Bills, Bills, Bills

For the entire first year I was here the school collected our bills, paid them and charged us one lump sum at the end of the month. Once we added 4 teachers and the respective students, ours bills got to be too much for our lone accountant. When I was first told I would be in charge of paying my bills, I was sincerely distraught thinking of the Korean website I would be putting my US credit card info into or (god forbid) the idea of needing envelopes and stamps to mail cash or get checks from the bank. But Korea has evolved well beyond such things. Just follow these simple steps:
1. Walk into the bank.
2. Find the special bill machine, which you are quickly lead to by your friendly neighborhood English speaking security guard when you walk in holding a bill and looking confused.
3. Insert bank card.
4. Insert bill.
5. Press two buttons and a receipt prints for your confirmation of payment.

Downfall = have to go in during bank hours....but I still think it's pretty sweet.

Who needs a pet store....

when you can buy a bunny in the subway?

RENT

Saw the tour of RENT yesterday with the original Mark and Roger. I cried. The lovely Sara made this absolutely fabulous video of our fun jaunt in musical land. <3

The Sounds Around Me

When one thinks of the most common neighborhood sounds that would keep you up at night slamming doors and crying babies comes to mind. But not in Korea. I have found that the most common tread is people awakened by cat fights (literal cat fights) outside their window. Sometimes I'm worried because I think it's a baby crying or kids screaming until you hear the hiss at the end. It can get pretty crazy intense.

In High Tide and In Low Tide

Muuido has quite the interesting aesthetic. A small island off the coast of Incheon in the Yellow Sea, we were able to take the airport bus, plus a 15 min bus to a 5 min ferry to get there. Once stepping foot on the island, the Megans (Megan 1 & Meaghan 2) and I had exhausted the extent of our planning, so we just started to walk. According the posted map there was a hiking trail that would take us to the beach on the other side of the island. With little understanding of where we were we started up the stairs. Almost two hours later we completed a circle back to where we started and hopped on the $1 bus instead.

Once we hit the beach we searched for the tent rentals to no avail, and so were stuck paying $40 bucks for a beach side hut no bigger then a tree house. A rip off to say the least, but we did have a nice view. We were warned that it wasn't really a beach beach, but I wasn't sure how to interpret that. Turns out at low tide the water retreats for a good mile or so. All you can see is a big sandy mud pit. We settled into the dry sand anyway and all took a nap. By the time we were looking up again the water had started to creep in. I would say it took about a half hour before you could go swimming just fifty feet away from where we set up camp. It was crazy.

Diner consisted of my first sea shell grill session. It was crazy. When you put the shells on the grill they start to slowly open then they spit and pop. Lots of laughing and screeching was going on at our table as we attempted to man the grill and eat some crazy "meat" inside those bad boys, all while wearing a Michael Jackson glove. We even eat conchs. Just throw it on the grill and then pull it right out. It tasted nasty though.

We returned to our beach hut to see many expats gathered by a fire. Of course we all hung out because we are all white and that's means we are all friends. Ended up walking out in the low tide mud to check the most amazing thing I have ever seen in nature. See the video posted on Megan 1's blog. http://megsesladventure.blogspot.com/

All in all a lovely little get away full of fun and adventure. Around 250 pictures are on the way.

Pediatric Health Care

Two things I noticed about my children:

1. They get all their immunizations shot into one arm at one time around the age of 4. All of my kids have a crazy scare of 12-15 dots perfectly formed into a rectangle on their arm. I just imagine the doctor jabbing this huge block into their arms. Crazy.

2. Dental care is nuts. I have four year olds with sliver teeth. How does that happen? I can't decided if it is because they over do it or under do it. Either way, I've never seen kids with silver teeth before...

You Feelin' Swiny?

A whole new round of swine flu scare has hit SoKo. Some 3,000 people now have it here. Many schools are not allowing anyone (students and teachers) to return to school for a week after they have returned from an other country. Conveniently, our school is only applying that to our students. Couldn't have our new teachers quarantined for a week...they wouldn't get any training! We couldn't have that, now could we? Other precautions are extra hand washing sessions and temperatures being taken in the middle of class.

We even had our own little mini swine scare. One of our co-workers has had a cold since we returned from Indonesia, and then she found out one of her friends in Seoul has swine flu. She has since been tested and is certain she does NOT have it, but that was close to being our own little crisis. As much as I would love a few extra days off, I have a feeling it wouldn't be worth the school being closed down for awhile....

