KOREA Day 30

Tues, May 26, 2009 at 7:30pm

There is much mourning in South Korea following the death of former President Roh Moo-Hyun. Outside my apartment building, and in the center of Sanbon, there is an alter with a large picture of the fallen president, and many people have placed flowers. Crowds have gathered here forming long lines to pay their respects. I have witnessed many people bowing, praying in front of the alter, and crying. It's crazy to see so many sad people. I cannot recall a reaction like this, in my lifetime, to the death of a U.S. president. One of my students probably said it best, when he compared this event to the tragic death of Princess Diana in England. President Roh, it seems, was truly a man of the people, and I was told, brought positive change to the Republic of Korea. His sudden death is a tragedy.

Obviously, not everyone feels as strongly about this. Some, I have learned, did not agree with the man's politics, nor his pending corruption charges. The students, however, do not seem to mind discussing the man in class or what he meant to the nation. In fact, almost all my classes Monday and Tuesday started with this discussion. Monday's announcement concerning the recent North Korean nuclear test does not appear to have any noticeable affect on the South Korean people. At least not yet. Their minds and thoughts are elsewhere.

http://inthefield.blogs.cnn.com/2009/05/28/goodbye-president-roh/

After posting the Week IV update late Sunday afternoon, I hiked to the top of Suri Mountain. It's roughly 30-45 minutes to the peak, depending on the trail and rate of speed, and it's a damn good workout. My shirt is usually well soaked and I am short of breath by the time I reach the top. So when I arrived around 7:30pm Sunday night, it was dusk and was a beautiful spring evening. There was a middle-aged Korean man at the top drinking coffee, smoking a cigarette, and enjoying the view. He spoke broken English and later introduced himself as Kook, a 52 year old technician from Sanbon. He offered me a cup of coffee from his thermos and I shared a granola bar with him. He also spoke some German, so we were able to share a few words before I exceeded my limited vocabulary. We enjoyed relaxed conversation (in English) for perhaps thirty minutes before both heading back down the mountain. During our descent, he invited me to have dinner with he and his son at a nearby restaurant. A most gracious offer, which, I accepted. Together, we feasted on samgyeopsal (Korean BBQ - thinly sliced pork similar to thick-cut bacon) and Kook and I shared three bottles of makgeolli. This, you may remember from the KOREA Day 10 Update, is the milky Korean rice wine, which tastes sweet and sort of similar to Squirt. It's actually kind of good, especially when consumed in "one shot" (Gun-ba), and toasted with new friends.

After dinner, Kook and his son invited me back to their apartment for coffee and bagels. He actually offered me more makgeolli or soju, which I declined because of early morning work. It turns out, he and his son share the spacious 15th floor penthouse apartment overlooking the mountain, and he has two adopted small dogs that he said were once homeless. After a tour of their home, I was invited upstairs to the rooftop where he maintains a beautiful garden filled with several potted plants and herbs. After listening to him identify each plant by it's English name and talk about how long he has been growing them, it was obvious he spent much time caring for these plants and they are truly his passion. Kook sort of looks like Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita) from The Karate Kid, especially when tending to his garden.

The 16th floor garden was pretty cool, and the coffee and bagels were a fine after dinner treat, but what was most amazing was the entire evening. I left my apartment at 6:30pm with every intention of taking a quick evening hike and returning to my apartment for a relaxing dinner and preparations for the coming week. Instead, I met a new friend who bought me dinner, practically poured makgeolli down my throat, and invited me back to his residence to share more stories and show me something that is most special to him. But this is not an isolated experience. My short time here has been filled with stories like this which make for good blog updates and enrich my relationships with many Korean people. I continue to be impressed.

Peace and love in Korea.

KOREA Week IV Review

Sun, May 24, 2009 at 6:00pm

This week started out well and Monday was a great day. My new immigration card arrived so I am now legal to teach in Korea and receive Korean health care benefits. Yeah! Care package #1 also arrived from the U.S. so I'm rockin' mac & cheese, instant oatmeal, and microwave popcorn in the apartment. In addition to western food items, I received a full-size bath towel to replace the smaller hand towel I had been using. A most welcome addition. Thank you Mom!

Tuesday morning my alarm did not sound, and I was ten minutes late for class. Not a big deal, but not how I like to begin my day. My alarm; I have no clue why it did this, but it seems to be working fine now. (as if I am making this up) Other classes this week went well, and I am forging good relationships with nearly all my students. In fact, I very much enjoy my classes and I often look forward to discussion with the students.

