Horray for the weekend!
H1N1 panic is back in style. This time, though, it seems like people have a real reason for it. At least one of my students flat out told me "Oh, I was gone last week because I had swine flu." Yesterday we were forced to wear masks during passing time in class. It was kind of like an impromptu Halloween costume. I'm so nervous that my kids are going to get me sick. Kids always get you sick. On Thursday, my 3:30 class had one kid in it--out of nine or ten.
Honestly if they are going to close the schools, they should do it now. It won't be good because we won't get paid for the time that we aren't working, but I would welcome the vacation--and then I wouldn't feel so guilty if I ended up getting sick too.
Right now I'm feeling nervous about a lot of logistical things that I need to figure out. My alien card and passport are still being handled by the immigration office. That also means that I don't have health insurance yet, but it is officially out of my (and my bosses') hands. I have seen, here, though, that even if you don't have insurance, health care is not as exorbitantly expensive as it is in the states. If I did get sick, it wouldn't put me out too far to get treated, and I'm sure I could work something out post-treatment for pay back.
I had a pretty bad day on Friday. I just don't know what happened. I wasn't feeling the vibe, and I was just.. out of it. Achey, tired, and be-masked. No energy to get the kids going. (Actually, they didn't make us wear the mask while we were teaching. Just when we were walking around in the hallways.)
The kids from the other hagwons were also mysteriously absent in the hallway on Friday. The only other kids I saw were the ones from the Taekwondo hagwon. Actually, funny story about the Taekwondo Hagwon... one of the teachers is about my age, and bows to me EVERY time he sees me. It always makes me feel good, when I'm not having a good day. Like, "my kids might think I'm an idiot and hate my guts, and have no respect for me, but at least this random taekwondo master respects me and what I do." I mean, he must respect what I do, because he doesn't know anything about me other than what I do, and he really appears to bow out of genuine respect. It's weird, but quite comforting.
Maybe this is why, in the states, we have MEA weekend. The teachers have to plan and everything, but it's a good excuse to kick the kids out of the school during the sickest months of the year--get them to play, recover, and not get the teachers sick. Then again, when teachers get sick in the USA, they have substitutes.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Nanowrimo is two days away!!
As some of my favorite students would say... "Oh--my--COD!!"
(In Korean language, the 'g' sound only comes in the center of a word, so forming words that BEGIN with 'g' is hard for them. They will often make the k sound instead, which makes it sound like they are calling upon the divine cod.)
So naturally this past week I have been working hard to get my chapter plans in order so that I can begin withe fury of a thousand suns on November 1!
For those of you who don't know what Nanowrimo is, it is short for National Novel Writing Month. In 2003, when I was a junior in high school, I heard from a friend that these crazy people had decided to challenge themselves to write a novel in a month. 50,000 words of novel in one month. Naturally I thought that was a genius idea, and I completed my 50,000 words--about halfway into a brilliant novel. After the end of the month, I barely looked at it again.
The world and the plot stayed in my head, though. Plus Nanowrimo is one amazing way to meet and chat with other writers. The craziness kind of infects everyone to be more supportive. I'm super excited to meet some of the novelists in Korea, too.
Also, I'm attempting to find a way to upload a short video post to share with friends and family. It was suggested to me because some family wants to hear what's up, but can't get on the internet to read the blog. It sounded kind of fun anyway, but sadly I discovered (after making the video) that YouTube has blocked video uploads from South Korea. Don't ask me why, I don't know. I am assuming that it is a copyright concern that the SK government enacted.
Anyway... I'm off to plan sommore stuff!!
(In Korean language, the 'g' sound only comes in the center of a word, so forming words that BEGIN with 'g' is hard for them. They will often make the k sound instead, which makes it sound like they are calling upon the divine cod.)
So naturally this past week I have been working hard to get my chapter plans in order so that I can begin withe fury of a thousand suns on November 1!
For those of you who don't know what Nanowrimo is, it is short for National Novel Writing Month. In 2003, when I was a junior in high school, I heard from a friend that these crazy people had decided to challenge themselves to write a novel in a month. 50,000 words of novel in one month. Naturally I thought that was a genius idea, and I completed my 50,000 words--about halfway into a brilliant novel. After the end of the month, I barely looked at it again.
The world and the plot stayed in my head, though. Plus Nanowrimo is one amazing way to meet and chat with other writers. The craziness kind of infects everyone to be more supportive. I'm super excited to meet some of the novelists in Korea, too.
Also, I'm attempting to find a way to upload a short video post to share with friends and family. It was suggested to me because some family wants to hear what's up, but can't get on the internet to read the blog. It sounded kind of fun anyway, but sadly I discovered (after making the video) that YouTube has blocked video uploads from South Korea. Don't ask me why, I don't know. I am assuming that it is a copyright concern that the SK government enacted.
Anyway... I'm off to plan sommore stuff!!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
You know, I write a journal more than a blog...
I guess that's okay, most of the time. But I am enjoying reading some of the other things that I run across--more bloggy things, and I wonder--how can I do that?
