meet my class!

so this is my lovely classroom and these are my wonderful students. things get a little crazy toward the end..but they're great. so cute, right?

gakwonsa temple

this past sunday i ventured to cheonan, on the outskirts of seoul, with friends smilja & jonna. i was determined to visit a buddhist temple before the weekend's end...and the determination paid off. little did i realize (by the looks of the subway map) that it would take 2 hours to get there, but i think it was well worth the trip. first of all, cheonan is the birthplace of these yummy walnut waffle-bite things, which were being made & sold on every corner. and, best of all, the temple, atop mt. taejosan, is home to a giant bronze buddha statue. it really was impressive... 15m tall & weighing 60 tons. one of his ears is about the size of me. the temple itself was lovely, as temples go. amazing architecture, brilliant colors, deep, resonating and peaceful sounds of the gong and chanting monks. we stayed until just after sunset, whence (thanks to smilja) we hitched a ride back to the metro station w/ a really nice guy, sagwon, who is a photographer. a bag full of walnut balls later & we were on the long ride home. ohm.

spring blossom

an afternoon stroll...

i was having such a wonderful, cozy saturday morning in my apt (brunch, strawberries, good music, yoga mat, friends & family online to chat w/, etc.) that i had to force myself to get outside in the brisk air & see something new. so i just put on my sneakers and started walking....and didn't stop for 4-5 hours. i remembered that one of my korean coworkers told me about a hike w/ a temple not too far away by subway. i had all day, so i just walked...you miss so much otherwise, right? when i got to the metro station where this hike was supposed to be, i had no idea which direction to go. i took a peculiar little path that looked like it could turn into a hiking trail...and i ended up in a shanty town. makeshift houses of tin & plywood, constructed right along a little canal, and right beside, but just hidden from, huge skyscrapers of expensive condos & apartments. i wasn't sure if i should keep going...felt like an intruder or something...but i met a guy, chang (really nice guy), on his way home who spoke a little english. i showed him my little map and he directed me to the mountain. i walked through all kinds of strange little shanties before i made it to an actual trail. there were plenty of people on it, sporting their hiking boots and trekking poles, but i didn't spot a single other foreigner. i walked up and up, shedding my coat and scarf before i was even halfway there. at the top of the ridge there was a nice view of the hazy sprawling city. as i continued along the ridge, it began to go down, down, down....and i wasn't sure just where i would end up. i never did come upon anything resembling a temple, though. perhaps it was written on one of those signs w/ an arrow that i couldn't read..hmm. oh well. back down in the city, i weaved my way through streets and alleyways, munching on street food (pancakes w/ red bean filling, veggie fritters), until, finally, i found my way back home. great day today...and i just realized that, other than my brief encounter with chang, i haven't spoken to anyone today. kinda cool.

my new roomies

my place needed some green, some life, so i bought a couple of plants during my wanderings today. i was gonna get something hardy & ornamental, but why not get something i can look at AND eat? herbies it is. and just look at em' in their new home! i have a feeling my plant collection will be expanding...they look a bit lonely. so, here's spearmint & rosemary (i haven't thought of proper names for them yet...any ideas?). hmmm.... wonder if i can find the other ingredients for mojitos? ;)

underground oddities

the subway stations are like little wonderlands, scattered throughout the city. once you go down, you may come upon anything from a full-out shopping mall to a lonely vendor selling bootleg dvds or some random vegetables. on these two occasions, jonna (a coworker-friend, pictured) and i spotted 1) some punk-alien manequins and 2) kung-fu panda, randomly dangling in our faces as we turned a corner. :P

mickey d's delivers...

in fact...almost every place will deliver something hot & "fresh" to your door, ceramic dishware & all (they come back for their dishes). w/ all these western chains (mcdonalds, burger king, friday's, hooters, outback, unameit) popping up everwhere, i'm thinking that the next generation of koreans is not going to be the prim & petite type we're so used to... obesity... i've seen a few cases already. globalization. whatcha gonna do?

