Catching up.

I'm finally at the point in my apartment where things just look messy instead of still packed, which is an improvement. I also went to a school luncheon today, and go back on Friday for the ceremony of the old principal leaving and the new one beginning. My new co-teacher seems to be really great, and I think things will go pretty well. Other than that, most of what I've been doing is being social, which is a HUGE novelty!!

I'm doing some catch-up photo posting, and will post pictures of the apartment once I can post "after" shots that show it as something a bit more... liveable. But first, here is a picture of the restaurant/coffee shop a handful of us went to last night:



Mokpo rocks.

One night in Gwangju

Last weekend a big group of us went to Gwangju, ostensibly to meet the incoming teacher. Since they didn't actually go out that night, well, that was a bit misguided, but we had a very good time.

First, Nicola, who left in April, surprised Virginia by not only coming back to Korea, but by moving to Mokpo. Here is a picture from the restaurant.


There was dinner in a Western restaurant (Outback) and then onto the Speakeasy:




And then a group of us splintered and went to a very odd noraebang.


Aliens and Christmas trees. Why not?


There are more pictures on the Flickr account/will be more on Facebook, if you are so inclined, but really, they are mostly variations on the same.

Up on the roof

View from the roof of my apartment in Mokpo

protest

Here are some of the pictures from the protest in Suncheon two weekends ago:

This shows the actual size of the protest at New Core a couple weekends ago.



If you click on the pictures you can see greater details. This shows a bit more of what was going on. Not a lot of people, but pretty dramatic nonetheless.

Mokpo

I like being able to say that yesterday I moved across the country. Which I did, but I have helped friends with moves across town in the States which took longer, driving included.

So basically, I've moved from the East coast of southern South Korea to the west coast. Both are port cities, but while Gwangyang was developing and mostly based around POSCO, Mokpo is bigger and an older city. For folks who want to see/read more:

The Wikipedia entry on Mokpo.
The Mokpo city website (in English).

I'm going to venture out and see if I can find a market nearby. I think I'm VERY close to the Jayu Market, which means I'll get to see old ladies selling vegetables out of plastic bowls on the street, which I LOVE. Seriously. The bowls of seafood kind of sketch me out, but I'm a big whiny baby who likes her animal products safely behind plastic, thankyouverymuch.

Moved

I'm in the new place. It is even smaller than I thought it was going to be (in some ways) but so much better now that I'm HERE and I can start working on it. I took pictures to show the absolutely insane amount of stuff I plan to fit in here, along with trying to show how small it really is. But seriously, not as bad to be in here as I thought it was going to be, so all good. But then I might be drunk on air conditioning. If nothing else, it will push me to be more creative, right?

The person who drove me over was the brother of the person I thought was going to be driving me over yesterday (or something like that - not totally sure of the relationship - it could be "brother" as in "good friend") because he "knew Mokpo." Yeah. Not so much, really. Eventually my co-teacher came and led him here, but it wasn't an easy find. The guy then wanted significantly more money for getting me here than I thought I would be paying. I ended up paying a little more, but about half of the increase he wanted. Jerk. Anyway, I have no idea how I'm going to tell someone (as in, a taxi) how to get me to my new home. Eep.

Two friends were here waiting for me, which was amazing, and it was pretty fast to unload the truck.

Tomorrow I will go with my co-teacher over to the school to meet the principal. I don't think I need to go in until next week at the earliest.

Moving

Within the next half hour or so, the person who will be moving me to Mokpo should be here. Hopefully before the folks in North America go to lunch I will be moved into my new apartment!!

Friends will be meeting me at the other end, so we should make pretty quick work of the stuff i will be bringing. I was a little concerned by the number of boxes I have, as it would mean that I have a lot of stuff to go into not a lot of apartment, but then while moving them to get them ready to head out the door, I realized how light they are. I feel better.

This weekend has been good - busy and fun and seeing people and things and being reminded that being here isn't bad at all. Tomorrow night I'm moving into my new place, and while I'm a little sad to leave here, I will be SO happy to be settled in one place! I've been living in suitcases and boxes for so long, a real place will be nice.

