Tuesday the 2nd was the first day back and, in typical Korean form, everything was very last minute… meaning the class schedules hadn’t been decided yet (though all of the students are at the school) so, that basically left me with many hours at my desk with not a whole lot to do…why not blog!
I’ve had an interesting last two weeks starting on Friday when Mi Sook invited me to spend the day with her and then go out to a birthday dinner for her daughter Seung Hee.
We started by grabbing bibimbop (a rice dish served in sizzling hot stone wear) and the seeing Lovely Bones (awful!). After the movie, she took us back to her house and put out a nice spread of snacks! Her daughter Seung Hee came home shortly there after and the three of us daintily nibbled slices of apple from mini forks. These she left in the “western” non-pealed style rather than peeling it which is customary in Korea (they literally peal everything). Her son recorded the final performances of Kim Yu Na, Mao Asada and Joannie Roulette, the three figure skaters battling for gold. For those of you who didn't following the Skating portion of the games, Yu Na is Korean, so it was a proud moment for Mi Sook and her daughter that she won the Gold! A side note tid-bit, her nick name is ‘Queen Yu Na’ because although she is only 19, her fame in this country is so massive, she has two full time, professional body guards with her at all times. Her face is plastered on busses, billboards and in commercials. I honestly CANNOT imagine the sort of pressure that girl was under to win!
After the performance, Seung hee and I tried a few of our own Skating maneuvers on their wood floors before the three of us headed to Vipps, an incredibly popular Korean Steak restaurant (similar to Outback).
I wrapped up a little Park City candy bar, pin and book mark my mom had sent for my students (thanks again Mom!) and gave it to Seung Hee as a little birthday present. It was so cute to watch her! She didn’t want to rip the paper (though it was just an old Dynamic Busan News Paper) so it took her a solid five minutes to peel away the tape! After she admired her gifts she rewrapped everything so it looked like she hadn’t even opened it. Haha, again, so SO cute!
Saturday morning I woke up at 4:30 to meet my friend Julia for a three plus hour bus ride to the Uljin Snow Crab Festival at Hupo Port. We unfortunately (stupidly) missed our morning bus but still managed to arrive at the festival by 1 that afternoon. I was impressed by how many people were there. Though most were Korean, all advertisements for the festival had a solid group of westerners enjoying a crab leg with huge smiles on their faces. It was, after all, an “International” event! Many samples were sampled, booths visited and street snacks purchased by Julia and I. We made the last minute decision to sign ourselves up for a sunrise boat ride (that was free) leaving at 6 AM the following morning. An early morning but again, our thought was “Hey, its free!”
We finally decided to eat a real meal of crab (rather than mere samples). The first tent we visited was jam-packed people huddled around tiny tables with gigantic plates of crab carcasses and emptied Soju bottles. The cold and alcohol gave people's faces a happy glow as they enjoyed themselves. We found a seat and Julia (a Korean American who speaks decent Korean) asked how much for two crabs. 60,000\ (Roughly $60) was the answer… A little rich for our blood, so we said a polite “no thanks” and decided to try another tent down the way.
At this new tent, I watched as Julia asked a woman dressed in uniform how much for a meal; the woman gave Julia a funny look but after speaking rapid Korean with her co-worker, we suddenly found ourselves seated with two bowls of a rice and a HUGE pile of Snow Crab in front of us! We sat there stunned not knowing what to do… but Julia finally pieced together out we were in the Mayor’s tent and the food in front of us was free as a “gift” of sorts! We had only just begun to eat when a group of Business men all dressed to the nine strolled in. We stood up and after many bows, they all sat around us and with Julia acting as the translator, we all exchanged pleasantries. Such a great experience! The whole meal ended with shots of Soju and a photo shoot with the group. We couldn’t help but laugh as we left in wonderment that our crab dinner went from having a 60,000\ price tag to absolutely free!
