Forgive me readers, for I have sinned...

...It has been TWO months since my last blog entry. I apologise profusely! Much has happened in the interim...birthday celebrations and Mudfest festivities, saying goodbye to good friends, and the formulation of THE PLAN.
The middle/end of summer is a bittersweet time in Korea...yes, it signals vacation (!) but also the end of many a contract. This month we say goodbye to five friends; this is the first round of farewells for me, so to get hit with five at once was quite a blow. Added to that, it seems everyone's vacation landed on the end of July/beginning of August...sadly, my school has decided to break away from the crowd and have my vacation at the end of August. And believe me, that two week difference IS a difference...It means I get to teach summer camp while my friends are in far-off places...leaving me with no travel companions during my two weeks of bliss. I have come up with a solution, however, and that is to travel within K-Land for my two weeks. This allows me to save money up to fund the first phase of...THE PLAN.
What is THE PLAN, you ask? Well. It is the oh so important half-assed-answer to "So, what are you going to do when you get back? What are you going to do with the REST OF YOUR LIFE?" (This, by the way, is a horrible question. I, and all other college graduates of the last 3 or 4 years, would appreciate it if you shelved it for awhile.)
So. The first phase of THE PLAN is to put off actually thinking about the future for as long as possible. Thus, I figure a good ole trip to Europe before I go home would be a good idea. The length of this trip is yet to be determined, though I'll tentatively say I'll be home for Thanksgiving. I have a friend from home joining me on my wanderings to help facilitate this procrastination ploy.
Second phase of THE PLAN. Arrive home and prepare for graduate school/certificate program/second bachelors degree in either Graphic Design or Film/TV Production. Preparations would include attending community college courses to help me determine which I want to go with, to update my non-existant portfolio, and to acquire letters of recommendation. This will hopefully not only get me an ever so slightly more marketable degree than photography (ha!) but will allow me to relocate when I choose my school. Sorry AZ, we're on the outs.
Well, while that didn't exactly sum up the last two months of life in the land of the morning calm, it's what I felt like typing at the moment. More posts may be forthcoming, as I am in fact desk warming this week (desk warming: "mind numbing period of time when foreign teachers, i.e. ME, must come to school during vacation time and sit at their desk, doing nothing."). AND before you say it, if you've never had to desk warm, you have no idea how terrible it is. Water boarding has nothing on this.
End of transmission.

Spring Weather in Korea is like Woman's Mind

I guess I celebrated a little too prematurely about amazing weather...yes, the snow and frost is behind us, but apparently springtime is filled with unexpected weather changes. Check the forecast on monday for the following weekend, and you shouldn't be surprised to watch the weather shift and change all week, making plan B's or C's necessary. Perhaps this is normal in most parts of the world, but I have to say, my wardrobe is getting a little complicated...sweaters, jackets, umbrellas, tank tops, jeans, shirts...and soon, rain boots! I'm going to need more closet space to be amply prepared for the spastic weather conditions!
Putting down my weather girl cap, let me get you up to speed about May in Korea. It has been an adeventure-filled month, so I will relay events in an order of my choosing, rather than chronologically...because I can. Firstly, I can proudly announce that I have become a card carrying member of the elite but growing club of the Tattooed. Yup. In a country where its practically illegal, no less. Apparently to be a legal tattoo artist in the ROK, you must also have a physician's license. Does this really happen? No. I'm not sure how the studios stay in business, but at "Tattoo Korea," my shop of choice, business is a-boomin'. The other obstacle they have to overcome is the stigma most Koreans carry for tattoos. The U.S. is a liberal dance party in most things compared to K-land, and this is no exception. Tattoos are closely associated with gang activity here, to the point that one of my friends, who has a small star outline tattooed on her wrist, was asked by an excited 6-year old what gang she was in. My kids (and co-workers) have yet to see my tattoo, so I'll relay their reactions when it happens. (oh, and the tattoo in question is a camera on my wrist, with the word "kimch!" written in hangul, or korean characters. that is what they say instead of "cheese" when they take a picture here).
Moving on, May is an amazing month filled with government holidays (yay!), including "Children's Day," and Buddha's Birthday. I have one comment for children's day, which I got a full five days in a row off for, and that is that, at the age of 24, I finally fulfilled my dream of celebrating a children's day, in the face of Mother's Day and Father's Day, because Mom, everyday is NOT children's day (kids in Korea not only get the day off, but their parents take them to do whatever they want, and give them money and presents. Boo-ya.). The second day off, Buddha's Birthday, lead to a whole number of fun things to do. The weekend before, I attended a Lantern Festival, complete with parade, and then I enjoyed another long weekend. This was spent in Sokcho, a place in the north-east of the country. Buddha's B-day coincides with that of one of my friends, so we spent the three days hiking Soraksan (Mt. Sorak), hanging out on the beach, and otherwise exploring Sokcho. We witnessed obscure and questionable bachelor/bachelorette party rituals on the beach (what we think was a groom, dressed in yellow tights and women's underwear, being hit with a baseball bat by his friends, dressed in shiny business suits, and a group of Korean women looking on from the sidelines, and occasionally collecting money), found an almost abandoned amusement park (sadly, no Korean carnys. I was disapointed) at which three friends got a free ride on a not-so-up-to safety regulations pirate ship ride, and finally threw in a movie for good measure.
That caps off my adventures in May, but now let's take a few minutes to chat about events in the news...Attribute it to proximity, or maturity, but I've been trying to keep an eye on the news lately, as it's beginning to get a little alarming. I am referring to events in Thailand, which I had the opportunity to visit in January, and the growing tension between N. and S. Korea. Thailand seems like the worst might be over, hopefully, though I think their goverment may still be a trifle unstable till the Red Shirts are completely under control, but I'm a little concerned that tensions might be rising on the Korean peninsula. The recent stress was caused by a S. Korean warship sinking earlier this year, that killed almost 50 sailors. It has been exacerbated by the announcement by ROK, months later, that they now firmly place blame on N. Korea, despite their adamant denial of any involvement. ROK also announced that they will be cutting off trade with the North, who replied that any negative actions by the South will be met with all out war. Excellent. At the moment, I am not too worried; this turn of events hasn't affected the Koreans daily life here, and I have connections at the army base who say there aren't any signs of either side waging war any time soon. So. In completely unrelated, changing the subject mode, I leave Sept 30th...
Next Month: WORLD CUP!!!! WOOOOO! (thought I'd end it on a positive note).

