So much history, so much future

Welp, it's finally here - and it's gonna be short and sweet because (once again) I'm feeling rather lazy and have waited too long to write. But, on the other hand, that's a great thing for anybody who might read it because you're going to get the important stuff and not the fluff (: Of course, I have pictures of the trip, conveniently split up into two albums of awesomeness: AWESOME #1 and because you can't get enough, AWESOMER #2.

So, here's what I think is worth mentioning:
1) China is really cool. I went to Beijing for most of the time, and then on the last day there went to Xian (pronounced "shee-an") to see the Terracotta Warriors. Which is cool, except China is HUGE so I really want to go back to see more... to see the "real" China.

2) While we were in Beijing, they were of course preparing for the Olympics... emphasize, if you will, the PREPARING. There was still a lot of incomplete construction, which had been halted so as to reduce the pollution before the games.

3) Even though they were working on reducing the pollution, there was still a distinct haze in the sky that was REALLY noticeable when you were in a plane going through it.... it was a cloud that surrounded the city so that once you were above it you couldn't see anything below.

4) In preparation for the Olympics we noticed that Beijing had put new, pretty walls around the old, "ugly" parts of the city that they didn't want visitors to see. You can see examples in the slideshow link posted above.

5) The social customs there permit men to walk around without shirts when they are hot, or at least to lift their shirts up exposing their bellies... and yes, all the guys who exposed themselves were the ones you least wanted to do so.

6) All you hear about China these days is how much their economy has grown and how big of a world player they are. But they have SO MUCH MORE growing to do, and I can guarantee that they will once again be the world's superpower in a very short amount of time. I have resolved, after being there, that my kids will grow up speaking Chinese one way or another (if it's not mandatory to learn it in school by then - which I think would be a GREAT idea). Seriously, China is going to wreck shop.

And that about sums it all up. The pictures show more than I could say, and provide more mental stimulation anyway :p

To close here is "one of the most moving one-minute videos you will ever see", and it's less than 2 minutes long so you have no excuse not to watch it!

Jeju, Summer, etc.

Let summer begin!!

My first semester of teaching English in South Korea is coming to a close.  We have 1 more week of school left, but they've already taken their finals... so that means MOVIE WEEK for the students!  Because seriously - finals are over - who's gonna care about school now??

Last week I took my night class out for dinner for our last class of the semester.  We ate some delicious shabu-shabu (basically a Korean stew).  Here we are, me looking awkward and unprofessional in my white tee.  And below that is a picture of the city, Yangsan, from our school... it was especially clear that night!  (See one of the first few posts for a picture of the yellow dust that I'm used to clouding up the view).

Speaking of eating, here is more stuff that I think Koreans consider food.

I have no idea what they are, or if in fact they are used for food... but we were walking down a street market of entirely food - - so I am assuming that people eat them.

BASEBALL IN KOREA IS AWESOME!  It really is like going to a game in College Station!  Every batter has their own song, the team itself has its own song, they have a yell leader that coordinates crowd chants... and in the 8th inning they pass out orange bags that people blow up and put on their heads!  (The bags are then used to pick up your own trash - how cool is that???)  It was an absolute blast, some of the most fun I've had on a Sunday afternoon in Korea to date.  The game I went to, the home team (the Lotte Giants of Busan) won in the BOTTOM OF THE 9TH!  It was really exciting, and the place went absolutely nuts - - it was the perfect introduction to Korean baseball anybody could ask for.

Working in a high school (as opposed to a private tutoring place) has some extremely awesome benefits.  Besides getting 5 weeks summer vacation, we also got 3 days off while the students took their finals.  Add that to the weekend, and you're looking at a 5 day break!  So Kelly, Britani and I decided to go on a trip... and after some last minute planning, we went to Jeju - Korea's most famous island, and a point of pride for the country.  Koreans like to say it's their version of Hawaii.  And while I'm not sure that I would agree (not having ever been to Hawaii), I'll let you judge for yourself  (PICTURES HERE).

