thoughts

5-15-11
I am always amazed at how many foreigners marry Koreans. The new teacher at school who replaced the guy that died (hit by a train), article
his wife is Korean. The last intensive semester at school back in January I taught the credit class which is a required class at school. Supposedly we alternate credit and Kelp, which is the extra study class, not for credit. Credit class is 3 weeks and the Kelp one is 4 weeks. And also, the credit class starts immediately after the spring semester whereas Kelp waits for 2 weeks or so. So, this summer I have about a month and half break, beginning July 11. That is a long time. Oh and it’s paid vacation. I want to visit an old friend. I met a couple of Japanese guys in Seoul awhile back. I want to hang out with them.

5-31-11
Reflections on Heilein books. In the book “Glory Road,” Oscar had his whole life planned out after high school. One thing happened to him after another, whether it was the “fairy godmother” or the “practical joke” department. The “unwar” prevented him from receiving university scholarships. He went with Star and Rufu on an adventure. At the end of the book, Oscar is in Nevia, where Star is the leader. He gets bored, with only studying and training to fill his time. He finally leaves Nevia to continue his journey. He says he might come back to be with Star. It goes to show you after a long journey or adventure, it’s hard to settle down and live a non-adventurous domesticated life. Oscar wants to walk down the “Glory Road” again and slay some dragons.

Thoughts on returning back “home.”

I do feel like Korea is my home, although I’m living a counter culture lifestyle. It’s easy to make everything in my apartment American and familiar to me. I don’t watch Korean tv, basically because I don’t understand it. The shops always have it on, and it seems they have the same shows. Being in the states, everything seemed so foreign to me. I forgot how to go places and was amazed at the selection at the grocery store. My students tell me they want to go to America. People here think that life is somehow better in America. I find it odd, because when I ask them if they want to stay there, they invariably say no. I read an article in a magazine here about a guy going back to Canada after several years. I agree with many of his sentiments. He lamented that people were obsessed with trivial things, like weather and politics or news. For some reason, life seems more real when out of the bubble, that is the U.S. My Korean language partner asked me what I knew of Korea before coming here. I said I just knew about the Korean war. People from other countries, mainly the least well known countries learn about different countries.