My mom sent me this article on the Matador, called: "The Expat Conundrum: The Longer You Stay, The More You Complain". It is kind of an interesting article. They are taking about Mexico, but I do feel like the people who have been here the longest complain a lot. I actually ran into a guy down by the river who had lived here for several years. He definitely had the "they" attitude that the author talks about. Harsh. Serious. Acted like he got stuck here. After I said I was new, his first idea was to give me the name and number of someone to call if I "got into any trouble."
Now the other article that I was reading on this website was this: "6 Ways To Not Be A Holier-Than-Thou Traveler." I am guilty of some of these things--especially here in Korea. I'm trying my hardest not to let Ghana spill over into my experience here, especially now that I am trying to make new friends... but I can't help it. I mean, everything there seemed so much more hard core. More difficult. So when this gentleman told me that if I "got into any trouble", I should call this guy... I thought: "What kind of trouble can I possibly get into that is worse than the trouble I could get into in Ghana?" So I am majorly guilty of the Holier than Thou attitude. Because your wallet can get stolen in any country. Your passport can get stolen in any country. You can be in a terrible car accident in any country--but I drop "Africa" like it is this magical place that makes me more hard core than the others here. And I know that if my African friends heard me say those things, they would be annoyed. But sometimes, that "this is easy because I've done something much harder" attitude gets me through the difficult days here. Because, really, it is hard here, too, and I need something to remind me that I can do it.
Anyway I am really enjoying these articles on Matador, and browsing through them. It feels good to be a traveler again, no matter where I am--and that brings me to my excellent weekend, which I promised I would report on.
Let me sum it up for you.
Saturday:
Sunday:
After going to this palace, Stephanie and I set out for a market, that turned out to be a shopping mall and not a market. But the journey to the market was one full of tiny street vendors. In Korea street vendors sell things out of these little retractable trailors. When they are finished selling, they close down the doors and drag the metal box away--like a dragable garage. Then they bring it home or just leave it in some alley somewhere. I saw one man packing up and I thought this was just brilliant, and quite hilarious to boot. Of course, there was another man along the road who was selling notebooks and paper supplies out of the back of a pick up. Stephanie stopped to grab a notebook, and I just stared in true-love fascination.
I picked up a bunch of little trinkets, which I adore, even though they may be kitchy and touristy. I like touristy stuff--no prob for me. Now I have some little glass kimchi peppers on my phone, haha.
After we discovered that the market was actually less interesting than the street-to-the-market, we departed for Itaewon, which is the foreigner section of Seoul. It used to be sleezy, because it was mostly military men, and there are a lot of American GIs still there, I guess, but now it is full of just about anyone. There is a big mosque on a hill, and there are Muslims everywhere. I was simply overjoyed about that one. There were lots of Africans, too, and Stephanie and I went to a restaurant owned by Ghanaians!! Not only Ghanaians, but people from the Ashanti region, which means that they spoke Twi! We made some nice new friends... and actually this one guy insists on calling me two or three times every day, which is something that I hated when I was in Africa, but now it's kind of nice. I get to talk to someone before work, and it isn't about work, and it isn't complicated and confusing. Just talk. It also helps that I don't live in Seoul, though, lol, because he doesn't constantly ask me to visit him.
Anyway, our new African friends were definitely NOT Muslim because they decided that it would be an excellent idea to get us to try their 'healing' wood liquor that had been home made in Korea. (Of course, it's home made in Ghana, too, but seeing it in Korea is weird and confusing. Also because it definitely looked like it was in a juice jug.) That was an enlightening experience, lol... especially because they totally refused to let US refuse. I had a good laugh, but had Stephanie not been there I probably would have been awkward and upset about it. I do believe, though, that it was the same material that I had been drinking in the stilt village on my 21st birthday.
Anyway, on Sunday Stephanie and I visited a huge Buddhist temple called Bong Eungsa, or 보은사. This is a full time used temple, with monks and nuns and worshipers coming in and out. I loved the feeling of it. A quiet, sacred sense settles over you, and you feel like a tourist, but not like a worthless tourist. You feel like you've come to see something important. There is also an awkwardness about it, because there are people praying and worshiping around you. That is hard, but the tension makes you realize things. Tension always leads to realization, I think, anyway, and I enjoy it.
The painting on this temple was out of this world. I've seen good painting, especially at the palace that we visited on Saturday, but this temple had murals on the walls. Scenes from the Buddha's life, scenes from the lives of Bodhisattvas and probably kings as well. There was no one to explain it, so as the monk chanted in the main building, I simply stared at it, and attempted to take a few measly pictures. They don't do it justice.
The monk was chanting when we arrived, and the prayer hall in the front of the building was full to the brim of women. It was all women, not a single man. I don't know why. The chanting was as beautiful as the buildings. As the monk left, I came eye to eye with him, bowed my head in some kind of greeting, but I don't know if it was rude or just 'typical' for a foreigner to do something awkward like that. But I wanted to let him know that I appreciated his voice, and his temple, and his religion, and his purpose... so I looked him in the eye and greeted him. I hope he saw it that way, but I doubt it. Ah well.