Springtime in Seoul

Spring has finally come to Korea! No more winter jackets, no more slipping on the ice covered marble side walks (whoever decided to pave the sidewalks with marble should be shot). Hello cherry blossoms and beautiful weather! To celebrate, let's sum up the springtime festivities so far. The flurry of spring time activities began with a trip to the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone), which is the strip of no-man's land between North and South Korea. I went with a group of seven other friends (all English teachers) with an organization called Adventure Korea. There were a couple interesting things, such as the Infiltration Tunnel (No. 3); That was one of the tunnels the North Koreans were digging to attack the South unawares. Apparently this one was discovered by a farmer on the south's side, and taken over. It's a little narrow, and little steep, and a little wet...the funnest part was taking illegal pictures inside...and posing for pictures with the bored South Korean soldiers stationed there. Then we went to the actual observation area of the DMZ, which was pretty underwhelming. This particular trip didn't take you to the DMZ area that you can see all the buildings of each side, and see the North Korean soldiers. This one was out in the middle of nowhere. We stayed the night in a guest house near the border, and slept ondol-style (which is on the floor-my back still hasn't recovered). The next day, however, I went bungee jumping!! Off a bridge!! Apparently its one of the only places to do bungee jumping, and I have to say, it was definitely enjoyable. Except, after jumping, you are hanging upside down, spinning on the end of the rope; then lowered into a boat below. That was not enjoyable; the combination of the blood rush to the head and the spinning created a massive headache...But, I would definitely do it again.
The second springtime event was the cherry blossom festival. Every spring the cherry blossoms bloom in Korea for about two weeks, then they're gone. They are absolutely beautiful. My favorite part, though, is when they are on their way out. It turns out they don't turn pink until they're almost dead, but then the least breath of wind results in a sprightly cloud of petals that dance about on the breeze.
And the third event, that brings us up to date, was hosting a movie night in my apartment. Few of my friends have visited my place, as it is located out of the way for most of them. We went out for good ole fashioned burgers and garlic fries (yum! apart from the sweet potato bun, they tasted like home), then, just as the name says, we adjorned to my apartment for movies (and an ungodly amount of snacks...). I can proudly say that my apartment can comfortably (or semi comfortably) sleep six people! (hint hint...anyone want to come visit, I'm here till October...). The sunday after, me and a friend decided to take advantage of the most beautiful day yet and walk around the Anyang Art Park. We did, however, decide on the spur of the moment to take a scenic shortcut...which turned out not to be a shortcut at all, and found ourselves on the way to hiking up a moutain. Thinking that, at some point, the trail would curve and make its way to the art park, we continued...and continued. We never found the park, but did have a lovely picnic-y lunch on a large sun-warmed rock in a little mountain stream. Definitely worth it. And I got some excercise.