spring....relief

it hit me, on the first day of spring, just how LONG it has been since i have really experienced springtime happening... and what a shame, how glorious it is. the sun shines through the clouds, warm on my skin, i exchange my coat for a light sweater, and i see the color seeping into the monochrome city. buds and blossoms and tender blades of grass. the late morning feels like a smile from a passing stranger.....kindness is out there, always. my steps are no longered hurried, but thankful. my legs and feet don't want to go home under the blankets, but rather to wander. it was a perfect day to go to the stream, only 15 minutes from home. now that i can bear to be outside, i feel like running. heck, there is a rubberized path made for it. the days just keep getting brighter. =)

when in rome...er, korea....(can you say danmuji?)

i'm so glad that i like korean food. not eating meat here is actually pretty easy (as long as you like rice, kimchi, seaweed and tofu...and pickled vegetables). it's also much cheaper to eat what they eat... i just buy fresh fruits & vegetables from a street vendor on my block and the other stuff from the corner market. so cheap and so yummy.

i've recently been experimenting in the kitchen with these new ingredients and over the weekend i had a go at making gimbap [keem-bap]. gimbap is a really quick, easy and light snack. it's basically made w/ rice (bap), veggies, & a protein, all wrapped up in a sheet of dried seaweed (gim). i made mine w/ short-grain brown rice (healthier), raw carrots & sprouts, danmuji (pickled radish), tofu and some red pepper paste. i thought it was delicious. the pickled radish, or danmuji, is my new love. the radishes here must be rather large in comparison to the ones i'm used to, but you can buy them sliced and pickled.... they are bright yellow (not sure how they get that way), crunchy and a bit sweet. they serve them on the side of most dishes, and i'm hooked.

and, since i'm trying to save money, i might as well drink like the locals too. the national favored beverage, soju, is a distilled sweet potato alcohol, ranging from 20-45% alcohol and tasting like a smooth vodka. it costs only a buck for a bottle...and it's really not bad at all...especially mixed w/ a splash of juice. cheers!

st patrick's day....in korea?

yes...saint paddy's day was indeed celebrated over the weekend. there was a festival, including a ridiculous little parade, in marronier park in hyewha (part of seoul). this was, no doubt, organized by a bunch of gringos; however, there were a few koreans here and there in the mix, drinking their guinness and enjoying the celebration. there was traditional irish music (bagpipes and all), dancing and games. it was a sight to see, however it was a cold, although sunny, day. the most fun was had indoors over pints of guinness and on the dance floor. =)

kimchi, jimjilbong & soju (a rambling update)

my students =)

familiar faces

it's so good to see some familiar faces in this oh-so-foreign place! life is funny....i was planning to teach english in korea long before i caught wind that these two friends of mine were doing the same. meet my peeps, smilja & aaron.

smilja and i went to grad school together in costa rica. we lived in the same neihborhood there and shared many a bottle/box of wine during that adventurous year. :) she has been in korea for about 3 months now (veteran compared to me) and teaches at a school about 40 minutes away on the subway.

i met aaron this past october while campaigning to get obama elected. now he is here teaching theater to 3rd and 4th graders. he also happens to live in the same part of town as me (gangnam-gu), only 2 metro stops away.

i love having partners in crime. makes exploring all the more fun!

food!

one of the most interesting and fun things about foreign countries and their culture is the food, right? so i'm still in my first week in korea, and i've only just begun to dabble in this category. i eat lunch w/ the kids every day at school, which is always exciting to see what will be inside the black box every day.....one day fish, one day pork, one day octopus, one day crab....always w/ a variation of kimchi and some other spicy, pickled and colorful mystery vegetables...and always with a side of rice and soup (usually a miso soup w/ seaweed or onions). i do plan to maintain a vegetarian diet here, which i hear will be difficult, but i'm pretty sure i can survive....i love kimchi and all of the interesting vegetables and spicy-sweet sauces.

