Halloween weekend in Korea

Note: I inserted a picture of the costume for all to see.

This weekend was packed with adventures and festivities as usual. On Saturday after Korean class, I strolled down to the Seomun market in search of a jacket. It took about 15 minutes. The Seomun market is huge. Some of it is indoors and some of it is outside. You can buy anything there from traditional clothes to fresh squid. The mixture of sounds and smells is impossible to describe. I found a winter jacket that was only about $33, I couldn't buy it because I had limited funds for the weekend. I'll have to go back there next weekend if I have time. I didn't take any pictures of the market because I get self-conscious taking pictures in busy, crowded areas. People stare at the silly foreigner when I do that.

Afterwards I went to E-mart to find a costume for the Halloween party. With the help of the kids at E-mart, I picked out a black and gold witch's hat. Lame, I know, but I didn't feel like putting much effort into it.

I tried to go for "sophisticated" witch this Halloween.

Diana and I headed downtown later that night for the Halloween festivities at an expat bar called Thunderbird. We split up afterwards as we met different people to hang out with. The cocktails there were only 3,500 won, which is less than $4. After Thunderbird, I went to another bar called Commune. They had live music there and a costume contest. I met up with my friend Meg there. She was dressed as kimbap (think of someone dressed as a sushi roll). She ended up winning of course.

Some guy dressed as an ajumma (old Korean woman)

Afterwards, my new friend, Scott from Ottawa, and I went wandering around looking for some bar called Old School. We never found it, but we found a huge movie theatre that was still playing movies at 2:30 am. We saw Resident Evil 3...well we bought tickets for it. I ended up sleeping through most of it. There was some girl killing zombies. That's pretty much all I remember. We had some fries at Burger King then I took a cab home at about 5:30 am.

Sunday was spent mostly sleeping and grocery shopping. I bought the ingredients to make stir-fry and pasta, so that will be a change from the bagels and cheerios I've been eating. Sunday night, Diana and I went to Jinny's sister's house (Jinny is one of the Korean teachers). Most of her family was there and we had a huge meal. Her nieces and nephew were absolutely adorable.

Jinny's nieces

In other news, I got my yellow belt today in Taekwondo. Hooray for me!!! At school, we are giving out the kids' monthly tests so everything is pretty relaxed. We're planning a Halloween party for them on Wednesday. It should be tons of fun. I also got my bank card yesterday and I'm super excited about getting my first paycheck on Monday. Right now, I need to get reading. The book club I joined is meeting on Sunday and I'm on page 93 of about 500. My goal is to get to about page 200 so I don't look like a complete slacker. The book is Korea's Place in the Sun. It's pretty much the entire history of Korea with some funny anecdotes along the way. I'm enjoying it, but it's not exactly a page turner.

Sam-Sam

Lately I've noticed that the Korean teachers have been calling each other "sam" or something close to that. It has been tripping me out, because I hear my naming being called and other teachers are answering. Today, I talked to one of the Korean teachers, Jinny, about it and she explained that "sam" is shortened version of teacher, which is really "sonsengneem." Since the children call me "Samantha-Teacher", it can be shortened to "Sam-Sam." This came up in one of the classes today and all the kids found it really funny. I hope it doesn't catch on though. I don't think anyone will take me seriously if they refer to me as Sam-Sam.

In other news, Gwen bought me a coffee table today, which will make eating in front of the TV a lot easier. After a couple nights of sleeping on my new comfy sofa, I've moved back to my hard Korean mattress. The light from the street is too bright and my neighbours, who are loud in the morning, seem louder from the living room. Today in Taekwondo, I was completely exhausted and not in the mood to do anything, but I did my poomsae half decently for once. (A poomsae is a series of steps, kicks, blocks, and punches. It's a bit like a choreographed dance). Afterwards, Sa Beom Nim mentioned we'd be getting our next belt soon. I'm super excited. My last piece of news is that the pomegranate tree outside my window was finally harvested and my neighbours gave me some tasty pomegranates. They are orange and small compared to the ones in Canada, but still delicious. Since moving here, I've found Koreans to be incredibly generous people. I love it, especially when their generosity involves yummy food.