365 days later....

It has come to my attention that I have been away from US soil for one year officially. With the dawn of this anniversary I would like to renew my sense of wonder with my surroundings. I did "wondering observations" when I first got here. I'm going to try and do a better job of keeping it up this time.

My first theme is my favorite common images:
1. Bikes are everywhere. It is very common to see people of all ages in all kinds of dress going down the sidewalk. Most bikes have baskets and racks on the back which carry anything from groceries to babies to women in skirts riding sidesaddle. My favorite is to see two high school aged boys, both tall and lanky, one riding a severely undersized bike while the other stands on the rack behind him. It's even better when one is hold an umbrella as they ride by.

2. The Korean squat. Male, female, young and old utilize this position when out and about. It's basically a catcher's stance, but the feet are flat on the ground, knees are at your shoulders and your butt is hovering no more then an inch from the ground. It is particularly wonderful when you happen upon a business man in a sparkling pink tie out on a smoke break just chilling like this.

Haeundae

So apparently my student is a movie star. My elementary students came in one day and one girl said she saw Morgan at the movies yesterday. So I replied with "Oh, you saw each other at the movie yesterday." Morgan shook his head and Sarah said "No, he was in the movie". Oh, of course.

He is the son of the lead in this disaster movie. He got his tooth pulled out. It was hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. Not so sure I was supposed to though....

Conquering the Night

This idea was put in our heads by our friend Warren, a Korean hiking enthusiast who enjoys organizing hikes with expats at least once a week. His latest installment was a midnight to sunrise hike. Even with fair warning, Megan and I only decided to go commit as of Friday morning, recognizing that we hadn't hiked in far too long.

One would probably think of quite and solitude when you think of a night hike, but sadly 33 other people felt the same way about a chance to hike while avoiding the current heat wave we are going through. Walking with a loud group of head lamps flashing in my eyes was not exactly what we were going for, so at the first chance to really lag behind we did, and the rest of the night was amazing. We sat a stared at the stars and city lights for hours while listening to music. Each time we got a little restless or cold or too bugy, we just picked up and walked to a new beautiful rock formation, which was inevitably 10 mins away. We let our eyes adjust and just walked through the woods on our own. We may have spooked ourselves walking in the absolute quiet and the dark, but for the most part were completely at peace. However, Megan jumped and ran back twice. Once when a stray cat (the only "wildlife" we saw out there) came a little too close for her taste. She then proceeded to throw her bag of tuna gimbap of the side of the cliff so as not to temp it to come back. I assure you she feels bad about the littering, but was genuinely in fear for her life. The second time was in day light on our way down, when she walked into a spider's web and thought it was on her. It was not. Both times I thought she was going to fall down and creak her skull open.

As always, the way down was an adventure. Even though it was much easier in daylight, we did not know where we were. We almost always just pick a path that seems to be heading down and go for it. Not sure why, but we were temped by a narrow "path less traveled" kind of trail because it looked like it went down faster then the one ahead of us. We pasted a few "don't go this way" signs and ended up trekking through the woods out onto a fenced in soccer field. We were not supposed to be there, but we made it. I needed a night like that. Amazing.

The only downer for the night was finding out that the breakfast place that we wanted to go doesn't open until 11. Nothing around here is open at 7:30 am. Not even Starbucks or Dunkin Donuts. What's that all about?

Emily

...and that makes a full 12. Emily spent the first 2 days in complete silence. On day three, she spoke her first word to me: "bathroom". Day 4 was silent again and then today she raised her hand to come up in front of the class to answer a question. Go figure. The whole time she has sat very quietly and not interacted with her classmates at all really, but I can see her starting to smile. She is getting more comfortable and I have a slight feeling that she is going to open up into a big trouble maker. Let's hope not. Her worksheets look excellent though.

As long as she dosen't turn Damian on me, I'm really hoping that I keep these same 12 kids for the next six months. It's just easier that way.

Welcome to my Paradise

Bali and the Gili Islands, Indonesia

A mere 7 hour flight took us to the tropical paradise of fresh food, reggae music, cheap everything and beautiful people on the inside and out. I could get used to being there. For a week’s worth of events I think it’s just easier to list the memorable things…all firsts.