Two Continents away

Wednesday 8-4
I got up early and went down to the bus station to catch the bus to Incheon airport. This is about a five hour ride. I arrived a little early so got in line to get my ticket. So, I proceeded to go through the usual airport rigeramaro. The flight to Guangzhou, China was 20 minutes late. People with connecting flights were held up. The immigration held our passports and boarding passes for 30 minutes or so. The guy didn’t explain why. I think in some cases, and in this case, in this country, it was best to not push it. A woman led us upstairs next to the xray machine. She was holding everyone’s passport and started to call our names one by one to collect them. This was not the most efficient method, but I don’t think they’re worried about it. The airport didn’t have wi-fi, much to my shagrin. Just as well I guess, because I heard that China blocks facebook. I had about three hours to kill before my next flight, so I decided to go this café. They were playing MTV China on the tv. It was a little more interesting than k-pop, but that’s not saying much. I settled on a club sandwich and can of coke. It’s times like these that I wish I had some local currency, it just didn’t cross my mind to get some before I left Korea. It cost me $15 US dollars. This reminded me of Seinfeld’s rant on how everything costs so much at the airport. “$12 for a tuna sandwich, yeah that’s fair.” The connecting wing of the airport was about the most uninteresting one hallway I’ve been to. The duty free shops were not very appealing, unless you wanted to buy jewelry, perfume, or whisky or something. Finally, my flight was ready to board and out of nowhere a buch of middle eastern people got on the plane. This flight was from Guangzhou to Dubai, thus I sure was glad to have had an isle seat. The flight wasn’t too bad, just seven hours which means you have about three meals and several drink rounds. I arrived in Dubai about midnight and the immigration people were wearing the all white garb you normally see on tv. The immigration guy was pretty jovial. I had less trouble getting through in Dubai than I did in Calgary or Manchester, who would’ve thought? As soon as I stepped outside I felt the dry heat. I never felt heat like this before, the heat just stung you. I noticed outside there was a sign that read “Ladies greeting area.” I took a taxi to my hotel. It was a nice drive through town. I checked in and asked for a wake up call early.
Thursday 8-5
I enquired at the desk about stuff, she told me stuff doesn’t open til 10, so I decided to walk to the beach. It was the strangest sight I’ve seen. Desert sand for the beach and ocean of course. It was about 8 am or so, but still steamy. I wonder how the beach operates because Muslims are all about covering up. I saw a couple of foreigners get in the water. On my way back to the hotel, there was a big mosque. Mosques have the dome looking thing on top. And this was going to be a theme, they have a tower with several speakers blasting the call to prayer. When this hits, you can’t sleep. The sound was shrilling. I stopped at the bank to exchange some money. The bank’s tag line was “Modern banking services based on Islamic values.” I saw a bookstore, so I stopped in and perused the middle eastern subject area. It turns out a guy who grew up in the region, but from England, wrote about his experiences traveling around the middle east. Also, he wrote about this travelings in Kenya. Back at the hotel I signed up for the desert safari for later that day. I got a taxi to go to Kamara Souq (market). It was like a strip mall that mostly sold Rolexes and other high end stuff. I only saw maybe two souvenir shops. As expected these shops had camel stuff there. I read that the middle east is famous for shawarmas, which is a wrap with chicken, lettuce, and veggies inside. I asked around and none of the restaurants were selling it yet, not until the evening. So, I settled on a street vendor between two buildings. I ordered a mango smoothie and the shawarma, it was quite tasty especially with the french fries. I went back to the hotel to get ready for the desert safari. A white robed guy picked me up in a two row Toyota suv. We stopped at two other hotels to pick up more people. It turns out that one couple was from Nigeria. The husband said it is the only African country not to be occupied by an outside force. We drove along and then we met up with other suvs. Then, we plunged into the sand dunes at full speed. I’ve riden an atv, but never a suv going off roading. A few times I felt like I was going to lose my lunch all the while listening to Persian music blaring out the speakers. We stopped twice for pictures. We were surrounded by nothing but sand in all directions. Off roading in the desert can be a little nauseous to say the least. As we were riding, I noticed a herd of camels wallowing in the sand. Finally, we made it to the eating area. An interesting thing about the bathroom is the water was always really warm, maybe because of the desert heat. I saw some folks riding camels which drew a crowd. I wanted to try my hand at it. So, the camel guy has the camel bend down so you can get on. The hairy beast stoops all the way on the ground then keeps raising up until you are really high up. We walk around in a circle before we dismount. They have a few snacks for us to munch on, like honey sweet balls, something that looks like pancakes. The buffet was ready and we chowed down. It was an amazing spread of good eats. We finished off the meal by smoking a sheesha pipe. These are huge pipes that fruity flavored. I ate with three high school graduates from Kuwait and the Nigerian couple. After that it’s belly dancing time. The woman could move every part of her body from the waist up. I didn’t know there were muscles all those places. Back at the hotel, I went to the corner store to get some snacks. It seemed that half the workers from the dry docks were in the store. The dry docks was across the street and their living quarters was behind the store.
Friday, 8-6
I checked out of the hotel and took a taxi to the Burj Khalifa, which is the tallest building in the world. It was a nice view from lookout spot. It was quite ironic, everything was brown except for a green golf course. Dubai mall connects to it, so I sat a spell and ran into a guy from the desert safari. So, we decided to go to the spice souq. He wanted to take the subway, but we found out it didn’t open til 2 pm. We were told you can’t pay with cash on the bus or subway, so we had to buy a metro card. So, we ventured out to the spice souq which had bustling shops and interesting spices. There were many shops selling Rolexes, but they were not for us. We took a dhow (little wooden motor boat) across the creek. We kept hearing the really lound siren for the call to prayer, but everyone just kept going about their business. One shop owner told us he has the “three wise men,” that is gold, francencise, and myrr. I thought that was funny. I got a little of francencise and myrrh for keepsake. My friend, Regent told me about a dinner buffet cruise. It sounded enticing and a nice way to end my last night in Dubai. Plus, it will probably be my last time eating Arab food, which is really good. We hung out at his motel for a bit. Meanwhile I booked my seat on the river cruise. I went to a little shop down the street to get some postcards and stamps.