Here's a photo of me, just for fun: It's by the Sincheon River in downtown Daegu.

A new feeling

This past Sunday, Diana and I went to Gyeongju, which is east of Daegu. The bus there only costs about $4. I'm loving how cheap travelling is in this country. The city is known for its temples, mountains, and resorts, but Diana and I went to the World Culture Expo that's held there every 3 years. We were both pretty tired so just meandered around the entire day. The highlights were the sculpture park, the dance performances, and for me, the entire section dedicated to anime characters. I thought it was cute, but Diana referred to it as her hell. She preferred the puppet exhibit, which I think would be my hell.

Taekwondo has been good this week. On Monday, Sa Beom Nim showed us a video of the Korean Tigers, who an amazing taekwondo group. They are definitely better than I will ever be. On Tuesday, Diana and I were practicing our sparring moves and accidentally ended up punching each other in the ribs on different occasions. Of course we were like "Oh my god, I'm sorry!" and just laughed it off. I can feel myself getting a lot more toned, especially my legs where there's more muscle and less flab. It makes me happy.

I've enjoyed teaching this week. Today I taught 2 new classes of older kids with Gwen's help. When I walked into the first class, a girl (I think her name is Julia) kept saying "feeling, new feeling". I gave Gwen a confused look and she explained that Julia was saying that I bring a new feeling to the class. I hope it's a good feeling. They were a good class, but the second class is a little clueless and not enthusiastic at all. I think they're going to be one of my tougher classes to teach. Both classes went well for my first time. I find it hard when I'm first starting out with a new class because I don't have a feeling of where they are in terms of ability. It gets easier though, so I just have to keep working hard. On the way home from school tonight, some man , who we've never met, came up to Diana and I on a bike and started talking to us in English (not a rare occurrence). He talked to us and started asking questions, then out of the blue said "You are Samantha." Even though, Diana and I are the only foreigners in our neighbourhood, it's really weird when complete strangers know your name. To spin it in a positive light, we just think of ourselves as the neighbourhood rock stars.

Korea = good food, taekwondo, and soju

My Saturday was exceptionally busy, but also very fun. In Korean class, they taught us how to sing Happy Birthday in Korean (obviously). The teachers went around the room and sang it to every student. You would think the repetition would solidify it into my memory, but no, I've forgotten it already. They also taught us a winter song that roughly translates into: "Cold hands, ice. Cold feet, ice. Winter wind because of ice ice ice. Hands, ice ice ice. Feet, ice ice ice. Winter wind because of ice ice ice". It was good times.

As you can tell by the song, it's getting cold here. The leaves are starting to change colour too. I've begun my search for a winter jacket. After Korean class, I went to Dong-A department store near the YMCA. Maybe it was the location, but I wasn't successful at all. First of all, the vast majority of the jackets I found were not practical. They were either super thin, old lady jackets or were ridiculous (who buys a winter jacket with 3/4 length sleeves?). Also, a regular size in Korea would a small or extra small back in Canada. I found a couple jackets I liked, but they were all between $500 and $700. Forget that!! I'll have to check out some other department stores or maybe a sports store where they sell ski jackets. Hopefully I can find something decent before it starts getting really cold.

After shopping, Diana and I had our taekwondo lesson. At the lesson, there was a group of black belt kids there. I think they were in grade 3 or 4. Sa Beom Nim had them show off for us. They were cute little killing machines. Diana and I sat there, ate Korean twinkies and drank juice while they impressed us with their energy and TKD moves.

Saturday night, Diana, Sa Beom Nim, his wife, the parents of one of my students, and I went out for dinner. We went to one restaurant where we ate tons of Korean food. Some stuff was super spicy, which still scares me a bit, but I still try it. We had this ginseng alcohol drink. It was okay, just very very strong. After we stuffed ourselves there, they took us to ANOTHER restaurant. This time it was seafood. We had BBQ shellfish and soju (type of liquor). I loved the shellfish. It was amazingly good. I'm definitely going back for more! I think Sa Beom Nim's wife was a little drunk. She was hilarious though and we were lucky because she knew a lot of English and could translate for us.

