Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Pig Flu
Well, its made it across the Pacific. It's already been in Japan quite a bit, but there was only one reported case of it in Korea until recently. Some English Teachers at some unknown private school have been quarantined. Although the Korean newspapers have been hush hush about it, one of the teacher's who was quarantined started a blog. Way to go!!! Check it out!
Friday, May 22, 2009
The DMZ
So, the DMZ. Last weekend, a couple of us from Best Kids and a couple of KCTY folks made our way to Seoul's USO to begin a tour of the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea. It's a pretty cool tour because it goes pretty far into the DMZ and only certain nationalities are allowed to go on this tour. I will do my best to relay most of the information I received on the tour, but I can't promise its complete accuracy!
The DMZ is an area about 248 KM long and runs the length of Korea approximately on the 38th parallel. It is about 4 KM wide, with 2 KM on the North and 2 KM on the South. In World War II, the 38th parallel was the original border between the Soviet occupied North and the US occupied South. During the Korean war, the border was pushed down south several times, but in 1953 the DMZ was created as an armistice between the North and the South. The place where they signed the armistice is pretty much in the center of the DMZ. Technically, the countries are still at war, but the armistice was sort of a cease fire. There are still lots of threats thrown out there by the North, but nothing has really become of it since the cease fire.
The word demilitarized is a little misleading too, since both sides are allowed to patrol the DMZ with a limited and specified amount of weaponry. There are also markers inside the DMZ that if crossed, will lead you into a mine field.
So, the tour we went on let us go with the US Army into the DMZ. We were allowed to go to the Joint Security Area(or JSA), where there are both North Korean and South Korean buildings, and where official meetings are held. I'll just explain the rest with pictures.
First, we were given a briefing on the specifics of the DMZ. Good ol' homeboy(army boy) from Modesto gave us the speech. His accent was sort of hick and hard to understand because he spoke so fast, but we were able to get the basics.
These two pictures are from the JSA. The blue buildings are South and the silver buildings are North.
This is inside one of the blue buildings where UN meetings are held. This soldier is in both North and South. The right is North the left is South.
We were allowed to take pictures with them, but we couldn't cross in front of him and we couldn't touch him, or he would probably hit us :)
Here are a couple of pictures of the North Korean soldiers watching us. We were only allowed to take pictures at certain times when they told us and we were being watched the entire time we were on tour. Kind of creepy. These guys were so close!
Looking over into North Korea. Notice the line of trees blocking the view into NK. Also, on a clear day, you can see how the rest of the country side is barren because North Korean's have resorted to cutting down trees for firewood and possibly for eating since conditions are so bad there.
The Bridge of No Return. We weren't allowed to get out of the bus here because it was "too dangerous". I think they mean that if someone had the sudden urge to run across, they would probably have to be shot. At the end of the Korean war, Koreans had to decide if they wanted to live in the North or South. Once they made the decision they couldn't go back. Because of the war, many Koreans had family on both sides. Imagine having to make that decision! They used this bridge to cross over into the chosen side, hence the name, Bridge of No Return. Pretty crazy.
That's about all the interesting photos. We also got to see a nice informational video about the North and the South and how their relations are getting better everyday. It seemed a little optimistic to me, since this zone is still heavily secured and it doesn't really seem like its going to change anytime soon. In the late 70's, the South Korean's discovered tunnels that the North was digging under the DMZ to try to attack the South. The tunnels they dug could have fit 30,000 troops. North Korean's tried to disguise the tunnels as coal mines by painting them black. (We got to go into one of the tunnel's they found). They think there are probably still some out there that they haven't discovered yet. And they say relations are getting better? I feel perfectly safe here since there are so many US bases and I could probably get out very quickly if I needed to(sometimes its nice to be American), but it is very strange to me that it can be so divided here still.
The DMZ is an area about 248 KM long and runs the length of Korea approximately on the 38th parallel. It is about 4 KM wide, with 2 KM on the North and 2 KM on the South. In World War II, the 38th parallel was the original border between the Soviet occupied North and the US occupied South. During the Korean war, the border was pushed down south several times, but in 1953 the DMZ was created as an armistice between the North and the South. The place where they signed the armistice is pretty much in the center of the DMZ. Technically, the countries are still at war, but the armistice was sort of a cease fire. There are still lots of threats thrown out there by the North, but nothing has really become of it since the cease fire.
