Flight

Moving

2009-02-08T00:36:00.002+09:00

Today I'm doing the first stage of moving into my new apartment! For this week, I'll be sleeping on a (very nice) air mattress and won't have any furniture to speak of, but will have lots of the things that are important to me. So basically, like most Korean apartments I visited :)

Next weekend I'll be heading home to borrow stuff from my parents, so including the massive Target run I'm planning for later this afternoon, should have a fully stocked apartment within the next week or so. I'm still looking for a deal on a bed - my goodness, but they are more expensive then I realized! - but hopefully will be able to get that taken care of this week.

I'll try to post pictures of the new place (there are some from when I looked at the apartment on my flickr page). It makes me happy - lots of light, high ceilings, hardwood floors, open and airy and nice. It was a little more then I wanted to pay, but with the utilities that are included and a deal on internet, it should all come out in the wash. Also, the whole building uses the "green energy" option through the power company, is in a really neat neighborhood, is less than a block from the neighborhood library, near to one of the Indy green space trails for running, and the neighborhood knitting group meets just down the street.

Three good things

2009-02-02T03:11:00.003+09:00

+ It is sunny and (relatively) warm out.
+ I finished a draft of the lit review section of my thesis.
+ I checked out season 3 of Lost from the library, and (in addition to the awesomeness of tv shows on DVD for free) realized that pretty soon I'll be able to change my "hold delivery branch" to a library less then a block away from my apartment!

snowsnowsnow

2009-01-29T12:47:00.002+09:00

After joking about sending a letter to the National Weather Service to remind them of the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf, they proved themselves to be accurate. Well, they actually rather dramatically underestimated - this morning we had a little more than a foot of snow.

I know there are some people who are thinking, "And?" because that is minor, but this was in the top 5 heaviest snowstorms in this area ever.

So today was a snow day. Which, you know, SNOW DAY!! And then I remembered that I don't get paid for snow days anymore, which sort of blows. I made it out in the afternoon, but had a few minutes when I worried that I was going to get my car (a RAV-4, a small SUV!! Not a little car!!) stuck trying to get to the alley. Driving downtown wasn't too bad, you know, given that there was OVER A FOOT OF SNOW.

Tonight was supposed to be the first night of evening group runs for the mini-marathon training program, but because of the weather they called it off. I did my miles on the indoor track, though I'm pretty sure IUPUI has shoveled and treated the sidewalk along the canal, so either tomorrow or Friday I'll try to get outside.

I just got the call that we will have another snow day tomorrow, too. I picked up the third season of Lost (yeah, I'm behind) so at least there is that. Sawyer without his shirt? Yes please. Also, I'll be able to go to the gym early, work on my paper, and make it to knit night in my neighborhood.

a list.

2009-01-27T12:24:00.002+09:00

1. Tonight was the first night of official "training" for the mini, meaning the first time I track mileage and all that jazz.
2. It FINALLY dawned on me that I only started to have blistering issues when I started running on the indoor track, and that the constant curving to the left might be partly to blame.
3. I ran on the treadmill tonight, no blistering, but DANG, that long on a treadmill, while physically easier, is mentally so much more difficult! Make-me-want-to-stab-my-eyes-out boring.
4. Tomorrow I'll be going to the running store for winter running gear.
5. They are predicting Snow-magedon (again) for the next two days. This could make Wednesday's outdoor run interesting.
6. I found an apartment! And I'll be moving in two weeks! And it is lovely and in a neat neighborhood! While the rent is more then I wanted to pay, the utilities that are included should off-set (and possibly more than off-set) the increase.
7. I got a bit of writing done on my thesis this weekend, and it is nice to write and think in a way that reminds me that I really do still have higher-order thinking skills.

1/2 marathon training!!

2009-01-22T10:49:00.002+09:00

Tonight was the orientation meeting for the 1/2 marathon training program I'm doing through my gym!

+ The representative from The Runner's Forum is awesome and gave me a little stick of body glide to see if it would help with the blisters I'm getting on the bottom of my feet (I bought my shoes there a few months ago) FOR FREE after checking to make sure they fit right!! Another reason why local running stores rock.
- There was no pace group between 11 min/mile and 13 min/mile, so I went to the 11 at first. One woman I asked was AWESOME about it. The other was a bitch.
+ They started a 12 min/mile group for the handful of us who knew that 11 was too fast and the people there are really nice, and both have done this race before.
+ I'm pretty sure our group will grow, as there were people who were really not prepared (had never run outside/off of a treadmill, had never done a full 2 miles) in the faster group.

Misc.

2009-01-17T12:35:00.002+09:00

1. I'm officially signed up for the Indianapolis Mini-marathon (a half marathon during 500 weekend) training program through my gym. The first meeting is next week, training runs start the week after.
2. I started my class last week, and feel pretty good about things overall. I'll be focusing my research on neurodevelopment (a fancy way of saying brain-based learning, or learning style) and responses to intervention, with a focus on how to determine learning style in very young (and sometimes not very verbal) children. While my instinct is to focus on Gardner, it seems that Levine developed the more popular theory right now.
3. It's COLD, yo. Canada, please take back your air.
4. THREE DAY WEEKEND, FTW.
5. I'm looking at apartments. The one I saw today would have been reasonable IF utilities were paid OR it was $50-100 less. And if it didn't smell funny. Like bad pipes funny. BOO.
6. We had a two-hour delay because of the cold. It would have been nice to have been notified before I got to school, but whatever. We had about half of our class today, and it was AMAZING!! If we had that many kids everyday, we would get SO MUCH DONE!! Goodness!!

When an arts major studies statistics

2009-01-03T03:20:00.002+09:00

"It is MEAN to call me AVERAGE"

"The MEDIAN is in the MIDDLE of the street"

"It is COMMON to follow the latest MODE"

Dorktastick? yes. Effective? YES.

(and I'd like to offer a little shout out to the diagnostician at Gallup Jr. High who explained most of this to me in easy to understand chunks a few years ago. Or at least explained enough for me to interpret test results and make this stuff easier to parse since I won't need too much of it, anyway. Thanks, Mike, wherever you are.)

Oh, and...

2009-01-01T03:07:00.004+09:00

Because this blog is exported to my Facebook account and there has been a surprising number of people from high school and college who have added me recently, some more background. About four years ago, I made a pretty significant change and over the course of about a year, I lost about 100 lbs. While I'm no longer at my lowest weight (Damn North America and your delicious, delicious cookies. Oh, and Southeast Asia and your horrible, horrible beer) I've maintained most of that loss over the past two years, and I have GOALS and will be putting forth more of a concerted effort to work towards them. And for those who want to ask but haven't, no, there was no surgery - all diet and exercise.

World's Worst Blogger

2009-01-01T02:48:00.002+09:00

It has been pointed out to me that I well may be one of the world's worst bloggers. It has been approximately eleventybillion years since the last time I posted here, and for a while I was thinking about writing a "So long and thanks for all the fish" kind of post.

But recently I've been thinking about a way to shift, to make this a space that is a bit more applicable to what my life outside of Korea is transitioning into. So while for the past two years this has been mostly a "Korea blog," I think this will start to shift more into a "academic/fitness/vegetarian/teacher/knitting" blog. Or maybe just "whatever" kind of blog. I have to admit that what it comes down to in large part is that I'm really too lazy to set up something totally new, and too indecisive (and not all that interesting) to set up a blog for any one specific issue.

So, in handy bullet-point format:
1. I am a Title 1 tutor at a charter school in Indiana. I started working with several grades, and was recently moved to full-day Kindergarten interventions. As a former 7th/8th/9th grade teacher, this has been more than a bit of a transition.
2. I will be compacting two semesters of research/writing this spring, and if I can pull this off, will have a local college recommend me for elementary and special education licenses in Indiana.
3. I'm in the process of brainstorming of ideas for the thesis, but it will likely have something to do with behavior management. Working from one's strengths and all that.
4. I am (still) a pesca-tarian (mostly-vegetarian-who-eats-fish), and have become much less flexible (for a while, I would make exceptions in certain situations)
5. I will be running the Indy Mini Marathon (a half marathon during 500 weekend) this May. I start training for real in about three weeks. Eep.

Because so many of the people I care about are scattered all over this planet and I love to read what you all are doing, I'm going to try to put forth more effort in this little space.

Wishes of peace, love, and happiness for the new year!!

Love more, hate less

2008-11-06T01:03:00.003+09:00

Yesterday was a long, emotional day. And reading the transcript of Barack Obama's speech this morning started me crying again. I'm am so proud of my country for making this choice, and I am so proud of Indiana for helping in this direction.

Yesterday I worked for the Democratic Voter Protection Team. When I arrived at 5:30 in the morning, there were already people lined up. There were people who were voting for the first time in their lives and people who had to be physically helped to the voting booths by volunteers and family members. In this mostly poor, mostly African-American neighborhood, there was an excitement and a feeling of purpose, and most of the people who came in were patient with the process and kind - I wish I could say the same for all of the poll workers. Still, from the little old ladies dressed to the nines to the young couple who wanted me to take a picture as they cast their first ballots together, it was great to see people so excited.

I was so happy and excited to see the results come in, but we still have so far to go as a country, and while this is an awesome first step, it will be a long journey to get to real, lasting change.

I was most disappointed to read that California passed proposition 8. This hateful piece of legislation took away the rights of all of the gay and lesbian couples who had married in California, and I think it is so incredibly sad. To paraphrase from a friend, it is astounding to me that people seem to think that one line from Leviticus holds more sway than everything Christ said or did.

To borrow the Facebook religious views statement of a friend, I wish this world could love more and hate less.

Yes We Can

2008-11-05T13:53:00.002+09:00

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation.

Yes we can.

It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom.

Yes we can.

It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness.

Yes we can.

It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land.

Yes we can to justice and equality.

Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity.

Yes we can heal this nation.

Yes we can repair this world.

Yes we can.

We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change.

We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics … they will only grow louder and more dissonant … We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check. We’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope.

But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope.

Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea –

Yes. We. Can.

- President-elect Barack Obama

Good stuff

2008-11-02T06:10:00.002+09:00

1. I have a new job, and while it isn't so fantastical that I won't be looking for something that makes more use of my background, it is a step-up from where I am right now.

2. I just got the best haircut I've had in more than two years.

3. All but a one of my boxes made the trip from Mokpo. While I can't find lots of small but important-to-me things, opening up the boxes that DID make it brought me so much joy!
3a. If sending packages surface from Asia to North America, pack very, very carefully in REALLY REALLY sturdy boxes, take pictures, and use airmail for anything important.

4. I drove from Indy to my hometown this afternoon and Autumn is SO BEAUTIFUL here! The trees are exploding in the most vivid colors, and they contrast with the browns of the fields and the SKY, and well, it was striking.

5. I am hopeful about the election. Cautiously so, because it would be so, so heartbreaking to me if Obama lost, but hopeful nonetheless.

VOTE

2008-10-30T08:31:00.002+09:00

I voted.

Please make sure that you do, too.

Message to Sarah Palin

2008-10-21T04:42:00.002+09:00

This video is making the rounds on several feminist blogs, and I think it is important.

Mini-Marathon

2008-10-18T12:43:00.002+09:00

I just signed up for the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon! May 2, I'll be running a 1/2 marathon!! EEP!! It is part of the Indianapolis 500 Festival, and the end of the race is a lap around the 500 track.

I passed on the "training series" of races (5, 10, and 15 K races) leading up to the race, but might go back and register for those at another time. I'm going to sign up for a training program through my gym (motivation for cold weather running, people to hold me accountable, forced socialization - I'm becoming a bit hermit-like of late) and I'm psyched!

I've be thinking about doing this race for a while, and last weekend I saw my cousin finish the Chicago Marathon, and I was SO SO proud! Walking along the course (we caught up with Beth at a few different places along the route) and seeing the runners so excited, the crowd so supportive, how HARD these people had worked! And were working!! It was inspiration and really exciting. I don't think I'm cut out for 26.2, but I'm readying myself for the challenge of a half! Fighting!

There are a couple of folks talking about doing the race, too, and that would be awesome! Registration usually fills up by the end of November, so think about it - lots of fun! I believe firmly in the "run your own race" approach to running with friends, (if we happen to be about the same pace, great, but I don't want to hold anyone back from doing their best) but it is so great to have friends to line up with and to cheer over the finish line! Or, you know, cheer ME over the finish line, since I'm usually the last one :)

Anyway, committed.

World

2008-10-09T11:56:00.002+09:00

What do you think would happen if the whole world could vote?

This article from the San Francisco Gate/Chronicle gives some answers. I don't think anyone is surprised that most of the world would vote in favor of Obama, but even I was surprised at the landslide they postulate.

Also, McCain's "That One" comment has had rather an impact.

Darren Davis, a professor at Notre Dame who specializes in the role of race in politics, sent a comment to the Huffington Post about McCain's "that one" remark. "It speaks volumes about how McCain feels personally about Obama. Whomever said the town hall format helps McCain is dead wrong," Davis wrote.

