Thursday, July 9, 2009
Clearly I am not keeping up as much as either of us would like but....
When I first got here I spent a lot of my time wandering around and hitting all the tourist spots. One of the sights here is Martyr's Mountain. It is a small mountain where the first catholic martyr's are now buried. In the 17th Century (I think) there was a Korean man and his family who were converted to Catholicism and became very devout but when Korean rule changed (which happened often) Catholicism was outlawed and this man and his family were beheaded because they refused to denounce their religion. The father's head was hung on the gates in front of the church that I photographed in the last group of photos. Now they are all buried along the side of the mountain that I have portrayed in the next group of photos. It is quite a trek and is supposed to symbolize the suffering that these people went through.
I spent the entire day and walked along the river from my apartment. I walked back through an old neighborhood and there are some photos of the interesting walkways and abandoned houses included. Have fun!
When I first got here I spent a lot of my time wandering around and hitting all the tourist spots. One of the sights here is Martyr's Mountain. It is a small mountain where the first catholic martyr's are now buried. In the 17th Century (I think) there was a Korean man and his family who were converted to Catholicism and became very devout but when Korean rule changed (which happened often) Catholicism was outlawed and this man and his family were beheaded because they refused to denounce their religion. The father's head was hung on the gates in front of the church that I photographed in the last group of photos. Now they are all buried along the side of the mountain that I have portrayed in the next group of photos. It is quite a trek and is supposed to symbolize the suffering that these people went through.
I spent the entire day and walked along the river from my apartment. I walked back through an old neighborhood and there are some photos of the interesting walkways and abandoned houses included. Have fun!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Okay, so, this is not at easy as it looks. Plus, I'm lazy. I prefer to sit around and do nothing when I'm inside rather than write and upload pictures and junk but I miss my family and friends back home so, perhaps you are missing me.... ?
Last weekend I went with Jared (another teacher) to Hanok Village and found about 100,000 beautiful things that I want to buy-eventually. There are some beautiful crafts here. Hanji paper is one of Jeonju's most noted arts and there are about 1 million stores that sell Hanji paper products in Hanok Village. We spent several hours wandering around and checking out all the artistic shops in this traditional-themed village. I also took many, many pictures, so...Yay-ay!
Something I found really interesting is that foreigners are kind of like celebrities here. Jared is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed, corn-fed American and he stuck out like, well, an american in South Korea. That got us a lot of attention. Children flocked to him like Jesus shouting every possible English word they could come up with. It was awesome! I, however, felt a little more like Justin Timberlake's entourage but, whatev', it was still fun. Apparently, Koreans are not always sure if I'm foreign or just the foreigners' Korean friend.
I posted some pictures for you to check out. I'm obviously fascinated by the traditional architecture. It is way may colorful and artistic than anything we have at home. Have fun! More soon!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Okay. So I’ve been a little lax on my blog writing. Worse yet, I’ve hardly taken any pictures to share with you but I have been doing a little adventuring so…
Thursday night some of the other teachers invited us newbies to dinner at a VERY Korean-feeling restaurant. There was graffiti on the walls, we were served rice wine in over-sized teapots and watched as they cut up live octopus at our table!
Ya. I know. It’s so not PETA-friendly but it’s an experience I’m glad I did not miss. I’ll bet you didn’t know that the octopus still moves after it’s been cut up…. AND the tentacles still work. After watching that, there is really nothing left that can traumatize me-I think. Ben (he’s been here 2 years) was sitting next to me and explained that when you eat a piece you can feel the tentacles grabbing onto your tongue. So…. I had to try it. Yes. I did. I’ll have to admit though that it took quite a few minutes for me to maneuver the squiggling thing into my mouth and by that time I think it had already surrendered to it’s fate. I did not feel the sucking on my tongue. (Too bad that would have been the most action I’ve had in a while. Ha ha.) I tried to build up the courage to try it again with a fresher piece but, alas, the moment had passed. In case you want to know…it had the texture of fresh squid and it was seasoned with sesame oil, so it tasted pretty good.
I also tried cow lung the other day. Ryan (the one from Seattle) and I found a Kalbi BBQ and it was DEEEEElicious. I can totally see why Koreans protested when the government tried to import American beef. The quality here is superb! Perhaps that’s because their meat is not pumped with antibiotics, formaldehyde and anti-depressants! J/K on the formaldehyde-maybe, I’m not sure. Whatever the reason, the meat is really good here. The meal came complete with all kinds of side dishes like kim-chi and blood soup and radishes of all kinds + cow lung cooked in egg batter! I had to stick to my “Yes, Man” theory and at least try it. The egg coating was good but it is extremely rubbery. I don’t recommend you try that one at home. The blood soup tasted like, well, blood-yick! Otherwise, it was well worth the 17,000 Won. That’s pretty expensive for dinner around here but it equates to about $20 which is less than it would cost at home. The owner was super nice and brought us a Coke (actually Pepsi) on the house.
