Cherry blossoms are falling on my head

Cherry blossom season is a big deal in Korea. Seriously, a big frickin deal. Thousands of people go to Jinhae, home to the Cherry Blossom Festival every year, even on days not part of the official festival. My friends and I decided to skip the madhouse this year and instead go to Gyeongju, the beautiful former capital of Korea.

Unfortunately, we were not the only ones with this idea. There were people everywhere, couples, families, photography groups at every turn. I thought I was used to random people taking pictures of us, but I was mistaken. Still weird.

Anyway, this post should be about the photos. Enjoy!

Also there are a handful of photos from my friend's school, which is stunning at this time of year. Lucky... my school has a dirt soccer field :(

안녕!

Vietnam

(Only 2.5 months late...)

Our schedule for the trip was very tight, so we only had a day trip to Ha Long Bay, a day in a half in Hanoi, two days in Ho Chi Minh City, and then onto Cambodia. My quickie review of Vietnam? Beautiful, great food, great shopping, cheap, and boy do I wish we had spent more time there.

We flew into Hanoi late Friday night, and left for Ha Long Bay first thing Saturday morning. Despite the 4 hour bus ride (each way!) and the mist preventing distance views, the bay was stunning. It's odd to experience such silence, which you'll find was a trend on this vacation, while surrounded by tourists, but it's true. We went on a rowboat through the coves in the largest island, saw a girl no more than 10 years old master a boat better than I could hope to navigate any vehicle ever in my life, and visited one of the largest and most expansive caves I've ever seen. Seeing natural rock formations that took thousands of years to form a peak just-so, is awe-inspiring. Definitely leaves an impression.

The floating village's school

Beyond the natural beauty of Vietnam, the cities are a whole new ball game. Hanoi is truly amazing, with the most eclectic architecture I've ever seen. I'm not the most well-versed in history, but I think if it had been explained to me through the building styles of the time periods, my interest would have been piqued. To see French style buildings next to the large archways and stone work of some-other-style-that-I-can't-name, in bright shades of yellows and greens and purples was absolutely beautiful. Ho Chi Minh City was very different aesthetically. The city seemed much more modern somehow, with wide roads lined with large trees, more open spaces of lakes and parks, and scooters.

Oh my god the scooters.

I bought a postcard with a cartoon of a traffic light. Green light says 'I can go.' Yellow light says 'I can go.' Red light says 'I can still go.' Literally the most accurate thing of the entire trip. There are no lights, no pedestrian walkways. You just walk into oncoming cars, bicycles, and scooters and hope that they see you and move accordingly. Thankfully, they do just that. It's surreal, in the most terrifying sense, to be walking through traffic, vehicles weaving seamlessly around you like water flows through a stream. I'm not ashamed to admit that Bhavika and I were intimidated a few times, and had to be escorted across the street by policemen in official uniform. Clearly they were used to this kind of thing.

Of course, the other notable thing was the food. We did a street food tour in Hanoi, and what an investment! Trying so many different kinds of food, learning to recognize and get a taste for new ingredients, and even seeing the city through the familiar eyes of our guide really set the tone for our time there. Even better, when we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City, we took a cooking class. Starting out with a tour of the local market, we could see coconuts in various stages of processing, fruits that I had never tasted, seen, or even heard of before, and more animal organs than Bhavi knew how to handle. For me, the fruit was the most fascinating. In Korea, fresh fruit is very expensive and is difficult to find anything I'd consider exotic. Not so in Vietnam, that's for damn sure. Anyway, the cooking class was phenomenal, and I left it with a recipe book and confidence in my spring-roll-frying ability.

One of the things I loved the most about Vietnam, and Hanoi specifically, were the people. I don't think we met a single unfriendly face, and many people offered us help if we were lost or confused. While we were at Hoan Kiem (a lake near the Old Quarter), we were approached by a pair of students. Now, I tend to be very paranoid when I travel, and people approaching me immediately sets off my 'stranger danger' alarm. But these two were about our age, and were very upfront that they were students at a Vietnam university wanting to practice their English. They were so friendly and inquisitive about our travel, especially so when they learned about our lives in Korea, asking how did Vietnam compare. The four of us talked for so long that Bhavika and I were a little late for our next appointment! But that's what travel is all about, meeting people and having experiences.

