My first Seoul trip

The earliest we could leave Ulsan Friday night was 10pm and we took the cheapest train to Seoul. After teaching for 6 hours that day, all I wanted to do was pass out on the train until forevermore. For some reason, however, the train operators felt it necessary to have the heat at a blistering 27°C.  For 6 hours I withstood the sweltering heat, sweating the entire time asking, “why?” Arriving in Seoul, the first order of business was to find lodging for the night. Love motel was the solution. Love motels are everywhere in Korea. Basically, they are the product of single men living with their families until marriage and not having a place to go for…cough…loving. This is where we stayed our first night. We napped for a bit and were up early the next day to meet with a friend who studied abroad at UCLA who lives in Seoul (Bruins worldwide baby). We got a quick lunch of Sangipsal – Korean BBQ – and headed into the art district of Insadong  We went to a few art exhibits and even had an informal Q & A with one of the artists. We gave her endless compliments, got an autograph, and exchanged contact info for when she goes to New York for her exhibition. Unfortunately I didn’t take pictures of her work, but with my covert skills was able to take some of other exhibits. Mira mira: 

your guess is as good as mine...

i get these, for sure...

not this one, though...

pointillism by Yo Mi Ran...

my favorite piece by far...

After spending the majority of the daylight roaming Insadong we decided to eat and check out the scene in Hongdae, near the University. At dinner we met a couple travelers who informed us that they’d be performing at a local bar at 11pm. It was 11pm and they were still finishing their meals (musicians…). To know me is to know I can’t turn down live music, so our plans rerouted to their bar and we enjoyed some good tunes.  After their show we barhopped around Hongdae. We wound up leaving the last bar at around 5am, ran into a street band, and sang Beatles songs with them for an hour or so. My neighbor, Nathan is a drummer and was allowed to play on their modest drum set for a few minutes. I played hype man.

Leaving our street performer friends we looked for somewhere to stay the night. We kept hearing how much of an experience Gingilbongs were, and how affordable it was for a one-night stay, that we had to do it. A gingilbong is made up of 3 halves. Yes. One half spa, one half motel, and one half nudist colony. It was awkward for sure, but when in Korea…do as. The bottom two floors were the nudist colony separated by sex (you wore shorts and t-shirt on every other floor). This bottom floor is where some kid practiced his fencing as I walked by him. C’mon player…The middle floor was a lounge area, but had people sprawled all over the couches and floor passed out. The top floor was the sleeping area that consisted of a bevy of bunk beds. They give you no blankets, just a cushion that you use for a pillow; surprisingly enough for a good nights’ sleep. 

The next day we did some shopping in Myeong-dong before heading home. There is so much to do in Seoul, and I feel like I only scratched the surface. I am undoubtedly going back again. Stay tuned.

My vip treatment?

This weekend was jam packed with activities spanning the pastime spectrum. Saturday morning was the first day that it’s been warm enough for me to wear shorts, so I definitely didn’t pass up the opportunity to take my new basketball and play for a bit outside. I had a good time playing with some high schoolers that came out. We shot around for a while and discussed the Lakers and “Kobe Briann.” Later that day we had tickets to the Mobis Phoebis 1^st round playoff basketball game. For 13,000 wan (a little more than 11 dollars) we were 5 rows from the floor. We were also escorted to our seats and given drinks by a Foreign Services employee. Not too bad…The game was fun, the fans were hyped, and it was a great basketball environment. It was hilarious hearing all the fans yelling for the players to take their pants off (De-pants! De-pants!). I also guess they don’t do nachos or popcorn or burgers or hotdogs or pizza for in-game snacks – they do squid.  

where's my pepto bismal...

mobis (pronounced moh-bee-suh) in white...

i said "squeeze in tight!" and they did not...

With the game now over, the next thing on the menu for the day was to head to the Lotte Hotel, downtown for a Haiti relief concert by the Ulsan Symphony. The concert was a very emotive experience. There were moist eyes all around especially when the John Williams piece was played. Postscript, they still need help. 

Later that night we went to a Norebong (Karaoke) and sang our voices hoarse. The Norebong had songs from the 60’s through 2001. Those 41 years provided enough hits to last until the early morn.

The next morning, well, afternoon (after getting home at 6 am I gave myself a few more hours of sleep) a few of us drove out to the Seoknam Temple area and went for a hike. How the wind managed to be in our face during both the ascent and descent is beyond me. The trek wasn’t made any easier by the yellow dust, but we still enjoyed hiking and chewing the proverbial fat.

