This Is What You Shall Do

“This is what you shall do: love the earth and sun, and animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, have patience and indulgence towards people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown, or to any man or number of men; go freely with the powerful uneducated persons, and with the young, and mothers, of families: read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life: re-examine all you have been told at school or church, or in any books, and dismiss whatever insults your soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its' words but in the silent lines of its' lips and face and between the lashes, and in every motion and joint of your body.”

-Walt Whitman

Boys and Girls

E1-B-- 1st graders. Unfortunately, they were shy with the "oh my god". Still super cute though.





This game consists of them having to say one line of the memorized chant and pass around the pouch that holds a ticking timer They were supposed to do the hand motions (biting an imaginary apple) with the chant, but after a few kids got out they were too concerned with the time to care about doing the motions.

"See the apple.
The apple on the alligator.
See the book.
The book on the bed.
See the cat.
The cat on the cap."

* * *

E2-A-- first graders. We've got the twins, Julie and Sally, who I still can't tell apart as you will see in the video. Then there's Thomas who I have twice in a row, then Gary who's brand new and doesn't know any English (named him after my dad), and Tommy who, although can be cute, is essentially a consistent irritation.



Sally is so, so, SO cute.


This is another chant they had to memorize. Most of the students have a really hard time with "this is" and "it is", as well as differentiating between "a" and "an". But Thomas is a pro. He also has me for two classes back to back so he has an advantage.

"This is a dog. It is my dog. It is on the desk.
This is an an egg. It is my egg. It is on the elephant.
This is a frog. It is my frog. It is on the flag."

* * *
K-A-- Kindergartners.

Shoot me.



* * *

E3-D-- 5th graders? I have no idea how old these kids are. In Korea they might say 11-13, but really that means they're 9-11. They tack on two years. I have yet to find out why.



I'm trying to talk to the kids about their plans for the weekend. I speak to Alan for a minute about his friends birthday, Sue tells me about computer games, etcetera.

* * *

E4-B-- 3rd graders. I think...? They're really cute though and really sweet. Always eager to learn.




* * *
E3-C-- 6th graders, perhaps. They're extremely smart. Sarah, Ray, and Kelly are excellent conversationalists as you will see when Sarah turns the camera on me. She asks me how I'm doing and then apologizes for taking the camera. They all really love fast reading, which I didn't record because it's impossible to understand. They are reading a story called "Igloos, Houses of Ice" and whenever I'm looking for a time filler I just take out my phone and time them to see how long it takes for them to finish. The second video is of Sarah reading the Igloo story at a normal pace.




* * *

E-4 C-- same as E-3D, I believe they are 5th graders or so.


This is Sunny. Every day I ask him how he's doing, and he said "I am... SURPRISED!"

Holy hell. That was a lot of uploading. Who knew blogging could be so exhausting? :)

Flashing Lights.

It has been a few days. I do apologize. I notice that the counter goes up each day and I feel slightly pressured to write a blog every other day, but I have been super busy, hence the small delay. Hmm. That rhymed and it was unintentional.
I pretty much only have time at this moment to talk about three things; the incredible mountain that is my backyard, the dance clubs and foreign bars in Daegu, and my CouchSurfer.

First, the mountain. My friend Steve said we should hike it at about 6:30 a.m. Saturday morning, and I figured he was full of it, so I called his bluff. Full of it he was not, my friends. This mountain/20 minute "hike" if you walk fast is about 10 minutes from my apartment.

One of the temples is supposedly the oldest in South Korea, although I'm not sure which one. My favorite part of that morning was the sight opposite the city, which was just layer upon layer upon layer of mountains. It looked completely surreal. I also loved the bamboo forest (last picture)... it was totally novel and unexpected to see towering bamboos just ahead of me as we were descending the mountain. There were also people praying up and around where we walked inside of these little mini-temples that were lit with what looked to be about 100 tea lights. It was really beautiful. I was told you can also stay the night in those temples, although nobody seems to know how to arrange it.

I do have more pictures from Saturday night in Daegu, and I want to talk about my CouchSurfer Johanna from Sweden, but I have officially run out of time.

More later. :)

Update: It is currently 11:50 p.m. Wednesday night. Johanna is fast asleep, as she has to wake up at 4 a.m. to catch a 6 a.m. train to Busan, and then a ferry to Japan. Brave girl. She's really sweet and has been a perfect guest. She stayed for a total of 3 nights with me, in which the time we spent together has been pleasantly educational. I don't know what else to say about it, really. She just kind of did her own thing during the day while I worked, helped me cook dinner, taught me about Sweden, and talked to me about her boyfriend.

Love is the language.

Update: 12:23 a.m. Friday morning. T.G.I.MF.F! Here are some pictures from last Saturday in Daegu. :)

My room at the love motel.

Daegu by drizzle.

George kissing Steve's hand.

Flashing Lightskies. ;)

This is my official video test. Crossing my fingers!

And thus concludes my most prolonged post yet. Tomorrow is another birthday celebration, this time for my friend Aleesha. Saturday I'm going biking with Diane, Beau, Sherwin, Sarah, and Simon. It's getting really beautiful here with all of the cherry blossoms blooming and I hope to have some really incredible pictures for my next post. Til then. :)

Well you can't stop nothin' if you got no control.

