I suppose I should catch ya'll up on my comings and goings here in South Korea.
The novelty of Korean food has worn off. Octopus soup is no longer something exotic that I must eat; now it's just spicy soup with some damn rubbery arms in it.
A few weeks back, I made my first trip into Seoul. It was for the birthday party of a former teacher at my school. I don't know the guy, but I was invited anyways. We went to Sinchon (I'm spelling phonetically, I have no idea if that is accurate), a neighborhood in Seoul.
The place we stopped in at, actually called "The Bar," was a little hole in the wall. "Hole in the wall" being more literal than I'd like; the men's bathroom only had three walls. The fourth wall? The street. That was interesting.
Two Sundays ago, I was hiking up a hill I've never been up before. A Korean man began walking along side me; he started telegraphing that he wanted someone to tutor his son. It's illegal, of course, so we just skirted the issue for a while. Koreans love their hiking, and this was midafternoon so we were surrounded by people. Eventually we had some relative privacy and worked out an appointment.
This past Saturday, I went to the National Museum of Korea in Seoul with another teacher. It's a huge, massive building surrounded by the only green park I've seen in Korea. The museum is entirely dedicated to Korean history up to the 19th century; there was nothing from the twentieth century which seemed a bit strange to me.
I came back on my own, and managed to take a wrong turn in the subway. That led to a good bit of stress, backtracking and carefully choosing my train. All the English signs are tiny and difficult to read from the train.
The subway detour gave me a chance to see some of the more rundown parts of Seoul. There are actually people leaving not 50 feet from the above-ground subway tracks; no sound barriers. I think I'm going to have to get off the subway at various points and do some exploring. There are parts of Incheon and Seoul that could be straight out of a western city, but I sometimes catch glimpses of strange and new places.
One of my roommates is headed off to Thailand for two weeks... listening to his plans is making me vibrate with jealousy. That, along with the above mentioned bits of Seoul, are starting to make me think one year here won't be enough...
Showing posts with label Lost In Translation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lost In Translation. Show all posts
Monday, December 05, 2005
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Lost in Incheon
It's Monday morning here - another day off. This is the last stat holiday until January, apparently.
I'd go for a hike, but I'm kind of sore from yesterday. See, the hiking trail I use runs south to north across three hill tops. I start on the north hill and walk from there. When I get to the southern hiill top, I usually sit a while then retrace my steps.
Yesterday,I walked the trail across all three hilltops, but instead of going back home - north east - I took a trail from the north hill and went south east. I thought I could easily find my way home like that; I asume I would just walk north east along the foot of the hills to get home.
I was wrong. The southern side of the hills don't have roads that run along side the hills. I ended up walking through the city for about an hour and a half, keeping careful track of land marks and exactly where I turned. Eventually, I gave up. I didn't want to get a taxi cab, being short on money. So I retraced my steps, which thankfully weren't too complicated. I eventually found the new path I had taken and started back.
The southern end of the hiking trail is pretty amazing to look at - 3 streams, big jungle trees. You'll like the pictures I send in two weeks' time. And the trees will be turning colour, as well. There are also a handful of strange landmarks along the southern trail; there is a pile of stones maybe a story high, with a plaque in Korean.
I saw a bird I have never seen before. It was maybe crow sized; black, except for the wings which had a white pattern. I can't find a pic of it on the net.
Anyways, by the time I made it back home, I had been walking steadily for five and a half hours. I think I'm just going to sit around today.
I'd go for a hike, but I'm kind of sore from yesterday. See, the hiking trail I use runs south to north across three hill tops. I start on the north hill and walk from there. When I get to the southern hiill top, I usually sit a while then retrace my steps.
Yesterday,I walked the trail across all three hilltops, but instead of going back home - north east - I took a trail from the north hill and went south east. I thought I could easily find my way home like that; I asume I would just walk north east along the foot of the hills to get home.
I was wrong. The southern side of the hills don't have roads that run along side the hills. I ended up walking through the city for about an hour and a half, keeping careful track of land marks and exactly where I turned. Eventually, I gave up. I didn't want to get a taxi cab, being short on money. So I retraced my steps, which thankfully weren't too complicated. I eventually found the new path I had taken and started back.