Anyway, the bottom line is we are really lucky.  In a week my mom will be here and we'll be going to China.  In 2 weeks Mere will be here and the 3 of us will be going to Japan.  I'm hoping to get scuba certified after that... but we'll see what happens (:

Life is good.  Whoop for summer...

North Korea

A couple of weekends ago I took a trip with Britani to North Korea.  A country that is at war with South Korea, and a country that is on the United State's list of State Sponsors of Terrorism.  People are starving, and citizens who cross the border (intentionally or not) are shot without a second thought.  

Basically life for non-military people sucks there.

Except for where we went.  

We left Busan around 7 PM, and took the 3 hour KTX (speed train) ride to Seoul to meet up with the Adventure Korea travel group hosting the trip.  In all there were 2 buses full of foreigners, and we headed off for the border around 12:30 AM.

The trip to the DMZ (demilitarized zone between N. and S. Korea) was long - we didn't get through the immigration office until around 10 AM Saturday morning.  But the excitement of going through such a historically significant place and seeing the 2 militaries still squaring off with each other woke everyone up, despite not having got any sleep.

We finally arrived at Mount Geumgangsan mid-day.  The pictures tell the story and give you an indication just how beautiful it was that weekend - and that's all that needs to be said on that. (PICTURES HERE)

But what really got me overall was just how utterly fake the entire trip was.  Military personnel were scattered throughout the town, especially on the edges, and waved you away with a scowl if you wandered too far away from the happy world they had set up to show you just how great North Korea was.  The whole "town", if you could call it that, was obviously built for South Korean and foreign tourists.  The buildings were new, the restaurants were clean and delicious, the people were friendly, the hotel was spotless and beautiful....... and I couldn't help but wonder if there were people starving to death on the other side of the mountain while we were wandering around the duty-free store looking at North Face jackets and Rolex watches.  It just seemed altogether unfair, and I still feel eerie thinking about it.

To their credit though, the hiking was phenomenal, the Adventure Korea staff members were GREAT hosts, and I'd recommend the trip to anyone.

And of course, for some positive closing inspiration, a (short) True Story of a Grateful Whale.

"You know what I've heard Korea has a lot of?"

"Seoul." - BR :p

After almost two and a half months of being in Korea, it seems as though my computer issues might finally be solved!  (Although I hesitate to say so, for fear of being jinxed...)  I now have my computer back in working order, and I think it's cool as all get-out that my new keyboard has Korean characters on it in addition to the traditional English characters (:

The last two weeks have been pretty awesome.  Two weeks ago we didn't have actual class because the students were preparing for mid-terms.  The students still came to our English class, but we gave them 'free-time' to study whatever they wanted.  That meant I had a lot of time to catch up on correcting essays and to read.  You'll notice I've started a list of books that I've read here in Korea on the right side of the page.

Last week we only had 'class' for one day, since Monday was a holiday and Wed-Fri the students were taking midterms.  This weekend, Brittani and I went to Seoul after numerous plans fell through (which I'll describe below) and it was a great time.  We got to see some pretty cool things and meet some pretty cool people, and you can see PICTURES HERE.

I'd now like to chronicle the evolution of Brittani and I's legal status in Korea, and how it has affected our leisure plans and sanity:

For me, it started with needing a certified criminal record from the State of Texas in order to fulfill a visa requirement.  I ended up driving 900 some-odd miles for it, and thought that the worst of my troubles had to be over.  That was followed by a trip to Japan to get the actual visa - only to discover that Brittani and I's diploma's had yet to be certified by the Korean consulate.  We were first told that we'd have to return to the US in order to get that certification, but were blessed with the news that we did not, after all, need to take the 20+ hour trip back home and would only need to return to Japan again in a couple of weeks.  

