Halloween Day

Happy Halloween Day! Korean kids add the "day" when they say it and I think its cute. Part of the kindergarten curriculum is celebrating American holidays so today the kindergartners (whom I am teaching temporarily) had a Halloween celebration. They all wore costumes. I am pretty sure every single girl was a princess. There were also a lot of spidermen and supermen for the boys. They went trick-or-treating to each classroom and we played games. Another foreign teacher and I introduced them to bobbing for apples and I demonstrated carving a jack-o-lantern! Then we took them all outside and paraded around town. We also sang songs and danced (see below). I am completely exhausted. The 9am-9pm schedule is really wearing me out, but the kindergarten kids are really fun. Once I go back to an 8 hour work day it will feel easy compared to this. Enjoy my Korean cuties in costume!

Apology in Advance

For the next two weeks, on top of my regular elementary classes from 1-9, I am also teaching morning kindergarten from 9:30am -12:30 every day for a minimum of two weeks. Also, next week monthly student evaluations are due for 1/2 my elementary students (that's about 40). I also have about 80 tests to grade by Wednesday.

SOOO all that to say: I am sorry if I don't blog as much over the next 2 weeks...I'll do my best! :)

All the leaves are brown....

To celebrate the gorgeous fall weather and enjoy some outdoor fun before the cold weather comes, 5 of us went to a park on the Han River today. The trees were all kids of vibrant colors and there were crunchy leaves on the ground. I am so glad Korea has a true fall season.

See the pretty colors?

What a gorgeous view of the city....

We rented bikes and rode along the river!...

We (well not WE actually, just Ryan) built an airplane!

Here it is in an early stage of production...

And here it is finished....

Will it fly? Will it fly?

Joanna, me, and Jamie

Before takeoff

It was a short flight but it did get airborne...

After playing frisbee and volleyball, riding bikes, and playing with the plane, we left the park.

After the park, we went to Lotte World. Its a huge shopping mall, indoor amusement park, movie theater, monorail, etc. We just went to the mall part tonight.

It was very bright and pretty!

There was a cool mask store so we tried some on...

Hee Hee Hee....

Pretty fountain...

The Joy of Testing

As a student, test days are the worst. The anxiety, the stress, the studying, the anticipation, the wondering, the guessing, the frustration... especially in college. It was just 6 months ago that I was agonizing over my "final" finals at Grove City College. Finals week, in my opinion, is one of the worst ideas ever implemented. How does it make any sense to have students study for and take all of their final exams in one week? It's terrible. You don't eat or sleep, you forget to change clothes, and you don't see the sun for days. You get grumpy and tense and you lose track of time.

That's as a student. But as a teacher.....test days are the best! My school's curriculum is set up so that each class is tested monthly on the same 4 days. Most classes taking unit test on what they learned that month but several are taking a test covering an entire level to see whether they can move up to the next level. I have two classes this month that are being Level Tested.

The teachers giving Level Tests each month have the option of giving those students a pizza party as a celebration for finishing the book they have been studying for the past 9 months. So today I gave 3 Unit Tests and 1 Level Test and I did give a pizza party for my class with the Level Test. We had done the writing and listening portion of the Level Test on Tuesday so today we had to do the Speaking portion. So the kids had a pizza party in the classroom and I took each student into the hall one by one to ask them questions and have them answer. These kids have just finished the very first Level of English at my school. These are the questions my students had to answer in complete sentences. This speaking portion was worth 50% of their grade in the class:

1. How are you?
2. What is your name? (one boy missed this and said "I am name is...." - it was a good try)
3. How old are you?
4. How many people are there in your family?
5. What do you have in your bag? (This was a hard one. Only a few students got it right. I had kids saying "My bag is blue" or simply "Yes")
6. What time is it right now?
7. What is your favorite color?
8. What do you eat for lunch?

Most kids did well, the biggest problem was they didn't answer in complete sentences or they didn't use proper grammar (i.e. "I am eat lunch kimchi and rice" - they understood the question but could not phrase the answer correctly). It took the entire hour for me to talk with each student so I didn't actually get to participate in the pizza party. My kids saved me a piece though :).

