Red Light District/ Market

Since it was Korea's independence day on Wednesday, all schools (and thus, all teachers) got the day off! I decided to go to this market I had heard about near Suwon Station. As has been the current trend, I started out alone but ended up walking around with two people I met in the market. I also ended up having a good time and we went for galbi. Of course, the days events were pretty depressing considering some of the things we saw and the places we went (red light district, mistreating baby animals, not nice stuff). But the company was enjoyable. I'm liking this independence thing that has come along with my move to Korea- I can just up and go at a moment's notice! Here are some pics from my day...


This picture doesn't do the size of this dog justice. I mean, his head alone was MASSIVE. I think he's a Korean dog... he looked more like a wolf than a dog, to be honest. Or maybe I just wanted my picture taken with him because I miss my own dog. Who knows.

Fresh squid anyone?
Mmmmmmmm, delicious galbi shared with new people whom I met at the Market (we whites tend to stick out in a crowd).
Ingedong at night (downtown Suwon)

We decided to take a stroll through one of the two red light districts in my city. Prostitutes sit in these curtained windows at night to invite potential customers into the... for lack of a better word... whorehouse.
One of the alleys in the red light district. There were women sitting in bras waiting for men, even in the middle of the afternoon.
Apparently, one barber pole means you can just get a haircut and a shave. However, two barber poles side by side means that you can get a shave, a haircut, and a sexy massage. Lovely.

These baby bunnies looked so scared! It was one of the saddest things I've ever seen, and the guy who was selling them kept throwing them around by the ears. He cut out tube socks to make the bunny shirts, and they were so tight the bunnies could hardly move. I almost punched the man in the face, but I remembered that a lot of White people end up in jail for punching Koreans so I just walked away.
The poor little beeble (to use Ror and sar's terminology).

Street shot of the Market near Suwon Station.

Hwaseong Fortress/Insadong

Myung Ho et Moi.

Myung Ho! What a guy. We sang the Beatles in a watchtower, and he drank two big bottles of rice wine.
His friend never said a word to us; he was passed out the whole time (2 PM).

This weekend I was so busy! I'm really not used to having "weekends" off, having worked in random touristy places all my life, but it didn't take me long to get used to this sweet life. On Saturday I made the trek across my city to Hwaseong Fortress- it's about the same age as the Halifax Citadel. The day was so beautiful, and was so unlike the weather I've been seeing every day (they told me monsoon season was over; liars), and so I wandered around the old part of the city until I found it. The pics are down below. I eventually met up with a few other teachers and we hung around one of the watchposts pretty much all afternoon. We made friends with a drunk Korean man who had a guitar- he was great! (see above). The fortress is actually a pretty happenin' spot. There are always people hanging out- I'm definitely going back!

On Sunday me and several of the teachers at my school went to Insadong, which is pretty much a traditional Korean market in Seoul. It had so much stuff, I must say- for the first time I felt a little overwhelmed to be shopping (the feeling quickly passed). We went to a lot of cool shops and I got a few little gifts for people (Zaphy, I need your mailing address!). The coolest was probably the traditional Korean ceramic shops. The tea sets were absolute works of art. Pics are below! Aunt Colleen would have thought she died and gone to heaven- there was jewellry everywhere.

Charlene helping the old man pound rice for cakes in Insadong. You can see Andy and Drew in the background waiting for us... rather impatiently, I might add.
Sign in front of a store in Insadong- they must be starving.
My turn to pound rice. It was about as exciting as it sounds!

The jewellry made me drool.
I did purchase some tea, and it's probably the best herbal tea I've ever tasted. I got a bunch for Mom because apparently it's very good for diabetes ( the phamplet also said veneral diseases (?!) how could a tea make you feel better about having one of those?). Anyway, this woman whose hand you see in the picture gave me and Charlene all kinds of information and lots of samples. Who knew tea could be so exciting? I'm actually planning to go to the annual tea festival in May (btw, this tea is made from Hydrangea leaves- it's naturally sweet!).
Insadong before the rain.
Insadong after the rain.