A white unmarked van pulled up so we got in. We assumed that this was the tour group, and the driver confirmed as far as we could tell. He drove down to the docks which was quite picturesque at night. There were old style looking sailing vessels. We walked down into the boat. Everyone was herded to the lower level, but I wanted to check out the upper level. I’m glad I did, the scenery was so much better and a lot less people. The waiter came and took our drink orders, and after an exceedingly amount of time finally appeared. There was an amazing spread of food there and best of all it was a buffet. We cruised down the river and back again. All in all it was a pretty relaxing time, a good respite from the hawkers selling imitation Rolexes and such.

Saturday, 8-7
I took a taxi to the airport. The airport has a really nice duty free shop, the biggest selection I’ve seen. As Seinfeld says “how much is duty.” I still don’t know. They have a lot of European foods, so I got a few things and stuffed them in my bag. I decided to ship some souvenirs with DHL. That was a huge headache. It took about four weeks for my package to finally clear customs and come to my house. Back at the airport, I found out my flight was over an hour late. There was no one at the gate, only security. In the Dubai airport, there were only a few seats in the middle of terminal. You have to check in at the gate to have access to the big seating area. Kenyans had several taped up boxes of electronics and otherwise strung together stuff. It was rather cramped on the plane and it didn’t help that my seat didn’t recline at all. There were only a few white people there. The Nairobi airport was like a open warehouse. That’s when it hit me, I’m not in the West or Asia for that matter. I suppose the setup works for the people there. I called Lee to check on the Jim Cab (taxi). He said the Peace Corps has a deal with the Jim Cab folks, so I should take them. So, the guy comes and he takes me to the hostel. On my way to the hostel, people were just walking around and riding bicycles. I noticed many businesses had a huge gate around it with security guards. The hostel looks like a compound with a big gate. Lee flew in later about 5:30. We ate at the little restaurant there. It was an open air area with tables and chairs. We ate a grainy burger with Peptang (Kenyan’s version of ketchup). Peptang is basically a gloupy congealed tomato product.

Fukoaka, Japan

I decided to go to Japan at the last minute with my Korean friend. I met him at the train station, then we took the KTX down to Busan. I got a smoothie at Smoothie King in the train station. It is really smooth, albeit on the expensive side. After slurping to our heart’s content, we walked down to David’s sister’s house. David was going to drop off his dog at his sister’s house while we’re gone. His sister is well versed in Japanese he said, it’s too bad she couldn't’t join us. His sister already has a dog and a cat, which has the run of the place. David’s sister gave him a big bag of kimchi for the trip. She said he would miss it. That stuff reeked, I’m surprised the security people didn’t say anything. The Koreans probably wouldn’t mention it, but what about the Japanese side? Our ferry was scheduled to leave at 10:30pm, but we had to board at 7:30pm. I went to check out the room, because it’s an 8 hour boat ride. It turns out we sleep on the floor on a mat with a rock hard pillow. Also, apparently they don’t separate men and women as both were represented. You may ask, “where do you change?” Well, there was a little area with a curtain for that. There were some Japanese on board as well as Koreans. Japan was playing that night in the world cup. So, we were wondering if we could pick it up on tv. They had a tv in the room and in the big room. We watched the Japanese game with a few Japanese around us. David kept asking the guys questions about Japanese language. He kept saying he doesn’t speak Japanese, but he could’ve fooled me. He would stop people in the street and ask for directions. The two Japanese guys knew the players on the team. I swear there must’ve been 5 Honda’s on the team. A Korean woman (ajuma) there was drinking and so naturally wanted other people to drink. She must have bought five cans of Japanese beer from the vending machine and passed them around to the Koreans and Japanese alike. The game went to penalty kicks. The guy called it, he said this Japanese player was going to mess up, which he did. Earlier I walked about the ship to scope it out. I went on the deck and saw a whole group of people drinking in the middle of strong wind and rain. Whatever floats your boat I reckin. The ferry arrived about 6am. I was surprised that Fukoaka had so many high rises. We were herded downstairs and loaded in buses to take us to immigration. The guy at immigration knew the Korean word for teacher, which was a little humorous. We talked to the lady at the visitor’s booth and got unlimited bus rides for the day. We made use of it. We made our way to Fukoaka Castle in the rain. It was not a castle, only the gate remained. The tour map said there was other things in the vicinity's, but no such luck.