The southern end of the hiking trail is pretty amazing to look at - 3 streams, big jungle trees. You'll like the pictures I send in two weeks' time. And the trees will be turning colour, as well. There are also a handful of strange landmarks along the southern trail; there is a pile of stones maybe a story high, with a plaque in Korean.
I saw a bird I have never seen before. It was maybe crow sized; black, except for the wings which had a white pattern. I can't find a pic of it on the net.
Anyways, by the time I made it back home, I had been walking steadily for five and a half hours. I think I'm just going to sit around today.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Dinner and a Field Trip
It's Saturday night here. I just got back from a field trip.
WThursday night, one of the student's mother invited all of the teachers out for dinner. This was my first time at an upscale Korean restaurant. We took our shoes off at the entrance, and walked into a private room. Most of the food was already spread out on the table; we sat on the floor and waited for the rest to come out.
There were a few kinds of sushi - like shrimp on sticky rice. There was a kind of coleslaw, and apples in an unfamiliar sauce. We were also given seaweed soup and rice. The main part of the meal was beef; there were actually bbqs built into the tables. The server put a strip of meat onto the cooker, and came back to turn it. When it was cooked, the server used a large pair of scissors to cut it up into small pieces, and we ate directly from the cooker. They kept bringing meat until we stopped eating; I was good and stuffed. At the end of the meal, they brought out glasses of plum juice.
After an hour of sitting on the floor, your knees start to ache something awful. Interestingly, it didn't bother the Koreans at all; I suppose you can train your legs to sit crossed for long periods of time.
One of the foreign teachers has a digital camera, so I had him take pictures of the meal. Once he sends them to me, I'll pass them on.
We took the kindergarteners to the Folk Village today. The kids went nuts in the half-size bus I took - total chaos. The Village itself was interesting; buildings from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. We saw two fascinating performances. One was a horse show; the riders did tricks like hang off the side of the galloping horse, their heads inches from the ground. One rider did some archery work.
The second performance we saw was a marching band; they did a dance that seemed to come out of the martial arts. You've probably seen something like it in a kung fu movie; they jump, their torso goes parallel to the ground, and their legs kick through the air. And they had streamers attached to their hats; their kept their heads moving and the streamers moved in various patterns. It was just short of spectacular.
The kids' parents packed lunches for both them and the teachers. It was interesting; we made a picnic out of it. All Korean meals are very communal; everything just sits in the middle of the table (or in this case, a blanket) and you pick at it with chopsticks. Seaweed sushi wraps, cherry tomatos, chestnuts, small sandwiches, pineapple, grapes, and yams in some kind of sweet coating. It was a really good meal.
School is going well; I finally know all the kindergarteners' names, but I'm still working on the elementary students. The older kids are noticing I don' know all their names yet, and are starting to get annoyed. :)
The traffic here is really something else. There don't seem to be "traffic laws," so much as "traffic suggestions." It's standard to be cut off every few minutes; people fight viciously for their place in a lane. Motorbikes even drive on the sidewalks a lot.
The police occasionally do patrols in groups of ten; they just march down the street. I think it has something to do with North Korea/cold war mentality.
So yes, pictures forthcoming.
WThursday night, one of the student's mother invited all of the teachers out for dinner. This was my first time at an upscale Korean restaurant. We took our shoes off at the entrance, and walked into a private room. Most of the food was already spread out on the table; we sat on the floor and waited for the rest to come out.
There were a few kinds of sushi - like shrimp on sticky rice. There was a kind of coleslaw, and apples in an unfamiliar sauce. We were also given seaweed soup and rice. The main part of the meal was beef; there were actually bbqs built into the tables. The server put a strip of meat onto the cooker, and came back to turn it. When it was cooked, the server used a large pair of scissors to cut it up into small pieces, and we ate directly from the cooker. They kept bringing meat until we stopped eating; I was good and stuffed. At the end of the meal, they brought out glasses of plum juice.
After an hour of sitting on the floor, your knees start to ache something awful. Interestingly, it didn't bother the Koreans at all; I suppose you can train your legs to sit crossed for long periods of time.