The temple had several main halls in the front of the complex, but it was in front of a rising mountain, so smaller Bodhisattva complexes rose up into the forest above. The higher we climbed, the more of metropolitan Seoul spilled out from behind the temple roofs. The ancient, painstakingly maintained buildings with delicate painted halls stood in front of glass sky scrapers--the Seoul World Trade Center--the Co-Ex twin-tower shopping mall--roads of busy, honking traffic. It was ironic and rather superb that this temple, a relic of "old" Korea, but a reminder to "new" Korea, stood in the middle of this development and urban bustle.
After the temple we went to a market, which is where the first picture is from. It was mostly closed, but I enjoyed it anyway, and since there was a lack of people, I didn't feel too pushed and shoved with my big backpack on my shoulders. (Then quite full of trinkets, clothing, and rinkydinks that I bought.)
It's time for me to get on my bike and tool down to work, so I'll leave you with this image, and a link to the others on Facebook.
My mom sent me this article on the Matador, called: "The Expat Conundrum: The Longer You Stay, The More You Complain". It is kind of an interesting article. They are taking about Mexico, but I do feel like the people who have been here the longest complain a lot. I actually ran into a guy down by the river who had lived here for several years. He definitely had the "they" attitude that the author talks about. Harsh. Serious. Acted like he got stuck here. After I said I was new, his first idea was to give me the name and number of someone to call if I "got into any trouble."
Now the other article that I was reading on this website was this: "6 Ways To Not Be A Holier-Than-Thou Traveler." I am guilty of some of these things--especially here in Korea. I'm trying my hardest not to let Ghana spill over into my experience here, especially now that I am trying to make new friends... but I can't help it. I mean, everything there seemed so much more hard core. More difficult. So when this gentleman told me that if I "got into any trouble", I should call this guy... I thought: "What kind of trouble can I possibly get into that is worse than the trouble I could get into in Ghana?" So I am majorly guilty of the Holier than Thou attitude. Because your wallet can get stolen in any country. Your passport can get stolen in any country. You can be in a terrible car accident in any country--but I drop "Africa" like it is this magical place that makes me more hard core than the others here. And I know that if my African friends heard me say those things, they would be annoyed. But sometimes, that "this is easy because I've done something much harder" attitude gets me through the difficult days here. Because, really, it is hard here, too, and I need something to remind me that I can do it.
Anyway I am really enjoying these articles on Matador, and browsing through them. It feels good to be a traveler again, no matter where I am--and that brings me to my excellent weekend, which I promised I would report on.
Let me sum it up for you.
Saturday:
On Saturday, as I mentioned before, Stephanie and I visited Gyeongbokgung. This enormous palace was constructed for the Joseon dynasty, which ruled Korea from 1392 to August 1910. The picture above is from the retreat quarters of King Gojong. Inside there are quarters for the King and Queen, as well as a study--though it was most certainly blocked off from tourists. The area was restored in 2007, after having been dismantled in 1909, during Japanese occupation. An art museum was put on the location in 1939.
The palace had two main areas--the public and the private. The public areas were enormous, impressive, places where the king could strut, as it were. The roofs were two tiered, everything was tall and extravagant, and the painting was out of this world. Humans just looked insignificant next to and inside these enormous buildings.
I picked up a bunch of little trinkets, which I adore, even though they may be kitchy and touristy. I like touristy stuff--no prob for me. Now I have some little glass kimchi peppers on my phone, haha.
After we discovered that the market was actually less interesting than the street-to-the-market, we departed for Itaewon, which is the foreigner section of Seoul. It used to be sleezy, because it was mostly military men, and there are a lot of American GIs still there, I guess, but now it is full of just about anyone. There is a big mosque on a hill, and there are Muslims everywhere. I was simply overjoyed about that one. There were lots of Africans, too, and Stephanie and I went to a restaurant owned by Ghanaians!! Not only Ghanaians, but people from the Ashanti region, which means that they spoke Twi! We made some nice new friends... and actually this one guy insists on calling me two or three times every day, which is something that I hated when I was in Africa, but now it's kind of nice. I get to talk to someone before work, and it isn't about work, and it isn't complicated and confusing. Just talk. It also helps that I don't live in Seoul, though, lol, because he doesn't constantly ask me to visit him.
Anyway, our new African friends were definitely NOT Muslim because they decided that it would be an excellent idea to get us to try their 'healing' wood liquor that had been home made in Korea. (Of course, it's home made in Ghana, too, but seeing it in Korea is weird and confusing. Also because it definitely looked like it was in a juice jug.) That was an enlightening experience, lol... especially because they totally refused to let US refuse. I had a good laugh, but had Stephanie not been there I probably would have been awkward and upset about it. I do believe, though, that it was the same material that I had been drinking in the stilt village on my 21st birthday.
Anyway, on Sunday Stephanie and I visited a huge Buddhist temple called Bong Eungsa, or 보은사. This is a full time used temple, with monks and nuns and worshipers coming in and out. I loved the feeling of it. A quiet, sacred sense settles over you, and you feel like a tourist, but not like a worthless tourist. You feel like you've come to see something important. There is also an awkwardness about it, because there are people praying and worshiping around you. That is hard, but the tension makes you realize things. Tension always leads to realization, I think, anyway, and I enjoy it.
