Playing Around With The New Camera

The Weekend Part II

On Sunday, my friends and I returned to the Seoul World Cup Stadium once again, this time to see a qualifying match between North Korea and South Korea. It was quite an interesting experience. Obviously, there weren't any (identifiable) North Korean fans there although there were a few men holding a North Korean flag behind the team. They were selling special "unification flags" at the game. A white background with an image of a unified Korea in blue. Simple, yet powerful. When the national anthem began playing a huge unification flag was displayed. It was an exciting moment. Anyway, the game itself was completely dull. Based on previous teams' results, it meant absolutely nothing and the teams played incredibly conservatively. It ended in a boring 0-0 tie. Still, just being at a game with 50,000 people, watching North and South Korea, is exciting in and of itself.

Pre-game ceremonies

South Korea in red, North Korea in white
Interesting how their colors coordinate...

The only indication of North Korean fans in the entire stadium
Two fans
(and yes, in true South Korea soccer fan style I am sporting light-up red horns)

After the game, shaking hands

The Weekend Part I

Saturday was an awesome day. First, I went to the travel agent and paid for my ticket to Thailand! I will be vacationing in Phuket ("Pooh-ket") from July 26th to August 2nd. I can not wait for the beach! Also on Saturday I bought myself a new camera. A Canon s5is. It is incredible and I am completely in love with it. It looks like this:

After these two big purchases, I went to a baseball game with my friends. My team (Woori Heroes) have been on quite a losing streak lately. They are in second-to-last place and ten games back from a play-off spot. Thankfully on Saturday they won 2-1 with two home runs. So here is the incredible thing: we've been going to so many games this Spring (I've actually lost count - we've gone nearly every weekend) that we have become great friends with the "fan club". The fan club has about 50 people and it is so much fun. We sit with them at the games and they give us free food and drinks and love the fact that we cheer for their team. My friends and I bought jerseys that we wear at the games. It is so much fun, it's like a big family. A few weeks ago I got picked to dance on the dugout in front of everyone at a sold out game and I was on TV!
Anyway, after all the games, the fan club people always ask us to come out with them for dinner and drinks and we often go.

Yesterday was so much fun, we went out with the group and I ended up sitting next to the manager of the stadium. One thing led to another and I told him my favorite player was Cliff Brumbaugh, a foreign player from the states. He's previously played for the Rangers, Rockies, and White Sox. [Each Korean team is allowed 2 foreign players. My team has one from the US and one from Japan.] Anyway, the manager told me that he had the home run ball Brumbaugh had hit that day (his twelfth this season) and that he would have him autograph it and give it to me!! As if that wasn't enough, he later told me that he wants us to wait around after the game next Saturday and he will arrange for us to meet the players, including Brumbaugh! So, next Saturday I get to meet my favorite team and favorite player! Anyway, I'm so excited. It's been so much fun getting into baseball here!

Enough talking, here are some pictures...

White Water Rafting

I went white water rafting last weekend for the first time. It was a lot of fun but the water was FREEZING. Still, I ended up in the river twice. Once when we went cliff diving (so exhilarating!) and once when the rafting guide pushed me in! It was such a blast though. The views were indescribable! I am so glad I got to see this part of Korea. After rafting we stayed at this condo-like place which was really nice. And, that night, the owners of the accommodations cooked us this awesome Korean dinner. Here are the pictures:

The River!

The rafters! Glenn, me, Dan, Fran, Jamie, Raphael
Canada, USA, England, Canada, Korea, Brazil
My helmet is blue because the red and yellow ones were too big so
I had to use a child size. Story of my life... :)

After rafting and dinner, taking in the view

Me...

There were rice fields everywhere!

The girls

June News

Well, it's almost 1/2 way through June. I have less than 4 months left here in Korea. It's so hard to describe how I feel these day. I want to savor these last few months and really make the most of them. At the same time, knowing I'm more than 2/3 of the way done makes me anxious to finish and come home! White water rafting was a blast. Unfortunately I forgot my camera so I'm waiting for pictures from my friend's camera so I can post them. I'll write a separate post about the rafting when I get the pictures.