So far I have tested 4 out of my 13 classes. And so far, no student has failed. I am giving my second Level Test in one of my classes tomorrow. For the other 8 of my classes tomorrow it's a regular teaching day but then Monday I give Unit Tests to those 8 classes. So Monday will be a very easy day for me - until that night when I have 70+ tests to grade by the next day. I do have to say though, grading tests is my favorite part of this job! It's such a nice feeling to be grading the tests instead of taking them.

A Long Day

It was a long day at work.

Today one of the American teachers at my school got a call saying both her parents had been killed in a car accident. I can't imagine getting that kind of news at all, let alone when you are half a world away from home. Obviously she was devastated and unable to teach so the school was really good about getting her classes covered and arranging for her to fly home for two weeks.

My supervisor asked me to cover one of the classes of the fellow teacher who went back to the States. I didn't mind at all, of course. It will make for long Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays for the next few weeks though. I now have 9 classes back to back with no break. I taught the new class for the first time today, though, and they were great.

That was in the morning and the rest of the day just unravelled. All of the teachers were in sad moods and everything just felt "off". I had to send two kids to the principle's office and I've never had to send anyone there before. Then in my one class a boy called a girl a name and she starting crying. Then in another class I could not, for the life of me, pronounce this one girl's name and she started crying because of it. It felt terrible!

I am so glad to be back at the apartment now.

I miss my family.

Incredible

Today my boss called me over and said she needed to speak with me. My stomach was in knots. I have been so nervous about how I've been doing since I started here. I began racking my brain for something I had done wrong. Are parents complaining that their kids aren't learning anything? Am I teaching the wrong things? Is it my clothes? My lesson plans? My teaching style?

"It's time for your first teacher evaluation", said Lisa, my boss.

Great...I braced myself. "Don't worry," I thought, "Worst case scenario, they think you are a horrible teacher due to the fact that you have never taught before and your kids are learning nothing. So they will probably fire you."

Then Lisa said, "I wanted to tell you that we are very pleased with your teaching."

I stared. Wait...this sounded...positive!

She went on, "We are very pleased with your teaching and your classroom style. We feel that the students in your classes respect you and that you have good control of your classrooms and your students are learning a lot."

I waited. Maybe there was a "but..." coming.

Then she said, "Also, I have received calls from your students' parents, complimenting your teaching. The parents say they really like you and are glad you are teaching their children. They say you are very strict with the students and you discipline them well. They say you have good classroom control and that their kids are learning a lot."

I stood gaping. Me? Strict? The 21-year-old sociology major who has ZERO experience teaching and has never taken an education course in her life? Who knows no Korean and feels like she spends all her time in the classroom balancing things precariously on the brink of total mayhem?

ME??????

ME!!!!!!!!!

Korea likes me!

I'm NOT a horrible teacher!

By the way, Friday night the entire teaching staff and administration are going to out for dinner together. They do this whenever a new teacher is hired to welcome them to the school. So this dinner is in honor of me! So we all go out and the director pays for everyone. I am very excited especially now that I know they don't all hate me and think I'm the worst teacher ever :)

The amazing thing about this all is that one year ago I could never have imagined where I would be today. One year ago my life felt like it was falling apart. My fiance of 10 months had just left me and I was in more pain than I ever thought my heart could feel. I never would have imagined that in one year's time I would have the incredible opportunity to live and work in this beautiful country! I am so glad that God is in control and not me because this is INDESCRIBABLY BETTER than anything I could (or would) have imagined for myself.

Service!

Korean people are so generous! Stores and vendors are usually incredibly grateful for your business and will often throw in something extra for free. This happens at large stores as well as at street carts. For example when I went to Home Plus (somewhat like a Super Walmart), I could not believe how many items came with free gifts. If you buy a bag of rice it may have a free mug taped to it. I bought laundry detergent and it had a free mini laundry detergent attached. This happens a lot. It also happens with local vendors and in convenience stores.

Friday night I stopped and bought Mandoo from "the mandoo guy" who sets up his cart on my block on the weekends. It is only $2 for 6 mandoo dumplings. He always throws in an extra one for free. When Koreans give you something for free they tell you "service!". I guess that means free. When I went to the market, the vendors often threw in one more of whatever I was buying and said "service!" with a smile. It is so kind!

