Constitution Day

Today was constitution day so we had a day off. Really we couldn't think of anything more enjoyable than putting on some creepy clothes and putting the ol' bike gang into action. There is a group of us from work who just bought bikes and we like to think of ourselves as a gang of sorts. Today we went on an exploratoy adventure of Seoul. This city is reallly awesome because the entire thing is connected by bike paths. Today we headed North and stoppped off at the climbing wall at the partk and did some barefoot bouldering. It did not work so well for me, but it was fun non the less. From there we continued on our way unril we found a different park to ride around, and this one had deer in it. It was a little strange to see deer in the city I must admit. Today made the city seem a whole lot smaller and it is really nice to know that there are endless biking possibilities.

Weird food...

Its strange how after you have been away from home for long enough eating weird food just becomes normal. I remember a distict moment in China when I was offered a fried worm, and without the slightest thought I grabbed one and popped it in my mouth. At that moment I knew I had changed a little bit since leaving home. Food is such a fascinating aspect of traveling and not sampling what seems weird would be a shame.
Saturday at our Korean language/cooking class we prepared these beautiful sesame leaf wraps...chalked full of fish eggs rice and different sauces. I had never eaten fish eggs before, but theres a first time for everything. I can't say they were my favorite, I didn't like the texture and how you could feel them breaking as you chewed. They looked very pretty though.
That night we went and had a drink in the jazz bar in our building. In Korea when you go out and have drinks you always get a little plate of munchy foods, and in this bar you get dog jerky, yep dog jerky. The first time we went there we asked what it was and the bartender said "dog, ruff ruff, very delicious" It is actually really good, tastes a lot like beef jerky. I finally brought a camera to document me eating dog (knowingly anyways, I am pretty sure dog was one of those mystery meats in China). So on Saturday I ate fish eggs and dog. It's weird to think that I used to be a really picky eater, I would have starved in Asia.
I changed the settings on my blog so now anyone can leave comments, my mom told me that poeple were unable to.

Today was a wonderful day (other than the fact that I was at work for 12 hours) because I bought a bike. It is called "The Typhoon" and says "blow away the fear" on it...sounds serious huh? I am so excited to have a bike, I have been missing mine a lot lately. Rachel and I found an outdoor climbing wall that we can bike to in 4 miles via the bike paths by our apartment as opposed to a 45 minute subway ride. Pictured above are all my latest purchases after my last paycheck...yes that is a tennis raquet. I am playing tomorrow after not really having picked up a raquet since highschool...should be interesting. Also me smashing the cake rachel got as a gift on my friend Mark.
In other news, Rachel, Mark and I decided to try and do a 1 week detox and cleanse to flush the old system. This consisted of eating only certain foods, no coffee, no alcohol ect. Basically it made us all feel like crap so we deemed it a bad idea on day 3, abandoned the plan and celebrated with a huge homecooked meal and a few bottles of wine, it was fantastic. I think I may really be a coffee addict...but what are you gonno do?

I am about half way there, almost 9 months under the belt and about 9 to go...wow it has been a long time. I have been in Korea for about three months and have started getting into the swing of things and really love it here. The other day I was walking to school and thinking, "man teaching English in Korea is a little bit like being back at university". Really it is, I am in a small community of people about my same age in a new place, I got the climbing forum to meet outdoorsy people. All my housing is taken care of, and everything I need is in my building including a gym. I have close to no responsabilities outside of work, and I go to bed really late. One of the most striking similarities I have noticed is that I always have money in my bank account, just like it magically used to appear when I was in college. Unfortunately that disappreared when I entered the "real world". Then I got to thinking that it has been quite a long time since I have been in the real world, and it will have been even longer in nine months when I have to go back to it. I am a bit freaked out about the whole transition already, especially since I am not too sure what I am going to do once back in the actual real world. I want to go to grad school but the timing is looking anything but impeckable at the moment. I would love to do some biking and climbing and hiking, but am reminded it's harder to avoid the real world in the US where things are expensive and you need to have some degree of responsability. So to 9 more months of avoiding the real world! Like my good friend Ian always said, "graduating in 4 years is like leaving the party at 10". Well, if you teach English in Korea you can still be partying at noon the next day...
These are just some random pictures from around the city. It is rainy season now though, so it hasn't looked like that in awhile.