He isn't stupid enough to have intentionally made a racist remark. No one would be. But if it isn't a refection of internal bias, it is an indication of incredibly poor choice, something he has had a history of so far in this race (hi, Sarah Palin? Are you kidding me? OMGWTFBBQ?!).

elections and supreme court decisions.

2008-10-03T06:04:00.003+09:00

Just a reminder that for folks in the US, voter registration deadlines are coming up. Indiana is October 6th.

I was accepted as a voting rights monitor for Indiana (they wanted to review my resume and everything!) so I'm pretty psyched.

Also, there was a meme going around talking about Supreme Court cases. In an interview with Katie Couric not only could Sarah Palin not name a single newspaper or magazine that she reads, the only Supreme Court case she could name was Roe v. Wade.

So, my favorite Supreme Court case: Loving v. Virgina. I'll be honest and say that the reason I like this case is because the name of the plaintiff is so apt - this is the case that made interracial marriage legal. Get it? LOVING? 'Cause, you know, they were in love. Yeah, I'm sorta lame.

Anyway, in a nutshell, Mildred and Richard Loving married in Washington, D.C. because VA law stated that interracial marriage was illegal. Police tried to catch them in an, er, intimate moment (also a crime in VA at the time) and they instead were charged because of their illegal marriage. They were found guilty, and a few years later the ACLU began challenging the ruling, which would eventually be heard by the Supreme Court (it wouldn't be until 2003 that the sodomy laws they tried to arrest them for were overturned).

In 2007 on the 40th anniversary of their case, Mildred Loving said the following:
I believe all Americans, no matter their race, no matter their sex, no matter their sexual orientation, should have that same freedom to marry. Government has no business imposing some people's religious beliefs over others. Especially if it denies people's civil rights.

I am still not a political person, but I am proud that Richard's and my name is on a court case that can help reinforce the love, the commitment, the fairness, and the family that so many people, black or white, young or old, gay or straight seek in life. I support the freedom to marry for all. That's what Loving, and loving, are all about.

I have gay friends who have relationships that are deeper, more committed, and more stable than any relationship I have ever had with a guy in my whole entire life, and yet they can't have their relationship legally recognized. Which is so sad and unfair.

quotes

2008-09-16T23:19:00.001+09:00

A friend posted this on her blog, and I thought it was very well put.

How racism works

What if John McCain were a former president of the Harvard Law Review? What if Barack Obama finished fifth from the bottom of his graduating class? What if McCain were still married to the first woman he said “I do” to? What if Obama were the candidate who left his first wife after she no longer measured up to his standards?

What if Michelle Obama were a wife who not only became addicted to pain killers, but acquired them illegally through her charitable organization? What if Cindy McCain graduated from Harvard? What if Obama were a member of the “Keating 5”? What if McCain was a charismatic, eloquent speaker?

If these questions reflected reality, do you really believe the election numbers would be as close as they are?

This is what racism does. It covers up, rationalizes and minimizes positive qualities in one candidate and emphasizes negative qualities in another when there is a color difference.

— Kelvin LaFond, Fort Worth

What do you think?

Politics

2008-09-15T01:17:00.002+09:00

- Michigan will use foreclosure lists to limit voting. This is really horrible.
- Samesame but different in Ohio.
- Women against Sarah Palin for Vice President is a blog that has letters from women about why they do not support Sarah Palin for vice president.
- Political fact checking - non-partisan fact checking on the current US election.

Month

2008-09-15T00:21:00.002+09:00

It has been a month since I've posted anything to this blog (as my mother very clearly pointed out) and so a quick bullet-point list of what is going on:

- Teaching on an alternative license in Indiana was not as easy as I thought it would be
- I considered and then decided against teaching in other states.
- I had good feedback from these other states that made me feel less defeated.
- I start substitute teaching in IPS at some point this week
- I should find out if there will be any additional SPED openings this week, too.
- The objective at this point is to find out exactly what I need to do in order to become fully licensed in Indiana in the most efficient way possible. This may involve being a full-time student this spring/summer if I am not able to get a full-time teaching position this fall, and patching together a few part-time things until then.
- I still get a bit overwhelmed by conversations going on around me, as I can't seem to block out the English very well, or I block out EVERYTHING. Neither of this are acceptable options, but it is getting better.
- I found a gym here that I really, really like. It is NIFS and is near downtown (on the IUPUI campus) and it is awesome. I can run outside along the canal and near the zoo before going to the gym. Sweet.
- I went to a Korean restaurant for the first time since I've been back last night. We ordered a bottle of soju and found out at the end of the meal that it cost $15. Granted, it was pretty good soju, but STILL!!
- I've been watching a lot of political news lately, and I often end up yelling at the TV. I know no one will be shocked that I lean towards the liberal. I am signed up as an Obama volunteer, and might be working as a voting rights monitor on election day.
- North America, I love your baked goods.
- Libraries ROCK.
- I saw Joshua Bell play with the Indianapolis Symphony, and it was AMAZING!
- I meet up with Korea-friends in here last night, and it was so wonderful. It was such an interesting web of interconnected relationships - Indiana/IU/New Orleans/Korea shared frames of reference and it was really cool.

So overall, while I'm extremely frustrated with the job situation, everything else is going reasonably well. Unfortunately, the job situation is my primary concern. I need to make a better effort at being social and meeting more people, but I have to admit that I still get overwhelmed easily and I can't exactly explain why. I have ended up leaving stores or the library with either nothing or a strange assortment of items simply because I get overwhelmed by the number of options. I'm so incredibly lucky that I'm able to stay at my parents' cottage in Indianapolis - I have a lot of independence and personal space, but also get to see them about once a week or so. I miss my friends deeply, and have had many, many times where I wish I could call people to get together for dalkgalbi at OUR dalkgalbi place, or go to the KOTR meet and greet, or make plans for a 5 or 10k. So many people and places I miss so deeply I don't even have the words.

2008-08-12T04:50:00.002+09:00

"So, how was Korea?"

"What's it like to be home?"

Those are two questions I get asked often (from people on both sides of the planet) and really, most of the time I have no idea how to go about answering them.

How do I go about summing up two years of my life? How do I explain how both foreign and comfortable being back here really is? I really don't have an answer. It almost seems like there are two very different worlds - North American and South Korea - and when I'm in one place, the other seems like it doesn't totally exist. So the transition is a little easier, I guess, because "here" and "there" are such different experiences, but I don't really have the words to talk about it in a way that makes sense to someone who hasn't been through it.

I'm peeling like crazy from the sunburn I got on Waedaldo before I left. I almost want to make some sort of "shedding of skin" analogy, but that is a little overly dramatic, even for me. For so long I've been in transition, and I find that I'm still there, for the most part. Maybe once I have a job, my own apartment, and have settled into life more firmly I'll have some sort of reaction. But right now, it is all about what task needs to be attacked next - alway something.

Right now I'm staying in a house my parents have in Indy (they usually spend the week in TH), and I'll be here until I have a job, as I need to know where I'll be working before I decide where I'll be living. I basically need to keep setting things up and knocking them down for the next few weeks, and I'm so lucky that I have my family to help while still having the alone time to process all of this. From being able to stay here, to offers of furniture from the basement, all of this would be much more overwhelming without them.

So being home is... different. It is nice, in that I understand EVERYTHING, can read signs, can drive, can shop and have choice. I like being here, and it feels like, overall, Indianapolis is the right place for me. But there is still so much that I miss, and sometimes everything is just sort of overwhelming right now.

breathe

2008-08-05T18:17:00.002+09:00

I'm not even sure how to begin processing the leaving of this place. So this is not what this blog post is about. This blog post is about the clusterfuck of getting paid out when you leave Korea.

Today was basically a perfect storm of absences and miscommunication which lead to me trying to get paid my pro-rated severance and get it sent to the US for 7 hours. It involved crying in public more than once (oh, Korea, how circular. I had to cry to get my ID card in a reasonable amount of time my first week here) and about five-million cellphone coversations/text messages, three taxi rides, and a lot of sitting around fretting.

Yesterday morning, I went into my school to try to prevent this. The secretary told me that my money would be transfered that evening.

Error #1 - I didn't ask HOW MUCH money was going to be transfered.

When I checked my account, I was more than $2000 shy of what should have been deposited. I called my co-teacher to have her get in touch with the school the next morning.

I had an amazing night out with my friends, and if I write about it now I'll start crying all over again, so I'll save that for later. Besides, the pictures rock.

This morning, I call my co-teacher (who is a substitute, and probably not getting paid to deal with any of this mess) to remind her to call the school. She couldn't get in touch with them until 10, there was fumbling around with who needed to talk to whom about what. There were lots and lots of phone calls made, not a lot of getting things done.

Error #2 - I should have gone to the Mokpo Office of Education at this point. In my defense, my co-teacher recommended against going.

I waited, they were talking, looking at contracts, blahablahblah. Getting nowhere except worried. I finally went to the Office of Ed at about 1. There was a very nice lady there who told me they would get me the money. YAY! But because it was so late, she wasn't sure it could be done today. BOO! More tears, being told it would all be fine, and the nice lady at the office of ed called my school to tell them to get it done today, that it was important.

I went to my school, and waited for what seemed to be a million years for forms to be filled out, people called, people yelled over the phone, a few more tears, and finally, FINALLY for the money to be transfered. I took a taxi to the bank and got it all sent to the States about 30 minutes before the bank closed.

After, I sort of freaked out on Alex (Alex, I'm sorry I freaked out on you), got my cell turned off, got the last of the boxes shipped, and am waiting for a friend to come to grab dinner and to take the rest of the good stuff in my house away. I found out that they have changed this into a "couple's job" with a nearby school, and the other school will provide the apartment (SO SO GOOD. They would probably try to put two people in this shoebox of an apartment) so I'm getting rid of some of the stuff I was going to leave for my replacement.

People come and go often enough that getting paid the right amount on time without running around and begging for it shouldn't be an issue. But it is. Though in some ways, it sort of helps because you are focused on getting things done and money rather than the fact that you are leaving some really amazing friends.

Okay, so that was a really long way to say I thought I wasn't going to get paid but I did and that is good and I'm ready to leave.

Accidental vegetarian. Maybe.

2008-08-01T23:08:00.003+09:00

I think I have accidentally become a vegetarian. Or am at least in the process thereof.

Some back story: It is officially Summer in Korea. There are two "special" summer foods in Korea - samgaetang - a soup that is made with chicken and ginseng, and which is very good (link is to a recipe) - and bosintang (link is to Wikipedia) - dog soup.

I understand that there are cultural differences related to food, and there are things that we eat that other cultures think is unappetizing. Also, when you have people who are really poor, they will eat just about anything and will sometimes turn something I think of as gross into a delicacy (haggis, anyone?), which can get continued once the culture moves out of poverty. And, as always, I don't have to eat it.

But what bothers me is the way the animals are treated, and the way they are killed. There are dog farms all over the rural parts of Korea, and in most cases, the dogs are beaten before they are killed. I've heard two reasons - one is that it makes the meat more tender, and the second is that since the dog meat increases "male stamina" (yes, really, this is what they say) the adrenaline released from the fear and the pain increases that property.

A friend's house is on school grounds above the school's custodian. The custodian has a small dog farm. (THE LINKS ARE VERY GRAPHIC AND VERYVERY UPSETTING. You have been warned) and one night, I was talking about the whole dog meat thing right after a conversation about the American beef protest hoopla. A friend pointed out that the way we treat most animals raised for food in the US is pretty horrific, too, and perhaps I was being a bit hypocritical, judging one as ok and the other as wrong.

The point was more of a challenge of our "our way is right/their's is wrong" conversation, which is really good to raise when a group of (mostly) foreigners is talking about the country in which we choose to live. Also, she had a good point, and while I thought it over, I found myself getting more and more grossed out by meat, telling myself to just not think about how they were raised/killed, how it HAD to be much better than what offended me so much about the dogs here, just so I could eat. But when it comes down to it, if I have to make myself not think about what I'm eating, that is a huge problem.

Maybe if I had the option of "happy dead animals" I'd feel different - animals raised and killed ethically. But right now, that isn't an option and in the States, that is an expensive option. So for the time being, I'm sticking mostly to fish. I just don't even want beef or pork, and while I'm not ruling out poultry, I have no desire to cook it AT ALL.

I really have no idea where this is coming from, where it will go, or how long it will last, but seeing the dog farms, or the walk along what turned into a row of butcher shops with pig parts in buckets on the streets, or any of the other horrors of where meat really comes from (hey, did you know it wasn't from a styrofoam tray!?) while living here has turned me off meat, at least for the time being.

Daewonsa

2008-07-30T15:18:00.000+09:00

On Monday, a friend and I went out to Daewonsa, one of my favorite places in Korea.

The trip to get out there is rather epic. We left Mokpo at little before 8:30, and made it to Boseong with enough time between buses to take a taxi to the green tea fields (Boseong produces at least 40% of the green tea consumed in Korea - that's a lot of green tea) and do a quick walk-around in the blistering heat.

Ever want to know how green tea is harvested?