This weekend I am taking a trip to Seoul, so there will most assuredly be pictures and stories to tell of my sights and happenings. I plan to continue to stoke the fire of my Korean experience.

My random culture shock moments

Numero uno: I'm grocery shopping (a challenge in and of itself when everything is in another language) and I keep hearing these scurrying footsteps behind me. Every time I turn around, the owner of the footsteps is nowhere to be found. So I stop shopping and just stare down the isle. Moments later this 4 or 5 year old girl, wearing one of those pointless germ face masks, appears in the isle and for a few moments we’re deadlocked in a staring contest. I decided to break the stalemate with a smile/wave, and she ran away. El Fin…

Numero dos: I'm an XXXL in Korean clothes…and that’s for a slim fit

Numero tres: I walk around school to a symphony of  children screaming, “hello Obama teacher!” I thought that this was really cool and my heart swelled…I later found out that every black teacher was getting the same treatment throughout Korea. But the English Department head did tell me I looked like Denzel. I’ll take Denzel Obama. 

My trip to Seoknam

Ulsan has these attractions that they refer to as the 12 scenes of Ulsan. They’re spots that the city finds representative of each of its diverse faces. Saturday’s trip was to one of these faces-the Seoknam  Buddhist Temple. Accompanied by my road-dog EZ as well as two other fellows (Jeremy and Aaron), we embarked on the journey early Saturday morning. Of course with my direction we got a little lost, but made it to the Temple around 11. The weather was perfect, we were out of the fell clutch of city pollution, and all you could hear was the sounds of the babbling brook (you don’t get many chances to use that phrase, so forgive me). We thought we were going to see one temple, but were pleasantly surprised to see the panoply of different pagodas used for worship. I heard THIS as we walked. Here are some pictures from the trip:

the view of our destination by taxi...

the babbling brook...

one of the pagodas...

didn't want to be disrespectful, so not many pix from inside...

My "Aw hail naw!" moment

It hailed last night and this morning. It was pretty cool walking to work with the streets paved in vanilla flavored Dots®.  But that wasn’t necessarily my “Aw hail naw” moment…it came when I had my last class of the day. This was the students’ first real day of lessons. After a week with no after school program, and two days of evaluations and interviews that would place them according to their skill level, they were finally mine for instruction. I prepared pretty lengthy Powerpoints that told them all about me-where I came from, my hobbies, etc. I was told I’d have intermediate level students. The first class had no problem understanding my presentation. They laughed at my jokes, participated, and seemed very receptive to my lessons. The last class, on the other hand, gave me blank stares after I asked “…and what’s your name?” Dag…at this point I start sweating bullets, knowing that if they can’t comprehend that much, there’s no way they’d understand the rest of my presentation.  Chucking my Powerpoint aside I proceeded to wing it for the remainder of the class. I snailed through the alphabet, sang a few songs, and ran out of material with a minute to spare. I think letting them out of class one minute early was all right considering my circumstances. I know now that my workload is doubled and I cannot experience another wing-it day. So henceforth, lesson planning galore, ugh. Here are a few pictures of my classroom: 

what the students see before entering my classroom...uhh...

no shoes in the building. house slippers only...

i teach real kids in here...

Miguk( Korean for American)...mi desk...

My first few days at Hakseong Elementary

The first week of classes I thought would involve me teaching… Wrong. I was, however, introduced to the entire school. It consisted of the principal bringing all the new teachers up to this massive stage: all students, parents, and old faculty standing at attention facing the stage. 10 other new teachers were brought up and one by one had their names read off as they bowed to the crowd. Because I couldn’t understand a dagone thing they were saying, I ended up bowing as someone else’s name was read. I was slapped on the back of the knee by my co-teacher and told to wait. Then when he gave me the okay to bow, I did so with my hands in my pocket-slap on the back of the knee. I don’t want readers to think I’ve been getting slapped incessantly since my arrival; I’ve adjusted and have my manners down pat.  

Later that week the teachers went on a bonding hike/dinner. An hour into the hike we were greeted by a delicious boiled chicken dinner and drank Makgeolli at a restaurant comfortably nestled in the foliage. 

 

the teachers...

 the view from the top...

 

the restaurant...

the chicken...

After a rough trip back home, (the boiled chicken that was alive 1 hour before consumption was not agreeing with my stomach) some of us went out on the town for a few drinks.  

Seen here are Mr. Jeung, myself, and Park.

