road trip to Wando, etc

Just gonna get this out there first thing- I apologize there are no photos with this post. My computer will literally blow up if I add anything else to it. So until I can purchase an external hard drive, I can't post new pics.

Last weekend we had a Friday off due to it being Buddha's Birthday, so 6 of us decided we'd be the first foreigners in Korea to hire a van and create a roadtrip of our own (nearly every ferry/ train/ plane we looked into booking was unavaible, weeks even months before). Our van got dropped off in our neighborhood, and we immediately stocked up on waterguns (and water) at Homeplus (again- like a Walmart). The original plan was that we'd all take turns driving, as we knew we'd be leaving Daegu at around midnight to avoid traffic. Well, it became apparent almost instantly that the 2 boys would take the helm up front, and the girls would stay in the back. I rode backseat the entire time. Fine be me- I kind of hate being in charge on group outings. So I was content to let the masses make the driving decisions. There was a mini tray-table in the back seat, so Charlotte and I set it up, me allowing it to hold my midnight coffee. Not 20 minutes into the trip we broke it. OK- I broke it. For the duration of the weekend we rigged it up with a garbage bag so it wouldn't bash us in the shins. (Upon returning to Daegu I ghetto-rigged it back up with some superglue, for appearance-sake when the man we rented it from would do a cursory inspection).

Somehow once we got on the highway, we neglected to stop to pick up a ticket (like on American turnpikes- you collect a ticket, then pay once you exit the turnpike, based on how far you've driven). Anyway, stopping at what we though was the place to pick up a ticket, we were being ASKED for our ticket. Needless to say we didn't have one, and we had to slowly merge off to the left of the 8-lane ticket booths, make a "phonecall," then the problem was solved. Again- the guys took care of this, so I'm still not even sure how the problem was rectified. But it was funny being probably the only non-Koreans on the road- and we're the ones being "quarantined."

After driving all night, and every single person stayed awake the entire time (due mostly to playing question games such as "Would you rather have one giant nostril, or one eye?" and so on), we arrived at a weird man-made beach in Wando at sunrise. After a quick walk to the beach, we set up our tent and decided to pass out for a few hours. Our alarms were set for 11am, as not to waste too much of the day. Well, this was not problematic at all, as around 9am a bulldozer started digging (what I'm not sure) literally 20 feet from our tent, and a gaggle of visiting Koreans in giant sunhats and matching bright pink tee shirts stomped, laughed, and talked right by our tent. They were so close I think a few of them stepped on me. Not really... but they did totally wake us up.

Deciding that there was no way we could make this our campsite for a second night, we drove into the actual port city of Wando. It was a typical little town, and the people were incredibly friendly. Charlotte and I were enjoying sandwiches on a bench by the sea, when a middle-aged man walked up to us, presented us with gifts of some corn drink and some rice tea (?????) for seemingly no reason. Then he kept pointing at my sandwich, then to himself, then to the drinks he'd just given us, then back to the sandwich and himself again. Assuming that I was now supposed to give him a portion of my sandwich, I did. He ate it, chattering away in Korean the entire time, burped loudly in our faces (gratitude, I'm assuming) and walked away.

Then we checked out the ferry terminal because we wanted to just get on a boat. But this was not to happen. All of southern Korea had the same idea to board a ferry, so we got back in our 12-passenger van and just drove. We came to a beautiful beach that was once the site for a Korean film- the name is escaping me at this time- and it was GORGEOUS! We posed for pictures with cut-outs of famous Korean filmstars, played in the sand, and jumped off a pier into the water (though explicitly told we weren't allowed in the water). We all escaped with only minor injuries- the worst being some barnacle cuts from exiting the water. They left the movie set just as it was during filming, so none of the little huts were actually well-maintained or sanded down or anything, and it wasn't until after we'd climbed onto one for a photo-op that we'd all discovered we were covered in billions of little tiny splinters! It took awhile to get them all out. I can best compare it to the time I accidentally hit my elbow on a cactus I had in my windowsill.

Walking back to the van soaking wet, and being stared at like fools by everyone else, we decided to drive to our second campsite. We ate dinner by the sea and built the best campfire in the world. The entire world. Before the trip (literally minutes before) I popped into a hiking store and purchased a head torch- mostly for night peeing. I was so excited to have a lamp on my head (I've clearly never owned one) that I kept offering to light up anything and everything. "You guys need help? I've got a light!" Everyone but one of us had their own, so in the end I only ended up helping myself. The bonfire was so relaxing and so much fun. We were all exhausted, and by midnight we were in the tent, fast asleep. In the morning, we all heard severe rustling, wind, rain, etc. But I think we were too cold and tired to care or to do anything about it. Maybe a bit of denial that this day wouldn't turn out to be the sunny day we'd previously had? I'm not sure, but it was lousy weather. We had a quick breakfast in the tent (I've never eaten so much bread in my life as this weekend), and we just kind of drove north deciding it was useless to hang around the beach when we couldn't even enjoy being outside.