One of the foreign teachers has a digital camera, so I had him take pictures of the meal. Once he sends them to me, I'll pass them on.
We took the kindergarteners to the Folk Village today. The kids went nuts in the half-size bus I took - total chaos. The Village itself was interesting; buildings from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries. We saw two fascinating performances. One was a horse show; the riders did tricks like hang off the side of the galloping horse, their heads inches from the ground. One rider did some archery work.
The second performance we saw was a marching band; they did a dance that seemed to come out of the martial arts. You've probably seen something like it in a kung fu movie; they jump, their torso goes parallel to the ground, and their legs kick through the air. And they had streamers attached to their hats; their kept their heads moving and the streamers moved in various patterns. It was just short of spectacular.
The kids' parents packed lunches for both them and the teachers. It was interesting; we made a picnic out of it. All Korean meals are very communal; everything just sits in the middle of the table (or in this case, a blanket) and you pick at it with chopsticks. Seaweed sushi wraps, cherry tomatos, chestnuts, small sandwiches, pineapple, grapes, and yams in some kind of sweet coating. It was a really good meal.
School is going well; I finally know all the kindergarteners' names, but I'm still working on the elementary students. The older kids are noticing I don' know all their names yet, and are starting to get annoyed. :)
The traffic here is really something else. There don't seem to be "traffic laws," so much as "traffic suggestions." It's standard to be cut off every few minutes; people fight viciously for their place in a lane. Motorbikes even drive on the sidewalks a lot.
The police occasionally do patrols in groups of ten; they just march down the street. I think it has something to do with North Korea/cold war mentality.
So yes, pictures forthcoming.
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Incheon, I'm Sorry (For The Telling Of Lies)
I was wrong about Incheon being totally industrial. I decided to walk towards the closest looking hill; it was only a 20 minute walk. Much to my delight, there was a hiking trail, so I started up. The trail branched into two paths - one wide and gentle, the other narrow and steep. I walked up the narrow path, getting a real workout in the process. It was maybe 25 minutes before I reached the top; there was a clearing, and you could look out in every direction. The city surrounds this hill, and stretches on and on in every direction. I could see the massive international Incheon harbour, and multiple other clearings on hills - trails connect them all.
Next weekend, I'll make a day of it - see how many hills I can walk.
And yes, photos of these views will be forthcoming.
Next weekend, I'll make a day of it - see how many hills I can walk.
And yes, photos of these views will be forthcoming.
Saturday, September 03, 2005
First Saturday
It's Saturday, September 3rd here in Korea. 4:46 pm.
Thursday was a full day of teaching, and it was about as chaotic as anything I've ever seen. The kindergarteners, especially. Very difficult to control them. The elementary students were better; a bit quieter, a bit more attentive.
The big problem I've encountered - the prepared curriculum only stretches to fill half the time. If the class is 40 minutes, I run out of material about 20 or 25 minutes in. That was pretty hard to cope with; I had a hard time coming up with ways to fill the time. I'm going to need to add to the curriculum myself; that is going to take a lot of work. Can't say I'm too pleased with that.
The second day of teaching was better. I remember to bring the stickers and the alphabet bingo game. Those two things made the kindergarteners putty in my hands; those kids would jump off a cliff for a sticker. So those classes went fine.
I still ran out of material for the older kids, though. One class wanted to play the bingo game, but that can only be a one time thing; they are too old for it. They did it once because it was more fun than work, but they will be bored and contemptuous if I pull it out again. I'll have to find other games for them. There is going to be a lot of prep work involved, at least for a little while.
The smallest Korean bill is 1000 Won - which is about one Canadian dollar, give or take ten cents. There are a lot of Canadians teaching here, so we just refer to 1000 won as a dollar. So 10 000 won translates into $10, at least in our minds.
And about that - there are a lot of Canadians here. I met a pile last night; my roommates and I went to a pub called the Goose Goose. The Goose is a standard hang out for foreigners. Lots of English teachers, and US military types. The teachers I've met are mostly Canadians, Irish, and Austrailians.
The food I've been eating at the school is pretty good. It's obviously a lot healthier than most Canadian fare; it is mostly vegatable based. I'm getting the hang of chopsticks pretty quickly.
