Saturday walk about

Last Weekend I decided to explore around Camp Walker and Camp Henry. These are two U.S. Army bases in Daegu. Henry is further out, but within walking distance. It took me probably 30 minutes to walk. I got off at the subway close to Camp Walker, then turned right and kept walking and following the signs to Camp Henry. I had only been there once before, and that was in a taxi. I was following the road signs along and finally did see Camp Henry. I was looking for any western stores or restaurants but to no avail. I saw a sign for a temple about 50 meters. I walked down and there was a tour group at the temple. I took some pictures. I thought ahead this time and brought a granola bar and bottle of water. I turned back and decided to follow the wall of Camp Henry and hoped it would take me back to Camp Walker, I was way off course. I walked through a market of sorts. Hajumas were selling produce on the sidewalk and there were more stores behind selling everything from winter coats to trinkets. I finally came upon a flea market. There were tents set up selling clothes, coats, shoes, mostly for women of course. I walked the length of it and window shopped as it were. I noticed two Korean girls were selling hot dogs, but these were not big sellers. I decided to try some Korean food. This food was dough that was soaked or cooked in fish juice and skewered. There were three of them, and I managed to eat one and half. As I was eating the “Community Chief” introduced himself. He asked me how the food was. He spoke in English, which is surprising. But, even more aggravating I think is that I said hello in Korean and he spoke in English.

Daejeon and Seoul weekend

Daejeon and Seoul weekend
Saturday morning I took the KTX up to Daejeon to meet up with some friends before heading to Seoul to see “Nanta.” I arrived in Daejeon a little early, so I decided to walk about downtown. It was really cold and windy, which made it even worse. I was surprised to see I still about 7,000W left on my Daejeon bus card. I always find it interesting that no one ever gives me a flier, only Koreans. In busy areas of town, people stand in the street or sidewalk and hand out advertisements for restaurants or what not. I rarely get one. I can’t read it because it’s in Korean. I had lunch at New York Hot Dog and Coffee. Unusual name I know, but the dog was tasty. I wanted to stay inside and out of the weather, so I went in a coffee shop. I had a large blueberry smoothie. That is the first for me. I’ve had peach and mango, but never blueberry. It was strong and pungent. I used the Internet as they had wi-fi. So I used my ipod touch to check some stuff. I saw some foreigners in there, I suppose they congregate in those types of places.

I decided to head back to the train station. I was on time, but the other folks I was to meet came just minutes before the train left. Kristine came straight from work. While I was waiting at the track, two foreigners came up to me and asked me “you’re a teacher right?” How’d you guess? One girl asked me if there is good shopping near the bases in Daegu. Shopping, um not that I know of. Apparently she did not want to hear this. Shortly, the entourage arrived and we boarded the train. We had “family seating,” which means two seats face two seats with a fold up table in the middle. It is cheaper but you have to buy ahead of time as they fill fast. Kristine, Donald, and Kimmie had some food from Lotteria. I started reading a new book “Time For the Stars.” It is interesting, it features telepathic twins. It kind of reminds of Star Trek with Counselor Troy. We read and shuffled cards just pass the time. I taught them to play Rummy. The train takes only an hour or so from Daejeon to Seoul. We went to the subway station and I had to add more money on my T Money card. This is the bus/subway card that Seoul uses.

First, we were going towards the hotel that the rest of the group was staying at. So, we took the subway close enough for them to take a taxi to the hotel. Gia and I were going to meet them at the theater. So, we got back on the subway and got off at the stop closest to the theater. For the next thirty minutes or so we asked several people directions and walked all around, but to no avail. Finally, we ask a policeman. Lo and behold he knew where to go. It was completely the opposite direction. We were supposed to get out at exit 6, not exit 5 which we took. I wrote down directions from exit 6. It said go straight for 50 meters and turn left at the Teenie Weenie store. We walked down this really crowded street full of street vendors and people walking about. We thought we’d get there before the other folks, but were we wrong. We met them at the door and we hurried inside to get our seats. We got there just a few minutes before it started. The show was a mix of banging sticks on the tables and juggling and a little cooking for good measure. They called me up on stage. So, I go up and they give me a bowl of soup. It was a cream corn soup. It was super creamy. They put on this little hat, like a birthday hat. After the show we met two guys at the subway station then went to eat. We had golbi at a restaurant. It was quite tasty, succulent. We had the traditional Korean side dishes with kimchi, noodles, soup, mashed potatoes, and what not.