We ended up in a little dump of a town, in a pizza joint for 3+ hours because there was literally nothing else to do. Since we couldn't sleep in the tent due to the monsoon, we staked out a cheap hotel that had 2 large conjoining rooms, where we all passed out on the floor after watching about 37 episodes of the Simpsons. (Slept on the floor because there were no beds, just a cabinet full of bedding- that's Korea!) It was still downpouring in the morning. We drove north some more for a bit. Our aim this day, our last day, was to check out a green tea plantation, then maybe visit a traditional Korean village if we had time. The green tea plantation was gorgeous. Even though it was pouring rain and I was grumpy due to my leaky $1 poncho, it was still such a pleasure to visit. At the end of walking around it, we decided to warm up with some, well... TEA! I know we were probably extremely offensive in the faces we made, but I couldn't help it. The tea literally tasted like chicken fat.

After the plantation, we went to the traditional village. I'm not going to lie, I wasn't too keen on seeing either one, and before actually seeing them I was wondering why we were wasting our time. OH MY goodness. What a fool I was! The traditional village was amazing. It's not like in America where the history isn't very rich- and if you visit a historical site you get volunteer workers in period-dress, "churning butter" or "baking bread." No no no no no. In Korea, people still actually live in these villages, much like they would have 6 centuries ago when they were erected. The general rule is that if a gate is open, you're allowed to enter the home (at least the 'grounds'). If there is a branch or a post laying across the gate, you are not to enter. We saw a man standing outside of his "hut" and he looked overly eager to have us come closer, so we did. After snapping a few photos with him, grinning wildly, he gestured towards the front door of his home. He slid it open, and I swear I can't make this stuff up- a woman (who I assume was his mother- though she literally looked about 180) came crawling- not walking, not even hobbling- crawling into the doorway, showing us 3 teeth. Then she started chanting "DON! DON!" at us, which means money. Not knowing what else to do, I quickly snapped a photo right in her face, knowing I'd want it for future story-telling. She didn't like this. I think she might have even hissed after we all kind of quickly shuffled away. Her son was practically kicking her back inside, as if to say "I almost HAD them, Ma! You ruined it!"

We definitely got a good giggle over this for awhile. Then we just wandered around the village. I bought some original pottery for dirt cheap (it will most definitely make the journey back to America in my carry-on baggage). We saw an old prison, statues of beatings, and lots of history. From the brochure I picked up:

Within the fortress perimeter of 1,410m remain well-preserved Choson Dynasty government buildings, nine traditional residences designated as important folklore material, and other old houses, people residing in this folk village still carry on traditional custom and manners. With its relics and unique living heritage, Naganeupseong gives visitors a direct look at Korea's history and traditional ways of life, customs and manners, and folk events.

Population and households: 288 people in 120 households (82 within the fortress walls, 38 on the outside).


After traipsing around the village for a few hours, we were more than ready to drive back to Daegu. Making rounds and dropping everyone off and cleaning the van back to its original state, I finally walked in my door late Sunday night, nearly collapsing, but not before doing 2 loads of laundry because everything I took (including the comforter off my bed because I don't own a sleeping bag) smelled like dog. A hot shower and some light reading later, I definitely fell asleep tired and happy, calling the weekend and the roadtrip a definite success.

sorrrrryyyy!

Ok, I promise there is a big juicy update coming soon, I just couldn't be bothered to write it all up yet. But I had a great weekend last weekend that I really want to write about. So be patient, and within a (few) day(s) I should have it completed.

:)

korean dairy comes from dogs, cats, and genetically modified birds

Yesterday I went to Daegu Stadium (largest stadium in South Korea) to watch Usain Bolt run in the World Pre-Championship meet (world championships will be held in Daegu in 2011, and this was kind of a mini preview meet- not every event was run). He, of course smashed the competition in the 100m, then did a 400 minute victory lap, pausing all over for photos, posing in his famous lightning bolt pose, and just generally cheesing for the crowd. I've never been to such a big track meet in my life, and full of Olympic medalists- including David Payne, University of Cincinnati alum and silver medalist in Beijing 2008 in the 110m hurdles. I ran track at UC when David was there! So cool to see him run in an international meet in Korea! Small world. Lots of photos were taken :) The stadium itself was really cool to see. Definitely the largest stadium I've ever been in. Now in Korea I've been to a baseball game, a rugby game, and a huge track meet! I'm just trying to sample a little bit of everything that I can in my time here.