I realized after talking to a friend last night that I didn't have my favorite Jack Johnson CD, In Between Dreams. The moment I got home from the bar I downloaded it, and as I was walking to work today (and back) with my iPod on I was reminded of how much I love that album. Listening to those songs (specifically Breakdown, Better Together, and Never Knowin') took me back to a place I haven't been in years, yet at the same time gave me this fresh perspective that I have been needing to hear. The juxtaposition of both old and new emotions felt particularly powerful as I walked past friendly Koreans (annyoung haseo!) and waved to the school kids playing in the park, all the while with my own little life soundtrack supporting my every move in my ears. Music, man. There is so much that it invokes in a person. For me it has always been an affinity for lyrical prowess mixed with a catchy melody and a beautiful voice (hence my favorite, Jason Mraz). Or anything with a good beat, a dystopian theme (Deltron), a song that will make you nod your head (311), instrumental jam-dance-groove (Lotus), the utmost simplicity of a guy and a guitar (Avett Brothers), or anything my family and I get down on (Jeff Lynn, XTC, Fountains of Wayne, John Mayer, Death Cab For Cutie). Hmm. Nostalgia is creeping in.

* * *
School today was a blast. I love Fridays. I was sitting on the floor in a circle with my E1-B class (1st graders, I believe) and observing them play Uno. I really am going to bring my camera next Friday because you have to see these kids. They are so damn cute. Since a lot of what I teach them is learned through repetition, they have a tendency to copy what I say. Today I had a class of 10 of the cutest Korean kids repeating "oh my god" over and over again. I couldn't get enough of it. They are like trained animals, and I mean that in the best way possible. I was saying "oh my god" with every type of voice inflection I could think of. Valley girl style (oh my gahd!), irritated style (Oh. My. GOD), freaking out style (ohmygodohmygodohmygod!), et al. I will have all of these uploaded on video by next Friday; I figured out how to upload them by the way, and it only took a change on one of the camcorder settings. Psh.

With my older classes I played Apples to Apples for Kids, which is quickly becoming another favorite of mine. If you haven't played the game, it's really simple. Everyone gets a certain amount of red cards (I do 4 for my students), and I choose one green card. On the one green card it might say "small", or "clean", or "colorful", or "fuzzy", or "spooky"... a plethora of adjectives. On the red cards that the students have it would say anything ranging from Ronald McDonald, My Teacher, Bears, Clowns, In the Basement, Sharks, etcetera. They have to pick 1 of 4 red cards that they think matches the adjective the best. Can you imagine the hilarity of playing this game with Korean students who are just scratching the surface of the English language? I had a green card and it said "dirty". The red cards I receieved were My Grandpa, Sunshine, Spaghetti, and Sand. Another good one was "fancy" and I got Hot Chocolate, My Mom, Ice Cream, and Fireworks. My favorite today however was "pretty", to which I received My Teacher, Rainbows, Fishing, and Mountains. A difficult decision, but I always choose My Teacher when they relate to a positive adjective. It makes the brown noser feel good and it makes me think that they actually might have an idea of what the adjective means. It's a win win situation.

* * *
On a different note, I am going to Daegu tomorrow with a bunch of foreigners for the soccer game on Sunday. The Gyeongju team, which I am now officially apart of, is playing Daegu United. They are a team of US military guys and originally, the field was going to be the one on the Airforce base, but now it is somewhere else in Daegu which I've heard is good because anyone can go. When it was supposed to be held at the base, anyone who was playing or who wanted to attend had to give their full name and nationality to someone in advance, as well as bring their passport and a second ID to get escorted onto the field. It's more lax now which I anticipate will bring more people out. Maybe. I really don't know what to expect from Daegu. I've been told there are a lot of Western restaurants, as well as a Western crowd which makes sense seeing as it is an American Airforce base. I will let you know though.

I am late for someone's birthday dinner. I do not know who this someone is, but everyone is going out for drinks and apparently a karaoke bar (aka norebang, prounced nore-ree-bong). Should a novel night.

Til next time.

Dear Buddhist Monks,

Where are you? People tell me you wander the streets of Gyeongju, but I have yet to see you. Are you phantom monks? I think I heard you chanting outside my school yesterday, although I think this would be strange because it sounded like it was coming from a megaphone of some sort. I guess I just assume you would be more traditional than to preach Buddhism via a modern amplifier. Perhaps this is stereotypical of me.

Do you give advice to those who seek it? Because I would love to meet one of you and ask you some questions, assuming of course that you speak my language. But I would learn Korean in a heartbeat if I knew that the questions I had for you would be answered. Such as:

Are you an egg, a carrot, or a coffee bean? I know this is a strange question, but roll with me here. Assume you were to boil three pots of water. In one pot you put an egg, in another a carrot, and in the third ground coffee beans. After letting the water boil for 20 minutes, you take out the egg and put it in a bowl, you take out the carrot and put it in the bowl, and you ladle a cup of coffee from the coffee beans and put it in a bowl. What do you see?

An egg, a carrot, and a cup of coffee, right?

But if you were to feel the carrot, you would notice that although it went into the water hard, unrelenting, and strong, it was now seemingly weaker and softer than it had been prior to being boiled.

The egg, prior to being boiled, had been fragile and could have broken at any moment, spilling it's liquid interior. But now, if you were to hold it in your hand after it was done boiling, you would notice that underneath the thin, outer protective shell, the liquid had hardened.

But what about the ground coffee beans? They had changed the water entirely.

You see Buddhist monks, each of these things faced the same adversity which was boiling water. But each reacted differently. So which are you?

Are you the egg which has a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Do you have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a break up, a financial hardship or any other type of trial, do you become hardened and stiff?

Are you the carrot who seems strong, but when faced with trials and tribulations you become soft?

Or are you the coffee bean? The one that actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you.