i've gone out to eat only twice so far...the first time to a burrito place, dos tacos (and boy, am i excited that i can get a good burrito in this city!), followed by dessert at one of the gazillion coffee/tea parlours around town. the dessert (pictured) was also pretty amazing....a warm gooey brownie w/ haagen dazs ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate syrup and truffles (YUM). tonight i met up w/ my friend, smilja, for dinner at a great korean bbq joint. there's a grill at the table where you can cook up some fresh meat and garlic and there is a self serve bar of all kinds of goodies: lettuce leaves, green onion strips, kimchi, sprouts, sliced garlic, and yummy sauces. i helped myself to lots of salad, kimchi and roasted garlic and i also ordered a noodle soup (pictured) which is served cold. it was really tasty. it was a very social atmosphere, especially w/ a few beers. ;)

more food to be featured in the future, no doubt. =)

love is everywhere

so i was boiling some pasta this evening in my wok-like pan and when i went to check on it, what a surprise.... it formed itself into a heart, just for me. could this be some sort of sign?.....ha, yeah, a sign that i need to get out more. (but it is so cold and drizzly today). wah! hahaha

cuties, eh?

man, the kids in my class are way too cute. we had some fun today and actually got a lot of work done. we even had time left over for coloring and a quick game of 'heads up 7 up' (remember that game?). this is karen & alice in the picture, working on some phonics exercises (hey, hooked on phonics, worked for me!). aaaaw!

my first days...

so, i've been here in south korea for a couple of days now. when i flew in on saturday evening, i was picked up by a driver who spoke zero english, whatever. he was supposed to drive me to the school where i will be working to meet up w/ my boss & some of the other new teachers and, most importantly [to me], to pick up my welcome box (which includes my cell phone, my electrical adapters, maps, etc). BUT, we were caught up in traffic and it was getting late, so i was driven directly to my apartment and was told that i would be picked up at 8am on monday to go to the school. ummmmm...ok. but what am i to do w/ myself until then? i have no korean currency, no way of contacting anyone, no map to find out where i am. how will i even eat? whatever, i'll figure something out, i'm fine. i boot up my laptop, and HOORAY, i pick up an internet connection...and YAY! my friend, aaron, who is also here in seoul, happens to be on skype. so i chat him up...and he thinks that he lives in the same part of town as me...but he has no idea where he is exactly either, has no phone, and has no idea how he would find me (especially since i don't know where i am). RATS. and then my computer battery dies. i haven't a plug adapter to plug it into the wall. no more internet. i have my friend, smilja's phone number, but i have no local currency with which to make a call via pay phone. bah. so i did some reading and went to sleep that night.

so the next day, after a night of endless wacky dreams, i woke up, completely disoriented, at about 8:30am (according to my nonfunctioning US cell phone), which had a nearly dead battery as well. i did some yoga, took a shower, then decided to go walk around a bit, see what's in my hood. maybe, just maybe, i'll cross paths w/ aaron... but no such luck. almost nothing was open on sunday, and i had no money to purchase anything at the places that were....so back home to twiddle my thumbs. thank goodness for the former teacher living in my apartment who left a package of spaghetti noodles and a jar of prego. linner. got back to my book, even cowgirls get the blues by tom robbins, which i am LOVING........and then jet lag hits me like a ton of bricks. i was out....until god knows when. really, only god knows, because that cell phone, my only time-telling device, was dead when i awoke. criminey...how will i know when to get up in the morning for work? ...it will be fine, i'll just wake up early (hopefully), get ready and wait.

and it all worked out. my biological clock was actually spot on this morning. somehow, i knew when it was 8am, and i walked downstairs and whoosh, there was Christine, my new boss, arriving to fetch me. she felt so bad that they couldn't get in touch w/ me on sunday (because the head teacher took the other newbies shopping at costco...but somehow, they didn't know where i lived. ??? whatever). we stopped at coffee bean & tea leaf (how korean, right?) and she bought me a bagel and coffee (halleleujia for coffee). at the school, we got right to work....we were shown to our classrooms, given our lesson plans, worksheets, etc, and then came the kiddies. whoa! but they were great... i only have 6 students in my class, all 6 years old (7yrs in korean age, huh?), and they've all been at the school for a year already. i was impressed at their level of english. whew, this isn't going to be so bad. the kids are sweet and oh so cute. and we get to/have to wear house slippers at school all day (happy feet).

after school today we had to go get our health check-ups at the hospital, a requirement to get an alien card, which is necessary to open a bank account, etc. that was fun, giving up some blood and urine and what-not. i also got to exchange some money, and now i have a cell phone and a way to plug in my computer. Hey! life is good again....damn technology.

can't wait to explore the city and to start learning korean.

good morning seoul! (and my new digs!)