The bell of Filial Piety: what does Filial Piety mean, you may ask? I have absolutely no idea, and am rather lazy about finding out. All I know is, Suwon seems to be the land of Filial Piety and we have a huge bell that you can toll for 1000 won (I think it was worth it). The first toll is for expressing love and gratitude to my parents- here ya go Mom and Dad :)

The second is for the continued health and prosperity of my family...

and the third is all about meeeee and being selfish (realizing my personal goals and dreams).

This is the view of Suwon from the top of the fortress.
This is one of the many paths available to trek up the mountain.

The gate! Not the entire fortress.

The long way up (please turn head sideways to get proper effect).

Soooo I had an amazing weekend! We ended Sunday with the best Indian buffet I have ever eaten (my apologies to Ms. Gupta in Wolfville). The food was unending, and the restaurant-owner's Father regailed us with Indian/Bangladeshi stories. More later!

Minor Annoyances

Here is my new table, found in the garbage outside my apartment building (it was love at first sight).

Today has been a good day so far. My Kindergartens were great, and it's really been easy to get into their usual routine without too many "But Mees Janine! Mees Kerri does thees instead!"'s. My ESL kids are another story! The book is confusing, there's too much of a grey area in their routine, and the kids are coming to me directly from school so they definitely don't want to listen to me- and they're English is not as great as the much younger children I see every day. It's hard, but this is what I've signed up for and I expect nothing less! I'd probably be ready for a nap if I had been in regular school all day and then had to come to English school. My favourite students so far have turned out to be the students who struggle with the language, which is surprising. I think I just don't want them to think they're any worse than the smartest students in the class, and I definitely don't want them to think they're dumb- these kids work really hard.

The blogging thing is getting to me- or, I guess I should say my lack of knowledge of blogging is getting to me. I want to be able to change the settings but the webpage here is all in Korean, so all I can do is blindly click on random things until I get to my blog. It blows... I can't figure out how to translate the page!

On a brighter note, I've had a successful first garbage haul- translation: Koreans throw out anything that is out of style or of no use to them anymore, regardless of it's condition. So a few days ago I came across a really cool mahogony table that was just leaning against my building with a garbage tag on it. So I took it. I'll post a picture if I ever get my luggage from Korean customs- another source of slight annoyance. But my apartment is looking better! All I need is some stuff for my walls and some houseplants. And a cat? Maybe in my dreams.

My First Few Days on the Job

Well, it's now Wednesday and I've been teaching on my own since Monday. I think I'm starting to get the hang of things! I'm discovering, along with needing a solid routine in order to get through your day, that teaching is a lot more enjoyable than I thought it would be. Honestly, in mental preparation for my first week I was remembering my past babysitting experiences- admittedly, the bad babysitting experiences. I knew the other teachers enjoyed the time spent with their kids, but I thought, while watching them teach, that they must be much more patient than I am- I definitely didn't think I would be as good a teacher!

Right now, while I'm still not so sure how good I am, I'm surprised at how I'm able to enjoy myself. The kids really are wonderful, and they're smart and they know the rules- I must say, better than I do. While I want to tear my hair out at times, I am usually enjoying myself and I like to think the kids are too!

As for the living situation, I found a veeeery suitable home for Milhouse (now known as "Fozzie") with a fellow teacher friend and her boyfriend. Kim fell for Milhouse...ahem, Fozzie... immediately, having not been around for the week he was living at my house, and immediately took him back to her and her boyfriend's apartment. I still see the guy every day and he seems so happy in his new home, so I'm very glad. Now I'm craving some feline company, but I'll just take it in stride and hope the feeling passes!

I'm feeling much more at home in my neighbourhood and city. I'm not afraid of getting into cabs or ordering food anymore, because all of the Koreans I've met so far have been nothing short of amazing and considerate concerning my lack of knowledge of the Korean language (except "thank you"- that word has been my safety net). I can't tell you the number of times I've ended up laughing hysterically with a cab driver over my terrible pronounciation. In fact, I think the cab drivers in "Happy Suwon" deserve an entire blog article. I'll write it up one of these days.