So I ask you again, my dear Buddhist monks whom I will probably never actually have a conversation with: are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?

Love,
Laura

P.S.
I think I am definitely the egg. But I am striving towards the coffee bean. What are you?

P.P.S.
I have none of these things in my refrigerator and I am craving a caramel macchiato.

A Weekend Taste

A little ways down from my apartment.

And again.

These were taken today as I was walking back from shopping. David the Californian accompanied me to Home Plus, which is comparable to a Wal-Mart or a Meijer. I got some essential things that I had forgotten at home (tweezers, nail clippers, a hair brush), some more groceries, and cleaning supplies. It was a successful trip followed by lunch at McDonald's.

* * *

Except for Friday when I got sick, this weekend was really enjoyable. Even though I wasn't feeling well Friday night, I went to Movie Night at Nicole's hagwon (private school) with a bunch of other foreigners and watched Friday the 13th. It's a ridiculous movie, but the idea is super fun. I guess every Friday they have these movie get togethers at Nicole's school, which is really beautiful and is loaded with a large projector to accommodate the activity. She provided snacks and drinks and a welcoming atmosphere, and so there we sat, about 20 or so ESL teachers from around the globe, and watched the cheesiest of scary movies in honor of the date.

Last night Aleesha (Canada), myself, David, Steve (England), and Matt (New Zealand) went to London Hop and had some Hite. Then Aleesha and I went and had dinner across the street at her favorite "Orange Restaurant", which is a chain here that serves really good fried rice and sushi. So we ate, went back to London Hop, and then the five of us went to a bar Aleesha suggested where we drank fruit soju. It basically tastes like cheap vodka mixed with fruit juice. After a couple pitchers of that we scurried across the street to a place I think is called Paul's Bar or Pool's Bar. It was pretty cool-- it was lit with blueish lights and candles and you could request songs, so we all had a chance to put in song requests and then the DJ would download them for us. The night wrapped up around 3:30 (bars don't seem to close here in Korea), at which point I took a taxi back with Steve and Matt, came home and slept until 2:00 today.

This brings us to the present, where I am waiting for a call from either Dave or Simon, both of whom are going to a DVD bong tonight. A DVD bong is a place where you can go with a group of friends, bring your own drinks, and watch a movie of your choice on a huge projection screen-- all for the low cost of around $15,000W (divide that by five or so; just about $3.00 a person). I am really looking forward to seeing what these things are all about... people seem really into them here.

I STILL cannot figure out why my videos won't post to the blog, and I'm getting to a point of desperation. The format is in AVI, which Blogger says it accepts, yet it does not allow me to upload. It just consistently says "Uploading Video", when really it's not. I think I am going to have to e-mail Blogger help or something.

Til next time. :)

Friday The Thirteenth

I managed to not catch whatever was going around when all my friends felt like shit back at home. However now that I'm in Gyeongju, I think I am catching something; it started in my throat this morning and it is progressively getting worse. I have The Sickness. At least I think I do. I am trying to take as many vitamins as possible, as well as drink as much water as my body will allow. I plan on sleeping in tomorrow (T.G.I.MF.F!), so hopefully that will make me feel better.

Matt and I decided to reschedule hiking tomorrow due to The Sickness. Not to mention it was 53 and humid here today, and tomorrow it's supposed to be like, 35. The weather changes are affecting me and making me cranky. I went to bed too late last night and had to get up early for physical therapy, and when I awoke it was cloudy and gray outside, making me want to isolate myself and not do anything. But alas, I walked to the doctor, and surely enough I fell asleep with my moon pants on. I was rudely awakened by the physical therapist snapping the connecting thingies off of my legs. The good news is that although I am feeling below average, my leg is greatly improving. I could jump around with the kidlets today and not feel like I was going to collapse. I didn't even notice how much better it was because it's so natural for your legs to feel how they are supposed to. Friday is "Game Day" so I let my students play Hangman and Bingo. Beautiful. The games allowed me not to speak that much and just let them guess letters and match their bingo cards. I can't believe I'm done with my first week of teaching.

The walk home today was particularly nice even though it was rainy and humid. Looking ahead of me were the mountains, with pockets of clouds resting in between them. Again, I didn't have my camera and I was kicking myself for it-- it was so gorgeous. The view gave me this inherent urge to pack my backpack, fill it with water and granola, and head off. Unfortunately my adventurous desires are going to have to be put on hold until I am not running a fever.

* * *

Last night was mine and Simon's welcome dinner. I met some really, really cool people. After we ate some sort of spicy chicken (or pork, not sure) in lettuce wraps, we went to a bar where they were playing 50 cent and TuPac. Simon and I were the only ones who seemed to notice the Western music. A lot of people who I've met have been here for 2+ years, so I can only assume that any kind of music back from home is generally something they would not be familiar with.

Man. I just looked at my clock and I'm about to be late to dinner. I'm not even really hungry, but I know I should eat. I feel like I'm not making too much sense right now, I'm just typing and not editing nor really caring about what I'm saying. Whatevs though. The Sickness is getting to the brain.

More tomorrow. :)

Medicinal Charades, Perma Cramps, and Kidlets

As some of you may know, for the past month or month and a half I have had a perma cramp in my left leg. I have concluded that this could have only been caused by running at the Y back at home and not stretching properly before or after the treadmill. I have been paying for this lack of basic athleticism rule number one, and today I told Cate about my leg pain.

She immediately took me to a physical therapist about two blocks from the school. When we went in, she gave my name and birthday to the receptionist, and I saw a doctor right away. He spoke to Cate for a few minutes as she described my situation, and I was then taken to the therapist upstairs. I wish I had my camera, because what he did to me was, I feel, authentically Korean.