My Korean friend told to check out the 100 Yen store in Japan. We finally found it and perused the cheap trinkets, food, and stationary. It was a rather big store. That night we made our way to Fukoaka Tower. It didn’t seem as big as Taipei 101, but it was neat nonetheless. I met a family from Ohio. It turns out, the son works for Honda. He started out in the U.S., then transferred to Japan for two years. His parents came up to visit him. We reminisced about Ohio State, otherwise known as “runner up U.” I asked about Woody Hayes, as his last game was against Clemson. We stayed at a capsule hotel, but we opted for the cheaper sauna part and slept in recliners with a little tv on each chair.
Thursday
The next morning we bought unlimited subway rides for the day. We treked out to the Marinoa. It has a outlet mall and the largest ferris wheel in Asia. We walked around a whole lot. We saw a gambling area inside the arcade room. That was interesting. Also, there were vending machines every couple of blocks leading to the Marinoa. They had Coke, Pepsi, and coffee respectively. David asked a passerby directions to the subway and she proceeded to lead us there. We took the subway to Hakata Station, which is the main station in Fukoaka. We picked up lunch at the underground shopping area. This was a small grocery store beside the train station. There was a huge shopping area near our hostel called Canal Shopping Center. It had about four levels and included a Hilton I believe. There was a huge fountain and later on it was coordinated with music. It reminded me of Disney a little bit. We met a girl from Holland who has been travelling for 4 months after only working for 6 months. Holland played Brazil that night at about 11:30pm. The communal room was slated to close at midnight, so we had to beg the owner to let us finish watching the game. I asked her why the Netherlands wears orange when their flag is red, white, and blue. She said the monarch’s last name in Dutch means ‘oranje.’
Friday
We slept til 11 and checked out three or four temples nearby. We met a woman from Germany. She was travelling by herself. I was surprised to discover so many people travelling by themselves. We went back to the underground shopping area to buy a ready made meal (tv dinner). Then, we went on the hunt to find an international ATM for David. He finally found one, but the minimum withdrawal was 10,000Y. We crashed at the hostel for a few hours. The owner told us about a 24 hour grocery store just down the street. So, we checked it out and stocked up on 99Y tv dinners. They actually had some western foods in the frozen section. I had spaghetti, pancakes, chips, and a coke. It was a little random I know, but it’s been awhile since I had those kinds of food. By the way, 100 Yen is about $1. We gorged ourselves and were full for once. We went for a walk a bit then came back to the hostel. The owner told us we had a roommate and to top it off he was Korean. We also met a Canadian who used to teach English in Seoul. We walked around that night and ran into a group of Koreans. It gave us a chance to practice our Korean.

Taiwan

Saturday, Jan 30
I went out with a friend late Friday p.m. downtown. We went to Dunkin Doughnuts to chat a while then watched a movie. Sarah Jessica Parker took a swipe at Sarah Palin and the couples confession of their “mistake” of sleeping around turned me off. Other than that, it was a good movie and good company. My friend drove me to the bus station. I took the 2 a.m. bus to Incheon and arrived about 5:30 a.m. for my 9 a.m. flight. Upon arriving at Taipei, I took the bus to the city and sat behind two talkative people, quite annoying if you ask me. I went to the tourist information center and asked where were certain sites and information on train tickets. I went straight to the National Palace Museum. On the bus to there, I met people from the UK who were working in Hong Kong. This museum is famous because it has a lot of artifacts from China. There were many tour groups from the mainland (China) and other westerners. It mainly had pottery, carvings, and things from everyday life. Next, I went to Shinil night market. This market is famous so I though I’d check it out. There was a Christian band playing on the stage. There were stands that would juice up any fruit or vegetable, so I chose star fruit, which was quite tasty. I ate a small bowl of rice and chicken I think. It was getting late afternoonish so I went to Taipei 101 (tallest building in the world or used to be). It was a bit cloudy so a little hard to see. I took a taxi to my hostel. My driver was watching Taiwan's version of American Idol on the tv. He let me out at the MRT station close to the hostel, but he didn’t tell me where it was. I had to ask several people before finding it.