Daegu Stadium- seats 65,857

David Payne- about to run the 110m hurdles


Mostly Americans and Jamaicans lined up at the start of the 100m

Usain Bolt- camera shy


Usain Bolt killing it in the 100m

Today we had open class at school. This means that for all the kindergarten classes in the morning, the students' parents come in to observe the class while we teach. I had to prepare lessons for 2 different classes. We've been talking about this day for weeks! Though, I have to be honest, I did most of my work in the past few days. I can never do something ahead of time. I work best under the pressure of doing everything last minute! But everything went smoothly, and I was really comfortable having the parents in class with me. I think it made all my boys really hyper and they all wanted to show off how much they've learned. I've been teaching these particular students for about 2.5 months and they have come so far. My favorite is when they tattle on each other for speaking Korean during class. I have a little boy called Steve, and today during open class his mother leaned over to him and whispered something, and Steve immediately exclaimed, "Teacher! Mommy is speaking Korean!" We all got a good laugh. It's amazing how quickly children can learn a foreign language. I'm so proud of them.

Tonight after work 5 friends and I are piling into a rental van and going on a roadtrip! We've been told by a Korean friend that we're the only foreigners he's ever heard of renting a van in Korea. And we're pretty sure it's the kind of van that businesses rent, not 6 American, Canadian, and British foreigners! (It IS a 12-passenger van, afterall!) We'll be armed with a GPS, and a plethora of guidebooks. We have a rough idea of where we'll be heading, but since we'll have our own transportation (a total rarity!) we are free to go wherever we please. We're heading southwest, to an city called Wando. There are many islands in the area, lots uninhabited. So we will be camping on the beach at night, and lounging on the beach during the day. We also plan on hiking, and just generally spending as much time outdoors as possible. I've been looking forward to this for weeks and weeks. We'll be driving all night tonight to hopefully avoid the traffic. We have a 3 day weekend because tomorrow is Buddha's Birthday- a national holiday in Korea. Hopefully lots of fun is about to be had!

updates!

1) I think I've finally gotten a handle on my sore throat- after 4 hospital visits. I was refused a strep test, for reasons unclear, but after 2 courses of antibiotics and a slew of other unidentifiable pills, I seem to be almost 100% again.

2) I'm ridiculously obsessed with hiking.

3) Korea becomes weirder and weirder the longer I'm here.

Last weekend I went hiking near my apartment, at Mt. Apsan. (Technically just Mt. Ap, as "san" means mountain, so saying Mt. Apsan is redundant....) I went with 3 friends. We packed lunches, headed 'up,' and just soaked in a day of nature, no street noises, and the occasional Kenny G song softly streaming from speakers disguised as rocks along the path. (I have video for proof- and will post it if I can figure out how). As we were hiking we came across an obstacle course. We had fun walking across rope bridges, swinging on rope swings, and just generally reveling in the weirdness that none of us had ever seen- except for in Korea. I mean really. You'd never see a ridiculous obstacle course (well-maintained) set up on the middle of a mountain in the US, anywhere. If anyone has seen this, I stand corrected. It was the kind of thing I came to Korea to see.

Middle of the mountain- I cannot figure this out. Those are my friends Alina- from Russia- she's here studying, and Jessica, from Long Island- she's here teaching also.

Last week at work was just like every week. Not much to note except that I have a really funny list going of all the things I hear my students say that make me giggle. I think I'll post it all at one time once it gets good and long. Kind of like my quote book, for those of you familiar with that. Kind of related- it's been really hot here now, around 80 every day, so I've been wearing short sleeves (we aren't allowed to wear tanktops, which REALLY narrows down my choices to about 4 different shirts to wear a week). I've previously mentioned how my students are blown away by my freckles. They simply do not understand what they are. This week I received, "Ohhhhh! Teach-eerrrrr!" (deliberate pointing to my arms) "Burn, Teacher? Fire? Burn?"

They think I was burned badly in a fire, and my freckles are the aftermath. I then drew a picture of the sun on the board, pointed at my skin, and tried to convey that in the same way the sun gives most people a tan, it simply leaves me pale with millions of tiny brown dots everywhere. Their looks of confusion told me that had no idea what I meant, and at this moment my director popped her head in the door and I said "Jenis, can you PLEASE explain to these kids what freckles are so they stop looking at me like this!!!"

