Taiwan, Beijing, Hong Kong, YongPyong...

It’s been a ridiculously long time since I’ve updated and for that I sincerely and profusely apologize... my life is insanely busy which is a good and bad thing- depending on what activity is keeping me busy. :) 

So.. first thing’s first.. the positive busy things: 

1. 12/14
   
   It’s been a ridiculously long time since I’ve updated and for that I sincerely and profusely apologize... my life is insanely busy which is a good and bad thing- depending on what activity is keeping me busy. :) 
   
   
   
   So.. first thing’s first.. the positive busy things:
   
   1. Taiwan for Chuseok: pretty much rocked! I went to the National Palace museum on Friday morning and saw lotsa Chinese historical stuff- same stuff I’d seen in China last summer, nothing really new and different.. but it was still nice to see it again and refresh my memory. PLUS it’s history, so yea- awesome. Berengere flew in that morning and I met her in the afternoon- we went to see Taipei 101 (the tallest building in the world, supposedly!) It had a viewing deck like the Seoul tower and an outside area that was ridiculously windy- pretty cool. We went to Shilin night market which had some rather interesting cuisine and then found some cheap-o foot massages which RULED b.c. my foot has STILL been killing me. blech. Saturday: We went to Longshan temple which is actually a multi-denominational temple but it just so happened to be during the Harvest Moon festival- which is essentially the same type of holiday for the Chinese as Chuseok is for the Koreans- they give food in honor of their ancestors. It was really interesting to see this in action. That afternoon we went to Wulei which is a little town outside of Taipei. We went up to the top of a mountain                                                            and explored a bit then had quite an interesting experience as the only foreigners at a hot spring on the side of the river. We couldn’t take pictures there b.c. it woulda been a little strange, but let’s just say the spectacular & unrealistic view will forever be ingrained in my brain. That night we naturally got another cheap massage- which was UH-Mazing and I couldn’t have spent my $15 USD for an hour massage better! :) As Typhoon Parma was hitting Taiwan on that Sunday, B and I made a GREAT decision (ehem, not quite) to go to _______ National park and explore.. we got to the top of the mountain and had to make our way back to Taipei before the storm attacked us so fiercely that our bus fell off the mountain therefore killing us on impact, lol. (that also was quite an interesting experience, and yea, I was a bit freaked out) We safely made it down the mountain, back to our 3rd nightly massage- which just so happened to be the best- and eventually returned to Seoul the next day. It was a great trip and I’m so glad we were able to go... 
   2. A weekend in Busan with Rebecca Payne: I learned the art of Soju and Aloe juice. I learned not to leave your purse unattended. and I learned how difficult it is to replace your valuable belongings once they have been swiped from you in a foreign bar overseas. :( I was also reminded of how ridiculously awesome Becca Payne is and how glad I am that we are living in the same country so we can hang out more and more. :)  
   3. The Beijing Swimvitational with the Morning Swim Squad:                                                                                                                                                             Over Halloween, I chaperoned my competitive Morning Swim Squad to a swim meet in Beijing, China. Only a few swimmers could actually go so it was a small group- but it was a fantastic group at that. We went to the Great Wall on Friday when we got there and it was much better than my last insanely hot and exhaustive experience at the Badaling section of the Great Wall last summer. This time, it was cold weather and we rode a chair lift up to the wall, so I wasn’t experiencing heart palpitations from the insane height of the wall. :) The meet was on Saturday- which we did quite well, I must say. I networked and met other coaches around Asia-which was difficult considering my predecessor alienated them all... Then as we were leaving on Sunday, there was a snow storm!!!! As some of the swimmers and myself have never lived in or near snow, we naturally enjoyed this nice surprise quite thoroughly with some snow ball fights :) I love my lil’ swimmers. :) It was so nice that all my hard work being a “travel agent” for this trip really paid off. :) 
