oh the time...

How it fills up! I have been wanting to blog for awhile, but haven't gotten around to it. This week I will catch up. First with Insadong. Like I said before, Insadong is a touristy area of Seoul(about 45 minute subway ride from here) that has a lot of shopping, street vendors, and restaurants. Its super cool. There are a lot of unique artsy stores. I went with Alicia, a girl I met from home right before I came to Korea and her friend, Jenni. I bought some GREAT stuff I'm super excited about(warning--if you get a Christmas present from me, it will probably be from there). I bought myself a Korean print to frame and put up at some point, the awesome (handmade) necklace you saw in the previous post, some cool paper to put on my wall, a cute cheap leather purse, and a wallet made from eel skin(supposed to last for a very long time).

A picture of the main strip in Insadong, yes, it was as cold as it looks:



We also came across a vendor that sold traditional Korean candies. It's easier to explain if you just watch the video(sorry it's sideways):





I haven't eaten a ton of Korean food outside of the school lunches that are provided for me, so this also gave me the opportunity to try something new. We had some SoonDubu, which is a spicy tofu soup(dubu=tofu), Kimchi fried rice, and a spicy dumpling soup. It may have been a little bit of an overkill on the spicy food, but it was delicious, nonetheless. Korean's sure like their spicy food! I guess I better get used to it.

Lastly, we went to a cute little teahouse. The teahouse seats were old airline seats, and there was a train track in the middle. We had some delicious tea and relaxed after a long day of shopping.

Here's Alicia and me and the tea house:





This is the only Starbucks in Korea written in Hongul(the language). Pretty cool:



Looking at some of the cool pottery:




"Mandu" is dumplings in Korean. The restaurant we went to in Insadong almost got the English translation right:) :



After Insadong, we took a trip to E-Mart, the Walmart of Korea. It's always a cultural experience seeing all the Korean families out on a Sunday afternoon, but I HAD to get a picture of these glittery toilet seat covers they had for sale. Gotta love it.


And that's all for now. I have lots more to write about, so another post will be coming up soon!

new layout

Hey everyone. I decided to try a new layout. Let me know what you think. I lost all the pictures and links on the side, but I can get those back I think. I like the simple, unique and classy look of this one.

Also, this weekend I went to a cool town called Insadong with Alicia. More on that later, but here is a picture of an amazing necklace I bought there. I have a jewelry-purchasing addiction.

subway seats

In Korea, there are about 9 seats on every subway car reserved for seniors, pregnant women, or people with disabilities. Unlike the U.S., its a definite faux paus to sit in these seats, even if no one needs them at the time. I was on a not-so-crowded train yesterday, with a long way to go, and an older woman saw me standing and moved to the reserved seat so I could sit down without shame. It's things like that that make my day. So far, Koreans have been nothing but generous and kind. Why can't more people decide to give up there seat on a daily basis?

Yellow Dust

One of the not-so-awesome things about living in South Korea is a phenomenon called "Yellow Dust". Here is a brief synopsis of what it is according to Wikipedia:

Asian Dust (also yellow dust, yellow sand, yellow wind, or China dust storms) is a seasonal meteorological phenomenon which affects much of East Asia sporadically during the springtime months. The dust originates in the deserts of Mongolia and northern China and Kazakhstan where high-speed surface winds and intense dust storms kick up dense clouds of fine, dry soil particles. These clouds are then carried eastward by prevailing winds and pass over China, North and South Korea, and Japan, as well as parts of the Russian Far East. Sometimes, the airborne particulates are carried much further, in significant concentrations which affect air quality as far east as the United States.

In the last decade or so, it has become a serious problem due to the increase of industrial pollutants contained in the dust and intensified desertification in China causing longer and more frequent occurrences.

Some of the pollutants in the Yellow dust include heavy metals, carcinogens, viruses, bacteria, fungi, asbestos, herbicides, and a very long list of other things.

Sounds great for the health, huh? I don't think Taiwan really had it, but it was still very polluted there. I experienced it for the first time yesterday and today. I have been sick already, so I don't know if I have really been affected, but my cough seems to worsen ever so slightly when I go outside. It doesn't really look yellow though, more like Los Angeles on a really smoggy day. Its nice to know that I'm breathing in Carcinogens from China though. Fun.

sick

So I've been pretty sick this week. I guess it comes with the territory. I have kids that love to pick there noses. Even though I yell at them when I catch them, the classroom is a breeding ground for germs. I've been taking it easy this weekend for the most part. Last night I went out with Alicia(a girl from San Ramon, CA) and a couple of her friends. Played some darts in an Irish Pub where a bunch of foreigners hang out.

Here are a couple of pictures of my school and kids.




The main playroom of our school. All the classrooms open to this room:




This is my classroom...its pretty small, but I like it that way:

Here are the little buggers. Can you find Harry Potter? His name is Peter, so I think I'll call him Harry Peter.



Can you tell who likes to pick her nose the most?(That's Zinna)

These are a couple of the girls I rode the bus with this week, Esther and Joann. Cute Best friends.



As promised, a picture of the outside of my apartment complex. The building on the right is mine. I'm one from the top, so that gives you an idea how high I am. Oh, and despite the appearance of a beautiful sunny day, it was in fact only 34 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1 degree Celsius.

Discipline

Disciplining is probably one of the most important part of the teacher's job. It is by far the most rewarding, but the least fun. I learned early on that discipline at the VERY beginning is crucial to the sanity and effectiveness of the classroom. I am getting better at this, especially having a year of experience last year(not very much, I know). Its definitely hard. Last week, for example, I bribed on of my classes with stickers if they all did well and didn't get in trouble. If they did get in trouble, I told them, they would not receive a cool American sticker at the end of class. Sure enough, two of the boys in my class started acting out, and I had to deny them a sticker at the end of class. It was so hard. I wanted nothing more than to make them happy and give them a sticker. But then they would know for the rest of the year that I might not mean what I say when I make a threat. The looks on their faces were heartbreaking too. I didn't like it. You would have thought I had killed their pet fish.