The neighbourhood the Goose is in is filled with neon. Signs and lights everywhere; remember Lost in Translation? Like that. Paper fliers everywhere on the ground; you could walk down the street jumped from piece of piece to piece of paper. Almost a carnival type atmosphere. Once I get a camera - I'll buy one in Seoul - I'll post pictures of it.
There are a handful of street vendors in the Goose neighborhood, and my roommates introduced me to a type of bbq chicken on a stick. It costs 1000 won - roughly $1. It's incredibly delicious; we downed a good five each. I have to find out what type of sauce they use; you could easily sell these things for $2 in Canada.
So things are going well right now. I'm over jetlag and settling into my apartment nicely. I'll write more later.
Thursday was a full day of teaching, and it was about as chaotic as anything I've ever seen. The kindergarteners, especially. Very difficult to control them. The elementary students were better; a bit quieter, a bit more attentive.
The big problem I've encountered - the prepared curriculum only stretches to fill half the time. If the class is 40 minutes, I run out of material about 20 or 25 minutes in. That was pretty hard to cope with; I had a hard time coming up with ways to fill the time. I'm going to need to add to the curriculum myself; that is going to take a lot of work. Can't say I'm too pleased with that.
The second day of teaching was better. I remember to bring the stickers and the alphabet bingo game. Those two things made the kindergarteners putty in my hands; those kids would jump off a cliff for a sticker. So those classes went fine.
I still ran out of material for the older kids, though. One class wanted to play the bingo game, but that can only be a one time thing; they are too old for it. They did it once because it was more fun than work, but they will be bored and contemptuous if I pull it out again. I'll have to find other games for them. There is going to be a lot of prep work involved, at least for a little while.
The smallest Korean bill is 1000 Won - which is about one Canadian dollar, give or take ten cents. There are a lot of Canadians teaching here, so we just refer to 1000 won as a dollar. So 10 000 won translates into $10, at least in our minds.
And about that - there are a lot of Canadians here. I met a pile last night; my roommates and I went to a pub called the Goose Goose. The Goose is a standard hang out for foreigners. Lots of English teachers, and US military types. The teachers I've met are mostly Canadians, Irish, and Austrailians.
The food I've been eating at the school is pretty good. It's obviously a lot healthier than most Canadian fare; it is mostly vegatable based. I'm getting the hang of chopsticks pretty quickly.
The neighbourhood the Goose is in is filled with neon. Signs and lights everywhere; remember Lost in Translation? Like that. Paper fliers everywhere on the ground; you could walk down the street jumped from piece of piece to piece of paper. Almost a carnival type atmosphere. Once I get a camera - I'll buy one in Seoul - I'll post pictures of it.
There are a handful of street vendors in the Goose neighborhood, and my roommates introduced me to a type of bbq chicken on a stick. It costs 1000 won - roughly $1. It's incredibly delicious; we downed a good five each. I have to find out what type of sauce they use; you could easily sell these things for $2 in Canada.
So things are going well right now. I'm over jetlag and settling into my apartment nicely. I'll write more later.
Thursday, September 01, 2005
First Impressions
I arrive in Incheon on Wednesday, Korea time. Tuesday, for you folks left behind in the Eastern time zone.
Over the last few days, my first impressions of the city itself have not been great. It's actually similar to the situation I had when I left Wawa for London. Wawa was a small northern Ontario town, surrounded by deep green forests and dark blue water. A walk along a thickly pine scented trail or a swim in a fresh, clean lake was only ever minutes away. London was a downgrade, in this area; only natural for a city. London is better than most, of course; it comes by the moniker Forest City honestly enough. There are parks scattered through the city, and you can almost pretend to be in a forest on occasion. So I adjusted. I went from having a huge Canadian Shield forest in my backyard to having a Shopper's Drugmart, but I adjusted.
Incheon... Incheon is a whole different story. Granted, I haven't seen much of the city yet. But it seems as cold and industrial as any human dwelling could possibly be. The buildings are large, rectangular, and have a dirty grey colour. The smog is so dense, visibility can't be more than a kilometre or two. The smog apparently comes from China; doesn't make it any less stifling.