Today was my favorite though. I went to the convenience store to buy some noodles for lunch. I brought them to the counter and the clerk motioned for me to pick out a bottle of water. Apparently the noodles I picked out came with a free water! THEN I noticed they had the kind of gimbap I liked (they dont always have the same kinds) so I decided to buy that as well. The clerk then went over and got me a starbucks iced coffee drink out of the cooler and that was free too! So I just happened to pick out two things that came with free gifts! Yay for free things in Korea!

Foraging for Food in Itaewon

What do you do when you have been in Korea for 24 days and you just need some REAL AMERICAN FOOD? Like the kind that isn't make-your-eyes-water spicy and doesn't taste like fish or seaweed or fermented radish....I'm talking quality, American products like Hamburger Helper, Granola Bars, Fruit Loops, and Instant Potatoes...

When you just can't TAKE kimchi and rice anymore and your mouth is raw from being stung with red pepper spices every day, sometimes you just need some good, American, processed, yes-preservatives-added FOOD!

That's when you go to Itaewon.

Itaewon is a foreigner-friendly district of Seoul that is known for its counterfeit goods and foreign import stores. You can find restaurants in Itaewon that serve international dishes which are not easily found in Korea like cuisine from the US, England, India, Thailand, and Mexico. The crowded streets of Itaewon are lined with vendors peddling all kinds of good, from socks and scarves to bootleg DVDs and knock-off designer handbags. Itaewon is also known for its numerous tailors who custom-make men's suits at very reasonable prices.

Itaewon is sometimes referred to as the "American Ghetto" of Seoul due to the large number of Americans who work, shop and relax in the area. Many of the bars and restaurants in Itaewon are frequented by and cater to the foreigner population. It's a popular hang out for military personnel in particular although some restaurants and bars are "off-limits" to American soldiers because of their association with incidents of violence and prostitution.

So this Saturday Amy, James and I made the hour-long subway trip to Itaewon to go import food shopping. We walked down a shady-looking alley to a tiny, hole-in-the-wall, slightly-larger-than-my-bathroom "store". It was essentially like being in someone's pantry. There was no rhyme or reason to the products haphazardly placed on the 3 sets of shelves along the wall except that I recognized all of them! I have not seen so many familiar brand names and products since I got here. There were about 1 or 2 of each product. The inventory changes all the time at these stores so you never know what you'll find. They carry things like Jell-o, some boxes of cereal, instant potatoes, a few packages of hamburger helper, some Campbell's "Cream of.." soups, salsa, taco seasoning, Chips-Ahoy....

The prices are scribbled in pen somewhere on each item. Here's where the fun starts. How much would you be willing to pay for a taste of home?.....

A box of Jell-O - $5
A small can of breadcrumbs - $7
A box of Hamburger Helper - $7
A regular size container of Parmesan cheese - $15
A tiny container of Parmesan cheese - $7
A can of cream of mushroom soup - $6
A box of Chips-Ahoy - $9
A regular size bottle of Herbal Essence Shampoo - $12
A bottle of Clean & Clear face wash - $16
A jar of salsa - $7
A pack of taco seasoning - $5
A box of Swiss Miss hot chocolate with 8 packets inside - $10

Buying some over-priced comfort foods to take the edge off culture-shock?

PRICELESS :)

An import store...

Learning Hangeul

Now that I have been here almost a month I am officially starting to learn Korean. I am starting with the alphabet which is called Hangeul. It's made up of 14 consonants and 10 vowels. Here's what the Hangeul letters look like. To the right of each Korean letter is what it sounds like.

Consonants

ㄱ g, k ㅂ b, p ㅋ k ㄴ n ㅅ s ㅌ t ㄷ d, t ㅇ ng, silent ㅍ p ㄹ r, l ㅈ j ㅎ h ㅁ m ㅊ ch

Vowels

ㅏ a ㅗ o ㅠ yu ㅑ ya ㅛ yo ㅡ eu ㅓ eo ㅜ u ㅣ i ㅕ yeo

Hangeul is written in syllabic units of 2, 3, or 4 letters. It is written from left to right and then up to down. So when you see something written in Hangeul, you read it by reading each character left to right across the top and then left to right across the bottom before moving on to the next character. Here is a word written in Hangeul:

That word, pronounced Han-guk-eo, means "Korean". To hear what the Korean alphabet letters sound like, here is a very short little video clip that demonstrates the sound each letter makes. Korean Alphabet Video

Boys and Girls

The sociologist in me needs to express some observations. I am going to try not to generalize but the nature of sociological observation makes this incredibly difficult. Also, I tried to be neutral - these are just my observations.