Though there are machines that will do the harvesting for the cheaper tea, the expensive kind is all picked by hand.

We caught the 11:45 bus out to Daewonsa, and it took FOREVER. I mean, the ride is beautiful - Boseong is sort of at at the foot of the Jirisan range, so there are rivers and trees and rice fields, and some of the most entertaining old folks on the bus with you - but the bus is ancient and the roads twisty.

We decided to go eat lunch before wandering around the temple and went to what we call "the flower bibimbab restaurant." After you order, someone goes out to the green house to pick the vegetables for you lunch. To quote a friend from the first time we went, "This is what the angels eat!"

If you go to Daewonsa during the week, you realize how rural this area area really is. It felt like we were the only folks to come into the restaurant all day, and we only saw a couple of people anywhere at the temple. It was pretty amazing and incredibly peaceful.

Afterwards, we went to the temple, and it was almost completely deserted. One of the big reasons I wanted to go in summer was to see the lotus flowers, and while I think I was probably a little too late for their peak, it was still beautiful!

We wandered around for a while, finally finding this little bridge/pagoda area and we just sat their listening to the water and cooling off for a while before wandering the museum before beginning the trek back home. All in all, it took almost exactly 12 hours.

For people in Mokpo:
Bus to Boseong: 8:25
Boseong/Daewonsa bus: 11:45 (you CAN do a quick to to the tea fields, wander around, eat some green tea ice cream, and get back, but you should ask the driver to come back and pick you up. About 9,000w each way. They do the "rural, so we can" higher meter pricing.)
Daewonsa/Boseong bus: 5:20 (and some of the drivers are maybe a bit impatient, so you need to be on time)
Bus to Mokpo: 7:10.

Last day

2008-07-29T01:05:00.001+09:00

This picture pretty much sums up my teaching elementary school in Korea. There is a lot of touching, people covering their faces, making of peace signs, not following directions, and me grinning a bit maniacally in the background.

This one just made me laugh - both because of the kid in the center, and also because I'm not sure if the kid hitting the ground dove out of the way or was shoved - really, it could have been either.

(I posted a ton of pictures on flickr - let me know if you need the id there - but they are all basically variations on the same theme.)

Last week was my last day as a teacher in South Korea.

I honestly am unsure of what my impact here has been most of the time. The kids who are doing well would likely have done well had I not been here, and there are still kids who look stumped when faced with "how are you?" But on the last day of school one really good thing happened.

소진 said hello to me in Korean.

Last year, So-jin came into my class late almost every class. She was often dirty, more than once was missing a shoe, sat in the back alone, and was harassed by some of the slower kids in class. She obviously had special needs, and when I asked my co-teacher about it, got little more than she was only there so her teacher could have a break. I would try to get her to do just about anything but didn't get far at all (though I DID make the boys who were picking on her stop when I was around, so that was something).

This year, my (new) co-teacher sat students by height and gender and I insisted that So-jin was left in the mix. I bribed the heck out of the girl who sat with her to get her to translate and had her get So-jin to participate (I lucked out that she ended up next to an amazing kid who was much more open than a lot of kids that age. And that she was easily won over with praise, stickers and candy). And it worked. They would volunteer to perform dialogs in front of the class, and while So-jin wasn't retaining much, she would repeat me and she pretended to follow along in the book or with games.

Her homeroom teacher was amazing at getting kids to work together, and it was so beautiful to see this child go from being ostracized to, if not accepted, at least acknowledged. So-jin had her shoes on everyday and was coming to school in clean clothes, with her glasses, and with her hair in a ponytail like a lot of the other girls. If I said hello to her in Korean, she would either answer or laugh at me, and was much more present in all of our interactions. In a culture where homogeneity is so highly valued, kids outside the norm have a really hard time, particularly kids with intellectual special needs, and simply being able to interact with other people can be life-changing. I wish I had a way to communicate to this teacher how amazing I think she is for what she did for this child.

On the last day of school, most of the other kids had already left for the day. So-jin was hanging around the school, we passed in the hallway, and she said hello, first in Korean, then in English.

While she had been responding to me, she hadn't initiated conversation with me EVER.

I'm not sure why that is the story I wanted to tell about ending this chapter in Korea. I didn't do much other than be a decent human being and care about a kid other people were picking on. I guess maybe in some ways, it confirms for me that going home to work with kids with special needs is the right choice for me right now, and I'm excited to see what next year holds.

Two more classes

2008-07-21T20:17:00.000+09:00

Today I inadvertently taught a group of 5th graders how to say y'all. Well, I mean, I accidentally said it the first time, but explaining how it was a contraction was pretty much direct instruction. Especially when I made the repeat it because it made me laugh.

Things I'm looking forward to:
1. Cupcakes. You have no idea how badly I want a cupcake right this very minute.
2. Libraries. Whole buildings that are full of books? And most of them in a language I can understand? For FREE!?! WOW.

Things I will miss:
1. Lemon Cap - Lemon-flavored soju. Delicious. Dangerous, but one of the two best ways to drink soju (kiwi soju - basically a kiwi smoothy with soju - is also in the running).
2. Having only cell phone, gym membership, and internet bills. Everything else is paid for by my school.

remember

2008-07-16T21:46:00.001+09:00

So, like I said earlier, today was my last day with the 6th graders. Because I have three more days of classes, for some reason it didn't even dawn on me that today was their last class.

Some preface, I think I've mentioned that in Korean and Japanese schools, the kids do all the cleaning. This can be both good and bad, as really, you certainly don't want to use a washroom that a middle school girl has cleaned. But one of the 6th grade classes is responsible for cleaning my class. This is also the class that is right next to my room, so they see and hear me all day, everyday. They are obnoxious (and the class that was responsible for the multiple wallet thefts) but I adore them.

So I'm just doing a quick review of the lesson and realize that we are REVIEWING the lesson, and that we wouldn't start a new one at the end of the semester. So while the kids are working, I walk over to my co-teacher and say, "Eun-hae, is this our last time with this class?" She says yes, and I dig out some US flag stickers and after we finish the activity, I told them that this was our last class, and that this summer vacation I would be moving back to the USA. I gave out stickers, and we got together to take a class picture. A bunch of the girls crowed in, wanting to be the ones that were the closest to me, and after the picture, one of the boys - one who tries hard but struggles, came up and grabbed my hand. "Teacher, please, do not forget me. Please. Remember." He had tears in his eyes and it just about broke my heart into bits.

I don't know the names of most of my students. That sounds horrible, but with more than 300 students with names that are hard to draw associations with, I struggled, and finally gave up (I took some comfort in the fact that the Korean teachers couldn't remember them, either). And yet I will remember these children. The boy who always answered "How are you?" with "HUNGRY!!" or the girls who would gather in my room at lunch. The tall, brilliant boy who was always SO over everyone and everything. The girl who was only a couple of inches shorter than me. The middle schooler last year who wanted me to call him Bingo. The future-goth who made a pencil case out of electrical tape that looked like a coffin. A little boy with tears in his eyes as he begged me to remember him.

Of course, the next class that came in couldn't care less that I was leaving. Brats.

last day for 6th grade!

2008-07-16T15:48:00.002+09:00

I realized that today was the last day with most of my 6th graders. WOW! Like, leaving and real and all that! Next week, I'll be going into their classes and doing some raffles for some USA-type stuff - my mom sent a ton of t-shirts from the canyon, and there are enough that there is enough for one per class, I have some USA stickers, some cups, and I'll probably buy some candy from the States - but today was the last day of the basic stuff. And it was a day where I was just doing the chapter review, so it wasn't even like it was something fun. Boo.

This afternoon I went to the doctor to get refills on drugs before I head home, and next week will try to get to the dentist. I'll need to grab a few boxes of contacts, but then I should be pretty well covered until I get a job and have insurance again.

The job thing is frustrating - I've had good feedback, until they realize that I'm not in the country for another few weeks. Stressful, but not a lot I can do about it.

Related to nothing, there was just the strangest tv show - it was some sort of high-school ballroom dance competition, only instead of having a boy and a girl, both dancers were girls, with one wearing the fancy dress (the "girl")and the other in black pants (the "boy"). Both had CRAZY amounts of makeup on, including false eyelashes that were about two inches long, with the "girl" of the pair with even MORE glitter, sparkle and shiny stuff. Which is saying rather a lot.

work-appropriate

2008-07-15T12:32:00.001+09:00

It is so humid here that I have taken "work appropriate clothing" to mean "accessories mean this isn't wearing my pajamas to work." I seriously have been sweating through all my clothes and today broke down and just went with Thai fisherman pants and a black tee-shirt. At least you can't see the sweat as much through the black shirt. Besides, no one really cares what I wear (or even notices, really) and I like to think that the jangly bracelet makes it look artsy rather than "it's this or being a big sweaty beast." Though I'm still sort of a big sweaty beast.

I just realized that I have no full weeks of school left. This Friday/Saturday I will be teaching a group of college students from the States how to teach a Korean English summer camp, and next week we have two or three days. THEN SCHOOL IS OUT!! I have exactly three weeks from tomorrow left in the country!

2008-07-13T22:22:00.002+09:00

Things I look forward to:
1. Shoes
2. cornfields

Things I will miss:
1. Cheap lodging - a motel is usually $25-30/night
2. Noreabang - singing rooms. Karaoke, but instead of embarrassing yourself in front of a whole bar full of people, you just embarrass yourself in front of your friends.

lists

2008-07-13T17:14:00.001+09:00

Things I look forward to:
1. Listening to Morning Edition on NPR while drinking coffee.
2. Not having saleswomen climb all over me when I am just looking at stuff. (I was rude today and basically told someone to back off in really, really broken Korean and interpretive dance.)
3. FOOD. Mexican and Indian are big on my list of foods I miss right now.
4. Bigger personal space bubbles. Especially because it is so humid right now, the fact that kids feel like they need to be about 5 inches away from me if given the opportunity drives me INSANE, and it is sort of like that almost everywhere.

Things I will miss:
1. Cheap, reasonably healthy "fast food" choices. Kimbab, bibimbab, soups - basically, rice, veggies, tofu and/or a tiny bit of meat - range from about $1 to $4 and are available in even the smallest of towns.
2. Amazing recycling - almost EVERYTHING is recycled here, and most places have composting bins.
3. Inexpensive, efficient public transportation
4. "service" - basically, getting things for free. For example, I bought the hair goop that brings my joy (Aveda's Be Curly) and got samples of shampoo, conditions, and more hair goop. This happens in most stores, and it is like a nice extra little present.

Korean English Textbook translation

2008-07-09T10:35:00.002+09:00

This is mostly for elementary English teachers, (though there are some resources for middle and high school teachers) but the Gepik Web site has full translations of teacher's guides for 3-6 grade English textbooks.

This is great! Before, they had some "team teaching" lessons, but this is a full translation of the teacher's manual, with good explanations for to how to play the games in the book and translations of the "culture" sections (which are HILARIOUS).

Because this is another Korean web site built on a million layers of Flash, click on English, chose the "team teaching" tab, and then select your grade level. For the Primary grades, you are then able to select "Teaching Guide" from the list on the left. The only caveat is that is it in Hansoft, so it will need to be done on a Korean computer.

For upper grades, they have some examples of team-teaching lessons, but it doesn't look like the whole guides are available.

hot hot heat

2008-07-08T23:13:00.003+09:00

The sun is making one if its few monsoon season appearances, and is it hot!! And when I say hot, I mean really freaking hot. With lots and lots of humidity, so when I look at the temperature, I think "oh, not SO bad" and then I walk outside and instantly turn into a sweaty mess. Though it is nice to see the sun.

My principal has decided that as a tool to cut electricity costs, all of the air conditioning units (in the teachers' rooms and offices - none of the classrooms have AC) should be turned off. Now, because the old men on my floor have decided that it is perfectly acceptable to smoke in the teachers' room, I don't spend much time there, anyway, but STILL!! Also? NOT OK to smoke IN THE SCHOOL. Not ever.

Also, in my non-air conditioned gym, there are people who aren't turning all the fans on. I mean, really? Are you kidding me? My goodness, people!! Though I take advantage of this by aiming the nearest fan directly at me, so it sort of works out as well as could be expected.

Not a lot going on other that the thinking about and preparing to move home. I'll be back in less than a month, just went to the pension office to fill out all the papers to get that sent to the States (should show up in September. Fingers crossed) and deciding what is worth shipping home. And the whole "I need a job" thing which is more than a tiny bit stressful.

Happy 4th.

2008-07-04T09:58:00.002+09:00

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - Declaration of Independence

Home

2008-07-02T19:14:00.002+09:00

Today I spent rather a large amount of money on my ticket home. I'll be landing in Indiana the evening of August 6th!

I wrote my official letter of resignation today, and I am going to try to go to the pension office on Friday (no classes in the morning, so my co-teacher and I should be able to go to work out all the details).