The painting on this temple was out of this world. I've seen good painting, especially at the palace that we visited on Saturday, but this temple had murals on the walls. Scenes from the Buddha's life, scenes from the lives of Bodhisattvas and probably kings as well. There was no one to explain it, so as the monk chanted in the main building, I simply stared at it, and attempted to take a few measly pictures. They don't do it justice.
The monk was chanting when we arrived, and the prayer hall in the front of the building was full to the brim of women. It was all women, not a single man. I don't know why. The chanting was as beautiful as the buildings. As the monk left, I came eye to eye with him, bowed my head in some kind of greeting, but I don't know if it was rude or just 'typical' for a foreigner to do something awkward like that. But I wanted to let him know that I appreciated his voice, and his temple, and his religion, and his purpose... so I looked him in the eye and greeted him. I hope he saw it that way, but I doubt it. Ah well.
The temple had several main halls in the front of the complex, but it was in front of a rising mountain, so smaller Bodhisattva complexes rose up into the forest above. The higher we climbed, the more of metropolitan Seoul spilled out from behind the temple roofs. The ancient, painstakingly maintained buildings with delicate painted halls stood in front of glass sky scrapers--the Seoul World Trade Center--the Co-Ex twin-tower shopping mall--roads of busy, honking traffic. It was ironic and rather superb that this temple, a relic of "old" Korea, but a reminder to "new" Korea, stood in the middle of this development and urban bustle.
After the temple we went to a market, which is where the first picture is from. It was mostly closed, but I enjoyed it anyway, and since there was a lack of people, I didn't feel too pushed and shoved with my big backpack on my shoulders. (Then quite full of trinkets, clothing, and rinkydinks that I bought.)
It's time for me to get on my bike and tool down to work, so I'll leave you with this image, and a link to the others on Facebook.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Holy Canoli, Batman! Seoul!
So this weekend I made my first trip up to Seoul from Daejeon to visit Stephanie! We had an excellent time. We ate at an Indian-Nepalese restaurant, an African (Ghanaian!!) restaurant, AND a Mexican Restaurant! We went to a beautiful palace AND a beautiful temple, and we even heard some amazing chanting. I bought shoes, shirts, and kitchy trinkets that I l-l-love! We even went to a book store!
I arrived around two on Saturday, and Stephanie and I went to Gyeongbokgung, or 경복궁, which was founded in 1395 by the Joseon dynasty. Since then it has been destroyed twice by the Japanese, once in the 1592 invasion, and again in the more well known invasion precluding WWI. One of the important figures in Korean occupation was Empress Myeongseong, who fought the Japanese until she was assassinated in 1895. I'm excited to find out more about her, but so far I don't really know much. All of these buildings were beautifully restored in the mid 1990s and early 2000s, and they're still working on other parts of the enormous complex. It is intriguing and breathtaking that this place is so old but so young, and also such an important symbol. There were many tourists there, but they were from everywhere--and more than 50% were Korean tourists. I heard some Japanese, and actually spoke it a little bit with an older woman. And by speaking I mean, I repeated what she said because I understood it, and she was dumbfounded and asked me if I spoke Japanese, and then I said "a little" and went on my way. But you know. Whatever you can get. Actually that day I spoke four different languages... because I spoke to the Japanese Lady, spoke Korean to folks, and English with Stephanie, and tiny Twi with the owners of the Ghanaian restaurant. Granted... I only used a few words in all but English, but, yeah I'd say that's pretty cool. I'll give myself permission to be proud of myself for that. :P
Anyway, the grandeur and impressiveness of this palace are just beyond beautiful. Everything is enormous, complicated, intricate, and well thought out. There are two impressive mountains standing behind the palace grounds, and they are distinctly Asian mountains. The rock formations are just not anything you would see in the US, and the way they stand is different from American mountains and African mountains. It might be easy to assume that rock is rock everywhere place to place, but no.
There are pictures from the weekend posted on facebook. I won't regale you with the entire story now because that post would just be too long, but check out my gallivanting, and hopefully you'll have a long enough attention span when I attempt to write about it!
I arrived around two on Saturday, and Stephanie and I went to Gyeongbokgung, or 경복궁, which was founded in 1395 by the Joseon dynasty. Since then it has been destroyed twice by the Japanese, once in the 1592 invasion, and again in the more well known invasion precluding WWI. One of the important figures in Korean occupation was Empress Myeongseong, who fought the Japanese until she was assassinated in 1895. I'm excited to find out more about her, but so far I don't really know much. All of these buildings were beautifully restored in the mid 1990s and early 2000s, and they're still working on other parts of the enormous complex. It is intriguing and breathtaking that this place is so old but so young, and also such an important symbol. There were many tourists there, but they were from everywhere--and more than 50% were Korean tourists. I heard some Japanese, and actually spoke it a little bit with an older woman. And by speaking I mean, I repeated what she said because I understood it, and she was dumbfounded and asked me if I spoke Japanese, and then I said "a little" and went on my way. But you know. Whatever you can get. Actually that day I spoke four different languages... because I spoke to the Japanese Lady, spoke Korean to folks, and English with Stephanie, and tiny Twi with the owners of the Ghanaian restaurant. Granted... I only used a few words in all but English, but, yeah I'd say that's pretty cool. I'll give myself permission to be proud of myself for that. :P
Anyway, the grandeur and impressiveness of this palace are just beyond beautiful. Everything is enormous, complicated, intricate, and well thought out. There are two impressive mountains standing behind the palace grounds, and they are distinctly Asian mountains. The rock formations are just not anything you would see in the US, and the way they stand is different from American mountains and African mountains. It might be easy to assume that rock is rock everywhere place to place, but no.