In other news...I have tickets to see South Korea play North Korea in a World Cup Qualifying Match on June 22nd. It will be quite strange I think. There will, of course, be no North Korean fans at the game. But it will be so incredible to see the two countries play. It's a big game too. Both teams really need the win.

The weather is really heating up. You wouldn't know by the way Korean people dress though. Korean women are afraid of the sun. Being tan in this society still comes with the assumption that you are poor and work outside (an archaic idea but it's still alive and well here). Many Korean women young and old carry parasols when they are outside to protect them from the sun. Even if they're just walking around the city. I have to admit, as someone who loves to lay on the beach at the Jersey Shore, soaking up the sun, it's a strange idea. Also, Korean people generally sweat less than Westerners. So even when it's hot you'll see many people wearing long pants and long sleeves. The heat just doesn't affect them the same way.

Teaching is still wonderful. Right now I have 8 classes on M/W/F and 4 classes on T/Th. I got the most precious note from a student yesterday. I didn't edit it, because it's cuter that way!

"Dear Teacher. I loves you. Because you is very wonderful and beautiful. Because your face is very wonderful and your eyes is very beautiful. Thank you for being my very happy teacher. You are my wonderful teacher. I love you, teacher! Love, Seung-Hyun."

That is the kind of thing I will miss.... That and the fact that they always always always have perfectly ripe avocados at the grocery store here. I love that!

May

Where did May go? I blinked and it's suddenly gone! Now it's June and the Korean rainy season has come early. It's not supposed to start until late July/early August but it's been raining for 4 days straight and showing no signs of stopping. Last weekend was a blast. My friends and I had the opportunity to watch a soccer match between South Korea and Jordan. The match was held at the World Cup Stadium in Seoul where, as the name suggests, many of the World Cup games were played back in 2002 when Korea and Japan co-hosted the competition. This particular game was a qualifier for the next World Cup which will be held in South Africa in 2010. The stadium is huge, it holds 68,000. It was the biggest sports event I've ever been to. The best part, which we didn't realize until we got there, was the we had front row seats, right behind one of the goals. It was an incredible view. Here are some pics from the day...

We went for lunch on an outdoor patio in Hongdae, the university district. After lunch we played cards for a while and enjoyed sitting in the sun. These are two of my British friends, sporting Korean soccer jerseys, and looking excited about the game.

Not much beats a relaxing game of cards on an outdoor patio in the sun.

Outside the stadium we saw this crazy fan: His top half is painted and he is wearing a Korean flag in lieu of...pants I think. How very patriotic!

My best friends and me. Do you like my Team Korea t-shirt? It says, "Again Dream!"

A Canadian and an American in Seoul...

Hopefully you can tell how close our seats were - front row...No one in front of us!

During the Korean National Anthem the fans hoisted up this giant Korean flag over all of these fans. It looked incredible.

A close up.

Pre-game huddles. Korea is red, Jordan is white.

Korea had a 2-0 lead in the 2nd half but Jordan came back to tie it. There were so many excited Jordanian fans running around after the stadium. One older Jordanian man ran up to me after the game and asked where I was from and if I like Jordan's soccer team. I had to say yes, of course, and he was so excited he picked me up in a gigantic bear hug.

So that was last weekend. But the fun never stops here in SoKo... this weekend my friends and I are going to the next province over for some white water rafting. I've never been, so I'm nervous but everyone says it's so much fun so I'm sure I'll enjoy it. Pics from that will be up next week...

Teaching continues to be wonderful. I can honestly say I love love LOVE my job. Teacher's Day is a holiday here in May and basically just involves students giving gifts to their teachers. A brilliant idea if you ask me! I received many presents including several pairs of socks, vitamins, beauty products, chocolates, flowers, and (of course!) a variety of rice cakes.

Well, not much else to report. I promise I'll blog next week about my white water rafting adventures.

Easy Weeks

These are certainly some easy weeks for me as far as work is concerned. Last week was test week which means I didn't have to prepare lesson plans or teach, I just had to administer tests in each class. This involves nothing more than relaxing and reading a book as my students suffer and sweat and rack their brains to pass my exams. I know I have said this before, but especially now as it's finals time in colleges back home, I am enjoying being on the teacher side of tough tests. Although grading can be a bit tedious, I'd choose it over test-taking any day of the week.