I have packed a couple of boxes of stuff to ship home, and need to be ruthless in the purging of clothes. Well, really, ruthless in the purging of everything.

shameful

2008-06-30T23:09:00.002+09:00

This is shameful. According to one of the English-language newspapers, several mothers are bringing babies in strollers to protests. In this case, the mother put her child in front of water cannons that were being used on crowds that have become increasingly violent (hundreds of people - protesters and riot police - have been taken to the hospital. From the reports, several of the riot police left with pretty serious injuries).

I am without words. When the protests were mostly peaceful, that is one thing, but to put your child in danger? For this? Horrible.

From Brian.

Oh, and the riot police? Are kids serving their mandatory military service. And according to Wikipeadia (yeah, I know, not the most valid of sources, but still...) receive very limited training before being put in pretty stressful situations.

(Dear Mom, this is happening in Seoul. Seoul is very far away from where I am.)

2008-06-30T15:11:00.000+09:00

I just found out that there is no way my vice-principal or principal is able to let me leave early, so even though I have the vacation time, I'll need to quit in order to be back in the States for the beginning of the school year in both Indiana and Tennessee (I'm hoping for a job in Indy, but will be sending off resumes to Memphis just to be on the safe side).

Right now, I'm waiting to get quotes from travel agents here, but it looks like I will be flying into Chicago the second week of August.

I'll end up losing the cost of my return flight and two weeks of salary, which sucks and is really annoying, but given the cost of flying home then coming back to close everything out, I'd about break even and not have to spend about 30 hours on an airplane. My pension/bonus should be pro-rated, so at least there is that.

Ugh.

2008-06-29T18:15:00.002+09:00

So, this beef thing is still going on. This was happening in Seoul, and I haven't heard about anything bad happening down here, but then I live in a bubble and most of the time wouldn't know if something WAS happening. My guess is that there are still rallies being held in bigger cities, and probably smaller things locally, but like the article said, with the numbers greatly reduced.

I have a question about this quote, "Officials could take measures such as the use of liquid tear gas, which has been banned in South Korea since 1999." Is there a difference between liquid tear gas and any other form of tear gas? Because I remember protesters getting gassed last summer at rallies against Homever/Kim's Club, mainly because we had to scurry into a friend's apartment to avoid the full impact of it.

To show how deeply ingrained dislike of the new president (who was elected with the greatest victory margin in Korean history) is, a little story. My 6th grade class is learning about different jobs. My co-teacher put together a slideshow of people who were representative of different professions - a famous singer, a driver, that kind of thing - and when the picture of the president came up on the screen, the entire elementary class started to point, yell, and laugh at the t.v. The 6th graders are getting ready for mid-term exams, and this was the most excited I've seen them get about anything that wasn't prize-related in a long time.

life

2008-06-19T21:49:00.002+09:00

I think I have been in Korea for long enough that I so many things that used to be new and exciting are just same-old. What was and adventure is now just life. I could tell a story about how I had a group of about 7 kids saying "teacher! black/brown!" and wiggling around the hallway today, and I was able to figure out there was a bug in their classroom, or how a moody 6th grader actually was able to tell me that he was in a bad mood but didn't want to tell me about it, or how kids freak out and act like I'm magic when I'm typing an email - IN ENGLISH OMG!! - but they are the little things that would make up a school or a class or a student anywhere.

I will be back in the States in less than two months. I have resumes and emails and all that stuff out, and am playing the waiting game, which does not bring me joy. This weekend, a good friend is leaving, which drives home the point that _I_ will be leaving soon, too. I am SO ready to be home, but there are many, many things I will miss deeply about this strange little place.

More Crazy Cow

2008-06-11T11:02:00.001+09:00

(crazy cow is how it has been translated into Korean and then back into English)

This blog has done a pretty great job of summarizing the protests last night, and has linked some amazing pictures. It seems (thankfully) that things stayed peaceful for the most part, which, when you think about the numbers of people, is pretty amazing.

My students have pretty limited English beyond "can I have" and "go straight and turn left" - basically, about the same as my Korean ability - so talking about this with them hasn't been much of an option. I know that many of them went to the local protests last night, and even 6th graders realize this isn't about beef.

mooo

2008-06-10T12:02:00.004+09:00

Things don't seem to be calming down in terms of protests against US beef imports. Protests are becoming more violent, including some cases where there are allegations that people are setting themselves on fire (though there is a question if the self-immolation is in protest of the beef, or if the protest provided a venue - thanks Brian).

I'm all for people standing up for what they believe in. What I find fault with is that this isn't based on science or a real threat to the populace, but rather, on xenophobia, propaganda, and fear-mongering.

I've typed and deleted a couple of rants here, and right now I'm just not sure if I am angry that people refuse to listen to logic and reason, if I'm sad that people (both the riot police and the protesters) are getting hurt, if I'm sick of anti-foreigner sentiment here, or if I just am ready to leave. Maybe all of the above.

Last week, I left school and got in a cab to go to one of the big grocery stores. The driver went about a block, pulled over and told me to get out of the taxi because he was going to get a coffee. I don't know for sure if this was related to the news coverage or if this was just one idiot, but still. Drivers used to try to talk to me the entire drive to wherever, and in the past week or more, I haven't had a single one try to talk to me at all.

Clinton and conflict

2008-06-09T09:43:00.000+09:00

I have to admit some conflict. Watching the election coverage from a distance I'm sure limited what I saw in both good and bad ways, and while there were many ways in which I didn't support Clinton, the misogyny I saw in response to her campaign almost swayed me back to her camp. A friend linked this article from the nation which says it a lot better than I can:

Iron My Skirt

"There's another reason to be grateful to her. Clinton's run has put to rest the myth that we are living in a postfeminist wonderland in which all that stands in women's path is women themselves. Like a magnet--was it the pantsuit?--Clinton drew out the nation's misogyny in all its jeering glory and put it where we could all get a good look at it. "Iron my shirt" hecklers. Wearers of Bros Over Hos T-shirts and buyers of Hillary nutcrackers. Fans of the Citizens United Not Timid website (check the acronym). Vats of sexist nastiness splattered across the Comments section of hundreds of blogs and websites. It's as if every obscene phone caller and every exhibitionist in America decided to become an amateur political pundit."

No Reservations

2008-06-08T16:37:00.003+09:00

I was watching Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations on You Tube this afternoon, and thought that it gives a pretty accurate snapshot of pieces of life in Korea. If you have the time and the patience to watch a whole tv show in You Tube-quality video, it is worth a look.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5

Mad cow

2008-06-04T12:18:00.000+09:00

In the past few weeks, there has been a growing number of protests about South Korea's plans for importing beef from the US". Many people believe that there is a strong likelihood that people will get Mad Cow if Korea resumes imports. The protests are becoming so violent that in Seoul water cannons were used against protesters, there are claims of significant force being used by police (I can't link to the English language Korean newspapers because it is a mess of stupid Flash so you can't go to a specific article), people are being arrested, and there are charges of police brutality being brought against the riot police in Seoul.

This seems to be going deeper, in that people feel that the president not listening to their concerns is greater than the concern itself, and the president has put his (IMHO, absurd) plan to build a canal across the entire country on hold for the time being, again because of public discontent.

This is another example of the power of propaganda. Although there is no science on their side, every time I speak with someone about it, there is a different reason for why it is so much more dangerous for Koreans to eat US beef, from the idea that the US will send the meat from cows that are over 30 months old (and therefore more likely to transmit the disease, though research doesn't support this theory) to Koreans being more susceptible to the virus (though how they would know this, I have no idea). While at the same time there is a very real outbreak of Avian Flu sweeping through South Korea that no one is talking about or protesting, although there have been instances where humans working with infected birds have contracted the disease.

Jeju Marathon 2008

2008-06-03T15:26:00.002+09:00

Last weekend, we went to Jeju-do, an island about 4.5 hours by ferry south of Mokpo for the Jeju Marathon. Last year, this was my first 10k race ever, and I was psyched to go back. I had even entertained thought of training for the half there (lack of time on the roads and some minor injuries made me rethink the wisdom of that one).

Sloane and I took the afternoon ferry on Friday, and got in at about the same time Vanessa and Monique landed (they flew from Gwangju). We all met up at the airport where we picked up the rental car (and really? Get the car. It is far and away the best way to get around the island.)

The next morning, we started off pretty slowly - Sloane and I went to the gym across the street (which, compared to were I work out now, was SWEET) and then we went off for brunch and met up with my friend Dan:

who went with us for a drive along the coast road on our way to the lava tubes. We stopped when Dan noticed that the haenyeo, the lady divers of Jeju, were out working and we got out to watch for a few minutes. They are pretty famous in Korea, and it was something I had wanted to see. I felt a little invasive just watching them work, but they ARE sort of famous for the work they do, and I'm willing to bet this wasn't the first time tourists had watched them at work.

We went to the lava tubes, which were actually pretty cool (figuratively and literally). In the center of Jeju is Hallasan, a dormant volcano, and the entire island is volcanic rock. Basically, the volcanic flows have formed underground tubes all over the island, and a section of the tube system has been declared an UNESCO natural heritage site. It has been lit (somewhat) and there are some signs (in multiple languages) pointing out certain features of the tube. I think I read somewhere that it was about a kilometer each way (out and back), but that seems kind of far for how long we were down there. While there are lights, they keep it dark to preserve the site, so unless Dan's fancy camera was able to see more than ours were, we don't have any images from inside the tube.

After the tubes, we headed to the beach:

We maybe watch a little too much America's Next Top Model.

The marathon was having a pre-party in what we determined was either a past or a current drama/movie set. There was going to be a dinner, but it wasn't going to start for more than an hour and a half, and looked like it was going to be an awful lot of raw fish and speeches in Korean, so we decided to take off for the Indian restaurant in town, after taking some pictures of the park.

We had to leave the next morning at 7:30 to get to the starting line for the race. We were maybe not too happy about that:

And maybe got a little lost along the way.

We got to the stadium with enough time to check our bags and get ready to head to the line, but I wasn't able to get in touch with a friend who ran the full, and I was pretty disappointed about that. Also, because of distance and time and our departures, there was no way we were able to make it back to the stadium and still make our ferry, and I'm still really bummed about that.

Anyway, the race course was beautiful, and I had a good run - there were more rolling hills than I remembered, but nothing overwhelming, and after the last race that was HARD, this one felt really nice. Monique took her camera along, so I have some shots of the course:
passing after Monique did the turn-around

Garlic drying on the side of the road.

Squid drying along the road.

I think Dan got a shot of my finish, which was a personal best time (still 1:09:04, but that is great for me, and the course was exactly 10k - 6.25 miles) but here is a picture of all of us:

After we finished, we walked over to a nearby beach and went into the (cold) water for a few minutes:

After, we went back to the hotel, showered, and then went for Mexican for lunch. We dropped Vanessa and the car off at the airport, lamented that we would be on the boat for 4.5 hours instead of flying, and then (after realizing all the flights were booked and there wasn't a chance of catching a last-minute seat) headed for the ferry terminal. On the way back, we had booked two business-class rooms and one lower-class seat. The rooms were a little small, but we thought we would have been fine if we had bought one room and two of the lower-class seats (just for future reference for anyone who has made it this far and might be taking a ferry to or from Jeju). It was like a little barrier between us and the soju-fueled revelry on the other side of the door, and it was worth the money, by far.

I have said this before, but our little running club has been such an amazing part of my time in Korea, and will miss the people and the experiences deeply.

weeble-wobble

2008-05-29T21:46:00.001+09:00

The difference between me and a weeble-wobble?

Weebol-wobbles don't fall down.

I went out for a run today to explore an area of sidewalk with the rubberized running surface I found last weekend, and about 10 yards from the beginning of the good path, I tripped over the end of a pipe that was sticking out of the road, as if it had been a support of some sort embedded in the in the asphalt. I totally wiped out, skinning my knee, taking a layer of skin off the palms of my hands, and getting a couple little scrapes on my elbow. Basically, I look like a 7 year-old who fell off her bike.

Jeju

2008-05-29T16:08:00.002+09:00

Me looking so dork-tastically happy that I finished my first 10k in Jeju.

Tomorrow I leave for Jeju for what I think is the last group race for our little running club. Monique leaves in a few weeks to go back to Canada, Carol has already gone home, and my contract is over in less than three months. Sloane and I may try to find a race before it gets too hot to be dealt with or the rains set in solidly, but it isn't looking all that great. So I'm looking at this as our last race together.

Presents!!

2008-05-29T16:05:00.000+09:00

My new co-teacher is going to be such an awesome teacher, and is really really nice.

There are some miscommunications given her grasp of the content area she has been assigned to teach. But she is super-helpful as far as she can be, and just bought me the greatest little present ever!

I have been meaning to get one of the name-stamps that are sometimes considered more official than a signature here (you have to use red ink for it to be valid). I hadn't mentioned it to her, but she saw one on-line for a very good price and thought I would appreciate it and got one for me! Also, totally by coincidence (she told me later), the wood carving on the out side is of a crane. My school this year is 삼학, which translates to "three cranes" elementary school. I liked the symbolism. I know this probably cost a LOT less than the donuts she brings in for the other 6th grade teachers, and it means so much more!!