This is Rain (or Bee in Korean). He is a famous pop singer from Korea who is quite famous all over Asia, even people in Cambodia were telling us about Rain. Stephen Colbert did a great piece about him on his show and it made me laugh a lot. I thought I would pass it along to you all thinking it may provide a little entertainment and insight into my life in Korea. So here's the link check it out if you have time and nothing better to do. Kieth and Mel I think you guys will really appreciate this...

http://quarterlifeparty.blogspot.com/2007/06/stephen-colbert-rain-parady.html

Some of favorite things in Korea....
Sometimes I feel as though I have been away from home for so long that life in Asia feels normal. I am not sure I remember what it is like to live in the States; be able to understand all the signs, understand what everyone around you is saying, and go to the grocery store and know what things are. However, whenever I start to get this feeling I see something strange, bizzare, or just downright illogical and am reminded that I have to be away from home a lot longer for some things to really be normal.

Ok first off, picture number 1 (sorry it would not rotate, not sure why). Walking to work the other day I noticed that all of the trees had IVs hanging from them. I am not really sure what the purpose of them is, but apparently all trees in Korea have full health insurance coverage...meanwhile back home most of my friends particpate in hazardous activites with no health insurance. If only we could all be a tree in Korea and not have to worry about healthcare.

Second picture: This is a fish truck comes out every night and parks about a block from my apartment. Unlike the trees in Korea, the fish don't have it so well. When someone orders some fishies, the man reaches into the fish tank that makes up the back of his pickup truck. He pulls out a handful of unfortunate victims and with scissors decapitates them right there. Thats right he uses scissors to cut off the heads of these live fish, and I get the joy of witnessing it every night when I walk home from work. I am not sure why it is only out at night, but apparently if you want decapitiated fish, that is the time to buy them.

Lastly, Koreans like to buy new things and throw their perfectly good old things away. They skip the whole Goodwill/second hand store step and put things directly in the garbage. I mentioned earlier about finding orchids in the garbage; throwing perfectly good things away is a totally normal thing to do, and I am a fan of it because I get to aquire lots of good free stuff . Outside of our friends apartment is a dump of sorts where people throw away the stuff they don't want anymore....and you can always find nice furniture there...like this chair in the picture (which I am currently sitting on). Unliike throwing things away, picking them out of the garbage, like we do, does not seem to be as socially acceptable...and even less so if you take your loot home in a taxi. Oh well, at least I am reminded that I have not become totally Asianised...even if I have started to dress like it.

I have a Korean"mom"

One day I was at the gym, sitting in the sauna, minding my own buisness (because its filled with Korean housewives laughing a joking and I don't understand anything they say). A woman sitting next to me asked me where I was from and we got to talking. Sun Hi is now one of my favorite people, she feels like a mom to Rachel and I. She teaches us Korean every Tuesday, and then shows us how to cook a Korean meal. We invited her and her friend Mrs. Im over for cake to celebrate Rachel's birthday. Since I do not ave very much silverwear or many plates I ate my cake off a tupperwear top with chopsticks. Ghetto fabulous I know. Have you ever tried to eat cake with chopsticks? The key is to cube it first I think....

It is not OK to stick your finger up my butthole!!!!

It is a new term at EG school and all of my classes have been changed. My last schedule was about as good as it gets, my youngest kids were 2nd graders and they were about the most perfect class of 12 kids you could ask for. Oh how I miss that class. They were all so smart and well behaved, but at the same time bursting with fantastic personalities. This term they have decided that since I am a woman, I should teach the very little kids (because that's what moms want). Those of you who know me well can imagine how this went over with me, minor panic and a decent sized freak out. They refused to change my schedule, so I go to class everyday not really sure what to do with all of these 6-7 year olds who are on crazy pills. The problem is that they go to school all day (and in Korean school they do not get recess like in the States) and then come to English school for almost 3 hours...yeah right, that goes over real well. I turn around for 5 seconds and all of the following are happening: Andy is licking someone or something, at least 4 kids are out of their seats doing something ridiculous, Soobin and Heidi are standing on their chairs and Tim has rolled his word list up and is using it at a telescope, and at least one kid is trying to poke me in the butthole...yes you read that correctly. In Korea it is a very popular children's game to try and stick your finger up people's butts. It is quite unfortunate when you are trying to teach kids the parts of a plant and instead you get violated by a grubby little hand. So, how you control little kids who just need to play, and explain to them in limited English why it is not OK to stick their finger up your butt I am yet to figure out. In the meantime I will do my best to maintian my sanity.
The pictures above are of some of my great kiddos from last term
Also a comic rach found in Japan...apparently they play the game there also....