Sunday, Jan 31
I got up early and went to Chiang Kia Shek Memorial. My hostel MRT goes directly there, which is much easier than taking a bus. There were several elegantly designed buildings. There was a courtyard which was surrounded by the buildings. I went in one with many steps and displayed a statue of Shek. Upstairs was pictures and other memorabilia. In the MRT underground I met a group of students who wanted to show me a magic card trick. The student said she wanted to find someone who is handsome and is over 150 cm (I am 180 cm). She wanted me to sign my name, so I wrote it in Korean. They couldn't’t believe I could write in Korean.

Monday, Feb 1
I took the slow train to Hualian early Monday. I met a guy from Austria at the tourist information center at the train station. It turns out he is studying in Hong Kong. He kept saying that Taroko Gorge reminded him of the mountains at his home, ie the Alps. The first city bus to the gorge wouldn’t leave for another two hours or so, so we decided to take a taxi. The taxi driver stopped at every site for a few minutes. We took pictures and took in the scenery. Some of the gorge pathway was closed because of rocks falling. Everyone had to wear a hard hat before entering. I heard someone was killed when a rock fell on their head a day earlier, they were not wearing a hard hat. Although, I don’t know how much a hat would’ve helped, probably just extended their life another few seconds. After a day at the gorge, Erwin and I took a bus into town to the night market. The girl at the tourist booth said they’re having a really big market for 15 days leading up to Lunar New Year. The market was set up like a fair with tents lined up. There were vendors selling food and trinkets and there was a big stage across the way too. When I was in Kaoisuing, we watched a singing competition from Hualian on that stage I believe. I bought a couple of trinkets that the Aborigines made. We came up to a stand selling hot dogs (corn dogs to us). Erwin bought one and I asked what the brown liquid in the water bottles was. That’s when a 20 year old girl came up and started talking to us. She lived in Singapore for 6 years. She knows English decently enough. It turns out it was black tea, sweat at that. Can you believe it? I got a cup, I should’ve bought a liter but didn’t have a way to carry it. Erwin, from Austria had to get back to the train station to get back to the airport later. We tried to get on the bus at the market, but he didn’t want to take us. We finally convinced the second driver to give us a ride back to the bus station. From the station, we took a taxi to the train station. My train didn’t leave until 9 p.m. so I got a snack from 7-11 and sat a spell. I took a train to Taitung in order to go to Green Island the next day. My train arrived about 12:30 a.m. and then I took a taxi to a motel. For some reason some people don’t want to try to communicate before they call the English help phone number. I go to this motel late at night and the lady is asking me stuff. I just want a room, there is no conversation required. I give you money, you give me the key. But, she called the English help line, the guy was helpful. I told him I wanted a wake up call the next morning and could she call a taxi for me. I went upstairs, but the lights weren’t working. I went back downstairs to try to express “no lights” and point at the light in the ceiling. She got the picture and flipped the switch.

