A Night Out

For the first week or so Caroline and I have had to rely on PC cafes in order to make contact with one another.  On our second night in Daegu we were able to meet at an Emart.  (Emarts are giant department stores and they exist all over the city.  Think Wal-Mart but with higher priced options as well).  We picked the one that looked like middle ground and both made our way there.  The plan was for each of us to just circle the building until our paths crossed.  (No cell phones.  Once you leave the PC Cafe you're basically just hoping for the best).  All goes swimmingly and we soon realize that our apartments are only about 2 miles apart.

The next night we decide to meet in my neighborhood for dinner.  There is a BBQ place on my street with outdoor seating, (probably a rarity here where everything is so crammed together).  We walk over and fumble our way through ordering food.  The food is good and cheap and I'm lucky enough to try some Beondegi.  Beondegi is boiled silkworm larvae.  It's then tossed in chili and garlic and served cold.  I found it quite tasty and I've been looking for it ever since.

Bugolgi

Beondegi

Just in case you think I'm fibbing, here's some photographic proof to my claims:

After dinner, we set out to explore a supermarket.  I have about 6 or 7 markets in my neighborhood but I only visit two.  My favorite is the 007 Mart, or the Bond Mark as I've affectionately named it.  The other market is called Power Mart.  Power Mart has more options and is more organized than the Bond Mart.  Shopping in South Korea is the only time I find myself feeling completely lost.  The larger markets are way too overwhelming and the smaller ones are difficult because I can't read Korean.  It becomes a guessing game and so far I've done alright, (that's not saying much though, I've been sticking to rice, noodles and other things that I can easily identify).

Caroline's new friend

$10!!! Disgust...

What's even more rotten than the price of peanut butter?  The bread situation here in Korean would make it almost impossible to eat the peanut butter anyway.  I've only seen white bread being enjoyed as a snack or dessert here.  They sell slices of it in places like the PC Cafe and the 7-11.  I've even witnessed half loaves of bread (not sliced) sitting in the center of a table while hungry diners tear through it with forks (not chopsticks). 

Bread may be a treat here in Korea but pastries of all kinds can be found in the cafes and bakeries.  We've even seen a gourmet doughnut shop while wandering around downtown.  I have two bakeries on my block, each one offering everything from traditional Korean rice cakes to loaves of white bread.  This leads me to my next experiment: The Korean Hot Dog Craze!  By craze I mean I've seen hot dogs in the craziest places and I am making it my goal to try each and every one of them. 

First up, the hot dog danish, courtesy of Paris Baguette.

Don't scoff at me

The First 5 Days

We've finally arrived in Daegu.  The first week is blurry.  I'll try to recount it as best as I can.

Monday:  Arrival!  I meet my Head Co-Teacher and we drive to my school so I can meet the principal.  We sit in his office for about 45 minutes.  He has a lot to say but whenever Grace (my head co-teacher) translates for me she only asks one single question.  I feel like I'm definitely missing something, but I'm told that the meeting is a success.  Now it's time to go to my apartment.  The streets are narrow and full of bikes, scooters, and kids.  We get lost a few times, but eventually we find the alley that leads me to my home.  The room is just that, a room.  It's very small and very old.  Enter Jin, another co-teacher.  She speaks English very well and after a long discussion with Grace (in Korean) she informs me that I will be moving into a new apartment on Wednesday.  I'm exhausted and hungry and I want to change my clothes so I just smile and nod politely.  Before I have a chance to catch my breath we're out the door and on the road.  Grace and Jin take me shopping for home supplies.  They take care of everything for me, I just push the cart and thank them.  It's getting late and we're all in need of food.  They take me to a Korean restaurant where they watch me use chopsticks with my left hand like I'm inventing fire right in front of their eyes.  Jin tells me that all Koreans are taught to eat and write with their right hands.  I'm now even more of a minority, (my friend Josh is also a southpaw and his co-teacher told him that only 5% of Koreans are lefties).  After dinner, they take me home and let me settle in.  I change my clothes and hit the street.  It's close to 11 but the neighborhood is lively and full of wonderful smells.  There is food being prepared and eaten everywhere.  I wander through Paldal Market for a bit and then I head home and surrender to sleep.