After dinner we went for coffee at a place down the street. Coffee houses here can be three stories high. We chatted awhile enjoying being out of the cold. The rest of the people had a place to stay, either a hotel or with a friend. So, the folks were nice enough to help me look for a motel to stay at. We found a guest house in a back alley. It was really nice inside and for 40,000W it was a good deal. A guest house is a building that has several bedrooms run by someone that lives there. The lady made breakfast for us in the morning. It was a little odd in that all the people who stayed ate breakfast together around the table. We exchanged names and where we lived. We had toast. It consists of shredded cabbage, sauce, and toasted bread. It was a little too spicy for me. The lady kept saying it is tomato sauce, ketchup, but I don’t buy it. I said no it has peppers. I left the guest house after she zipped my coat all the way up. She reminded me to wash my hands because influenza is in Korea. I walked towards the subway and followed the wall map to Itaewon. We were meeting some people there for lunch Sunday. I started walking about, but it was too cold and windy. I took some pictures, but finally settled on Starbucks. I got a apple cranberry muffin and a hot chocolate. After reading a bit, I walked down the street and found some little shops that sold souvenirs. I got some postcards and other random oddities. I received a text to meet with the group at the subway in a few minutes, so I started walking that way. We went on some side streets and went in an Irish pub. I had Shepherd’s Pie which is tasty, but I don’t think mozzarella is traditional.

Family visit

Ok, my brother Lee and dad came to visit last week. It was a whirlwind trip that lasted a week. They flew in to Incheon on Sunday afternoon then took the KTX fast train down to Daegu and I met them at the train station. I had only took the bus 937 one other time to scout out the way, apparently I should’ve taken it more because I got off at the wrong stop. So, we had a good long walk through campus, but we finally came to my apartment. Lee and dad looked rather tired and worn out, and we hadn’t done anything yet. They crashed at my apartment for a few minutes until they started saying they were hungry. So, I thought we’d go to a restaurant across the street from the main gate at my university. This place has marinated pork (golbi) along with five or more little side dishes and kimchi of course. This was their first time to use metal chopsticks. Lee did ok, but dad asked for a fork. After dinner, Lee and dad were tired and wanted to crash, so they came back to my place and got their bags then checked into a motel. Monday they went to Seumon Market, which is the largest traditional market in Daegu. They spent the whole afternoon at the market, just perusing the various food stalls and linen merchants. I met up with them downtown after work. Downtown is pretty big, so we just walked about for a while. We ate supper at Gorilla Burger. This place had pictures of famous celebrities on the wall, including Mother Teresa, Bruce Lee, and Obama. Then, we went to play Billa bowl. This is a combination of pool and bowling. We came back to my apartment for a respite. Then dad and Lee wanted to sleep on my bed, all three of us. I told them I don’t think we can all fit, but dad kept insisting. But, eventually I convinced them my bed was too small and to go back to the motel. The next day Lee and dad went to Gyeongju, which is the birthplace of Korean culture and kings. I have never been to this city, but I hear Korean revere it. It has kings tombs, museums, and other exhibits of early Korean life. So, I will let dad and brother tell the goings on. They had a time getting back to Daegu and to my school as they didn’t get off at the right bus stop. So, we finally left for the train station at around 7pm to head to Busan. We took the KTX which took about 50 minutes. My co-worker gave me a tourist map of the city with a few things marked. I wanted to check out Vesta Spa, which is a junjubang. This is similar to a bath house, but you can also stay the night. So, the three of took a taxi to Vesta, but the it was dark inside, but our driver knew of another one nearby. We went inside and well we had “cultural confusion.” We were supposed to take our shoes off before proceeding, remember this for later episodes. So, the man comes down off his perch and yells at us to take our shoes off. The man takes my shoes and puts them in a little locker and Lee follows suit. Then we go up to the counter to see how much it is and all, it turns out there is one price for a bath and another to spend the night. She said they don’t have vacancies to spend the night, but then they did or something like that. It turned out there were no rooms left, which meant we would sleep on the floor. But, after we paid we all decided we were hungry and wanted to walk down to McDonald’s. So, we had to get the key back to get our shoes. The workers were a little befuddled about what we were doing.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyeongju

After sliding down to McDonald’s we went back to the bath house for the night. I didn’t take pictures of it well because there was naked guys walking around. You put your bag in the locker and then go take a bath. Either you can get in one of two hot tubs or the sauna, or take a stand up shower. The soap and shampoo is provided. After we had our fill of the hot tub, we put on the ‘bed clothes’ they gave us and walked over the bridge that went over the road to the room where we sleep. There were no vacancies for rooms, but we could sleep on the floor. Dad and Lee slept on these reclining massage chairs and I had the floor. I used a few mats, so it wasn’t too bad but definitely not comfortable.