In another class I have, I have 5 quiet students. We had a great time yesterday for about 5 minutes when they attempted to teach me to count to 10 in Korean. We were all laughing at my pronunciation and they promised me a test on Friday. It was the first time I had really seen them excited and come out of their shells. They had been really well-behaved and done their work well. It was a great 10 minutes, but then I had lost them for the rest of the class period. Oops. I guess fun like that is best saved for the end of the week.

It's definitely weird to realize that I have influence over these children and that I can punish them. For such a long period in my life, I was in their position, doing my best and staying out of trouble, of course ;) Now, I feel as though I'm not old enough to be giving children instruction on the English language and reprimanding them for playing during class time. I don't know if I'll ever get used to this.

around town

So I've been trying to take more pictures, but still only have a few of the area that I live in. I've been wandering a lot by myself, trying to get my bearings, and also find some interesting things. Today I found a Din Tai Fung, which is a Famous Taiwanese handmade Chinese dumpling place. Super excited about that one.

Here is a picture of Cafe Street, the area right down the road from me that is packed with cafes and restaurants. There are a lot of Italian and wine places, but also some Chinese, Japanese, and maybe American(and Korean, of course). Its a little pricey, but could be fun for a cup of coffee or some wine on a weeknight. I can't wait for the spring when all the trees will be in bloom. More pictures then.





Last weekend, I made my way to this department store, Shinsegae. It is right next to an E-Mart, the Korean equivalent to Wal-mart(classier, though). Shinsegae is a very high-end department store, with Louis Vuitton, Channel, Coach, and all those special names. There is also an over-priced Gap, and I was thrilled to find a Kiehls and Aveda store. Yay!





This weekend was my coworker Joel's birthday. We went to a Brazilian restaurant, where I attempted to use the little Portugese I knew with the waiters and we overdosed on meat. It was far from being close to as good as real Brazilian food, but it hit the spot for the time being. Afterwards, we went to a "Clubby Bar". It was here where a few of my coworkers bet me $50,000 won(a little less than $50) for me to go into the crowd and dance with a Korean guy. If they knew me, I'm sure they wouldn't have bet that much, because of course I jumped right in there and danced a song with a guy. Anyway, after that, the guy assumed we were bff, and all his friends came over and started to talk to us like we were celebrities. These girls were so excited to meet us, so I asked for a picture with them. Don't they look so happy???!





At the next bar, nothing significant happened, but this scary mask was hanging on the wall right next to me. Weird.





And finally, here is a picture of my new picture collage. I spent last night watching Vicky Christina Barcelona and putting these up. I like it a lot. All of the pictures are from within the last year. Also, Vicky Christina Barcelona is an OK movie, not great, but worth seeing just for Penelope Cruz's preformance.


And that is all. I joined the gym in my building, so I am trying to get motivated to work out. Marian suggested putting on my workout clothes and seeing if that helps. But Sunday afternoons are for naps, right??

Kimchi

As many of you probably know, Kimchi is a very popular dish here in Korea. It is basically fermented cabbage with chili. I tried it a couple times in Taiwan, but was never really able to get used to it. Since I've been here though, I've tried a couple different varieties, and discovered that it can actually be quite delicious. It can be eaten cold or cooked. Tonight, I cooked it up and put on some great french bread with cream cheese. Yummy indeed.


I've asked my kids at school if they like it, and they all do. Can you imagine young kids in North America liking this sort of thing? Yeah, no chance, huh?

well, I'm here.

Yes! I made it to South Korea safe and sound! I left California early Monday morning for my journey. It went amazingly well. I think the more I worry about flights these days, the better they seem to go. The girl at the check in counter for China Airlines didn't even weigh my bags! I was super worried about the weight, since I have the tendency to always be over the allotted 50 pounds. I was also pretty worried that I wouldn't be able to sleep on the plane. Leaving in the middle of the night has its benefits though...I slept like a baby. Despite the uncomfortable seats and having nowhere to lay my head, I was awake for only about 4 hours of the 14 hour flight to Taipei. When I arrived in Seoul, I found a taxi easily and made it safely to my new apartment, where my boss met me. The first day, I just stopped by the school to meet all the teachers and then took the day to rest and unpack. I was delighted to find that my new single occupancy apartment is on the 34th floor of a very nice building, complete with a gym, pharmacy, bank, convenience store, and several restaurants.

Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were my training days. This just involved observing the veteran teachers and meeting all the kids. I will be teaching a Kindergarten class in the morning and an elementary class in the afternoon. I didn't meet my Kindergarten students yet since they will be brand new on Monday! I am already expecting lots of tears and possibly wetting pants. My classes are very small--only 10 students. So much better than Taiwan in that aspect! I have really been impressed at how smart and well-behaved they all are as well.

So far, I couldn't be happier here! The teachers I work with are all amazing. So helpful and fun to hang out with. My boss is also pretty cool. He is willing to help has repeatedly told us that whatever we need he will do what he can to help. On Friday we all went out to dinner and drinks and had a blast. I'm excited to get to know these new friends:


After dinner, we ended up at a Norebong, the Korean KTV or Karoke:



Here are a few of my apartment:






Pretty nice, huh?

I'll try to get out the next few days and take some pictures of the area...very nice. There are lots of cute cafes and restaurants in the area, as well as good parks for running and exploring.