Pre-Korea ~ September ~ October ~ November  December ~ January ~ CHINA ~ February

September 30th, 2007 Happy Birthday Sarah! Sarah's my sister, for those who don't know. And for her birthday, I bought myself a camera! Hehe... sorry Sarah. I better call her, but I will tomorrow because it's still the 29th back in Hawaii. But on to what's important: I finally bought a digital SLR camera, which, if you've been diligently reading my blog, I mentioned in the very first entry back in June or July or whatever that was. In school we had "field day" which is similar to "Track and Field day" in American Elementary schools. Because I have so many pictures, I will periodically post them on this entry, so I don't overload you with the same type of picture:               1st* They still like me, not quite as much as they used to, but when I busted out the camera they got excited. 2nd* The boys were wearing these hula skirts that I thought looked ridiculous. 3rd* These stupid kids made me walk over to them about 3 times, every time telling me to take their pictures, all excited. No, they're not stupid... and it is a nice picture. So I was in Seoul a few times this weekend. Seoul is so strange. Granted, I was in the foreign districts, but it really feels more American there than in Incheon, where I live. First of all, there are so many white people there. Everywhere in Seoul, it's not odd to see another white person in a store or subway that you're also in. The only place you really see white people in Incheon is at Bupyeong station, which is where the Incheon subway lines cross. I have yet to see a white person in my... "dong" (mini-district). I know that sounds strange. I saw a foreigner once at a subway stop, but he was Indian and probably didn't speak English. On the streets it's only Koreans. I looked at a map that has all the schools on it, and there's not really any schools by me, so there's not really any reason for there to be any foreigners in my area, unless they're visiting someone or something. Imagine seeing no other white people in all of the West side of Elgin, or Coral Gables if you're from Miami. Those are probably about the same size as Galsan. It's weird. When I first got off the subway stop in the foreign district in Seoul, I felt more out of place with all the white people there. You'd think it would be relieving, but it's strange just suddenly being plunged back into white culture. I've only been here for a month, too. I'm going to have a weird time coming back next September. Here's some more pictures:               1st* This girl looks so happy 'cause she's winning the race. They all did. 2nd* This is the building I spend most time in. My classrooms are the two on the 2nd floor on the right side. My office is the one in the middle on the same floor. 3rd* This is like a Korean version of a pinata, only instead of a stick, they all swarm at once and kill the pinata with rocks. It's alarming if you don't know what's going on. T'okki's climbing up my pants, the stupid rabbit. I don't know how any animal would ever think that'd be a good idea. Anyway. Today it was colder than usual. It wasn't cold by Chicago standards at all, but it was still really exciting. The air smells different when it's cold, probably a cold front coming down from Russia. I can't wait for Fall. It will be my first in four years! Last bit of pictures:               1st* I like this. By the way, their yellow suit is a gym uniform. 2nd* The young ones wore traditional dress. I think I'm getting a soft spot for little kids. That's iritating. 3rd* Hehe- Okay scan this picture and see if you spot what's wrong. (Hint: Look at the T-Shirts) These are 6th graders, but even the teachers don't understand why it's inappropriate.

September 27th, 2007 Happy Chuseok! I've had almost a week off of work because of the Korean Thanksgiving holiday, which is a pretty big deal here. I haven't updated in awhile because I didn't have internet for a week. I ended up having to format my computer. I'm not sure why, but it worked! During the first part of the weekend, me and some friends went to basically a Korean Disneyland. It even had boy and girl mouse mascots. I'm not sure where in the country that was. We just hopped on a bus that said "Everland" for five bucks and rode for about 2 hours. It was fun, but I probably won't go there again.                         1st* Jon and Minnie Mouse with yellow hair      2nd* I took this. It was the Halloween festival, even though it's September      3rd* The group minus one at the gates      4th* We were imitating the scared Korean woman... or we were scared Today I went to a beach on the island the airport's on, about 45 minutes away. Well, I didn't actually get to the beach, but I got to the shore. Hawaii tricked me again. There, you can pretty much just walk in any direction and get to a beach eventually. You can't do that in Miami, or Yongyu Island either. I saw cars after wandering for a long time, and figured it was a part of the shore that had swimming or something. There was a massive amount of families everywhere, just fishing! Of course they were all looking at me like I was crazy, probably because there's about six white people on that island, but I settled and pretended that I was on a beach. So the cockroaches here are different than everywhere else. They're prettier, and I think they live close to the water. I found one of these little things by my apartment, so I know they don't just live near water, but on the rocks on the shore they are plentiful. I was trying to catch this little goby-type fish that was crawling out of the water next to me and something else that was crawling underneath. I was enjoying myself, despite not finding the beach, until I saw a crab and panicked and ran away.         1st* The view out the front. You can see the "MadMax" sign in red. 2nd* My bathroom. On the left of the sink is my "shower." I keep on forgetting to switch the shower back to sink-mode and water sprays everywhere the next time I wash my hands. It's startles you. 3rd* My kitchen. 4th* The view out the balcony-type thing. 