In Suncheon last weekend, some friends and I were going to go and get our nails done. What can I say, I yield to peer pressure. Anyway, we had to make an appointment and go back a few hours later. After wandering around downtown for a while, we went back, but couldn't get in because of a protest outside the New Core Department Store. Basically, the company that owns New Core and Homever fired a LOT of part time workers country-wide(in addition to falsifying employment records) so that they didn't have to give part-time workers benefits.

When we went past, there didn't seem to be many people there, but when we got closer, we saw that there were waves protesters pushing themselves against police in riot gear. It wasn't too worrisome for us - we kept a fairly good distance, and we were talking about how it was good to see people standing up for what they believed in here. Until they fired off the tear gas - then we headed back to the apartment where a friend was staying.

When I left a while later, there were still protesters sitting in the street in front of the store - actually, it looked like there were more people there - and they were watching some younger men do a group dance routine.

I took pictures of the protest, but haven't uploaded them yet. I'll do so when I finally unearth the cord.

Back in Korea

I'm back in Korea, safe and sound. about 30 hours of travel all told, but all in all, not bad. I had a window exit row on my Chicago-Incheon flight! It was the most comfortable long-distance flight I've ever had, bar none. And while I missed the last flight down here from Seoul, I was on one of the nice buses with big seats and slept almost all of the 6 hour ride.

So, all in all, long but not bad. More when I'm a bit more coherent.

for sale

I'm taking steps to sell my motorcycle. I like riding, but I don't love it. And while it is fun while I'm on it, there are so many people who have been hurt recently! I guess I feel like if I don't LOVE it, it might be more dangerous than it's worth to me, at least in Korea.

I'm a little sad about this, but I'm trying to focus on the stuff I'm willing to spend my money and my time on. Right now, I'm sort of all over the map, and if I'm going to think about taking a yoga class or joining a climbing gym, I need to cut some expenses out.

Packed

I think I'm finally packed to head back to Korea.

There is a new weight limit on bags for Economy tickets (50lbs), which I knew about. My cunning plan was to send myself a box surface delivery, which usually took about a month+. So I packed up a couple of boxes of things I would be very happy to see around October.

Except the US postal service no longer offers surface shipping.

And sending just one of the boxes I wanted to ship would have cost over $90.

After several back and forths with bags and a scale, I got one of the boxes of stuff into my checked baggage, but there is still one more very heavy one. I am waiting to hear back from some friends on base in Korea (and therefore with an APO, meaning the same cost as sending it within the US), but the time difference isn't making the communication any easier. I'm pretty sure they won't have a problem with it, but I don't want to just SEND something without making sure it is okay first. So it is looking like my folks will either have to send it to my brother, who will then send it using his FedEx discount directly to me, or they will send it to one of the military folks. I'm so grateful that I have people here who are so willing to help me out, but it is frustrating that I need their help.

But everything will be fine, I'm sure. I've been mumbling "I'll be ok" to myself over and over today. I'm really not excited about going back. Having lunch with a friend was great, and it makes it even harder to leave here. I mean, I wouldn't want to live in Terre Haute again, but leaving the US is hard.

And in my totally and complete baby-ness, the fact that it is hot over there with 80%+ humidity and I don't have AC in Gwangyang and need to clean and finish packing makes me even MORE grumpy about all this. BOO!!

Goin back

Two more days, and I fly back to Korea.

I keep giving myself little pep talks - I know that the reasons I chose to stay a second year are good and valid, but I'm not all that jazzed at this moment. Maybe I'm dreading physical act of moving a bit. I mean, I want to not have to do it - rather be magically transfered to my new place sans stress and sweat and messiness.

Next year will be a different experience for sure, and is one that I am looking forward to. But in a lot of ways, I sort of don't want to leave. It has really been nice to just be normal. No one stares at me. I go to the store and there is food I like to eat, I can fit into the clothes and shoes, and transactions are easy. The eye candy at the gym is much more appealing. I can drive. (and WOW is that a nice part! I feel a little guilty about how much I love it!!)