I watched my first American movie in Korea on Wednesday; Star Trek. I'm not certain if it was the overall experience, including Korean subtitles at the bottom of the screen, or the movie itself, but it was great! James and I went between morning and afternoon classes, for a price of only 7,000 Won, and snuck snacks and beverages in to the theaters. There are no previews and the seats do not recline in the theater, but at 1:15pm the theater is damn near empty. Also, Korean theaters are assigned seating when you purchase your ticket. Seriously.

I received my first Korean haircut early this week, and I'm incredibly pleased this did not turn out half as bad as I had imagined it might. Actually, it's a damn fine haircut, especially when you consider the barber and I could not communicate at all, aside from small hand gestures relating to the length and style of my haircut. James, my teaching partner at the school, mistakenly asked for the "sport cut" last week and was butchered, marine-style. This mistake, I was careful to avoid. Cost of haircut; only 5,000 Won.

James, I recently learned, volunteers some Saturdays teaching English to North Korean refugees in Seoul. I remain very impressed by this, and he provided me with a great article from the February 2009 National Geographic magazine featuring the place he volunteers and some of the refugees who managed to escape. It's a good story and makes you realize just how good we have it compared to others in this world. Check it out:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/02/north-korea/oneill-text

B.H. continues to impress me with his friendship and generosity. After class Thursday, he presented me with a book entitled "Living in Seoul; An Urban Survival Guide for English-speakers". What a great thing. I believe he is of Buddhist persuasion, thus explaining his kindness and generosity, though he denies any type of religious affiliation. The book is published by the Seoul Global Center, a one-stop resource center for foreigners in Seoul, I guess, and seems most informative.

My students failed to show for class Friday morning, so I had a solo breakfast, watched a Korean drama on the TV in the restaurant, and practiced my Korean. Breakfast was a broth based soup with vegetables and a cooked egg, side of rice, kimchi, and pickled radish. Not your typical American breakfast, but still good. I do very much miss the greasy American breakfast I love so much; coffee, eggs, hash browns, bacon, and reading the morning paper. Mostly, I miss the company these breakfasts are most memorably shared with; whether it was an afternoon breakfast with roommates/friends in Toledo, recovering after a long night with friends in Chicago, Sam's No. 3 with Jay in Denver, or casual conversation with Dad at the Monroe Street Diner. All fond memories.

After class Friday night I went to NaNa Bar with James to visit a former student of his, who bartends there. Her English name is Kay and she is attractive. Her Korean friend, Yun-a, who was also there, is very attractive. I'm not entirely sure, but I think, and hope, the four of us are making plans to hang out again soon and perhaps do dinner or something. I later ran into Alvin (Week II Review) and we headed to the Pirate Bar together. I was saddened to learn that Marcus's mother passed away earlier this week so he had to fly home to the U.S. Hopefully he will return to Sanbon in a week or so. Friday night I was forced to behave, and proudly, I made it to class on time Saturday. The four students and I had casual conversation and we also read and discussed an article from the L.A. Times on Green Tea production in Southwestern Korea. It's another good article and makes for good class material. They are a good group, ages 30-50, and seem to enjoy our time together during the three and a half hour class period.

http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-greentea13-2009may13,0,1965007.story

Saturday afternoon I connected with B.H. for udon noodle lunch and we later hiked SuriSan. Typical of most Korean mountains, SuriSan is home to 4 Buddhist temples. We hiked perhaps 2-3 miles to a most beautiful temple located on the Western side of SuriSan, and furthest from Sanbon. The temple consisted of two larger buildings for religious purposes and several small buildings. Both the larger buildings are of wooden construction and are built with a view of the Southern slope of the mountain. Inside and out, they are very ornately decorated with vivid and most detailed paintings. There was chanting monk music playing over a speaker, and inside the temple were many lit candles along with inscribed pieces of paper hanging from the ceiling. B.H. told me families can write their names on the paper, and with a small donation, suspend the paper from the rafters to help bring peace and harmony to their families. There was a couple meditating inside one of the temples, so we were able to quietly observe them without disrupting their prayer service. It was all fascinating. Regrettably, I did not bring my camera this trip, which gives me a proper reason to return soon.

