Rock-Paper Scissors for loot!

Does this look like a good time or what!!??? It was so great! We signed up for an Adventure Korea tour thanks to the helpful wisdom of Hokunani. At first it was just her and I, then I suggested inviting Amber. Well soon the whole troop came with and we had a blast.

The first part of the adventure was terrible for us. We almost missed the bus. We got out of our house a little bit earlier than we though, but we didn't count on the train taking as long as it did. Matt and Amber called us really worried saying that the tour director was going to leave us if we didn't show up in 5 minutes. Five minutes later when we still hadn't arrived the tour director called and said they were leaving and I convinced them that we'd be only 5 more minutes. I really thought they were going to leave anyway, the director was angry that we were holding up the show. I started to cry a little cause I was so excited about this trip. We ran all the way to the exit and found a guy waiting there for us. It was like a mini miracle. We were 20 minutes late and really did deserve to be left, but they waited... I couldn't believe it. YAY!

Once we got on our way it was about 2 hours till we got to our first stop. I chatted with Amber almost the whole time. Curtis was up at the front of the bus to avoid getting ill. Our first stop was Ullsan. We went there for a Pumba festival. I was most concerned about this part of the trip. I really wanted to participate, but I wasn't sure how willing Curtis would be and I though it wouldn't be as fun if he didn't. First of all... Pumbas are a type of street performer from Korea's old days (the old days are the poor days for Korea). They would dress up with raggedy old clothes and paint their faces like clowns and then sing, dance, play drums, or do a play to entertain people. Then they would pass around a basket and people would give them a bit of money. One of the pictures above is a mock of the way they used to divide the money. They are doing rock-paper-scissors for each piece. It was pretty funny when they leader decided that they would rock-paper scissors for the entire basket and then he won.

We also saw an amazing performance done by an internationally famous gaksori (pumba). He showed us a couple beats on the drums and then asked a few of us to play with him. I got to and later Amber was having fun banging on some drums with the rest of the group.

The other crazy thing about that weekend that we didn't understand at first was that we really felt like Hollywood stars. We had at least 5 cameras in our faces for the first 2 hrs. It was nuts! As soon as anyone from the group would do something new, like eat or play a game with someone else, the paparazzi would come over. If they missed it they would politely request that you did it again, but not leave you alone till you did. Sometimes when we were talking to other people we wouldn't even notice but with their mega zoom lenses they would sneak up and start snapping. I started taking pictures of them! It was pretty unbelievable, even now, I don't think my words can actually portrait how bizarre it all was. Later on, we found out there was a photo contest. AHHH!!! So it made more sense, but it was still incredibly weird.

The next stop was Woraksan Mountain. WOW! It was really beautiful. We got there at about 5pm with super starting at 7pm and there weren't any planned activities. We chilled out for a bit until we saw that they had 2 seater bikes! I'd never been on one before. Curtis and I attempted to petal and steer. It worked alright except our knees kept hitting the handle bars. We went down a road and did a bit of bird watching and then headed back up to the chalets. There was a soccer game going on so Curtis decided to join and Amber and I watched. After that, we hungrily salivated over the meal to come and chatted more with John and Elaine who we had met on the bus. They're Scottish and I picked up on their Glaswegian accent right away. It was like music to my ears! We had Samgupsal barbecue and it was quite good. After super we noticed a Nore-bang nearby and Elaine had openly confessed a desire to try it out so we took her and John and Matt and Amber came a bit later. The book was kinda crappy and it was a pretty dingy place, but fun was had by all. We made plans to have a proper Nore night in Seoul the next weekend.

We went to bed a bit early because we weren't into drinking around a campfire and we were all a bit tired from all the excitement at the Pumba Festival. The worst part of the whole experience is that we slept on the floor. It was quite uncomfortable and left a few kinks in a few backs. It wouldn't have been a problem except that we were scheduled to walk up a mountain the next day. I could have slept in a tent and been more comfortable.