The next day I was able to take a short trip to the whale museum that’s located on the outskirts of Ulsan. A few photos from that trip are here. Gotta say, whale bones are ridiculously huge. Good song: whale bones.

At last, after one week of sleeping on the floor, my furniture arrived.  Take a tour with me…don’t mind my enthusiasm: WATCH

My first night owt

After a welcome lunch with fellow footprints recruits, a few of us hit the town. 4 guys ready for the world (rrandom memory). We stopped into a few bars and clubs, checking the scene of our stomping grounds for the year to come. I want to share a brief culture shock story from club Elune. My 3 friends are each about, dancing. My turn. I ask a young lady, “would you like to dance?” Her reaction: hands to her mouth, eyes wide, shaking head “no.” I thought it was funnier than it was embarrassing. Jordan didn’t make every shot, dammit I’m human.  We did have a good time roaming the streets and talked to some people along the way, great first night. I’m excited for the year to come.

...order a beer and a So-ju, and the food is on the house...boss...

My journey

Hello blogosphere! I welcome you to my blog. What you can expect from frequenting this site is just some insight into my world. Some day-to-day idiosyncrasies as well as some of the mundane details of my new life.  I hope you find it interesting. Feel free to leave comments or questions. I will not censor my thoughts, so I ask that if you comment you do the same.

I start with my flight…

My trip with Matt (who will forevermore be referred to by his shortened unicamp moniker, EZ, ‘cause it’s easier to type) was littered with speedbumps. I would’ve loved to plug in my laptop, but after I asked, “Do you think I can use that plug when you’re done” the guy I was sitting next to responded, “I’m using it.” He proceeded to do so for 13.5 hours. I assume so because every second I was awake, that we weren’t eating, he was watching what I’d later find out to be the most popular show in Korea,  1 Day 2 Nights. So speedbump #1, no laptop for the entire flight.

As for eats, I can’t complain. It wasn’t long before I got my first taste of Korean food. Bimbimbap, which means stirred rice, was the meal of choice. I don’t know if it was my enthusiasm for my upcoming Korean adventure, or the fact that I hadn’t eaten that morning, but I messed that Bimbimbap UP.

The flight dragged on, and 13.5 hours later my avid 1 Day 2 Nights friend shook out of his stupor to speak. I came to find out he was spending time in San Diego studying English, that he lived in Busan (pronounced Poo-sahn), and that he hoped I enjoyed drinking because there would be a lot of it where I was headed-Ulsan. “uhhh…yes.”

So we land. Excellent. Plan of action: take shuttle from Incheon Airport to Gimpo Airport (1 hour) and take plane from there to Ulsan Airport. Upon arrival, however, we were told because of weather our flight was cancelled. 

...the reason for Speedbump #2..

We then decide the best plan of action is to find a motel in nearby Busan to spend the night until we can catch a flight in the morning to Ulsan. We point out on a map what we think is the cheapest motel to the cab driver. We get dropped off at this. The only available room was some 300,000 wan per night room. HA!  Me thought not. Speedbump #3. Luckily we convinced the bellhop to stash our luggage somewhere and we were off to explore options for other lodging, or walk around till 6am when we were supposed to be back at the airport.  On this adventure we’d eat some good food at “Beer Food,” and met some friendly Busan-ites. We headed back to the hotel and turned a couple chairs around on an upstairs lobby so that the casual passerby wouldn’t see the two vagabonds passed out.

At any rate, we made it to Ulsan the next day in one piece. I then said goodbye to my compadre EZ, and met my co-teacher, Kim Hyuk (who told me to call him Johnson).  Johnson then brought me to my new studio apartment. Unfurnished until

at least Tuesday. Sleeping on the floor is good for the back I guess.

Next he took me for a quick tour of the school, which is literally a minute and twenty-four seconds away. I live by the credo that it’s a round world, and it seems to be paying off now. I used to drive from Long Beach to Brentwood/Culver City everyday for 6 months to get to work (average drive: 1.2 hours). I L out L now. Back to the school tour. I met the principle. He and Johnson talked in Korean for a little bit, we drank tea, I smiled, and Johnson translated a portion of their conversation to me. “He says, ‘You look different, but you’ll be alright.’” I wish I could decipher this, but if Johnson says I have nothing to worry about, shucks, I believe him.

...the school's soccer field...

He said his goodbyes, and told me that I’d see him on Tuesday, my first day of school. Stay tuned for that one, should be a hoot.