Tuesday:  Jin meets me at my apartment and walks me to school in the morning.  It takes about 3 minutes to walk to school.  Inji Elementary School is located right in the middle of Bisan 5, one of the poorest districts in the city.  Jin informs me that I will not be teaching this morning because of the typhoon that hit late in the night.  I guess I must have slept through it.  The day is quick and uneventful.  I spend most of it alone in my classroom.  By the middle of the afternoon word must have circulated that there was an American in the building.  I begin to notice little heads popping into the room and then disappearing when I turn to their direction.  By the time I leave I'm being surrounded by Korean children.  Every one of them wants a high five.  The other teachers laugh and escort me to the exit and the kids follow me home like I'm one of the Beatles.

Wednesday:  On Wednesday I teach five 5th grade classes.  I introduce myself to the kids and then take their questions.  Here are some of the best questions that I can remember:

1. How tall are you?

2. What's your blood type?

3. Do you speak Korean?

4. Why isn't your girlfriend Korean?

5. Have you had cosmetic surgery?

6. Do you like frogs?

My answers:

1. 175 cm and the crowd goes wild.

2. O+ Apparently this is a good blood type to have.  B is bad.  Go figure.

3. I speak very little Korean and the crowd goes wild.

4. Rather than getting into Caroline's family history I just shrug my shoulders and look confused.

5. No, this is just the way that I look.

6. Sure.  Frogs are fine.

Thursday:  I move into my new apartment.  My old place was a dump compared to this but I was willing to tough it out for as long as I needed to.  The new apartment is literally brand new.  I'm the first occupant and the whole place still smells like wet cement.  I can finally do my laundry. 

Friday:  Downtown Daegu here I come.  I meet up with Caroline and we head to the city center to meet our friends.  The five of us end up wandering around for most of the night trying to find a quiet place to drink a beer or three.  There are people and noise and lights and scooters and cars everywhere.  Somehow we end up sitting in an expat bar for an hour or so.  We also discover a BBQ place at the end of an alley that is cheap even by Korean standards.  All in all it's a successful Friday night.

Wildlife is scarce here in Daegu.  I rarely see anything other than (what I assume to be) feral cats.  No rabbits.  No squirrels.  No rats.  A bird from time to time.  However, on Friday night I was lucky enough to catch a Wild Square-Toed Josh.  These animals are not native to this part of the world, so I quickly captured some footage of this strange creature as it attempted to make some food.

A Village and a Temple

Orientation is halfway over.  It's served its purpose though.  We're all making friends.  We're learning more about teaching.  We're dreading the group project that we need to complete and present on the final day.  At night we eat spicy chicken and drink terrible beers at the local hof.  In the morning, we search for a solution to the Korean coffee desert and usually settle for cans of Nescafe.  Most of us are ready to get to our respective towns or cities to begin our teaching careers.  Sensing our restlessness, our class leaders have organized a group outing.  We're heading to the Jeonju Traditional Culture Center, Hanok Village, and Keumsan Temple.

The Jeonju Traditional Culture Center is first.  We get to play some Korean drums.  We participate in a traditional mask dance.  And we learn all about Hanji paper as we use it to make ourselves some nifty little pencils boxes.  A nice way to start the day.

Lunch is next.  I could write about it but what's the point.  I have pictures to tell the story for me.  Jeonju is famous for its Bibimbap.  We had some.  It was most excellent.

the table is set

 

the main dish

Lunch was over quickly.  The only bad to come from this was our complete and total inability to settle for the free cafeteria food for the remainder of the orientation program.  Thankfully, dining out is incredibly cheap here in Korea.

After lunch we had an hour to wonder around the Hanok Village.  Hanoks are traditionl Korean homes and they look like this:

Hanoks

The rest of the town was busy and full of tourists from all over the region.  Caroline and I went looking for a shrine but we settled for ice cream instead.  The shrine was pretty expensive and ice cream is much cheaper. 

From the village we boarded our bus and rode along a narrow mountain road up to Keumsan Temple.  The complex consisted of about a dozen buildings, each one ornately decorated and holding it's own special significance.



The main courtyard

The backyard

Attention to detail

The regulars

There were hundreds of these guys.

This guy told the best jokes

Jeonju

The first week of our year in Korea will be spent at Jeonju University learning all about how to teach English to Korean students.  That's basically all there is to say about it.  We're going to 4 lectures a day, eating cafeteria food, sleeping with roommates in dorms, and most people are walking to the closest bar each night and drinking until curfew.  In between classes I've been wandering around Jeonju.  Here are some pictures of what I've stumbled upon.