Many have probably learned of the tragic news which struck South Korea Saturday. The former South Korean President, Roh Moo-Hyun, leapt to his death off a mountain cliff near his home. He and his presidency were recently tarnished with news of corruption, and it was interesting to discuss this with B.H. during the long walk back from the temple. He told me that the fallen president was first viewed, and elected because of this, as a man of the people. He was more democratic in principle, and despite the recent allegations, committed to improving the lives of poorer Koreans and restoring ties with North Korea. (Both not a bad thing in my opinion) B.H. felt that, even if guilty, the money in question was not a large sum, and that he did not have strong relations with the media, which, ultimately, led to his fall from power and loss of popularity. I think that, despite the corruption charges, B.H. liked President Roh and was disappointed by his death.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124304112887849211.html#mod=whats_news_free?mod=igoogle_wsj_gadgv1

Saturday night I met with three students from my Step 4 class for spicy chicken dinner and beers afterwards at WaWa Western Bar. It felt really good to spend time with and learn more about the students. They also provided me with honest feedback on the class, and suggestions for improving our classroom time and materials. Some have asked for my help with their writing skills, and have offered to bring in homework for me to review with them. I, in turn, have suggested we gather for coffee at Starbucks following class each week to spend more time in a relaxed setting outside the classroom. B.H.'s daughter is one of the students in this group, and we spent a good deal of time discussing her father. Apparently, he thinks very highly of me and enjoys our time together. She is a good girl, age 23, I think, and curiously, speaks English with little to no noticeable Korean accent, something, which she attributes to the large amounts of American television and movies she enjoys watching. I told her I would like to provide B.H with a gift for his generosity and asked her if she could help me with ideas for this. She, of course, told me this was not necessary, but later offered some suggestions. She also suggested I call him "hyung-nim", which is Korean for "older brother" but can also be used as an honorary title amongst friends. All in all, it was a nice night filled with good people, good food, cold beer, and great discussion. They were most appreciative for my time spent with them. In fact, they enjoyed this so much, they paid for everything and refused to allow me to contribute.

Late Saturday night, I called Alvin via Skype and we agreed to meet at the Pirate Bar for some darts. While I had every intention of making the trip to Seoul for Sunday morning hashing, this, unfortunately, did not happen again this week. In fact, my feet did not hit the floor of my apartment until well after 3pm Sunday. Bar darts at the Pirate Bar is partially to blame, though a large group of us later hit the Norae Bang at around 4am. Norae Bang is not a bar, but is actually a karaoke facility with several private rooms complete with large projection screen, U-shaped couch, tables, and a large book of music for us to peruse. Yes, after only four weeks in Korea, Ethan has visited the karaoke facility, and it was just like you can imagine. A group of 20-25 drunken Westerners singing their favorite songs from 4am-7am with little to no regard for the integrity of the performance or the song's actual lyrics. Despite this, it was an absolute blast. Oh, and I almost forgot, large, multi-colored wigs are provided for additional entertainment purposes.

I have made friends with a few of the group and I very much like them. Some are planning weekend trips to other Asian nations, and I hope to go with. We also discussed planning a camping/hiking trip somewhere in the Korean peninsula. It's all happening.

This weekend is Memorial Day in the U.S. and I truly wish I were spending it in Northern Michigan. Monday marks my four week anniversary in Korea and I'm pleased to announce I'm having a great time. The people are tremendous, the food is delicious, and the experience is most rewarding. In many ways, it's everything I imagined, and I'm delighted to be here.

KOREA Day 10

Weds, May 6, 2009 at 11:45pm

Tuesday was a great day; sunny and 80+ degrees. I slept until 11am, had breakfast (leftover doughnut from Anyang trip, cereal, green tea), visited the PC Bang, and went to the gym. After the gym, I purchased some tteokbokki (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tteokbokki) and returned to the apartment. Mid-afternoon, I decided to leave the children of Sanbon behind and venture to SuriSan Mountain for some hiking. Because of Children's Day (Korean holiday), there were mad kids everywhere in Sanbon. Seriously, it was nuts.

Now I should preface this story by adding that previously, I was told the #2 and #3 buses service SuriSan. This being said, I left my apartment with my backpack and headed toward the nearest bus stop, located across from E-Mart. After only ten minutes, the #3 bus arrived and I hopped aboard. The driver seemed friendly, smiling and not at all phased by my awkwardness with the unfamiliar bus procedures. Moments later my bus card/subway pass cleared, deducting 700 Won from my CityPass account, and I took an open seat near the driver. Now it's important to note that, at this point, I was all smiles as I prepared to leave Sanbon for my day on the mountain. Or so I thought..