You can take a billion photos, but what's the point of going to another country if all you do is see it through a lens? Heck, I can do that through a computer screen.

Next post: Cambodia!
안녕!

2014 update

It's been a crazy month, with vacations and moving and friends leaving and my students graduating. When everything happens within a span of a couple of weeks, it becomes difficult to keep up. Add a nasty cold on top and you've got my February. Yay.

Many teachers have chosen to limit their time in Korea to only one year. As a result, this means a lot of close friends are headed back on planes to the motherland (wherever that may be). Trying to articulate how important someone can become to you in such a short period of time is a strange endeavor.

It feels strange to say that these people have become my family, but there you have it. When you're thrust into a new situation with virtually no support group, you bond quickly with the friends that you're able to grab a hold of. Sometimes the people you grab onto are people you'd have befriended under different circumstances, and sometimes they aren't. Examining my friend groups here, it's interesting to note that I probably wouldn't have had any cause to become friends with a lot of people here. We don't have a lot in common, we approach problems in different ways, and are looking for different things out of our time here. And yet, these are some of the closest friendships that I've developed. You can learn so much from someone else's perspective, and it's important to always remember that when jumping headfirst into something new.

We're all reaching for each other. The real question is, when the need for mutual support is gone, will the friendships last?

I hope so.

나는 내 친구를 당신을 그리워합니다

Candy Time: Guest Post #1

(I can recognize that my view of Korea can only extend to what I've seen with my own eyes. To bring as wide and unbiased a view as possible to the readers of this blog, I've been asking friends to write guests posts detailing their opinions, stories, or exploits that will help 'round out' the Korean adventure. I hope to have a guest post once a month or so, starting with this story from my friend Sarah)

Hana Min, appeared at my desk after lunch. “Candy time,” she said. I knew she wanted me to eat the candy from the Philippines she had given me earlier in the day. I told her I would save it for after lunch, not thinking much about it. In hindsight, I should have been more curious as to why it was so important that I eat this candy. I took the confection out of my top desk drawer and began to unwrap it. “Wait,” Hana said as she took both my hands in hers. “Umm..Umm…Umm,” she said as she glanced around the teacher’s room. “Should I eat it?” I asked. She paused and then let my hands go and gestured for me to continue. I chewed the candy and it tasted sweet with no real identifiable flavor. She watched as I chewed. I smiled and she smiled. I lifted my upper jaw and bit down again; I tasted gasoline. "Oh, it's so delicious. Do you like it?" Hana inquired. Her words failed to register at first and I continued chewing. I lied and said, “What? Oh, yes. Delicious.” The putrid taste infected my salvia and burned as it traveled down my esophagus and into my stomach.  
My palms sweated and my heart fluttered in response to this oddity of a food substance. Eight others eyes were now on me. The smell of gasoline had filled the teacher’s room. Four Korean teachers flocked to my desk and questioned Hana.  
I was still chewing the candy and thought to myself, death by candy would make for an interesting obituary. As everyone jabbered in foreign tongues, I turned to Google. In 0.19 seconds, I learned my fate. The omniscient Google told me I had been exposed to durian and it was not fatal. (Sidebar) Durian is a type of fruit found throughout Southeast Asia and it is known for its offensive odor. In some places it has been banned. Words used to describe the taste include, raw sewage and turpentine. Phew! The candy tasted like turpentine; I did not eat a turpentine candy.  
“It’s OK! It’s OK!” I exclaimed to those who feuded behind my chair. 
Luckily, an English teacher had been summoned by then to translate and I told her that it was OK. She explained the situation to the Korean teachers and Hana was ousted to the hallway. I was instructed not to eat food from Hana and swallowed the candy a moment later.
With a new outlook on my day, I gathered my tooth brushing gear and headed for the bathroom. Hana sulked in the hallway and I paused to thank her for the candy. She hugged me in return.  
“It’s OK, Hana. It’s OK.” I said. We parted ways and candy time ended just as quickly as it began.

