Busan and Back

The last week has been pretty enjoyable, although I had my first "inconveniences." This past weekend Doug and I went to Busan, the second largest city in Korea. Besides having the best beach in the country, Busan is also home to a large naval base, so I wanted to visit and learn my way around. (As a side note, I found out you can take a three-hour ferry to Japan from Busan, so on my next three-day weekend...) The train station is minutes from work and it only takes an hour or so to get there, so Doug and I arrived with little trouble in the early afternoon. We rode the subway to Hae-un-dae Beach where we saw the craziest, most crowded beach I've ever seen. As far as you could see, umbrellas planted like trees formed a canopy over the sand. Hundreds of people were crammed under this shade on sandy blankets and tarps, and hundreds more were walking up and down the rows of these umbrella villages. I went down to the water first, and, finding it to be quite warm, jumped in for a swim. I soon realized that nearly every one of the thousands of people in the ocean were actually floating on yellow tubes, so I soon returned to shore to rent one. It was $10 to rent it, but after returning the tube you'd get $5 back. Doug opted not to swim; instead he wandered up and down the boardwalk enjoying the nice weather. I floated and swam and enjoyed the Florida-like environs of Hae-un-dae for a long while before returning. I put my tube underneath one of the umbrellas I had claimed so Doug and I could go have lunch. When we came back, the tube was gone. This was not all that unexpected, but it was still disappointing because I lost my $5 deposit. However, I tried explaining to the tube-rental guy that it wasn't really my fault and that I would really like my $5 back. Amazingly, he relented and returned my cash, despite my total lack of evidence to support my claim. We hung out around Busan for a while longer (which is when I tried ban-da-gee) before taking the train back to Daegu. Doug is a good conversationalist, so we didn't lack for any discussion on our journey. It was actually really nice to be able to talk to someone in normal English for a few hours, since I'd spent most of the previous two weeks speaking in elementary-level sentences. That night was the monthly "teacher dinner" paid for by the school, so we went to The Holy Grill downtown and ate up. I called it quits early because I was hoping to play soccer the next day.I had to get up at 6:30 on Sunday morning to meet Phillip for soccer. He met me near my apartment and we drove to a schoolyard. There I met his local team members in the recreational league, and after two hours of drills and practice, we played a few thirty-minute periods. I was playing striker for our team, but I was severely disadvantaged because I had only tennis shoes, while everyone else was in cleats. The game still went well (although I didn't score) until the third period, when the guy guarding me starting playing dirty. He couldn't keep up on some plays, so he started yanking my arm to slow me down. I let it go the first two times since he was about ten years older than me, but after the third time, I shouted that he should keep his hands off. Later, as Phillip was driving me home, he told me that shouting of any kind during a match, especially in regards to an older person, is totally against Korean culture, even if the person is playing unfairly. So I learned a good lesson in endurance (although I'd rather the other man learn a lesson in fair play). During the game I also suffered my first "inconvenience" when I lunged during a play. The field was not grass--it was sandy with small pebbles. The effect of falling on such a pitch is comparable to running your hand (or knee, in this case) over a cheese grater, with the result being that my right leg was blood-soaked from the knee down. I kept playing until the end of the game, at which point I had to look at my large, nasty wound and apply some disinfectant. Anyhow, after the game I ate lunch with the soccer players, then Phillip took me home by noon. I had intended to go to Dongbu Church for the 1pm service, but I fell asleep from my unexpectedly strenuous exertions. When I awoke at 5pm, I had little choice but to start my laundry and catch some of the Olympics. The Olympics here are funny, because the only coverage we receive involves Korean athletes. Maybe it's the same back home, but I never watched it to notice. So I washed my clothes, although it was some guesswork since all the washing machine's buttons are in Korean, then I hung them out to dry in my laundry room. While I was waiting for the clothes, I finally decided to try to hook up my Xbox onto my pitifully small TV. I'm still considering getting an HDTV, but it'll probably be next month before I do that. So I got my transformer out, got the Xbox power cable, and plugged them into the wall, only to see and hear a sizzle and spark from the power cable. Somehow, despite my precautions to put those things on the right setting, the Xbox cable got fried along with the transformer. Sad times, since I could no longer charge my toothbrush, razor, iPod (on the speaker dock), camera, wireless headphones, and, obviously, play Xbox. A minor inconvenience...Monday I determined to buy a real transformer from a Korean hardware store. One student, who wuite bewilderingly took the English name Thrall, took me down to the hardware district to find a suitable transformer. I got one for only 20,000 won ($20) instead of the usual $50, and when I took it home, it worked like a charm. The real problem, though, was the laundry. When I got home, I found that I had a smelly set of still-wet clothes in my laundry room. A neighbor of mine named Teddy was with me to assist with the transformer, and he called his parents to ask them some questions about the washer. Even though it was around 11:15pm (I get off work at 10pm), his parents came over to help me understand how to properly use all the buttons. After an hour of explanations on the best method of washing and drying laundry, we discovered that the dehydration function on my washer was not working correctly. Because of this, my clothes were far too wet (thus a little smelly during the drying process) and I might need a new washer. But regardless of that issue, Teddy's mother took some of my dirty laundry to her home to wash for me, which was unbelievably kind of her. The family also noticed my roughed-up knee, and the father went home to get some medical supplies (and lots of extra hangers) and he treated my wound. The family was actually at my apartment until 1:00a hepling me out with some of the basics of life in Korea. When I get a table and some chairs and perhaps a couch, I'm hoping to have them over for a thank-you meal. And as uncommon and amazing as that story is to me, my understanding is that that behavior is common among Koreans.As for teaching, this week inaugurates my regular schedule. I usually teach a class at 1pm, then another three classes at 7p, 8p, and 9p. This leaves me ample time in the afternoon to study Korean, have a long lunch, read a book, chat with students, write ridiculously long blogs, or accomplish other errands. The classes are pretty easy right now, because I only teach the standard "check-up" classes, meaning I only check a student's knowledge of a particular grammar point. In a few weeks I'll start getting a few other classes in my schedule (like the other teachers), which will involve me making up my own lessons on specifics of English usage or an unusual grammatical concept. I haven't figured all that out yet.My coworkers and I and are getting along dandy. They are a pretty social bunch who like to go out after work to play darts or eat or some other activity. We all saw The Dark Knight last week and this week we are celebrating a birthday.Friday I'm going to Seoul for a few days. We have Friday off of school (Korean Independence Day) so I have a long weekend. I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing there other than going to church with Danah on Sunday. The train ride from Daegu is only $40 round-trip, and it takes about four hours. The bullet train (KTX) is only ninety minutes to Seoul, but it runs about $120. I hope to take lots of pictures on the trip to share next week. I'm sure there'll be a story to share, and I'll try to trim it down for next time.