There are pictures from the weekend posted on facebook. I won't regale you with the entire story now because that post would just be too long, but check out my gallivanting, and hopefully you'll have a long enough attention span when I attempt to write about it!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
A new bike and a new stovetop... all in 24 hours!
Oh my! Well, on Wednesday I cracked and decided that I was just going to buy a shiny new bike. I've never had a shiny new bike before--I mean, not one that I bought for myself. My little red baby is back at home, probably rusting away... ;.; but it was a gift/hand me down--and on top of that, it was the prize of the party when it came to being retro. This cute little bike had no gears and back peddle breaks. But now I have a shiny silver jet... it's got a basket and a shelf above the back tire. And it even has five gears! Wow! haha--oh and a BELL. :D
Even better, though, it folds in half, so that when I bring it into my already teeny apartment, it won't take up oodles of space--only half an oodle. Bikes in Korea tho have these tiny little wheels and peddles that I can't quite get used to... so everything turns fast and I'm not used to the subtlety of the movement, haha. Also having a bike with gears means that it is heavy on one side... so riding without hands is a lot harder. Sigh--especially since I can't break with my feet so I have to touch the handlebars. Sad. I feel a lot less cool. On top of that, I'm still used to back peddle breaks... which means that when I'm about to hit someone, I don't reach for the break right away... I back peddle, nothing happens, and then I panic. Haha. We'll see how long it is before I hit something. Let's just hope it's not someone, because I still can't say "I'm sorry" in Korean.
On Wednesday I went out to eat with my coworker and we had some seriously delicious food at a Chinese restaurant. There were... YAM CHIPS in my sweet and sour chicken! YAM CHIPS, guys!! I haven't had a real yam chip since... since Nas made them on the day I left Africa! Holy Buckets of Steaming Fries! It was so exciting.
We also met some fellows from the International Astronautical Convention. Do you know what that means? Space men! I thought it was over, but I was wrong! It's finishing today, so hopefully they will all be out at the bars tonight and I can chat with them, haha. I mean, cuz really, who doesn't want to hang out with an astronaut?!
Even better, though, it folds in half, so that when I bring it into my already teeny apartment, it won't take up oodles of space--only half an oodle. Bikes in Korea tho have these tiny little wheels and peddles that I can't quite get used to... so everything turns fast and I'm not used to the subtlety of the movement, haha. Also having a bike with gears means that it is heavy on one side... so riding without hands is a lot harder. Sigh--especially since I can't break with my feet so I have to touch the handlebars. Sad. I feel a lot less cool. On top of that, I'm still used to back peddle breaks... which means that when I'm about to hit someone, I don't reach for the break right away... I back peddle, nothing happens, and then I panic. Haha. We'll see how long it is before I hit something. Let's just hope it's not someone, because I still can't say "I'm sorry" in Korean.
On Wednesday I went out to eat with my coworker and we had some seriously delicious food at a Chinese restaurant. There were... YAM CHIPS in my sweet and sour chicken! YAM CHIPS, guys!! I haven't had a real yam chip since... since Nas made them on the day I left Africa! Holy Buckets of Steaming Fries! It was so exciting.
We also met some fellows from the International Astronautical Convention. Do you know what that means? Space men! I thought it was over, but I was wrong! It's finishing today, so hopefully they will all be out at the bars tonight and I can chat with them, haha. I mean, cuz really, who doesn't want to hang out with an astronaut?!
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Also, a random blast from the part of me that wants to be in Africa
Check this OUT! This white man can speak Twi like CRAZY! I am so jealous. It inspires me to do all kinds of things... like attempt to practice Korean more. Someday I just hope that someone will have the same reaction I am having when they hear me speak some language.
Actually I went into the kimbab shop that I frequent the other day, and I was quite proud of myself because I ordered my favorite kimbab relatively devoid of hooks--I won't say accent free, but I thought it was pretty good, haha. And, on top of that, I was able to read the menu and check the price, so I could give her the correct change.
Reading is a big deal here, and I really do love that I can do it. It's not hard to learn, and it makes life so much easier--and people are proud of you from the get go, haha. It seems weird to me that so few people learn it. I'll gather some links for anyone that is interested in learning. I did it all online, made tiny little flash cards, and just ran through them when I was waiting for stuff.
Norebang is a BAD idea when loosing one's voice.
Hahaha. Last night we went to Norebang at about 5 in the morning. Norebang is Korean Karaoke, which literally, I think, means "singing room". You get your own room, with microphones, a tv to show you the lyrics, and a lot of awkward people screaming their hearts out. Even if they don't have a voice to scream with--holy buckets. And now I don't have a voice at ALL, haha. But I guess it was worth it. :D
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Friday is my favorite day!
My kids are good, the weekend is near, and life is just simpler. Energy is abundant, because I don't have to save it for anything else.