5th* I did a little photoshop composite of my room. The kitchen is to the right. I'm standing on my bed. T'okki's running around in there somewhere. I finally got some pictures of my apartment. I took them awhile ago, but I haven't had a chance to put them up. My landlord is amazing. Yesterday, for Chuseok, they invited me to a brunch and a dinner! Also one of my teachers stopped by to invite me to his family's lunch, too. Of course the whole time I was a spectacle, but by now I know what food I like and what I don't, so I got three free, tasty meals. Chuseok is very traditional. The teacher's family's was much more so. One of his relatives was actually wearing the traditional dress. All the men sat on the floor talking while the women got everything ready. Then they brought a whole mini-table for me and about three other men and we ate while sitting cross-legged on the floor. The oldest gave me a drink that I had to sip while facing away from him. I'm not sure why. I also had to hold the glass with two hands as he poured. That's a big one. The younger person always has to hold their glass with two hands and slightly lower or it's offensive. There was so much extra food! We barely scratched what was on the table. Korean meals always have an excess of food, but every meal I had that day was packed with all of the things to eat. Afterwards, my landlord gave me a bag of fruit to take home. I really lucked out with this apartment. They're really nice people. Okay, I'll try to update this thing more often. So much happened since I last typed in this thing, and I don't want to make this too long.

September 16th, 2007 Busy week. Last week was my first free weekend, so I explored a little bit. I was sort of missing the beaches of Hawaii, so I tried to get to the shore, but ended up just walking North instead. I found this mountain and decided to climb it, which was pretty cool, except I didn't have any water and I was wearing flipflops. I still made it to the top, though, and the view was awesome. I was so thirsty though, so I paid two thousand (two bucks) for a small water. But all the Koreans weren't getting water, they were getting these popsicles. So of course I had to have one for another thousand. It was pretty much the nastiest popsicle I've ever had in my life. Well... it wasn't that bad, but it was probably the last thing that I wanted to have while dehydrated. It was the type that have beans in them with the soft ice. I've since gotten used to them because I accidentally bought a whole box of similar popsicles at e-mart, thinking they were berries. They are not berries.                       Above, the first is me on this rock towards the shore. The picture really doesn't do the view justice. I wish I had a nice camera. The second is me trying to be artistic. There are dragonflies everywhere. I have no idea why. I mean it, too. You go to a mountain, parking lot, school, there are dragonflies flying in swarms. Have I told you about my dragonfly fear? I won't, then. The last is cool. The view is of mostly the Bupyeong and Gyeyang area. I found my apartment on the map and was going to put an arrow to the spot, but I decided not to because I could really point it anywhere and you wouldn't know what I was pointing at because it all looks the same. I'm pretty much in the middle of the mass of buildings, though. So... T'okki's grown a lot already. I just looked at that picture I posted here when I first bought him. He still fits in my palm, but he looks a little bit more like a rabbit now. I thought he was trying to hide in this picture, but he was really just taking the most massive crap I've ever seen out of a bunny in my life. I think I have bedbugs, too. That's been the adventure of the week, really. I had about 25 bites on my arms before I decided to start sleeping in the kitchen. I slept there four nights, meanwhile trying to talk to my co-teacher, trying to explain bedbugs to her and why you can't just wash the sheets to rid yourself of them. Did you know bedbugs can live over a year without eating? They can travel up to 100 meters to find food? They don't just live in your bed, they can burrow in any part of your cabinets, walls, suitcases, or anything that can fit the edge of a credit card? They  usually bite an hour before sunrise? They tend to bite in lines, because they stop and walk forward if you shift while you sleep? I've been doing research. But... I've started sleeping in the bed again. I was tired of the kitchen floor. I'll keep you updated.  Last thing. This weekend was the first annual English festival. It's put on by the city because Incheon is now an "English Free Zone" with the slogan "Smile with English!" They paid a lot of the teachers I came with the do various things in the fest. I worked at the food court. How was it? Well... I'm glad it's over. It was fun, but more one of those... wow, that was a long weekend and we bonded because it was agonizingly boring and we were stuck together for 8 hours a day- experiences. Here's some pics:                                Above: The first is me and my co-teacher. I picked her up right before the picture. That really startled her, but she smiled really big for the camera. I work with her in class and she's pretty much responsible for my well-being while I'm here. I forget her name. I know I really, really should know it, but she told me the first day when we met and I promptly forgot what it was. We know each other much too well, now, to ask what it is. This may be a problem later. The second is Ruth and me. I don't know what the "shrek" business is on our heads. I guess Shrek is big there. Anyway, Ruth is from Wales, and I had to hear her whiny accent for eight hours a day for three days in a row. Haha... she's going to be so mad at me if she reads this. No, but seriously, she calls popsicles "lollipops" and cotton candy "candy floss." Who does that?                         Want to hear Korean yodeling bavarian-style? They're actually pretty good. I put a clip of some of the culture groups that performed at the English Fest above. The first is a Korean Yodeling group. The second is an "American" traditional dance of America about spreading Christianity during the pioneering times. It's funny. They announced "Who wants to go to America?" and I started screaming "Yeah!" in the audience. Then they performed and I was just like... what? You will, too.

