Finally in Busan!

Before I get to Busan, I must say that fortunately, I did not end up staying in for my last night in Seoul. My friend who had told me she may not be able to go out got her work done and came to pick me up as I was looking at picture of Ironman Japan...haha. Anyway, we went out to a western-style bar for a bit - it was a really good time. I got back at 3am, woke up at 6:30a, had closing ceremonies, and jumped on a bus to Busan.

The bus ride took about 5-6 hours total, including stopping for lunch for a half hour and a few other short pit stops. Korea is SO beautiful! After 15 or so minute of getting out of Seoul, there was no point during the bus ride where mountains were not surrounding us on both sides, no exaggeration. It was almost as if the people who made the highway cut down mountains in the middle so that the road could be flat. CRAZY.

I brought War and Peace on the bus - I am on page 2. That's how amazing the view was (and that was not meant to comment on Tolstoy's level of engagement, just to be clear for all you Russian lit haters... :) )

So we got to the POE (I think that is where we were) of Busan - POE meaning Provincial Office of Education. 100 or so of us arrived with all of our luggage, and met our co-teachers. It was crazy! At first we were bombarded with co-teachers yelling their teachers' names and grabbing them and yelling, Ok! Let's go!" I was hoping I would get a teacher like that...aggressive, to the point. Ha. No such luck. So the 50 or 60% of us who did not get co-teachers who were waiting for us in the hall, we moved into the main room where the rest of the co-teachers were. Many of the teachers in that room looked very uninterested (at least there was a definite lack of excitement), tired, or maybe a little annoyed at the chaos); but also, as more and more EPIK teachers were being escorted out, it seemed like most of the co-teachers could not speak English very well (maybe that is why they were not so aggressive in the first place..). For me, that would not be a huge issue, but if he or she could not speak much English AND they weren't very interested in helping me get settled in...that kind of scared me a little...

I started looking around the room, for some co-teachers had signs with our names on them. So I'm looking...and finally I see a somewhat-timid looking woman with a sign that said "Catie Markes-ich" (the dash indicates that the 'ich' was continued underneath the rest of the name). Haha. So I went over and introduced myself, and we got out of there ASAP. We didn't speak much in leaving the POE, because I discovered that her English was not so good (she told me), and so since I was really tired I figured I would just chill and not try to say too much and overwhelm her by me asking too many questions. So I go get my bike and huge bag - she is very small mind you, and she sees the bags and her eyes widen with nervousness. Naturally, I took them both, and my backpack,
and gave her my purse. We go down to a taxi - this place is crazy now with teachers leaving in cars and taxis and kids getting out of school - and load up the taxi as follows: big suitcase and purse in trunk, bike and monstrous backpack in backseat, co-teacher in front....me laying on top of my bikebox in the backseat. They seemed a little rattled that there was nowhere else for me to sit. I wouldn't have had it any other way. I got some extra leverage to check out the streets of Busan from a taxi - fine by me! Although I had to close one of the windows so that my feet wouldn't slip out of the window when the cabbie took a hard turn or stopped short. That was probably the best cab ride of my life.

Anyway, in the cab, we are still not talking much, because I figured it might be easier for her to talk face to face. But she tells me that my apartment is not yet ready and that I have to go to a motel for 2 nights. She seemed a little scared to tell me that, and I can understand why...and I was a little disappointed because I just wanted to get home and unpack...but really, not the end of the world at all. This girl gets stuck with me, this crazy foreigner, doesn't speak much English...I'm trying to make it as easy on her as possible (and I want to create a good relationship with her of course!)

Before going to the motel, we stopped at the school and met another of the teachers (actually, I almost met two teachers, but the second apparently was very shy and he literally ran away from me...twice...hahahahaha. That was great...). The other teacher I met is SO incredibly nice, and speaks no English. Except for "ooh, high heels!" (when I opened my big back to transfer clothes into my backback) But anyway, she kept grabbing my hands and saying, "so friendly!" in Korean - (I can't remember how you say it - maybe something like chin-chu). She hugged me a few times too - even though things weren't going as smoothly as I had hoped in general, I am so glad that I have been placed at this school - I think I will get along very nicely here.