A little bit of Northwest love!!!

My love for the Northwest seems to be shared by many Asian people (or maybe they just like things written in English and don't know what they mean...more probable) . All throughout my trip I have come across random Northwest things. These are just a few of the ones that I actually stopped to take pictures of.
1. An Oregon t-shirt in China
2. A University of Oregon sticker in Thailand
3. A Mt. Rainier brand Latte in Japan

Ways You Die in Korea

A foreigner in Korea has a lot of research to do because there are a lot of ways one can die in Korea that are unheard of in the rest of the world. To insure staying alive in the small country of Korea you need to be up to date on the following: fan death, flower death, and red pen death.

Apparently in Korea, your fan can turn into a killing machine under the right circumstances. Fan death occurs when one closes all the windows and doors and falls asleep with the fan running. This is not a joke, it really happens according to Koreans. I have heard it’s even on the news so it must be true, right?. I am not sure what it is about sleeping in an enclosed area with a fan on that kills you…it just does. I have heard a few explanations, but am not sure how plausible they seem (the fan breaks up the oxygen molecules and you suffocate) and have resorted to “it just kills you”.

Not only are the fans dangerous, you have to watch out for those flowers also… that’s right, flower death. In Korea photosynthesis works a little different, kind of like reverse photosynthesis. Unlike the rest of the world, plants here take in O2 and release CO2. This is where flower death comes in: if you have too many plants in your apartment they will suffocate you. This makes me want to put my Orchids back in the garbage closet where I found them (that’s probably why they were there in the first place). I am pretty attached to my plants though, so I have just been opening my windows every now and then to let some oxygen in.

Red pen is pretty dangerous as well. If you write someone’s name in red pen it is like a death sentence. I actually made the mistake of doing this and the paper with my e-mail address on it was promptly taken away and torn up to save me… I re-wrote it in blue. I did recently notice that on my list of people to e-mail, a few of your names are written in red…sorry, hopefully it doesn’t work unless you are in Korea.

So next time you see a fan, a flower or a red pen and assume they are harmless objects think again. They kill people in Korea all the time. It’s funny, one would think that the massive cloud of smog and pollution, or the excessive Soju drinking would contribute to killing Koreans…but I guess that is just crazy talk.

Last September, almost 9 months ago, I quit my job, sold my car and bought a one-way ticket to Asia. Not long before, my plan had been to buy a house in Corvallis, go back to grad school and start a teaching career. How I have ended up here I am still not really sure. It may have been one of those moments of clarity where I knew it was one of those things I was “supposed to do”, or it may have been a decision based on a random yearning for adventure.

Whatever the reason, here I am in Korea after many months of travel. In the past six months I have seen mountains and oceans, villages and cities, the rich and the poor, lakes and rivers, Buddhist temples and Christian churches. I have experienced moments of peace and of panic, times of understanding and times of utter confusion. I have felt warmth and kindness from most people along with coldness and negativity from others. I have met amazing people who have taught me so much and will remain in my heart forever.

Coming to Asia was hard for me. I have always traveled in Latin America where I speak the language and have a familiarity and deep love for the culture. I suppose that is why this trip has seemed so special to me, I have been forced out of my comfort zone a bit which has caused a lot of self-growth. The path through Asia has opened my eyes and mind to so many new things it is incredible. So I guess its not “why” I am here that is important. The why becomes a part of the process of just being and taking in all that I have experienced.

CRAZY CLIMBERS!