Some other pics from Busan are available at:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=47665&l=40afe&id=561241295

First Weekend

This weekend was pretty representative of every day I've been here thus far. On Saturday, I came up to the school to use the internet and hang out, since ironically my empty apartment isn't the most awesome place to enjoy a day off and work is. I chatted with some teachers, went out for lunch, walked around a park with some friends, and then got invited to go out in the evening. I watched the Jomo Cup, a soccer game between the Korean League and Japanese League's All-Stars., then played some darts and came home. Sunday I took the subway towards a place where a co-teacher goes to church, and someone met me at the station and walked me to church. The service was in a typical Baptist format, with the big exception that Korean churches provide meals after the service. So I had a good lunch and met lots of people there. Then those people invited me out for desserts, which turned into an all-day outing at an Italian restaurant for dinner and then more Billi-bow and darts. The reason I say this is representative of my experience here is because people here are so open to meeting foreigners and then being hospitable to them. I have yet to plan an evening after work, because there is always someone hanging around who will go eat with you or just go hang out. All that to say that I'm having a great time here and feel quite comfortable and at home. Pictures of this mysterious Billi-bow to come soon. =)

First Post in Daegu

So...for those of you curious about how life is here in Daegu, South Korea, or just about me in general, I'm hoping to post weekly what's going on here. I suppose I should start with what exactly I'm doing and how I got here, and then I'll describe my work and apartment.

Around March I decided I'd like to do something a little different for this school year, so I looked at a number of different schools around the world. I got in contact with the Wall Street Institute in South Korea, and after a few emails and a phone call, they decided that I could come once the school year finished out. After months of gathering documents and calling consulates and mailing paperwork, I finally got a Korean visa and headed off to Korea. I arrived in Daegu on Tuesday, July 29.

In addition to providing the airfare and visa, the institute arranged my apartment. The apartment came sparsely furnished: it had a bed, a wardrobe, a washing machine, and a fridge. Last night, though, I was very blessed. A friend of mine that Kris introduced to me via email came by my work and told me that her neighbor was getting rid of some furniture, so she had her brother-in-law and another friend load it into a van and drive it to my apartment, and when I got home last night, it was there for me. God has been taking care of me. This same friend and her sister also drove me to the only Costco in the area, and I was able to get some essentials for the place. I'm still lacking some pots and pans, but I'm not in a hurry for those things. Anyhow, the apartment is about 15 minutes walking distance from my school. I walk through a pet store district, past an Outback Steakhouse, and then underneath an intersection to get there. Amazingly, the underneath the intersection is a massive underground mall, so my daily walk to a from work is quite varied.