After meeting the other teacher, I brought my bags in the school and left my bike and big suitcase there, locked up...and I realized why when I got to the motel - it would have been a mess to bring those bags into the motel, because it is quite small (the foyer area is almost non-existent). But the room is very nice - they have supplied me with shampoo, toothbrush, toothpaste, a brush, hairdryer, fridge, tv, and some juice, and a water cooler. It seems like they are really going out of their way to make me feel comfortable!

After dropping my stuff off, my co-teacher asked me if I wanted to go get dinner with her, and naturally I accepted. She decided to call her friend, who apparently spoke better English than she, because I think she wanted me to feel more comfortable. Also, her friend is my age - 24 in Korean age - and apparently in Korea, anyone who is the same age as you is automatically your friend. haha. (We learned that in orientation. Korean age is basically you are 1 when you are born, and then turn 2 at the turn of the next year. So for me, I would be 1 on May 29, and on Jan 1 1986 I would be 2 years old. On May 29, 1986, I would continue to be 2 years old, but would still celebrate my birthday. So in essence, someone in Korea who is only 26 in US age could be 28 in Korean age, if the month is Feb for example and his of her birthday is in June. Does that make sense?) My co-teacher is 27, so she was happy that her friend was my age (not that she and I can't be friends because we aren't the same age, but I think there will always be a little bit of a distance between people of different ages. Although that custom may be deteriorating in the new generation.

Anyway, we meet up with him - and he is extremely nice. We went out to dinner - oh man, SO GOOD. We got this chicken with very spicy sauce (they asked me what I liked and I said mostly anything - rice, vegetables, spicy stuff..) and it came in one big plate/bowl, communal. We all had our own bowls and just took from the main. They also ordered a hot pot of cheese for dipping - if you don't like double dipping, you would not have liked this meal. At one point I dropped a piece of chicken in the cheese...and it was no big deal...haha. Before t he chicken, for an appetizer sort of thing, the restaurant gives you radishes and cabbage salad. Mmmmm. Loved it. And to drink we got some pitchers of soju, although it was kind of like a mixed drink with soju in it. I abided by my culture training and made sure to refill their cups when their glasses were empty, and they loved that! Also, they were very impressed with my chopstick skills - haha.

After dinner, we went for icecream - I think I mentioned Korean icecream before - icecream, ice, fruit, beans...delicious. We all exchanged phone numbers (I didn't give them my phone number because I don't have a phone yet..) and emails. They are so nice, and have such great personalities - very energetic and outgoing - especially my co-teachers friend - and we all got along very very well.

After icecream, they took me shopping for some food for the next few days (until I get my apartment), and then took me to get a subway/bus pass thing. You attach it to your phone (or for me, my wallet for now) and can add money to it whenever you need to, and just scan it when you get on the bus or subway and don't have to worry about money. After that we departed, for I was starting to lose steam (as I am now), and my co-teacher took me back to my motel. Overall, it was an AMAZING day.

In an hour I am meeting up with her again as well as the other teacher that I met yesterday. I think they want to take me shopping...but I'm not sure...but I am very excited for another fantastic day in Busan!

Last Night in Seoul

So I was all set to go out tonight and have some fun, but the people with whom I was supposed to go out (some of them were coordinators for the program) ended up having a bunch of paperwork to do, and since most of us don't have cell phones, I couldn't get in touch with everyone else. So I will probably spend my last night in Seoul either running, prepping for meeting my co-teacher, looking at Yonsei Univeristy for graduate programs... or maybe all three. Maybe even dipping into War and Peace. It just stinks when you are all excited to go out with smashing people and it ends up being a bust. :( I'm sad.

But I have to wake up at around 6:30a tomorrow anyhow, for the teachers going to Busan have to load our luggage at 7:50a. We have our closing ceremony at 10a, and I believe we Busan-ers are leaving the ceremony early at 10:30 because it will take us 5-6 hours to get there, for Busan is almost in the southeast part of South Korea while Seoul is in the northern western part.

We meet our co-teachers tomorrow. I am nervous, but definitely excited too. I want to create a good impression, but I also want to try and make sure that I get everything I need to get done as soon as possible. Apparently the co-teachers get no extra incentive for helping us out with getting our Alien Registration Cards and our bank accounts and anything else we may need, so I need to try and figure out how to prevent him or her from despising these chores. Since I don't yet have any gifts to bear, hopefully a smile and attempts at speaking Korean going horrifically awry will suffice for now.