The next day, breakfast was served at 8 am with the hiking trip at 9am. The guides didn't seem too concerned about leading us though because they let us go ahead and said we could start when we wanted. We wanted to start sooner than later so we headed out as soon as we were done breakfast. It was a really wide path and I can see why they weren't too concerned about anyone getting lost. The scenery was really nice as most of the trees just got their spring leaves and there was lots of shade. It would have been a cooker without the shade. The whole hike was 4 km and we could read sign posts along the way which counted down the kilometers. After about 1 km, Amber, Curtis and I decided that we would be better off to turn around. Curtis knees and back were bothering him and Amber just wasn't enjoying herself. I am a bit disappointed that I quit, but at the same time, I didn't want to be alone and Matt wanted to chug up the mountain like the little engine that could. I like to take my time and take frequent breaks and enjoy the scenery, it wasn't going to be like that so I told myself I wouldn't enjoy it. On the way back down we spent a few minutes at the town's temple. It was really great. They had chanting playing over speakers and incense burning. Inside the temple they had lotus lanterns all ready for Buddha's birthday. It was quite beautiful just to sit and enjoy the moment. Amber and I chatted some about the new friends she had met. It was quite lovely really.

As we waited for the others to come back down the mountain, we napped, read, and relaxed. People started to show up in small groups. It was soon time for lunch, we headed to the lunch room and Matt and Hokunani showed up. Phew... more people kept coming. By the time lunch was finished everyone returned except John and Elaine. I was getting pretty concerned because they had been right behind Matt and Hokunani. We waited and waited. Soon, the bus needed to leave because the next group was coming in to use the chalets. Everyone except one guide got on the bus and we drove to a nice lake and rest stop. We waited there for another 2 hours. Finally, they had found John and Elaine. Phew! I was so relieved. Because they were so new to Korea, they didn't know how to read Hangul, the Korean letters. They took a wrong turn near the top and when they realized it were almost half way down. They came down the other side of the mountain, but then didn't know the name of the place where we stayed. Finally, the guide who had stayed back found them and brought them back.

On the way back home, my eye started to get itchy and watery. When I looked I had white puss in my eye! I was so freaked out but there was nothing I could do until the next morning so I just kept my hands out of my eyes and tries to fall asleep. I went to the optometrist in the morning and it turned out to be an eye infection. I also knew that my sinuses were getting blocked again so I went to the doctor too. They both sent me home with butt loads of anti-biotics and I was feeling better in a couple days.

What a crazy adventure! All in all it was really great. I'm thinking of booking with Adventure Korea again, they were well organized and I was happy they didn't leave us!

This is a monk that was painted on the outside of the temple. We just thought he belonged more in a Simpson's cartoon than on the wall of a temple. As it turns out, he's one of Korea's most famous monks and you can see those eyes everywhere!

Speach Contest Day

I know I haven't blogged much about work. I'm not sure why. Some pretty cool things have happened at work. For one, we've met some amazing people here. Jini is one of our co-workers that always goes out of her way to help us and make us feel welcome in Korea. She has invited us to her home and we've been able to have open talks about some of the differences between our cultures. She's also an amazing singer and was the lead singer in a band in Korea until she had to give it up.

Next, I'd have to say the students make my day much brighter. I mean, just look at them! They are so curious and willing to learn! I know only one student in this picture is blurry. His name is Min and he's blurry because not even a camera can hold him still for even a second. He's raw energy and I love it! He was in my first batch of students. The other two girls are in his class. Angela is the one in the middle and she is so quite, cute and conscientious. Hanna is the other. She is going to a different school next month and even though she's not in my class this semester, I'll miss her.

Yes that is Jini teacher and yes that is a BMW. Her husband, Sup, who we've hung out with many times, loves cars. Jini says he's almost obsessed with them. He's a mechanic so it fits. It still was quite surprising to see her get in the first time. They've actually sold this particular car and now own a much more ostentatious red Ferrari. I can tell Jini is a bit embarrassed by how much it sticks out.