Finally at 6 that night, they had their grand opening ceremony complete with Korean Hip-hop dancers, Ojimas singing in mini-skirts, and a skit by three middle school student boys in English who in my opinion, did a pretty professional job of it! There were fireworks, sparklers and neon lights galore… this little town definitely went big for the festival! Finally at 7:30, Julia and I decided it was time to find lodging (considering it was dark and the sky was looking a little ominous). I hadn’t booked anything ahead of time because I assumed that with Julia’s Korean skills, we wouldn’t have a problem finding a place... which would have worked of course except for the other mass loads of people doing the same thing. After only finding only booked motels, I started to get seriously worried… whiiiiich was right about the time it started to rain. Julia however, stayed calm explaining that we could simply stay at the local Jim-jil Bong which is again, their version of spa. I have to explain, it is, I've come to learn common practice for people to sleep in the "common room" of a Jim-jil bong because most are open 24 hours and a flat fee (of as low as roughly $4) allows you to stay as long as you'd like.
It took some hunting and many stops to ask for directions, but we finally found the place. Initially, everything was great! We got our pajamas from the attendant (again, mandatory at Jin-gil Bongs), and headed for the girls locker room. Still freezing, I warmed up in the public baths before meeting Julia in the common room. Other families were camped out eating, drinking and a few already fallen fast asleep on mats with their heads resting on foam blocks. I happily found the “Women’s Napping Room” where there were only two or three other ladies sleeping. Finding a nice little spot, I put my ear plugs in, my eye shades on and covered myself with my jacket absolutely determined to get a solid nights sleep. Weeeeell, no more than an hour later, I awoke to utter chaos as kids ran and screamed around me, jumped over me and flicked the lights on and off… I was also dripping with sweat because during that time, they had turned on the floor heaters and the room felt more like a sauna rather than a napping room. Such a bizarre night as I continually foundy myself ripped from sleep, half conscious, then drifting off again, only to start over with the next wave of activity.
My alarm sounded at 5 and I literally had to stifle my laughter as I looked around me. Over the course of the insane night, every square inch of the Women’s Sleeping Room had completely filled with people. They of course had run out of mats and head rests, but most didn’t seem to mind as snores and heavy breathing reverberated loudly from the walls. After very carefully navigating around and over the bodies, I had to again keep from laughing as the hallway and then the women’s locker room, was more of the same. I felt like I was at some twisted summer camp or not to be morbid, a concentration camp!
After returning our pajamas, Julia and I hoofed it for the peer (a 30 minute walk or so). The biting cold coupled with a tea bag filled with coffee grinds (found at any Korean 711) helped with the waking process. As we walked toward the water, I noticed many foggy car windows and realized those people who couldn’t room at the hotels or Jin-gil bong, made do with car camping. I also noticed many cars had their engines running (in order to blast the heat), so I couldn't help but think that as uncomfortable as my night was, at least I was warm!
Once at the waters port, it didn’t take long to fully appreciate being up at that hour… right around that time, many of the fishermen and women were unloading their catches (which is an impressive thing to watch)! Each individual works quietly and skillfully on whatever their task might be. Some untangling lines, others pass fish from boat deck to shore while others still clean, organize and box the fish and crabs.
The moon was nearly full, so we took a moment to watch it set behind distant hills, knowing in an hour, we’d also be watching the sun rise from the horizon. Finally getting to the dock, a group of 20 or so loaded onto an old (but sterile) fishing boat. What struck me as odd was that almost immediately after shipping out, a group went straight below deck to sleep! Haha, maybe they were just some more car sleepers who decided that the free boat ride was their ticket to an hours worth of warm uninterrupted sleep.
Though it wasn’t the most amazing sunrise, it was great just being out on the water and there’s something extra special about a quiet Korea as it’s a rare thing indeed! The crew laboriously brought out a gigantic pot filled with whole crabs simmering in a vat of ramen and spices. We were all treated to Dixie cups filled to the rim with crab legs sticking out (and endless refills)! It certainly was a great ending to our little morning jaunt!
As we pulled up to the port, a woman who was there with her husband and their two daughters started talking to us in PERFECT English. She introduced herself and Eunseon and asked where we were from and what we planned to do while at the festival. We explained that we wanted to visit the Seongnyu-gul caves (gul actually means caves in Korean), but that first and foremost, we needed to find some breakfast. She asked one of the deck hands for recommendations and he mentioned a fish soup restaurant (Korean’s don’t really do the whole breakfast food thing). She explained that her family needed breakfast as well and asked if they could join. “Of course,” we said! Eunseun again turned to speak with the boatmen and suddenly Julia and I found ourselves ushered into one of the boatman's cars and heading to the restaurant. At first I thought he was joining the breakfast party but once there, he pulled away and that was that (apparently Eunseun had talked him into acting as our temporary chaperone).