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Ok, skip to today. I had a fever and sneezing fits last weekend. It could’ve had something to do with my apartment freezing, but not to worry it is nice and toasty now. An exchange student from Oklahoma Univ. went to Home Plus and got some Campbell’s Soup Chicken Noodle and Cream of Potato. That’s the first I’ve seen of chicken noodle here. They are crazy about New England Clam Chowder and mushroom soup for some reason. I am giving writing tests in two weeks, then week after is final exams. This semester is really flying by. I have a 2 ½ week break over Christmas before starting the January semester, it’s like Maymester but in January. I went out to Papa Johns with Ben and Ava (OU). I had a coupon for buy a large and get two free salad bars. Their banana pudding is like what North Greenville used to make. Mayo does not belong with bananas. There was several noodle casseroles, tuna, and other random meat in there. We got a pitcher of Coke Zero, that stuff tastes like Diet but without the saccharine. It’s worse than Pepsi One, which according to the radio tastes like lizard spit. I got up at around 7:30 and turned on the clemson game on the radio waiting for it to start. I tried to find it online to watch, but to no avail. Although I finally found it at the end of the 1st quarter. I only had a few minutes to watch before I had to leave for Korean lessons. Thankfully, our coffee shop had wireless, well sometimes. So, I checked the score and Clemson came back and won. Rob is going home in 2 weeks for 2 months then returning to teach at a univ. in Gumi. So, we are going to eat and hangout at Outback this Saturday. Rob lives in Chilgok, it’s where I used to live. Pete, who is stationed at an Army base in Daegu, his father preached in service. He said he is the ‘ruling elder’ at his church, whatever that means. Church is having a thanksgiving lunch the Sunday before thanksgiving. I was going to lunch with Rob and we took the stairs and heard some commotion in the next room. So, I looked in and guys were playing ping pong and invited us to join. So, we played doubles for a while. That was a lot of fun, and it turned out they are there every Sunday playing. Where have I been that I’ve missed it? When I got home I had a message from an acquaintance of an acquaintance to go to a live show in Seoul on Saturday. After talking it over with some friends, I decided to go spend some time with her and go to Seoul. The show is called 'Nanta.'

http://nanta.i-pmc.co.kr/

Weekend in Daejeon

Last weekend I visited a friend, well more of an aquiantance perhaps. My mom works with her mom, so figure it out. I took the ktx train (the fast train) to Daejeon which is 50 minutes. Jennifer met me at the train station and we proceeded to get on the subway en route to meet up with a couple of her friends for supper. One friend was a Korean Canadian and the other a Chinese American, their parents are Korean and Chinese respectfuly. And come to find out neither know a great deal of their parents native language. We decided to dine at an Indian restaurant. We were still waiting on a friend who was kept after at her hagwon. So, we ordered four different types of curry, and yes dad it was very good. It wasn’t too spicy or have usual flavors, but maybe food in India is different. So, we had nan bread (Indian bread), which is like a flat bread. So, after Kristine came, we left and went on a walkabout just talking and trying to decide what else to do that night. We decided to get some ice cream at Baskin Robins, which was a nice respite.

Oh, and I’ve never seen advertising like this before, but there were flyers taped to the road everwhere. The road was covered with flyers. We went to a DVD room downtown. They had many DVD’s on shelves on the back wall. As usual we can’t make a decision, luckily we had 20 minutes to ponder. We eventually chose “Yes Man,” with Jim Carrey. I first saw this movie on the plane coming to Korea. He goes to a Korean class in the movie, so we had a good laugh from that. By this time it was after 1am, so we were looking for a motel so I could spend the night. But, the only one we found did not have any vacancies, so I slept on the couch at a friends apartment. So, the roomate came strolling in at about 8am the next morning. So, the next morning I walked about the area and met up with Jenny and Kristine to have lunch and what not. We settled on a chicken golbi place. The server handed out aprons for us to wear while eating. Maybe we look like sloppy eaters, who knew? Then we went towards downtown. Jennifer knew of a “fish doctor,” which sounded intriguing. This is basically where you take your shoes off and put them in a pool and let little fish bite the dead skin off your feet. Let me tell you, it didn’t hurt so much as it tickled.

Then we went to a not 3D but 4D motion ride, like the ones in Disney World complete with the 4D glasses. For supper we dined at an Italian restaurant and we ordered the family dish. This had a salad, pizza, and pasta, and one fountain drink. It was plenty to eat and yes we shared the Sprite, this is Korea don’t you know. But, we have to maintain separate straws for some reason. At that the girls accompanied me to the train station and I bought the ticket with about five minutes to spare before departing.

