Busan

After working without any breaks since Lunar New Year in January, our school allowed us a break this weekend. The way the Korean calendar happens to work this year has most of the national holidays on weekends. This weekend, for example, celebrated Buddha’s Birthday on Saturday. Tuesday is Children’s Day (yes…a real holiday) and rather than making us come in to work on Monday, our supervisor convinced the owner of the school to let the teacher’s have it off. To the parents it was justified as a Teacher's Seminar. Michele and I went down to Busan on Sunday for the night. As the second largest city in Korea it is a necessary stop during our stay here. For even though it is a large city, the size doesn’t compare to Seoul and foreigners are much more likely to stand out. There’s also, as one coworker loves to remind us, a strong Russian influence in this coastal town which means it’s the one place in Korea where you can find pierogies. We didn’t eat Russian dumplings, but we did eat great Chinese food and fresh fish. Fish that was probably swimming in the ocean hours before it was served on our plate. First thing we did was walk around the largest fish market in Korea. Live octopus, scrambling crabs, gutted sting rays, and weird things that look suspiciously like male and female genitalia. Afterwards we headed to a mountain temple that required a trip on a cable car and a lot of help from a friendly bi-lingual Korean man. We found lots of boulders that were great for crawling over and sitting on, perfect for reading and journaling. Afterwards we headed to the touristy beach area where we watched the sun set and staked out spots for the following morning’s sunrise. Our night in the shoddiest love motel that involved cockroach spray in our room and walls as thin as eggshells was worth the twenty bucks we spent on it. Our shared double bed with no sheets and a polyester comforter did not do much to improve the situation. Frustrated by insomnia, I threw off the blankets at 4:30 and declared I was heading out to watch the sunrise. We were stumbling past bars that were still in full swing but after getting settled on our rocks we watched a perfect sunrise. The thing about sunrises is that I always forget just how quickly they come. The entire sky blushes rosier and rosier, save for one pulsating pink spot, until the sun just appears, and if you’re not carefully paying attention, and ascends into it’s place in the sky. We made up for lost sleep on the beach, getting some sun in the process, until the afternoon when we caught a bullet train back to Seoul.

Result of spring, smog, Seoul, dirty children, and the ominous, ever present Yellow Dust.

Two momentous occasions occurred today: first, I went to a doctor. And second, my big sister passed the bar!!! Congratulations Kelli, I'm so proud of you! Soon, when I ask you to send me some of my old stuff I won't feel obligated to reimburse you because you'll be making so much more money than me:p

I realize a doctor appointment is exponentially less interesting than passing a test that takes months to study for and has an insurmountable power over the future of your life, but with the current media coverage of Swine Flu and being raised to not go to a doctor unless bleeding out of your eyes, I was finally persuaded by others in my office that my coughing sounded like somebody who had a six pack a day habit and was not at all good in a non smoker.

After sitting in the waiting room for 30 minutes, waiting for the clinic to open by marking homework packets, I was called into a room that looked like a replica of a dentist's office. I struggled to tell him my symptoms, but when he heard me cough he was quick to determine that my reason was based on my inability to breathe properly and he sat me down to shove a metal depressant up my...nose? Yep. The first fifteen minutes of this twenty minute doctor appointment involved several objects, including wet cotton balls and the whirling tool that flushes out your mouth at the dentist, being shoved up my nose while the nurse instructed me over and over to breathe with my mouth. In Korea, nobody ever blows their nose and while I had always assumed it was a cultural difference, the doctor insisted that when blowing your nose you get infections in your nasal passages.

When sick it is much better to cough it up than blow it out.

I have no idea if this is true or not, but it relieved a lot of pressure that was built up in the back of my face, behind my nose so I didn't argue. After hearing me breathe he determined that I had a pretty serious case of bronchitis and perscribed antibiotics, five liters of water a day, a surgeons mask to be worn at all times, and to not talk. I'm going with the first two. The third one I haven't worked up the courage. And the fourth one is not allowed by my wallet. The appointment was over quickly, and I paid my whopping 3 dollars and fifty cents, went across the street to the pharmacy and got my perscription filled in minutes. 18 pills a day for four days adminstered in 3 doses a day after each meal. It took 5 minutes to fill the order and cost me an extra 7 dollars and fifty centy.

I'll have to give it a little time to work before determining whether this treatment is legitimate or the work of a witch doctor, but I spent under an hour waiting, getting treated by the doctor, and getting my medicine all for the grand sum of about 10 american dollars. I'm not going to lie, I like the health care provided in Korea.