I didn't have a lot of the "reverse culture shock" that a lot of people talk about, maybe because I was mostly around family. Yes, I still think that everything is big (people, coffee cups, cars) but more in a "wow!" rather than an "eww!" way. Also, proving that nurture is a powerful tool that extends far beyond just what one learns from ones family, there is just something about a big ole corn-fed midwestern boy in carharts and a non-ironic trucker hat. Especially when they hold open doors for you.

Anyway, I'm trying to get my head set into a mode that will let me get as much out of next year as I can. I will be studying for personal trainer certification, trying to figure out where I will go and what I will do once I move back, and really trying to see and experience as much as possible in Korea. I want to run and climb and visit islands. I want to go to temples, have dinners with friends, and learn more about Korea. I want to get better at the language, do a temple stay, and get to know the teachers at my school.

This will be good.

Oh, slightly related, I bought a new camera yesterday since my old one bit it. I got a Canon SD1000. It is the hottest thing!! V. exciting!

Things overall have been pretty great. I'm in Tennessee until tomorrow morning, at which time I'll be heading back to Indiana (and I still get the song, "Back home aggaaain in Indiaaaaanna" in my head every time I say that) tomorrow. I've been hanging out with my nieces and nephew and sister-in-law, and Memphis is moving up on the list of possible places to end up this time next year.

I'm less sad about going back to Korea than I was a few days ago. I'm now a bit more resolute about the whole thing, and I know that once I get back and get settled, things will be okay. There is a lot I need to do and figure out and learn. I'm looking forward to that.

It has been so great to just be normal here. People only pay attention to me because they don't know me, not because I'm some aberration. There is choice in EVERYTHING. Clothes fit. I can buy shoes.

But there are things I need to do still there, and I'm starting to gear up and get more in the head-space to take that on.

time

I'm already starting to think that it will be hard to get on the plane.

I know so much more going into this next year than I did at this time last year. I also know a lot more about what I will be giving up. Blah. Time moves too fast.

A moment

Yesterday, I was almost overwhelmingly angry at Korea. I was driving (!) to Target (!!) and passed an Indian grocery store.

I was in a small suburb of Memphis. Not even a big suburb - a small one.

They don't even have Indian RESTAURANTS in some fairly large cities in Korea, and this neighborhood in Tennessee has a market! That is SO NOT FAIR.

The past week, I've been noticing the things I've learned over the past year. To be more accepting, to keep my mouth shut more, to in general, just let go and trust that things will work out for the best (while still having a back up plan, because I'm like that). I appreciate the efficient, inexpensive, and easily navigable public transportation system, I miss friends, and I'm looking forward to going back next year.

I do NOT miss the uniformity and lack of options that I have when living in Korea. I don't miss having everything I say, do, buy, noticed and remembered. I don't miss the lack of anonymity.

And I am really, really angry about the lack of food choices. I know that sounds so stupid, and it isn't anything new, but my goodness!! That little store seemed to epitomize all that bothers me about Korea.

Tennessee

I'm now just outside Memphis, after a really pretty wonderful week with my family in a "cabin" (and by cabin I mean enormous, lovely house on a mountain) in East Tennessee. So, since I'm just coming back from almost a week of no-internet, bullets:

* It is interesting to see all of us (my brothers, sister, and me) as adults. Good interesting.
* When I don't get enough exercise, I get short tempered. A sign of being a grown-up is that most people don't notice, or at least don't notice very much. I think Korea has taught me to keep the "WTF!!?!1!!" in my head.
* Children are loud. Often cute, but loud.
* Man, I miss being able to shop in the States. From food to clothes to yarn - WOW.
* I don't know if this is horrible allergies or if I just have a cold, but the past few days have seen all the fluid in my body trying to escape from my head.
* While there are many things I'm looking forward to back in Korea, getting on the plane will be difficult.

My mom will be arriving here tomorrow, and an aunt on Friday. Until then, I'm going to try to recover from the head cold of doom, find a gym for the next week, and help my sister-in-law with the little ones (4yo, 2yo, 3 months). Sometime in the next week will be trips to a fabric store, COSTCO (!!), Target, and possibly a running shoe store. While I love my Brooks, I can't get the ones I want in Korea and there are Adidas and Asics and New Balance stores all over, so I'm going to see if someone who knows what they are doing can recommend something that would work in one of those brands.