This was our Christmas gift last year. It is 4 bars of soap, 4 tubes of toothpaste, one of each shampoo, conditioner, and body wash and a bath poof. This seems like the Korean concept of a gift basket except it's a years supply and no basket! It's super generous, just not typical.

Often when we're marking, Curtis and I will chuckle quietly and then share some of the students writing from their journals or book reports. Here is a particularly good one from a student about "New Years"

For valentines, for instance, we all got various little goodies and candies from the students. However Curtis got a bottle of cologne! How weird is that? We also found it amusing that Jini got a neatly wrapped chicken kabob! (As pictured to the left) Not really a traditional gift back home or in Korea.

For Easter, Rachel gave us all Easter Eggs in a little basket. I like hard boiled eggs so I tried one. I was surprised that it was brown in colour instead of white. Jay said that's because it's a burnt style of cooking it. I thought, why not try. It was so dry... like the pot of water it was boiled in was boiled dry! I didn't finish it and the other egg sat on my desk for a month cause I couldn't bear to just throw it out. I finally did after asking Jay if he thought it might be spoiled.

And the last three pictures are from today. I had the best day at work today. We had a speaking contest planned and at first all the foreign teachers were very skeptical as to how well it was going to go. We all thought the students wouldn't have prepared their speeches and would be misbehaving like it was a free day. Before the first bell went, I was talking with a few students asking if they were ready. One of my students (Alex) nodded so I started him off on his speech, thinking he'd need a reminder about what I was talking about. He picked up right where I left off like he was reading off a page. It was so smooth and fluid, and it was only made more precious by the few times he looked up to remember the next sentence. I almost welled up with tears I was so proud of him. The rest of the students also made me so proud. I told them all too. Some of them couldn't remember well, so they looked, but everyone tried in earnest. It was great!

After the amazing day with work, I had a coffee date with Naomi. We have been turning our coffees into walks lately because it's so gorgeous here lately. We walked for about 45 min in one direction and then headed back along the path in the other direction. The walking path runs parallel to a little creek, stagnant in some areas because it's mostly man made.

The paths are really nice though and it's a great escape from skyscrapers and neon lights. There were many people out on the path and even small children. It didn't surprise us too much, children stay up really late here. I've seen them with their mom's at E-mart out shopping at midnight on a weekday. The thing that did catch my eye was the number of people using outdoor workout equipment. I mean, I've seen it around, but I didn't figure people actually used it! There they were, grown adults doing curls and presses on outdoor weight benches with resistance coils rather than free weights. I almost wanted to take a photo, but it was too dark to really have captured it well.

Namoi and I talked about so many things and hashed out the weeks events. It's so nice to have a girl friend here. Not to mention one that's so similar to me. We share really similar values and backgrounds so when I say something she has an idea about where it might be coming from. I mentioned tonight how the "right to being educated" has really messed things up in a bunch of ways. Being a liberal, I expected some debate, but she just asked me how. I feel like I had a brain wave and I just have to write it somewhere so it's going in my blog! hehehe.

This is when most people should probably tune out....

So... the right to be educated started as a movement so that children would all have equal advantages. The idea was sought as a means to equalize background and make it easier for kids with less opportunities to become educated an thus have better futures. While I completely agree with this sentiment, I think declaring a right to be educated isn't enough. I really feel that education is a privilege, but that it shouldn't be reserved for those with wealth. Instead it should be reserved for those with desire. It's similar to an argument used for deciding roles of women and men - to work outside the house or to work inside it. Instead of saying that all people should be educated (and by that it can be assumed people mean public education) it should be allowed that at a certain age, children should be able to learn from experience rather than a text book. I'm not quite as eloquent as I was when I was walking along the river. One of the main ideas to support this is the move away from an agricultural society. We don't value the land as it should be valued and neither do we value those that work it. Being that we need farmers just was much as we need doctors, wouldn't it be prudent to allow children who want to be farmers to learn to be farmers instead of pushing them through high school and community college? Most people would argue that a farmer's lifestyle isn't necessarily what everyone hopes for their child - sweaty, heavy labour till the day you die, but then, shouldn't we care more for those that feed us? If the lifestyle is unsuitable, the price of food should rise until farming is a sustainable lifestyle again. This ties into another issue. The global economy ensures that in wealthy countries we don't need to raise farmers because poor countries will and we can import their produce. The idea whether global or local still applies. Should we not ensure that those that are feeding us have a healthy and sustainable lifestyle.