This week is easy because we had Monday off. It was Children's Day here which is exactly what it sounds like. They actually don't have Mother's Day and Father's Day here, it's combined into Parent's Day. There is also a Teacher's Day which is celebrated just as much as the above holidays. On Children's Day, I gave each of my students (over 100!) a small gift. I had fun picking them out...I gave the younger students nifty pencils and erasers and the older students got small games (Gyonggi - similar to jacks). I can't wait to see what I get on Teacher's Day. Last week one of my student's mothers gave me a loaf of home made bread and some home made blackberry jam. It was my favorite gift so far.

Next week will also be easy because we have NEXT Monday off as well. It's Buddha's Birthday which is a holiday celebrated throughout Asia with festivals and parades. Should be exciting! My baseball team (The Woori Heroes) is playing at home this weekend so I'll be there cheering them on come Saturday. I actually went to see them play an away game in Incheon this past Monday since I didn't have work. It was about 1.5 hours away but it was a gorgeous day and this adorable little Korean boy befriended me. He must have been about 5. He sat next to me and spoke Korean incessantly in a tone of voice full of that urgency every 5-year-0ld has when trying to convey a point. I didn't understand a word he said, of course, but everytime he paused for breath, I said, "Really?" and he exclaimed, "YES!". I guess that was the only English word he knew. At one point when I was standing up cheering I felt his little arms around me and I looked down and he was hugging me! It was precious. Here are some pictures:

Cute little boy outside the stadium

Cute little girl inside the stadium

Fellow Woori fans/friends I have seen at the past two games.

A beautiful day for baseball! That's a soccer arena in the background.

This is my little friend from the game!

Here is is again, with his friend. So precious!

Little Things...

I love some of the little things about Korea so much. Like how I wanted to have some eggs for dinner but I didn't want to buy a dozen which you almost always have to do in the States. But here, at the convenience store, you can buy just as many eggs as you want. So I bought 3 and it was about $0.85.

I love how at McDonald's when you order something to-go they have these little plastic bags for your drink cups that have a separator in the middle and a shape so the cup stands up and you can carry it. It's much better than the top heavy carriers they usually give you back home.

I love how you always have to pay an extra $0.10 a bag when you go to the grocery store here - its a great incentive to remember to bring your own and to think more about recycling and the environment.

I love how geeky some of my students are. Today I walked into class and said to one of my classes, "Ok, we are going to have a spelling test today" and there was a resounding, "YEAAAHHH!!!" with more than one fist punching victoriously into the air. This little boy, Min-Jae said, "Teacher I LOVE spelling tests!" Shocking. But I suppose they love the challenge. The first thing they wanted to know was how many stamps they would get for a perfect store.

I love the strange little treats my kids give me. Like today, for instance, when once student gave me a squished quarter of a seafood salad sandwich on white bread which she had made herself and wrapped in plastic wrap. Huh...

I love the language barrier. Today I was coughing in class so this little boy (Kyung-Sub) came up and handed me a Korean brand throat lozenger. He said, "Teacher. You!" and pointed to the cough drop. I took it and he explained to me, "Neck candy!" as he pointed to his neck. "Because teacher doing this" and he coughed dramatically. Neck candy? Aahhh I see. Your 8-year old English vocabulary does expand to include the word "throat" but "neck" is the obvious next best body part. And of course you dont know the word "lozenger" and it is kind of like candy if you think about it. So I think I will forever call my Hall's "neck candy" now thanks to Kyung-Sub.

I collected English diaries today (every Monday). In one, after her required 10-sentence diary entry my student wrote this. I have left in the spelling errors for fun.

Subjet: Letter

Dear Teacher: Hello, Teacher! I am Chae-Won. How are you, Teacher? I'm fine, thank you. I love you, teacher! Teacher, do you have the boyfreind? I'm curous. I'm sorry, teacher, my before diary was not good. Next time diary is good. Yes, I think so. Teacher, you like food? Please answer my letter. I love you teacher!

Love,
Chae-Won

I love my job!

This week's news

Another Monday of teaching finished. I love my job! I got an adorable journal entry today where my student said he "swam in the fool" but I think he meant "pool" and then at the end he said, "This day was very cool. Yes, this was my happy day!" So cute...