Over our meal, Eunseun graciously offered to take Julia and I to the bus depot where we could catch a bus to Seongnyu-gul. She then offered to pick us up again from the caves, as they were going in that direction to visit a famous Buddhist temple. It was yet again, another example of Korean hospitality! We all loaded into their sedan (with the father sitting in the passenger seat and one of the girls on his lap.) Saying our see you laters at the depot and promising to text them when we were done, Julia and I loaded onto a bus, arriving at Seongnyu 45 minutes later (we both slept the entire way!)
It was of course, jam packed with people... and once in the cave’s entrance, there were silver walkways, lighting and signs to guide you through what at one time was a raw and amazing natural thing. Even with all of the human junk, it was still beautiful and at the same time, pretty entertaining. To explain, the signs were of course there to warn walkers of low stalactites and obstacles in the way, but they were also there to label some of the columns. What was entertaining about it is that there was a label for the Virgin Mary, Adam and Eve, the Buddha, a Witch and many more all of which, no matter how great the imagination, didn't really fit. It's like they wanted to cover their bases and honor all the major religions (even the black ones) and give each a rock in the cave.
While the cave was HUGE, I was to learn later from Eunseun that we saw a mere third of its entirety. The exit was a cramped tunnel of sorts where I was literally hunched butt to feet, hopping along to get out. It made me wonder A. how all the little Korean grandmothers hobbling behind me were going to manage and B. if a cave like that could ever operate in the USA. There were some tight spaces that I don't doubt a less than svelte American citizen could get stuck ... resulting in a lawsuit I'm sure!
As promised, once we were once done with our extreme spelunking expedition, Eunseun, family and sedan were there waiting.
I was totally impressed with the drive! It was, literally, the first real beauty I’ve seen since coming to Korea. The road wound up a valley and steep, wooded hills jutted on either side with exposed cliffs and below, pumped a rocky river. I learned that the eldest of the two daughters had had health problems for most of her life, so this was the family’s first overnight trip outside of Seoul, their home. It’s not surprising then, that the girls excitement surpassed even my own!
The temple itself was beautiful and sat nestled in another side valley. This I learned from Eunseun, is somewhat unusual for Buddhist Temples as most rest on the hills, not between them. I appreciated its location because, not only does it sit off the main road, there’s an additional 20 minute walk to its entrance. With the 6 of us sipping complimentary tea, Eunseun, who is Buddhist herself, explained many of the symbols and translated many of the historical fact plaques. On the walk back, Julia, Eunseun and I were having a nice conversation when quite unexpectedly, Eunseun announced that she NEVER thought she would marry. She explained that a year in North Carolina during her early 20s had convinced her she wanted to live in the US forever. “But my husband talked me into coming back to Korea,” she explained. “And then he basically proposed.” She went on to say that she didn’t know if she would ever love him, but she did know that he would make a good father! I was very surprised that she told Julia and I this!
After finally getting a chance to reflect on my weekend, I would say it was certainly action packed and interesting!
That Monday was the Samil Movement day, a national holiday honoring Korea’s first stand against Japanese rule (in 1919). I decided to take advantage of my day off and go for a hike near my apartment. Amazingly, I saw very few people on the mountain… what I did see however, was a medium sized animal that looked like a cross between a kangaroo and a deer bounding through the brush! Its odd look coupled with the fact that there are so few animals in Korea, made me feel like I had just seen a mythological creature and had me seriously wondering if maybe I was seeing things! (It’s the only time I’ve ever wished for other hikers around!) I’ve since looked up “mammals in Korea” and not surprisingly, there were few mammals to scroll through… so when I saw a picture of the Siberian Musk Deer, I knew the mystery was solved!
**http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_musk_deer
Considering this Musk Deer is listed as “threatened” I feel really lucky to have seen it! It has been over-hunted in the past because its musk gland has a pretty high price tag attached, selling for about $45,000/kilogram.
