53 heads of Garlic!

I went shopping at a local market, and got a ton of fresh veggies for cheap! And then came the garlic lady who my friend told me I could get five head of garlic for around $0.75. I ask for five, but the lady said no. And proceeded to grab a wrapped bunch, and cut off all the head of garlic and put them in a bag. My jaw dropped as I counted 53 heads of garlic go into the bag! It was only $7, but there is only me in my house!

So, besides give them away (which I will do soon) what do I do with 53 heads of garlic? How long does fresh garlic last?

The Road Not Taken

by: Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the tother, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy ans wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by And that has made all the difference.

11 weeks

Emotions flow as the ocean tide pulls them toward another west coast
Cultural views are accepted, hoping they are different but equal
Elders are to be respected; the young have to prove their worth
Life revolves around age, school at 5, college till 27, marriage before 30
Creating new bonds, pushing at the strings of fate and travel that bring us together
Finding hope in the love and trust of 7 year olds
Seeing distrust in 80 year olds
The distance between the long hairs and short hairs

I’m finally settling into life in Seoul, the normal routine is down pat (but got to get my butt out of bed these mornings to go the gym!), have to study more Korean. The past couple weeks have been great.
Two weeks ago I joined a church called Onuri English Ministry, it’s the biggest church I’ve ever gone to. It has three ministries in Korean, English, and Chinese. The service is powerful, hearing more than 300 whispering voices gathering in prayer and worship. The small group I’m now apart of is made up of about 15 people, mostly Korean women and American men who are teachers and graduate students. A couple of the Koreans I can relate to and hopefully build lasting friendships with. I was invited via text to go ‘hiking’ Namsam and out to dinner afterwards on Tuesday. I was excited because I’ve gotten able to go hiking a lot over the past couple weeks and was glad to do more. But the hike turned out to be a 30 minute stair climb to the top of a lookout mountain, swarming with people taking in the view of the city. So much for a second climb this week, but it was great to talk with new people and find out who they are. An American, Jason, and I tossed around a football in the middle of MyeongDong, the busiest shopping area of Seoul, at peak shopping time. It was great! All of the curios/glaring looks we got from Koreans. I got ask, “Why” by three Korean high school guys, my response was, “Why Not.” They walked away, not really satisfied with the answer. We played catch with a old man and a clown on silts, one of the guys got pictures of the ‘game’ so hopefully I can post them later.

This weekend three of my friends came up from Deagu to celebrate my birthday and take in the sites of Seoul. It was a crazy 30 hours filled with Palace visits, Baseball game, an underground aquarium, and getting kicked out of a jimjabang at 3 am because two people wouldn’t be quite. So we call came back to my dorm size apartment and squeezed all 4 of us on to sleeping pats and my twin size bed. Classic!
On Saturday, Brian, Sarah and I hiked the tallest mountain near Seoul, Mt. Book Han. It was a tough hike, taking 6 hours to go up and down. The problem I have with hiking in korea is there is no switchbacks up the mountain, were the path is a Z, making it easier to climb. In Korea, you walk straight up the mountain and at really hard parts your aided by metal stairs which are brutal on the knees! Ahh and lots of rock face, which is sweet. The views are some of the most beautiful I’ve seen, and defiantly better than what I imagined from seeing pictures of korea.

My pour digital camera has finally told me its on its last legs, so I’m going to get a nice SLR camera. I can’t wait, but I’m not excited about going to Techno Mart (4 huge floors of every electronic devise you could want) and looking at cameras. Definitely going to do my research at home, before I go out and by a camera in Korean. They don’t do returns here.

Away you go to the… Philippians
A couple weeks ago, my best 8-year-old student, Metis, came to class ecstatic and beaming. She said her older sister was coming home from the Philippians that day, where she had been for the past two years. I asked why she was there, to study English she said. The next day Metis was absent, which was a rare occurrence. My co-korean teacher told me, her mother had pulled her from the school. Both of us were bewildered, wondering why our best student had dropped. Her mother told us a couple days later that she had decided to send Metis and her sister back to the Philippians to study. Metis will leave fifteen days after her mom told her she was leaving the country! Amazing the lengths Koreans will go to insure their children know English and insure their place in global society in later years. My heart aches for Metis’s mother who sent her two young daughters to live with their aunt for the sole reason of a second language.

Grad School?!

As I've been thinking of going to graduate school for a long time, but didn't know which program/career I wanted to pursue. As of now, I'm going for a Speech Pathologist, which will a 2-3 year Masters program, depending on the school. And about a years worth of prerequisites classes I have to take. My Plan A, is to start taking online prereq classes in Fall 2009, be done with them in Spring 2010 and enter graduate school in 2011/12. And be in Korea through July 2011 (2.5 yr), so that I can pay off my school loans and pay for the prereq classes out of pocket.

I'm really comfortable with this plan, I'm still going to research more about Speech Pathology, so I know what its really like. But I think I'll go for it!