Ultimate

2008-05-26T21:44:00.002+09:00

This weekend, a friend organized an ultimate frisbee hat tournament in Mokpo.

Let me back up a second - in Ultimate Frisbee, there are all kinds of games, from pick-up (what we play - a group of folks gather, divide up into equally matched teams, and play for a few hours fairly casually) leagues (what it sounds like - set teams that play for a given length of time) tournaments (like the one I went to in Jeju a few weeks ago) and Hat tournaments, where people register, state their ability level, and then teams are drawn up that are hopefully pretty equally matched. Sort of like drawing names out of a hat (hence the name), but the goal is to make sure that there is a balanced number of experienced players, new-ish players, and beginners.

For this tournament, there were a bunch of us from Mokpo, a fairly big group of people from Seoul, some folks from Busan, and then a handful of others from all around. About 45-50 players made it out on Saturday (a handful less were able to make both days - a few people fell victim to the Saturday night party), and it was a great time, both in terms of learning a lot in a short amount of time, and in getting to hang out with some neat people.

I also feel lucky that there are so many really cool, mellow folks in Mokpo. This weekend introduced me to some folks who approach games a little more... intensely, for lack of a better word... than I'm comfortable with, and I appreciate the vibe of the people who play here have even more. One of the things I've learned from this new-found interest in athleticism is that it is great to be competitive, awesome to see improvement, and fun to win, but at the end of the day, you are really good at throwing a frisbee. Or climbing a rock. Or running for a long time. Or lifting heavy things and putting them back down again. All of these things are great, but in terms of degree of importance? Maybe notsomuch. If you aren't having a good time, aren't making friends, aren't having fun, what's the freaking point? Granted, I'm the girl who was picked last in gym class, so my humble opinion should probably be taken with a very large grain of salt.

The abandoned school and maping programs

2008-05-18T11:20:00.005+09:00

(this is mostly for the Mokpo folks)

Most Sundays a group of folks gets together around 2 to play Ultimate Frisbee. Lot's of fun, but it can be a little hard to find the abandoned school where we play.
here is a link to a Google maps-like map of the area.

For taxis, you can say "Yudal Oo-che-gook" (that's a phonetic, not transliteration spelling), which is the closest landmark, then tell the driver to go up the hill, turn right, then turn left. Or you can be daring and say "Gu Mokpo Jeil Yoja Godung Hakyo" - old Mokpo Girls High School. I usually mention "yudal oochegook" just to make sure that I don't end up in Hadang at the current girls high school, and still the drivers often try to take me to the middle school down the road. If you don't go up a hill into a small neighborhood and end up at an obviously abandoned school, you are at the wrong place. Emphasize the "Gu" part of the location.

Once there, walk around the building to the right, go up a set of steps, and you are at the field. If you are on a bike (motor or pedal), you can go to the left and go up the ramp to the field.

Also, the link above is to a mapping site where you can plot courses for walking, running, or giving directions. One that I like even more (and which JUST upgraded so I can see Korea - use hybrid view) is Map My Run. The main benefit to the Map My Run program is that it has an out/back feature for plotting routes, and you can click and drag the map around more easily.

Boseong

2008-05-16T15:25:00.002+09:00

Last weekend was a 10k race (for me and Sloane) and a 5k for Carol, Vanessa and HangBin (and Vanessa's first 5k race!) in Boseong, a small town on the east side of Jeollanamdo. Boseong produces about 40% of the green tea consumed in Korea, which is a heck of a lot of green tea. The small town's other claims to fame are its proximity to Jirisan (the Jiri Mountains), Daewonsa (Daewon temple), that it is Hangbin's hometown, and that it is where Vanessa spent her first two years in Korea.

Sloane and I left Mokpo on Saturday afternoon to make it to town, grab a hotel room, and then to go see the tea fields.

We then ate green tea ice cream and went to meet Vanessa for dinner in town. Carol was coming down with an evil cold, so didn't come over until the morning of the race. But how rock-star of her is it that she still ran!?

The next day, we did the race. It wasn't my best run and I felt tired through the whole thing - not sure what was going on. The race DID have more hills than I'm used to running, but I don't think they were as bad as I thought they were. It felt like most of the first half was downhill and I kept dreading the second half of the race. At the end of the day, it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be and while I was faster than my training times, I'm pretty sure it will be my slowest 10k to date.
.

After the race, we went to the Green Tea Spa just outside Boseong, where I had my first scrub. Basically I paid a burley Korean woman to scrub about five layers of my skin off, and it was kind of awesome.

That night, we stayed at a cottage owned by Hangbin's family near Daewonsa.
HangBin picking lettuce from the garden for samgyupsal: . The air was clean, there were almost no people around, and it was great to be able to hang out with good friends.

Monday was Buddha's Birthday and we went to Daewonsa for the celebrations. Daewonsa is one of the temples I like the most here, so it was really nice to be able to go there for the celebration.

It got a little crazy at one point with some photographs turning all paparazzi on us. Imagine this, but aimed at us instead of the performers, and (I think) more photographers:

Yes, we stand out. I get it. But instead of taking a snapshot and moving on, there were many people pointing these high-powered cameras at us. We tried to ignore them, but every time we looked back there were more! Finally, HangBin told them to leave us alone (in Korean), and they at least moved back.

The only downer about this weekend is that it was Carol's last race with us. Monday she heads back to Canada for a few months before starting as a teacher in Kuwait! Without putting too fine a point on it, these races have been a really important part of my time in Korea, and it has been so exciting and inspirational to run with this awesome group of people. Carol, you will be missed.

The next race is June 1st, in Jeju. It will be the anniversary of my first 10k race! I can't believe that it was almost a year ago!! Yikes.

Ultimate Frisbee

2008-05-16T13:47:00.002+09:00

About a month ago, a group of about 15 of us went to Jeju for the 4th International Jeju Ultimate Frisbee tournament. We formed two teams - 18 Puppies (my team), which is a play on the translation of some pretty foul Korean words, and Snatch, which refers to grabbing a frisbee intended for someone else. And, er, I'm TOTALLY sure that is what they meant with the name, and there weren't any alternative meanings of the word implied, and there were no jokes made AT ALL. Just like there were no alternative meanings to the team named Rooster Candy. If you need that spelled out, send me an email.

We didn't have enough people for two full teams from Mokpo, but we had too many people for one big team, so we divided and pulled in some players who registered as individuals (instead of as a team) and we TOTALLY lucked out with the quality of the people we picked up for our team. Basically, while the people on our team were reasonably athletic (and, as an aside, I'm still sort of shocked that I get to count myself in the "reasonably athletic" category, albeit the slightly-slow-and-lacking-in-hand-eye-coordination part of that category) our frisbee-handling skills, well... Let's say there was a pretty good reason we were playing in "C" division. The two people we picked up were awesome, and they taught us a lot and, in all honesty, really sort of carried us. I mean, we were there to have fun and would have been competitive in our division, but let's just say (as someone on another team pointed out) we didn't have many people in cleats on the field. The fact that it was windy as all get-out actually worked to our benefit, as we were able to run a reasonably effective defense while our ~~ringers~~ new teammates had enough experience to work with the weather conditions. We were advanced to the "B" division for the second day of the tournament. Where we got spanked by the team that got knocked out of the "A" division.

Part of 18 puppies (including one the people we picked up - the one second from the left)

The whole team

Rich making our super-fancy tee-shirts

There were teams from all over Asia, including multiple teams from China, an all-women's team from Japan who were AWESOME (well, almost all women, as they had one guy because this was a co-ed tournament, but he didn't see a lot of field time), Thailand, the Philippians, Taiwan, as well as a bunch of teams from Korea and some other places I think I'm missing. Also, Jeju is just flat-out awesome. It is almost like taking a break from being in Korea.

Next weekend is a "hat" tournament here in Mokpo, where everyone enters as an individual, says what their experience level is, and then teams are drawn up. It will be interesting to see how many people make it down (or up, in the case of the Jeju players) and should be a pretty awesome time.

Bloodletting

2008-05-08T23:59:00.002+09:00

A few months ago, I twisted my ankle pretty severely. Overall, its been doing better, but if I do too much it hurts a lot still. So, since I have had next to no classes this week and needed to get out of school before I went stir crazy, I went to the traditional medicine clinic this afternoon. I really thought about bringing my camera with me, but decided that was too much, even for me.

After a conversation that was mostly in Korean (of which I understood maybe about 20%) and a few questions in a mix of broken Korean and broken English, the doctor drew a couple marks on my ankle and told me I would be treated with cupping, acupuncture, and physical therapy. Since he didn't mention being injected with bee venom (which some friends have had there, and they said it hurt like all get out), I was good to go.

First, they put suction cups on my ankle for less than a minute. They took some sort of pricking tool and basically stabbed the site a few times (it felt bigger than a tattoo needle, but wasn't TOO bad) and put the suction cups back on, drawing out blood. (I wasn't exaggerating about the bloodletting in the title) I'm not sure how long they left the cups on - maybe 5-10 minutes or so.

After, the doctor came in to place the acupuncture needles. The only one that sort of hurt was the one he put on the side of my big toe. These he left in for 20 minutes with a heat lamp aimed at the ones on my ankle. I'm not sure why, but when he took out a couple of the needles they stung, whereas others were basically painless. Anyway.

Next, the assistant came and strapped a couple of what looked not-unlike crash cart paddles that were hooked it up to a machine on my ankle. Basically I was given a massage with electric shocks. Bizarre, but not bad.

The doctor wrapped my ankle with something that looks sort of like an ace bandage with adhesive on the back. They finished by taking me upstairs and letting me hang out in the massage chair for while. Only it was sort of the Cadillac of massage chairs, and it was awesome.

Total cost was less than $5.

Right now, my ankle actually feels a lot better - to the point where I'll for sure go again to get my knees and both ankles looked at in the near future, even if it is just placebo effect. Also, I asked about preventative migraine treatment, but he didn't seem to quite understand what I was saying. If nothing else, I will probably try to get acupuncture before taking the heavy-duty migraine drugs the next time I get a headache.

t-shirts and teaching

2008-05-02T17:12:00.003+09:00

I tried to explain to the cute young guy who works in the vice-principal's office why his "I love my hooker" t-shirt both shocked me and made me laugh, but I wasn't able to explain it in either Korean or English ("hooker" wasn't on long list of occupations I was supposed to memorize at Ewha - THAT I probably would have remembered) and I just wasn't willing to use interpretive dance for that one.

Also, I like the younger kids, but the novelty wears off pretty quickly. They cry. They cry when they get answers wrong, they cry when they get answers right and someone makes fun of them for it, they cry when you move them because they made someone cry. I think part of it is because it is a special day for them, so there is just a lot more excitement about coming to my class. Or, you know, they just tend to cry.

One of the things that is really great is that even though my newest co-teacher speaks next to no English at all, she really will be an awesome teacher once she gets her own full-time classroom. She engages the kids who have trouble keeping up and the kids with special needs, she adds a lot of ideas to the textbook boring-ness, she is great with the cry-ers, and she has no problem coming down like stack of bricks on the 6th graders when they are being annoying. SHE GAVE A DIAGNOSTIC. Awesome.

Well, at least there's that...

2008-05-01T14:40:00.001+09:00

I got my wallet back today, less the money that was in it. It still just makes me so freaking angry, but at least I don't have to deal with getting a new alien registration card.

I also got out of playing volleyball for the school. I don't know if I've explained this, but there is a big thing about playing volleyball every Wednesday - "teachers' sports day" - and there is also the city-wide tournament. I was supposed to play hitter/blocker for my school's team, but with the problematic ankle and my lack of desire to stay after school to practice, I had been avoiding it. I went down yesterday and told the person who organizes everything (who is also my co-teacher from last year) that if there was a Korean teacher who wanted to play, I didn't want to take her place. All of this stuff somehow is related to status in the school and in the eyes of the principal/other teachers, so I'm opting out. (I'm pretty sure she knew, as she had plugged someone into the position already...)

AARRGGHH

2008-04-30T17:24:00.002+09:00

After more than on incident with my wallet being "borrowed" in the past few months, I've been pretty careful about only bringing it to school when I know I'll need it for something. This is annoying, but effective. And when I do bring it, I'm pretty careful to make sure that I don't leave it alone.

Today I had to pay for my gym, so I brought the wallet with me.

Guess what happened?

I'm so angry I could spit. The only time it was not in my possession was when I put my bags in the teacher's room when I went to the restroom after school on my way out.

I have taught in some tough places. This is the first place where I have ever had things stolen.

More Busan

2008-04-29T13:50:00.005+09:00

A couple weekends ago, friends and I ran the Busan Race For the Cure (called "Pink Ribbon Love Marathon" here).

+ I ran the 10k, and had my best 10k time ever. (1hr, 9min, 3sec)
- I'm pretty sure the race was somewhat shorter than 10k (according to my running watch, it was only 9.6, I think).
+ so in reality, my race time is staying pretty consistent.
- However, the half marathon will not be happening - I'm just not getting the distance in during the week, and my ankles and knees don't like the running and the playing of frisbee and volleyball.
+ I'm going to try to bring my 10k speed up
+ We will still be running in Jeju in June
+ We have registered for another 10k - in Boseong, an area near here that is known for their green tea fields. We'll also go to Daewonsa, a Tibetan Buddhist temple in that area
- my bet is that Boseong will be hilly.