Eating at home is not as exciting. Lots of ramen and sandwiches but I’m getting better at finding the goodies. I went wandering around on Saturday night sampling all kinds of ice cream and pastries. Too bad, though… I was really hoping to lose weight here. You learn the true meaning of “American Thighs” when you try on a pair of pants in Korea. RRRrrrrrrriiiiiiippp!
Thursday night some of the other teachers invited us newbies to dinner at a VERY Korean-feeling restaurant. There was graffiti on the walls, we were served rice wine in over-sized teapots and watched as they cut up live octopus at our table!
Ya. I know. It’s so not PETA-friendly but it’s an experience I’m glad I did not miss. I’ll bet you didn’t know that the octopus still moves after it’s been cut up…. AND the tentacles still work. After watching that, there is really nothing left that can traumatize me-I think. Ben (he’s been here 2 years) was sitting next to me and explained that when you eat a piece you can feel the tentacles grabbing onto your tongue. So…. I had to try it. Yes. I did. I’ll have to admit though that it took quite a few minutes for me to maneuver the squiggling thing into my mouth and by that time I think it had already surrendered to it’s fate. I did not feel the sucking on my tongue. (Too bad that would have been the most action I’ve had in a while. Ha ha.) I tried to build up the courage to try it again with a fresher piece but, alas, the moment had passed. In case you want to know…it had the texture of fresh squid and it was seasoned with sesame oil, so it tasted pretty good.
I also tried cow lung the other day. Ryan (the one from Seattle) and I found a Kalbi BBQ and it was DEEEEElicious. I can totally see why Koreans protested when the government tried to import American beef. The quality here is superb! Perhaps that’s because their meat is not pumped with antibiotics, formaldehyde and anti-depressants! J/K on the formaldehyde-maybe, I’m not sure. Whatever the reason, the meat is really good here. The meal came complete with all kinds of side dishes like kim-chi and blood soup and radishes of all kinds + cow lung cooked in egg batter! I had to stick to my “Yes, Man” theory and at least try it. The egg coating was good but it is extremely rubbery. I don’t recommend you try that one at home. The blood soup tasted like, well, blood-yick! Otherwise, it was well worth the 17,000 Won. That’s pretty expensive for dinner around here but it equates to about $20 which is less than it would cost at home. The owner was super nice and brought us a Coke (actually Pepsi) on the house.
Eating at home is not as exciting. Lots of ramen and sandwiches but I’m getting better at finding the goodies. I went wandering around on Saturday night sampling all kinds of ice cream and pastries. Too bad, though… I was really hoping to lose weight here. You learn the true meaning of “American Thighs” when you try on a pair of pants in Korea. RRRrrrrrrriiiiiiippp!
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Even the frogs speak Korean!
May 13, 2009
Yesterday was my first day at work and I was, well, totally overwhelmed. There is so much to learn, memorize, prepare for and my brain was feeling like the jelly I smuggled from the airplane-tiny and mutilated by a chopstick. But I got through it and dragged my tired body back home. I was asleep before I could even finish my dinner.
Which turned out to be great because this morning I finally slept in until 9:00! I know it sounds weird but we don’t start work here until 3pm and end at 10…ish, so getting up at 7 am was just not going to cut it.
I went for a run alongside the river and it was a trip. I’m sorry I didn’t take my camera but I will next time. There were centipedes everywhere and bugs I had never seen before. I kept swatting and darting away from them as I walked until I the thought crossed my mind that someone might have me arrested as a crazy American. I love hiking and such and it felt good to be able to do something I’m familiar with but I still felt estranged. When down by the water I realized that even the frogs speak Korean… Eoooooor…aeppuk! Walking on the trail, I saw that EVERY single female was wearing an extra large visor! You know the one… the one that covers almost your entire head? PLUS… they were all wearing swine flu masks of some sort. ALL of them. And there were a lot of people out there. I guess they were uber-concerned about their skin and their… sinuses? I’m not sure. Maybe they heard an American was heading out there this morning and they didn’t want to risk being infected by my “pig” germs. Whatever, it was weird, yet they were all staring at me as if I was the strange one.
And the “gymmer” equipment was out there too. Just a few random Nautilus machines hanging out beside the river… whatever. So I used them again today. Why not? I felt like part of the crowd AND I need the exercise sleeping on this torturous mattress. I can’t even sleep on my side and cuddle with my piwow ‘cuz it hurts! No wonder Asians are so uptight! Ha, just kidding, self.
Anyway, work was better today. I’m feeling much more confident than I did yesterday. I think the extra bit of sleep helped. I even got a little desk in the middle of the supply table but I have to fight for my space every time I return from the classroom to find my desk overrun by staplers and hole-punchers. It’s ok. They will all fear me soon enough. Ah hah hah.