My luggage is on it's way to me, finally. It's stuck in Incheon Airport at the moment with customs, so lets hope all the stuff my mom sent actually gets to me and not to a Korean customs worker who decided they liked the look of my clothes and deodorant. I go on my Visa Run at some point this month and am looking forward to an all expenses paid trip to Japan, however short lived it will be. I miss you guys! Oh, good luck in your Canadian travels Mandy. More soon.

Where my bitches at?

The other day, a few fellow teachers sent me a text message letting me know they'd be stopping in for a visit. What they didn't tell me was that they would be bringing me a "present". With my friends sauntered in a dirty, tiny poodle who looked exactly like a rat bred with a sheep. "What an ugly dog" was the first thing I thought. Then I thought he looked thirsty. I gave him a bowl of water which he downed in 30 seconds, and a handful of cheese which he also enjoyed. Then we took a walk down to a grooming place. I bought him a little harness and got him cleaned up. He looked a little better. The next day I started researching shelters, but animal shelters in Korea is a bit of a sketch topic. I left notes on random Ex-Pat websites. Then I took him to the vet. "What is his name?" asked the super nice vet. "His name is Milhouse", was my noncholant reply. "Miii.... Hauuu?" asked the vet, clearly confused with the pronounciation. "Sure", I said.

The vet told me he would need to be neutered. That he'd probably been on the streets for about a month. That he was anywhere between three and eight years old, he had an ear infection, and his teeth were in bad shape. I took him home again and we hung out on the roof with other teachers, who took to him immediately. He doesn't like to be away from me, and seems constantly worried that I'll abandon him; it's kinda heartbreaking. Admittedly, I have grown fond of the little guy. He's so grateful for being given a roof over his little head and water to drink. He doesn't like his dog food though, and something about his total health (even though he has no outright issues) worries me.

Anyway, this has led me to take a look at how people treat they're dogs in Korea. Generally, the kind of dog you see is Pekenese (sp?). The people here like to dye their dog's fur random fun colours, which looks funky but probably does the dog no health favours. They love they're dogs, and indeed, even my ugly little poodle has been getting a lot of positive attention from the general public. The biggest thing I've noticed is that all the dogs here are... well, male. Not a bitch to be found. What does this mean?! I always knew that boy babies are held more reverently than girl babies, but does that extend to the realm of dogs too? I was waiting for Milhouse to get groomed, all the while surrounded by other dogs waiting for their owners to come get them. They were all boys! And not just boy dogs, but metrosexual boy dogs. I'm talking boy dogs with pink dye in circles on their cheeks to make it look like they're wearing blush. With pigtails. And little sweaters. I admit, I got Milhouse a bandana, but only because I thought he needed to look a little more badass. I just can't figure this dog business out.

I wonder what Milhouse's life was like before he found me. I think he was abused, because sometimes when I go to pat him on the head he cringes and puts his tail between his legs. I also think he was raised on people food- there is just no other explanation as to why he won't eat his dog food!

Can you believe I just rambled on for that long about dogs? Oh to be back in the land of Bernese Mountain Dogs and Golden Retrievers and Border Collies! Dogs that are dogs. I'm not saying I'm unhappy here, I just think that is one part of life that is simply nonexistent in Korea- the life of big, beautiful, furry dogs. I like Milhouse and all, but I must candidly express that I am caring for him out of pity more than any other reason. Anyone in Canada need a dog? With my luck he'll probably be on the plane back with me next July.

Getting Settled

So today I was on my own and had to take the "dreaded" walk to school. I'm not sure if anyone realizes coming into Korea exactly what they're getting themselves into- I sure didn't. And not in a bad way, just in a "wow, there's no way I could have ever known this without having previously been to Korea" kind of way. Firstly, one is usually under the impression that all Koreans love English and will go out of there way, if not to speak, at least to have certain menus and signs translated into English. Not so much. Sometimes, on things like a bottle of coke, there will be Korean on one side of the bottle and English on the other side, but I think that's mostly for copyright purposes. So on the whole, I'm feeling a little timid about going into a store or restaurant alone and ordering a meal or buying an item.

Also, the driving- as I have mentioned- is crazy. So crazy that one, in my opinion, is not even safe on the sidewalk, let alone a crosswalk. So I have been very timid about leaving my apartment and walking down the street (my fellow Canadians assure me this will pass).