Sarah is a middle school teacher here in Daegu, whom I met at teacher training a year ago. Sadly she'll be leaving us to go back to the US next month :(

Korea's Top 10

It's been nearly a year here in Korea, so I feel (somewhat) qualified to make a 'best of' list. These are items that aren't specific to me (meaning no bragging about my awesome students), but can be experienced by everyone coming to Korea.

10. Fashion/makeup

Korea is rapidly becoming a fashion capital of the world. Here in Daegu, which is apparently the fashion capital of the fashion capital, women are dressed impeccably at all hours (myself excluded). Even my co-teachers, who you'd think would adopt a slightly grunge-look after dealing with screaming and fighting children all day, almost always look as if they'd just arrived from a frickin photo shoot. I'm totally not jealous. Totally.  That said, women put a lot, and I mean a lot of money and time into their appearances. Because of this, it's impossible to walk 5 feet in any direction and not run into a clothing boutique or a makeup store. Heck, even just a makeup store. I've lost count of the number of brand name stores (one day I'll write a whole post detailing the most recommended and my favorite items from each), but luckily this provides an excellent realm of gift shopping! I literally would run out of friends before I ran out of gift options for them. That was not meant to be as self-deprecating as it sounds. 

9. 찜질방 (Jimjilbang)

While public nudity isn't really my speed, even I have to admit the efficiency of a Korean-style public bathhouse. They're divided by gender in the changing and bathing areas, and often open into a mixed gender, clothed area with steam rooms and saunas. Jimjilbangs are incredibly common, although they vary greatly in size and design. There are very simple ones with one hot tub and one sauna, or ones that have more steam rooms than you have moisture in your body. Many of them allow an overnight stay for a very small fee, which make them even more appealing to travelers on a budget. My personal favorite is Spa Land in Busan, an enormous inside and outside facility attached to the largest department store in the world. At only 12,000 won (~$12), it's worth the experience. Just close your eyes for the first 15 minutes or so.

8. Market shopping

Open air markets are not a new thing, especially when I recall that in every single country I've visited, I've found at least one. The people running the shops (generally middle-later aged women), are incredibly nice and helpful at picking out items for me. Not only that, but I can find nearly anything at Seomun market here in Daegu, and Dongdaemun is a frickin godsend to any shopaholics. My sister and I went shopping at 1 in the morning, and walked away with quite a few good deals. I'd like to think it's my amazing haggling skills, but I acknowledge that it's more likely that they wanted the weird foreigners to leave them the hell alone.

7. kpop

I started listening to Korean pop music about a year before I came here, and I'd be lying if I said it didn't slightly influence my decision. These upbeat songs are just so damn catchy! Beyond it helping make a connection with my students, I genuinely enjoy kpop in my free time. Anyone looking to bravely venture into the crazy brightly colored and bizarre world, here are some of my favorite groups (Big Bang, SHINee, f(x), U-Kiss) and individual songs (Tarzan- WonderBoyz, Poison - Secret, Sweet Dream - MFBTY).

6. 팥빙수 (Patbingsu)

This is a dessert/snack item that's very popular during the summer. Bingsu is shaved ice, and while there are many varieties of toppings, my favorite is red bean (pronounced like pot, if you're curious). Red bean is VERY common in desserts and is definitely not for everyone, although I enjoy it myself. The coffee shop down the street has my favorite patbingsu, and the ingredients are as follows: shaved ice, condensed milk, red bean, granola, cornflakes, and a bit of whipped cream. It's magnificent on a hot day when you want nothing more than to take an ice bath, which is apparently inappropriate in public.

5. Eating style

Surprisingly, most Koreans don't care what they look like when they eat. The object of most meals seem to be to get the most amount of food in your mouth in one bite. Considering the amount of time and effort everyone puts into their appearance, I was shocked when I saw dolled up 20 somethings shoveling ramyeon into their mouths at an alarming rate. IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY. One of my favorite Korean foods is 쌈, when you make a lettuce wrap with pork, rice, some sauce, and whatever else you want to toss in there, and shove it in your mouth. ...And now I'm hungry.