Third week at Uni

Sunday, I went to the soccer match at Daegu World Cup Stadium. I looked up directions online with Google maps. Google translation is a wonderful thing. I took the bus to the subway and rode it to Gosan yeok. After I got off the subway, I asked a guy at the information booth which way to the World Cup Stadium. He leads me outside and gives me nice directions. He says I should take a taxi, but Google maps said it was about a 15 minute walk, so I wanted to walk. So, he pointed in the direction “center.” So, I began my journey. Maybe twenty or so minutes elapsed and I saw the outlines of the roof of the Stadium in the distance. Needless to say I chose to take the bus (see note later) and subway on the way back. Across the street from the Stadium, there were vendors all selling the same thing apparently, either grapes or apples. So, I came to one and asked if I could just buy 2 apples instead of a bowl. At first she was reticent, but she then gave me them for free. I offered her some money, but she refused. By the way, the match was at three o’clock, and I have not eaten lunch. I arrived about an hour early, so I bought a Mountain Dew from the vendor and sat under the shelter and read some in my book Robert Ludlum’s “Apocalypse Watch.” A couple of Koreans were having a pleasant conversation next to me. After awhile I got up and walked around to the ticket booth. Tickets were 6,000 Won, so about $6. The ticket booths were in buildings that looked like silos. I noticed that there was a contest to try to kick the soccer ball in three small holes in a board to win a prize. I saw some foreigners kicking around the ball. And another foreigner comes up to me saying something, I was pretty sure it was English, but quite difficult to understand. Turns out he is from Dublin, Ireland. So, I actually know something about that place. The match itself was interesting, but there was nobody in the stands, it was really embarrassing. I watched with my new Irish friend. I tried to explain how the NFL drafts college players. Come to find out it is much different to European soccer.So, I got a ride back on a middle school bus, with college students it turned out. I guess they felt sorry for a lost foreigner. I was trying to figure out which bus to take from the Stadium.

fans at the Daegu F.C. match

First week of teaching.

Before talking about the new job, let’s finish with the hagwon. My last day was last Friday. And I had new teacher orientation at my university on Thursday. I could only stay for an hour or so because I had to work at my hagwon later that day. Saturday Ben helped me move to my new apartment. I am living on campus in the “Techno Building,” which is professor housing. It is nice and spacious. We took two trips to complete the move, which was a challenge because we took the bus here, two buses actually. So, the bus began to fill up and we had to almost sit on my boxes/suitcases. I arranged to pick up the key from a coworker on Saturday. Kyunpook is a nice university, except when students/professors drive their motor scooters or motorcycles all over the place. People that drive these things do not follow any traffic rules. They drive on the sidewalk, run red lights, weave in traffic, do U-turns in intersections, and whatever else.

The teaching reminds me of my old hagwon. I have a textbook and lead the students on the material. The students know a lot more English than I perhaps thought. But it’s not a bad gig. One day I have two classes, then another day I have three. The other days I have five classes. I am done by 4pm everyday. I share an office with a former army crime scene investigator from San Francisco, and two Canadians. The guy from SF was stationed in Korea for several years, and is of Korean descent. He wanted to come back to Korea to experience the culture and food, as he was unable or too busy during his tenure in the army. I played soccer Saturday night with some people from church. The “foreigners” played a middle school soccer team. They were quite good, but we were a bit rusty as well. We gave up several goals. But yesterday we played much better and were aggressive. My rotating pastor was married on Saturday at 10:30am. It was a traditional Korean wedding. At the beginning of the ceremony, the bride and groom stood at the back of the room and walked to the front of the stage.
After the ceremony, we had a group photo, probably about 100 or so people in various degrees of dress. Then we took the escalator up to our buffet lunch. It was quite scrumptious. In one side of the room there was Korean food, and across the room was French food (snails), Chinese, and other fare. Needless to say myself and my eating companions made several trips.

Seoul pictures

Ok, so first things first. Last Thursday I heard from a Daniel at church, he told me that his university he teaches at is looking for someone to fill a position in a weeks time. So, he gave me the contact person’s name and number and I called her up. I told her I was Daniel’s friend, and she wanted to send a courier over to my hagwon to pick up the copies of my passport, visa, and the like the same day. It was a little surreal. When I told her my hagwon is in Chilgok, about 45 minutes away, we set a time the next morning to meet and have an “interview.” So, Friday I rode with Daniel down to Kyunpook National University, as he was going there as well and so he could introduce us. The pay at the university is not that much more than the hagwon, but it more than makes for it in vacation days. So, I asked some questions and met the head teacher who is from South Africa.