The word demilitarized is a little misleading too, since both sides are allowed to patrol the DMZ with a limited and specified amount of weaponry. There are also markers inside the DMZ that if crossed, will lead you into a mine field.
So, the tour we went on let us go with the US Army into the DMZ. We were allowed to go to the Joint Security Area(or JSA), where there are both North Korean and South Korean buildings, and where official meetings are held. I'll just explain the rest with pictures.
First, we were given a briefing on the specifics of the DMZ. Good ol' homeboy(army boy) from Modesto gave us the speech. His accent was sort of hick and hard to understand because he spoke so fast, but we were able to get the basics.
These two pictures are from the JSA. The blue buildings are South and the silver buildings are North.
This is inside one of the blue buildings where UN meetings are held. This soldier is in both North and South. The right is North the left is South.
We were allowed to take pictures with them, but we couldn't cross in front of him and we couldn't touch him, or he would probably hit us :)
Here are a couple of pictures of the North Korean soldiers watching us. We were only allowed to take pictures at certain times when they told us and we were being watched the entire time we were on tour. Kind of creepy. These guys were so close!
Looking over into North Korea. Notice the line of trees blocking the view into NK. Also, on a clear day, you can see how the rest of the country side is barren because North Korean's have resorted to cutting down trees for firewood and possibly for eating since conditions are so bad there.
The Bridge of No Return. We weren't allowed to get out of the bus here because it was "too dangerous". I think they mean that if someone had the sudden urge to run across, they would probably have to be shot. At the end of the Korean war, Koreans had to decide if they wanted to live in the North or South. Once they made the decision they couldn't go back. Because of the war, many Koreans had family on both sides. Imagine having to make that decision! They used this bridge to cross over into the chosen side, hence the name, Bridge of No Return. Pretty crazy.
That's about all the interesting photos. We also got to see a nice informational video about the North and the South and how their relations are getting better everyday. It seemed a little optimistic to me, since this zone is still heavily secured and it doesn't really seem like its going to change anytime soon. In the late 70's, the South Korean's discovered tunnels that the North was digging under the DMZ to try to attack the South. The tunnels they dug could have fit 30,000 troops. North Korean's tried to disguise the tunnels as coal mines by painting them black. (We got to go into one of the tunnel's they found). They think there are probably still some out there that they haven't discovered yet. And they say relations are getting better? I feel perfectly safe here since there are so many US bases and I could probably get out very quickly if I needed to(sometimes its nice to be American), but it is very strange to me that it can be so divided here still.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Teacher's Day
This Friday, May 15, was Teacher's Day in Korea. Its a big thing here, parents and children like to show their appreciation to their teachers with flowers and gifts. Since I live in a pretty affluent area, the kids at my school give exceptional gifts. I don't think I ever gotten this much for any holiday! I am really grateful to the parents for going out of their way to think of me on this day. Here's a picture of the damage:
Today, a group of us went on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone between South Korea and North Korea. It was really cool! I will post more about that later.
Today, a group of us went on a tour of the Demilitarized Zone between South Korea and North Korea. It was really cool! I will post more about that later.
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Lately
So sorry I haven't been updating about the happenings over on this side of the world. I've been meaning to and finally feel completely over a sickness that seemed to last for way too long. It's nice to be able to breathe again!
I'll start with the weekend before last. I had a four day weekend, but since I was still on antibiotics and not feeling so well, I decided to stay home and get myself better for one of my favorite holidays: Cinco de Mayo! Really, I have to admit its just an excuse to drink margaritas and eat Mexican food, but what can be better than that? A bunch of us went to La Merce, the only "Mexican" food in the area. It is a poor excuse for Mexican food but they do have excellent ritas.
Jillian and the sombrero:
Alicia and I. The beer is good too:)
Mariko and Brandon, some of my favorites:
Having a discussion on the dating rituals of boys:
Although overall a pretty uneventful weekend for being so long, it was nice to chill and relax. I also bought some much needed curtains. Now I am sleeping until AFTER the sun comes up. It can be very bright on the 34th floor, you know.