September 8th, 2007 It's strange to think I've only been here a week. I already have seen so much of Korean culture and so much has happened, it feels like I've been here for a lot longer. I took a few pictures yesterday and today. I finally got a picture of my apartment. That's "Mad Max" beneath me and the really tacky Indian statue in the front. They're playing really loud Korean music outside. They're always playing really loud Korean music outside, but it's especially loud tonight. In the background, you can see "E-Mart," which is amazing. Although, today I went out around Bupyeong and Yangsan to all the markets, and I decided that I really need to stop shopping at E-Mart and explore a little more. There is so much this city has to offer in markets. I just need to learn to bargain... er... at least learn how to count. Right now all I can count to is 5. That doesn't help much when everything is at least 1000 won. The markets were amazing. Bupyeong continues to amaze me with the variety that is in this town. Dang, I just realized that I haven't taken a picture of the "club" district yet. Anyway- within about three blocks of the club district and main subway station and underground mall (all very hip, young places to go that offer the latest technology and such) there is this random market that feels like it belongs 1000 years ago. Where else can you buy several full, dead stingrays for supper? It's so cool, and huge! I saw this woman dump a large plastic bin full of live crabs into another bin and I was frightened, but fascinated. Where did all those crabs come from? But... set prices are scarce, so if I want to buy that stingray or bucket of crabs I need to ask how expensive it is, which I can't do yet. I haven't taken any pictures of my students yet, and I'm really going to try and limit how much I talk about them, because I'm sure that's what I'll be talking about for the next year. But... just a little bit. So... I'm pretty much a celebrity at that school right now. It's a joke with all the other Native English teachers, but we're all the most popular person at our schools. It's actually getting pretty annoying. No joke, I actually walked into my office, closed the door and took a breath to relax. Then they opened the window to hallway and started waving at me again. Everywhere I go, I have to plaster a smile on my face and wave constantly. "Hi Teecha! How ah yoo!" I've gotten used the girls that poke their heads into my office/classroom, stare at me then giggle and run away when I wave. One kid did a front flip for me. He was all yelling "hi" at me like all the others, but then he jumped forward and flipped. No one's ever done that for me. Oh well, I heard it dies down once they realize that you're a teacher, just like all the ones that they have already. I took this outside my window. They don't have grass in their playground. I'm not sure why, and I'm not sure if that's normal. They were doing a rehearsal for a traditional fest or something coming up. I took this picture right before one of them saw me in the window and they all started waving, one by one, until I had to stop watching because I was tired of waving. I've decided to name my bunny "T'okki," which is the Korean word for "bunny." I thought T'okki was going to die, because he had diarrhea and I guess if a bunny has diarrhea it's a big deal. I gave him different food and he got better within a day. Not that you care much about my bunny... but... whatever. Alright. That's all. Here's a few pictures of my neighborhood on the walk back from school. They're not pictures of anything in particular. It looks like this everywhere.                                                             "You can flying without wings." - off a guys shirt on the subway today.

