysters, vegetables, crab meat, kimchi, etc. It was beautiful and impressive. I decided I would be really brave and try the oysters, thinking of how Dad used to eat them. My coteacher Mrs. Kim, who had driven me over, didn't hesitate pulling the oyster out of its shell with her chopsticks and gulping it down. I, of course, had lots of trouble getting it free of its shell using only chopsticks, but I finally did and swallowed it down. It was okay, but definitely tasted fishy and like sea water.
That was only the first round. I believe there were more than 10 rounds of food throughout this dinner. What came next was the sashimi. Five different kinds of fish were sliced and beautifully displayed on clear noodles that were pilled up into balls. There were orange and yellow flowers addoring the plate. It was the most glamerous platter of food Ihave ever seen. I felt like I was at a kings feast. Afterwards followed: noodles, tempura, seeweed soup, rice, trout, shrimp, octopus, egg, kimchi, vegetables... it just never stopped coming! The waitresses were serving us for over an hour and a half! Somewhere in there the Principal made a speech and bottles of soju, beer and soda were opened. The Principal went around to everyone in the room and did a shot of soju with them, as did a few of the other teachers.
Did I also mention that the octopus was LIVE?! Yes, that's right, LIVE. I ate LIVE octopus! This was something I had read about on the interent before coming to Korea but was sure I would never try. But, after a few shots of soju, lots of good laughter and talk, and a banquet before me, I thought it a great opportunity. Out came the wiggling tenacles. They had been cut off of an octpus, so luckily there was no head and body. I guess its like when you cut the head off of a chicken and the body still flops around. There they were, twenty or more peices, moving around, wiggling, using their suction cups to stick to the plate. Mrs. Kim eagerly ate. Across from me, one of the younger teachers that I had been bonding with over the past week shook her head, indicating not her! I gulped and said I would try it. I was laughing and nervous and so had a terrible time using my chopsticks. I couldn't get the food on them if my life depended on it! Their suction cups were too strong and I couldn't get them to let go of the plate! Mrs. Kim finally helped me and I got one in my clutches. I asked her if you were supposed to chew them or just swallow. She looked at me like I was insane. "Chew them of course!" she said, "otherwise they will stick to your throat!" I was thinking, oh my god are you serious?! I remembered Dad always telling us when we were kids that the octopus he was eating was sticking to his throat and trying to get out (even thought it was dead) -- I didn't know it was a possiblity! What happens if it gets stuck, do you choke to death?! Anyway... I took this advice to heart and as soon as I popped the wiggling tenicle in my mouth, chewed vigerously. So vigerously I would have had no idea it was alive a second ago had I not seen it. It tasted okay... like meat. A shot of soju later I was ready to try another one. And then a third. The third one was a rather large peice. Thinking I didn't need to chew was quickly as I had been it sat in my mouth for a split second. And sectioned onto the roof of my mouth!!! I almost flipped out and quickly chewed it down!
The faculty dinner was a great experience! It was nice to see everyone loosening up and talking. One teacher kept making speeches that no one would listen to. Plus teachers I didn't even think new I exsisted were attempting to talk with me, sit with me, drink with me. One older man who I think is very funny looking came and sat down next to me. He didn't know how to say anything to me in English and I couldn't say much to him. I could tell me liked me and wanted to talk but after awhile of staring at each other he eventually moved on. I was touched. Then the principle plopped down next to me! He was bright red, had clearly drank a lot of soju. He said "how are you?" and then quickly jestured for an English teacher to sit next to him and translate. Mr. Park refused with a smile, and soon Mr. Byeon was grabbed. The Principal went on to tell me how much he worried about me, how he really cares for me, how I must meet his daughter when she comes home for the holidays as she is currently in CA studying English Literature. He told me his nick name is "the problem solver" and if I ever had ANY problem I should just tell him! He also said he was serious about wanting to hike Mt. Chiaksan with the teachers and said we would go, even in the snow. Lastly he proclaimed I should accompony the high school teachers on their ski trip coming up in a few weeks (Jason gets to go!)! Sadly I was informed yesterday by Mr. Byeon that "actually, he was drunk" and it was thus only the soju talking, I do not get to go skiing. That is the difficult part... I don't know what of our talk I should actually take seriously, since he was drunk and happy. In Korea that's how things go, promises do not mean anything, they are just ceremonial words, like so many things here.
Still I felt like I made some more friends that night and two of the younger women said we must go out for beers in December. I hope that is a promise that WILL follow through.
