First day of school

So, yesterday was my first day of school. Besides getting lost a few times, everything went well. Exam week is next week, so I am not teaching any classes yet. This gives me enough time to prepare a ton of stuff to do (yay!).

I've met just about every person here, and was very careful to go see my Vice-Principal this morning to say hi. Getting used to the bowing, but always want to bow back to the students.

As there wasn't much for me to do yesterday, the head teacher let me go in the afternoon. Great! I decided to take a bus to the downtown (being on the 18th floor of the tallest (19-storey) building in town, I can see the downtown all lit up at night) to go to a bank and exchange some money. Grabbed my Lonely Planet phrase book, passport, money etc. and went to the bus stop.

After a few minutes of waiting, I asked a young woman "Bosu shinae?" (Downtown bus?) and was greatly relieved when she said "Ne" (yes). I watched for when she got off the bus and followed her again. This time I asked "Unhaeng?" (bank) and she took me to a bank. I took a number and waited next to a man who was counting out a HUGE pile of Won (the smallest denomination is 1000 and the largest is 10,000 - this means carrying around a huge wad of cash everywhere). The teller called me up and I handed her my passport and money. She shook her head, then turned off her computer and walked around the counter (she was smiling and speaking Korean, so I felt OK). She walked outside (!) still carrying my passport and money. We walked about 3 blocks (she was chatting with me the whole time, and I was just thinking "Thank God I am not in Mexico." as she waved my passport (with US money sticking out of it) around). We got to a different bank and she brought me in, in front of everyone who was waiting in line. I said good bye to her, primising to come and visit her once I get a phone.

This well-dressed Korean man (all Korean men are well-dressed! I may have to go tie-shopping for my male friends back home and send you all pink and blue striped ties with rhinestones on them) came out (where is my passport? In his hands) and took me back to the main offices (turns out he was the bank manager) where the more important people might go. He had visited Montreal before (for a marathon?) and wanted to keep on talking. I also got an invite to go to meet his wife and kids one day for supper. Finally got my passport and $ exchanged and went home, feeling a bit overwhelmed.

Overwhelming is not the word -- Waguk (foreigners) are almostlike celebrities here (one teacher spent the first 15 minutes of his first day of school signing autographs !)

I've begun putting my apartment together, and it is feeling more like home. This morning, I put up pictures of friends and family. Yes yes, apartment pictures are coming.

Last night, while I was organizing my apt, Steve arrived (he lives 4 floors down) and helped me move my closets into place (YAY - Tough Guy comes through!). Then, we went out for Bibimbap (yes, it was a huge portion for only 3000W, about $5 Cdn) and wandered around our apartment complex. Shidae Apartments is a complex of about 9 buildings (My building is the tallest). Within 2 minutes walk, you can find a taxi stand, 2 bus stops, a super awesome health club, grocery store (Kim's Club), restaurants, Hof (pub) etc etc etc. Feeling up for a challenge, Steve and I went to the (5-storey) gym to ask about memberships. It's amazing - very spacious, and new. There are even salt baths and saunas. Since I brought all my workout stuff with me to Korea, I might as well get a membership. And, I can't wait to write to Myrianne, Madeleine and Edith about the difference between English, French and Korean step classes!!!! (It will also coutneract the effects of eating vast quantities of rice with every meal)

Took the bus to school this morning, on a bus full of students (they all stopped talking when I got on and just stared.) Off to City Hall this afternoon. I probably won't have a chance to update the blog or e-mail until next Monday (Sunday night for you all).

IN SUNCHEON!

Suncheon is absolutely gorgeous. Try to imagine tall narrow apartment buildings sprinkled through a million mountains. It's incredible.

Yesterday afternoon, I arrived in my apartment with Mrs Pak, my co-teacher. I don't yet have a phone (the last guy who was there had a girlfriend in Korea and was never in his apartment, so didn't use phone). How can I describe my apt? It's about the size of when I lived on Sherbrooke Ouest or Cote St-Luc. I will probably take a couple photos and then send them off once I get a phone line (and internet) in my apt. (I'm on my school computer right now).

First impressions:

1. Love ondol heating (like a radiator under the floor)
2. My washing machine is more technologically advanced than my laptop - and all in Korean.
3. I live in an apartment complex with a health club, grocery store and department store nearby.
4. My co-teacher is AWESOME!
5. I am wearing my red suit and plastic sandals (no outdoor shoes inside).
6. I will be seeing each class (17 classes) once a week. Also have 2 teacher workshops.