First he asked me where it hurts (and by asked, I mean gestured). I showed him and he told me to lay down on this table. So I'm laying on my back as he instructs me to straighten my legs out. This is painful for me to do, so with some serious mind over matter-ness I obliged. He then strapped these astronomical looking moon boots/thigh high pants on me, plugged some things into a machine that were connected to my legs, and hit the start button. You know how it feels when you go to a doctor and they take your blood pressure? That's how it felt, but much harder and from my feet to my upper thighs. It felt strange at first, but after a while it started to feel like a really good massage; a lot of pressure that carried on for about 40 minutes.

After the medicinal moon pants were taken off me (by the way, on a normal Korean the moon pants would reach all the way up their leg), the doctor led me into another room where I had to lay on my stomach as he connected these cyclical suction cups to my leg. He told me I have a strained ham string. He then turned a machine on, and it felt like a million toothbrush bristles pushing into the places on my leg where it hurts the most. I can only assume that this means he was doing exactly the right thing, and it lasted for about 20 minutes or so. After it was all said and done, it cost (with medicine) $16,200W, which is about $15.00 American. Very cheap, and mind you this is without health insurance, which I will get once I go get a physical this week with Cate. I am supposed to see the physical therapist 3-5 times a week for the next 3-4 weeks, and Cate and I are trading off payment (she paid this time, I pay next time, etc.). I can't tell if my leg feels better yet, but it is only day one of physical therapy and I have confidence that the Korean doctors will un-strain my pained hamstring.

This entire week I have to be at school at 10 a.m. so that Cate can help me with my lesson plans, and to get familiarized with the curriculum. It is nothing like what I have done with student teaching. Obviously my students are much younger, and so I have to be energetic and jumping around a lot so that they can blow off some steam in my class. I teach two kindergarten classes (or is it three?), a couple first grade classes, a couple second and third grade classes, and two middle school classes. With the little ones, I am doing a lot of ABCs and number counting. They have to repeat after me, sing the alphabet song, recognize that A is apple (flashcards), etcetera. They wear me out, but the end of the day is when I get to relax a little more.

The middle school classes are my favorite because I get to read Time Magazine for Kids with them (one article a week), and this week the article is West Asia. I've been teaching them about the Western Wall, the Taj Mahal, and Dubai. It is a lot of fun for me because I don't have to explain to them as much what certain words mean. It is definitely more advanced than the younger classes. Starting next week I won't have to be at school until 2:30, which I am greatly looking forward to.

As for the rest of my week, it has filled up more quickly than I anticipated. Tonight I am going to poker night at a bar in Sunddong gong with some foreigners (a weekly ordeal), tomorrow night Diane organized a welcome dinner for Simon and I (Simon arrived here yesterday; Cambodian Canadian), Friday is movie night with more foreigners, Saturday my coworker Matt is taking me hiking, and Sunday I was invited to a basketball game (courtside) with Lena from Clarkston and her friend. I am so looking forward to meeting all these people. Michelle and I also decided we are going to join the Gyeongju Football Club so we can get our soccer skills on. It will be a true testament to how out of shape I am, I am sure.

So that's it for now. I am still trying to figure out how to upload videos, and Dan said I need to try uploading them to YouTube. When I get more time I will figure it out. Til then! :)

From Detroit to Gyeongju.

Drank that French wine.

That's me that's my plane!



Reflecting.



HUGE 747.

Fried eggplant, Japanese sweet rice cake, salmon flake, salmon roe on steamed rice.

My home for three nights; Cate's apartment.

International literature.

Breakfast.

What I would compare to Bud Light.

Downtown Gyeongju.

Need I say more?

Cute, cute, cute scarves.

Okay two things before I continue. One, I didn't realize that the "tungsten" setting was on my camera until a few pictures later (hence the blue-ish tint). And two, I just now figured out that I can make the pictures bigger. So from now on they will be set to large instead of medium-- that was a slight U-Haul moment. Don't ask.

For Amit, with love.


Bing su. Green tea ice cream, cereal, mangos, ice shavings, kiwi.

Stephanie! :)

Everything is served in really, really large quantities.

"Mama Cass... ham sandwich."

A market in Gyeongju.


Don't know what she was cooking up-- smelled real bad though.


I will get a better picture of these cakes. This does not do them justice!

Sarah, one of my students. They love, love, LOVE giving the peace sign. :)

Some kind of custard filled, buttery flakey goodness. You know I ate that shit UP.

Traditional Korean dinner/Stephanie's last meal

Gyeongju library-- the oldest one in the city.

Near where I live.

And next, the videos. :)

See below.

The title of this post is also the background on my computer, taken from postsecret.com. I strongly suggest anyone and everyone to visit the website at least once—I can guarantee, at the very least, that it will spark a strong emotion in you, if not an outright obsession.

Currently, I am sitting at my desk in my new apartment, eating men du, which is some sort of dumpling deliciousness that I picked up at the vendor outside of the grocery store. It is my second night in my new apartment, and I am finding to be adjusting more quickly than I anticipated. I have never lived alone, but I don’t think I could have asked for a better living situation. I am typing this post using Word with plans to post it tomorrow, because as of right now my internet is not up. Cate has to call what I think would be the equivalent of Charter or Comcast so that they can verify online access for me.