We weren't in Busan for very long, but we had a great time. Amazing food, great friends, beaches. There are lots of great things about living in Korea, but sometimes it gets a little exhausting. Visiting bigger cities is almost like have a break from the overwhelming Korean-ness of living here, as there is more diversity of food and foreigners aren't quite such a novelty.

They have grass in Busan!

And people wear high heels on the beach:

The four runners on the beach on Saturday afternoon.

After the run:

I still love the picture from the previous post - these races have been a really amazing part of living here, and I can see the happy in it.

Busan

2008-04-25T12:22:00.002+09:00

Last weekend some friend and I went to Busan to run the Race for the Cure. In Korea, they call it the Pink Ribbon Love Marathon.

I have bunches of pictures, but I am getting ready to leave to go to Jeju to play in an Ultimate Frisbee tournament, so one picture before I head to the ferry:

Carol, Sloan, Monique and I have run several races together, and these trips will be one of the highlights of my time in Korea.

Field Trip

2008-04-25T11:38:00.002+09:00

Last week my school went on a "picnic" by which they meant "field trip" that ended up being "run around in a field and torture geckos" and "try to shake the snake out of the tree" (that last one isn't cute analogy for anything - there really was a snake in a tree).

Before we left for the trip, I was told that it would be something about planting trees, which I interpreted as perhaps an Earth Day sorta thing, or at least something with a bit of structure. The entire school went on the trip, and because of the number of kids going, the buses had to make two trips to the site. So I took a bunch of pictures and hung out with the kids while we waited.

The Kindergarten and part of the students lined up on the schoolyard.

One of my favorite students. She has special needs, and last year would wander in late, sit in the back, and refused to engage with me at all. This year, she sits in the front, participates, and will at least talk to me in Korean. I give a lot of credit to her homeroom teacher and the student she sits next to (who I bribe and compliment the heck out of for being nice to her). I could talk a long time about the way kids with intellectual special needs are treated here, but to put in all in a summary, NOT GOOD. Anyway, love her.

v-line

This student is a boy. He thinks he is extremely attractive.

What actually ended up happening was that kids sort of ran around all morning in a "park" that was near a major ship-building area. There were a gazillion geckos (which the children enjoyed torturing) a snake in a tree,

and games. And more games. And then a few more games. Including the always popular, make boys look like girls game. Think I'm joking?

Dear school

2008-04-17T14:28:00.004+09:00

Dear school,

Hi, how are you? I'm good, but there were a couple of things I thought we should talk about.

First of all, I know that you want me to be more involved with things, especially volleyball. I think it is great that you let me play now that you have a tournament coming up and you need someone tall enough to block. It would be nice if you would set my direction in the actual games instead of ONLY setting to the male players, but I long ago gave up hope for anything remotely non-sexist, and you are just as offensive to the other strong women players. Still, it would be awesome if you didn't waste my time, then tell me how much you want me to stay late to practice with you.

Just so you know, I'd be a lot more likely to WANT to hang out with you if you weren't so totally and completely offensive. For example, while I don't know enough Korean to understand what you were saying about me yesterday, I DO understand MY OWN NAME. For example, when you say, "CHESHEKA, momomomo, heh heh heh" I know that you are talking about me, and the dirty old man chuckle gives me an idea that you wouldn't have said it in front of me if I could have understood. But more than the fact that you were saying inappropriate things, I'm offended by the fact that you weren't smart. Here's a tip - if you don't use my name, I don't know that you are talking about me. I know you feel it is your right to view me as a non-person, but I don't really like that and very soon will loose my ability to not tell you how horribly I think you act.

While we are clearing the air, can we talk about food? I'm really happy that you have stopped trying to force me to eat octopus by almost shoving it in front of my face. It would be great if you didn't hold out the still-wriggling legs out to me when you already know I won't eat it, and really, no matter how many times you tell me how delicious it is, or how good for health it is, I'm still not going to change my mind. Thanks for making the beef soup for lunch at the field trip. I really liked how the meat was cooked, and how I didn't have to see you put the still-alive octopus in the pot. It was interesting how you were able to work octopus and/or seafood into almost every single dish on the table - impressive, really - but thanks for at least not putting it in with the rice.

In all honesty and without a trace of sarcasm, thank you for letting me hang out with your students. Seriously, I have an almost ridiculous amount of fun watching them go goofy for stupid counting games, or listening to them sing silly English songs, or taking silly self-camera pictures with them. Seeing the little tiny kindergarteners in their little matching outfits, the third and fourth graders who want to talk but really only know "hello-my-name-is," the maybe crazy fifth grade boy who wants attention so badly he often just sticks his head in the room and growls. You make me laugh every single day. Thank you.

Sincerely,
J

A few more...

2008-04-14T15:33:00.004+09:00

Looking at the last post, I realized that there are a lot of pictures of me by me. My name is Jessica and I am a selca (selfcam) addict. The first step is admitting you have a problem.

So here are some pictures of other things.

Dr. Fish is one of the newer trends in Seoul. Go into a nice, comfortable lounge, have a cocktail, and put your feet into a pool of warm water. That is filled with little fishies that eat the dead skin off your heels and toes.

I knew it would be ticklish, but I had NO IDEA it would be THAT ticklish. I was able to force my feet into the water for a few minutes at a time, but couldn't take it for very long at all! Euughh!! But how often do you get to say you had a glass of wine while fish ate your feet?

One of the things that I have deeply mixed feeling on is the more traditional markets. In the small towns, it is mostly old women with grains, vegetables and fruit in bowls and on blankets spread on the streets and sidewalks. You also have the same thing for fish, seaweed, octopus, and "I don't know, comes from sea." Even in major urban areas, sometimes a market springs up on a street corner, not far from a grocery store which everything neatly wrapped in plastic. This was on the streets of Seoul:

(the first few things are peanuts and candy-coated peanuts. As you move down the line, I think it changes more to the grains that are often mixed into rice)

I am completely addicted to the mandarin oranges you can see on the right. They are fading out of the markets now and when you do find them, they aren't as good. It makes me sad.

More kinds of kimchi than you could imagine. The smell was powerfully bad.

I really like the old markets for vegetables and fruit. When it comes to meat and seafood? Maybe I'm just a princess, but I would prefer to buy things that haven't been sitting out in a bucket on the side of the street. But maybe that's just me.

This is the picture I took of the Seoul subway map because I kept losing the pocket maps I had. I was incredibly proud when I could navigate around the city using only the Korean version.

Photo Backlog

2008-04-14T14:53:00.003+09:00

I haven't posted photos in FOREVER, so I have a bit of a backlog. There are more where these came from on the Flickr page.

In Seoul:
We went to a cultural performance (they had examples of all kinds of traditional music and dance) and got to try on hanbok - traditional Korean dress. I was able to try on one of the headpieces, which brought me great joy. One should note that hanbok supersedes empire-waisted tops/dresses as the worst offender in the "makes you look pregnant even if you aren't" category.

Amanda and Ian are new parents. We had a baby shower for them in March:

"What if" (Amanda, Randi, and Rachel)

Sloane, Virgina, and me.

We said goodbye to Garrett multiple times, including this one at P-Club (one of the "foreigner" bars in town)
Nicola, Garrett, Virgina

Krista, Camille, Me

Nicola got treated with bee venom at the traditional medicine doctor:

We celebrated Monique's birthday:

And Jongwon and my birthday: (the only pictures I have of us together, one or the other of us looks bad. You should imagine revelry and awesomeness. At least from what I can remember...)

There was a pub quiz night:
Ricky and me

And I saw the greatest sweatshirt on a student I have ever seen in my life:

pictures

2008-04-10T10:24:00.002+09:00

It was pointed out to me that perhaps more pictures would be nice. I haven't uploaded from my camera for a while, so this one by a new Mokpo-ian (Zach) will have to suffice for the moment.

I should probably cop to the fact that I cut out someone from the picture - I think his name is Will? Maybe? Though I have to admit, the original was sort of "movie star in hiding" and cool in that respect.

Korean conversation

2008-04-10T10:17:00.002+09:00

There aren't many times for me to use what little Korean I know in a conversational setting. Interactions when at the grocery, translating key words while teaching, basic politeness (hello, thank you, goodbye) in social situations are pretty common, but don't make me use much of what little vocabulary and grammar I have.

The one place I can regularly speak in Korean is in the taxi. Drivers often will start up conversations that use the small talk I know. Lately, a few drivers have been pretty forward (telling me they should be my boyfriend, even though I use the pretend boyfriend excuse) and things like that, so I have been sort of avoiding it.

But last night I was in a cab with a friend who speaks a lot more than me, and we realized that individually we were okay, but together (with someone to check that we understood what was going on) we rocked! And it was SO MUCH FUN! It was one of the best spontaneous conversations in Korean I've ever had! Yay!

This is what a feminist looks like.

2008-04-02T10:54:00.001+09:00

I like this.

delicate flower

2008-04-01T15:49:00.002+09:00

I've spent not a small part of the afternoon looking at Natalie Dee comics and fell in love with many, but this one made me laugh.

Ick

2008-03-27T16:23:00.001+09:00

Even if I try really really hard, I don't think I can come up with something more nausea-inducing than the combination of the horrible stench of raw octopus and watching people eat it.

I actually tried to describe even a little bit of the experience, but got that salivating-pre-vomit feeling, and couldn't go on. Seriously, folks, bad.

Spring

2008-03-27T08:15:00.002+09:00

Life in itself
Is nothing,
An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.
It is not enough that yearly, down this hill
April
Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.
—from "Spring" by Edna St. Vincent Millay

(No, I'm not revisiting my high-school emo days. I thought it was funny.)

Happy Spring. Idiocy and flowers and all that.

Twitter and twinges

2008-03-26T22:35:00.002+09:00

* I've heard a few references to Twitter. Do any of you use it? I am maybe slow on the uptake, but I don't know much about it at all.

* I'm no stranger to the headaches, but today I got one of the strangest ones - usually I get them on one side or the other of my head, but today it seems to be located at the base of my skull, and keeps creeping up the back of my head. I'll think I'm doing fine, then I'll move the wrong way and the shooting pain returns. Maybe I should take another dose of the good migraine drugs, but I don't feel like the pain is all that bad - it is just ongoing. I have the the usual "spacey" feeling that I get with migraines, but all of the different drugs I've taken today (Excedrin, ibruprophen, sinus meds, imigrane - the closest I can get to Imitrex here) have dulled but not killed the pain, the Aveda Blue oil hasn't helped, either.

* Looking at the list, it looks like I've taken a lot of pills, but I woke up with this thing at 6-ish this morning, and it is almost 10:30pm here.

* I had the 3rd graders for the first time today. I had high expectations of starting to talk about Earth Day stuff, mostly getting them to color and learn words like rain, tree, rainbow, Earth, recycle. It took 40 minutes to review "hello, my name is______." (Which is the first lesson in their text, and what I thought would take about 15 minutes). With the second class, I added a counting/pay attention to me again game ("clap one time. clap two times...) and stand up/sit down. I am maybe going to be lowering my expectations. I just wanted to make sure that in the first class, they knew they would have to speak EVERY TIME.

* I am in the process of re-knitting a sweater (Hopeful for you folks on Ravelry). I knit up to the shoulder join last time when I realized it was too wide and too short last year. This time, I'm using a much more appropriate yarn and am at the neck and shoulder shaping, but I think it might still be too short. I'm doing a bit more research on modifications and might rip back to the body and add a few inches, as I'm afraid I might still be too short. I'm using a cashmere/ "soft wool" blend I bought in Seoul, using 3.5mm Addi Turbos (that last bit was as a reminder to myself, so when I forget what needles I used, I have another point of reference).

* For people in Mokpo, the Denmark plain yogurt at Homeplus really is plain (non-sweet) yogurt. The kind not in the bottles (though that may be, too, for all I know). For people not in Korea, it is almost impossible to find non-sweet yogurt or sour cream outside of a big city, so for Indian food or things like that, I've been using very soft tofu, with mixed results. Though I stand behind my soft tofu/few shakes of lemon juice/black pepper/nutritional yeast pasta sauce. Yes, really.

Awesome

2008-03-26T13:05:00.002+09:00

Try to the get the "kimchi, kimchi, it is good for you and me" hook out of your head.

My hometown

2008-03-20T12:54:00.004+09:00

Sen. Hillary Clinton visits Indiana

My favorite quote from the Terre Haute paper?

Adding to the interest is Vigo County’s reputation as a bellwether in presidential politics. Vigo voters have shown an uncanny ability to pick the eventual winner in the general election. Only once in the past 100 years has the county missed, and that was in 1952 when Illinois Sen. Adlai Stevenson narrowly defeated Dwight Eisenhower.