Tuesday, Feb 2
Early the next morning the phone rang, but no one said anything. I figured it was the clerk calling to wake me up. I went downstairs and the taxi driver was waiting for me. He drove me to the ferry port of Taitung. From here I would take a ferry to Green Island. It turns out that the taxi driver w From here I would take a ferry to Green Island. It turns out that the taxi driver was related to or friends with a lady who ran a little restaurant there. She is from Singapore and has been in Taiwan for 6 years now. She negotiated for me in buying a ferry ticket and booked a hotel room for the night. There were many boats that have seen their fair share of fishing duty. Most of them small either blue or red colors on them. I met a family knew some English and translated for me from time to time. I got on board the ferry and climbed to the top deck. I have been on ferries before, albeit much bigger than this one. This one was rather small, hence the ever present barf bag. We had our share of ‘turbulence’ but nothing too major like on the ferry I took to the Hebrides in Scotland. The ride was only about an hour or so. A guy from the hotel met us at the ferry terminal. He drove us to the hotel in a golf cart. This guy knew some English, but not a whole lot. I wanted to rent a scooter, but after trying it out, decided against it because I couldn’t balance it. I opted for a golf cart. It cost 300 New Taiwan Dollars, not a bad deal for two days. I took a load off in the room then started driving around the island. I stopped and took some pictures. There was a lot of volcanic rocks strewn about on the coast. I saw some fisherman on the rocks, no doubt hunting clams or other animals that liked to cling to something. I also bought a ticket to the hot springs. This is famous because there is only about three in the world. There is one on the beach and one in a shelter up the beach a ways. I drove by the infamous Green Island prison. This is where Taiwan’s political prisoners were sent back in the day. Now, it is a memorial and museum to those people. I stopped at the Family Mart and got some lunch and then I headed over to the hot springs. I went to the one in the shelter because I didn’t have any sandals and also a kid told me it was dirty. Her mother corrected her by saying it had seaweed in it. It was 26 C and rising. It was relaxing. I drove back and drove through the main drag in town. I spotted a street vendor that caught my attention so I pulled over. I picked up fried chicken and fish, it was fresh and quite tasty. I went back to the hotel lobby and ate there. The lobby had wi-fi, so I perused the net. I asked the guy from the hotel if I can use the phone to call my friend in Taiwan. He dialed the number and I talked to Julie for a bit. The next morning I knocked around and noticed a new shipment of people from the ferry just arrived. I saw these two people who were hobo-ing it. This guy had dreadlocks, and he was white. I passed by them and asked if wanted a lift. It turns out they are from Australia and on a month long backpacking trip through southeast Asia before he starts work in Canada. I drove them around the island and had lunch. He said he would like to travel around the U.S. and see bands play and go to the ‘burning man’ thing somewhere in the south west. This has to do with spirtualism, new age stuff. The boat ride back was uneventful. The family I met earlier gave me a lift to the train station. It turns out that they live in Kyoushung, where I’m heading in a few days. They said maybe they’ll see me there. I got a ticket to a city and then I have to take a bus down to Kenting. Kenting is a popular beach, but trains don’t go there. It’s always interesting playing charades with people. It’s much easier in Korea, maybe because the hand gestures aren’t the same in Taiwan. Before I got on the train I met two university students who help me with directions. They gave me their digits so they said they will show me around their city, Donggang. One girl is in the Air Force university majoring in airplane maintainence. When I arrived in the city I asked where the bus stations was, and the guy pointed past the 7-11. There was so many 7-11s, especially in Taipei. There was one on every corner, it was just insane. And contrary to Korea, they do have slushes. I asked some kids which bus I should take, so they motioned I should get on with them. I wasn’t sure how long the bus ride would take so I asked the driver a few times where I should get off. After an hour or so, he said ‘hello.’ That was my cue. The street was bustling with street vendors and young people walking about the street. I found this hostel in the travel book, a catholic hostel at that. In the rooms there was a crucifix over the bed, kind of creepy. This was the nicest hostel I have stayed at. It looked like a hotel, but no towels. It was a good thing I brought my super absorbent towel. I got it at a outdoor store in Daegu before leaving. There was every conceivable food and trinket shop lining the main drag. I thought it was interesting that KFC had several magazines for your reading pleasure. I decided to get a neck/shoulder massage. This guy put some cream on my neck and began to really work it in. It was painful at times.

Wednesday, Feb 3
I set out to go to the aquarium. I got on the bus and headed out that way. The place was just ok, nothing special. I just beat the hordes of tour groups from the mainland. I forgot to mention that Julie said to be sure that you have fresh fruit juice. There are many stands that juice it. I had strawberry juice several times. It was amazing during the day the street was deserted. I walked down to the beach and took some photos and saw a ubiquitious 7-11. I headed over and got a tv dinner Taiwan style. The great thing about getting it at a convenience store is they heat it up for you. I never would’ve thought of going to a ‘gas station’ for lunch, but it’s quite easy and convenient. I asked the lady at the hostel if there was a washing machine. She led me to a sink in the courtyard and showed me how to rub the clothes together. That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind. But, I was out of clean clothes so I had to do it. Then she showed me the ‘drying machine’ which was basically a spinner. It had no heat, it just spun around.