The apartment is super cozy and super cute and beyond livable. I will post pictures once I get everything unpacked and organized. In fact, I will probably just take a video of it and post that. I have been trying to take as many videos as pictures because they give a better representation of what life is like here in Korea. It is spacious and has a queen sized bed (thank god!), an armoire, a desk, cable TV, a little table, a cabinet, a stove, everything. Everything I could possibly need is here in my own rent free, studio apartment.

Last night I went out with my new favorite couple, Diane and Beau. I successfully took my first taxi to Sung Gundong, which is a district in Gyeongju. If Gyeongju were Oakland County, Sung Gundong, Yung angdong (specifically where I live), and some other districts that I can’t pronounce would be Royal Oak, Birmingham, Huntington Woods, Novi, and Clarkston all mixed together, yet still distinct from one another.

They took me first to a beer bar where you go in, open a fridge, and choose from a selection of international beers. We sat at a table and drank our drinks, at which point Diane suggested we go to a wine bar next. I don’t know the name of it nor do I really know exactly where it is located. I do know that every bar in Sung Gundong is right next to one another, lined up in a fluorescent, bustling college-esque town.

The wine bar was beautiful. Diane had said before we had arrived it was sort of an Arabian themed bar, and I believe that is the best way to describe it. You walk in and take your shoes off, which is something you do at many restaurants as well as whenever you enter someone else’s home. The entire bar was draped in deep red curtains with gold detail hanging lowly from the ceiling. We sat in a little corner on the also deeply red carpeted floor on thin pillows—similarly to many places I have eaten at so far, the table was barely up to my stomach. There were candles on each table which the waitress lit when we first arrived. We drank a bottle of sweet white wine, talked about our hometowns, where we had traveled (my summer tales of Ontario have been a huge part when talking about my life), and general conversation about my move to Gyeongju. Both Diane and Beau are incredibly supportive and understanding of me and my decision to move to South Korea, and have promised I will love the people here and will easily make friends. If my information is correct, there are about 500,000 people in Gyeongju, and about 70-80 foreigners. Assuming that this is accurate, it is safe to say that us foreigners are by far the minority. This being the case, they said that the foreigners stick together. Beau said even if I might not like someone, I will have a connection with that person because we have our travels in common. Needless to say spending time with those two gave me extreme comfort and a sense of camaraderie that I have been craving since I left home.

Today, Cate called me around noon and invited me to lunch and out for a walk to the lake—I was thrilled she asked me, because to be honest I didn’t really know what to do with myself when I woke up at 8. So we go to this lake, and it was just so cool I don’t even know how to begin describing it. It’s a family friendly place with lots of photo ops and food and shopping centers everywhere. I was semi-pleasantly surprised by the 8 kilometer bike ride we took. We biked around the water, up hills, down hills (way too fast!), flying past cars and people, stopping for kiwi ice cream and corn on the cob sold out of a truck. I say semi-pleasantly surprised because it was a work out that I was not prepared for. I don’t know if all Koreans are as fit as my boss and her family, but I know that I felt like a sluggish American riding around, clearly not in my comfort zone. After the bike ride I came home, showered, and went to Diane’s to hang out. I have really cliqued with her, and she has been kind enough to lend me her amenities until mine are all sorted out.

So that was today, and tomorrow is my first day of teaching. I will post everything as soon as I can.

Quick Update

My internet has to be validated in my apartment, so I am using the computer at work as well as Diane's computer at her apartment. Even though I don't have internet, I can still Skype, so if you get a phone call from "unavailable", that may be me. :)

I wrote some entries and saved them on Word back at home, and the moment my internet is up and running (hopefully tomorrow, cross your fingers!) I will put them up.

Today is my first day of teaching, I start in about 2 hours. From 2:30-8:00 I am teaching eleven 25 minute classes. Holy eff. Hopefully they don't wear me out! Whatev though, if I can handle high schoolers, I don't think the Korean kidlets will be able to take me down. Unless they attack me in high numbers, which they may.

Lastly, I know you all had a time change, so I am now 13 hours ahead of you, instead of 14. So it's 12:35 p.m. here, making it 11:35 p.m. there. Catching on yet? ;)

I will post again ASAP! Promise. :)

Secret Gardens, Buddhist Temples, and Secluded Beaches

I could continue on with this title for days.
"...avid hiking, antique shopping, ceramic villages, National Art and War Museums, hot spring baths, national and provincial parks, jade mines, riverwalks, off the beaten path bicycling, amusement parks, 13th century cathedrals, DMZ tours, 'vistas of mist-shrouded mountains, maple leaves, rushing streams, and remote temples'..."

Although I have not done much yet, I started reading the Lonely Planet guide to Korea last night and this morning, and suffice it to say my mind is completely overwhelmed with things I have to see. Every morning when I wake up here it is infinitely more exciting than the day before, and this is only day four.

I got shown around downtown Gyeongju for a few hours yesterday by Stephanie-- I took lots of pictures and should be able to post them later today/tonight. I want to say that it's a crazy city, but I think that might sound a little judgemental. Judgey, if you will. And I don't want to do that just yet! But there is seriously so much to see. There are really cute, quirky shops (Hello Kitty, but doesn't sell Hello Kitty collectibles), mostly broken English everywhere ("there's a hero. if you look inside your heart."), brand name shops (Puma, North Face, Lacoste, etc.), and food on every corner. They have 711s sprinkled throughout the city, and several Dunkin Donuts/Baskin Robbins which I know I will be desperately trying to avoid. Stephanie took me to a bakery called Paris Baguette which sells the most beautiful cakes I've ever seen.