Why does this matter to me? I suppose this is where my vaguely theoretical enviromentalist streak appears. I think a clean, spacious, natural enviroment is one of the most fundamental human pleasures. Those are the circumstances that the vast majority of humanity has spent it's history in, and with every new apartment block, we move further and further from this.
This is not a matter of suggesting that life was better 200 years ago; I think that on a historical scale, the quality of human life across the globe only changes incrementally, I believe. Sure, we have better health care, more egalitarian governments, and have a achieved a terrible mastery over nature, but many of us still escape into narcotics or alcohol. Human life is human life, either for a Buddist monk living serenely in a mountain temple or a 21st century city dweller.
With this qualification in mind, I wish nations like China and Korea were not in such a rush to become world powers. China's forced abortion population limits is one aspect of this, but I also sigh for the loss of the Three Gorges. The Chinese government, in building The Three Gorges Dam, is destroying ancient archeological sites, the ancestrial homes of thousands of people, and a handful of species will be devasted because of the resultant flooding. It is terrible - and it is irreversable.
I wonder if it is possible to slow urban sprawl. I wonder if a future U.S. President will open up national parklands to oil drilling. I wonder if meaningful atmospheric regulations will ever be implemented. If humanity continues down this path, our descendants - however many generations from now - will be spitting on our grave.
Is it all irreversable or inevitable? I don't know.
So I look around me, and I see people living in oversized filing cabinets. The economy makes its demands, and we bow to it. I suppose it is the same everywhere. However, after a few days in Incheon, I'll be making a beeline for the greenest city available. London has never looked better.
Over the last few days, my first impressions of the city itself have not been great. It's actually similar to the situation I had when I left Wawa for London. Wawa was a small northern Ontario town, surrounded by deep green forests and dark blue water. A walk along a thickly pine scented trail or a swim in a fresh, clean lake was only ever minutes away. London was a downgrade, in this area; only natural for a city. London is better than most, of course; it comes by the moniker Forest City honestly enough. There are parks scattered through the city, and you can almost pretend to be in a forest on occasion. So I adjusted. I went from having a huge Canadian Shield forest in my backyard to having a Shopper's Drugmart, but I adjusted.
Incheon... Incheon is a whole different story. Granted, I haven't seen much of the city yet. But it seems as cold and industrial as any human dwelling could possibly be. The buildings are large, rectangular, and have a dirty grey colour. The smog is so dense, visibility can't be more than a kilometre or two. The smog apparently comes from China; doesn't make it any less stifling.
Why does this matter to me? I suppose this is where my vaguely theoretical enviromentalist streak appears. I think a clean, spacious, natural enviroment is one of the most fundamental human pleasures. Those are the circumstances that the vast majority of humanity has spent it's history in, and with every new apartment block, we move further and further from this.
This is not a matter of suggesting that life was better 200 years ago; I think that on a historical scale, the quality of human life across the globe only changes incrementally, I believe. Sure, we have better health care, more egalitarian governments, and have a achieved a terrible mastery over nature, but many of us still escape into narcotics or alcohol. Human life is human life, either for a Buddist monk living serenely in a mountain temple or a 21st century city dweller.
With this qualification in mind, I wish nations like China and Korea were not in such a rush to become world powers. China's forced abortion population limits is one aspect of this, but I also sigh for the loss of the Three Gorges. The Chinese government, in building The Three Gorges Dam, is destroying ancient archeological sites, the ancestrial homes of thousands of people, and a handful of species will be devasted because of the resultant flooding. It is terrible - and it is irreversable.
I wonder if it is possible to slow urban sprawl. I wonder if a future U.S. President will open up national parklands to oil drilling. I wonder if meaningful atmospheric regulations will ever be implemented. If humanity continues down this path, our descendants - however many generations from now - will be spitting on our grave.
Is it all irreversable or inevitable? I don't know.
So I look around me, and I see people living in oversized filing cabinets. The economy makes its demands, and we bow to it. I suppose it is the same everywhere. However, after a few days in Incheon, I'll be making a beeline for the greenest city available. London has never looked better.
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Unfurling the Sails
On July 8th, I started a serious hunt for an English teaching job in South Korea. Two days from now, I'm leaving on jet plane. I'll fly through Chicago, Tokyo, and finally land in Incheon International Airport. All economy. May God have mercy on my soul.