The first time I ever:

*went on a purely tropical vacation

*went south of the equator

*was anywhere near the equator

*was in a country where they drive on the right side of the road

*set foot in the Indian Ocean

*got motion sickness and threw up on a boat ~since I’ve never been motion sick before, I thought it would be fine to read a little bit on our 2 hour fast boat ferry to the Gilis. I was sorely mistaken.

*was on an island that has no motorized vehicles

*was picked up by a horse drawn buggy to go to a hotel

* shared a room with 8 girls and was forced to sleep outside (ended up sleeping outside the rest of the nights there because I like it so much)

*stayed in a place with regular rolling black outs

*went snorkeling in the ocean

*saw a bright blue star fish

*danced in a reggae concert mosh pit

*witnesses the skillful and artful use of a pianica (piano harmonica)

*held a monkey

*had a monkey pee on me

*was attacked by a monkey

*held an iguana

*rode an elephant

*played in surfing waves

*made friends with our “tour guide” ~Dade was the best! We were so lucky to have randomly met him on our first night while wondering the streets looking for a place to stay. We would have been lost without him for sure.

Most important lesson: taught to us by Sara

Always make sure you have more then 6 months left on your passport when traveling. In some places, like Korea, it may only mean a slight delay and minor paper at check in, but in other places, like Indonesia, a “fee” of a couple hundred dollars may also be required.

Costco

I went 11 1/2 months without going to Costco. I went this whole time with very few cravings for the western food I've been missing (really only Mac N' Cheese and banana bread). I woke up with the biggest craving for Nutri grain bars I have ever had. I can't stop thinking about what I'm going to buy next time. Stupid Costco...

Also, I went to Mudfest last weekend. It was rainy and muddy. That's all I have to say about that.

Efficiency

Koreans are nothing, if not efficient. I told my employer about all the issues with my apartment and they've had a guy fixing things for two days now. Lights and water were up and running yesterday. He even had the forethought to check my washing machine too, which was broken by the way. Apparently that was fixed today along with my speakers, monitor and modem. Apparently the electric company is reimbursing everyone for all repairs needed. All the is left is the blender, but when put in perspective I'll go buy a new one. I got it for free from a friend here anyway. =) Score one point for the good old ROK.

Hots Dogs and Kimchi

Happy Birthday America!

I celebrated with a meet up group trip that included these firsts for me:

• white water rafting - it was tame
• walking along /in /swimming down/ being carried by the current through some tiny natural water slides in a river for about 5 hours
• jumping off a rock into a semi dangers whirlpool of water
  
• seeing tadpoles with legs
• eating asparagus, muenster cheese and hot dogs off the grill in Korea
• doing karaoke on a moving bus - all the tour buses here are equipt with it, just hadn't been on a trip that had broken it out yet
• gone on a trip without taking more then 10 pictures...it's not well documented, but I have hopes of stealing some

Meanwhile, back in Seoul, when I got home from work yesterday I had a light fixture explode over my head as I was taking off my shoes. I continued into the apartment to turn on more lights and they were much much brighter then before. Then, they too burnt out, just not quiet as dramatically. Within a few minutes my power was turned off completely. Apparently the was on purpose, in order to fix the problem. My whole block was out of power for about 2 hours. Once the power was back on I found that many of my appliances were blown from the power surge including:

1. three light fixtures: entrance, kitchen, bedroom
2. heat/ hot water control
3. blender
4. external computer speakers
5. TV screen size external computer monitor: good-bye movie and LOST parties
   
6. modem: no internet for me at home
   

Stupid Korea.

In Memoriam

Another one bites the dust. Claire's last day at Kid's College was June 30th, the day before open house. Sure she was a little stinker, but I like to think we had developed a bond by the end. I was really starting to enjoy her. This just leaves another open spot for some new kid to come in and mess with the whole dynamic again. I swear it's like starting over ever month around here.

In other new, open house went well. I went to Outback Steakhouse that night to celebrate it and Canada Day. Good times and good ribs were had. We even told the restaurant it was Suzie's birthday because she was dressed in red and white (purposely trying to look like the flag) and they brought her a dinner roll with hot fudge on it. We all sang (we American's attempted) the Canadian national anthem instead of Happy Birthday.