First of all, there seem to be a lot more Western guys here teaching than girls. Second, The Western guys, in general, seem to come to Korea for 2 reasons. I'll come back to those reasons in a moment. First, you need to understand that the reason teaching here is so popular for foreigners is the fact that, not only do you get paid an excellent salary, your housing is paid for by your employer. So the only things a teacher pays for here are utilities and food. Considering that food and utilities here are incredibly cheap and taxes are shockingly low, teachers can pocket most of the money they earn each month. Perhaps unsurprisingly, most foreign teachers use this extra income for alcohol and/or cigarettes which cost about half of what they do in Western nations

Western teachers in Korea have, unfortunately, a reputation for drinking a lot and misbehaving. As I said before, young people come here to party because they get paid a lot of money and the liquor is cheap and easy to get (i.e. in every convenience store). Westerners also have a reputation for being obnoxious. I have seen several groups of Westerners in Seoul acting very disrespectful and idiotic (loudly making fun of Koreans and Korean culture, etc.). It seems like the mentality is "This isn't my country, I don't know anyone here and I'm just passing through so I'll behave however I want." It's as though the anonymity and the language barrier eliminate the usual, social consequences for bad behavior. This bothers me for various reasons, not the least of which is that here, as a foreigner, people see you as representing the country from which you came. In your home country no one pays too much attention to you because you fit in. But here, where you stand out, people are always watching you. Furthermore, they identify you with your nation of origin. Not that people should judge a nation based on a few people, but it must be hard not to imagine that all Americans are loud, abrasive drunks when the only ones you've ever seen in person have been just that. This strikes me as being similar to how a child behaves reflects on their parents. In addition, the American soldiers stationed here have a particularly terrible reputation for drinking too much and causing problems (like swearing a lot and getting into fights).

Just to clarify, I am not saying Americans are evil and Koreans are wonderful. Korean culture certainly has its own share of social problems as all nations do.

Anyway, back to why a lot of Western guys come here. Two reasons... The first is to drink which we have already discussed. The second is to get a Korean girlfriend. This is not an exaggeration. One of the things I immediately noticed here is how many of the white, male teachers have Korean girlfriends. Now, I have NO PROBLEM AT ALL with Western guys dating Korean girls or vice versa. However, there is an interesting mentality that guys seem to have about Korean women vs Western women. I've mentioned this to both Korean and American friends here and they were well aware of this phenomenon. Apparently, many Western guys think of Korean girls as both "exotic" and "submissive".

The exotic is easy to understand. Korean girls are different and they are, certainly, gorgeous. Thanks to their rice-centered diets and lack of exposure to the majority of Western foods, Korean women are almost all slim. They also seem to be more stylish and in vogue than American women are overall. Note how I said overall - there are, of course, plenty of exceptions. The part that was really interesting to me was how Western guys see Korean girls as being more traditional and submissive in terms of gender roles. One Korean friend I was talking to said he thinks that American guys, for example, are tired of how effeminate American girls have become and they find it refreshing that Korean girls dress and behave much more feminine. Furthermore, he said American guys like the fact that most Korean girls are not "man-haters" the way many Western girls seem to be. Now, granted, Korean culture is rapidly catching up with the gender-neutral ideals of Western society, but it is still largely traditional and conservative in many ways. There is an idea that Korean women "take care" of their men happily and are not as interested, in general, in independence. This is no secret either, as many Western guys will freely admit that one of their goals in coming to Korea is to find a Korean girlfriend.

Here's what I think: I have NO ISSUE with interracial relationships AT ALL. However, I find it a bit strange that Western guys want to date Korean girls simply because they are Korean. That is, they come here already with the mindset that they want to find a Korean girlfriend.

It gets even more interesting. Because while you see Western guys coupled with Korean girls ALL OVER the place, you virtually NEVER see a Korean guy dating a Western girl. Let's put it this way: I have been here nearly a month and I have lost count of the number of couples I have seen where the guy is foreign and the girl is Korean. In contrast, I have not even seen ONE couple where it is the other way around. So it seems that in Korea both Western guys and Korean guys prefer Korean girls.

Moving on (almost done ranting, I promise)...