Here's some more pics of my apartment too:

A sofa at last!!

Yesterday, my apartment starting coming together. I got my red sofa (Finally!! Hooray for not having to watch TV on the floor) and a new washing machine, so I don't have to do my laundry at Gwen's apartment. The old washing machine was dirty in unreachable places and would cover my clothes with weird stuff after every wash. My sofa is a futon and it's a lot more comfortable than my bed. For anyone who doesn't know, sleeping on a Korean bed is like sleeping on a wooden board.

Taekwondo has been going well. I think I'm improving. Although, I have issues kicking with my left foot. It doesn't have the power or the coordination of my right foot, and I just end up getting frustrated. Hopefully in a couple weeks, I can improve enough to get my yellow belt. Today, taekwondo was cancelled (that's why I have time to write). It's been rescheduled for Saturday afternoon and that evening Sa Beom Nim, his wife, Diana and I are going out for dinner. He's such a nice, funny guy, so I'm really looking forward to it.

Teaching this week has been good. I've been getting better at learning the kids' names and their personalities. There's Henney who does a weird squatting dance in the homework line; Donny, the little know it all; Rick, who got fed up and punched Donny in the mouth; Matt who hates Henney with a passion; and boy-crazy Aileen who pretends to be ditzy to impress the boys. And that's only half of one class! Aside from their social issues, they are a really smart class and I enjoy teaching them. Next week, I'll have a lot more classes to teach. I'm crossing my fingers that it all goes well and the kids don't drive me completely crazy.

Weekend in Daegu

I've only been here just over a week and a half, so I decided to stay in the city and become more familiar with my surroundings. Saturday morning, I went to my second Korean class. It was really fun. The Korean teachers are so nice. They said we're going to have a picnic at the one of the large universities at the beginning of November. Here's a pic of my class:

After class, I checked out a department store nearby and tempted by some cheesy bread in the food section. So much for a healthy diet. Afterwards, I was really tired, so I headed home and took a nap. Gwen called me a couple hours later and she, Diana and I went to Costco. The Costco in Daegu has two floors. One for household products like chairs and detergent and another floor just for food. It's huge. I was tempted again by a huge container of cheese balls, but I was able to resist. I guess I was really craving cheese. I bought some basics, like cereal, milk, and bagels. A dozen bagels was about $5, not too shabby.

The next day, I went downtown and met up with my friend, Walita. She's from Toronto and teaches in another part of Daegu. The plan was to go to the Colourful Daegu Festival. Unfortunately, we didn't exactly know where the festival was. We decided to just start walking in the direction we thought it was. Along the way, we went down any alley that looked interesting. Unfortunately, we ventured down dead dog alley where every table had a skinned dead dog. They weren't even cut up! There were entire dogs lying there with tails, teeth, and heads. I thought I would be okay with the whole eating dog thing because meat is meat, but there's something about the sight of a whole dead dog that just seems wrong. Part of me wanted to take a picture, but I'm sure no one wants to see that.

We eventually made it to the festival by walking along the Sincheon River and asking many people on the way. It was so much fun. There was a lot of music and dancing. My favourite part was trying on a traditional Korean dress. There was a photographer there, who wouldn't stop taking pictures of Walita and I. He would make us wear masks, smile, pretend to laugh...We may end up in a magazine or billboard one day. We went along with it for a bit, but afterwards we just walked away from him. Our wonderful day ended with some Korean BBQ. It was soooo good. I think the lady working there knew we were completely clueless and stood by our table the entire time cooking and cutting our meat. It was a very tasty ending to a great day.

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My first full week in Korea

So I've finished my first week here. Honestly, I feel like I've been here for a month already. I'm completely over the jet lag and am sleeping regular hours now. It has been a very eventful week to say the least.