The other first for the week was SNOW! The first snowfall of the year hit Wonju on Saturday. The weather report had called for a "chance of snow" but I was skpetical. As I snoozed the morning away I asked Jason to look out the window and tell me if it was snowing. I was joking, not expecting anything. He said, "well, its not snowing but there is snow on the ground." I was like "what?!?! really?!?! are you serious?!?!?" Immediatly I jumped out of bed, looked out the window and squealed with delight!! In five minutes I was dressed, teeth brushed, hair combed, jacket on. I couldn't wait to go out in it! I was kicking myself for having slept through it all morning as it was already 10am. After a quick breakfast of oatmeal we were trudding through the snow, only a few inches. It began to snow more and I couldn't stop singing "walking in a winter wonderland." I haven't seen a snowfall on a place I've lived in... at least seven years... once a year in Lancaster is not much, and in high school that kinda stopped. Last year I drove up to Big Bear to see the snow, but it wasn't falling and we had to drive to it, and then immediatly were back in the warm OC. This was much cooler! Jason and I walked to the river and continued down its bank. It was beautiful. There were ducks in the water and snow covering everything. We crossed the river using stepping stones that Wonju had installed. Then it started to get really cold and the snow was turing more to sleet so we headed inside.
The snow is mostly melted now and I did not like the freezing and slippery streets it left behind, but I am told not to worry, more will come. We'll see how long I find it wonderful and when I start to long for spring.
Only three more weeks until my family arrives for Christmas!
As many of you have probably read online or seen on the news, last Tuesday North Korea began shelling a small island claimed by South Korea in the Yellow Sea. This caused South Korea to fire back in retaliation, no more than 100 shells were fired on each side, but it was enough. Homes were burned, people were evacuated, two marines and two civilians were killed. No one knows the casulties on the North Korean side. Since then the Korean news has delievered non-stop coverage of the shelling, the screen showing images of smoke, panic, destruction and soldiers. While no further retaliation on either side has resulted, tension on the penesula is high. While people jokingly said "we're going to war!" I actually believe most people believe, or hope for, the opposite. No one wants a war, especially with Seoul in firing distance of the North. There are all sorts of rumors as to why North Korea fired on the South... In a desperate plead for aid during a freezing winter, in an atempt to illustration the validity of Kim-Jong Il's son as successor (Kim is suspected to be sick and dying)... no one knows exactly why. Currently the South and the USA are engaging in war manuvers in the Yellow Sea, 77 miles south of the disputed border line. The North keeps issuing statements proclaiming any futher movement in the sea will provoke them. In South Korea, the Defense Minister resigned after the shelling on Tuesday, following criticism he did not respond harshly enough, the new Defense Minister warns North Korea that if they provoke the South, they will be harshly dealt with.
We will see what happens. Hopefully nothing. Its hard to imagine something like this happening so close by... its like if the North and South really had become two countries during the American Civil War, families were would be divided, and one side may have ended up poor and the other rich, as with North and South Korea. Everyone wants unification, but at the same time no one knows what really lies in the North. A horribly oppressive regime with thousands in slave labor camps... people fear the USA and South Korea can only bend to the angry will of the North for so long.
To illustrate this news isn't as prevelant in the daily lives of Koreans as one would think, last Wednesday, the day after the shelling, the faculty of Sangji Middle School traveled to Seoul and then had a teacher dinner (we watched the news on the bus.) Thus Wednesday turned out to be another half day I didn't know about. All teachers went to Seoul together on a bus at after lunch at 1:30pm to go to a teaching materials convention. The principal wanted everyone to go. While many teachers told me I should go home and "take a rest" my main co-teacher said he'd like for me to go so that I could feel like part of the group. So I agreed. Everyone fell asleep on the bus. We arrived at 3:00 and left Seoul at 4:30. The convention wasn't all that large so we were able to walk around the entire thing. I hung out with a group of women, all in the mid-30's, whom I usually eat lunch with. It was really nice walking and talking with them. Even though only one of them speaks English, the other two and I would try to talk, even if it was just through gestures, pointing and smiling. They are really sweet women and I was very glad to have been included in the trip. We snuck away for coffee at one point and they refused to let me pay, saying it was Korean custom! They always pay for me, someday I will return the favor!
At 4:30 we all piled back on the bus, fell asleep, and arrived back in Wonju by 6pm, as planned. Then it was time for the faculty dinner, my first one! All 40 teachers traveled to a sashimi resturant. The place was super fancy and contained numerous private rooms for parties. I was told by many different people to guess how much the meal cost, 25,000 won each! When we walked in long tables were set up with about fifteen different appetizers displayed around them. There were shrimp, oysters, vegetables, crab meat, kimchi, etc. It was beautiful and impressive. I decided I would be really brave and try the oysters, thinking of how Dad used to eat them. My coteacher Mrs. Kim, who had driven me over, didn't hesitate pulling the oyster out of its shell with her chopsticks and gulping it down. I, of course, had lots of trouble getting it free of its shell using only chopsticks, but I finally did and swallowed it down. It was okay, but definitely tasted fishy and like sea water.
That was only the first round. I believe there were more than 10 rounds of food throughout this dinner. What came next was the sashimi. Five different kinds of fish were sliced and beautifully displayed on clear noodles that were pilled up into balls. There were orange and yellow flowers addoring the plate. It was the most glamerous platter of food Ihave ever seen. I felt like I was at a kings feast. Afterwards followed: noodles, tempura, seeweed soup, rice, trout, shrimp, octopus, egg, kimchi, vegetables... it just never stopped coming! The waitresses were serving us for over an hour and a half! Somewhere in there the Principal made a speech and bottles of soju, beer and soda were opened. The Principal went around to everyone in the room and did a shot of soju with them, as did a few of the other teachers.