Yesterday Rach and I ended up at a climbing gym trying to get out weak asses back into climbing shape. It was really great except for the screaming children there for climbing class. I spend all week listening to screaming children (Korean kids have the whine of all whines) and it's the last thing I want to hear on the weekends). After climbing we stopped at a gear shop because Rachel needed something. Some guy came out and sold it to us and then invited us in for fresh (meaning not instant) coffee. There were a bunch of climbers hanging out. It turns out that the guy who helped us does not even own the shop. He owns a big guiding company and climbs all over the world. He has even been to Smith! Him and his friend had just finished a day of climbing. They informed us that it is Korean climbing culture to have a drink after climbing...isn't that climbing culture everywhere? Anyways he invited us along to have a beer at a little climber restaurant. It was really entertaining, these guys were hilarious...and they knew everyone. They were drinking a shot glass of Soju (a Korean wine-like beverage) dropped in beer, known as Pok Tan Ju. We asked if this was a common drink in Korea and were informed that only "crazy climbers" drink it. They ordered lots of food and so we tried lots of random stuff. We also learned that in Korean culture, if you go out, the oldest man always pays. So it was kind of the running joke of the night, "don't worry about it, the old guy pays". It was funny because they kept telling us that climbers everwhere have the same mentality...and I would have to agee with them (for the most part). So that was my Saturday night: hanging out with middle aged "crazy climbers" and it was oh so entertaining. They reminded me of the Korean versions of many of my friends in 20 years...
Oh and the pictures:
1.This crack in the gym is made with real granite...its pretty sweet.
2. not really sure what this thing is, a stair stepper and some hangboards, what do you suppose you are supposed to do?
3. Me with a grin on my face and a burrito in my hand

Today is Budda's birthday, he is 2551 years old today. That is why it is year 2051 in many Asian countries instead of 2007. (its funny when you make realizations like that; things you feel like you should have understood a long time before...) Anyways last Sunday was the lantern fesival here in Seoul to celebrate Budda's ripe old age. There were massive amounts of people (I higher density of white people than I have seen in ages) participating in the festivities. We did not get there until late so it was pretty hard to see the actual parade, especially for a short person like myself. I just thought I woud post some lantern pictures because they are pretty.

A couple of weeks ago I found myself sitting at my desk inhaling toxic fumes and trying to grade papers to the sound of construction. I thought to myself, “is this for real?”
The day before, during our Tuesday meeting, Mr. Kim mentioned to us that the school, primarily the teacher’s office was about to be remodeled. He explained what the remodel was going to entail; the teacher’s office would lose about 3 feet of space, (we already were squished into a cubiclesque setting mind you) and they planned to replace the wall with glass. We asked why this was all necessary and the reply was, it will look nicer. So the next day the construction began. They removed all the computers (which is where all the materials for classes come from) except for one. They took out our copiers and placed one in the lobby for us to use. Now picture 15 teachers trying to prep their classes in this situation…all you can do is laugh and ask yourself "is this for real?”
It may seem that a lack of planning went into this whole extravaganza, and you are probably right. I have realized something living and working in Korea; critical thinking is not a skill they use very often. Don’t get me wrong here, I am not insulting their intelligence in any way, shape, or form, they are extremely intelligent, diligent people. They are just not taught how to use critical thinking in school. From what I can tell, kids want to know a black and white answer to everything… which explains the huge wordlists that they memorize for the test, oftentimes not grasping the real meaning of the words. School here seems to be about tests and answers not about using information to assess different situations. If I took as many tests as these kids do, I would probably just want a quick yes or no answer also. I did a survey in one of my classes and many of my students take up to 17 tests a week, and these are 8 year olds.
So as I am sitting, trying not to get frustrated that I cannot hear myself think, and knowing that getting out of my desk requires squeezing through an isle of displaced teachers I ask myself “all this so it looks better, who’s idea was this again?” Then I am reminded that I am in a different country, where ideas have been molded in a different way, through a different education system. What seems irrational to me makes sense in their minds. I cannot say that my way of assessing information is necessarily better than theirs, because things always seem to work out and get done in a roundabout fashion here. It may not be through the process I would take but, it does get the job done. All I can do is sit back and think “is this for real”.

Out and about...