Earlier this week (I can't remember what day), there was a domestic disturbance at my house. I awoke to this woman yelling loudly right outside my door and there was a man's voice that sounded like he was trying to calm her down. This commotion lasted for quite awhile. It sounded like she was breaking things and trying to hit the guy. I, of course, was completely freaked out and when it sounded like it wasn't going to stop, I called Gwen and she sent over Simon (Samson's brother who lives one street over) to come rescue me. (Don't worry!! I wasn't in any actual danger. There were many doors and deadbolts between me and the crazy lady.) Simon called the police and came over, but by then the crazy lady was gone. She was so loud that Diana heard her down the street at her apartment. The next day, Gwen told me that Simon found out that the crazy lady was drunk and in love with the son of the old lady who lives above me. Even though the son doesn't live there and crazy lady has a husband, she comes over drunk and looks for the love of her life. We think the man's voice belonged to the son's brother. We had a really good laugh over it. The next night, the old lady who lives above me brought me 2 enormous pears, probably to make up for the previous night. A younger lady, who lives next to me, also came over and gave me some fabric softener. It seems like a really weird gift, but Gwen explained that things that are bubbly or flammable (like toilet paper) symbolize becoming richer and are common housewarming gifts. Since that night, the crazy lady hasn't returned.

The rest of the week was more normal. I started Taekwondo and teaching at the Oedae Language Institute. I'm now teaching 3 classes. Two of them are 3 times a week and the other is twice a week. My workload right now is very small because the Korean teachers are prepping the middle school kids for their tests. Once the tests are over, my workload will increase exponentially. I could be teaching more classes, but Gwen is nice and she's teaching her "crazy class" until she leaves for America. The crazy class consists of a mixture of clueless kids and rowdy kids. They are definitely going to be a challenge. Overall, the kids are cute and funny, but sometimes rowdy. I think Diana has the rowdiest classes. You can hear them yelling "DIE, DIE, DIE!!!" down the hall when they are trying to kill the guy in the hangman game. When I'm not teaching, I make flashcards for the vocabulary the children have to learn. I've become a flashcard-making machine. I'm always cutting, colouring, or laminating something. I love mindless work like that.

Tonight Samson spoiled all the teachers and bought us coffee, crackers, and gimbap (kind of like a sushi roll). He's such a nice guy. Last night, he and Gwen took me out to a Korean BBQ place. It was so delicious. I think you just order the meat and soup and they cover the table with sidedishes, like salad and kimchi. There was a ridiculous amount of food on the table, especially for me since I'm used to eating only one gimbap roll for dinner. One gimbap roll is only 1000 won, so just over a dollar CDN and very filling. Gotta love cheap, good food.

Taekwondo!!!

I started taekwondo this week and absolutely love it. Diana and I go to a gym about 10 minutes from where we live. Our classes run from Monday to Friday for one hour a day. Diana's only been here a month and already has her yellow belt. Hopefully, I can get one in a month too.

Our teacher is called Sa Beom Nim (Not actually his name. I think it's a title of resepect). He's really funny and nice. Although he doesn't know English, we get along fine by copying his movements. It also pushes me to learn Korean so I can understand what he's saying. So far I learned the names of basic moves like punch, kick, and block, and I've also been working on learning body parts. I'm starting to understand him more every day.

So far, I've learned various blocks, punches, and kicks. I think my main weakness is my lack of flexibility. Sa Beom Nim has been pushing me to stretch more and more every day. In less than a week, I already feel myself getting more flexible. It's an amazing workout!! Diana and I are usually sweaty and tired by the end of it. Hopefully by doing this 5 days a week, I can drop a couple pounds and become fighting machine.

Communication

Sometimes, it's pretty tough living in a place where you barely know the language. Right now, I basically only say "An-nyong haseyo" (Hello) and "Kamsa hamida" (Thank you). I know more words, but the opportunity to use them doesn't come up very often. I guess I now know how new immigrants feel when they come to Canada. It's frustrating at times, but I just try to have a good sense of humour about it. Many times after greeting someone with "An-nyong haseyo", they assume I know Korean and speak really fast. I just give them the deer-in-headlights look or shrug my shoulders to show them I don't understand. Hopefully, Korean classes on Saturday mornings will speed up my understanding of the Hangul language. It'll make life easier for everyone.