Friday, Feb 5

I took a bus f rom Kenting to Donggang (1 ½ hours) to meet Dora. I got there early so I tried to find an ATM. I went in this one building, but it looked like they were trading stoks. Dora rode up on a scooter wite her mom and her friend arrived in a few. Then, we went to find a bank. The American card worked but not Korean one. 7-11 doesn’t take Korean ones. The 2 girls led me through the market and we ate. We had fish soup with sliced pork and rice cake, surprisingly good but I couldn’t finish it. This place had 2 parots chained up by the ankle and a budha shrine. Dora and I got on bus where we met a Chinese woman who just got back from L.A. She lived in the US for 30 years and she had an opinion on US politics and war. It’s easy to have opinions when you don’t live there. So, she translated for me to Dora. Dora is in an Air Force University and majoring in airplane maintenance. We met Tracy (from Taitung) and another girl at Kyuoushung bus station. We took the bus close to the harbor. I tried ‘buba’ tea, not bubble. We got on the boat for $15 for a short boat ride. There was random vendors along the coast. We stopped in a handicraft store and they bought me stuff. We went in the tourist building to ask about a hostel I saw in the travel book. We went to a big market. It was really crowded with people and vendors. The girls said this restaurant there is famous for its dish ‘bo pi.’ It had chicken/steak with noodles, fried egg and corn soup. It was excellent and cheap, only $100. So 100NT = $30USD, not bad eh. Dora saw her friend there, turns out this guy runs marathons. He offered to give me a ride to the hostel. Taiwanese are the most helpful people of anay country I’ve been to.

Saturday, Feb 6
A French guy came in the room really late and was still asleep when I left this a.m. 7:30 or so. I tok the MRT to K main station and ate a sesame seed flaky sandwich (KFC) and looked at a tourist map. I decided to check out the basilica and fish statue. I was disappointed in the basilica, not much to look at. I walked down the river front. The city had decorations for Chinese New Years out. I cam upon a big area with tables and chairs, even better there was wi-fi. I stayed there an hour or more. It was quiet until Chinese tourists descended, but they left soon there after. It was getting towards 2 p.m. and I haven’t eaten lunch yet, so I took the MRT to the shopping district. I went in a department store and took the escalator up all 15 floors. The first 7 were women and they had Korean food for sale on the top floor. The girl didn’t know any Korean, but they dressed up in traditional Korean dresses. The food court was B2 and I had ravioli and omelette, strange combination I know. It had fries too and corn soup, always good.

Sunday, Feb 7
I stayed at a hostel in K. The neighborhood all looks the same. I got up and watched the first half of the super bowl, then rode with Melissa (hostel manager) and her parents to their church. We got there a few minutes early. There was a handful of foreigners there. No one even acknowledged I was there until I was ready to leave, some church this was. I went to the shopping district MRT stop and went in the department store. I kept going up the escalator and saw a door leading to a balcony of sorts. There was a good vantage poing from about 14F. Then, I came upon a huge bookstore. I started reading ‘Yes Man.” I was not even 30 pages in and I already noticed differences between the book and movie.



Monday, Feb 8
I took the high speed rail to Taipei. It was good to be back in familiar territory. I booked the same hostel as before. There is a big downtown area close by. My train came in about 12, so I went to see what was playing at the movies. I bought a ticket for ‘From Paris with Love.” It’s another shoot ‘em up movie, but at the beginning of it the guy’s partner lays into the French, ‘we saved your tails in 2 world wars and you still hate us.’ I checked into my hostel, then walked a bit downtown to find some grub. I saw a pushcart for ‘helal.’ It had meat cooking on a huge skewer. I finally found the stand awhile later. Man, was it tasty, especially with freshly squeezed strawberry juice. Back at the hostel I watched some kung fu movies with 2 fellow Americans. One as it turns out is from Taylors. He lived in Silverleaf, Riverside and USC. It was all good until our conversation broached politics. Apparently he is a liberal and can’t see why people don’t like Obama and his politics. He hates Sarah Palin and the only reason he gave is “she is conservative and christian.” And to top it off both guys say that Keith Oberman is logical and unbiased and Bill O’Reilly is illogical. I though it a bit humerous when we talked health car that a guy from Norway was in the room, which has universal health care. He said Norway has gone crazy with government control. May I present exhibit A of what happens when government start to take over more and more programs.