Another point that the right to education brings up is the way we do public education. Is public education is what a child needs in order to grow and develop into self sufficient young adult? I think most people would like to think so, but if that's the case, we seriously undervalue the skill it takes to prepare meals, proper nutrition, budget, clean a house, parental skills, keep a tight schedule, etc. all of which are traditional women or home work skills. Doesn't the education system today completely undervalue the role of the work in the home? Does it not at the same time undervalue necessary labour jobs in the world like farming, chefs, custodial persons, most art professions, parental skills, work of the home, etc. What kind of self sufficient young adult would you be if you didn't have any of the skills necessary to function outside of the workplace?

Another problem that bring up is... what exactly does public education aim to teach? If it claims to only teach the core subjects, it's denying the basic concepts of respect, discipline, manners, and honesty that it depends its students use every day. Should a school teach these things?

Ok... that's the meat and potatoes of these ideas I've been having lately. Please shed some light on it if you will.

More Everland Pics!

Here are some of the Everland pictures I couldn't get to load the other day.

Everland

On Saturday April 11 we went with Terri and Jini to Everland. It's an amusement park not to far from our house, or so we thought. We picked that day because there was a tulip festival. Matt and Amber also happened to be going too but were with other friends so we didn't meet up with them too much.
We had to take two buses to get there, as the direct bus only came once every 40 minutes. The bus that should have taken about 45 minutes, turned into about an hour and a half due to heavy traffic and because of all the starting and stopping I got very motion sick and had my head hanging out the window for part of the journey. Consider that the bad news first! hehehe... Other than that I had a fantastic day! The moment I saw the gate I knew Everland was a special place. It's pretty similar to Disneyland except it has it's own characters. The main grounds are all done up in a fantasy theme with turrets and cute little shops everywhere. There were flower beds chalk full of perfect red and yellow tulips. The first photo is of us trying on cute headbands. I chose one with flowers and I made Curtis wear the one with antlers. hehehe. We didn't purchase them, that would be too cheesy!

The first thing we all wanted to accomplish as finding food. We were all thinking burgers would be good so we ate at burger cafe. By coincidence we ran into Matt and Amber. Jini hadn't met them yet and actually had chosen the table they just stood up from... how weird is that?? We chatted with them and ate our weird spicy burgers. They were basically meat and a bun like normal, but then the toppings weren't the usual mustard, ketchup, lettuce, tomato ensemble. Instead it was like sauteed vegetables with a thick goopy sweet, sour and spicy sauce. I can't say it was my favorite, not was it terrible.

We spent most of our time walking around looking at things. Jini and Teri weren't fond of roller coasters and the lines were terrible so we avoided all the rides. They did look quite impressive though. They had a huge wooden roller coaster that I was tempted to try on several occasions. It was especially alluring because you could hear the "Whoosh!" of the wind as raced on the track. It was so loud we were looking for the thunder clouds at first. We looked at the tulip gardens and took photos of each other. There were all these pinwheels used to make the gardens more beautiful and dramatic. It was really beautiful. There was also a huge water fountain that spouted water vertically. It was choreographed a bit, not really to music, but there was a little program to which each of the spouts stopped or became taller.