This last weekend was much more eventful. Alicia and I went to the National Palace in Seoul. It's where the Royal family lived, but it was burned down and torn down by the Japanese on two different occasions(couldn't tell you exactly when, but it was very very long ago). The final restoration was in 1990, and it is very impressive. Supposedly, Koreans are so obsessed with the novelties of American culture that having such a large and sacred part of Korean history restored and kept up is pretty rare and special. It was really really cool. There were a couple museums there we didn't get to explore, so hopefully I'll get back someday. They had a little march by the "Royal Guards" in front. Here are a few of my pictures. I'll try to put the rest of them on facebook ASAP.
The showing of the Royal Guards:
The front of the Palace:
Throughout the day, we kept getting stopped by various students with assignments to perform an interview in English. Here's Alicia getting one. I had just gotten one right before this, and Alicia took my video, so it was only fair that I put this picture on my blog.
The architecture is very cool:
What I would look like as a Royal Guard:
A pagoda:
Kids painting the scenery, so quaint!
Beautiful scenery. This is the party house of the palace. Looks like fun!
After the Palace, of course we couldn't resist some good ol' Korean shopping:
Just kidding. Actually, we did go to the shopping district in Seoul again. Made some very crucial spring purchases. Later, we had Thai food in Itaewon, the part of Seoul where "all the foreigners hang out". Meaning, lots of Army and Air Force people, Indians, Africans, and of course, English Teachers from all over the world. Anyway, its a good place to eat, a sketchy place to go to bars, unless Army boys are your thing. My favorite part of the night was running across this vendor selling overpriced, dirty bracelets and jewelry. In case you can't read the warning, it is prohibiting vendors for setting up there. It warns that they will be severely punished....I wouldn't mess with Korean government either!
Hope you all have a great week!!!
I'll start with the weekend before last. I had a four day weekend, but since I was still on antibiotics and not feeling so well, I decided to stay home and get myself better for one of my favorite holidays: Cinco de Mayo! Really, I have to admit its just an excuse to drink margaritas and eat Mexican food, but what can be better than that? A bunch of us went to La Merce, the only "Mexican" food in the area. It is a poor excuse for Mexican food but they do have excellent ritas.
Jillian and the sombrero:
Alicia and I. The beer is good too:)
Mariko and Brandon, some of my favorites:
Having a discussion on the dating rituals of boys:
Although overall a pretty uneventful weekend for being so long, it was nice to chill and relax. I also bought some much needed curtains. Now I am sleeping until AFTER the sun comes up. It can be very bright on the 34th floor, you know.
This last weekend was much more eventful. Alicia and I went to the National Palace in Seoul. It's where the Royal family lived, but it was burned down and torn down by the Japanese on two different occasions(couldn't tell you exactly when, but it was very very long ago). The final restoration was in 1990, and it is very impressive. Supposedly, Koreans are so obsessed with the novelties of American culture that having such a large and sacred part of Korean history restored and kept up is pretty rare and special. It was really really cool. There were a couple museums there we didn't get to explore, so hopefully I'll get back someday. They had a little march by the "Royal Guards" in front. Here are a few of my pictures. I'll try to put the rest of them on facebook ASAP.
The showing of the Royal Guards:
The front of the Palace:
Throughout the day, we kept getting stopped by various students with assignments to perform an interview in English. Here's Alicia getting one. I had just gotten one right before this, and Alicia took my video, so it was only fair that I put this picture on my blog.
The architecture is very cool:
What I would look like as a Royal Guard:
A pagoda:
Kids painting the scenery, so quaint!
Beautiful scenery. This is the party house of the palace. Looks like fun!
After the Palace, of course we couldn't resist some good ol' Korean shopping:
Just kidding. Actually, we did go to the shopping district in Seoul again. Made some very crucial spring purchases. Later, we had Thai food in Itaewon, the part of Seoul where "all the foreigners hang out". Meaning, lots of Army and Air Force people, Indians, Africans, and of course, English Teachers from all over the world. Anyway, its a good place to eat, a sketchy place to go to bars, unless Army boys are your thing. My favorite part of the night was running across this vendor selling overpriced, dirty bracelets and jewelry. In case you can't read the warning, it is prohibiting vendors for setting up there. It warns that they will be severely punished....I wouldn't mess with Korean government either!
Hope you all have a great week!!!
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy Mother's Day!
Happy Mother's Day Mommy!
Yes, I am admitting to the online world that I still call my mom Mommy. She will always be my mommy, and she is the best one out there! I love you!
Yes, I am admitting to the online world that I still call my mom Mommy. She will always be my mommy, and she is the best one out there! I love you!
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