I don't know how to say this without it coming across the wrong way, but to put it plainly, Korean guys don't hit on me at all here. Now, don't get me wrong: I dont WANT them to hit on me. But as an American girl who is used to the body-ogling, cat-calling, and low-whistling of so many guys in the States, it is so (refreshingly!) strange that men have not acted that way here. Now, is this because Korean guys are, on the whole, more polite and gentlemanly than Western guys? Maybe. Or perhaps it's because Western girls have an international reputation for being man-hating, femi-nazis? I don't know...

What do you think?

Brrrr.......

Since I arrived in Seoul the temperature has been around 70 almost every day. Then a few days ago, temperatures started to drop just a bit, with highs in the low 60's. Then last night I woke up freezing and checked the temperature. It was 37 degrees outside with a wind chill of 31 degrees! I think we skipped fall and went straight to winter. It got so cold, so quickly! Today I had to wear three layers and a scarf and I was still chilly. Right now it is 36 degrees outside. Brrrrr! Today when I went to Itaewon, I bought a nice warm blanket for my bed. The great thing about winter coming is Christmas. I can't wait to do my Christmas shopping here!

Friday, Phones, & Food

Another Friday...how wonderful is the weekend?! Even in college the weekend wasn't as great as now because there was still loads of studying to do and papers to write. Now, the weekends are a complete and total break with nothing to do but rest, refocus, recharge, and explore this wonderful, strange, new country! The forecast for this weekend includes a trip to Itaewon to buy a cell phone, church on Sunday and fellowship afterward, and some sightseeing/hanging out with friends Saturday night. There is also a chance of scattered cleaning, laundry-doing, and food shopping.

I am so looking forward to getting a cell phone tomorrow. I have never been a watch wearer and since I don't have a cell phone right now I never know what time it is when I'm out and about. And of course it will be much easier to communicate with people and coordinate times when I'm meeting them somewhere. The two biggest places to buy phones seem to be Yongsan and Itaewon. Friends of mind are going to Itaewon tomorrow and they offered to take me to get a phone. Also, there are a lot of import shops there that carry hard-to-find food items from the US. Apparently its one of the only places you can find sour cream here. So I might come back with more than a cell phone. I'll be buying a used cell phone and a pay-as-you-go plan. Incoming calls will be free for me (even international!) but the cost to call out is more expensive than a monthly plan. Still, since I'll be using it so rarely, that won't matter.

Yesterday I took all my fresh veggies that I'd bought at the market and made a delicious stir-fry. It was so yummy. The majority of my meals have consisted either of peanut butter and jelly on crackers or the Korean version of Ramen Noodles (which, not surprisingly, are SO SPICY). I have also gotten into the habit of buying an ice cream cone on my way home from work for 1,000 Won. It's comforting because it tastes the same as ice cream in the States.

I still have not quite figured out what to eat for breakfast here. Koreans eat rice and kimchi and fish. This is not a bacon and eggs country. It seems I have said goodbye to Western omelettes, Egg McMuffins, and stacks of pancakes with syrup. I can't eat eggs without toast anyway, and I don't have a toaster.

Rice is such a big deal here and is literally eaten with every meal. It's a sticky, white rice and it tastes ok but I can't imagine eating it all the time. Plus, you need to have a rice cooker to make it come out right apparently. I've tried the instant rice bowls from the store downstairs but I don't like them very much. Even if rice was my favorite food, I can't imagine eating it for breakfast every morning with kimchi. That very well may change in time, though....

What I've Taught Them....

Here is a video of my first grade class. I am very proud of them.

This month we learned toy vocabulary and they now know how to say "Do you have a _______ at your house?" and they can answer "Yes I have a _____ at my house" or "No, I don't have a ______ at my house."

The Market in pictures!

Fresh Fruit.....

Beans and grains....

Fresh squid...

Fishies!

Shrimp and crab....

Mandoo....

Eels..

This man was so excited for me to take a picture of his fish:

Peppers...

Fresh veggies....

Dried squid...

Pig intestines...they make sausage out of this...

More fishies...

Assorted prepared foods...

Wednesday

Today we had pizza at work. It felt so....American! It was delicious too, with only a few minor changes. Like my pizza had corn on it. It was really good. Also there was a pizza with giant potato wedges on it. Also good.