At the Hello Kitty shop I bought a really nice lined notebook which took me about 20 minutes to finally purchase. Best notebook collection I've seen in a while. I also bought a mini notebook to keep with me so I can write things down that are important for me to remember, as well as things I need to know how to say.

I'm starting to pick up a little Korean. Stephanie wrote down-- phonetically-- common phrases and sayings that will help me to get around by myself. So for instance, if I'm at my apartment and I want to go to downtown Gyeongju, I would say shin-ay MacDonald kadg-ju-say-oh. Meaning, please take me to the McDonald's downtown. Ju-say-oh means please. If I am downtown and I want to go home, I would say young-ang-dong lotte mart, kadg-ju-say-oh. I think young-ang-dong is the district of Gyeongju that I live, and I know that lotte mart is the grocery store that is within 2 minutes of my apartment. Stephanie said it's really important to add extra syllables onto certain works like mart and McDonalds. It would need to be pronounced "mart-uh" and "MacDonaldsuh", otherwise the taxi drivers might not know where to go.

So back to walking downtown. It looks like exactly what you might think a busy Asian city would look like-- or at least to me it did. Downtown Gyeongju looked like something I may have seen on TV before with vibrant, colorful markets, raw fish and fresh fruit everywhere, authentic Korean clothing sold outside, goofy Asian knick knack vendors, and hundreds and hundreds of people. The only real downside I have found so far is the smell. Not everywhere, but many places I have walked past or been inside of (including my school) smell like fish, and what could be a mixture of any number of other types of seafood. Being that I'm not a huge seafood fan, I might have to make some adjustments. I know many of you are thinking "When in Rome, Laura..." but right now, some of the smells and food options makes my stomach turn. Seriously. I'd like to see you try and get an appetite for a live, baby octopus, squid soup, or fried grasshoppers. Sound appetizing? :) But don't worry Mom, I'm not starving and there are plenty of other, less nauseating food options. I have been eating oranges, bananas, cereal, some strangely delicious prepared weeds, bagel sandwiches, some fish shaped custard cookies, Korean candy (my students are incredibly generous with their food), and noodle soup. I have drank green tea, milk, lemonade, tons of water, sweet cinnamon tea (delicious), beer (not enough yet), and coffee, aka Korea's excuse for coffee, which are really these little instant packets of cocoa-tasting coffee that I don't really think have any caffeine in them. Trickery!

Cate took us out to dinner last night to say goodbye to Stephanie (she left this morning) in town at a restaurant next door to English World. I couldn't pronounce the name of the restaurant if I tried, but I can tell you that when we got there, we walked into a private room where we had to take our shoes off at the door. We sat on pretty, detailed pillows around a very low table that was filled with little white, porcelain-looking dishes that had all kinds of food in them. I was still super skeptical after seeing both live octopus and live fish glaring angrily at me from the tank earlier in the day, so I was careful as to what I chose to put in my mouth. Seeing as I didn't recognize any of the food, Cate's daughter Rosie was kind enough to try and help me. She would point to something and say "You must try thees-- dee-leesh-us!" I didn't trust the Korean kidlet at first, so I stuck to my rice and something of a soy sauce, just to be safe. However my stomach was growling and so I had some vegetables/weeds that Cate said are what the monks and Buddhists eat. Very bland, almost no flavor, but mixed with the right sauce I really enjoyed it. Rosie kept pestering me to try this certain soup seafood looking dish and I was terrified, but when I finally tasted it, it was just like, salty broth and some kind of cabbage-esque vegetable. Very good. Cate also bought us the sweetest, cinnamon-honey tea after dinner. SO delicious-- I need to ask her again today what it was called so I can order it when I'm by myself.

The only slightly disturbing thing that happened at dinner last night was that the lingering smell of the city was unexpectedly and disgustingly put to my taste buds. There was this big bowl of soup, and it looked like seaweed soup, so I tried it... nope. Some kind of radish soup I think, but it tasted like the smell I had been covering my nose to try and avoid all day. I'm convinced it's Korea's way of weeding out the Westerners.

Hmm. What else. Oh! My mom asked me to report on the scenery and the weather, which will be easier to do once I can upload my pictures to this thing. But for now, Gyeongju is surrounded by mountains. Not the towering type like we have in the States, but rather really large, green hills. Mini mountains. It is about 40-45 degrees here in the day, and at night it as been chilly, probably around 30, and extremely windy at times. I could be wrong about the temperatures, because it's not like it's been so cold I can see my breath, but I have definitely done my share of shivering. It is smoggy here, so sunsets, I am sad to report, are not likely to be seen. My first full day here was cold and rainy (didn't make for a happy arrival), my second day was sunnier (yesterday), and today it is looking sunny once again.

Winter is over and Spring is coming. Out with old and in with the new. I have been guaranteed that my computer will be working today once I move in, so I will be available via Skype and/or AIM video chat if anyone is interested! Seeing as my parents and my boyfriend aren't able to communicate with me today, I would love to see/talk to someone from home. For realsies. I will be on my laptop hopefully by 4 p.m. here, which is 2 a.m. your time. So that may not work, hmm. Maybe I will get on around 3:00. If not though, tonight I will be on if anyone is available to video chat with me around 11:00 or so, and will probably be on until the wee hours, making it anywhere from 9 a.m. to noon Michigan time.

We will figure this time change out. Til next time! :)

"RAURA TEACHER!"

Currently, it is 6:11 a.m. here in Gyeongju, and I can't seem to sleep in. From what I've heard that's normal and to be expected until I get adjusted to the time difference, but I'm annoyed that I woke up feeling like it should be 10 a.m. when really it's a quarter to six. Boooooo.