Tuesday was another fieldtrip for our Kindergarten classes (we typically go on one a month). We went to an amusement park in Daegu. The kids were extremely excited for this! It was hard to keep them contained. We were able to take them on a log ride, a mini roller coaster, the carousel, a car ride where they all got to drive little fake cars, and a couple other small rides. It was fun, but we only had a couple hours there so the teachers weren't able to go on anything we wanted to go on! I'm sorry, but I love amusement parks!

Kelly- obviously displeased with the carousel.



Jaden- One of my kindergarten students proudly displaying Bugle fingers.


Today I went hiking again in Gyeongju (about an hour bus ride away- costs about 3 bucks to get there). We got off the bus at the station, then piled into a cab, hoping he'd understand our remedial Korean speaking. He did, and dropped us off at the base of Mt. Namsan (again, technically Mt. Nam). We followed a trail up and down and around, just guessing where to go, venturing off the trail every now and then. We saw a temple, a pagoda, people praying, people resting, and 2 women hiking in high heels. Seriously... and at the point that we passed them, they were nowhere near the bottom of the mountain, so they'd been hiking in heels, and I mean like stilettos, for at least a couple kilometers. One of them had a strand of pearls neatly hugging her neck as well. There really are signs here saying "NO HIGH HEELS." They chose not to pay heed apparently. When we finally got to the other side of the mountain, we'd seemingly forgotten the part where we wouldn't have a clue how to get back to the bus station. After some glancing around, no cabs/ buses/ signs in sight, we decided we'd try hitch-hiking. So thumbs out! The first guy that saw us stopped, and actually glanced around his car like he'd move stuff out of the way for us to sit down. But after we stated where we were headed, he sadly informed us he was headed the opposite direction. Strike one. Our next prospect came in the form of 4 elderly men piled into a flatbed truck. Our thinking was that we'd happily sit on the truck bed. After standing with thumbs out, a couple of them glanced our way, then immediately jerked their heads back forward and completely avoided any further chances of eye contact with us. Strike two!

Fountains like this exist all up and down the mountains- You simply grab a red ladle, dip it under the non-stop stream of water, and sip from the ladle. It's weird, they'll wear face masks everywhere, but when it comes to sharing things like water bowls in the middle of the woods, germ don't exist. Us white-folk, we filled up our waterbottles (and for the record, this water tastes 3000% better than any water I've ever tasted in my life).


Contemplating life from the top of a rock, close to Geumobong Peak (438m) on Mt. Namsan.

Well, there was no strike 3, so you can calm down, Mother. We eventually found a bus heading back towards the bus station, and I live to tell the tale of the first time I have seriously attempted hitch-hiking. Now I'm sitting in bed, flipping through all the amazing photos I've gathered over the past few weeks, and watching episode after episode of Modern Family online. Hope everyone's had a great weekend!
Kimchi pots! Mmmmm fermentation.

finally better!

I had to take Monday and Tuesday off this week due to this stupid illness. (Today was a holiday- Children's Day- so no school). It didn't develop into strep, I don't think... but I am feeling better. My uvula is no longer the size of my thumb, and I can swallow without feeling like knives are being swallowed. I even left my apartment today! Where did I go, you ask? Why, downtown to rent a car for an upcoming 3 day weekend, of course!

I got an international driver's license before coming here, just in case. The same rules apply here- you have to be 25 to rent a car. A small group of us has been trying (unsuccessfully) to book a trip in a few weeks. All flights/ ferries/ etc have been booked solid because it's a pretty big holiday in Korea, Buddha's birthday. So apparently everyone leaves? I don't know. But after trying a million ways to book something, we got the idea to rent a van and just drive it to wherever we want. All we want to do is camp on a beach. Is that too much to ask!?

So 3 of us met our Korean friend Jumbo downtown this afternoon. If he wasn't with us A) we would have never found the place, and B) the rental would not have happened! It took about 45 minutes to figure everything out, but we left with a 12 passenger van booked for the weekend! (There's only 6 of us going, but the extra space will be nice). Now all that's left to do is to figure out where we're going to go!

I can't wait! Something to look forward to :)

I've been sleeping about 18 hours a day since being sick. I don't know how I'm going to finally go back to school tomorrow! But luckily it's Thursday so I'll only have 2 days til the weekend.

strep?