Yesterday I went to the open-air market which is just a few blocks away. It was incredible and overwhelming and I took pictures but for some reason blogger wouldn't let me upload them so I will try again soon. It is so nice to have fresh fruits and vegetables though. I am going to make a stir-fry! I got really good deals and the produce was super fresh...6 cucumbers for $2, 8 green bell peppers for $2, 5 onions for $1, 4 peaches for $1....

One thing I am thinking a lot about right now is what to do for Christmas vacation. I have a week off from work and considered going home but it would be the week of Christmas, one of the busiest and most expensive times to travel, so I am not leaning toward that. I have been checking airline prices to the US every day, hoping for a break, but so far the cheapest I have found is just under $2,000. Plus, I think I should take advantage of being on this side of the world while I have a week off from work. So right now I am thinking of traveling somewhere in Asia for the Christmas holiday. I was thinking of doing a week in Japan or China. Right now I am leaning toward China. Japan is something I could do on a shorter holiday or a long weekend or even several separate weekends. I have been looking into 5 - 8 day guided tours of China that include Beijing, Shanghai, and Xian. Those three cities include the things I would want to see the most.

Highs and Lows

Here are some "highs" and "lows" regarding how things are going since I arrived in Korea. It has already been 17 days since I arrived...

Highs

Teaching - Teaching is improving. Last week I had some really tough days where I felt completely overwhelmed by students talking in class and not listening to my directions. These feelings of frustration were further compounded by the language barrier (as illustrated in a previous post entitled "Born"). More about the language barrier under "lows"... Most of my students are incredibly bright and eager to learn. They amaze me by how much they can absorb and remember. Memorization is the largest component of the curriculum so the students spend a lot of time copying and repeating. Most of them work very hard and both they and I look forward to Fridays when each class takes a spelling test and then we play a game to review what we learned that week.

I know I am technically not supposed to have favorites but there's certainly a reason someone coined the phrase "teacher's pet." In my M/W/F 2:30 class of first and second graders there is one little girl, Suk-Hee, who is absolutely precious. Not only is she incredibly smart, she is melt-your-heart sweet. She is always saying things like, "Teacher, you have beautiful eyes." Maybe it's a bit pathetic that the praises of a 6-year-old make me so happy, but, alas, perhaps that's what being alone in a foreign country does to you... As if the compliments weren't enough, her habitual gift-giving solidifies her position as "teacher's pet" (not that I have one but, you know, hypothetically). Today she brought me a tiny bouquet of flowers she picked for me as well as some candy. Last week she brought me a rice cake which she said her mom made. Being a teachers sure has its perks...

Food - MMMmmm I love Korean food. So far I have pretty much loved everything I have tasted. I've tried a lot so far - I'm going to do a whole post on food sometime soon because there is a lot to talk about. Unfortunately, as much as I love the food, I'm afraid the food does not seem to love me, as further explained in "Lows"...

Subway - The subway is clean, easy to navigate, and incredibly convenient. Thankfully my apt. is about 2 minutes walk from the nearest subway station. Although Seoul is only about a 5 minute drive away from where I live, a subway ride to most of the places I would want to go in Seoul is anywhere between 30 min - 1.5 hours. However, when riding the subway it never feels that long. I think that's because you're stopping and walking and changing trains, etc. It goes very quickly.

Shopping - I cannot express how awesome the shopping is here. From huge, expensive department stores, to quaint little shops, to pushy street vendors, there are so many places to browse (and ways to spend your hard-earned Won!). Today I discovered how to haggle....accidentally. I was looking at a black jacket at a vendor stand on the street this afternoon. It has been chilly here but not yet cold enough for my winter coat. The price was 29,000 Won (USD $30 approx.). That seemed reasonable to me but when I checked my bag I only had 20,000 Won. I gestured to the woman to show her the bills so she would know I did not have enough money and I said, "I can come back later." Of course she didn't understand me. In fact, she though I was haggling. So she nodded and took the money and handed me the coat. And that is how I haggled for the first time in a Korean market. Completely by accident. At least now I know there is wiggle room when it comes to vendor pricing. And I got a nice jacket for about $20!

City Life - I love it! I love the busy-ness, the people everywhere, how things stay open all night, and how there are always cars at the intersection below my building. For some strange reason being around so much activity is comforting to me. At the same time, it can be very lonely to be in such a crowded place and not know anyone. But still, I love the fast-paced lifestyle, I love walking so much, I love the street vendors and the subway and having everything so close by.