4. 냉면 (Naengmyeon)

Another delicious summer food is this noodle-soup-thing. It's light and refreshing and smidge acidic and absolutely fantastic. The wheat noodles are served in a cold broth (sometimes with actual ice chunks still in it), with half a hardboiled egg, some pear or radish shavings, and a spoonful of gochujang (hot pepper paste that you cannot escape here). On the side you'll be given spicy mustard and vinegar to add for tailoring to your palate. I add a bit more vinegar than most, and skip the gochujang completely, although I am known to toss in a bit of mustard if I'm feeling daring. I'm usually not. But I already wrote something about that. Keep up, will you?

3. Cuteness everywhere!

Did you think that panda hat/scarf/mitten contraption was just for kids? False. Although many people take it too far (which is called aegyo), it encourages the childish fun that I've always enjoyed. So what if I want to wear a giant blue scarf that takes up half my face? Spend half an hour making ridiculous faces in a photo booth? How about thick rimmed rainbow hipster glasses, without the glass? Check all of the above!

2. 노래방 (Noraebang)

Whether you're a fan of alcohol induced craziness, or your neighbors deserve a break from listening to you sing in the shower, noraebang is for you! It's a cheap (depending on where you go) night out with friends that provides instant entertainment for as long as you keep up the energy. The singing rooms are private and mostly soundproofed, so it's the perfect place to let loose and sing the Mariah Carey notes that you had only attempted at that Christmas party that one time. They're easy to spot on the streets (just look for the flashing neon signs. Odds are, it's a noraebang), and have drink and food menus to encourage customers to stay for hours. Protip: have a no camera rule inside the room. No one needs to see or hear that.

And finally....

1. 호떡 (Hoddeok)

This amazing goodness tops my list partly because it's winter right now, and it's everywhere. The closest equivalent in the US would be fried dough, except hoddeok has brown sugar and sesame or sunflower seeds melted together in the middle (think a pancake stuffed with the sugar and seed mix, then deep fried to delicious perfection). It's a very common street food, and can be found on nearly every corner as the weather gets colder. If for some reason you can't find one, hoddeok mix is easy to find at Emart or Homeplus, and tastes almost as good as the real thing. But because most stands charge 1,000won for one, it's so cheap that it gives the impression that I'm losing money by not buying one. Or four. Or twenty.

So there you have it, Katherine Teacher's list of the best Korea has to offer (as experienced in 10 months). Anyone that lives/lived in Korea, do I have any glaring omissions? If you're a future visitor, any questions about specific numbers? Leave a comment!

Regardless, 2013 has been quite an adventure, and it's gearing up for round 2 in 2014. Stay tuned!

안녕!

Not-quite-home for the holidays

Holidays have always been a big deal for me. Game night parties with my friends, making Christmas cookies with my family, buying more presents than I can usually afford... things I didn't really consider when making my decision to move around the world. When fall approached, with the season of cheer looming in the distance, I started getting nervous about how I would handle the holidays by myself.

What I've been surprised by is how much I don't feel alone. I've got friends here that are close enough to be my makeshift family, co workers who are incredibly intuitive and supportive when I need it, and my family and friends back home are only an internet connection away.

Also. 'Tis the season for arts and crafts!

My kids absolutely loved these stand-alone turkeys. Highly recommended!

2 weeks of Christmas songs and projects? Yes please!

Thanksgiving was an ordeal, but only because I brought it upon myself. I was so excited to share my holiday traditions with my coteachers, who had never had a Western Thanksgiving meal, that I offered to cook the whole thing. Nevermind that the only really cooking I'd done before that was helping my mom in the kitchen

Everything went off without a hitch, to my own disbelief. I slightly burned one batch of sweet potato casserole, but all three dinners were a huge success. My coteachers loved the food, constantly asking me for recipes and offering me their homes and kitchens anytime I had the 'want to cook'. Their kids didn't like the food as much, but they enjoyed helping (read: watching) me cook in between chasing each other around the house.

Have you ever tried eating GBC with chopsticks??

My potluck dinner was fantastic. I am constantly amazed and self-conscious about the amount of time and effort that people put into a great evening for their friends. Given that most of my 'girls nights' consist of pizza, movies, and nail painting, having an elaborate set up with games and prizes for the winners blew me away.