I've gone way off track. Even though I was dreading walking to work today, it turns out I didn't even have to. Having slept for about 15 hours (from 7PM to about 9:30AM), I was just getting dressed and getting my makeup on when my doorbell rang. I wondered who it could have possibly be, since no one knows where I live, and it turned out to be Jay!

I really like Jay. He's the school's financial dude, and speaks very little English. Having said this, I have understood everything he's attempted to tell me over the last few days, which is a lot, and he's absolutely hilarious. Like, I don't have to fake laughing at his jokes (he often gestures so I understand what he's saying). He was there to pick me up from the airport, and on the way back we went through an entire repretoire of Korean music- the staples: the cheesey Korean ballad (very karaoke, or in Korea- NORABANG!), the Korean Gangsta Rap, the American song translated into cheesey Korean ballad, and finally American 80's music (think the Wedding Singer soundtrack). Then Jay brought me to my apartment and pretended to throw a fit when I mistakenly walked into my apartment with my shoes on- "No, Janine No! I clean, I clean!". When I told him he had dropped some money on the floor he explained that in Korea it's good luck to have money on the floor of a new apartment- something about well wishing and prosperity. Then he took me to E-Mart (the equivilant of WalMart) and helped me buy makeup, which was hilarious because he was the one who had to speak to the saleslady.

Anyways, I thought Jay deserved a proper introduction because Gad knows I'll be talking about him in the future! What a card.

The First Ten Things I Noticed About Korea:

1. This doesn't really have anything to do with Korea, but the planes from China look exactly like the planes from Russia. Coincidence?

2. The toilets at Incheon International Airport have seats that spin, so that they are sanitized for each new user- very nice!

3. There is ivy covering entire mountainsides- it makes everything look incredibly green and lush.

4. If I thought driving on the 401 in Ontario was scary, it was nothing compared to driving on ANY Korean highway. I'm still shaking from the experience.

5. Koreans are mad about golf, but there are very few courses in the country itself. Driving ranges, on the other hand, are everywhere and the nets go so high one wonders if anyone is ever able to drive a ball like that. It might be helpful for the big egos.

6. As you drive by busy highways, you can see ancient family burial grounds on the side of the road.

7. The sides of the road are landscaped! With shrubberies! And sometimes flowers.

8. My bathroom, as expected, has no shower- just the nozzle and a drain in the floor.

9. Koreans are the sweetest people alive! So so so so so so so nice.

10. I'm homesick and jet lagged and am experiencing culture shock I never thought I would experience. But I'll get over it.

Pictures will follow! Love you all.

The countdown is on. Shit.

I got a phone call last night from my school's director saying he arranged my flight and I'd be going in less than a week! I knew that this was a possibility, but for some reason i didn't really think I'd be leaving that soon. I'm finishing up my current job tomorrow, getting all of my stuff packed (somehow- there's a lot of it), and heading to Halifax where I'll be flying out. I doubt there will be time to have a proper send off- probably no pub nights out with close friends, and definitely not going out to visit my vast number of family members.

Am I leaving with any reservations? Not really. I've been reading other ex-pat's blogs constantly, trying to get my head around what I'll be experiencing in less than a week. My main worries include: my quick Visa Run over to Japan, jet lag, not having anyone to show me around, and not having enough money with me. Even with all these little worries at the back of my mind, I know deep down that I'll be fine, and I won't have problems meeting people or getting around. I have one friend, Scott, who is 15 minutes away, and another friend, Clint, who is in Seoul (just a subway ride away). So bring on South Korea. I'm excited for the change of scenery!

People I'll miss: Mom and Dad, Rory and Sar, Matt and Margret, Zaphyl, Mandy, Andie, Moni, Stef, Shellbell, David Rankin, and countless other Acadia people. And my Aunts and Uncles. They're pretty great.

People I won't miss: Jerkface tourists, a certain co-worker, awkward past flings, the blackflies at my house, and the town of Baddeck in general. Stay tuned as the last comment may change as the year goes by (but I doubt it).