Unfortunately, my smile quickly disappeared and was replaced with fear, followed by panic and a mixture of other emotions. This all started when the driver began racing through the busy streets of Sanbon, shifting gears (manual transmission), swerving in and out of traffic, bouncing over speed bumps, accelerating through red lights, and narrowly missing multiple pedestrians. I only wish I were exaggerating to make the story more enjoyable, but there is no need. Everything happened as it is told; word for word, event for event. At one point, I am almost certain he clipped the side mirror of a parked car, and knocked over a scooter, also parked on the side of the road. The best part, however, began shortly after the ride commenced, just as things started to get hairy, when "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas began playing on the bus radio. I swear, I am not making this up.

So, the panic set in soon after the song was finished and I realized after a couple turns, that we were no longer headed toward SuriSan Mountain. Yes, after only ten days in Korea, I know enough to recognize when we are headed the opposite direction from the mountain. Instead, we were now headed back toward, and soon past, E-Mart and on to the next town. Realizing there was not much I could do about the situation, I decided to sit back and enjoy the ride, as best I could given the craziness of the driving. Figuring we would eventually return to Sanbon, we drove to Busan City, made a few stops, narrowly missed hitting more pedestrians, and returned to the E-Mart only 30 minutes after the journey began. The driver seemed only slightly puzzled when I did not exit the bus and instead got off at the very same stop I entered. Because I felt satisfied with my bus experience for the day, I walked to SuriSan, which is perhaps only 1 mile or a twenty minute walk from the bus stop.

SuriSan was fantastic. It was a challenging hike, exactly what I was hoping for, and I probably did 5-6 miles, through some very steep and rocky terrain. I located a trail map online, but it's in Korean, and there is a description of the trails with some pictures. (http://www.austinbike.com/mtb/surisan/index.asp#_self)

I encountered some mountain bikers, in addition to several hikers, and a some families who, no doubt, dragged their young to the mountain for some forced exercise. No wildlife, other than the two old Korean men (age 80 years?) who took my photo at the summit, and forced me to chug a glass of fermented rice wine (makgeolli) with them. Again, no joke. Some great photos were taken at the top, and are posted. The descent was only slightly difficult, following the makgeolli, and the steepness of the hill. Half-way to the bottom, and in the middle of no where, there was a playground with free weights and outdoor aerobic equipment. Most bizarre, but there were several Korean men working out in the middle of the forest. At the bottom of the mountain, I caught the #2 bus for downtown Sanbon, and without incident, returned home around 8pm.

Wednesday, I taught two morning classes, both Free Talk English, and had a delightful lunch with Jinny (see KOREA Day 5). Went to the gym afterwards and ran four miles before class this evening, so I feel good and am ready to soon retire into a reclined position in my hospitable bed. I have finally overcome my fears and plugged the laptop in, so I am writing this from my apartment listening to music.

Life is good..

KOREA Week 1 Review

Sun, May 3, 2009 at 1:38pm

Late Friday night I was treated to a brilliant display of fireworks, in honor of Buddha's Birthday (Korean holiday) and my arrival in Korea. The fireworks were viewed with little obstruction from my apartment window, and were a real treat. After this, I ventured out for an evening stroll. The streets were alive with families enjoying street vendor food, listening to musicians performing, watching fireworks, and other celebratory happenings. Apparently, The Buddha's birthday is a really big deal here. Most cool. I have also been told that Kim Yun-a, international figure skater and Sanbon native, made a public appearance this weekend.

After this, I returned to Jack's Bar and was greeted by the fire-breathing, juggling bartender from Thursday night (he obviously remembered me), and I also met "Jack" the Korean proprietor, who kicked my ass in a game of Cricket (bar darts). I later learned he and two of his staff members are Korean champions in Cricket, and are nationally rated, after he proudly showed me a tournament poster featuring their names at the top. I met another American ESL teacher named Marcus from Mississippi. He is a shaggy haired, chain-smoking fellow, but a nice guy, and we talked for over an hour. He's been living here three months and likes it very much. He says Sanbon is much better than Seoul, where the congestion and pollution are ridiculous. His only complaint, which he talked about for a good ten minutes, was his former girlfriend who invited him to live here with him, returned to the States just 5 days after his arrival. Bummer, but he says he will remain the year.

I have spent much time walking the streets of Sanbon and now have a better understanding of my immediate surroundings. It's a really nice town. Sanbon, apparently, is a Dong (large neighborhood) composed of many areas. I live in the old city or downtown area. The streets are narrow here and it's the major commercial district (maybe 20 square blocks?). My building is located directly in the center of Sanbon, and is approximately one block from the hospital and two blocks from the subway station. Gunpo City is the larger area (Si-city), including the numerous apartment towers located to the East of downtown Sanbon, and more commonly known when describing the region. There are two subway stations servicing Gunpo City (Sanbon Station and Suri San Station), and a complex bus system. Suri San is the tall mountain located immediately to the North/West of Gunpo, and is 450 meters tall at it's peak? There are many hiking trails through the mountains fed by three trailheads. The trailheads are located near bus stops, which is served by the Gunpo City bus system via a large ring road surrounding the city. I have walked this ring road, but apparently the bus service is only 600 Won or roughly $0.60 one-way. This service will help make getting around Gunpo, including mountain hiking trips to Suri San Mountain, far more frequent for Ethan.