The online tv that I have been watching has too many love stories in it. I like the action and the adventure, but the love stories make me lonely. I mean, that makes sense of course. I should be lonely. I don't know anyone here very well. I was thinking yesterday about how badly I just wanted to talk to someone. It's funny because I didn't really notice how deeply I missed really hard core conversation until Stephanie came down, and we got to do some of that. Now I crave it.
But that's natural, I think. I mean, you can't move somewhere and expect to know everyone lickity split. Nor can you expect to having the kind of soul-wrenching discussions that seem to fuel us so well. It's natural. There's no reason to be concerned--but it does make me quite impatient. (As if I wasn't enough already.) And just because it's normal doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.
Oddly enough, all I really need to be okay with it is to write it down. Share it a little. Then I feel better. I get it off my chest. I don't feel so isolated, because at least I know that it's normal.
Either way, I am REALLY looking forward to National Novel Writing Month this year. I skipped the last two years, but now with my new found time, I am 100% ready to dive back in, crank out some so-so work, and then really force myself back into the writing world. The best part is that there is a good sized Nano community here in Korea, with about 100 participants in Seoul and another 10 or so in Busan. Since I'm smack dab in the middle of those two cities, I can join people for writing parties in both cities! I think that will be a great way to form some good, deep relationships. People always bond better over the absurd things that they do. I mean, moving to Korea is a pretty absurd thing to do--but everyone I've met so far has been here for a while. Now moving to Korea and then attempting to write a novel in 1 month, that is 2x absurd, and only a very odd breed of people would even attempt it. So I'm pretty excited. :D
Anyway, my new goals for October are to get out a little bit more. Setting goals for the month is important, and this October I want to travel a little bit more. September was good--now I've been here for a month, and it's time to start breaking out of the ordinary. There's stuff to see in this country! And I intend to see it!
The online tv that I have been watching has too many love stories in it. I like the action and the adventure, but the love stories make me lonely. I mean, that makes sense of course. I should be lonely. I don't know anyone here very well. I was thinking yesterday about how badly I just wanted to talk to someone. It's funny because I didn't really notice how deeply I missed really hard core conversation until Stephanie came down, and we got to do some of that. Now I crave it.
But that's natural, I think. I mean, you can't move somewhere and expect to know everyone lickity split. Nor can you expect to having the kind of soul-wrenching discussions that seem to fuel us so well. It's natural. There's no reason to be concerned--but it does make me quite impatient. (As if I wasn't enough already.) And just because it's normal doesn't mean it doesn't hurt.
Oddly enough, all I really need to be okay with it is to write it down. Share it a little. Then I feel better. I get it off my chest. I don't feel so isolated, because at least I know that it's normal.
Either way, I am REALLY looking forward to National Novel Writing Month this year. I skipped the last two years, but now with my new found time, I am 100% ready to dive back in, crank out some so-so work, and then really force myself back into the writing world. The best part is that there is a good sized Nano community here in Korea, with about 100 participants in Seoul and another 10 or so in Busan. Since I'm smack dab in the middle of those two cities, I can join people for writing parties in both cities! I think that will be a great way to form some good, deep relationships. People always bond better over the absurd things that they do. I mean, moving to Korea is a pretty absurd thing to do--but everyone I've met so far has been here for a while. Now moving to Korea and then attempting to write a novel in 1 month, that is 2x absurd, and only a very odd breed of people would even attempt it. So I'm pretty excited. :D
Anyway, my new goals for October are to get out a little bit more. Setting goals for the month is important, and this October I want to travel a little bit more. September was good--now I've been here for a month, and it's time to start breaking out of the ordinary. There's stuff to see in this country! And I intend to see it!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
King Kevin Keeps a 2,000 Year Old Fortress in his Kitchen
Or rather, King Muryeongwang kept his capital in Gongju, in about 500AD.
This weekend is Chuseok weekend. I have two days off and it's been spectacular so far. Stephanie came down from Yongin to visit, and we've been doing plenty of things. On Friday we discovered that there is an enormous market across the street from my subway station... it sells mostly food, so I don't know how often I will actually shop there, but it reminds me of markets at home, especially the Somali and Hmong markets. It is a huge covered building, with little market huts inside. When we wandered about, on the evening before Chuseok, there certainly wasn't much happening, but we did see a lot of fruit and vegetables. I really feel at a loss without ANY Korean. I mean, when someone is shouting at me, I want to know if they are saying "My wares are the best!" or "You just stepped on something!" or "You dropped something!" haha. Though I suppose I should give body language SOME credit, after all.
There are a few simple pagodas just sitting around in my neighborhood. You take your shoes off and you can just sit there. I can't imagine how fantastic that would be for a little kid with a good imagination. That's like an invitation to a playhouse right there. They are painted pagodas, too. Korean pagoda painting is very distinct. It's really interesting, and very beautiful. I enjoy it a lot.