I need to write something longer, I know. There's just so much to say, and pictures will tell the story better than a simple post.

Keep in touch!

Hmmm, and now it seems to have worked....

The post about the folk village and the post about not being able to get blogger to work have both arrived on my blog. Yay. I would not have wanted to retype the whole folk dancing post again!

Tonight I am repacking everything (it almost looks like my luggage exploded into the hotel room - Kelly and Kimmy would understand from our hotel room in Montreal). Tomorrow, I go to Suncheon and finally move into my new apartment. I don't know when my next posting/e-mailing time will be. I have a feeling that I will need some time to relax/prepare my next classes. This week has been somewhat overwhelming: jetlag, partying, lots of information coming in, lots of fun, but I am also looking forward to getting into my own space in order to settle in for real.

This orientation week is like a surreal vacation. I've loved every minute of it, but can't forget that I will have to start teaching again in two days! It's a bit hard to believe sometimes that I am really in Korea. And of course, once I have a phone, you can be sure that I will call a few of you (you know, at 3 am Canada time, just to chat!).

Blarrrrgh technology

Wrote a huge post today about fun folk arts things and wasn't able to post it.

Still having lots of fun! Miss you all!

Folk dancing and neckalce making...

Today's field trip was to a very interactive cultural learning centre. I can imagine that it would be like the Children's Discovery Centre or something.

When we arrived, there was a crowd of children waiting at the gates. Each pair had a sign with one of our names on it. I got "Alex" and "Steven". They were very shy to begin with, but I quickly got the idea that these two must spend a lot of time in the principal's office. They were still very good kids though. We started by making a sort of rice cookie thing stuffed with sweet beans or sesame seed and steamed over pine needles. Although I am sure that the real ones must be delicious, the version that I made with two 10 year olds was barely edible.

Afterwards, we took turns pummeling rice paste with a big huge wooden hammer (on a huge wood block). Lots of fun.

After lunch, we had a drum lesson. The drum teacher then put on one of the most bizarre hats I've ever seen and did a sort of Mongolian - Sufi kind of wave your head around spinny dance that made the long whip on the top of the hat swirl all over the place. Ummm, yeah. Kinda had to be there. It was phenomenal!

I met my Korean co-teacher this afternoon! Her name is Mrs. Pak (Park) and she speaks Korean (of course), English and... French! Whenever she forgets a word in English, she just says it in French and I understand. On Wednesday, I will get to my apartment and on Thursday, I will start!!!!

We made silver necklaces using a sort of silver clay that we imprinted with leaves, then fired in a kiln and polished. Mrs. Pak wrote my name on mine using Hangeul (Korean script). It looks like this: upsidedown A, sideways T, 7 with a tail, vertical line, the number 4, circle, sideways T.

Hope you are all well. Even the most banal news from home will be a godsend once the homesickness kicks in.

Hiking!

We finally got a chance to hike - and it was absolutely beautiful!

Nicola and I went up a rather steep (but very lush) trail. At the top we found a temple building. Off each corner of the roof there was a bell, ringing as it was pushed by the wind. It was an eerily holy feeling place. The steps leading up from the trail were all stones. The view was beautiful, but visibility was poor, given that it was misty and drizzly. I can only imagine what it would have been like to be that high up on a clear day.

We continued around the temple, found more steps and a sign reading "Cave". We went a bit further up and found ourselves in a Buddhist shrine inside a beautiful, well lit cave. We removed our shoes, stepped onto the hardwood floor and sat on cushions. The Buddha was standing, and white, and surrounded by shelves of oil lamps. Amazing.

Afterwards, we walked back down the (treacherous, wet) stone steps and went on to the main temple complex. Korean temples are painted on every inch with flowers, lines, shapes, Buddhas etc. I really loved it. With only 90 minutes, we certainly didn't have enough time to see everything. I can't wait to be able to spend a full day of temple/hiking -- maybe next weekend?

Tonight, we are off to a Hof (Korean pub) and a Nori Bang (Karaoke rooms). What should I sing?

Please leave me messages or e-mails and tell me about your daily lives. Thanks Ann for the photos - it makes me feel more connected.