Yesterday was my first day observing Stephanie at English World. My school schedule is 2:30-7:30 Monday through Friday (9 classes per day) and I will be teaching kindergartners through 14 year olds. The kindergartners and first graders are hilarious-- they are my first two classes of the day. Not only are they hilarious, they are SUPER rambunctious. At first some of them seemed a little intimidated by me. Little did they know, I was terrified of them because they come in such large numbers.

Although they are not this young, they would sound just like him if they were to sing a Beatles song, too.

Back to the large numbers. When I say this, I'm over exaggerating because the maximum class size that I have is 12. The classes are 25 minutes lessons with 5 minutes in between each lesson. However, in the time between classes the kids come to the office and sit on your lap or talk to you excitedly in English, and when they all consolidate like that in a tiny room there seem to be many, many more than there actually are. If there was ever to be a battle of teachers vs. students, the students would undoubtedly win. The students are super cute though. A couple of them took to me really quickly and whenever Stephanie would introduce me, it would go something like this:

Stephanie: Everyone, this is Laura Teacher! She is your new teacher. Tomorrow Stephanie Teacher goes "bye, bye" back to the USA and Monday you will have Laura Teacher.

Me: Hi everyone!

Kids: Hi Raura! Raura Teacher!

Although that was a poor rendition, that pretty much sums it up. When I would go in the hall after my first couple classes the students would either ask what my name was or stare at me. In fact, Cate told me to wear my hair up for the first couple of days because she thought that the kids might be afraid of me! I literally LOLed to myself when she said that. Me + my height + my curly hair = scary American. Clearly! They were sweet though-- really excited about telling me their names. "My name is Gina", "My name is Lily", "My name is Trevor", etc. They practice their names a lot when they are at a younger age and I think they were trying to show off a little. Very cutesies.

I went out to a Vietnamese restaurant last night with Stephanie and a few of her friends. There are Diane and Michelle, who are from South Africa and have thick accents-- Michelle especially. I really had to listen to understand what she was saying. They apparently don't think much of Americans, with the exception of Stephanie, Bo and now myself. Bo is from Texas and he has been dating Diane for about 6 months. Hearing about their relationship is adorable-- he met her parents in Hong Kong, she will be meeting his parents in a week or so in Seoul, blah blah blah, all cute, but pulled at my heart quite a bit. Made me miss Brett a ton.

The restaurant was great, though. We got to make our own spring rolls-- definitely a novel expierence! They had these rice patties that looked like thin paper and you would dip them in hot water, at which point they would soften. Then, with your chopsticks (I am having quite the time trying to get good with them), you take it out of the steaming hot water, and then you fill it with vegetables and meats of your choice. So on mine, I had chicken, pineapple, celery, onion, some kind of thin mushroom, and peanut sauce. It reminded me a little of eating at Mongolian Barbeque except much healthier, and without actually watching your food getting cooked. I drank green tea with my little Vietnamese spring roll concoction, and then was served a huge bowl of noodle soup. The soup was good, except that I don't really have an apetite yet. Again, I've heard this is completely normal. Stephanie said she didn't really have an apetite until after her first week.

Once I returned from dinner, Cate and Mark offered to buy beer. So we sat in their living room (although almost no furniture, I'm not sure what else to call it) and drank a 6 pack. I showed them a photo album Shayna gave me back at home, as well as some going away party/Megan's birthday party pictures on my camera. Cate thinks that Jeff (Goldsmith) looks "like a character from the fairy tales", that my brothers are handsome but look nothing like me, and she kept confusing Brett with Jeff (Rosenberg). It was nice that her and Mark were so interested, though. I got to explain to them about the parties and my friends and family. At one point, Cate said "All pictures, same friends!" And she seemed happy for me. We had a nice conversation, with Cate acting as the translator. Mark said I need to go out and do everything I can while I'm here in Korea, and that if anything ever broke or needed repair at my apartment to please tell him so he can fix it-- it's like having a free landlord. Amazing!

Today, Stephanie was also kind enough to offer to meet me at 10 to show me around Gyeongju. She's going to show me the post office, grocery stores, I expect some restaurants that she likes, et al. I move into my apartment once she moves out tomorrow morning, and will officially be set up around 3:00 p.m. She said setting up my laptop will be really easy, and she was also kind enough to leave behind her Korean cell phone which I will be able to use to call Michelle and Diane. I'm a little nervous about meeting people on my own, but I know I will. Everyone's been telling me there are plenty of foreigners in Gyeongju, and once a new one moves in, everyone wants to meet that person. So I should be good to go, and Michelle and Diane said to call them as soon as I get the chance to.

To answer some questions, I will not be able to actually call anyone while I'm here. International calling rates are expensive, and I just plan on using Skype/AIM video chat/e-mail with everyone. I will get pictures up as soon as I get my own computer working, which should be tomorrow. The outlets here are different, hence why I can't just plug in my own laptop yet-- there is a convertor at my apartment.

I know you're all really interested in my hygiene, so guess what? I have yet to shower (sick!) since I've been here, and it's Friday, meaning I haven't showered since I left Tuesday (which was really Wednesday here) morning. I meant to shower yesterday before lunch (which I forgot to mention, was pork cutlets that Cate bought me), but I fell asleep an hour before I got picked up to go to the school and didn't have the time to. So I am off to the shower with no walls, the drain in the middle of the bathroom, and hopefully some breakfast soon. And who knows, I might even venture out before I go to meet Stephanie at the school. We will see how courageous I am feeling.