One night, I was sitting in my apartment doing nothing and someone buzzed me. I picked up the phone and someone said "please open the door" and just started laughing. Of course, I'm not going to open the door to that, so I just ignored it. Then an old lady came to my window and asked me to open the door. I opened the door and the old lady handed me about 15 keys. Using mostly miming, I unsuccessfully tried asking what they were for . When it became apparent that it was not working, I tried introducing myself, but she just laughed, shook her head and walked away. Learning Hangul will hopefully decrease the frequency of these odd occurrences.

Andong and Hahoe

Early Sunday morning, Diana and I caught a bus to Andong (a city North of Daegu). The bus ride was about 2 hours long and only cost $7. The mountainous countryside was absolutely beautiful. There were tons of rice fields and tree-covered hilltops along the way. I was very impressed with my first glimpse of Korea outside the city of Daegu.

In Andong, we went to a mask festival that goes on at the same time every year. There was a lot to see, like Taekwondo demonstrations to techno music, mask painting, and people running around in costumes. Diana and I ooo'd and aww'd over all the necklaces and pottery. I ended buying a cute necklace made of tile.

I went to see a man with a big bug display. There were larvae and big black beetles in jars on the table. The man working there spoke a little English and explained all the life stages of a beetle. He then asked if I wanted to hold one. I was feeling brave and maybe stupid, so I agreed. He put one on my hand and then proceeded to put four more up my hand and arm. Gross! I really wish I had some Purell.

Afterwards, Diana and I went to Hahoe folk village. Here you can see how people lived in the past with traditional buildings and walkways. If you wish to, you can stay there over night. My favourite part was when I found a woman who lead me through a traditional tea ceremony. Luckily, there was another woman there from Seattle who was able to translate for me. I learned the tea that was served was only for scholars, as it was used to expand the mind and make you smarter. Hopefully, that's true and tea will help me learn Hangul faster.

First days in Korea

Looking back on my first days in Korea, it's all a bit of a blur now because of the jet lag. I mostly spent it settling down and getting acquainted with my surroundings. I celebrated my small victories along the way, like staying up till 10pm, using a gas burner without blowing up my apartment, and almost making it through an entire bowl of bibimbap (spicy mixed rice with vegetables and meat). I also learned how to use the subway system with the help of Diana. You get a transit card that works on subways, buses and some taxis and put money on the card then swipe it whenever you want to go somewhere. It costs 900 won a trip (about 1 dollar). The subways are also very clean and efficient, especially compared to the TTC.

On Saturday, I went to my first Korean class at the YMCA. It was a lot of fun. I missed 3 classes but I think I can catch up with a little hard work. I met my friend Meg there, who I've been talking to on Facebook and another girl named Walita from Toronto. The class wasn't too hard. We learned how to count in Korean. Although, there are actually two sets of numbers (just to make things more complicated). One for counting objects and one for phone numbers and money. The teachers are really nice. They even taught us "One little, two little, three little Indians" in Korean (it's just as offensive as in English).

Saturday night, Diana took me and Jinny (a Korean teacher at our school) out for dinner. We went walking around downtown with its glowing neon lights and crowded streets. On the way, we ran into some people from my Korean class and we followed them to The Holy Grill. It's an Tex Mex restaurant owned by a Canadian. You walk in and you feel like you are still in Canada. There was even hockey on the TV! The food was delicious and Jinny enjoyed her first burrito ever. Afterwards we went to Commune, a cool expat bar. Jinny and Diana had drinks, but I was way too tired. Definitely need to get the sleeping back on track.

Arrival

When I arrived in Daegu, Gwen and Samson (my employers) picked me up. It was very hot and humid. They took me to my new apartment. It's in a old neighbourhood with lots of character. The main street is lined with trees and people sell fruits and veggies on the street every day. On weekends, they even sell clothes. There's a park nearby that was recently renovated. It has an amazing playground, basketball courts, and workout equipment. Around 8pm every night, a large group of about 20 women do aerobics in the park to loud techno music. You've got to admire Koreans for their dedication to fitness.

My apartment is also very old. When I got to my apartment, Samson's brother Simon was scrubbing the washroom. They showed me the infamous manhole cover on the bathroom floor. Aside from the manhole cover and the loose tiles, the bathroom is decent. I think I can live with it for a year. The rest of the apartment is very nice. They gave a desk, chair, TV, and TV stand for the living room. Gwen waited until I got here to order the couch. It's going to be a red futon couch. I can't wait to get it. They put down new flooring for me and gave me a new hot plate. A couple days later, the cable, Internet and gas guys came and set-up everything I need. I still need to buy a couple things for the apartment, but all in all, its slowly coming together.

