Hey, Look I'm Alive After All

I have an excuse for my lack of blogging. I haven't really done anything, but work, for the past month. It seems that anything worth doing has been planned on the exact day I have a Saturday class and therefore rules me out. It wasn't until this past weekend that I realized how out of touch I have been. There haven't been any festivals or celebrations lately, which also keeps one inside. It has definitely gotten colder too, so I think the Koreans are starting to hibernate. It is not as cold as New Jersey, but it's enough that people are starting to pull out their winter wear and show concern for my health and sanity because I don't wear long-sleeved sweaters everyday. The cold isn't quite as bothersome for a New Jerseyan. I haven't felt the need to use the ondol (floor heating) just yet. Some of my Californian friends have been using theirs for over a month now. I did test it out this weekend though, to make sure it worked before I found it absolutely necessary. It's a semi-slow process. The floor becomes a patchy hot and cold checkerboard, and I didn't leave it on long enough for it to really start making a difference in the room.

At my weekly music lesson with my landlady I finally was introduced to the piano after months of learning the ukulele. That is not to say the ukulele isn't awesome, it is, but I always wanted to learn piano because I have one at home and I'd have to invest in a ukulele to show off those newly acquired skills. 

In other news, I have been trying to work out planning my winter vacation time. I'm looking at doing a hotel in or a cruise of Southeast Asia. So hopefully some of my friends let me know what they'd like to do, because I don't want to go alone, and I don't really care where I end up at this point. So that will be in January, so that will give me reason to blog at that point. I'm sure more happen in the meantime, but currently it's been a bit of the same sort of stuff for the past few weeks. I definitely intend to go to Seoul and Busan sometime this winter. I really haven't seen as much of Korea as I would prefer. It will happen though! 

Oh you know what I did actually do was go to a Fly to the Sky concert. That would be old school k-pop if you're  not familiar. I went with a couple hardcore fans/friends and they were having a blast. I just wanted to get in some kind of concert before the end of the year and I actually knew about this band so it worked out well. It was entertaining. There were the choreographed dances and exaggerated emotional ballads, but it was cool. The audience had glowing wand things that they were waving about like one would do with a lighter in the 80s. They had chants to go along with the songs and they did the unnecessary screaming I expected. What was unexpected was the ban on photography. There were people running around the entire time telling people to put away the cameras. Of course we still managed a few photos and videos, but it required great stealth.

These are two of the better picture I managed to get from the nosebleed seats. Even though Brian Joo (the blonde one) is Korean American, and from Jersey!, he didn't say anything in English, so I was lost during most of their conversations with the audience, but the humor still came across. It was all fun though. Definitely go to a k-pop concert if you have the opportunity. Well that is all I have for now. 

Well then...until next time.

My mom yelled at me for not blogging...

So once again it's been awhile, but I have an excuse. Aside for being busy, my computer is being out for repairs. So there. Of course it hasn't been out for repairs for however long it has been since I last posted, but it has been in and out and...yeah. Take it or leave it, I'm writing something now...while at work...because there are no classes due to the midterm exam.

So what have I been up too...I have learned that hiking is basically Korea's number one past time. Or at least it's Gwangju's. My apartment faces a mountain, more of a baby mountain (still not a hill) but still a mountain, but there are constantly people walking by in full out hiking attire. Of course, hiking attire seems to be acceptable anytime. It's like the fashion forward athletic gear akin to yoga pants in the US. And this isn't hiking clothes like in the US either, it's bright colors, hats and a Korean version of hiking pants I've never encountered before. (Note: I did not take the below photo, but it is exactly what you'll see.)

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 Either way they love to hike and I have gone hiking several times now. First I went with a coworker from my main school. She was decked out in the full hiking gear, minus the sticks, but still she looked ready to brave the wilds for a week. I wore running shorts which was apparently weird. We hiked Geumdang Mountain, which is the one my apartment faces. It took about an hour and a half. So not bad. We ended at the Pungam Reservoir and went for a walk around it before heading to lunch. The reservoir was rather low though because apparently it's a low rain season. I have since hiked the path a few more times.