I'm getting side-tracked and have started watching videos on Ironman China and Japan, so I am going to succumb into that pressure. On a separate note, it is amazing how awake I feel from half a liter of Pepsi now having been off coffee for about 2 weeks (I decided to have a bit of caffeine because I thought I would be going out tonight...BAH). Anyway. I may not have time to write in the next week or so, because I can't officially set up my internet until I get my ARC, which would take a week or two. So...stay tuned for some interesting stories in the near future!

Night Life in Seoul; Hangeul

This entry is split up into two sections: Night Life in Seoul, and the Hangeul Alphabet.

NIGHT LIFE IN SEOUL

Unfortunately, I don't have as much experience with this subject as many of my fellow teachers, because I am a little bit lame. But that's me, and that's probably why many of you love me :) (For example, last night after our evening meeting, I declined to go to an amazing market with some really cool fellow English Teachers to take a nap from 9:30-11:30, and then subsequently go for a night run. Other people were out drinking, sucking up Seoul...yea...it's cool, for me, that was a pretty sweet night.

ANYWAY. I can comment on the few nights that I have been out. Both times I just went and chillaxed in a few bars. Two of them were more like the kind of bar you might find in New Haven - (like a Viva's and a Richters) and the other was more like a trendy type bar. Anyway, from my experience, everyone seemed really nice. One night I was with a few friends, and none of us spoke Korean. But we just smiled a lot, made gestures, and were really friendly, and the people working at the bar seemed to like us just fine. One thing to remember in Korea - NO TIPPING. It is an insult here. I think it might be like suggesting that they are poor and might see it as you trying to give them charity. It's a little awkward at first, especially when you want to do show them your appreciation. But just trying to speak a little Korean seems to go a long way in the showing-appreciation department. (Pic below: me and Ashley, a former coordinator who will now be studying at Yonsei University in Seoul)

One thing I really like about dining here is the sense of community. Everyone is always conscious of others, making sure that no one's glass is ever empty. Whenever someone finishes his cup, another person will jump to pour more drink for that person. Whenever we go out, we always try to practice that custom - I really love it. It makes me feel happy to make sure others are enjoying themselves, and it makes you feel really good yourself to know that others care about you enough to be watching to make sure you always have enough to drink. And the Koreans do love to drink (more about that later).

Whenever someone pours you a drink, they take the pitcher/bottle with two hands, and when you receive a drink, you pick up the glass with two hands, and lift the glass off of the table. If the glass is left on the table, it is considered rude. Also, when you take your first drink, usually you turn your back on the person who poured your drink (I'm not sure why...). I'm not actually sure if that is still practiced...but I will find out soon enough when I go out to dinner with my co-workers in a week or two (that entry will be very interesting, I'm sure...). Also, when you go to a bar, at most places, you must order food as well as drink. Just an interesting aside.

Seoul is so bustling and energetic at night. There are lights everywhere - it is like nothing I have ever seen before. If I had to compare it to a city in the States, I would have to say it most resembles Vegas - multi-colored lights everywhere...everyone out until all hours of the night...I should have taken pictures...maybe I'll just have to come back some weekend.

Soju is the drink of choice here, which is apparently similar to the strength of wine and to the taste of vodka. However, some soju is stronger than others, so drinker beware. Many people have horror stories with soju, also, because the Koreans drink it so liberally, and are always filling up your glass, so especially when you are out with other Koreans treating you, you can end up drinking a lot more than your body might appreciate.

Beer is prevalent here too, although not nearly as popular as soju. 3L of beer is about 15,000won, about $14-$15. YEAH. Dirt cheap. Ohhh Seoul....

Perhaps more on Seoul in a few days, as I will probably be attempting to be social these last two nights at Konkuk University, before diving into the world of teaching in Busan. Stay tuned. Now for a bit about the amazingness of Hangeul.

HANGEUL

Hangeul is the Korean alphabet. It has 19 consonants and 21 vowels, and is extremely easy to learn. I've probably spent 5-6 hours on the alphabet in the past 3 weeks and I can pretty much sound out anything. Each syllable is a block of usually two or three letters, and is refered to as a syllable block. It is AWESOME.