Lows

Food - My mouth likes it but my tummy does not. I think it's the gochujang - the red pepper paste that is in everything here. I have never eaten so much spicy food in my life. I really didn't like spicy food at all before I came here - I always went for the mild buffalo wings and then smothered them in blue cheese so as to mask the spicy taste. But here, I don't have too much of a choice. The combination of my commitment to eat every thing placed in front of me while here and the fact that nearly all Korean food is spicy, has pretty much ensured that I have eaten more spicy food in the last 17 days than in my entire life time.

Fish - It seems like nearly everything here tastes, smells, or looks like fish. Even desserts....Bungeo-ppang is a Korean dessert which is molded in the shape of a carp. Also, the other day I bought a bag of potato chips because they seemed "safe". Turned out they were squid flavored. There is little that compares with the experience of biting into what ought to taste like salty potatoes and having your mouth filled with the taste of SQUID. There are also tanks everywhere on the sidewalks with live crabs, fish, octopus, squid, eels, etc. The smell is everywhere too. I am starting to get used to it though. I like fish but I don't like how everything here is flavored with fish.

Language Barrier - This is definitely the worst part so far. I have never been so motivated to learn a language. It's completely different than being in a class and being told to learn it. Not only will I be able to practice Korean as I learn it, it will make my life SO much easier. I hate not being able to talk to anyone and not being able to read any signs or menus or books!

The Day in Pictures

We ate dinner at a restaurant that serves Samgyeopsal. This is a popular Korean dish which consists of thin slices of pork belly meat (similar to uncured bacon). It is flavored with garlic, salt and sesame oil and cooked on a grill at your table. A slice of the cooked meat is placed inside a leaf of lettuce along with some gochujang (red pepper paste) and eaten by hand. Ours was also served with slices of raw garlic and a spring onion salad. Here is our table before we cooked the meat:

and more of our table...

The city at night......


We found these photo-op magazing cover boards and they told me to make my best "model face"...

Some cool people:

Me and a big rose

Me and Joanne...

We went to an authentic Korean Tea Room in Insadong (the cultural district) this afternoon. I had a cup of cold quince tea. A quince fruit is a sour, hard-fleshed Asian fruit resembling a small yellow apple. The tea is made by pouring boiling water over a syrup formed by cut up pieces of quince fruit and sugar. It comes warm and cold. Mine was cold and the taste was both tart and sweet. The cup of tea cost a little more than $6. Here is our table:

The inside of the tea room:

Isaac, trying to decide what to order...

He is Korean and but he has lived in the US, Thailand, and Australia

Sarah and Me at the tea room - Sarah is a Korean American and she is studying abroad in Seoul

Ryan and Sarah at the Tea Room....Ryan teaches English here

A random cow in the street...

The crowded streets of Insadong

Cool shot - behind me are the skyscrapers, in front of me are the mountains and a pretty temple.

Cool building!...

Strange vehicle which gets around by the driver pedaling...

The pretty city....

JoAnne and me in front of the pretty bridge...

Pretty waterfall downtown...

The girls under the bridge...

Me...

More pretty city...

Another cool building:

This I love! You can buy so many different kinds of foods from street vendors. Here is a woman selling roasted chestnuts. She stands there all day and shells them and you buy them warm with the shells already off! MMMMMmmmmmm!

Sarah and Me with a strangely cute, marshmallow thing....

Walkin' along....

Another cool building!...

Trying to decide what to do...Hmm....

ANOTHER cool building!...

Elevator Picture...

Dave eating a weird bean he bought from a street vendor:

Here they are up close. They taste....funny. The vendor said you should only eat about 10 at a time or they could be bad for you. Hmm...

Vendors making food. Here they skewer slices of raw potatoes and then fry them in hot oil. Like a home made potato chip!

The group posing for a picture.

Some live jazz in Myong-Dong...

More street vendors...

Some of the store fronts in the city are so unique. Like this one:

And this one...

A street in Myong-dong...

Ok so one of the MANY weird foods in Korea: Pasta Cones. No kidding, this restaurant serves various types of Italian, pasta concoctions in ice cream cones. Below is one of their signs:

It was a great day!