On Saturday, we embarked for a day trip. It was my first time out of Daejeon! I was super excited. We went to the nearby city of Gongju, which is much smaller than Daejeon, and has a lot of great charm. On one side of the river, everything seemed fairly new. It looked just like Daejeon, with tall, uniform apartment buildings, hotels here and there complete with neon, and wide roads with heavy traffic. However, on the other side of the river there was a huge fortress--and it is not like you would imagine a European fortress. This was a fortress not because of tall walls, but because of the landscape. It was surrounded by a steep hill that ancient people had fortified with stairs and a small wall. Yellow flags stood along it, and in the wind they all moved together. It was something positively Asian--like I stepped out of a movie or something.
We explored the fortress--or, rather, we explored some of the fortress before we realized that we couldn't climb a single step more. The main enterance was quite impressive, but it was not the original building. This site has been here for 2,000 years, but it has been built and built again by the various kings who held their capitals here. The first site, I'm sure, has been leveled. But it's the place that remembers, I think. Anyway, the main gate was constructed as a replica sometime after 1933, when the site was basically leveled to create a road. No road stands there now, so I don't know what happened.
It is an extremely steep incline. Everything in this town had an extremely steep incline, haha, but it probably comes in handy. Not only is it ritually symbolic to make people climb to meet you--and I mean excessively climb to meet you--but it is also militarily important. It's pretty hard to fight like this.
This is the pagoda on top of the main enterance gate. Below this there is a gate wide enough for three or four people, and the height is not too high. The doors are heavy and decorated, and the ceiling above it is painted just like the pagoda here is painted. The Japanese and Chinese, I believe, carve their pagodas. The Koreans paint them, usually in these magnificent green and blue and yellow patterns. These are colors that are unique to Korean architecture. The view from the top of this was great. We could see the city and village intermixing behind another ancient gate that sat at the bottom of the hill.
The other side of the same hill... this is something we just walked down. On our way back we cut through the forest on the interior of the fort... not much easier, but at least it wasn't steps!
In a nook between the high hills, there was a river-watching pagoda, a well, and a small temple. The temple was still lived in, and had been lived in for thousands of years. Thousands of years. It astounds me. Monks going about their daily business, seeking enlightenment, for thousands of years. I wonder if enlightenment has changed in thousands of years. People evolve over that time--mentally, physically, do we also evolve spiritually?
These buildings all seemed rectangular. Their proportions were simple but all similar. The painting on the ceilings changed, however, and varied in intensity and complexity. I don't know when the painting was done, since it looked bright and fresh, and some things suggested that the buildings had all been rebuilt after destruction.
After our third or fourth hill, however, Stephanie and I couldn't handle trying another one--plus we hadn't really eaten, and that's never a good thing. So we slowly made our way out of the park. Encountered a taxi curving along the cobble-stone paved roads in the center of the park. Surprised me. 2,000 year old site and now it has taxi drivers quibbling along the roads.
Korean food is probably the most generous food I've eaten so far. And by that, I mean that when you order "Kalbi", which is basically just "meat", you do not receive JUST meat. Nothing just JUST anything. There are three, four, five, six side dishes for every meal possible. Each restaurant has different ones--except for Kimchi--which is everyone's side dish. Everything is so good, and it's like an appetizer plate every time you go out. You never know what you're going to get, and you never know you're going to like it. I like just about everything so far--except for cold soup, haha. Stephanie and I went to a restaurant on Friday that gave us cold noodles, which was weird. But oh well--I mean what do you expect when you walk into a restaurant, can't speak the language to order, and then just nod at the first thing someone suggests? I mean, that is a food adventure right there.
Anyway, in Gongju we ate a fantastic meal, and spent the next few hours exploring the old part of town. Gongju is small enough that the high rises have not overpowered everything yet. Instead they sit in the middle of a conglomeration of other things, and instead of looking dead, they look alive.
Of course, I do think everything looks cooler on a mountain. These buildings are stuffed together around a church. Behind us the buildings are short and stocky, with small windows. I loved the buildings here, in their "I don't care" way. They're all made out of concrete, stuffed together with little windows and short roofs. Since they are all on an incline, they climb each other. You can't figure out where one house ends and another begins--unless the roof colors are different. Some roofs are bright blue--others bright orange. Can't figure that one out. The older ones have the slate tile style. The streets up the hills are tiny and wind around the homes--mostly because they homes were there before the roads were.
At the bottom of the hill, there was a small creek or stream. The main market complex sat next to it. It was enormous, but completely empty. I was sad about that--but who wants to work in the market on Chuseok? Nobody. An old woman motioned to us to sit down with her, but we blatantly ignored it... I felt so bad, but really, what could we have said to her? Nothing. We can't converse. It makes me so sad.
As we wandered along the walking trail on the creek, we came to the market sector. It seemed like a poor part of town--or at least the oldest part of town. The houses were little boxes, and they hung out over the dug out part of the creek. Little pipes came down from their bathrooms--the part of the house that hung over. Trees grew up in weird, crooked places between them. They had tiny windows, and I could hear people inside yelling and talking. Even though the windows were smaller than probably the height of my hand, they were covered with bright little curtains. These houses seemed to perch over this creek accidentally, placing a few poles and pipes there as if they could pick up and move when they wanted to. I loved it.