So this morning I was still in severe pain, so I called my boss and kind of whispered into the phone that I was really sick. She came to pick me up an hour later and took me to an ear, nose, and throat doctor. Just like the previous doctor, I was seen immediately. When I opened my mouth, barely said "ah" and winced in pair, tears welling in my eyes, it was evident to him that I've got a throat infection. He said I also have an ear and nose infection. My uvula is swollen up like 4 times its normal size. It is literally touching my tongue, and every time I swallow I feel like I am gagging on it (along with all the knife-scraping pain). I've barely spoken in almost 3 days. But now it feels like it's getting worse. My ears are ringing and and my throat is throbbing even without swallowing now. Maybe it gets better before it gets worse? I don't know... but there's no way I can teach like this.

He gave me antibiotics, but also said if it's no better tomorrow to come back in. At this rate, I'll be there when they open! For the second day in a row I've done nothing but go to the hospital, and stay in bed. Though today I received 2 shots in the butt instead of one! Still don't know what they're injecting me with.....

Hope everyone else is staying well! This is no way to enjoy the finally amazing weather!

sickness is upon me

It was bound to happen- last night after a long day at a rugby match, followed by dinner and the batting cages, I developed a nasty sore throat. By the time I got home, the sore throat was accompanied by severe chills and a fever of 102. I popped some acetaminophen and went to bed early. I woke up every 2 hours, on the dot, all night. I could hardly move today, but when you force yourself not to swallow except once every ten minutes because it's so painful, something has to be done. I literally waddled (I'm not sure why feeling sick makes me waddle/ shuffle, but it does) to a nearby hospital, Korean translation book in hand. I don't speak Korean anyway, and even if I could I can't speak at all due to the throat. So I circled all my symptoms, and took special care to circle sore throat about 30 times and put stars next to it for emphasis. I could barely even say "Ahhhh" when asked. The doctor said something about an infection, and injection, and a prescription. Just wanting drugs, I didn't really register much of what he said. Before I knew it I was in the next room with my buttocks exposed, receiving a shot of who knows what into my left cheek, nurse massaging it in. But I was also too sick to care. It cost about $7 for this doctor visit, and even though it was a hospital I was in and out within 15 minutes. The pharmacy was next door, and for less than $2 I received 9 packages of various pills to take over the next 3 days. I also have no idea what these pills are, but I know one of them is Tylenol. I've been in bed all day, sleeping most of it, writhing in discomfort the rest of it. The worst part is that today was 75 degrees and sunny, the best day I've seen in Korea, and I was supposed to meet my friends for a picnic at Suseong Lake to plan an upcoming beach camping trip over a 3 day weekend.

I sure hope this goes away, or at least subsides slightly by tomorrow. I do not want to teach 9 classes feeling like this!

Thanks to my mother I realize that I haven't posted in awhile... Maybe because I feel more like I actually live here now, and maybe things don't seem as exciting anymore. Some highlights over the past 2 weeks include going bowling (they're super serious about bowling here...), going to the batting cages (twice!), something I haven't done in probably 14 years, attending both a baseball game and a rugby match (I think Korea lost both), and the usual- hiking, biking, and night running. I also feel like I'm finally settling into a great group of friends. They're more into the things I'm interested in, and for awhile I was afraid that I wasn't finding the right people to spend my time with. But these people leave me feeling encouraged and positive after every time we hang out.

Hiking on Mt. Apsan- really close to my apartment.

Korean rugby team. Got squashed by the Japanese team.

I wanted to post a funny picture that I drew. One of the lessons in a kindergarten class of mine was to draw a picture of your family. I know this is a little skewed, and in no way reflects my actual drawing abilities, but it's funny nonetheless. And the kids thoroughly enjoyed it. I've also found that kids are amazed when I say, "Yes, I have a sister, a brother, a mom, and a dad." It's almost like they think I appeared out of thin air and don't have a family or friends back home. "Teacher! You have a brother? and a sister?? Wow..."

100% accurate representation of my family.

Teaching has given me a whole new perspective. It's been a little over three months, but teaching is hard work. I know that as a kid I never thought of my teachers as real people. That sounds ignorant, but it's kind of like how kids see their parents. You see them as 'mom and dad,' not as actual people living life and making decisions, sometimes very hard decisions, all the time. I guess it's because as a child, you think like a child. That being said, I definitely respect every teacher I've ever had, and I finally understand why my mom got angry, slammed her hand down on the desk, and called her students "a bunch of LUMPS!" one time when I came into school with her. I definitely yelled at a class this week, saying that if any of them left their slippers behind in class that I would come out into the hall and throw them at them! Luckily I didn't have to!

Ugh, time for more bedrest. My nightstand is littered with throat lozenges, hot tea, gingerale, water, and a spit cup (to avoid swallowing). And some donut holes, which surprisingly feel really good on my throat! Hope everyone's had a great weekend!