Yesterday was my first day at work and I was, well, totally overwhelmed. There is so much to learn, memorize, prepare for and my brain was feeling like the jelly I smuggled from the airplane-tiny and mutilated by a chopstick. But I got through it and dragged my tired body back home. I was asleep before I could even finish my dinner.
Which turned out to be great because this morning I finally slept in until 9:00! I know it sounds weird but we don’t start work here until 3pm and end at 10…ish, so getting up at 7 am was just not going to cut it.
I went for a run alongside the river and it was a trip. I’m sorry I didn’t take my camera but I will next time. There were centipedes everywhere and bugs I had never seen before. I kept swatting and darting away from them as I walked until I the thought crossed my mind that someone might have me arrested as a crazy American. I love hiking and such and it felt good to be able to do something I’m familiar with but I still felt estranged. When down by the water I realized that even the frogs speak Korean… Eoooooor…aeppuk! Walking on the trail, I saw that EVERY single female was wearing an extra large visor! You know the one… the one that covers almost your entire head? PLUS… they were all wearing swine flu masks of some sort. ALL of them. And there were a lot of people out there. I guess they were uber-concerned about their skin and their… sinuses? I’m not sure. Maybe they heard an American was heading out there this morning and they didn’t want to risk being infected by my “pig” germs. Whatever, it was weird, yet they were all staring at me as if I was the strange one.
And the “gymmer” equipment was out there too. Just a few random Nautilus machines hanging out beside the river… whatever. So I used them again today. Why not? I felt like part of the crowd AND I need the exercise sleeping on this torturous mattress. I can’t even sleep on my side and cuddle with my piwow ‘cuz it hurts! No wonder Asians are so uptight! Ha, just kidding, self.
Anyway, work was better today. I’m feeling much more confident than I did yesterday. I think the extra bit of sleep helped. I even got a little desk in the middle of the supply table but I have to fight for my space every time I return from the classroom to find my desk overrun by staplers and hole-punchers. It’s ok. They will all fear me soon enough. Ah hah hah.
May 11th-Still on delay
May 11, 2009-Monday
I woke up at 7:00am this morning. I don’t know what kind of timing that is because that would be 3:00pm back home-Whatever. I was up, so, I made my breakfast of eggs and oddly shaped bread with teaspoon of jelly that I smuggled from the airplane.
I was smart enough to bring cooking spray so my eggs were just the way I like them-sunny side up and virtually fat-free but I had to giggle as I spread the jelly on my bread with a chopstick. I called my mom to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day and I got a little sad when she said “OK, phone calls are expensive so-Bye!” but she’s right… I guess L
I finished the rest of my usual morning ritual, put on some workout clothes and headed outside. I walk/jogged around the city for 2 hours watching the city wake up. I discovered a bunch of tiny little details by accident, such as: taxis will always honk at walkers to see if they need a ride not because they think you’re cute; you should pass other pedestrians on the left, not on the right or they will knock you over with a dirty look; and, if a coffee shop looks “American,” expect to trade them your arm to pay for it!
Another interesting bit of knowledge is that “working out” at the park does not just mean walking the trails. There is actual gym equipment in the park!....Outside! There are “Gymmer” machines in every park I’ve seen so far. Since I don’t have a gym membership anymore and my back was killing me after the plane ride I went ahead and started working out. Luckily, I found a park near the Korean Sports Training Center that was surrounded by trees and blocked off from the street. I was able to work out in peace and even found some coins that someone had lost while they were working out. Good thing I did not brag yesterday, huh?
I woke up at 7:00am this morning. I don’t know what kind of timing that is because that would be 3:00pm back home-Whatever. I was up, so, I made my breakfast of eggs and oddly shaped bread with teaspoon of jelly that I smuggled from the airplane.
I was smart enough to bring cooking spray so my eggs were just the way I like them-sunny side up and virtually fat-free but I had to giggle as I spread the jelly on my bread with a chopstick. I called my mom to wish her a Happy Mother’s Day and I got a little sad when she said “OK, phone calls are expensive so-Bye!” but she’s right… I guess L
I finished the rest of my usual morning ritual, put on some workout clothes and headed outside. I walk/jogged around the city for 2 hours watching the city wake up. I discovered a bunch of tiny little details by accident, such as: taxis will always honk at walkers to see if they need a ride not because they think you’re cute; you should pass other pedestrians on the left, not on the right or they will knock you over with a dirty look; and, if a coffee shop looks “American,” expect to trade them your arm to pay for it!
Another interesting bit of knowledge is that “working out” at the park does not just mean walking the trails. There is actual gym equipment in the park!....Outside! There are “Gymmer” machines in every park I’ve seen so far. Since I don’t have a gym membership anymore and my back was killing me after the plane ride I went ahead and started working out. Luckily, I found a park near the Korean Sports Training Center that was surrounded by trees and blocked off from the street. I was able to work out in peace and even found some coins that someone had lost while they were working out. Good thing I did not brag yesterday, huh?
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