The Vacation- Hanna, Dul, Set! Done!

To quickly sum up the last of my jan. vacation, after laying on the beach in Sikhanoukville, Cambodia, for two days, enduring cries of "Hey lady, you want manicure?" we headed to Vietnam. The border crossing was a little intimidating, as our van stopped several yards away from the first checkpoint and made everyone get out. We then had to wait in the scorching sun for the second van, that had our guide inside. We collected our bags and walked to the checkpoint, then walked through the no-man's land that lies between Cambodia and Vietnam. At the Vietnam side, we had to get inspected again, and our visas checked and stamped. And, to welcome us to Vietnam, there was a giant bust of Ho Chi Minh presiding over the waiting area...After the gruff formality of the border guards, though, I found Vietnamese people to be quite friendly and easy going. Because of a malicious stomach bug I caught somewhere in Cambodia, there is really only one more event to impart, and that is a motorcycle ride up a small mountain to watch the sun set on the Mekong River. The ride was amazing; riding on the back of a motorcycle taxi in the land of motorbikes is a must. Especially when you have a competetive Austrailian woman in your group, who engages your motorcycle driver in a race...through Vietnamese traffic, then up a sometimes steep and winding mountain road. Which I won, by the way...We then travelled to Ho Chi Minh City (which the locals still call Saigon), and I made friends with the hotel room's bathroom.
There! Winter vacation successfully retold, only three months later! Just in time to start thinking about Summer vacation!
*And, Hanna, Dul, Set is 1, 2, 3, in Korean

Oh my god! A new post...

I was going to write another random post, when I realized that I never finished writing about my vacation...so heres another installment!
After Siem Reap and Angkor Wat amazingness, we travelled to Phnom Penh. The main point of interest there was Tuol Sleng and the Killing Fields. The Khmer Rouge and Pol Pot was a piece of history they don't really cover (if at all) in school, so the visit was an incredibly edifying experience for me. For those of you not in the know (as I wasn't; I had heard the word Khmer Rouge and knew it was bad, but not why...), the Khmer Rouge was the result of Cambodia's brush with communism, and led to genocide, disease and famine. Pol Pot was the politcal leader, and Tuol Sleng was the former school turned prison (interogation camp). The prison has been since turned into a museum, and it is indeed an extremely unsettling place. It still looks like a school, the way the buildings are laid out, but the effects of its time as a prison are everywhere. Some rooms still have the metal bed frames that prisoners were chained to, and iron manacles are everywhere. One building is completely filled with the images of prisoners and guards (the Khmer was famous for photographing everyone, prisoner style with a front shot and a profile, before killing them). A last note, there was a survivor from the prison there (one of only 7 if I remember correctly). He encouraged people to take his picture, so that they will take it back to their home countries and discuss what happened there.
Next we went to the Killing Fields, where the prisoners were taken to be executed and buried. Strangely enough, in such a place of so much suffering, it was quite beautiful and peacefull, with small open fields and sunlit glades between trees. It was eerie. The air there was filled with butterflies...It gently provoked much contemplation. How could a place that dark be so inviting? I've thought many things, one being that maybe what man does on earth ultimately doesn't change the nature of the earth itself, regardless of how horrible;that the trees and grass and butterflies were not a part of what happened. Another thought was that maybe the earth was aware, and was trying to make up for what transpired...Standing there in the sunshine, looking at scraps of clothing stuck in the hard packed dirt, and the gentle depressions characteristic of a hidden grave, I also thought that maybe the butterflies were the souls of those buried there, unable to rest. Our guide said that because they were improperly buried, the victims could never move on.
Sorry to be such a downer! But places like that really should be visited, and not forgotten.
To lighten things up, that night about half our group decided to find some genuine Khmer Kickboxing at the suggestion of the local tour guide (not to be confused with Thai Boxing, apparently Thailand "stole" it). This was an adventure in itself, as we had to set this up ourselves with the tuk-tuk drivers (this was not in the program). After negotiating a price ($6 roundtrip per tuk-tuk), we set off! And drove. And drove...and drove. Right out of the city center...and the not so city center...and onto a dirt road. Exciting. Then through the chain link, barb wired fence of a broadcasting building, to, naturally, the airplane hanger in the back. Upon entering the hanger our fears were dispelled, as it proved to be a well organized, nationally televised fight. The only other hiccups were the failure of our drivers to return...but, thankfully,we befriended a few other foreigners who kindly called us a ride. We just had to wait for them, in the dark, outside the building...But, as I am writing this, now, months later, nothing bad happened. And I have an adventurous story to tell!
Next Vacation Installment: The Beach!