Sorry ladies, I tried to get a good food shot!

Dinner at my house also went well, despite a few last minute call-outs. I was nervous about so many people being in my apartment at the same time, but about half the guests were late, and some of the early birds had to go, it worked out nicely into two 'waves' of people. Everyone had as much food as they could eat, and we played games until I kicked everyone out (because I'm an old lady with an early bedtime).

Pretty good if I do say so myself

Christmas is shaping up similarly, with plans with friends Christmas Eve and Christmas morning, and a Skype date with the family Christmas night. Despite having to be at work the day before and the day after, I'm glad that I have enough of a community of friends here that I don't feel so alone.

Complete with presents from the family!

It can be easy to isolate yourself here. Wake up, go to school, go home, go to bed, repeat. If that's all you want your time here to be, then it's going to be miserable. I've been lucky to establish great friendships here, and I can acknowledge that I am tenacious in holding onto those friendships. Heck, I'm tempted to follow a couple of people back to California when they leave in February...

Anyway, I have an interesting post lined up for next week, and then a 2013 wrap up to finish out the year. Stay tuned!

안녕! 


PS- It just occurred to me what an outdated phrase 'stay tuned' is. Will the next generation even know why we say that?

PPS- Am I the only one that says that now?

Not the chaos I was expecting

Middle school students have always struck me as the most terrifying combination of 1) the brains of older students with 2) the hyperactivity and immaturity of younger ones. From the stories I've heard from other teachers, high schoolers are more like zombies than disorderly hyped-up students that will swing from the rafters (which was the mental picture I had of elementary, at first). While my current students have neither rafters nor the height with which to reach them, middle school poses a viable threat to my mental stability.

To say that I was nervous to be solely responsible for a group of all male middle school students would be a colossal understatement. We're talking 'bad dreams for a week' level of stress. The plan has always been to eventually expand my teaching horizons beyond elementary level, but was I ready for a coteacher-less lesson for my first experience?

In the end, the idea of the camp was what sold me. The students would act as ambassadors to us native English teachers, highlighting important parts of Daegu, and educating us on the cultural significance of these sites. Had this been my assignment in middle school, I am confident that I would have picked McDonalds or some ice cream shop and bullshit  say something about how they were vital to the growth of capitalism in America, or how this doughnut is beacon of freedom! Or anything else that would let me eat (my priorities have never been subtle).

But these kids blew me out of the water. Although there was only a year difference between them and my older students, the way they handled themselves around me was impressive. They were incredibly polite and curious, asking questions that weren't too invasive, constantly checking up on me to make sure they weren't walking too fast or leaving me behind. They translated signs and messages when I was staring for too long trying to read (a regular occurrence for me). When it was time to buckle down and finish the presentation, they put together an incredibly well made video to showcase the day's adventures.

We went to two parks in downtown Daegu, neither of which I had been to before. The first park was made in remembrance of high school students disobeying the government and joining in a demonstration in favor of the Democratic Party on February 28, 1960. After that, we went to the park (and small museum) in remembrance of the Korean National Debt Repayment. The Japanese had been controlling Korea under the threat of the money that was owed to them. A movement began of citizens donating their money and gold to the government to be melted down to help pay back this enormous debt. This meant a lot to my kids; one even told me how his great great grandmother (+/- a great) gave up her wedding band and baby jewelry to the cause. The idea of an entire country pitching in whatever they can to help pull themselves out from another's rule is admirable. The movement was a failure, but admirable nonetheless.

To balance out the seriousness of those two parks, we went to an arcade and they won a necklace and USB multi-port for me from the machines (stuffed animals were attempted, but to no avail). We played games for a while, which mostly consisted of me kicking their collective butt in Time Crisis, got some street food, and went back to the school to work on the video.

We took more pictures than the assignment called for, and overall had a fantastic time. The leader even texted me a few days later to let me know that our group got 2nd place for their presentation.

After the rousing success with these kids, I'm much more confident in my ability to handle older students, and can see myself having fun teaching them in the future. I genuinely hope that I get the chance to teach kids that are as interested and motivated again.

(Sorry no photos, having some technical problems...)
안녕!