So anyway....

Yesterday, I was sitting in the Gwangju World Cup stadium (Gwangju won against Jeju), nibbling on dried squid (my new favourite snack). I met a girl who is working in Suncheon, and she told me that there was a BODY SHOP in Suncheon. I stretched my arms out, looked up at the sky and thought, "Yup. Life is good."

The only thing missing here is you guys.

We're in the newspaper!

To our surprise this morning, as we were going to our Korean music class, we were shown the sports section of yesterday's paper. There was a picture of Brent, me, Nicola, Steve (and a bit of Stuart's head) cheering at the baseball game!

That's one cool part about being here - the attention. Of course, sometimes it is a bit out of hand: Yesterday, we went to a park and ended up getting swarmed by small children. They were very cute, but very bold (grabbing at clothes etc) and very noisy.

We also went to a sushi restaurant (even "vegetarian" dishes seem to contain meat/fish, so I am getting good at eating seafood), then off to a "Foreigner Bar" (Soul Train). Personally, I'd rather be in a "Hof" (Korean run pub).

Today, we learned some traditional Korean music - It was awesome! Very percussion-based and the songs are very melodic. I guess I was expecting it to be more abrasive.

This afternoon, we are off to a soccer match at World Cup Stadium. We'll surely be in the papers again tomorrow!

Just to give you an idea of the food: for breakfast this morning, I had spicy tofu soup, rice, pickled garlic, kimchi, some green thing, possibly a squid piece... and hazelnut coffee.

We are taking tons of pics here, but no direct Internet access into my computer and the hotel computer uses a Korean-language operating system. This means that you can expect a ton of pics once I get to Suncheon. It seems that there are many many foreigners there and we met a few of them last night (Ummm, when I say foreigner, I mean non-Korean. Lots of Aussies, Kiwis, Canadians, and a few Brits).

Oh, wait... and I almost forgot: I found a Body Shop in downtown Gwangju by the Hof (but they are not open at 1:30 am). Yesterday afternoon, though, I went into a beauty cream store and was impressed with the selection. Equally impressive was the shop girl (dressed head to toe in pink frills and stripes) who followed me an inch off my shoulder as I strolled through the store. A bit intimidating, but it's the Korean way.

Happy Birthday again to Ian - His mohawk is gorgeous and I will upload a photo once I possible can. Char: How did you manage to put a pic of Kaylin in your comment? She's gorgeous!

To reiterate: I love it here.

Doo Cha Gi!

This orientation week is like nothing I've ever seen before. We are put up in a relatively nice hotel, with meals included (more on the meals later....), and activities every day.

During normal working hours, we have different seminars and speeches about Korean culture, the experience of being a JLP (Jeollanamdo Language Program) teacher, the Korean language etc. The JLP program is very professional - this is NOT one of those hogwan things. We have to be dressed professionally every day (keeping in mind that the Korean idea of professional dress is much more fancy than the Canadian idea), and tell our supervisors if we are leaving the hotel. We even have a curfew! (11 pm)

And the fun part: Yesterday afternoon we went to a historical museum (Mom, you would love the Korean style of pottery) and the guide stuck with Nicola and I (we were being keeners). We learned how to say "beautiful", which we think is "Doo Cha Gi" and are using it for everything. I bought a necklace (enamel flower painted on silver)

And another fun part: Last night we went to a baseball game (a bit impromptu!). Having seen the Jays and the Expos live, it was great to finally see Korean baseball. Yes, everything you have heard about it is true: We were sitting right in front of the cheerleaders, and spent most of our time yelling cheers in Korean about the KIA car company, not watching the game. (The KIA Tigers were playing the ?? Giants.) Here, the companies own everything, including buildings, stores and, yes, baseball teams. I can't imagine cheering on the Coca-Cola Jays or something, but it seemed perfectly okay here to cheer on KIA. Our Korean supervisor bought us big inflatable clappy things and we cheered the entire time. In North America, for me, baseball is a bit boring. Not here! The three hour game flew by as we shouted and danced our way through the game.

This was my first time to see the "Westerner as Rock Star" phenomenon first hand. We got a lot of attention (Nicola, Brent, Stephanie and Stephen were all pulled up by the cheer squad leader to participate in little contests.) It was fun to hear the male cheer squad leader tell the guys that they were "very beautiful and handsome". Kids were saying "Hi" to us, and we were randomly waved at by people who walked past.