Update: local and global

You know how they say "If you don't like the weather, just what five minutes." Well same applies here. Sunny is back! Apparently, he is too young to study English in the Philippines with his sister, so he's back. Less then one week later. Go figure.

In other news, we all woke up to the new of Michael Jackson's death at the age of 50. Farrah Fawcett died at 62. North Korea still threatens to bomb the U.S. You know, same old, same old.

We Came, We Saw, We Scooted

Jeju Do (Jeju Island) - the Hawaii of Korea

I'm finding that I really enjoy going places with little to know previous knowledge of the sights and sounds in store for me. I'm lucky that I'm usually with someone who was motivated enough to figure some things out ahead of time or a local who can get me to the path less traveled. It's sad to say, but I really like it when people tell me what to do (as long as I don't already have my own opinion.) =)

Jeju was lovely. By no means did we see all this small island has to offer in the less then 48 hours that we were there, but we fully embraced what we did manage to get to. A perfect balance of ambition and relaxation if you ask me. Friday evening we met up with Megan's local friend Matt, settled into a love motel in Jeju City, ate some Mexican food and found our way to the ocean/sea/straight...whatever you want to call it. Saturday took us to the east side of the island. Oddly enough, we seemed to have the same cloud from two weekends ago follow us to the island, but luckily there was no rain this time. We did a small hike up Songsan (Sunrise Peak), not at sunrise, but it was still an impressive sight to see. Our protective cloud was just rolling across the top of this green crater at the peak. It was incredibly windy up there and Maranda's skirt was falling all over the place. So much that she refused to walk around up there for awhile. Good times. Again, some might have been disappointed with the cloudy view, but we all found it beautiful. We then headed over to U-do, an even smaller island on the just across from Songsan where we were able to fulfill our goal of renting scooters and hanging out on a beach. We even got some swimming done in there. It was freezing and exhilarating at the same time. I had forgotten how intimidating it is to swim in a huge body of salt water. My heart was racing the whole time, in a good way.

List of firsts:
drive a scooter
walk on volcanic rock (it was everywhere)
stand on a white rocky beach with clear blue water

We did not even come close to conquering the island. We didn't even see Mt. Halla (the tallest mountain in Korea) the whole time we were there because of the clouds. We also missed out on all the sweet tourist traps such as Loveland, numerous waterfalls and lava tubes. (Lava tubes sound sweet, don't they!?! Turns out they are just caves...no one want to check them out but me...wah wah) Needless to say we are itching to go back. Talk of moving there to get a new teaching contract has even been mentioned by a few.

And now a brief history lesson: the Haenyo (sea women)

Haenyo are skilled divers who are known to be able to hold their breath for more than two minutes and dive to depths of 20 meters.

Until the 19th century, diving was mostly done by men. The job became unprofitable for men since they had to pay heavy taxes, unlike women who did not. Women took over the diving and, because of the great dependence on sea products in most places on Jeju, became the main breadwinners. Gender roles were entirely reversed. Often men would look after the children and go shopping while the women would bring in money for the family.

Starting from the late 1970s, exports of sea products to Japan such as abalone and conch have made the sea women richer than ever, allowing them to fix their houses, build new ones in Jeju City and send their daughters to college. However, there is a threat to the haenyo's continued success: with their daughters choosing to work in the island's tourism industry or in the big cities, the haenyo will most likely disappear. While in 1950 there were as many as 30,000 haenyo on the island, in 2003 there were only 5,650 sea women registered as divers, of whom 85% were over 50 years old. - Wikipedia

These women are incredible. The very definition of tough as nails. They are such an icon of the island, with statues and monuments all over the place, not to mention all the actual woman out in the water. It's hard to imagine that something so fundamental to this culture's history and still so prevalent today is estimated to die out completely in the next couple decades. The most interesting thing about it is that it's not dying out because technology is replacing the need for the position, it's just not appealing to this most recent generation of woman. They want something better for themselves now that they have an education. Fun how that works....

And thus concludes yet another wonderful traveling experience with the M sandwich of the office. A special thanks to our side of fries Matt, the best tour guide any girls could ask for.

In Memory of Sunny

My favorite little break dancing cherry left for the Philippines today for 3 months with no warning. Not sure if he'll be coming back to Kid's College when they get back. I didn't even get to say good-bye. Wah wah.

Elementary Homework

How would you be kind to someone?

I want to have friendly relations with everyone.