Yes. She is visiting T.H. because of its status as a bellweather. Or maybe because it is a really good example of a struggling small town. I'm just worried that it will get played as Hickville. Dollars to donuts that she cracks out the "southern" accent she had in Texas.

If you are interested, one of the Indianapolis news stations will be showing a feed of her remarks in Terre Haute starting at 10:30 am Eastern (that would be 11:30 pm Korea time).

Birthday

2008-03-18T13:48:00.001+09:00

Today is my birthday. Last weekend was a party, and tonight is dinner with friends. My friends? They rock.

canal

2008-03-18T12:51:00.003+09:00

The most recent brain-child of the newly (and overwhelmingly) elected Korean president is to build a canal from Busan (the southeast corner of Korea) to Seoul, creating a man-made waterway that would basically cut across the entire peninsula.

To give a bit of perspective, (both on the small size of Korean and of the large size of the canal) the canal would be slightly longer than the distance between Cincinnati and Chicago. So let's say the Ohio River was the Sea of Japan and Lake Michigan was the Yellow Sea, and for some reason, someone thought it was a really, really, good idea to connect these two waterways. Only add in lots and lots of mountains and the source of most fresh water. And a propensity for oil spills. (there was a smaller spill - 13,000-ish gallons of oil - off the coast of Yeosu recently, but there is no English-language coverage of it that I can find).

This is billions of dollars spent on something senseless.

There are protests planned in both Seoul and in Busan, petitions, and (of all the useless things) a Facebook group (like, really? are you kidding me?) dedicated to raising awareness of the potential catastrophically ridiculous plan. Protests are awfully popular here, but for the most part, given how much Korean leaders tend to listen to public opinion when money is on the line, I'm not encouraged that anything good will come out of it. (But I think I just hit #18 on the list of stuff white people like.)

Dancing queen

2008-03-14T13:40:00.004+09:00

(I maybe don't have enough to do today. Carry on.)

Do you see the dancer spinning clockwise or counter-clockwise?

The idea is that different people will see different things. Some people can make her change directions.

Here is some info about what is actually going on.

For the record, I see her spinning clockwise, and I can't make her switch directions.

ETA: If you want some other information (and a way to see her spin the other direction) you can go HERE.

White Day

2008-03-14T11:10:00.004+09:00

Following in the steps of Hallmark, Korea has added "holidays" to the calendar for almost every month. Some are mostly ignored (Ace Cracker Day, for example, where people give Ace Crackers to each other) whereas others (Pepero Day, where people give sticks of Pepero - basically, a stick cookie dipped in chocolate) are celebrated widely. Last fall, I saw a bakery that had dipped loaves of French bread in chocolate to make it look like enormous sticks of Pepero.

Today is White Day,which is in Korea is celebrated by men giving women presents/candy, to trade off for Valentine's Day, which is usually when women give men candy/presents. April 14th is Black Day, where single folks get together to eat noodles in black bean sauce. Though I have to admit that every time I hear "black day" I think of the Morrissy line, "I wear black on the outside because black is how I feel on the inside" (and you thought I outgrew that goth phase - HAHAHA).

Anyway.

All of this to say, looking at the candy displays in the stores makes me laugh - while women give men chocolate on Valentine's Day, it seems like men give women suckers and lollypops. Paging Dr. Freud.

Also, I have kids giving me lots and lots of candy today. Let's see if they recognize the fact that I'm recycling it once I need to bribe them into compliance.

GOING to be? Ha.

2008-03-14T11:08:00.002+09:00

It really is almost sad the joy I take in doing this already. In both English AND Korean.

a few little things.

2008-03-11T10:22:00.002+09:00

Yellow Dust is basically pollution and dust from Mongolia that gets carried East. It means that the air over most of China, Korea, and Japan is hazy, breathing is more difficult, and Jessica is more wheezy. Joy. I guess when it gets really bad, it can also affect parts of the US. I'm the idiot who has ended up running outside on the worst days of the year both this year and last, but thanks to a friend, I have at least an idea of what the levels are: The US military has a tracker that gives you an idea of the air quality. (Mokpo folks will probably want to click on the Gwangju tab). This would have been a smart thing to look at a couple weekends ago, but hindsight, 20/20, blahblahblah.

In other news, I "lost" my wallet again. I left it in my bag when I went to a teacher's meeting, and didn't realize it was gone until I was getting ready to leave the gym to meet friends for dinner.

A few minutes ago my principal just brought it back to me, and minus the less than ~$10 that was in it, everything was still there. I was pretty sure something like that would happen, so didn't worry about canceling everything until I had a chance to retrace all my steps.

This is one of the things that is nice about Korea. While someone went into my bag because I was dim-witted enough to leave it in my room, they just took what they would be able to use and didn't take the things that would be a big giant pain to replace. Dodged a bullet, lesson learned.

Maybe somewhat questionable taste...

2008-03-05T13:22:00.002+09:00

This is really not kid appropriate (and is only worksafe depending on where you work...) but is getting more than a bit of attention in the blogsphere and makes me laugh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnVJZkDuVBM

And Jimmy Kimmel's response:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rGa29kPBbp4

Unrelated, Stuff White People Like is a blog that is getting more than a little bit of attention. I'll leave it to you to form an opinion.

Didn't see that one coming

2008-03-05T13:21:00.003+09:00

When I decided to change schools last summer, I made my decision based on the city I wanted to live in, not the grade level I wanted to teach. We all make trade-offs, and at the time I needed to list a specific school in a specific city in order to get switched out of my old school. I knew that this job was open, and so took the elementary job in order to be able to move out of the tiny neighborhood of the small town I lived in last year. My thinking was that it was a year, and how bad could it be?

Over the past few months, I've come to a somewhat disturbing conclusion - I've become an elementary school teacher, not just a middle school teacher pretending to be an elementary school teacher. I had students for the first time today (although I've been here for two days, the only kids I see are in the hallways or when they stick their heads in to say hello) and I have FUN. Maybe because I'm able to crank up the dork factor to eleven (and let's be real, I admit my dork factor is pretty high, anyway) and I'll probably be ready to crush them like grapes in a few weeks, but I like playing goofy games, making cheesy bulletin boards, and making the kids who are either low-level or annoying (or both) fall in love with me. I get to laugh a lot more than I did in middle school, and if it sometimes feels like I am teaching via interpretative dance more than language, so be it.

After years of making jokes that I could never be an elementary teacher because I don't own enough seasonal sweatshirts, wooden jewelery, or things that look like apples, I somehow have become one. At least for the time being. Totally didn't expect that one.
__________________________________________________________________________________
Unrelated, I'm wearing a cashmere sweater my step-mother sent me, and keep petting my own arm. Am even more happy I bought that bag of merino/cashmere blend in Seoul.

Grr

2008-03-03T14:36:00.002+09:00

I'm so annoyed my head is about to come off my neck.

Even before I took the language course, I understood a LOT more Korean than my school thought I did. I mean, let's be real here, I have lived here for more than a year and am able to live and get almost every taken care of with either English or my limited Korean - I'm not a freaking idiot.

So this morning, my principal introduces me to the staff and says that I only speak English and no Korean at all. Fine. I introduce myself to the staff in Korean and let the rest of the meeting crash over my head in a wave of words.

A few minutes later while we were waiting for the opening school meeting to start, he starts asking me questions that I answer in Korean, including things like, do I know what 감사합니다 means. I mean, really? I don't know the word for thank you? Anyway, the conversation continues, and I don't think he even realized that I was answering his broken English with Korean.

A few minutes ago, one of the teacher just walked in the room and asked if I knew where my co-teacher was. I didn't know, and he said something else quickly and mumbly, and when I asked him to go slowly, he just walked out of the room as if I didn't exist. Now, either he didn't understand my Korean or he did and is just an asshole. I'm still really annoyed by the whole thing, and sort of want to find him and tell him that while I don't speak a lot, if he goes slowly AND DOESN"T LEAVE THE ROOM I can at least understand what is going on. GRR.

Oh, and I have a new co-teacher this year. She will be leaving for maternity leave in a couple months and had to look up the word "try" in her electronic dictionary today. She is nice, but let's say I'm glad I'm not a new teacher here.

Running

2008-03-02T17:49:00.002+09:00

Today the weather here is flirting with the 50's, so I went for my first run outside in a long, long time. I haven't run for more than 2.5 km at a stretch in rather a long time (2.5 is a bit more than a mile and a half, and have I ever mentioned how much I loathe the treadmill?) and yesterday a friend asked if we were still on for the 1/2 marathon in June in Jeju. The training program I was looking at is a 12 week one with the first long run at 4 miles, and I was worried that I would be able to keep up with the training.

Today I ran 4 miles, which is amazing considering how long it has been since I've run anything even close to distance. So far, the only negative is a little bit of asthma (which is to be expected) and what appears to be a really sexy blister on the ball of my foot, which I'm chalking up to bad socks and over-tightly laced shoes.

So at least for the time being, I'm starting the 1/2 marathon training program. I think I'll see how things go with the training runs (it would be increasing volume pretty fast for me to just dive in right now) but try to keep up with the longer distance runs each week.

Totally unrelated, I go back to work tomorrow.

Arirang

2008-02-28T10:38:00.001+09:00

NY Philharmonic in North Korea

Interesting to note that while the (Korean) television news and CNN have made a note that the Philharmonic played "Arirang" - a traditional Korean song that EVERYONE knows - the English language newspapers made a point of saying that the concert "focused on American music." I'd link to the article, but I can't because of the love of flash-built web sites here.

Anyway.

Being home is nice. I like the coffee here (granted "here" means "in my apartment") but it seems like half the time I don't have hot water and I'm not sure what is up with that. I have a few more days of vacation, and then head back to work on Monday, though I have been told it would be nice if I could show my face at school today for some meeting for new and old teachers, which I'll probably do on my way to the gym.

Heading back

2008-02-26T09:47:00.001+09:00

We get kicked out of our room in about two hours, but so far I'm doing well on the packing up of stuff. I need to shower and pack the last of that stuff, shove the laptop in the bag and I'm ready to go. I will probably try to hit one more bookstore before I take off, but it was really nice to realize that other than restaurants and a couple of little things, everything I REALLY want I can get within about an hour of home (if you include the fact that one of the bookstores delivers, as does costco now).

I have really liked being able to live here for a while, and I'll miss how easy everything is in Seoul, but I'm looking forward to being back home in Mokpo again.

Bombed it.

2008-02-25T13:22:00.003+09:00

I bombed the test. And I think I'm the only one in my class who did that badly.

I know that this really doesn't mean anything, but I actually studied (although, granted, by the time the test came around, I had sort of resigned myself to my likelihood of failing, and sort of gave up) and so feel bad.

The class is over, and tomorrow I head back to Mokpo. I'll miss being in Seoul, but I have to admit that I am looking forward to being able to sleep in my own bed.

Doing my bit for the economy.

2008-02-23T23:37:00.002+09:00

To add to the list of things about Seoul that bring me joy, I was able to find Addi turbo needles for $4/pair today for the 80cm cord (a little less than 32in). Last week, the 40cm (about 16in) were $5. Between the two days, I bought 10. I'm looking at it as a cost effective investment.

But sock needles? Crazy expensive - when I can find them.

(Translation for the non-knitters - I bought stuff that I will use a lot for much less money then they would cost in the States.)

Testing done!

2008-02-22T21:46:00.002+09:00

Today was my final, and while I'm still pretty sure I bombed it, in the end it really doesn't matter even a little bit except to my overinflated-pseudo-intellectual ego. Which is to say, it DOES matter, but not really. At least I did better than I thought I would, which good. I still don't think I did WELL, but better than what I imagined.

We still have class on Monday (not so much making with the sense, but whatever) and I have about a million verbs to conjugate, but other than that, I'm starting the review process and the actual using of Korean part of learning Korean. Which is what this whole thing is all about, right?

There is climbing happening this weekend at Ganhyeon, which is a few hours outside Seoul. Because I'm not down with the freezing my ass off, I'm only going for the day on Sunday. Given the rain right now, I'm thinking that I made the good choice on this one. In news of the mundane for most folks, I'll be getting my eyebrows waxed, buying yarn, going to an international food store, and book shopping this weekend. For most folks, these things are no big deal, but since they are for the most part novelties for me at this point (especially given that I get to do them all in one day, and will maybe go to more than one bookstore) this is a BIG DEAL for me.

Seoul

2008-02-21T12:55:00.002+09:00

+ Seoul is lots of fun with stuff to do, people to see, and food that isn't Korean to eat. All in all, lots and lots of good.
+ I understand a lot more Korean than before I got here, and feel like I'll have a base to do a language exchange once I get back to Mokpo.
+ Mexican food. This was probably covered in the "lots to eat" bullet, but it really is good enough to warrent it's own entry. So.Darn.Good.