Each day is just packed. We go from class to meals to class to events so quickly. Our meals have been, for the most part, traditional Korean dishes (Guess what everybody! I LIKE SQUID!) either eaten at high "foreign" tables or low Korean ones. We spend all our time with the other JLP members and already have plans to get together in each other's cities later in the year. Living with Nicola is a bit like living with Madeleine.

One of the speeches yesterday was given by the other guy who is teaching at my school! Suncheon sounds like a great place to be, with a lot to see and do (actually Korea in general seems full of fun activities). So far, I am really enjoying it, especially the surreal moments (like when the cheerleaders were dancing to Sir Mix-A-Lot....).

Okay - here are more details

I haven't had much time -- and yes, there are some photos to come -- but for now, here goes:

The flight: Warren (another teacher) traded me his window seat, so I got to look at DARKNESS for the whole trip. Actually, I slept from meal to meal. The supper was choice of Bibimbap or chicken. I opted for chicken, as bibimbap often contains beef. For breakfast, I had green tea rice porridge, which was.... interesting. Korean Air is a really nice airline.

We arrived at Incheon airport at 2:30 am Seoul time. Baggages and immigration went smoothly, and we boarded our private bus to Gwangju. It was a Karaoke bus, with purple and pink curtains on the inside. We didn't use the karaoke machine, but I did get to taste some Soju (Korean rice alcohol). At one point, we stopped at a road side rest stop for snacks and to stretch our legs. The ladies bathroom was huge and clean. The toilet seats were heated, and there was soft classical music playing. There was also a little garden with a fountain! And that was just the bathroom!

The countryside is very mountainous, with terraced farms just about everywhere. Lots of burial mounds too. Like, right next to people's gardens! Reminded me a bit of driving through Cuba, but no obvious poverty and lots of neon. Also, the apartment buildings are often in rows like dominoes. Most sport the logos of certain companies (LG, Samsung) too.

We got to Gwangju (Gwangju Prince Hotel) at about 7 am (???? Not sure - jet lag has rotted my brain). After breakfast, we went to a large department store - sort of like a Simons or Saks idea. We all RAN to the Starbucks (Grande Latte DOES translate to Korean) for some real caffeine, then walked around the shopping complex, getting a few stares as we wandered through. It was very well-lit, with more staff than customers (and everyone bowed at us as we passed). The shoe selection is amazing - if you are under size 8. Katrina and Ellie, you would have a field day here.

Then, we went to a pool hall, then to a restaurant for some cheap (and delicious) eats. We kept walking until we hit a park, where we also found a temple. The ladies who passed us were often wearing track suits, white cotton gloves and sun visors that they pull over their faces - classic Ajumma.

Back to the hotel, where we acted a bit like kids on a school trip, piling into one room and watching TV and drinking beer. We stopped at a grocery store where I picked up some pears the size of my head. Also got my own bottle of soju.

Supper was a bowl of broth, beef and veggies cooked on our table. Of course, there were plates and plates of kimchi, pickled turnip (?), rice, SQUID (which was basically a squid sliced on a plate), fish, the best tofu ever etc. We are very well-fed!

Everyone returned to our room (my roommate Nicola is from New Zealand and a total gas!) to drink until I kicked everyone out at 8:30 to get some sleep.

This morning, Nicola and I were both up at 5:30. The room is comfortable, but small for two people and tons of luggage (err, my tons of luggage, as Nicola packs much lighter than I do). Jet lag is not too bad today, and I'll probably be okay after tonight. Forcing myself to stay up and not succumb to napping yesterday was probably a good idea.

After breakfast, we headed to the Art Museum (it's raining) across from the hotel. It was beautiful and the art was very interesting to see.

The Koreans are super polite. We've had a few points and giggles, but not too bad. As the only blonde, I thought I'd get it a bit worse. The city is clean, lots of traffic and the cab drivers are absolutely insane. The architecture is grey and mundane, but brightened by many many huge colourful signs.

Our orientation starts this afternoon with an opening ceremony. Then, we are going to have various talks etc from teachers who are already in Korea. One of them will be from the school were I will be teaching, so I can't wait. Also planned for this week are hikes, visits, a soccer match at World Cup Stadium and a Karaoke night.