This weekend is Chuseok weekend. I have two days off and it's been spectacular so far. Stephanie came down from Yongin to visit, and we've been doing plenty of things. On Friday we discovered that there is an enormous market across the street from my subway station... it sells mostly food, so I don't know how often I will actually shop there, but it reminds me of markets at home, especially the Somali and Hmong markets. It is a huge covered building, with little market huts inside. When we wandered about, on the evening before Chuseok, there certainly wasn't much happening, but we did see a lot of fruit and vegetables. I really feel at a loss without ANY Korean. I mean, when someone is shouting at me, I want to know if they are saying "My wares are the best!" or "You just stepped on something!" or "You dropped something!" haha. Though I suppose I should give body language SOME credit, after all.
There are a few simple pagodas just sitting around in my neighborhood. You take your shoes off and you can just sit there. I can't imagine how fantastic that would be for a little kid with a good imagination. That's like an invitation to a playhouse right there. They are painted pagodas, too. Korean pagoda painting is very distinct. It's really interesting, and very beautiful. I enjoy it a lot.
On Saturday, we embarked for a day trip. It was my first time out of Daejeon! I was super excited. We went to the nearby city of Gongju, which is much smaller than Daejeon, and has a lot of great charm. On one side of the river, everything seemed fairly new. It looked just like Daejeon, with tall, uniform apartment buildings, hotels here and there complete with neon, and wide roads with heavy traffic. However, on the other side of the river there was a huge fortress--and it is not like you would imagine a European fortress. This was a fortress not because of tall walls, but because of the landscape. It was surrounded by a steep hill that ancient people had fortified with stairs and a small wall. Yellow flags stood along it, and in the wind they all moved together. It was something positively Asian--like I stepped out of a movie or something.
We explored the fortress--or, rather, we explored some of the fortress before we realized that we couldn't climb a single step more. The main enterance was quite impressive, but it was not the original building. This site has been here for 2,000 years, but it has been built and built again by the various kings who held their capitals here. The first site, I'm sure, has been leveled. But it's the place that remembers, I think. Anyway, the main gate was constructed as a replica sometime after 1933, when the site was basically leveled to create a road. No road stands there now, so I don't know what happened.
The path away from the pagoda runs along the fortification. Some of it is repaired with cement. Other parts are simply stone. I don't know how old it is. All I know is that the men who must have guarded this location had REALLY powerful legs--because they climbed this constantly. This was only the beginning... one part of the complex. The walls went up and down like a rollercoaster.
In a nook between the high hills, there was a river-watching pagoda, a well, and a small temple. The temple was still lived in, and had been lived in for thousands of years. Thousands of years. It astounds me. Monks going about their daily business, seeking enlightenment, for thousands of years. I wonder if enlightenment has changed in thousands of years. People evolve over that time--mentally, physically, do we also evolve spiritually?
These buildings all seemed rectangular. Their proportions were simple but all similar. The painting on the ceilings changed, however, and varied in intensity and complexity. I don't know when the painting was done, since it looked bright and fresh, and some things suggested that the buildings had all been rebuilt after destruction.
After our third or fourth hill, however, Stephanie and I couldn't handle trying another one--plus we hadn't really eaten, and that's never a good thing. So we slowly made our way out of the park. Encountered a taxi curving along the cobble-stone paved roads in the center of the park. Surprised me. 2,000 year old site and now it has taxi drivers quibbling along the roads.
Korean food is probably the most generous food I've eaten so far. And by that, I mean that when you order "Kalbi", which is basically just "meat", you do not receive JUST meat. Nothing just JUST anything. There are three, four, five, six side dishes for every meal possible. Each restaurant has different ones--except for Kimchi--which is everyone's side dish. Everything is so good, and it's like an appetizer plate every time you go out. You never know what you're going to get, and you never know you're going to like it. I like just about everything so far--except for cold soup, haha. Stephanie and I went to a restaurant on Friday that gave us cold noodles, which was weird. But oh well--I mean what do you expect when you walk into a restaurant, can't speak the language to order, and then just nod at the first thing someone suggests? I mean, that is a food adventure right there.
Anyway, in Gongju we ate a fantastic meal, and spent the next few hours exploring the old part of town. Gongju is small enough that the high rises have not overpowered everything yet. Instead they sit in the middle of a conglomeration of other things, and instead of looking dead, they look alive.
At the bottom of the hill, there was a small creek or stream. The main market complex sat next to it. It was enormous, but completely empty. I was sad about that--but who wants to work in the market on Chuseok? Nobody. An old woman motioned to us to sit down with her, but we blatantly ignored it... I felt so bad, but really, what could we have said to her? Nothing. We can't converse. It makes me so sad.
As we wandered along the walking trail on the creek, we came to the market sector. It seemed like a poor part of town--or at least the oldest part of town. The houses were little boxes, and they hung out over the dug out part of the creek. Little pipes came down from their bathrooms--the part of the house that hung over. Trees grew up in weird, crooked places between them. They had tiny windows, and I could hear people inside yelling and talking. Even though the windows were smaller than probably the height of my hand, they were covered with bright little curtains. These houses seemed to perch over this creek accidentally, placing a few poles and pipes there as if they could pick up and move when they wanted to. I loved it.
Overall the trip was great--and we were even home by sunset. The drive through the mountains was magnificent with the setting sun.
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