After I saw my apartment, Gwen and Diana (my co-worker) took me a Japanese restaurant. The food was delicious. There was kimchi, meat, soup, noodles, dumpling, and a bunch of other foods. I'm going to have to get used to the spiciness of the food.

Afterwards, we went to E-mart. Its like Wal-mart, but with 4 floors and much nicer. We bought some food and essentials, like toilet paper and a rubber mat to cover the manhole cover. Its good I don't live too close to E-mart or I'd spend all my money shopping there.

Gwen and Diana's mission for the night was to keep me awake, so we went to Gwen's apartment for tea. She lives in a new high-rise near E-mart. It's very fashionable to live in high-rises right now and people are starting to move out of the traditional neighbourhoods like mine. At her apartment, Samson gave us fried chicken and sushi. I played with Gwen's cute little yorkie named Songi. He was really excited to see me. I tried to stay up as long as I could, but I was fading fast. Gwen had to drive me home before 9pm. Jet lag is a pain.

The journey

Hi everyone,

Its been a long, eventful, and exhausting trip. I'll start at the beginning. While sitting at Pearson with my parents soaking up some together time before I had to leave, there were some loud teenagers behind us disturbing. I turned around to give them a dirty look and it was the kids from DEGRASSI!!! Jimmy, Spinner and 2 girls I didn't recognized. I'm such a nerd. I wanted to go up to them and be like "I saw you on TV today!!", but of course I'm not that nerdy.

After my first celebrity, I said a tearful goodbye to my parents and headed to American customs. The customs officer saw that I was a bit upset and asked what I was going to do in Korea. He then proceeded to give a lecture on how I have an amazing opportunity and how I have focus on what I have and not what I'm going to miss. He went on for a while completely ignoring the growing line behind me. He was the nicest customs guy I've ever met.

On my first stopover in Chicago, I met a girl named Mikala taking a similar journey as me. She was going to teach in Ulsan on the south east coast of Korea. So we decided to stick together, as we'd have to figure out how to switch airports in Seoul.

On the flight from Chicago to Seoul, I sat next to an American Korean war vet named Ronald. He was really interesting. His son is an ex-colonel in Seoul and collects information on North Korea. He was a funny guy and even suggested quieting the screaming kids with chloroform. The flight was long and crowded. Darkness followed us across the Pacific Ocean, which helped everyone sleep. For some unknown reason, sleeping of planes is very difficult for me, so unfortunately the darkness didn't help me.

We arrived at Incheon airport at 5am. We were very excited about being in Korea. It was very surreal for both of us. We caught a bus to Gimpo airport where Mikala and I had to catch domestic flights to Ulsan and Daegu. Unfortunately, it was still dark out and we couldn't see Incheon airport (which is supposed to be amazing) and the surrounding area. When we arrived at Gimpo airport, we checked our luggage and the airport employees made me open my luggage to inspect my hair products. Since I had a 7 hour wait and Mikala had a 3 hour wait, we set-up our computers on some comfy couches and had some green tea.

After the Mikala left, the rest of the rest of the time dragged on. I wandered around aimlessly until I got tired. I watched Sicko on my laptop, which helped pass the time. At 12:35 pm, I finally got on a plane to Daegu. It was the a short flight, less than an hour. The plane flew above the clouds and I got my first glimpse of the sun in a very long time.

When I arrived in Daegu, I went down a set of escalators and came upon a strange sight. A group of airport employees were gathered around and were pointing their cell phone cameras at a washroom. I thought it was some weird Korean custom until a tall man with big glasses, long hair and spiffy clothes walked out of the washroom surrounded by an entourage. Screaming ensued and then there was more screaming as he walked towards the exit and a large crowd of excited girls. I found out later that it was probably Rain, the Justin Timberlake of Korea. This was my second celebrity sighting of the trip and my introduction to life in Daegu, South Korea.