My job is fantastic--better than I could have hoped. I work for the Wall Street Institute, a company that caters to adults needing English for work and school. Many students here are also enrolled in nearby universities, and the others are business people who work with foreigners. Here's how our system works. A new student comes in and tests to see what level (1-48) they are in English. Once that is determined, they are given a workbook and told to do some corresponding multimedia lessons in the computer lab. It generally takes a student two weeks to do all the computer and workbook lessons, at which point they schedule a class with a teacher (me or one of the other five teachers here) who then check their fluency and abilities with the vocabulary and grammar they were supposed to have learned in that lesson. So my job on a day-today basis is to ensure that the students are progressing well on their lessons, and when no one needs help, to just talk with them about whatever. The school also hosts social clubs: fun activities that assist in learning different cultural quirks or idiomatic expressions. The other teachers are quite fun and friendly. Two are Canadian, two American, and the last British.

I think there are a million more things I could write, but I'll leave it at that for now. I'll hopefully post more in the next few days. Oh, and here's a link to my first photos, if you aren't facebook compatible. http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=46357&l=622dc&id=561241295

A letter from Kris to his girlfriend about our trip

Dearest love of all—

I’m writing this letter to let you know all of the events that transpired on the ridiculous trip with John in July. All of the events depicted are true, and, of course, not many animals were harmed in the making of these memories. This trip took place beginning Monday, July 14, at 8pm, and concluded on Thursday, July 17, around midnight. The first thing you ought to know is why we took this trip. I do not know. John, being the restless and reckless adventurer that he is, decided that I needed to accompany him on a pointless trip to some part of the country. He had earlier tried to persuade me to go on a cruise to the Caribbean or a week-long visit to Peru, but I laughed these suggestions off. Instead, I suggested Vegas, but as John was getting the airline tickets, they went up in price. We ended up driving instead. Oh yeah—the point of this trip. I still haven’t figured that out. I think John was trying to avoid staying at his house and he wanted me to keep him company, but don’t tell him that.
So, we left for Washington D.C. from Atlanta on Monday night. We decided on D.C. because most of the attractions were free and because there was plenty to see. The choice of Monday night, though, was a little strange, since it is a 10 hour drive from Atlanta. The sad truth is that we were both too cheap to pay for another night’s lodging, so we thought that we could drive through the night and arrive Tuesday morning as the attractions were opening. All went according to plan, except that John drove too fast and we got there at 6:30, and most museums don’t open until 10am. We were able to kill some time by John’s inept driving, which took us through both Virginia and Maryland before we found a lady who cursed John for being a member of the Nazi party and a parking garage. By the time we reached our first destination, The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, it was 8. We hadn’t eaten in a while, so we got some directions from a very bored security guard, who mumbled something about some building somewhere. So off we went, and after some searching, we found a cafeteria in the United States Department of Agriculture building. We had some omelets, which unfortunately did not contain vegetables, and then we played some stupid coin games that John remembered from middle school.
Dumps
Around 9 we walked back towards the museum, where we discovered a line had formed for receiving tickets to the main exhibition. We waited in line for our tickets and were inside by 10. But, sweetie, I just realized that this letter will be too long and tedious if I continue at this level of detail, so let me just tell you that after the museum, we took a nap on the grass of the National Mall before walking to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. It wasn’t impressive, so we walked to the Washington Monument and the to the Air and Space Museum. It was cool because of all the cool space stuff, like the missions to the moon, and we also saw the very first piloted airplane by the Wright brothers. Oh, and the first plane to ever cross the Atlantic was there, too. After all that sightseeing and no sleep, we went back to find our hotel and eat some Burger King. We pretty much crashed in the early evening and woke in the middle of the night to watch Kill Bill Volume 1.
The next morning we woke late and ate some Wendy’s for breakfast. We were hoping to have a nice peaceful meal, but as we were eating outside of the Newseum, unruly guests about ten floors up began spitting near us. John found this event funny, but I was angry enough to spit a mouthful of snot into someone’s food, eyes, and face. After my Caesar salad soothed me some, we went off to the Capitol Building. Apparently they were giving away tickets for a guided tour, so we gladly procured some and got in line. The heat outside was extensive, so we were glad to get indoors. As we neared the entrance to the building, guides passed out headsets for us to wear during the tour. Somehow, John got the working one and I got the bad one, but they eventually got me a working unit. Inside we received a first-rate tour from a very nerdy woman who obviously appealed greatly to John. She offered a “special prize” to anyone who could stump her with questions about the Capitol, and John saw it as a challenge to do just that. However, after asking her a difficult and unnecessary question about the Congressional representation of D.C. residents for tax purposes, John relented in his questioning and just enjoyed her talk. I was pretty impressed with the big dome and the big paintings, but especially with the spot on the floor where the acoustics of the ceiling allowed a whisper on one side of the room to be heard in another. After the tour, we were told that if we had the right identification, we could get tickets to see the Senate and House of Representatives in session. Sadly I didn’t have my passport or driver’s license, because I didn’t want my pants to sag and draw needless attention to my sculpted butt, so we were not going to be able to go. Luckily, though, the nerdy tour guide gave both John and I tickets for foreigners (claiming he was Canadian) and we went! The Senate was boring because no one was there doing anything, but in the House of Reps we saw some people debating the use of the word “jihadists” by U.S. Intelligence services. This was temporarily interrupted by a special announcement: the President had sent a message to the House! All business ceased while the documents were brought in. Then they were placed off to the side, and business resumed as usual. We left the Capitol and did a whirlwind tour of the Library of Congress and the Supreme Court, and we then ate lunch at Union Station, where John was forced to remove his feet from a chair. From there we hurried on to see the National Archives, where I recalled that the Declaration of Independence was stowed. We were afraid the building might close before we got there, but we infiltrated a group of Hispanic kids and made our way inside. There we witnessed many cool things, but the best was my hero Nicholas Cage’s beloved Declaration and something called the Constitution. It was faded but cool. Oh, and John actually cared about some stupid paper called the Magna Carta, but I didn’t even waste my time looking at that crap. Finally we left there and walked to the White House, where we saw country star Kenny Chesney on his way to a party. We later made it to the distant Jefferson Memorial and watched the sun set before heading back to the car. John was suddenly talking about going to a Korean place, so we drove around looking for a WiFi hotspot to locate this place. We found the address and went back to eat at Outback and change clothes. I ordered this shrimp and scallops pasta dish, but got shrimp and chicken instead. I was too nice to tell the server she got it wrong, so I ate and tried to convince John that going to the Korean place was a stupid idea. He was fixed on it, though. So we went back to the hotel, changed clothes, and went on the stupidest trip ever. Thankfully we couldn’t find it, so we drove back and crashed.
Thursday was the final day of sightseeing for us. We got up a little late and drove straight to Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America. It wasn’t that cool. The place was small, the guide was loud, and the information seemed suspect. We didn’t stay long. We were supposed to go to Williamsburg next, but ended up bypassing it for a few minutes to go to someplace called Yorktown. John was excited because it was apparently some important battle sight in some war, so I patiently watched the videos and listened the tour guides and endured the heat for his sake. Then we drove by the little beach they had before going back to Williamsburg. This was supposed to be the crown of our day, but it turned out to be lame because you had to pay $37 just to see the insides of the shops. I guess the whole town was preserved in the colonial fashion of the 1700s, so people dressed, ate, talked, and lived the way people did back then, but we couldn’t see all that there was because we didn’t buy those expensive tickets. So after an unguided tour and John being solicited by a lady there who thought we were the sons of some wealthy plantation owners, we began our return trip. It was a little annoying for me, because I went the wrong way on 95 for a while, and then I got stuck behind a cop for about 30 miles. But things started to improve once we went to Cracker Barrel and I had some cornbread. Then the rest of the trip went smooth as the butter they served at that all-white restaurant, and I was glad for its end.