Today I was studying the numbers (the numbers used for monetary purposes...the words for counting numbers are completely different). I LOVE hangeul's numeric system. It is based on tens, unlike our system. For example, our system has "eleven, twelve, thirteen..." where hangeul has "10 1 (the word for 'ten' and then the word for 'one' right after), 10 2, 10 3". And instead of "twenty, thirty, fourty..." it has "2 10 (two tens), 3 10, 4 10..." Numbers in multiple of tens are unique until 10,000, and then 10,000 starts being multiplied to make higher numbers. For example, 10 is "shiip", 100 is "paek", 1,000 is "ch'eon", 10,000 is "man", and then 100,000 is "shiimman" (10 x 10,000). !!!!!! Ahhhh I love it. LOVE IT!!!! It is going to take me a bit to be able to rattle these off my head quickly, though - having to multiply as well as come up with the vocab on the spot (I tried earlier today to say out loud the price of my dinner, which was 2,500 won...more on that in a second...), but on the spot I couldn't recall the number for 2 and 1000 and 5 and 100, but if I had, I would have just said "iil-ch'eon oh-paek". Oh man I love this place.

Getting back to my dinner of 2,500 won (roughly $2.50), this is what I purchased:

$2.50!!!! For a small orange juice, mentos, and two different types of "gimbop" - basically rice wrapped in seaweed - the bigger one is more like a rice burrito, and the smaller one is more spicy, with anchovies, apparently (I love the smaller one - it is soo delicious - aju masshiit seumnida!

Korean Folk Village

On Sunday, all 400 of us took a field trip to a Korean Folk Village in Seoul. It was actually really fun! Upon arrival we had a tour for about an hour where we saw things like an old Korean jail. Some of these images were a bit disturbing for in the dark the dummies looked somewhat real...so I guess the effect was achieved. Other sites we saw on the tour were traditional houses in old Korean villages and everyday contraptions used to make food.

After the tour, we saw a bunch of performances. My favorite was definitely the Farmer's Dance. There was so much wonderful color, lots of movement, dancing, acrobatics, percussion, and crazy hats with streamers attached to the stick pointing off the end of the hat. The multi-tasking was amazing! Acrobatics and getting the streamers to move like they did were just two things that contributed to this awesome dance. Also, one of Korea's traditional instruments, the janggu, was played in this dance. This instrument looks like an hour-glass drum, and sounds pretty sweet too. This performance was just amazing!

Other performances ranged from traditional wedding services to a man walking/jumping/sitting/etc on a jump rope.
The rope walker was very interesting because he would break his concentration every time he crossed the rope to introduce what would be coming next. I'm convinced he was using tactics from Confucianism to keep his concentration going when he was jumping all over the place.

After the performances, we just walked around for a while and enjoyed the scenery and history. My friend and I even found a place where they were letting people try on traditional Korean clothing, so I put on the servant's clothes and she put on the clothes of someone of higher status. It was really fun!

Classes at Konkuk Uni

Orientation has been underway for about 4 days now, and everyone is settling in to the schedule of four-90 minute classes a day. I personally love it - I miss school so much! I love learning and studying, so all of this is very welcome on my part.

We have had a lot of different classes over the past few days. Every lecture is different, and not necessarily connected to the others, but they are definitely all helping us to prepare for life in South Korea as English Teachers. Some lectures talk about culture, some talk about classroom management, some of curriculums in different types of schools, some on history, some on teaching strategies, etc. Most of the classes are really fun! I personally love the elementary school-oriented ones - not just because I am going to be teaching at that level, but because we get to do all of these games, and LOTS of songs!!!! AND, LOTS of moving around and dancing!!! I'm SO excited. I think I will be doing the "Head, shoulders, knees and toes, knees and toes" song so much that the children will be experts on these body parts.

Learning about what to expect from Korean culture is also exciting me very much. I can identify a lot with many of the cultural trends here - for example, whomever invites one out to dinner is most often expected to pay, and thus it is a nice gesture in turn to return the invitation (that is how I always liked to carry out my dates in the states - it just seems more of a bonding experience if checks aren't split). Showing respect for elders is huge here too, which I think is a great way to go about things. Respect is shown in a lot of different ways, from handing and receiving things with two hands to someone older, of higher status, or to a stranger. I actually really like the way this feels doing this - it feels almost natural. Also, refusing to drink with people is a sign of disrespect here (unless you do it the proper way), and I think that is very interesting. I'm not saying I want to get drunk every night, because that definitely is not going to happen, but I just think that is a very interesting cultural element.

So much more to tell about the weekend, but for now I am very hungry and am going to go eat my breakfast of rice and kimchi and vegetables with chopsticks :)