The second place I went hiking was Mudeung Mountain. This is a legitimate mountain. I was invited to go hiking by another coworker from my main school on National Foundation Day, which basically like Independence Day, and a day off from work. So we left at 7:00 am, which is really early. When we got there, people were already there and some were even finishing their hike, which is insanely early. You see, the trail we did takes five hours to ascend and descend. This was my first real hike I would say. I've done nothing like it before. It was difficult enough to necessitate the hiking sticks. Without these I assure you I probably would have died tumbling down the mountain. My coworker and his wife didn't know English, so they brought their daughter along to translate and enjoy the hike. She had only hiked Mudeung once before a very long time ago, and thus was not ready for what was in store for us. I don't think I was ready either to be honest. My coworker and his wife hike the trail EVERY weekend. He didn't even break out the walking sticks for a while. Meanwhile I was using them from step one.

While the mountain is about 1,200 meters to the top we got to the 900 meter summit and then made out way down again. It was really cold and windy at the top and I was glad to have packed a jacket, and worn hiking pants I had managed to get for free at a swap meet. I have to say it was all worth it through. The sights were absolutely beautiful and I would like to do it again...maybe next year. I was sore for a solid four days after the hike. I like to think it's a testament to the difficulty of the mountain rather than how out of shape I am. At least my coworker passed on the word of how intrepid a hiker I am. It's more like I'm very competitive and wasn't ready to admit defeat. When I got home after a much needed lunch, I passed out for three hours.

And those are my hiking stories.

Other things I have been up too include festivals.

A couple weeks ago I attended the International Kimchi Festival, conveniently located in Gwangju. Ok, I do not go crazy over kimchi. I can only take the smallest amount of spice, but it was a social gathering and i needed to get out of the house. It was actually quite fun though. There was music and dancing and awful contest for foreigners to be the best at singing and dancing to Korean songs. I felt bad for the butchering that occurred. My friends decided they wanted to do the brief kimchi making class, so I was the only one that decided I did not need the lifetime supply of kimchi you end up with and opted for taking pictures of everyone in their orange aprons and bandannas. Of course, the woman doing the teaching couldn't leave me out and gave me the kimchi she made while showing everyone the steps. So now I have a big bowl of kimchi in my fridge and no hope of finishing it in the next millennium. At some point I will donate it to the people at work. Perhaps I'll take a stab at making kimchi pancakes.

The other festival that I went to was the Chungjang Festival. This is a festival on the mainstreet (Chungjang-ro) of downtown Gwangju and is huge. It is a celebration of 70s and 80s culture. They erected a massive stage that showcased some notable k-pop bands/singers as well as some other shows. One day there was even a parade. There were other small stages set up around the area as well. They had dancers, singers, and even a group of Native Americans from Ecuador that played "Let It Be" on Native American instruments. They seemed pretty popular though. There street artists as well and tons and tons of food. This was absolutely huge and lasted for five days. I went on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. Saturday and Sunday I needed to rest, and it also rained, so I opted out. I ran into so many students. In the middle of a crowd I'd here "Teacher! Hiiiiii!" Then in school the next day "I saw you!" So that was fun. It was also a lot of walking so I really just needed to relax this weekend and did some basic shopping and apartment organizing. Oh and of course what is becoming a weekly music lesson from my landlady who is randomly teaching me ukulele even though I wanted to learn piano, but oh well.

So there you have it, what will probably be my post for the next three weeks.

Critter Cafes and Chuseok

So I wrote this about two weeks ago and forgot to post it. So here you go...
So in between all of the madness of building a life in Korea, I have done some exploring. I have to say that my neighborhood, Pungam-dong is quite nice and suits me quite well. It has the necessities like grocery stores and shops along with a giant outlet mall by the World Cup Stadium that I only just had a chance to truly roam around.