New pics

New photos on Photobucket
http://s591.photobucket.com/albums/ss351/ktfacet/

Lunch time, ohh Kim Bab! 김 밥

I'm on my lunch break, after two crazy kindergaden classes, and eatting Kim Bab (typical fast food lunch here :) ) and wishing that I had a Burrito! Its been about a month and half since I've had any type of real American food and I'm feeling healthier because of it. The food here is amazing, most every thing is freshly made with good ingredients. And no, I haven't run into any dog meat yet.

An average day at school so far as been a mixture of frustration of not being able to speak or ask how the kid's days are. (I guess thats what I need to learn next week :) ), joys when the kids use their new words, and laughter when the words are totally in the wront context. Like when a girl didn't have a pencil, she said , "Pencil Nobody". But at least she was using English and thats the main goal for 5 year olds. I can understand why people have a heart for young kids, they are so fresh and 'pure' but have a mind of their own. But they want to learn so much, its amazing.

Last night I meet Hyo-Jung, my korean teacher in Denver, for dinner. It was soo nice to see someone familair and talk about non-school topics. :) She came up for an interview at a company in Seoul, and I'm hoping that she can move up here. As she is living in Deagu right now with her parents, if she doesn't get this job she'll work for a english school. Which she said wasn't a good thing for a korean's resume, but a job is a job when your 24. I'm going to go to Busan with her next weekend, I'm excited to get out of the concrete Jungle of Seoul and on to the sunny beach of Busan.

One Month, finally a tourist

Ah! First month in Seoul is complete. I’ve had many laughs, getting lost, loving and hating my job, and the kids. It’s nice to live in a big city and be able to enjoy all the modern conviences, and finally have a cell phone! And take the subway everywhere, I’m making my lil studio apartment (ok it’s the size of a dorm room!) my own room, since the previous tenant left a bit of decoration pieces, which were nice, so I didn’t have to look at bare walls.

For the past five days Mark came and visited me, its kind of fun to be able to say that I’m the first teacher of the new teachers to have a visitor and I’m definitely enjoying having someone here from back home, talk about things from the past. I finally got a chance to do the touristy stuff in Seoul, as I didn’t want to do it alone. This weekend Mark and I’ve seen COEX, the largest shopping mall in Korea (complete with an aquarium, conference center, huge foot court, doctors offices, and a bank, and its own subway stop.) The Myeoun-dong Fashion District, Cheonggyecheon (the river walk around Han River), Insa-dong traditional Culture Street (complete with every type of touristy vendor waiting to rip off unexpecting tourist. Its better to shop in the subways for good deals) Gyeongbor Palace (impressive and soo peaceful), Korean National Folk Museum, Changdeokgong Palace (Have to go back to the gardens in the spring/summer), and Techno Mark (a 3 story building full of electronics from cell phones, mp3, small appliances, computers).

This past weekend showed me I really need work on my Korean! It’s embarrassing to not be able to answer back in Korea, or figure out how much I owe someone. At least 20 minutes at day is my goal!

On Saturday I found myself wanting to buy shoes, but my normal size 8 American shoes is size 250 in Korean. As always, I’m too large for the Korean stores, they stop making shoe at size 245! Most stores have shoes to 240.. I went to three very high-end stores in Myeoun-dong thinking they would have many size available: nope! I finally bought some shinny plastic shoes for 19,000 W (like $14) that will last me maybe 3 months. It’s a bit depressing to be so ‘large’ at a 5’8, size 8 in Korea. I’d lost weight when I moved home, but now I have gained it all back. Mmm need to hit the gym more and no snacking!

Yesterday I went to the gym at 7:20am and it was empty, awesome! It felt great to work out, be able to use any machine I want, and shower in peace. (I still get my best showers at my gym. My apartment water has two temperatures: Ice cold and burning hot! I’m gradually getting use to it, or maybe my showers are getting shorter and shorter!)

Pictures

I've uploaded some pictures on Flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36424084@N02/

And Photobucket: http://s591.photobucket.com/albums/ss351/ktfacet/

I'll write descriptions and a story behind them soon :)

First week down, 51 to go!

So far the two things that have left their biggest impression on me was taking an hour to join the gym, and watching the kindergarten graduation.

With the help of four Korean translators, my fellow teacher, Gordon and I got signed up for the Jamaican gym. After an hour of signing up, I got on their measuring system, and was told that I was fat by Korean standards (I could have told them that one). But still, Americans don’t join gyms to be told that they are fat. Oh well, such is life J. The building itself is amazing, located on the 13th floor, above department stores, Starbucks, and Dunkin Donuts, it has a crazy view of the city at night. I’ll try and take a picture of the nightlife that’s scene from the windows. The gym’s here are cheap, for one year membership its $21 a month, and for 3 months its $35! Granted square footage is still super expensive so the gym is smaller then an American gym, but what isn’t? (My kitchen is 2 x 3’!) I’ve been to the gym twice now, both in the later evenings and have been the token westerner girl. I’m hoping to see another one soon, but I’m not pressing my luck on it. There was only one western guy there also.. mmm so this is what its like being the minority.