Alaska Trip

Before I record (if I do) my thoughts on my Alaskan journey, I thought it would be best to record what happened each day so I could more accurately remember later all my adventures. Here goes:
Sunday (6/15) - Bike ride through Anchorage, saw moose
Monday - Disc golf, coastal trail, Flat Top Mountain
Tuesday - First kayak trip, went camping on beach, first bear encounter
Wednesday - Bike ride back to cabin, climbed Twin Peaks
Thursday - Went out on trail with Charlie to recover kayaks, Bear Tooth movie
Friday - 26 Glacier Cruise for Vanessa's birthday in Whittier, train ride
Saturday - 7 am bus for Seward, climbed Mount Marathon
Sunday - 8 1/2 hour cruise of Kenai Fjords National Park, dinner at Fox Island, saw first whale in the wild
Monday - Glacier hiking in K. Fjords Park on Exit Glacier, first hitchhiking experience, read "The Catcher in the Rye" on the bus back to Anchorage
Tuesday - Helped injured Vanessa with kayaks, biked to Serenity Falls cabin past two bears, met two girls at cabin and attempted a group hike to Eklutna Glacier on unmarked trail
Wednesday - Biked back early to rental cabin past two more bears, helped with large group of kayakers, saw dead moose hit by SUV
Thursday - Unsuccessful zoo visit, looked at souvenier shops, watched 'Blades of Glory' at Michael's, went to airport

Perhaps I'll publish some of the funnier stories from these terse explanations.