I have Internet in my room, but am not answering all the e-mails that I receive. Also, blogger.com is not always working when I feel like posting things.

I'll try to keep you posted and add some photos as the week progresses.

Gwangju

Okay, I've been in Korea for just over 12 hours.... So far, I have done the following:

- Drink Soju on a Karaoke bus;
- Wander around a Sinshinae (???) department store, drinking a STARBUCKS coffee;
- Eat REAL kimchi etc;
- Play pool and watch Koreans play some wacked out pool with 2 white and 2 red balls;
- Wander around a temple complex;
- Use a Korean toilet.

Hmmm, if this is the 1st 12 hours. I can just imagine what the rest of the time will be like.

Nice weather, but overcast. The other teachers are interesting. Just trying to stay awake through the jetlag until I can get on a normal schedule.

Am the only blonde here.

See ya in Korea!

This is probably the last chance I'll have to post something before I leave. The next few days will be quick and hectic, I am sure.

Yesterday, I got my E2 Visa - after missing a bus, taking the wrong subway, arriving at lunch hour (visa man wasn't there...) etc etc etc. Good practice for getting lost in Seoul, I am sure.

I've reflected a bit on the past few months, and this is what I am grateful for:

- My family, for taking me in and being supportive of me;
- Being able to reconnect with Kelly, Meron, Kat;
- My friends who understood when I was running out of time and couldn't get together for a few other final visits;
- The staff and regulars of Strega, who made being a waitress fun, and who celebrated a final Bliss Night with me. Cheers to Edwin for singing "I touch myself" by the Divinyls (he was going to sing "It's raining men" but couldn't get the tabs....) for me;
- Carl and Julie for taking in Jane, Ann for taking Luna, Mom for taking Max;
- The Montreal girls for helping me move from Montreal and for keeping their promise of keeping in touch;
- My mom's friend Marsha who is taking my mom to Korea in October;
- Everyone who is threatening/promising to come to Korea (or Japan);

Thank you!

In Korean, there are two ways to say goodbye: annyeoung-hi gaseyo (to the person leaving) and annyeoung-hi gyeseyo (to the person staying). I've been saying too many goodbyes for the past few months, so this is my last one.....

ANNYEOUNG-HI GYESEYO!

Going away party...

Last night was my going away party\Easter dinner food fest. In attendance were my sister's family, my brother's family, my mom's friend Marsha, my aunt and uncle, Meron and Dave and Kelly (for a bit).

I will certainly post a picture of the cake that my mom made (showing the globe with a bitty airplane flying from Canada to Korea). My mom, being the handy one that she is, also made streamers with the Korean flag on them... like, she drew on them by hand!

This morning, I woke up (stayed at Meron's last night) and gasped, "Hey, there is less than a week left!". I am, however, feeling strangely calm. At this point, I am not feeling nervous or overly excited. Funny that.

I'll try to update again, before I leave. Everything is packed. Everything is prepared. There is not much left to do.

What I've learned...

Yesterday was the Toronto orientation before leaving -- I even met some of the people who are going over with me!

What I've learned:

- I have overprepared. It's made me look like a gigantic nerd (but that's okay, right?)....
- I might have cockroaches in my apartment (eeek!)
- I really should not have stopped studying my Korean a month ago (but I've got a 14-hour flight to learn it all)
- April 17 will not exist for me (Leave Canada on the 16th, arrive in Korea on the 18th and lose the 17th)
- Even if I have overprepared, I am still underprepared. Does that make sense?

Can't wait!

Time's a funny thing

One of the first posts I ever made on this blog (back in January) was about how I felt like time was going too quickly and how I was looking forward to my stay in St. Catharines in order to relax. I've now been here for TWO MONTHS and I can't believe it. In just over two weeks, I will be getting on a plane and leaving for Suncheon. Part of me wants to say "finally leaving" and part of me wants to say "leaving already".

I thought that I would spend my time visiting people who I haven't seen in ages. I even had the crazy idea of having enough time for a trip to New York! The reality is that I haven't even been able to see Meron every week -- and she only lives 10 minutes from me! My brother and his family? Same deal. My friends from University? Saw them once!

Two weeks. Doesn't seem long enough for all I still need to do.