The Korean kindergarten graduation was 10:30-2:30, for less than 60 kids! All of the parents took off work to attend their children’s English class graduation, and it was a show. The kids had been memorizing the songs, poems, and plays for over a month. They played out Beauty and the Best, Lady Chongyoun, The Little Bear.. ect. It was an amazing production that ended with all of the schoolteachers (new and old) on the stage dancing to “Dancing Queen”.

I feel like my Korean has gotten worst since coming, all I’ve been saying is Hello and Thank you.. I’ve definite have to start studying, just so I can understand what is being said to me at a restaurant. Soo.. today I’ll look for a language exchange partner, whom I can help with their English and my Korean.

I start teaching classes on Monday! All of my classes are full, with 12 students each. Most of the classes have had english class before, so it'll be easier to communicate and instruct them. All morning I'll be hanging out with 7 year olds (american age 5), it'll be a fun but a struggle to get them to learn english and to adapt to an american. I've heard that most of the korean kids have never been around westerners so for the first couple of weeks half of them will be afraide to talk with me. So I'll be instruding, "Stella", to them. Stella is a huge hippo puppet with a skirt and bright pink lipstick. :)

The world of Seoul aka my tiny 4 block radius.

I’ve found myself living in on of the largest cities in the world, next to the 5th largest subway station in the city. An you say crowds, neon lights, fish smells, formally dressed workers for businessmen to gym workers. The Koreas have the best customer service I’ve ever seen. With my fellow teachers’ nonexistent Korean, we try to communicate with writing and hand gestures. We pay in big bills, because we don’t know our number’s yet. We struggle with taking off our shoes in each other’s homes, gym lockers, and some restaurants. We wave back to bus loads of giggling, waving school girls. And try not to say hi if we seen other westerner in an elevator. We get stocked in the subway by the retired generations of Koreans (who stand in subway stations, socializing, people watching, and listening to random musicians) they try out their English on us, ask where we are from, and assume we are students. We refuse to wear gym uniforms, believing that we are individuals and out grew uniforms in the 7th grade. Koreans take comfort in dressing the same and being in a communal society. We are told to eat rice w/ large spoons, give and receive money with two hands extended. And get stared at where ever we go, even though we are in the capitol city.

12 hours, 4 Cities, 3 Flights

After spending a week with Zana, Ryan, and Mom in Sacramento I toured the western seaboard airports. First with a flight to Portland were I missed a flight to Denver by 20 minutes because they said they would be an hour because of the Denver flight control. Off to Seattle I went, on the most delightful 40-minute flight! It was a sweet two hours to be in Washington again, I know that most people would be mad about missing a flight and having to take two extra flights to get to their destination, but I’m relishing it for some odd reason. I guess its because it’ll be the last time I’ll be in these airports for a least a year, which I makes me sad to think I wont be in Seattle for that long. Spending time in the airport lets me have the forced quite time, people watching, and all the opportunities of getting lost that I could crave.

I have five days till I leave! I want to see everyone in Denver before then, and take my parents out to eat Korean. My dad has never been, so it’ll be a fun experience.

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve done a lot of things that I’ve wanted to do for a while. First, when Yoko came and visited me in the second week of January! It was so fun to have a visitor from the west coast (#1), and to be able to see Denver through new eyes. We went to the stock show, Breckenridge with Hyo-Jung and Kee Bea, and out on the 16th street mall in Denver. So much fun! Thanks Yoko! Then Mark came from Seattle and we went to the Denver Art Museum (#2), where much to his dismay, I started jumping up and down when we got to the Asian room. It was great to see some examples of Asian history, and it made my heart beat faster when I got to think that I was going to get the opportunity to live there. Amazing! Then Adrienne came out and we go to go snowshoeing (#3) (I’ve wanted to go for years!!) in Empire, CO. And went to delicious Italian pizza with the parents, and went to Garden of the Gods (#4) in Colorado Springs and ‘hiked’ around the beautiful red boulders with Hyo-Jung and Kee-Bea.
After a crazy weekend, I got on a plane to Sacramento and the next day was picked up by Aubrey and went sightseeing in Napa/Calstioga. That area is good for the soul, one day I’ll spend more time in the valley, and really absorb the goodness of it (and all the great wine!) We got to go the hot springs (#5) with her boyfriend, Neil. Zana picked me up and we drove to San Francisco, and went to Colt Tower (#6), where the light rain, smell of eucalyptus trees, with their peeling bark, and the Bay, brought me back to my time at MBA. It feels so long ago, but in reality it was only 5 years since I left Monterey Bay. ☹ I drove around San Fran for a bit, which I plan on not doing for a long time! My new plan for when I get back from Korea is to get a masters at a school in the Bay area, its so beautiful around there! I still want to go to Alcatraz Island, but only in the summer time. And now I’ve been to 4 cities in one day, and on 3 airplanes. Not that I’ve wanted todo this, but it’s a fun way to spend the day.