The weekend was GORGEOUS. 78 and sunny for the baseball game which my team WON 12 - 4. My favorite player, the only Western guy on the team is named Cliff Brumbaugh. He hit a 3-run homer AND a solo homer. It was great. We sat in foul ball territory and I almost caught a ball hit by the opposing team. The guy next to me caught it instead and he thought about giving it to me but the crowd was chanting to give it to a Lotte Giants fan, not an Woori fan (I was sitting in enemy fan territory) so he gave it to a kid Lotte fan. Turns out, the whole thing was on tape so everyone watching the game saw me! So when I went to work today a bunch of other teachers told me they saw me on TV! I have to admit I'm pretty excited to have been on Korean television at a ball game. :)

So I'm sitting here watching That 70's Show (I dont even notice the Korean subtitles on things anymore) and eating some spicy noodles. Spring is here full-force now. Tomorrow I'll take some pictures of the flowers they've planted all over my neighborhood. They're beautiful and they smell amazing. This Saturday my friends and I have a trip booked to the DMZ. That's the demilitarization zone between North and South Korea, in case you weren't sure. Read all about it here if you want. I will definitely have some pictures to post after that trip! Should be really interesting...

Take me out to the ball game!

Spring in Korea means many things, such as polluted air courtesy of China, more people crowding onto the subway, and of course, something one always needs, more vendors selling larva worms as a snack on the street. But there is one thing that spring brings in Korea that is reminiscent of home and that is BASEBALL!

The Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) is made up of nine MLB-comparable teams. Here they are (in their current standings, just for fun)
Lotte Giants
SK Wyverns
Samsung Lions
Woori Heroes (whooooo! hooo!!!)
Doosan Bears
LG Twins
Hanwha Eagles
Kia Tigers

I am officially an Woori Heroes fan. LG is the most popular team. They have a huge fan base. Kind of like the Red Sox maybe? The Samsung Lions are like the Yankees - they win a lot but they also have all the money. The Woori Heroes are like the Angels or the Astros. They were only recently moved to Mokdong (near me) and bought by Woori (a tobacco company). They were formerly the Hyundai Unicorns. I'm glad that's no longer the case. Unicorns is just about the least baseball-y name I can think of. Although come to think of it "Angels" isn't that great either.

So this weekend I went to not one but TWO baseball games at the Woori Heroes "new" stadium. The stadium wasn't too impressive in that it's kind of dated but it was a decent size and the field was beautiful. A few of the stadiums have real grass but Woori's doesnt. The baseball atmosphere here was the same, if not better, than it is back home. Fans get "thunder sticks", these inflatable cheering devices that gain their name from the loud noise they make when you beat them together. They're a great addition to baseball games in my opinion. Just like at home fans make signs and posters. Unlike the stingy stadiums at home, you can bring any food or drink you want into the stadiums here. Or, if you want to buy food at the game you will find all the snacks the same exact price as anywhere else. Now its not America so they are serving gimbap and ramyeon in lieu of hot dogs and nachos but everything is dirt cheap. No $7.00 small fry here!

Two funny things about Korean baseball games:
1. Because you are allowed to bring food in, tons of fans stop at fast food joints along the way to pick up a snack. We saw people with KFC, McD's, Burger King, and even entire pies from Pizza Hut. So there might not be hot dogs at the game but you can bring your own greasy food to simulate the American baseball experience.
2. There are cheerleaders at baseball games here! Not pyramid-making backflip-doing cheerleaders, just four girls who danced around on the dug out and led the crowd through chants and fight songs. And of course danced with the mascot (haven't figured out what he is yet). They even had a "kiss cam" during the - well here's another strange thing. There is no 7th inning stretch. It's at the end of the 6th inning instead. Kind of makes sense, it's closer to the middle of the game.

Well, that's about it on Korean baseball. I plan to go to lots more games and cheer on my team. They are playing at home this weekend so the plan is to hit the game on Saturday. That's all for now!














A round at the battin cages after the game: $0.50
A coke at the stadium: $1
Ice cream cone at the game: $1.50
Front row seats on first base line: $6
Seats right behind home plate: $8
Box seats with your own table, snacks, and bathroom: $14
Watching a game that transcends age, gender, language, culture, and geography: priceless