When touring the streets of Sanbon, I have noticed some interesting observations about Korean metropolitan centers, or at least Sanbon. First of all, the buildings are perhaps 6-10 stories tall on average, but unlike in the U.S., they are filled with retail stores on every floor (such as Jack's Bar, which is located on the eighth floor of a neighboring building). When walking the streets and alleys, one must always look up to read the signs identifying the tenants and floor number of the business. It hurts your neck after a while of practicing this. As an example, other tenants in my building include: a large bookstore in the basement, sunglass shop and restaurant on street level, PC Bang and billiards hall on the third floor, wellness spa on the fifth floor, children's playland on the 6th floor, and countless restaurants and bars located throughout the building. I'm not entirely sure of this, but I suspect I am the only resident of the building. Another major difference is the main entrance to every building and elevator lobby are not clearly identified. In fact, they are not identified at all, so you really have to look hard to locate. Most buildings also feature a parking garage in the basement level 2, in which cars enter/exit via a small car elevator.

Saturday I slept until 11am, had breakfast, and visited the PC Bang or computer cafe. PC Bangs are large computer rooms with loud Korean music, and mostly filled with young adults playing interactive computer games. Cost is very cheap; I paid 2,000 Won ($2.00 USD) for an hour and a half worth of internet time yesterday. No video games for me. Last week, I purchased a power converter from 110V American service to 240V Korean service, but am frightened to use this. Cost was only 30,000 Won at a local electronics store, but I do not want to risk frying my laptop. So, until I overcome this fear, I remain without music in my apartment, and I am kickin' it at the PC Bang with the Korean kids.

I met my new friend, and student, B.H. at 3pm Saturday for screen golf. It's a small indoor facility on the third floor of a commercial building located closer to the mountain and apartment towers. Apparently, he lives nearby, and his health club is located on the second floor of this facility. I was provided the largest golf shoes they have in stock and a glove to use. We then loaded the computer and practiced for roughly thirty minutes. I imagine the Golfzon system we played is just like a golf simulator at a golf clinic. I learned how to place the ball so the sensor registers it, and the importance of properly following through on your swing so the sensor records it accurately. (Note: it's a very sensitive machine and the computer will place your ball way off the grid if not performed well). After thirty minutes of warm up, we loaded an 18 hole course and began playing. Despite a magnificent 20 meter chip shot on the 6th hole and a fine 10 meter put on the 7th hole, I was a modest 20 over after 9 holes. My host was a strong +6. For those of you familiar with my golf game, this comes as no surprise. I will spare the bloody details of what happened over the last 9 holes, but the second half of the game was played at roughly the same pace as the first 9 holes. I was, unfortunately, not the Tiger Woods my host was hoping for. Either way, we had a good time and enjoyed pleasant conversation together.

After golf, I was treated to another fine Korean meal followed by doughnuts and green tea latte at Dunkin Doughnuts. This meal was perhaps the spiciest I have experienced during my short time here. Like a traditional Korean BBQ with the gas grill located at the center of the table, a dish with beef spare ribs was served in a pot filled with onions and a bubbling, fiery red pepper sauce. Most hot! Several pickled vegetables accompanied this in side dishes, along with rice soup in a clear broth. The rice soup was very bland compared with the main entree, but the pickled vegetables served as a nice palate cleanser, and short-term relief from the heat of the peppers. My most embarrassing moment to date was when I placed what I thought was a pickled root vegetable in my mouth, only to realize it was some type of shellfish, perhaps a small crab, and had to politely excuse myself (with a full mouth) to dispose of this mistake. My host was pleasantly entertained by this display of awkwardness, and assured me not to feel bad. Once again, there was far more food on the table than two of use could realistically consume, and we left much behind.

After only one week, I am making progress and learning new Korean words each day. I really hope to learn the Korean alphabet (Hangul) this week, which will help me read Korean and properly pronounce words, despite the fact I may have no clue what the words mean. Obviously, this is probably the best way to effectively learn the language, though I have been complimented on my efforts thus far.

Annyonghi Kyeseyo!