Saturday morning I took the KTX to Seoul. It was an hour and a half. It cost about $40, and considering that the normal slow train takes 4 hours and just cost like 10-15 won less than the KTX, it is worth it. I got off the train at Seoul Station which is the last stop. I wanted to go to the electronics market, it is several buildings that having nothing but electronics and computers. So, I got on the subway and went to Yongsan Station and perused around. Then, I went back to Seoul Station and saw a sign for the city bus tour. So, I waited with other people and got on the bus and saw some sights. It was a good way to see the city. I got off at the “traditional Korean village.” This was the only place that I have seen postcards, amazing. And I stopped at Etaewon, it is an international district. I had lunch at Quizno’s, and it was next to Cold Stone. There were a lot of foreignors there walking the streets, especially American people. There was a Hard Rock Café store, no restaurant though. I had planned to meet up with Myron in Seoul. He lives in Incheon, which is about 30 or so minutes away. I met him at a Chinese restaurant at about 6pm. Then, after talking awhile, we walked a bit, then sat a spell at Starbucks. I texted Jenny when I was on the KTX as we were passing Daejeon to say I was going to be in Seoul. She replied later Saturday that she and a friend were going to Lotte World and would like to meet up later that night. So, Myron and I took the subway down and switched trains and finally found the exit that the girls were at. It was nice to see Jenny and her friend, just to see familiar faces is a big deal. Her friend, Christine, is Canadian Korean, her parents were born in Korea, but she doesn’t know much Korean. So, we were in line at the express bus ticket booth, this guy came up and asked Christine something in Korean. It is funny because she doesn’t know what he is saying, but she is a good actor. So, it was getting late, and Myron wanted to make sure we could take the subway back to his apartment before the train closed down for the night.

soccer volleyball

The last week or so.

On Saturday, August 8 I helped out at vacation Bible school at church. Except they do not call it VBS, they just say Bible camp. That was fun. We started out singing and then we went to small group, which I led. Then we played with modeling clay. Every kid made a man. I don’t know if the other Korean teacher told them to do that or what. Someone told me that Koreans are not taught to think for themselves. If the older kid made a man, then the rest of the kids would follow suit. And then a Korean missionary who is serving in Canada spoke and showed a video of the horrid conditions in North Korea. Rob spoke about the orphanage he helps at. Then, we finished by having fried chicken and pizza. Sometimes I think Koreans are more American (in food anyways) than we are.

Well, first the bad news. I found out on Tuesday that August 28 is my last day at my English academy. My boss told me that we don’t have enough students. So, I have been looking high and low for a job. I have talked to people at church that have a lot of contacts as well as I applied to several jobs online. I have gotten several responses back via email. One recruiting agency called me to set up an interview. On Thursday I had supper (at 10pm) after class with a Korean teacher at McDonald’s no less. That was about the first time we really talked to any degree. She gave me the dish on the academy, the boss, and the Korean teacher that left after less than a week. A Korean teacher left a week ago, and her replacement sat in on her classes for a couple of days. But, she worked for three days, then abruptly quit. Supposedly she did not like all of the work that was required of her. And I learned my supper partner, Daisy, wants to study in Canada. I always like it when people pursue their goals.
I have been thinking about things I want to do if and when I leave Korea. For one, I want to go to Seoul. I want to go there, especially to see the electronics market that stretches for several blocks. And I want to go to China. I had tentatively planned to go to Beijing over Christmas, but I have not heard any response from people. Jenny is planning on going to China, she has her visa now. That is one country I want to visit before I leave. I do want to see the Cherry Blossoms in Japan though.

I met a girl a few weeks ago who last taught in Egypt. That sounds interesting to say the least. She said she did not have to wear the head to toe garb.