- I just took a test that was not unlike the horror and stupidity felt in the face of elementary school spelling tests. Which is to say, lots and lots of horror and a general feeling of bad and not smart. UGH.

brain, shopping, climbing

2008-02-08T10:08:00.001+09:00

I'm not sure if it is the lack of humidity in my room, that I'm not drinking enough water, that the ramyeon I had for lunch yesterday was loaded with MSG, or if Korean alcohol breaks my brain. It well may be a combination of all of the above, because there was no way that the amount of booze I drank should make my head feel the way it did in the middle of the night last night.

Lots of things are still closed down here. Some friends went for a never-ending hike yesterday (which, when recounted, was actually described as "Jess's version of Hell on Earth") and are going ice climbing today. ICE CLIMBING. HIKING. In 12 degree weather. People are crazy.

And speaking of crazy, it looks like we will be climbing at O2 on Saturday, which is nice and indoors and awesome. A few days ago I climbed at one of the local bouldering gyms, and it was great to see some of the stuff I was working on in Vietnam has stuck - thinking more, staying calm, better footwork - and so I'm psyched to try some vertical things this weekend.

Tuesday I went to a HUGE market for all things craft-related. Like, six stories of yarn, fabric, beads, any sort of frippery you could imagine, purse handles, zippers - EVERYTHING. Tons and tons of vendors. Any bobble or bangle your heart could desire. And most of the stalls were closed because of the holiday. I'll be heading back next week, as I have heard stories of Addi turbos for $5.00, and I'm willing to use a lot of bad Korean, smiling, and charades in order to find them in the maze of shops. Walking through the stalls, it was SO AMAZING - people were nice, but they left me alone to look. After being in other Southeast Asian countries where a series of shops like that would have been staffed by people who were hawking and begging me to buy things, it was really, really nice.

I wish more things were open - I might be going to the National Museum this afternoon for a "new year/calligraphy" class, and I will probably camp in a coffee shop for a while to study, basically as a means to get out a little bit.

class

2008-02-07T10:21:00.000+09:00

I spent a while studying last night, and feel a little better about where I am. I still need to work on spelling and the rote memorization of things today, but I feel better about the general knowledge of what we did.

One of the hard things for me is that everything we are doing is in the "high form" language, which is fine in Seoul, but in schools and with most of what I need language for, the regular level is more easily understood and more appropriate. Though I think that once I master the higher form to be at the point where it is more than just word regurgitation, it shouldn't be too hard to break down.

Did I mention that the class is almost all immersion? As in, the teacher very rarely will use a word in Korean - written or spoken - to clarify something. And that the text book is all in Korean? There is a sort of dictionary we can buy that helps a bit, but WOW. I mean, it is AWESOME and I know that my comprehension is okay in terms of getting the gist of things, but I have more sympathy for most of my students right now (though it is also a good point that I'm at a beginner class, and my students have been studying English for a lot longer than I have been studying Korean AND have more support by having more information in Korean, so they should be able to do the same thing, one would think).

Seollal

2008-02-06T21:02:00.000+09:00

Today starts Seollal - AKA Lunar New Year, AKA Chinese New Year. The fact that it sounds so much like "solar" was confusing, but then sometimes I'm simple like that.

Anyway, Sollar is a BIG BIG deal. The day before and after are also holidays, and I guess the buses and trains were and will be a mess, especially as this year it attaches to a weekend, giving people five days off - almost unheard of.

Koreans refer to this as the year of the mouse, which sounds a bit nicer than year of the rat. Mouse, rat, either way, if you are a rodent (like my baby brother - no, really, this really is his sign!), this is your year. If you want to find out your Chinese zodiac sign, here you go.

This means that I have five days to study and roam around the city, but there aren't a lot of places to roam TO - today so many places are closed and this was the day there was a better chance of finding things open.

Which is good on the study front - I feel like the course is a good level for me to be in, but it is challenging and I'm not at the top of the class, which is hard for me. I feel strong in the first session of the morning, but by the last session, my brain has ceased processing information.

Also, most folks know that I'm not a world-champion speller in English, and it seems that this is also an issue in Korean. Yay.

Living in Seoul

2008-02-03T20:58:00.000+09:00

Last Friday, I got on a bus and headed up to Seoul, where I'll be for a little more than three weeks. I'm living in the Graduate dorm on the campus of Ewha Women's University, and am living with Nicola. She is helping me to be more of a hippie. This is good.

It was less than 24 hours before we were sneaking boys up to the floor, and the entire time we were giggling like we were 18. While there were many other differences, at least now I'm drinking Pinot Grigio as opposed to Boone's Farm. Go, adulthood. (Just to clarify, some people went bouldering today, so the guys came up last night. I have decided that climbing in below-freezing temperatures is crazy and not in keeping with my new "peace, love and happiness" zen of climbing, so I passed and went and did things like go out to lunch, go to bookstores and get my hair did.)

Saturday I took the placement test for the Korean course I'll be taking for the next few weeks, and was placed in the beginner level, which was sort of to be expected. I mean, if they had tested me on how well I could tell kids they were crazy or had a roll play where charades were allowed, it would have been TOTALLY different. But anyway, this will be good, as I think I'll learn a lot but it won't be overwhelming enough for me to not be able to enjoy living in Seoul.

I have a cool little "T-money" token (subway/bus pass) on my cell phone now, just like all the cool kids do, and I've bounced around this side of the city a bit in the past few days. Book and yarn stores and just learning my way around this place. This will be fun!

Also, I went to get my hair colored and cut, and for the first time I walked out of a salon in Korea with a great cut!! Yay, Seoul! We'll see if I'm able to maintain it without the army of people all blowing out my hair for me.

politics

2008-01-31T12:26:00.000+09:00

Okay, so Edwards and Giullani are out.

I am so out of the loop when it comes to a lot of things - sort of the beauty of not being inundated with the constant political bickering. But that also means that I only hear from from my (admittedly super-liberal) friends and/or what I'm drawn to read, or CNN World, which leans liberal.

It seems obvious that it is between Clinton and Obama for the Democrats, (I thought it was super-cool that Edwards went to work on a Habitat for Humanity site after withdrawing from the race). For the Republicans, it is McCain and ?? Romney? Is there anyone else who actually has a shot at the nomination?

grr

2008-01-30T00:49:00.000+09:00

I'm sorta disappointed. I went to the "big city" of Gwangju today, and on the list of things to be done was to buy the cable that will let me connect an S-video cable to my Mac so I can connect my computer to the tv. I thought all was well, but I think they sold me the connector for the MacBook instead of the iBook, because the computer-end doesn't fit into my computer.

The annoying part is that the store is about 1 - 1.5 hours away by bus, and Friday I leave for Seoul. For most of February. And so I will try to go back in about a month to tell them that I have the wrong cable, but by then it will have been just as easy to get it while I'm in Seoul and DAMNIT this is one of the things I hate. Because why would anyone use a computer that wasn't a PC? Or an operating system that isn't a crappy 2000 version of windows? And really, I have this enormous TV in my tiny apartment and one of the few things I can get other that stupid Korean game shows or annoying dramas is CNN, which is all fine and dandy, but I really just wanted to watch Project Runway on a screen bigger that 12". Also, I miss having a car, because while it takes forever by bus, if I could drive it would take about 1/2 the time - a lot less if you take out the taxi to and from the bus stations and the waiting around business.

::breathe::

In things that I was able to accomplish, I WAS able to get the Aveda hair goop that makes my hair curl better without making me look like Sideshow Bob in the process, so that is nice. Also, went to the foreign foods market and got couscous, oatmeal, coffee and spice mixes.

In other things that don't suck, I knit a hat out of Manos del Uruguay yarn I've had for years (Elizabeth Zimmerman's snail hat from Knitting Without Tears, that doesn't look very snail-like at all - in a good way). I've also watched a LOT of tv - I'm caught up in Project Runway, finished The Amazing Race, fell a little in love with my first episode of season 2 of 30 Rock (never saw any of season 1) and watched the movie Juno. And while I know it is trying to cash in on the formula of Sex in the City, I like Cashmere Mafia, though I'm not totally sure why.

Are there other awesome TV shows I should know about? Movies I should see?

Hate

2008-01-27T23:59:00.000+09:00

Westboro to Picket Ledger funeral

Things like this make me hate people.

pictures

2008-01-26T01:55:00.000+09:00

Boats in HaLong Bay

The houseboat where we rented kayaks on the way out to the beaches to climb. Basically, the boat would pull in between the two beaches and we would kayak to one, climb, go back to the boat for lunch, then head to the other. When the water is warmer, people also paddle over to the cliffs to do deep water free soloing (climbing without protection over deep water - eventually you have to either fall or jump into the water).

When the boat would stop, women would row over in boats that were full of water, soda, beer, and snacks.

Climbing on the beach.

Part of the valley where we climbed most days.

(There are lots of other pictures of Vietnam, but a lot of them are on other people's cameras and I'm waiting for them to upload.)

The pool/water in Ulu Watu.

There are a bunch more on my flickr site, if you want to see them.

Back to winter.

2008-01-23T23:17:00.000+09:00

Three planes, four taxis, two buses, and about 24 hours later and I'm back in Korea. I am trying to hold on to the warmth I tried to collect in Bali, but that is becoming almost like a dream. When your reality is snow flurries and sleep deprivation, it is hard to believe that only a day ago you were walking on a beach or sitting poolside in what looks like an idyllic setting.

I'll have thoughts and pictures when I'm with it enough to upload and form complete sentences.

Maybe a little too soon...

2008-01-20T12:23:00.000+09:00

I think I maybe spoke a little too soon on the whole "Bali is better about pestering people" thing. When I went out into the street a few minutes later, it was pretty constant harassment of "motocycle? By my sunglassess/sarang/random crap, I give you special price." I think I was lulled into complacency by the nice people at my hotel.

Right now I am in Ulu Watu/ Padang Padang, Bali. It is mostly a surfer hangout south of Kuta, Bali There are far fewer people here and is so stunningly beautiful I have no words - but I will have pictures in a few days. Sadly, we haven't found more than a handful of hot surfers, but I live in hope. I've had to console myself with striking scenery, night swimming, and dramatic storms. Although this is the rainy season in Bali, we have been lucky that while it has been raining most nights, the days are lovely. I like warm, and am not looking forward to the snow and ice of Korea-land.

Yesterday we went to the fire/temple dance performance at sunset at the Ulu Watu temple. There was fire and dancing and monkeys and it was pretty darn cool (pictures later). I will spend today beaching and hopefully objectifying surfers, then head back to Kuta, Bali tomorrow, and back to Korea the day after.

Just a note - there has been a lot of crime in Kuta, Lombok lately. (Lombok is a different island, Mom, and I won't be going there) but it is dramatic and consistent enough that for any of the folks planning to head over here in the next couple of months, it really should be avoided for right now.

Island to island

2008-01-18T13:05:00.000+09:00

It would be amazing to spend the rest of my life on islands.

Life seems to move a slower pace. It is okay to linger longer over an extra cup of coffee. Meeting people at 9 could mean 8:30 or 9:30, but since I haven't worn a watch in almost three weeks, it matters very little. 10:30 at night can feel like 2:30 in the morning and vice versa.

Right now I'm staying at the Bali Sorgawi, which I was told last night means "heaven-like." It is clean and nice and cheap, and they pick you up from the airport with a sign with your name on it. Makes it a million times easier than dealing with fighting your way through the crowds of touts in a new country. Then you arrive and are tucked down a lane, close to shops and markets and ATMs, but away from the bustle of the street. They give you lots of coffee at breakfast, which is awfully nice.

Last night I was wandering around the courtyard, and a group of people invited me to sit with them and have some fruit. I couldn't bring myself to try the durian (if you read the wiki link, when they say "unique odor" they mean "smells like hot garbage") but I had mangostien, fresh mango, lychee, and got to have some interesting conversations with a strange mix of people.

In a few hours I'm going to make my way to meet up with Virginia and Nina in Ulu Watu. I have already repacked my bags so that all the warm things that I wore most days in CatBa are in one bag and swimsuits and tanktops are in the other. I will add a few sarongs and am good to go. I need to ask at the desk if they can help me get to the bungalows where we will be staying, but last night I was told that I might be able to have one of the people from the hotel drive me over there. I know that both Vietnam and Bali are built on tourism and when they see a foreigner, they see dollar signs, but here it feels less constant, less invasive, a little kinder. One person in Vietnam said that if tourists are cows, Vietnam uses them for the meat, rather than the milk. Quite an apt description. I want to go back to CatBa, but I'm not particularly enamored with all of Vietnam - granted I didn't see a lot, but so much of the time I felt pressured to spend/buy/consume, and here everything seems to be easier.

Bali

2008-01-17T21:57:00.000+09:00

I am in Bali and tomorrow will meet up with friends in Ulu Watu! Woo!

Hanoi

2008-01-16T23:06:00.000+09:00

Tonight I am in Hanoi, and tomorrow I leave at insane-o'clock to fly to Bali via Malaysia. In case you were wondering, no, I really don't need a motorcycle taxi OR a bicycle pushcart ride, even if you can tell me about this awesome hotel your friend owns. And if you harass me? NOT A GOOD SALES TACTIC.

I'm sad to leave the island, but I'm happy to go to a new one.