On our journey to Japan for the second time, we encountered our first challenge when we missed our boat.  That meant that we had to take a boat leaving 3 hours later, and since the trip takes approximately 3 hours, we were in danger of not making it to the Korean Consulate's office in Japan before they closed for the weekend.  After cutting in lines, racing through the port, and exchanging currency, we arrived at the consulate 20 minutes before they closed... to be greeted with the news that MY diploma had not been certified.  And after an hours wait, and some haggling by Mr. Choi, we finally - after 6 weeks of trying - got our visas and were legally able to work in the country.

Then our attention turned to getting our Alien Registration Card, and planning out what we'd do over the huge break we had during mid-terms.  We went to the hospital to get a medical check-up to submit to the immigration office for our ARC's, and made plans (which were all scrapped for various reasons) to go on a trip to the Philippines, Malaysia, China, and Jeju Island (a Korean island).  

What should have taken 5 days to get our ARC's in fact took 3 weeks.  And because we had to submit our passports in order to get our ARC's, Brittani and I had to cancel any plans of leaving the country over the large break.

But we still had high hopes that we'd be able to at least take advantage of the last 3 days of our break by going with a travel group to another part of Korea, since we would 'for sure' have all of our required documentation back from the Korean government in time.  However, with 3 days to go until we left for our trip, and without any form of ID having been returned to us, Brittani and I took matters into our own hands and got everything taken care of.  After weeks of miscommunication and middlemen, Brittani and I got things handled in 3 days flat.

Which brings us to last Friday:  We finally had our passports back, we had our ARCs, and we were packed and ready to go to the coast and relax on the beach all weekend, just waiting to board our train that left in just over half an hour.  All of the problems that we'd faced in our 80 days in Korea had finally been resolved and as we took our first  sigh of relief - Brittani's phone rang.  In typical Korean style, we were regretfully informed that our vacation (the one that we'd been planning for weeks and were desperately looking forward to) was being cancelled by the travel agency because of expected bad weather.

We couldn't do anything but laugh.  We had surmounted so many obstacles with the inefficiency of our information sources and the Korean government, only to be put back in our places by mother nature.  That's the way life is in Korea - and while I am at times less than amused with it, I have to admit that I enjoy the ever-changing environment and my inability to even remotely predict my immediate future.

My closing advice:  If you haven't given somebody a hug today, do it.  And if you have, give another one.  "Hugs are good, they feel nice, and if you don't believe it, try it." - Leo Buscaglia, teacher and author.  

Bad Apples

Creepy street art? Yes.

So the long and short of it is that my computer stopped working... which is my excuse for not having updated this anytime recently. Apparently, it had/has what is called a "kernal panic" (I don't have a clue what that means), and in 2 weeks the Apple repair store replaced my mother board and keyboard.  And the first thing is does when I get it home and turn it on is freak out!  So, I really don't think it's fixed yet - - but I'm REALLY hesitant to give it back for repairs and live without my computer for another 2 weeks, so I'm gonna just roll with it!

I've done a bit-o-stuff in the last month:  

1. Brittani and I went to Japan for the second time to get our visas (PICTURES HERE) and were lucky it worked out because we missed our boat.
2. We visited a place called Gyeongju and got to see a giant Buddha, a park FULL of cherry blossoms and eat silk worms (PICTURES HERE).  I don't recommend the silk worms.
3. We went to a couple of festivals and got to see the coast and a field full of beautiful yellow wildflowers (PICTURES HERE).
   
4. I had my first experience with a bidet.  (But no pictures to commemorate that event...)
5. And while I'm hesitant to admit, I have eaten dog, whale, and an octopus that was still squirming (video below).

So to end with some inspirational words of wisdom that anyone can use (especially Koreans, it can be kinda dirty in some places here), as only a Korean sweatshirt could put it:

Gig This.

Three short things to share.  This one'll be quick and to the point (:

So I had to represent... made this lil diddy before my first class.

I thought this picture represented some stereotypical differences between guys and girls rather well... the left cup, all pretty and fun, is Britani's coffee mug.  The used ramen noodle cup on the right is mine.