School Vacation

I had a three day week last week. Tuesday, a friend came down and we watched Transformers at Cinus Theater in Chilgok. I have a new class at 2:55 now, well it started a couple of weeks ago Monday through Friday, but I have to be at work at 2pm, go figure. So, my friend and I bought our tickets, then went down to McDonald’s and had breakfast, it was about 9:30am. We took a little long eating or talking or something and we had to rush back to just catch the start of the movie. Then, we walked toward my apartment then I had to leave for work. Thursday and Friday were my days off, so on Thursday I went hiking with Vanessa from Oklahoma, she got the shaft from the bus driver, but found a taxi and made it to the mountain eventually. I hiked some, before I could not go much longer. It was really steep going, so I turned back and took the bus back to the city. I stopped downtown and had a double bacon cheeseburger at Burger King. Well, I say bacon, but is was more like Canadian bacon, ok HAM. Then, the next day I went with some folks to Woobang Tower Land, an amusement park in Daegu. They had roller coasters, bumper cars, arcades, and sweet squid. I managed one roller coaster, that was a very high drop. I think I would have lost my lunch, but I have not eaten yet. We walked up to the tower, up to about the 72nd floor, which has a panaramic view of the whole city. It was quite a vantage point.
On, my way home, well just after I got off my bus at my bus stop, my friend called. So, I went to my apartment to ‘freshen up’ and then got back on the bus. I met Christie at the Outback and we ate at Kraze Burger. Other than the gross misspelling of “omelette” on the wall, it was great fun.

Goodbye to a Maple Leaf

This week was interesting to say the least. I had the usual week I guess with some rowdy classes and having to exact “punishment.” But overall my classes are pretty tame. I am running out of material in some classes, we finished the book, so I am having to get material from other books so we can do something in class, instead of playing hangman or the word game. I went to Korean class on Saturday, which went well I suppose. I had planned on going to Daegu F.C. soccer game at World Cup stadium last Saturday, but I sorta took a nap and didn’t set my alarm. So, I want to go to some in August as there are 3 games on Saturdays.

Pastor Kim introduced the last 4 consonants, so now I just have to memorize them. Kim told us the story of a Korean missionary who went to a remote tribe in Africa. The tribe had a oral language, but not written. So, he taught them Korean writing, and the tribe wrote their language in Korean characters. Pretty amazing, huh? After class we went to birthday party at Outback for Karl, who incidentally is from New Zealand. I find that rather amusing, We went to a Australian restaurant for a guy from New Zealand.

Oh, I almost forgot, Tammy (a Canadian) who still says they do not say “aboot” in Canada, is leaving for the U.K. So, we had lunch at Italy and Italy on Sunday. After eating and socialing, some of us went downtown and played some arcades. After blasting aliens and undead people attacking us, we had some coffee. I have 3 days of work, then a 2 day school vacation Thursday and Friday. Not sure what I’m going to do, possibly amusement park or hiking to see some temples. I vote for the latter rather than the former. Because the latter is more amusing for picture taking than the former. And also, I don’t fare too well on rides at the former over the latter.

Soccer this weekend

Ok, a week or so ago, I don’t remember right off. I went to the local U.S. army base here to meet Pete, a guy I know from church. He took me to the barber shop and I got a army style hair cut. It’s not too short, it has a little length on top. But, the base had regular people from America doing their thing. After my cut the lady then started to give me a “massage.” Pete warned me about this, he said some people said it hurts a little. She leaned me forward and grabbed both my wrists and pulled back. I could feel my muscles tightening up. Then she started beating on my back with her fists, she started on my shoulders and then moved over my spine and settled in over a nerve. Quite uncomfortable if I may say so. Then Pete drove to a building that had some restaurants including Taco Bell, Subway, and there was a drive thru Burger King in the base also. Drive thrus are not very common here. And I forgot to mention that the barber shop and food court had ESPN playing, it brought a little rush of home sickness.

Then on Saturday I went to Korean class at 11:30 am, then Christi and Sam and I went downtown going in a few shops and then ate at Papa John’s for lunch. I was surprised we had free refills on our coke pitcher. We then made our way to Sam’s house for bulgogi, traditional Korean food. Sam is a Korean friend I met at church. We all sat on the floor around a table and ate using chopsticks.

First baseball Game in Korea

Ok, so people from church and other friends met at Daegu station and and then we walked over the Citizens Stadium (baseball). The first thing I noticed is that there are 4 mascots outside of the stadium. I bought my ticket which cost 6,000 W, which is under $6. There was a row of vendors all selling chicken, fried chicken, chicken wings. It was kinda creepy because the vendors were shouting at us to buy their food and they held out bottled water and a box of chicken as we passed by to go into the gate. There were about 10 or so in our group, and we saved some seats down the first base line. So, they played a half inning and then started the bottom of the first and then the rains came. After an hour, they called the game. So, Christi, Elise, and I walked to Daegu Station and ate at Subway at the subway, yeah corny I know. Deagu station is a huge building about 5 stories, it has department stores, eating places, movie theaters, subway station, and train station.