I'm sitting here in my brother's Brampton house just killing time. Boredom is going to set in very soon. But just temporarily. Two days. Two days.
This is going to be an interesting year. Yesterday, I had a little preview of what it is going to be like. I had three stops to make: get my flight ticket from a Sears store in Brampton, declare an extended absence from Ontario at the OHIP office in Etobicoke, and pick up my work visa from the Korean Consulate in downtown Toronto.
It very quickly dawned on me that I know nothing about Toronto. A friend graciously drove me to the Sears store and the OHIP office; if she hadn't been available, finding bus and subway routes would have been a bit frustrating. Getting to the Consulate myself wasn't difficult; there was a subway stop right beside the OHIP office. It was getting back to Brampton that was tedious; finding the right Go-Train, and then deciding which bus would bring me closest to my brother's house. Without knowing any of the routes and only a handful of street names, it took some figuring.
Which is all to illustrate that getting around in a new place isn't easy. Finding my way about Incheon and Soeul will take a lot of getting used to. Hopefully it'll be old hat a month in.
I'm not sure exactly what my teaching schedule will be; it looks like I'll mostly be doing afternoon shifts. Which means a little bit of kindergarten, and a lot of elementary. Fine by me. I've packed stickers and an alphabet bingo game; seems like they'll be useful.
I'm going to have to live like a monk, at least for the first little while. I'll have a credit card and a laptop I need to payoff.
It occurs to me I don't know anything about Korean food. I'm going to have to learn cheap and easy recipies. Chocolate Lab flambe, perhaps.
Photos will come when I get a digital camera - that's a month or two away.
That's about all for now. I'll post an update in a week or so.
I'm sitting here in my brother's Brampton house just killing time. Boredom is going to set in very soon. But just temporarily. Two days. Two days.
This is going to be an interesting year. Yesterday, I had a little preview of what it is going to be like. I had three stops to make: get my flight ticket from a Sears store in Brampton, declare an extended absence from Ontario at the OHIP office in Etobicoke, and pick up my work visa from the Korean Consulate in downtown Toronto.
It very quickly dawned on me that I know nothing about Toronto. A friend graciously drove me to the Sears store and the OHIP office; if she hadn't been available, finding bus and subway routes would have been a bit frustrating. Getting to the Consulate myself wasn't difficult; there was a subway stop right beside the OHIP office. It was getting back to Brampton that was tedious; finding the right Go-Train, and then deciding which bus would bring me closest to my brother's house. Without knowing any of the routes and only a handful of street names, it took some figuring.
Which is all to illustrate that getting around in a new place isn't easy. Finding my way about Incheon and Soeul will take a lot of getting used to. Hopefully it'll be old hat a month in.
I'm not sure exactly what my teaching schedule will be; it looks like I'll mostly be doing afternoon shifts. Which means a little bit of kindergarten, and a lot of elementary. Fine by me. I've packed stickers and an alphabet bingo game; seems like they'll be useful.
I'm going to have to live like a monk, at least for the first little while. I'll have a credit card and a laptop I need to payoff.
It occurs to me I don't know anything about Korean food. I'm going to have to learn cheap and easy recipies. Chocolate Lab flambe, perhaps.
Photos will come when I get a digital camera - that's a month or two away.
That's about all for now. I'll post an update in a week or so.
Friday, August 26, 2005
Lost in Translation Notes
This is a list of each post I've made about my time in South Korea, arranged by date.
NEW: Yahoo Photos Page.
Unfurling the Sails - August 27, 2005
First Impressions of the City - September 1, 2005
First Saturday - September 3, 2005
Incheon Hills, First Trip - September 4, 2005
Dinner and a Field Trip - September 10, 2005
Lost in Incheon - October 3, 2005
NEW: Yahoo Photos Page.
Unfurling the Sails - August 27, 2005
First Impressions of the City - September 1, 2005
First Saturday - September 3, 2005
Incheon Hills, First Trip - September 4, 2005
Dinner and a Field Trip - September 10, 2005
Lost in Incheon - October 3, 2005
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