I haven't been keeping up with my blog lately, and I'm very sorry. I've seen a lot of Korea, a lot of palaces, cherry blossoms, secret gardens, and breathtaking panoramic views from mountain tops. I should have kept you all updated on it. I've spent the last couple months caught up in a whirlwind of social activity that has left me somewhat drained and exhausted. At this moment I'm wheezing like a guy with a 5 pack a day habit and coughing like I used to when I was a kid and had my annual asthma attacks. There's the smog, the smoke that I'm always around (but not smoking myself...don't worry Mom), and the ominous Yellow Dust that comes over from China every spring as a result of their rapid desertifiication. I've also been working non stop since January and am just really tired. As a result of this I will probably be less social, and by default, more apt to update this blog:) I miss you all very much!

Happy Suwon!

We're at the last weekend in March and pay day's not 'till Tuesday. So the question today was what could we do on a beautiful sunny day. At 5 bucks or less. I took the planning reins today and decided it was time to venture out of Seoul for a few hours at least, and settled upon the page in my Lonely Planet book that has been dog eared for some months. Suwon Fortress. It's a 220 year old fortress in a suburb South of Seoul where the motto is "Happy Suwon." Maranda, Shaun, and I took a bus to the city, and after a tense start where I was forced to recognize that bus 7007-1 is NOT the same as bus 7007- I discovered a near fluent English speaker in the front row of the bus who helped me figure out where to go. Like Blanche DuBois, it's important-when a permanent traveler- to depend on the kindness of strangers. Because they're always there.

We managed to find the fortress and walked around for a few hours. We went up a large hill that gave us a great view of Suwon city. I realize urban settings are rarely described as beautiful but there's a dirty prettiness to all cities to me. Particularly when you can get yourselves in that vantage point where you're looking down on it all rather than up. I mean, how often do you get to look down at anything when you're in a city? After the hike we wandered down, coming across a giant bronze buddha, a wall of painted cavalries and sentries heading off to battle, and a minature traditional village where a local attempted to teach me how to play on a teeter totter type contraption. As it turns out, adults in Suwon, like those we met in Beijing, also like to play.

New Kindy's

I've had my new classes of Apples for about 2 1/2 weeks now and, for the most part, it's going pretty great. My new kindergartners are adorable, eager to please, sweet hearted children. I love them already. They are a thousand times easier to handle from my other group and just...oh my goodness they are so eager to please! It's amazing. I spent the first four months here in Korea building a thick skin to a class full of children who were very vocal about my status as a second rate teacher. These new kids are sweet hearts. They're a little lower than what I was used to and I've had to adjust my teaching to fir their level, but it's amazing how much easier it is to spend time with children who like you. When they get into ABC lineup the roster goes as follows: Alice, Amy J, Amy M {not their last names, by the way. When there's more than one child with the same English name the Korean staff just picks a random letter to after it.}, Ariel, Brian C., Daniel, Eric {the twin brother to Brian. Again, neither his nor his brother's last name start's with a C.}, Jun, Louie, Rivers, Seong, Steve. So far they love it when I remind them not to make their letters fly. Give them helicopter rides. And sing the name song. It's only been a couple weeks but, I think I struck gold.

Insadong

Spent a lovely morning in Insadong yesterday. My friend Chris from Chicago has moved here this week to teach at a hagwon in Gagnam and he met up with us in Insadong to see the sights while us girls shopped. Insadong is basically a very long street full of stores and street vendors that sell souvenirs. Chopsticks, rice paper, clothing, books, etc. Theres also a beautiful temple nearby. We ate a traditional lunch at a vegetarian restaurant and had amazing fried noodles, spicy mushroom soup, dumplings, and steamed pumpkin with nuts. Mmmmmm. In the evening we met up with more co-workers at Dr. Fish. For 3 bucks we all sit around a communal pool in a cafe and eat and drink snacks while fish nibble the dead skin off our feet. If you stay as long we usually do (around 2 hours) you'll really notice a significant difference in the feet. The fish really like to nibble on callouses and cuticles so after getting over the ticklishness it's really nice to just sit there and let the fish give you a pedicure. At night, four of us went to a favorite haunt called Flower People. It's a rock bar near our school with an owner who resembles Yoko Ono and has the most extensive record collection I've seen and he plays songs that you request. It's not a bar so much as a listening room. My friends were all really into the music and requesting all sorts of songs from The Doors and Zeppelin to Leonard Cohen and Beta Band. Being the observer that I am, I just sort of leaned back to watch them all enjoying themselves. At around 6 AM I returned home very happy. It was an all around great day.