That Wednesday, I woke up to snow actually sticking to the ground! I’ll admit to being just giddy as a school girl as snow is unheard of in Busan (which is probably why the city called a state of emergency!) Classes were canceled though teachers were still expected to come in. The head of the English department Mr. Beh called to explain the situation. I had some time before I needed to go in, so I decided to do some exploring and check out the snow situation. Ha! So SO funny! In 20 short minutes, I witnessed people with umbrellas battling the wind and snow flurries
(if water is falling from the sky in any form, Koreans see a need for umbrellas!), cars trying and failing to make it up snowy hills, old men using broken pieces of wood to shovel, the local fire crew out in their full firefighting get-ups dumping piles of salt here and there (they aren't familiar with the sprinkle method I guess) and by far the best scenes of all: kids going CRAZY throwing snowballs and playing!
I called Mr. Beh back to explain that no buses were running and he told me to “stay home and be safe.” “Ok Mr. Beh, if you say so…” (YEEESSSS!) I put the PJs back on, and cuddled in my bed quite happy with the thought of getting a snow day… weeeell, then came the bombardment of texts and calls. First, my new co-teacher Yaz Pak called to tell me that she was really sorry but a meeting originally scheduled on Thursday had been rescheduled for noon that day and that if I could, it would be good if I made it. And then text messages from Mrs. Kim telling me about the meeting as well. I decided to brave the roads and made a 40 minute trek down steep snowy sketchiness to catch the bus. Of course the "meeting" ended up being teachers just going out to lunch and once it was done, everyone was told to go home... Ha!
So SO typical!
The next two weeks were a blur of getting back into the swing of things with school. My first lesson was on the Olympics which was fun (the students knew a great deal about the athletes and events) and my second lesson, focused on Mr. Bean which they all LOVED! The weekends have been pretty social these days with bowling (there was an hour wait as bowling is QUITE the past time in Korea) a couple of birthdays, a pub crawl (unlike Tori and Kayla who went all night, I begged out at 1 AM), and this last Sat., a St. Patricks day party at a local bar with darts, pool and a brief bit of live fiddle music. I went on a freezing cold climb outside with Dong Il, my 50’s something Korean friend mentioned earlier. We went to a wall nestled near the Gumjeong fortress with another climber named Andy. I was only able to do one climb before I couldn’t handle the cold anymore and headed home.
I continue to do a lot of solo exploration. My theory is that I have far more interactions with
locals when I do things on my own (I think maybe a solo traveler looks more approachable... or mabye I'm just more receptive.) For instance, this last Sunday I took an hour bus to a neighboring town called Changwon where the Gyeongnam Art Museum had an art expo for their new Contemporary Taiwanese Art Exhibit. Although I thought I had done the proper research before getting there… I soon realized there were some holes. For starters, I didn’t know which side of the street to stand on to catch the bus going to the museum. Asking a woman at an information desk, she indicated that I needed to cross to the opposite side of the station. As I headed outside to do just that, I heard footsteps behind me and turned around to see this young woman in her black pat and leather pumps running to catch me. She took my arm, led me first to the closest bus stop to check their map, then to a cab driver to (I assume) ask for directions, then 100 yards down the way to an underground walkway, then to the other side where she proceeded to wait with me for the bus. When it arrived she led me on, chatted briefly with the driver and waved goodbye from the curb! Ha! Yet another example of amazing Korean hospitality (though I could have managed) it was so thoughtful of her and I appreciated it!
Alas, the museum itself took a mere 45 minutes to walk through. I was happy I went because for one, I can check off one more town in Korea as visited and two, some of the pieces were fantastic!
After the museum, I found a Japanese tea house and hung out for another hour journaling/reading before heading back. On the city bus en route to the station, a girl behind me tapped my shoulder saying she “wanted to help me.” “What?” I asked. After many attempts, she finally explained that she wanted to tell me when the bus got to the station so I could know when to get off. Haha, I thanked her and we spent the rest of the time making small talk. I found out that she was a nurse in Changwon but really hoped to study in America (hence wanting to practice her English with me I think) and before I got off, she got my e mail so we could stay in touch. Just another friendly Korea interaction to put in the log book!