And lastly, below are 2 pictures of the "Asian Dust" that is found all over East Asia this time of year.  Click here for the wikipedia article if are so inclined, but the long and short of it is that China's industrialization and desertification have made the dust a global issue.  The second picture shows the same area of land as the dust thickened to hide the mountain beyond... It's delightful.

Korea: How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways……….

 

So in thinking about what I wanted to write today, I had a few options.  Of course, I could have talked about my first day of teaching and how I didn’t understand what people meant when they said, “You’re going to be famous” until 5 different Korean students stopped me in the hallway and told me my name… within the first hour of my being there.  Or how when every group of students the 3 of us native English speakers passed in the hall would stop with mouths wide open, yell, “HIIII!!”, and run away giggling.   Or how when we walked into the lunch room almost everyone stopped eating to stare and smile.

 

But then I could have talked about how today I woke up at 5 AM to call Apple to see about fixing this da’gum computer.  And how ironic it seemed that Monday I had secretly dubbed Kelly “The Ice Queen” and Tuesday, on her birthday, it was snowing outside.

 

But instead I’d like to tell you about visa photos.

 

Last week Britani and I went to Japan to get our visas, but as you know it didn’t really work out.  I mentioned before that it was a fabulous trip, and that nothing particularly exciting happened – it was just hanging out with Mr. Choi and watching his absent mind race that made it so fun.  WELL, one of the absent-minded things Mr. Choi did on that trip was forget my visa photos that I had emailed to him months before.  Which he realized as I was standing in line to get my visa.  “Ohhh…”, he says.  “We have a some kind of problem.  You need a picture, and I forgot-ee.”

 

So there I was, ready to get my visa, and I didn’t have a picture.  It was just another drop in the full bucket of Hassle that is getting a visa.  But fortunately, right there in the middle of the room was a photo booth that took visa pictures for silly people like me that didn’t have one!!  HOORAY! 

Switching gears, above you'll see an envelope that Mr. Choi gave me – so unassuming and modest.  Not wanting any attention, just being happy with its job of containing its bulging mass of…. Something. 

 

“A late birthday present?” I wondered.  “Hmmm, let’s open it and see…”

WHAT!!  Not only had Mr. Choi forgotten to bring the visa photo, he forgot to bring the THOUSAND VISA PHOTOS of me that he had already printed off!

 

And how much did I pay to have my picture taken at that photo booth in Japan???

That’s RIGHT!  SIX DOLLARS!!   And how many Japanese Yen is that??

That’s RIGHT!  SIX HUNDRED!!  And not that six bucks is a lot, it’s not.  It’s just the principle of the matter.  So, to get my six dollars worth, I have created some fine art with the stack of unused pictures that I now have.  Do enjoy.

I call this, "Pyramid of Dom"

This one is called, "Sky Rockets in Flight"

And last, and probably least, "Lolly Pop, Rat, and Gnome"... which is supposed to be a boy and his dog playing in the park next to a tree...  I try.

Golf, sashimi, and traditional fish market

So, here is the slideshow -the important part!

Had you asked me anytime before now what my thoughts on playing golf were, I would have told you that it sucked and I hated it because I was terrible at it.

Well, it doesn't suck so much anymore - but I'm still terrible at it. Why does it not suck?? Because Mr. Choi took us to the driving range today and it was REALLLLY FUN!! While he's no Tiger, he helped me learn so much about how to hit a golf ball that I think I may have found a cool new hobby. Golf requires so much mental concentration and physical skill - - and while there is no direct physical competition between players, I'd have to say that it might now be my #2 favorite sport to play!

Of course, new-found fondness may also be partly influenced by the fact that this driving range was AMAZING... you didn't even have to bend over to set the ball on a tee!! A little rubber tube would sink down into the ground, grab a ball, and pop back up with the ball on top ready for you to hit at your will. And when you whacked the ball away, it would sink back down and get you another ball. GENIUS SYSTEM!!