The Place for Superstars

my first purchase

I like the blue rooftops

view from my room

Yowzah!

downtown, I think

Pretty exciting stuff right?  Unfortunately, we've been spending most of our time in the classrooms.  Lectures begin at 9am and they end at 9pm.  Trying to explore the city after 12 hours of class is pretty tough.  Most of us just stick close to the campus.  I promise not to update again unless I have something worthwhile. 

Korea, we have arrived!

After a hectic final week of packing, (slacking), saying goodbye to our friends, and eating at our favorite Chicago establishments Caroline and I have successfully arrived in South Korea.  Here's a breakdown of how and why we almost never made it:

1.  The two of us are so "excited" for our 15 hour plane ride that we check in at the wrong United counter at O'Hare.  Instead of using the International kiosk, we accidentally check in for a domestic flight creating anxiety number 1--will our luggage arrive in Korea?

2.  After repacking our luggage so that it would adhere to the weight limits we head for security.  Upon arriving at security we realize that Caroline does not have both of her boarding passes.  We head back to the United kiosk and they print out a new one.

3.  We arrive at our gate only to find out that our airplane is having a mechanical issue and our flight is being delayed indefinitely.  Panic sets in.  Anxieties 2-8 pop up--what if we miss our connecting flight in SF?  where will our bags end up?  how can we get in touch with our contacts in Korea and so on and so on...

4.  It's been almost an hour since we were scheduled to depart and we finally receive some information about the mechanical problem our plane is having.  It turns out that the landing gear is leaking fluid so this particular plane will not be flying anywhere.  Luckily, Saturdays are not heavy traffic days so United is able to pull another (presumably safe) airplane around for us.  We rush to the new gate and board.

5. I'm sitting in my seat as Caroline passes me in the cabin.  She waves and unknowingly drops all of her boarding passes and her passport on the floor behind her.  Thankfully someone notices and returns these (extremely important) items to her.  She laughs and I shake my head.  This brings me to anxiety number 9--will Caroline make it to Korea with all of her valuables?  (She did and I've been teasing her about this relentlessly).

6. San Francisco is a blur.  We land.  Rush off of the plane.  Rush over to the International Terminal.  Breeze through security.  Rush to our gate and learn that our flight has been delayed for an hour while the crew finishes cleaning the cabin.  Bummer, but at this point we're just glad to have not missed our connection and happy to hear that the plane is only dirty, not without a landing gear.  Anticipation begins to take hold.

7. Our aircraft is clean and ready to house us for the next 12 hours.  The flight is smooth and mostly uneventful.  I spend my time watching Korean cartoons and studying survival phrases.  The guy in front of me watches The Hunger Games.  The girl to my left keeps falling asleep and jabbing me in the foot.  The girl on my right is watching KPop videos.  When dinner is served I choose the Korean dish, Bibimbap.  My tray has many components and I'm not sure what they all do so I mimic the girl on my right.  The meal is pretty good.  It consisted of rice, vegetables, noodles, and kimchi.  Somehow I am able to fall asleep.  When I wake up my legs are so cramped that I can barely stand.  We're about 3 hours away from Incheon so I turn on the TV and watch a movie.

8. Incheon airport.  We've landed.  We can finally exhale.  We have two simple tasks ahead of us, exchange some money and check in at the EPIK counter.  First, we go through immigration, then we claim our bags and head through customs.  I've never been through customs before and I expect it to take some time however we're only asked to hand over a piece of paper stating whether or not we have anything that needs to be claimed.  They don't even check our bags.  It's off to terminal A to meet the EPIK team.

9. Terminal A is on the opposite side of the airport and the airport is massive.  A little boy in a SF Giants hat stops to stare at me.  I motion to his hat and he laughs and runs away.  I probably looked like a giant.  The EPIK team checks us in and then loads us onto a bus.  There are about 30 of us and we're all heading to a city called Jeonju.  Jeonju is 3 hours away.  It's back to sitting in small seats, cramped and basting in my own filthy clothes.  The airport is on an island and the bridge that leads us to the mainland spans a gigantic bay.  I try to take a picture but it's dark and rainy so it doesn't come out.  It was truly a sight though, I promise.  Incheon is also sprawled along the coast and it is bright and colorful.  I see billboards in Korean and it finally settles in.  We've made it.  We're here.