It began with garbage bags...

I know I haven't finished blogging about my vacation, don't worry, another installment will follow this entry. I just decided to do a blog on a random tangent, about today. Today was a saturday full of serendipitous events, and as so few of those days happen, I wanted to catalogue and share such a day. And yes, it all started with garbage bags...

So, let me begin by explaining that the waste disposal system here in Korea is a bit convoluted for the foreigner. First, everything is separated; plastic, cardboard, glass, metal. Easy so far, right? Then food/organic trash goes into a separate bag. THEN everything else goes into a bag. Except you have to use special bags in order to throw your trash out. AND these bags are specific to your city (I live in Anyang City, so have to purchase my bags from a store in Anyang). And, a side note, or reminder, said bags are only labeled in Korean. AND only certain stores sell these bags. AND the cherry on top, the one store I know of that sells such bags, has closed since the last time I purchased my bags. This is when I found out not all convenience/grocery stores sells these bags, and have pretty much spent the last week on a quest to find them. No dice.

Back to today. On the way to meet a friend at the subway station this morning, I happen to glance in a random, hole-in-the-wall store, and lo and behold, there stacked against the window, were as many garbage bags as I could want. Trash bag mystery solved!

I was meeting a friend with the intent to locate a certain camera store that we heard about on the internet. I dutifully copied down a map from their website, and the next amazing event, though it may not seem so to you, is that we found the store on our first try, without backtracking or attempting to ask for directions (which in my experience is futile, me not speaking much Korean, and most Koreans not speaking any English). And, ironically, we ran into a student group handing out fliers advertising a free guide service for foreigners (you just shoot them an email, tell them where you want to go, and they set you up with someone who is studying English; they get conversation practice, you get a free guide). It was ironic because being lost is a perpetual state of existence for me in Korea, and we ran into them on the one day I happened to figure out where I was going.

After this, we headed to another area which was home to a pretty impressive camera district. Here on out, we relied on our sense of adventure and curiosity (no longer prepared with directions or maps, reverting to my natural state), and subsequently located film (for the cameras purchased at the previous successfully located store), and a store called "photopia," which, while unfortunately closed for the day, sounds like a good bet for getting that film developed.

The final act of amazingness for the day occurred during our search for a mexican restaurant called "Taco Rico." Though we should have known better, we again were without directions, and decided to methodically looked for the restaurant. However, this is located (we were pretty sure...) in a city called "Gagnam." This place is huge, and packed with people and a profusion of restaurants and stores. Its a mob scene on a good day. This day was a friday night. After meticulously surveying the streets in a grid pattern, we decided to abandon all logical search techniques, choosing instead to screw around with our recently bought cameras and wander aimlessly down side streets. At which point we practically ran into our intended destination. And better yet, we walk in, and there's a Mexican in the kitchen. And better STILL, the Koreans working there spoke SPANISH. Awesomeness. And the food was amazing.

Lesson learned today, when in search for something in Korea, try to put yourself in the right general area, then give up all hope, throw caution to the wind, and follow your whims. They're are almost always right.

VACATION! Part I

Yes, I have been home a week; it has taken me that long to get around to blogging about it...For those of you who don't know, I spent Jan. 19-29 filling my passport up in Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. I went with my friend Kourtney, also an English teacher here in K-land.