September 5th, 2007 Wow. So much has happened. I'm in my new apartment in Bupyeoung, a district in Incheon. I just got my internet working and my laptop is plugged into the different outlets here, so now I can start updating this thing again. I have been e-mailing my family, though, so here are some excerpts from that: Saturday ... Korea is beautiful. I had no idea it was this pretty. Driving here from the airport, I seriously felt more at home than in Hawaii. (Once we got into the city, then it got a little foreign) Seriously though, it is so green and the mountains everywhere are beautiful. Granted it's summer, but it looks like the Chicagoland seasonal landscape with Hawaii's mountains, only it goes on forever. And it's more green. Really nice... Sunday ... I wandered the streets of Korean China Town last night... Food is so cheap here! On average it's about $3.50 for a big plate with no tax and no tip expected! We went to a little food place to eat. [My roommate has] already been in Korea for a full year, so he sort of knew what to get. (the "sort of" is the thing that got me) I looked at a menu and there were no pictures and there was no English. I had absolutely no idea what to get. Do I just point to something random? My roommate told me how to say "cooked rice," which I thought was fried rice. It isn't. I went up to the lady and told her that. She asked me something else and I nodded. I ended up getting "kimshi" with cooked rice. Kimshi is pretty nasty. It's edible, but nasty. Apparently you get used to it. It's one of those korean foods that comes with everything. I've really surprised myself with how much I'm willing to eat. So far I've had shrimp with the shell still on (I guess they eat shrimp shells, it was gross), and I had ground up fish bones (which was chewy). Basically, though, at meals they just have a lot of strange things. I try not to question what things are as I eat them. You just think, this is a meat... this is chewy... this has kimshi in it so you won't actually taste what you're eating.... ... We have a great view from our training room. I've never been in a city with so many factories. It does remind me a lot of pictures I've seen of Seattle. ... I heard a bit about Bupyeong, where I'll be living. I guess it's the place to be. It's still at least an hour outside Seoul, but people made it seem like you don't have to go all the way into Seoul if you live in Bupyeong... Monday ... Last night we went to Bupyeong. I don't even know where to start. It was the coolest place I could possibly end up while living here. It's the place everyone else in the program really wants to be and is jealous about... ...I've been eating everything here. most of the time, I'm not sure what I'm eating, but sometimes it's really obvious. I ate raw crab today. I guess it was a big deal. [This guy at my table] dug into this fish thing, that was basically like a fish on a plate with skin on it and everything. there were organs and bones, but I ate it. it wasn't bad. if you don't think about what you're eating, it's not a big deal. The raw crab was like a sweet cream. it was weird, because you couldn't really crack it's shell because it wasn't brittle, because it had probably just been alive. I try not to think about that. later we ate silkworms and octopus jerky. not a big fan of the octopus jerky... ... I'm really nervous to see my apartment tomorrow. I like Bupyeong, but the apartment could be anything. I start teaching Wednesday. I'm nervous about that, too... Today (Wednesday) I'm in my new apartment and I love it! It's not that small at all. I have a small kitchen, a bathroom and a drying/launry balcony/room. There's a room in the middle with everything else (bed, desk, tv, bookshelf, etc.) Korea is odd. They have a shoe closet by the door, but no clothes closet. My co-teacher panicked when I walked on the real floor with my shoes. There's no shower, but just a shower head attached to the sink that you spray yourself with right next to the toilet and such. Apparently I can't flush toilet paper so I have to throw it out in a little trash right next to the toilet. That's really gross and I hope it doesn't smell too bad. .. Back to my apartment: The area is awesome. I am pretty far away from the area we went to before, about two subway stops, but my area is just as cool. Haha... so... my apartment is over a strange pub that's called... dang... "crazy dan's" or something. It has this hideous wooden Indian by the front and strange Korean music that plays until late at night. There's a busy street and people walking by all the time right outside my door. It's completely impossible to forget that you're in a city all of the time, but I love it. I have been with my co-teacher a lot lately. She helped me get a lot of the things I needed yesterday. She is supposed to be the person I go to if I need anything or need to know where anything is. She doesn't speak English very well. Neither of the English teachers at this school speak English very well. I understand a little bit more why they need Americans to come out here. But it makes getting anything done pretty difficult. So that's where I am so far. I bought a bunny today. At the E Mart, which is like Meyer or Super Target x 2, there were bunnies for only $14. I guess I've never considered buying a bunny before, so I'm not sure how much they cost. I'm still not sure what to name it. It's pretty cool. Here are a few pictures of the little rodent:                                    So I'm pretty tired, and it's not even midnight yet. I must still not be adjusted to the time. I guess that's good, though, because I wake up early much easier now. Wow... I can't believe I bought a bunny. Why'd I do that? That's going hit me, soon. Or maybe this country is numbing my inhibitions and ability to think about things before I jump into them. Eh... I won't worry about it.