On, Sunday we had communion at church, we had a piece of cake for the bread. So, a few of us decided to go the baseball game today since we missed out on yesterday. I sprinkled a bit, but did not rain, thank goodness. The fans chanted and sang the whole game. They would sing a cheer for the batter or just chant “Samsung Lion” (Daegu’s team). It was great fun. Oh, and one thing I have not seen before is a beer drinking contest…with women…with straws. I did not get a good picture of it, they were on the third base dugout area, I was on the first base side. The team had cheerleaders who danced and sometimes led cheers. But, a guy in baseball uniform was next to the cheerleaders, and he was leading cheers. The people in front of us started a cheer “Samsung Lions,” I guess you can tell who the foreignors are.

Monday

Ok, so I went to Suseong Lake for the annual Duck boat race last Sunday. There are pictures in the slide show and click it to see them in full screen. I rode up to the lake with people from church. Ben was my partner, so we started to pedal, but our shoes were too big to turn it. So, we took our shoes off and were barefoot. We did a lap around the lake, fairly small lake, but fun no less. We came in third place. A good time was had by all. I met another guy from Australia and his wife and young kid, I love the Aussie accent. I went back to Ben’s flat and he cooked mashed potatoes with pork, mushrooms, cheese, butter, it was better than the potato bowl at KFC. We listened to the U.S. military radio station, which is fitting b/c Pete is stationed here, he tells us about his exercises and routines, interesting stuff. Then we played Halo and killed some aliens.

I had a pretty uneventful week at work, some classes are really quiet, others has some rowdy kids, I have one class with one student, one with two people. Saturday I went out with Ben, we had planned on getting some stuff at Costco. But, he forgot his card, so we decided to go anyway, so we got there and we ate at the food court. We had a hot dog and Bulgolgi and chicken bake. The Bulgogi is a seasoned beef, it tasted like a philly cheese steak. Then, we set off to find the video game store, but we took the wrong exit out of Deagu Station, there are tons of exits. So, we walked through the market, quite interesting, people selling all kinds of stuff. Then it was time to meet up with folks for dinner at a Japanese place to eat and then to CVG to watch Transformers. You have assigned seats at the theater, it probably holds several hundred people. And the Hollywood movies are all in Korean subtitles.

pictures

3rd week

I am trying to play billa bowl, it's a cross b/w pool and bowling, you use a pool stick and try to knock down bowling pins, it even has a gutter!

I got a pizza last week, and guess what ‘side’ it came with? How about pickles. I went downtown, which is about a 30 minute bus ride from my place. Downtown is a big shopping district with a lot of people walking about, but cars sometimes drive down the roads. It is not very pedistrian friendly here. I’m not sure if there are any traffic rules. Cars do u turns at any point on the road, in intersections, on sidewalks, or just in the middle of the road. A Korean student at church told me that the police are a little lax because when you finish high school everyone has to go in the military, the Korean form of the peace corp, or in the police. So, people chose the police because I suppose it’s easier.

After church Sunday, some folks ate at Popeye’s and then went to PC room to play Star Craft, a computer game. We had about 8 people playing together, which makes it fun. It cost 1,000 W per hour, which came to about $2 for 2 hours. Pretty cheap deal.

I got a haircut this week which involved a typical haircut, then he whipped the hair off my face with a block of foam, which was rather hard. Then, a woman took me over and washed my hair at the sink. Then, she dried my hair by using her knuckles and she pounded my head with her fists or something. And so she combed my hair and place and off I went.

Sunday

Sunday, Ben invited me to go to his church at the Domti subway stop, called Domshin Church. I asked some folks at a church a couple of buildings down from me. A girl told the bus driver to let me off at the subway. The bus driver told me when to get off, then I went down to the subway station. I asked a worker there which line to take to go to the church. I had a brochure with a little map on it, which made it easier for directions. I found the church, but I had arrived a tad bit early. The english service didn’t start til 2pm and I arrived at around 11am. So, walked around the neighborhood a bit. There was a Popeye’s chicken place and a Burger King. I wandered into an arcade, a bunch of teenage boys playing Tekken and the like.

I made my way back to the church and up 5 flights of stairs and people started asking me where I’m from and the even tougher question where do I live. I was satisfied that I made it there. I met a guy from Australian, girl from South Africa, and the usual American folks. Some of the teachers have been in Korea for 3 or 4 years. But, having thought ahead I took a picture of my bus stop so I could show people. It was in Korean no less. But when I told them how I came to church, they said I had to transfer subways lines to come. But I took the #2 bus and then went down to the subway and took the train to the stop. They could not understand how I made it without transferring lines. But, I will take it nonetheless.

arrival 2

ok, I finally arrived in Incheon airport in Korea after a harrowing experience in catching the flight in LA. In LAX, I had rush, didn't eat, I had to go back through security and wait in line to print out another ticket. Oh, did I mention that I had to clear across the airport for my next flight. I went straight for awhile, then went outside to inside where all the international desks were, to check luggage etc. So, after getting a ticket, I got to the gate and the first class was already seating, so that was close.
More coming, including food on Korean Airlines and my first taste of Kimchi.