Did I also mention that the octopus was LIVE?! Yes, that's right, LIVE. I ate LIVE octopus! This was something I had read about on the interent before coming to Korea but was sure I would never try. But, after a few shots of soju, lots of good laughter and talk, and a banquet before me, I thought it a great opportunity. Out came the wiggling tenacles. They had been cut off of an octpus, so luckily there was no head and body. I guess its like when you cut the head off of a chicken and the body still flops around. There they were, twenty or more peices, moving around, wiggling, using their suction cups to stick to the plate. Mrs. Kim eagerly ate. Across from me, one of the younger teachers that I had been bonding with over the past week shook her head, indicating not her! I gulped and said I would try it. I was laughing and nervous and so had a terrible time using my chopsticks. I couldn't get the food on them if my life depended on it! Their suction cups were too strong and I couldn't get them to let go of the plate! Mrs. Kim finally helped me and I got one in my clutches. I asked her if you were supposed to chew them or just swallow. She looked at me like I was insane. "Chew them of course!" she said, "otherwise they will stick to your throat!" I was thinking, oh my god are you serious?! I remembered Dad always telling us when we were kids that the octopus he was eating was sticking to his throat and trying to get out (even thought it was dead) -- I didn't know it was a possiblity! What happens if it gets stuck, do you choke to death?! Anyway... I took this advice to heart and as soon as I popped the wiggling tenicle in my mouth, chewed vigerously. So vigerously I would have had no idea it was alive a second ago had I not seen it. It tasted okay... like meat. A shot of soju later I was ready to try another one. And then a third. The third one was a rather large peice. Thinking I didn't need to chew was quickly as I had been it sat in my mouth for a split second. And sectioned onto the roof of my mouth!!! I almost flipped out and quickly chewed it down!
The faculty dinner was a great experience! It was nice to see everyone loosening up and talking. One teacher kept making speeches that no one would listen to. Plus teachers I didn't even think new I exsisted were attempting to talk with me, sit with me, drink with me. One older man who I think is very funny looking came and sat down next to me. He didn't know how to say anything to me in English and I couldn't say much to him. I could tell me liked me and wanted to talk but after awhile of staring at each other he eventually moved on. I was touched. Then the principle plopped down next to me! He was bright red, had clearly drank a lot of soju. He said "how are you?" and then quickly jestured for an English teacher to sit next to him and translate. Mr. Park refused with a smile, and soon Mr. Byeon was grabbed. The Principal went on to tell me how much he worried about me, how he really cares for me, how I must meet his daughter when she comes home for the holidays as she is currently in CA studying English Literature. He told me his nick name is "the problem solver" and if I ever had ANY problem I should just tell him! He also said he was serious about wanting to hike Mt. Chiaksan with the teachers and said we would go, even in the snow. Lastly he proclaimed I should accompony the high school teachers on their ski trip coming up in a few weeks (Jason gets to go!)! Sadly I was informed yesterday by Mr. Byeon that "actually, he was drunk" and it was thus only the soju talking, I do not get to go skiing. That is the difficult part... I don't know what of our talk I should actually take seriously, since he was drunk and happy. In Korea that's how things go, promises do not mean anything, they are just ceremonial words, like so many things here.
Still I felt like I made some more friends that night and two of the younger women said we must go out for beers in December. I hope that is a promise that WILL follow through.
The other first for the week was SNOW! The first snowfall of the year hit Wonju on Saturday. The weather report had called for a "chance of snow" but I was skpetical. As I snoozed the morning away I asked Jason to look out the window and tell me if it was snowing. I was joking, not expecting anything. He said, "well, its not snowing but there is snow on the ground." I was like "what?!?! really?!?! are you serious?!?!?" Immediatly I jumped out of bed, looked out the window and squealed with delight!! In five minutes I was dressed, teeth brushed, hair combed, jacket on. I couldn't wait to go out in it! I was kicking myself for having slept through it all morning as it was already 10am. After a quick breakfast of oatmeal we were trudding through the snow, only a few inches. It began to snow more and I couldn't stop singing "walking in a winter wonderland." I haven't seen a snowfall on a place I've lived in... at least seven years... once a year in Lancaster is not much, and in high school that kinda stopped. Last year I drove up to Big Bear to see the snow, but it wasn't falling and we had to drive to it, and then immediatly were back in the warm OC. This was much cooler! Jason and I walked to the river and continued down its bank. It was beautiful. There were ducks in the water and snow covering everything. We crossed the river using stepping stones that Wonju had installed. Then it started to get really cold and the snow was turing more to sleet so we headed inside.
The snow is mostly melted now and I did not like the freezing and slippery streets it left behind, but I am told not to worry, more will come. We'll see how long I find it wonderful and when I start to long for spring.
Only three more weeks until my family arrives for Christmas!
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