First stop was Bangkok, Thailand. We arrived just in time to catch the tail end of a meeting (we were on a group tour). We only had one night in Bangkok, but had a good meal, and managed to do some shopping (which is pretty awesome in SE Asia, if you can haggle). The next day, we were off to Cambodia! We went from Bangkok to the border, then to Siem Reap, Cambodia. This is where Angkor Wat is! Needless to say, we went to the temples; we hired a bus to take us there, complete with tour guide. Attempting to view Angkor Wat at sunrise, we left at the amazingly early vacation time of 5:30am, only to witness the "gradual lightening" of the sky; unfortunately for us, it was overcast and rainy...oh well. It was still amazing. The second temple complex we went to was Angkor Thom; "Angkor" in Khmer (which is what the Cambodian people are) means "capital," and "wat" means buddhist temple, thats what our guide told us. Angkor Thom is famous for the Terrace of the Leper King, and the Elephant Terrace. Finally, the last temple complex we visited was Ta Prohm, which was my favorite. It is famous for the fact that it was lost in the jungle and only relatively recently rediscovered in the 20th century. After it was abandoned, the jungle took it over and now trees sprout from the tops of the buildings ( it is popular to point out, as our guide and tour leader did, and everyone else that discussed it, that Ta Prohm was where some of "Tomb Raider" was filmed). Over all, the temples were amazing, and I could have spent an entire week there. You actually get to walk in them and touch ANYTHING YOU WANT. It was awesome. And at Ta Prohm, there was some reconstruction going on, so as you walk through the temple it was as if you were there when it was being built. The clink of the chisels on stone echoed off the temple walls, and there were relatively few tourists there, so everything else was quiet. We ended our day with a walk through the market, where you could buy anything from t-shirts to bracelets to hats to spices...and get it all at a good price if you knew how.
One thing that was fun, and pretty much unphotographable, was the tuk tuk race we had back to the hotel that night. Our tuk tuk group was a pretty international affair, with 4 English people, 3 Aussies, 1 Swiss, 1 Japanese, and me (to represent the good ole US of A; There was also a guy from Brazil, one from Portugal, another Swiss, and Kourtney in the group, but they didn't go out that night). Therefore, we pitted country against country in a race; as soon as we found 3 tuk tuk drivers willing to do so...and by the way, tuk tuk's are motorcycles with a small carriage attached to the back, it is the prefered form of transportation (for multiple people) in Thailand and Cambodia. So, it was England vs. Austrailia vs. The Rest of the World. Sadly, the Aussies won, but only because they cheated...my team came in second (on pure driving talent; we had no regard for either pedestrians or potholes...).
The last event in Siem Reap was a visit to Tonle Sap Lake. There is a floating village on the lake, where everyone lives in little house boats; they have a floating school, markets, even a floating basketball court. I have also discovered that the more rural areas are pros at attempting to get money out of you; not only did we pay an exhorbitant fee for the floating village tour, but as we were on the boat, smaller boats would come alongside, like a little pirate ship, a child would board us and walk the legnth of our boat trying to sell beverages. Their boat would then pick them up at the back...Gotta give them points for trying, but it got a little annoying...We stopped at a floating restuarant that had some, I guess you could call them "displays," of the local fish, and industry and whatnot. One of these included a boa constrictor, or python, I'm not sure which; A "really big snake," and yes, I held it, and yes, I have a cheesy tourist piture of that to prove it. They also had alligators (or crocodiles...again, my reptile identification skills are not at their best). Apparently they farm the gators for their skins and meat and whatnot (and no, I didn't hold one).
So, that is what happened in Bangkok and Siem Reap; that brings us to about the beginning of day 4 of the Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam Vacation Extavaganza. Next Installment: Phnom Penh and Sihanoukville. (pictures will be forthcoming...as I am typing this at work, and don't have access to my computer...)
Stay Tuned...

It's been awhile...

Sooooo....Long time, no write. I know! It seems facebook has been monopolizing all my online time. I'll have to do something about that soon...Anyway, I've been planning on doing a blog entry on food, so here it is. For some reason being in Korea has encouraged eating out like nothing else...when asked what I had for dinner, if I say "oh, I cooked something at home." (meaning, of course, something "instant"...), my co-teacher always says, oh thats not good. Its expected that I go out for dinner. And lately, I have...my stomach enjoys it (mostly), but my wallet does not.

So, the list of "foreign" (anything not Korean) begins with Thai, Indian (3 different places so far), Mexican (though they don't use nearly enough cheese), The Wolfhound (an Irish pub, amazing pub food, and home of the Apple Crumble...), Iranian, American Diner food (here, this is foreign;went for a full diner breakfast, it was amaaaaazing), and lastly, Spanish (Spain-spanish, different from Mexican-spanish). Indian food seems to be the most popular, and I have to say, I enjoy it immensely. And they usually have some sort of Ballywood thing on the tv, and that is always entertaining.

I have also, of course, gone for Korean food. All Korean meals center around many little bowls of side dishes. This includes several kinds of kimchi, the national dish, a soup of some sort (kind of like a miso soup), bean sprouts, and sometimes a "korean pizza" which is, as far as I can tell, an almost flat omelet made with egg and rice meal, with chives and other things cooked in. Most Korean restaurant food is "barbeque" style. This means you have all the side dishes, and the main dish is raw meat that is cooked over a hot plate set into the middle of your table. It is quite delicious, and bonus, relatively healthy. Yay!

So that is the low-down on restaurant eating; there is also street food eating, but as that is a whole other ball game, I will have to save that for another entry. (yes, I will attempt to go back to semi-regular blogging, due to popular demand).