Tuesday, Feb 9
I went to McDonald’s for breakfast and ordered on 1F. They make it on 2F and send it down the choot. I went to the MRT station to get directions. I wanted to go to ‘Bongos’ that I saw in Lonely Planet. The directions were not good to say the least. Finally a civilian walked with me to the place for about 20 minutes. We turned here and there, it was definitely not straight as I was told. I read this place sells used sci-fi books as well. I ordered chicken quesodillas with peach ice tea. They put the salsa and sour cream in the same little ramican. It turns out the owner is Canadian. He had a whole lot of books. I got 2, one by heilein “Glory Road” and another random sci-fi book. As I I walked out Taipei tech university was across the street. I decided to walk a bit and find a place to sit and read. I saw tennis courts ahead and plopped down. Those guys had horrible form. I cam back to the hostel then went to the infamous snake alley. I was disappointed from all the stories I heard about it. There were snakes but in cages. No snake handling or offering tourists snake blood to drink. I cam back downtown and to the subway. I met an Australian couple from Brisbane at the subway sandwich shop that is. They were on a cruise from Malaysia.

January and beyond

I have been teaching an intensive winter session at school. I had reading/writing. I assigned them journals everyday. So, the first part of class I checked their writing and corrected it. I always find it difficult to explain why you use one word instead of another. For example, when to use ‘while’ and ‘during.’ Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t remember learning grammar rules, I can tell you which is correct but maybe just by practice. My students know the name of parts of speech and some grammar rules, more than what I learned in school. I diagrammed sentences in just one class, 8th grade in Mrs. Dowling’s class. I bring in articles from Wikipedia and ask the students question about it. I have gotten some random topics, like parachuting, backpacking, hurling, texting, and others. I have one talkative class and one super quiet. Some of the students told me about games they played in high school. It’s a good idea to ask them, because my idea of a fun game doesn’t always turn out that way. Students here are not very creative. I found that out when I played mad libs. That is where I write a sentence and leave blanks for noun, adjective, verb and see what funny sentence you get. Yesterday my coworker and I combined classes and played “mafia.” It’s funny, I really didn’t like that game growing up, but now I found out that students are familiar with it so I play it. Oh well, things come in cycles I guess. I have a vacation in February before starting spring semester. It seems all of the teachers are going somewhere, either back home or vacation, although one is just staying here. I don’t try to figure people out, you mean you don’t want to see your family, I’m thinking. I’m going to Taiwan for almost two weeks, then I’m going to Jeju Island to help with my church “winter camp.” It’s like VBS, but in Jeju. The children’s pastor asked me to help out, they are paying for me. I am looking forward to it, although I will have to teach 10 year old kids lessons. Oh well sacrifices are a part of life. I started to take Korean class again at church. I last took class in September perhaps. I’ve learned a lot since then, but not necessarily book material though.

Gyeongju

Wednesday last week I went with a Korean friend from church, her boyfriend, and her friend. We met at the bus terminal in the morning. The bus only cost 3,900W, so it is really cheap. The bus up there was roomy and comfortably unlike the one returning to Daegu. The bus took an hour to get there. I chatted with a Korean who teaches at an elementary school. Her English is pretty good, for the most part. I was asked the usual questions: where are you from, how old are you, and why did you come to Korea? It was rather cold this day, no doubt minus Celsius. Once we arrived at the bus terminal, we walked over to the tourist information booth. We picked up some city maps and got directions for the various temples and the like. We took the bus to Bulguksa temple. We had to pay to get in. There were several Buddhist images in the temples with “no camera” signs at the entrance. Behind one of the temples, people stacked rocks on top of each other. Supposedly it brings good luck or grants a wish. But, what happens if the stack of rocks fall over? Does it bring you bad luck? Also, people stuck coins in the bark of a tree nearby with the same theory in mind. There were coins from different countries, such as Korea, China, and Thailand. Next we went to Seok guram grotto. We had to pay again to enter. There were brightly colored balloon looking things hanging at the edge of the cliff. They also had them inside the temple. My friend said you buy one and your offering goes to Buddha.

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.