Korean attendants wore green, each headrest had touch screen tv. You could watch a movie, choose from about 10 full ones, games like putt putt. You can also see the where the plane is on the journey. They kept bring orange juice or water, a fellow teacher here told me you can ask for something else. I tried to restrain from too much water, b/c I had a window seat, and the 2 people next to me were asleep.

We had a meal, not sure what this is called, lunch or supper, b/c we ate at about midnight at one time zone or another. Choice is beef or rice. I got the beef, which had beef chunks, mashed potatoes, peas and carrots. Whilst the rice had a rice bowl.
For breakfast, this was about 2am Korean time, we arrived at 4am. Choice was omelate or rice pouridge. Omelet had folded egg, link sausage, strawberry yogurt, grapefruit and tater tots.

Plane landed at 4:15, got off plane then had to go thru a health screening. 2 people with masks on, put this plastic tubular thing close to your neck, I guess to see your temp. Then I went to collect my luggage and there was a white board on the corral, that had my name and something to do with my luggage. A employee I presume nearby said to go talk to people at desk over there. So I did and they sent one bag yesterday, other should get here today.

The bus ticket booth opened at 6am, so I just did around and watched tv, they had french open rerun, former president of korea funeral procession. So I bought a bus ticket for 6:20 a.m. The bus trip lasted about 4 and half hours.

pics

arrival

ok, I finally arrived in Incheon airport in Korea after a harrowing experience in catching the flight in LA. In LAX, I had rush, didn't eat, I had to go back through security and wait in line to print out another ticket. Oh, did I mention that I had to clear across the airport for my next flight. I went straight for awhile, then went outside to inside where all the international desks were, to check luggage etc. So, after getting a ticket, I got to the gate and the first class was already seating, so that was close.
More coming, including food on Korean Airlines and my first taste of Kimchi.

one day before

ok, so I went to Columbia to take a computer test, and boy did my eyes hurt after that. But after lunch at Firehouse with my dad and brother, I settled down to trying to resolve skype issues. Moreover, trying to figure out how to talk to three people at once and see all videos at once. But at least the audio works, no video for multiple people. But that was a test run, so who knows if that'll work across the pond.

I'm looking forward to listening to the Clemson baseball game this weekend, it'll be the morning for me so that'll work.

ok so if I don't see you until then, adios and catcha on the on the side. Now, on to play ping pong with Americans before getting really whooped overseas.
WCCP

Thursday

ok, it's Thursday night and I just watched Clemson loose to the Wa Hoos, which is mildly disconcerting since Clemson led by four in the fifth. But, one player can a difference. Although it is amusing that they only gave Virginia one error, when the second baseman bobbled one and all safe, and then the pitcher must've muffed two when he just stood there on bunt right at him.

Ok, on to related stuff, today I met many of mom's co-workers and her boss. And I talked to Jenny's mom, who is in another city in Korea. So, that is reassuring, but she relayed some difficulties that Jenny has encountered. So, at least I know what to expect. Like trying to work the washing machine, b/c it's written in Korean. I set up skype on my computer and the other one, so now we're on line, so that is fairly interesting. Even more so that my user name still works, I think I created it in college, although I had no one to call.

Well, I am looking forward to flying, Seinfeld does a great bit on airports and airplanes, just too funny. You know I will have a 13 hour flight, so I might have to shave, so I can use the razor disposer in the lavatory, lol.

packing

ok so I guess I jumped the gun just a week before I leave. But, I wanted to make sure all my stuff would fit, and it almost all fit in one duffel bag. But I decided to make use of the green canvas bag my uncle let me borrow. One of the best book titles by Robert A. Heinlein is "Have spacesuit will travel." That pretty much sums it up for me.
I started to read "Stranger in a strange land." It's a very telling title, since that will be me, except the book is about a Martian, well an Earthling that gets marooned on Mars.

Sunday, I talked to Tod _ and another not easily rememberable person, anyone they were talking about kimchi. And they made it, which is amazing in of itself. Kimchi is the Korean dish, with every meal. It's basically Cabbage that is covered in peppers and seasonings. Ok, so Tod used to live in Hawaii, which apparently Koreans are as well. He said you could get cheaper drinks in Korean bars than in normal ones. And so he frequented the Korean ones, picking up words and learned about Kimchi.