Of course, there is something that the downtown area will bring me out of my quaint little neighborhood: the cat cafe and the dog cafe. Yes it is real and it is amazing. Mind you, the cat cafe could probably use a bath in bleach because it is quite obvious that the male cats spray their territory, but they have kittens and it's worth it. There was a Scottish Fold kitten that just decided my lap was its new home and I would have stolen him if I didn't have conscience.

The dog cafe was definitely less smelly, but the dogs weren't all as friendly. I don't know if they had something against foreigners who couldn't coo at them in Korean, but they would just tease you as they walked by but wouldn't commit to any long term relationships. If you're interested in the pricing of these establishments: the cat cafe has an admission fee of about $5.00 and then drinks are only $2.00 while the dog cafe does not have an admission fee but has higher priced drinks probably around $4.00 and up depending on what you get. Either way these places will be acquiring a good portion of my pay check.

Downtown is also host to about three billion cafes as well as shops and movie theaters. There really is a lot to do in Gwangju and I'm enjoying it so far.

During Chuseok, which is essentially the Korean Thanksgiving we had off three days from school, which is a fantastic thing when you are just moving in and want to get to know the area. I know a lot of people went somewhere, but I opted to stay because of the heavy traffic due to the holiday and a lack of money to do something with. (Note when you come to teach in Korea, you do not get paid immediately and unless you want to pay the international fees of credit/debit cards, the money you bring with you is what you have until you get paid.) So I roamed around and got to know the area a bit more. Basically I nested and tried to get basic necessities and wish lists for a time when money is more available.

My landlord and lady also took me to take photos one day because we share the hobby. My landlord has a fancy giant Canon that puts my little Nikon 5100 to shame. Some day once again I'll add the photos.

I'm awful at this blogging thing...

So I have been in Gwangju for two weeks now and I have yet to actually blog about it. So here it goes. I officially came here on August 27th which feels like a life time ago. When I got to the office where we were meant to meet our co-teachers I was super nervous. I wasn't sure what to expect. I walked into the hall expecting to be treated by two co-teachers, one from each school. And of course I assumed they would both be female. So of course all of my expectations flew out the window when I saw one guy waiting for me. He briefly introduced himself and we sat in silence for the rest of the co-teachers' meeting which was entirely in Korean. So we native teachers just looked around and made eye contact that just screamed I don't know what the heck is happening now. I was trying to get a read on my co-teacher, but I got the feeling he could be a pro at poker because I just got a solitary vibe from him and was suddenly afraid I had walked into one of those co-teacher horror stories.

As soon as the meeting ended my co-teacher sprang to action and started asking me questions about this and that as we walked to his car. He literally had his car parked in the perfect spot for the luggage so I appreciated that. I hoped in and departed on the next leg of my adventure. I was no longer surrounded by other foreigners. I was now in the hands of a complete stranger and it was scary, but I excepted it and moved on. As we talked I discovered the other co-teacher was out for the day and that at least the co-teacher I had met was absolutely awesome. He has a want to learn more and a desire to help in all possible ways and I could not be happier with who I have been working with. First we went to my main school Gwangju Dongseong Girls' Middle School. I met the principal, who I was surprised was a woman based on my previous understanding of Korean school and social structure. She was very proper, but very nice. I then went to meet the vice principal. He was equally nice and welcoming, of course, and I find him rather endearing. 

Then I was ushered to have lunch in the school cafeteria. As middle schools were already in session I was subjected to the cafeteria lunch which actually included a Korean-ized corn dog among essentials rice and kimchi. It wasn't bad, but I was a bit jealous of my friends placed in elementary schools, which were not yet in session and meant they were taken to a restaurant for lunch. 