This weekend Rachel and I went hiking with a Korean guy we work with. There is a beautiful national park right outside fo Seoul. They are not kidding when they say that hiking is the Korean national pastime. I could not believe how many people were out. It was actually a real hike, about 6 hours and a lot of scrambling around on rocks. (It was awesome to see old Korean woman tackeling it).The granite peaks were incredible. I cannot imagine how amazing this area must have been before te ginormous city took over. Sunday was not the best day to go though, because it was a mad house. It is scary enough to be scrambing on a cliff without a ton of other people doing the same. It was really great to get out of the city though.

Sports Day!!!!

May 5th in Korea is not Cinco de Mayo, it is Childen's day. On children's day the kids get gifts, and have field day at school. For EG English teachers it meant sports day. Picture a bunch of grown adults on a field trip. We rode on a bus and had roll call, our destination: the park. Sports day involves a lot of free beer and 4 different sporting events; soccor, basketball, kickball (or foot baseball as the Koreans say) and a relay race. The way it works is we are all divided into teams, and if you are not on Mr. Jung's team, (the big boss) you know you are going to lose. Team b, which was my team, had the unfortunate luck of playing Mr. Jung's team 1st round in every event. The rule is that his team doesn't lose...so rules change as you go, fouls are not called and if necessary the game goes on until the big man wins. The only event we won was the relay race (because you can't cheat to win that one). It was not enough to pull us out of big fat loser status though. Our prize for last place was a bottle of baking soda. There are almost no ovens in Korea and we won baking soda. 1st places prize was a blow dryer...which is really hilarious considering that 85% of the teachers at our school are male. 3rd place received a 4 pack of toothpaste. All in all it was a good time, even if I was a loser. I have no problem with getting paid to play sports and drink beer all day.

I may not have taught her the best English, but at least Betty likes me....
Sometimes I wonder how I am teaching English. the other day for example I had a lesson about commas. Now as you all have probobly noticed, comma placement is not my strong suit. As my mom once put it, "you just kinda randomly disperse commas throughout your writing". I am sure I ruined those kids in teh comma department...woops.

Things are great over here in Korea. I am finally over the shock of living in a ginormous city, and starting to enjoy it. City life is wacky. I can go to the gym, get a latte, buy some groceries for breakfast, and get on the subway to work all without leaving my buiding. I was hoping to get out of the city this weekend, but it is a holiday weekend (children's day) and it looks like transportation is booked and the forecast calls for rain.

My apartment with the view of the sewage traetment plant...sweet

Is That for real???
Sometimes in Asia you find a pot with seven orchids in the garbage closet. I am not really sure who thinks it is Ok to throw away beautiful blooming orchids, (I would value them at over $200 in the States) but there they were in the garbage closet. Is that for real??? Even though I don’t have the best track record with plants (I definitely killed the Bonsai plant my sister gave me and multiple others) I decided to take them to my apartment. There was no way I was going to watch them get thrown away, first I’ll torture them with my bad plant care skills. No I am really going to try and not murder them and keep them out of the garbage closet…I’ll keep you posted on how that goes. Meanwhile I am really hoping that there is no cultural misunderstanding occurring, such as Korean people sometimes store their orchids in the garbage closet, and I just stole them. I am betting that stealing someone’s orchids sends really bad karma your way…which is the last thing I need right now. So next time you see orchids in the plant nursery think to yourself: “In Korea people think it is OK to throw 7 of those away, is that for real?”

The "Is that for real?" column is born

So oftentimes in Asia I notice random things happening and think to myself "Is that for real?" So I have decided start a column on my blog entitled "Is that for real" to share these moments of confusion, bewilderment and/or awe with you.

Article 1: Korean men carry purses

For some reason men in Korea carry around purses. When I say purses I don't mean the cool looking sachels you see in other parts of Asia and Latin America, but regular women's purses. It is quite commom to see a full grown man with a stylish black leather purse with silver buckles slung around his arm. For awhile I just thought Korean men were real gentlemen, carrying their girlfriends purses. After awhile I began to notice that many of these purse carrying men are not accompanied by a woman and the ones that are, have a lady friend that is carrying her own purse. I guess a bag is a bag and we all have stuff to carry around the city, but seeeing so many men sporting stylish purses made me say "Is this for real?"