Limbo

People keep asking if I like it in Korea.  The truth is, I don't really know yet.  I'm pretty much settled in at work, but my apartment is still only halfway set up, and I haven't really gotten any sort of routine yet.  I haven't met that many people here, and I always seem to be on some sort of errand.  I won't be able to get a phone or reliable internet until after July 4th, so it looks like I'll have about two more weeks of limbo.

I have been exploring a lot, though.  My neighborhood just keeps getting better and better.  There are parks everywhere, and apparently a really nice bike shop around the corner.

I met my landlady (Julia) and we go walking in the park most nights with her friend.  The two women and their families have been really nice, and they're always giving me food!  Mrs. Chang even took me out for steak last night with her family!  Julia owns a beauty salon downstairs, so I stop by and say hi most nights after school.  It's really nice to have a casual conversation in English, even if it's broken.

My friend from college came to visit this weekend.  She's starting at a school in Seoul this week, and will be staying with me next weekend, too.  It was so much fun to have her here!  We met my other friend in Seoul and saw a neighborhood full of traditional palaces and one of the castles in Seoul.  (Pictures will come on a better internet day!)

On Sunday, my college friend and I went to climb one of the smaller mountains in Seoul.  Her guidebook described it as a Shamanist walk. Just a few minutes up the mountain, we were surrounded by beating drums and chanting from several directions.  We were in a small village that had as many Buddhist temples as it had houses!  They were beautiful, all painted in vivid colors.  (Pictures are discourages, so those will not come on a better internet day.  Sorry.)

Further up the mountain, there were small shrines every five minutes or so.  Some of them were very small, just flat spots with little bowls of rice, but some had altars on them.  Near a few larger ones, older Koreans had set up tents where they were sweeping, or preparing vegetables, or drinking water.  I have no idea if they lived in the tents or were just spending the day there.

We got lost so many times on this mountain because all the trails criss-crossed each other going between shrines.  We did see some great views, though, which I did take pictures of.

On another side of the mountain, the government had recreated the wall that used to protect Seoul.  You could walk up the side of the wall to the peak of the mountain.  This path was steps almost the whole way, and there was little shade.  We had used almost all of our water on the other side already.  (I had refilled at a mountain spring, but my friend didn't trust the water.  So far, so good, and I hope I still feel well tomorrow!)  My friend made it all the way to the false peak, but I didn't even make it that far.  I sat down next to some Koreans in the shade who gave me lots of food.

That's it for now!  I'll try to post again this week!

My Neighborhood and My First Korean Mountain (sort of)

It's very late, and my internet is very slow, so these pictures are out of order.  Sorry!  I can't upload the videos I took, so you'll see my apartment later!

This is the main pedestrian street in my neighborhood, right around the corner from my house.

This is a park on the way to the subway.

Here are some exercise machines in the park.  These things are everywhere!

This is that main pedestrian street again.

This was at the top of the mountain.

Here's the view from the top of the mountain.  Not quite the Adirondacks.

Another view from the top of the mountain.  My friends says it's not always so hazy here.  It might be yellow dust.  If you look very closely, you might see more mountains in the background.

I think they're growing wildflowers near the top of the mountain.

A BIG gym near the top of the mountain.

The walk only took about 30 minutes, but it got steep at times.  (Yes, that's a streetlight.) 

I was glad it was short because these were the shoes I was wearing!

The entrance to the mountain park.

First Impressions

Korean kids are crazy.  They yell and hit each other during class.  The teacher walks by and smacks them on the back when they're misbehaving, and then they smack each other on the back when she walks away.

If you're eating with Koreans, always finish what's on your plate.  If you don't, people will ask you if you're on a diet and why you don't like hot dogs.  And by people, I mean students walking down the hall that you haven't even met yet.

Before using a washing machine in a new apartment, make sure that the drain hose is actually IN the drain.

My neighborhood keeps getting better and better!  There are so many trees and so many parks and so many restaurants!  I found a place that sells HUGE delicious dumplings for $1 on my way home last night.  So much for losing weight...

On the busy streets without a pedestrian light, Koreans just walk out into traffic and the cars stop.  Do NOT try this yourself.  ALWAYS wait for a Korean to cross the street.  Korean pedestrians are amazed when they see a foreigner, but Korean drivers don't see foreigners at all!

Seoul is crowded, especially if you go to a tourist area on a holiday.  :)

There are agricultural plots everywhere, even between the subway rails and the roads.

There's a small river that runs by the bus route to my school, and it is gorgeous in the morning!

There are mountains everywhere!  Everywhere!  Every time I take a bus, I feel like I'm on vacation!  (Living in Houston, you only see mountains if you're on vacation.)  I can't wait to climb a mountain or two this weekend.

Free Korean food at lunch is awesome, but you'll be hungry again at 2pm.

It's so weird when Koreans stare at me when I'm walking down the street, but I've noticed that I stare even more when I see another foreigner!  I need more friends!  When my friend was here last weekend, I wanted to walk up to some foreigners we saw and start talking to them, but she said that is not a good way to make friends here.

We went to Insadong last weekend and found an amazing French bakery where some really tall Korean men work.  (Either that, or the floor behind the counter is raised.)  We ate bulgogi and looked at all the Korean souvenirs and food vendors and found a street with antique shops.  The Buddhist art in the antique shops have pieces that look distinctly Indian, and pieces that look distinctly Chinese, but none from the pre-Joseon period that look distinctly Korean.  Buddhist monks in Korea hosted monks from all over and copied their art.  I need to get a Korean Art History book!

Avoiding Power Point presentations in school has finally caught up to me.  I have literally never made a Power Point, and my co-teacher usually uses two every class. I'm expected to make complicated games with home pages and sound effects and clip art and I have no idea where to even start!

Other than that, I am excited to clean and set up my apartment.  (The last teacher left it really dirty.)  I am super excited to start teaching!  I get to teach part of a class tomorrow and I'm having fun coming up with activities.  I'm very glad my first Power Point isn't due until next week.  I'm excited for Thursday when I'm going to travel and hour and a half to have chicken and beer (followed by watermelon) with my friend.  And I am super excited for this weekend when I will climb a mountain and finally go out in Seoul at night!

I miss all of you a lot!

Made it!

After planning for about a year, I finally made it to Korea!  I'm living in a small city called Hwajeong, which is supposed to be about 40 minutes from Seoul on the subway.  I haven't tested that yet, but probably will tonight!  This city must be very small, because there is no traffic noise on my side of town.  There are lots of trees, too.  I'll post lots of pictures when I find a better internet connection.  (I won't have internet in my apartment until I get my alien registration card.)

My apartment is alright.  I think it's actually smaller than the living room of my small Montrose apartment, but I don't plan on spending much time there, anyway.  Now, if I can just figure out how to turn the hot water on...

I met my co-teacher yesterday, and she seems very nice.  She was concerned about leaving me alone for the weekend, but I told her I'd be fine.  My friend is meeting me tonight.  We're going to dinner and then into Seoul if I'm still awake.  (Jet lag is rough, and I can't drink coffee because of my health check on Tuesday!)