The one thing Curtis and I were particularly interested in was seeing many of the animals they boasted to have there. I was quite impressed this most of the enclosures except the Safari Ride. In the map/ information guide, it said that it was the only enclosure in the world with lions and tigers cohabiting. The result of this has actually produced a mix between the two which is being called a "liger". I will completely admit that I was very grateful to be able to see such magnificent animals with the view I had, but at the same time, as I was enjoying, I looked around and noticed that there were about 14 large cats all in one enclosure that might be suitable for a pair. The ligers were in a very small pen as well. The most disappointing part was the next enclosure. They had grizzlies! I'm not even kidding! I was so surprised! It was quite sad though to see about 10 grizzlies lazily lying along the road lifting their head to catch a small biscuit that the driver threw their way. Those amazing animals were reduced to circus pets. Sigh, it made me feel ashamed that I was naive enough to think that it might actually have been a good example of a modern zoo. It was obvious though that their only concern was attracting visitors.

After that we went to see some monkeys and were on the epic search for the polar bear. We didn't find him, but we saw lots of different animals. My favorite were probably the monkeys because they're so amazingly agile and cute. Their facilities were also a bit more up to par.

When it got dark, we headed toward the area where we could see the parade. I love night parades! The more I see the more I love them. This one was ultra cheesy with robots and heroes fighting dragons. There was even an Alice in Wonderland float! I'm kind of amazed that there aren't any copyright infringements going on.

After the parade we were all thinking it was time to go home. The only things left open were the roller coasters, and while it was tempting for me, I didn't have anyone else brave enough to escort me, so I didn't make them stand in line waiting for me.

I do have many more photos, but the up loader isn't working for me. I'll have to add some more when I get a minute.

Thanks for tuning in!

Insadong

After viewing the palace we decided it was time to eat. Since the original plan was to wander around Insadong, we headed that direction. We took stock of out options and then settled on a place that said "Spagetti" in big red letters on the side of a building. It was delicious! We all enjoyed our meals and had a good time chatting with Shin-hok and Hokunani.

Matt met up with us as Amber had plans to meet with a separate group of friends. Since he didn't have a cell phone, it was a bit difficult to know exactly where we would meet up. We walked in the direction of the subway and saw Matt lumbering towards us. Huzzah! We did a 180 and headed back in the direction of Insadong. The first shop on the right hand side of the street was a guitar shop. It had beach guitars (3/4 size and more narrow) in the window. Matt stopped on a dime and asked if he could take a look. We went in and the vendor showed us the guitar. Matt started to enquire about other ones and in 15 minutes Matt chose, tested and bought a guitar. We love Matt for his spontaneity!

After that we continued looking around. We actually entered all of 3 stores and then headed to an artisan building. It was about 4 stories high and instead of stairs most of the floors had a small incline. It was similar to the rest, but a bit more condensed. Matt stopped in at a tie shop just browsing, but it was interesting to see all the shades of pink and purple. I was keeping my eye out for a new purse, but didn't find anything I liked.

At then end of the browsing we headed to Red Mango for delicious frozen yogurt. With our bellies full and our hearts content we took the subway back home.

The next day we were thinking about going to Yeouido to see the famous cherry blossoms. We weren't quite sure what time all the festivities took place and were skeptical about what we'd actually see because all of our cherry blossoms had already been replaced by leaves. With too many doubts and enough of a desire to chilax at home, we did just that. We heard later that Yeouido was completely disappointing this year as the cherry blossoms did indeed come early.

Changdeokgung Palace

The next weekend we were invited to Insadong by Hokunani. She is a foreign teacher that Amber met randomly on the subway and connected the rest of her cronies to. Thank goodness for Amber and her approachable style! If you ask her, she feels like it's a curse. Not because she meets wonderful, warm hearted people like Hokunani, but because religious nuts and charity groups seem to target her like bees and flowers. :)







The palace had a throne room, sleeping quarters for political guests and dignitaries and separate sleeping quaters for the King and the Queen. It also had extensive gardens which is why most of my pictures are of plants.


Absolutely stunning. It was a fabulous walk and we found out at the end we only saw about 20% of the gardens but the other portion is only avaiable with an tour you have to book in advance. We're thinking about booking as soon as the leaves change colours.