In the whirlwind of the day I made my to new apartment with my co-teacher. Like everyone else, I'm sure, I had delusions of grandeur in my future. Of course I got the expected one room apartment. I can't say I wasn't disappointed, but I have come to call it home. It's simple with a decent sized entrance way with a shoe cabinet and a bathroom with the shower hose attached to the sink faucet. Honestly, nothing can be worse than what I experienced in China, so it was all welcomed. My one room is actually a decent size and provided me everything I was contractually obligated. It is especially better since I rearranged the furniture, with some help of course from my follow newbie down the street. 

It was fantastic to learn that someone else was in the same area seeing as most people ended up about an hour away from here. I slowly learned that Pungam-dong, my neighbor in Gwangju, is about 15 minutes from anywhere worth going to. It's also a fantastic neighborhood that will provide you with most anything you would need. It helps that there is a giant Lotte Outlet at the Gwangju World Cup Stadium, which is only a 20 minute walk down the road. Of course downtown is where everyone goes to meet and experience some things unique to Korea/Asia. 

Back to the first days...I unpacked and my co-teacher came back after school ended and took me to the Lotte Outlet, which was very kind of him. I have to say that Korea really isn't as inexpensive as I was led to believe in some cases. I suppose it's because I seek out things similar to where I am from, but still a small head of broccoli for nearly $5 is ridiculous. Sure I don't have to pay anything for my apartment (I am one of the lucky few that don't even have to pay for utilities and cable/internet), but I still find it hard to fork over that much money for only enough broccoli to feed one person. But I digress...

I made sure to ask every question about how to work everything in the apartment. I suggest you take advantage of your co-teacher being in your apartment at every opportunity (water heater/floor heater, tv remote, air conditioner remote, washing machine, everything!). My co-teacher and landlord were sitting on my kitchen floor translating my washing machine and actually writing on it so I wouldn't forget. I also must add that my landlord and landlady are absolutely awesome and adorable, but more on that later. 

So the next day my co-teacher picked me up to go to school because I had no idea how to navigate the bus system. upon getting there I was given a lovely new laptop to work on, which does not commonly occur, so I was surprised. Of course it's in Korean, but that gives me good practice. I don't trust my slightly older laptop since it crashed a while back. Technology tends to agree to rebel against me so hopefully there is a language barrier between all of my current tech and the Korean laptop that has come into my possession. So I got the feeling there was an assumption that I might start teaching that day, but after a few words of my not being quite ready that Thursday and Friday were turned into "desk warming" days, or rather sit at your desk and plan all day days. So I made an intro PowerPoint about me and looked into making lessons to support what my co-teachers cover. I basically provide the spoken practice through games and activities at my schools. I don't see the students often enough, being at two schools, to take primary teacher role, but it works. On Friday, the co-teacher from my second school came to do the similar introduction at Daeseong Girls' Middle School. Luckily my schools are only one bus stop apart and you could walk to one from the other. Of course there is a massive hill or two in between, but in theory you could walk from one to the other. 

I did the same old meet everyone routine and then my co-teacher showed me how to take the bus to my apartment, which was not as awful I was thought it might be. I of course am completely spoiled by having my own car at home, so reliance on public transportation takes a little getting used to. (I can't wait to get a bike!) And that was my first experience.

That weekend was about getting to know the neighborhood and venturing briefly to the downtown area and getting briefly lost and intimidated by the area. I am slowly gaining my confidence in navigation of the city. Of course I learned from my friends that I basically had one of the smaller apartments, but I am happy with my area and landlord (who brought in a toaster oven at 10 pm one night along with his wife and they stayed to have a chat which involved the need of the awful translator on a phone. 

During the week I got more comfortable at my schools and started doing my intro lesson, which is basically all about me, but gives me a good idea of what everyone's English level is. It went well enough. They love to say how pretty I am, so of course I'm getting a gigantic ego. They also love to ask if I have a boyfriend...so that's always fun to answer in the negative. So kids have amazing English ability others look like they will explode if you ask them a question in English. So that is going to be a challenge, but I am up for it. 

I think this post is long enough for now. I swear I will update more often! Well, more often than every two weeks...probably. Hopefully. Well bye.