Til then. :)

A plane, a train, and Anthony Bourdain.

Okay, SO-- first blog post since moving to Gyeongju, South Korea. Let's see how well this goes!
Let me start from the beginning of my travels.

As I was waiting to board the plane at 7:50 a.m. Tuesday morning, there was a bird perched on a huge bay window, obviously looking to reek havoc. And reek havoc it did. It flew from it's place of rest over a small sea of people, causing resltess passengers to scowl in disguist-- none too pleased with this tiny creature. It continued flying back and forth over the crowd, making those of us on the ground nervous that it might poop on our heads. When I say "those of us", I of course mean me.

During my short flight to Chicago I sat next to a woman named Ann Watson; Ann was flying to Tokyo as I was. She has lived there for 10 years working as professional singer, and had returned home first to Buffalo, New York, then to Detroit to visit some friends. She hadn't been home in over a year. Ann is 47 and single and loving her life. When I explained to her where I was flying to and what I was going to be doing, she kept saying to me, "This is freedom, honey. This is freedom." She also told me how it was her dream to make a living singing, and that if I ever needed a place to stay in Japan, she would be more than happy to take me in.
When we landed in Chicago Ann gave me her contact info, helped me find Terminal 5, and left for Tokyo to continue living her life, one of which I believe to be simultaneously passionate and excessive.

Not but five minutes after I began walking alone toward the tram that would take me to the International Terminal, I had a celebrity sighting-- yep, you guessed it, Anthony Bourdain. And let me tell you I about FREAKED OUT. I was staring at him, thinking to myself, "Holy shit, that's Anthony Bourdain! Oh my GOD!" And the conversation went as follows:

Me: Anthony?
(he stops in his tracks)
Me: Bourdain?
(as if I was nervous that saying his first name wasn't enough)
Anthony Bourdain: Yes!
Me: Ohmygodyou'resogreatIloveyourshowI'mmovingtoSouthKoreaforayeartoteachEnglishandIjustwatchedyourshowonSouthKorealikeamonthagoandIjustthoughtitwassogreatandIloveyourshow!
Anthony Bourdain: Thank you.
Me: Yup no problem! Have a safe flight!

And that was that. In and out of my life like a Travel Channel dream.

I hopped on the tram (train) to the International Terminal and boarded my flight at 10:10 a.m. I flew over on a 747 Japan Airlines aircraft, and let me just tell you, that plane was pure grandeur. It had two stories, a projection screen for each section of the plane that had GPS showing where it was we were, and little interactive t.v. screens in front of every seat. Think: the plane in The Brady Bunch movie when they went to rescue Carol.
Anyways, the in-flight meals were delicious. Teriyaki chicken and fried cod with pesto sauce. I fell asleep after the first meal (the chicken) while we were flying over Minneapolis. I woke up about 8 hours later as we were flying over the Pacific. Talk about getting caught off guard!

The Tokyo airport wasn't anything like I expected. It was nowhere near the crazy, chaotic, hustle and bustle of O'Hare. Instead, it was smooth and quiet and there was ambient music playing everywhere. I only had to take one escalator to get to my gate, and I managed to find time to call home while I waited on my third flight en route to Busan.

Again, I slept for the majority of the 2.5 hour flight from Tokyo to Busan. They served a Japanese meal this time, consisting of salmon flakes and salmon roe on steamed rice, stuffed egg with meat, a pickled cucumber, fried eggplant with miso sauce, deep-simmered seaweed and beans in soy sauce, and a Japanese sweet rice cake. The only reason I know this is because I took a picture of the menu and the meal to show people (Brett) who know how picky of an eater I can be. I ate the salmon and it tasted like lox, and the fried egg with meat was also delicious. I am almost positive that there was caviar with the salmon though, and it took some serious mind-over-matter attitude to not think about how grossed out I was by the fish eggs. Ew.

When I got to Busan I had to go through customs (took less than five minutes), my checked luggage made it all the way from Detroit with no problem (as I approached the baggage claim I saw mine rearing towards me), and, much to my relief, I was picked up by my boss's (Cate) brother in-law.

The drive to Gyeongju took just under an hour. Cate's brother in-law and I (don't remember his Korean or English name) talked about Barack Obama, racism, and the New York Sun-- he worked as a photographer for them for 8 years while living in New York. He gave me a lot of tips on American etiquette versus Korean etiquette, and what I took from that conversation was that Koreans pretty much don't have etiquette. He said people will push you and step on your toes and bump into you while on the street, but that no one apologizes and no one is expecting an apology if you are the proprietor. He also informed me that because I am from a "strong, powerful, smart country" that I will be treated with nothing but the utmost respect and consideration. He also told me that Jews and Koreans "have strong hearts, connected". He compared the Nazis to the Japanese because of their treatment towards the Koreans for almost 38 years. Suffice it to say he was surprised I had no trouble at the Tokyo airport and that I had a pleasant conversation with a Japanese woman while waiting to board my plane.

And this leads us to the present moment. I am sitting on a heated floor, typing on Cate's computer, waiting to get picked up by her husband Mark who is coming for me in two hours. She said her and Mark will be taking me to lunch. From 2:30-7:30 I will be observing Stephanie teach, and I will be doing the same tomorrow. Tonight Stephanie invited me to dinner with some coworkers at a Vietnamese restaurant, which I thought was so kind.

It is 40 degrees here in Gyeongju and the winter has just ended. Although I am homesick right now, I know that once I get adjusted to the time difference and hang out with some other native English speakers I will be absolutely fine. Til next time! :)