That Monday I went to Costco (yup, they have one Costco here! Its like their huge packaging offers me a little reminder of home) with my new friend and co worker Yaz Pak. She is AWESOME and I’m happy to have her sit next to me at school. She spent a year in Paris studying, 2 months in Alaska building trails (unheard of for Korean women) and random weeks here and there visiting the US so she's been super interesting to get to know! I definitely look forward to getting to know her better!
On Tuesday I went for another hike near my apartment and found a shrine glowing with candles. It was nearly 6:30 PM by that point and getting dark so most people had gone home, but to be sure, I took a quick look around before creeping over to the entrance to have a look inside. There was what looked like the broken remains of a huge dragon creature with the tale winding around the caves perimeter. Above the glowing candles hung a drawing of an old man (neither Buddhist or Christian) so, the only thing I can think is the shrine might be honoring a mountain God of some sort… the goal is to get a Korean friend up there for them to yay or nay my theory. Tucked in cracks were little mats and pieces of Styrofoam that I’m thinking people use to kneel on.
The next day I told Mi Sook and Yaz about it and Mi Sook’s theory is that it’s for older Koreans who tell their ‘wishes’ to this “God” of sort. It’s very superstitious and a sort of nod to Korea’s past. Another nod to their past that I’ve seen recently (with the warmer spring-time weather) are Ojimas and Harmony’s (Grandmothers) crouched on the hill-side with little plastic bags filled with the roots and greens they gather. It is another reminder to me how much Korea has changed in the last 50 years… the last 20 years even! Its amazing to think that before 1965, Korea was incredibly poor and it wasn’t until the 1988 Summer Olympics held in Seoul, that their economy really took off! It is not surprising then that the older generations still hold onto their traditional methods of survival.
Yesterday, myself and a group of teachers went to visit our old vice principal at a new, very large school that he transferred. (It's policy for Principals, Vice Principals and teachers to transfer schools every four years.) Our meeting ended up being a four hour process of drinking tea and eating rice cakes in his office before migrating over to a Japanese sashimi restaurant where the Principal drank many many glasses of Soju, becoming ever merrier telling countless stories (which Mrs. Kim was kind enough to translate).
Alas, this last weekend was not all that fun because Friday afternoon I caught what's known as school cafeteria food food poisoning... NOT fun! On Sat. I had thought I was doing fine and decided to visit a pottery village with my friend Olivia. On the bus ride there I discovered that I was actually still feeling pretty piss poor. It was too late by that point and in the end, it was an interesting side trip where we shared tea with the potters wife for a good long while and she explained the traditional Korean way of making pottery. So, though I was feeling not so great, it was still worth it! Sunday, I was legitimately feeling better and attended a Calligraphy class with Tori and our friend Trevor at the Buddhist Hongbeop temple (the same place we took the Kimchi class).
That's about it so, thanks again for reading!
I'm writing this from my new school, the Naesan Elementary School, which brought with it a new apartment in a new area of Busan as well as new teaching responsibilites. Or rather, the lack there of. Life in a Korean Elementary School I've come to discover, is far simpler and FAR mellower than life in a middle school. In a nut shell, I'm teaching from a book accompanied by a DVD leaving me with no prep work what so ever. With a song and a dance (literally) I am a bona-fied 3rd-6th grade elementary school teacher.
My parents on a boat cruise around the Taejongdae Cliffs during their visit in July 2010.
A Chinese snack that made me VERY ill for 24 hours.
Just some Chinese family that wanted a picure with me in Tienanman Square in Beijing.
My good friend Brenna and I at wine club... I know, I know, I'm so SO sohpisticated!
Posing with some kids at the Andong Mask Festival in May. 
Christmas 2010 at a cabin in the Jiri Mountains.
It was a small miracle to have snow for our Christmas celebrations!
Visiting the Boys Town Orphanage in January this year. 
Donating school supplies to the Mkwhichi Secondary School in Lilongwe, Malawi that I'd gathered from students and friends during the month of December.
Rock climbing on the Viphya Plateau
A typical view of a cramped Kombi ride.
Bridal Veil Falls in the Chimanimani Mountains, Zimbabwe