It was surprisingly taxing, so I was excited to sit down and rest for lunch at a restaurant that specialized in sashimi (uncooked, completely raw pieces of fish). Honestly, it wasn't that bad... and there were moments where I actually found myself LIKING the taste and texture! But most of the moments were spent telling myself that the food was REALLY expensive (as in, there was nothing under $30 on the menu, and I'd wager that the total bill was well in excess of $100 for 5 people....) and it would be REALLY rude to not eat it. "Don't think, just eat... don't think, just eat!" is what I kept telling myself, and it worked.

The restaurant had a great view overlooking a bay, and after we finished eating we walked around to experience the traditional Korean fish market that had been set up. It was a really cool experience, and quite humbling.... up until today, we had only seen the developed parts of urban Korea - nice restaurants, successful cities, business men in suits, etc.. But the people in the fish market led a completely different life. You can see from some of the pictures some old ladies who worked there, and they had probably worked there for their entire life. There were also kids running around, too - and I couldn't help but think that if I came back in 50 years I'd see the youngsters that were running around today sitting right where the old ladies were. As Britani said, not that there's anything wrong with working in a fish market - but we are so lucky to be where we are in our lives, and especially with our job here in Korea.

Speaking of our job, tomorrow is the first day of school. Mr. Choi had requested that we create a test for all of the first year students so that we can place them into 3 levels of classes: basic, intermediate, and advanced. But, in true Mr. Choi fashion, we aren't quite sure what we're supposed to be doing tomorrow - so Britani and I made up tests for their writing and speaking abilities, as well as an alternate plan to have a "syllabus day" of sorts if we aren't supposed to start actual work on the first day... we'll see how it goes.

With that, it's time for bed - I can't be sleeping through my alarm on the very first day of work!!

Picture Update

Click Here for the slideshow of the flight to Korea and my first Korean dish

Click Here for a slideshow of the ongoing album, 'Sights in Busan'

Click Here for a slideshow of another ongoing album, Busan's Beautification

Click Here for a slideshow of our trip to Tongdosa

Click Here for the slideshow of our visa run to Fukuoka, Japan

Test 1-2-3 (Anything but that...)

This is it! The hard-hitting, insightful, entertaining FIRST blog entry!  Hold on to your butts....

If you know me and my (lack of) communication skills, you'll know how much of a joke that is. But hopefully it won't be so bad - I have pictures!  Maybe I'll win over those kindergarten picture-book fanatics who haven't strayed from that preference since.

Here are a couple of pictures from the skydiving trip we took recently.  The first one is of the people who actually jumped, the rest are random selections.

Do you SEE that last one?!  Those tiny specs of dirt-like smudges from a seemingly dirty lens? That's us waaaay up in the air!  I'll go ahead an say what you must surely be thinking, "They are such badasses." But I won't lie, there were moments that I questioned it... 

Like when they opened the door of the sardine-can (the plane - see the picture with Eric above), I wasn't so sure I had made a good life choice.  And when I swung my feet outside and my legs were dangling in space, I knew I hadn't.  And when that mother f---er pushed me out of the plane, I was kicking myself for telling my parents that if the unthinkable happened, I was OK with it because I was actually "living life".  Because I was most assuredly NOT OK with "the unthinkable" at that point, and as soon as we landed, I was going to take care of some newly unsettled business I had with the guy strapped to my back.

Those feelings lasted for all of 2 seconds, and like a switch turning on, the sensation of free-falling a mile down to the Earth kicked in. It was I-N-C-R-E-D-I-B-L-E, and I can't wait to do it again!!  Kelly says they have paragliding in Korea, and rest assured we will be investigating....

After we landed, they gave us certificates to commemorate our first jump.  It had a silly story, but I like the way it ended... so I'll end this entry with the same:

"May you always enjoy blue skies above, and may your landings be forever soft."