   4. Hong Kong for Thanksgiving: This was the best of all!!! The “20-somethings group” (as others have been known to call us) went to HK for a splendid weekend of debaucherous fulfillment. LizTeacher and I did a bit too much imbibing on the plane that we were balling our eyes out during “The Time Traveler’s wife” and all the Asians were looking at us like were just some ridiculous Westerners that needed to get a grip. lol. As the only American accompanying 2 Frenchies and a Brit,  we didn’t really have that traditional Thanksgiving celebration- but it was still quite an adventure as we ate traditional Chinese food (which those of you who know me well, remember my reaction to this last summer- those of you who don’t can’t refer to my China Blog ;) ) B and LizTeacher ate Duck-  naturally with it’s head still on! and Alex had some OxTongue- mmmm yummy!! and yes, I ate ordinary chicken, which THANK GOD- no longer had it’s head. With so much British influence in this former possession of the Brits- it was like being in London- but with lotsa Asians and BETTER!! I shopped so much more than I have ever shopped that I was afraid I would have no money for the rest of my life- HK has SO much more than Seoul (i.e. IKEA!!!)  in the ways of purchases that I kept telling myself, “This is ok, b.c. I won’t be able to find this in Seoul”- whew, I really shoulda practiced a lil more self control... The architecture was quite intriguing and the skyline was to die for- all the buildings were all decked out for the holidays- loved it!! I saw a Junk boat and shrieked with excitement as I impatiently begged my girls to board the boat and sail off- at about $20 USD, we hopped on, had a complimentary glass of wine, and sailed around Victoria Harbor for close to an hour. 
      It was awesome! (PLUS- as the Asian equivalent to the Europeans’ Clipper ship of Chris Columbus fame, I got a bit o my historical fill for the trip :) ) LizTeacher and I went to see the famous _______ Buddha statue on Lantau- it was huge, but a lil disappointing as I thought it would be a bit more impressive than just some random humongous Buddha statue sitting on an isolated mountain. Still neat to see the largest sitting Buddha though. (check mark on that) LizTeacher and I joined her Rugby crew on a daylong boat tour that took us to a secluded beach where we enjoyed AYCE, AYCD fun.. we jumped off the top of the Junk boat, 
      swam in the tiddly bit cold water, and played on the beach. It was actually an unforgettable time and it was SO nice to put some color back into my dreary, pale skinned self :) To sum this trip up- I had THE BEST time and will be looking into International schools in HK for my future :)
   5. Skiing at YongPyong for LizTeacher’s b-day:
   1.  It’s strange that this didn’t even feel like a vacation or anything really special b.c. we weren’t leaving SoKo- I know, I know, B and I keep saying we are spoiled rotten. Before now, having lived too far away from snow, cold weather, and mountains- skiing was THE vacation of my year to go visit my UD & AK in Breckenridge, Co.. Thanks to the ski lessons sponsored by my UD & AK, I was able to hop right back onto those skis and get back up the mountain :) It’s just like riding a bike- I remembered just what to do... also, this “riding- a- bike- familiarity” is evident when I continue to go up mountains that are just a lil too difficult for me and scream French all the way down while crashing and burning into more advanced individuals... I definitely had some picture-tastic wipe outs- thank God I told my very experienced friends to go ahead of me, as the “Snow Plow Queen” would be making her way down the mountain all in due time. I quickly made use of my limited mutli-language skills with “Mien Hamnida” (I’m Sorry! - Korean) and “Putain!” (an actual French word who’s meaning shall not be shared... lol) Thankfully, about 1/2 way down the 5K run, I discovered 2 Korean chics that were slowly but surely making their way down via constant Snow plow and I just started following them. We became fast friends as the 3 of us could not verbally communicate with each other due to the language barrier, but we knew we were kindred Ski-spirits just by the body language and our ever-so-similar looks of fear spread across our faces as we had gotten in way over our heads in a mess of fake snow. I made it down the mountain- finally-... and was ready to give up on skiing forever (once again!)... until I remembered the 150,000Won ski pants I had purchased b.c. no others would fit my big Western hips & then I had to recommit in order to get the worth outta my ridiculous investment. So I went back to the Green runs and became a Green pro once again. :) Oh, YongPyong- I will see you again!! - it’s SO nice to finally live in such close proximity to skiing, hopefully I will actually improve :) 
   
   
   
   
   Lastly, the negatives: 
   
   1. My superior is a bit unbearable. I’m used to teaching in a classroom, having some independence, being told “Ok, we need you to teach this class- now go!” and then ‘Going’ and actually doing it... I’m used to being trusted and having the freedom to teach how I want, I’m used to sending emails to people without having them censored, and I’m used to cooperation among colleagues (aka great coworkers!) .... well, this is SO not the case here. As I am no longer in the classroom, I’m constantly under supervision while I’m ‘teaching’ which leaves the door open for ‘comments, suggestions’, and well... to be honest... orders. (and those of you who know me well, you understand that I don’t do well with orders- right, Mom?!?) To make this long & detailed story a short and rather vague one- Teamwork is not the name of the game here in Aquatics, I miss the classroom, I miss teaching History, I’ve learned that I can definitely stand up for my teaching philosophy and the way I think things should be run for the benefit of the children, and  and yes- I’m whining about the best job ever! (ugh, what’s wrong with me?!) 
   2. and that’s it... 
   
   
   It will not be forever before I update again.. I’m headed to the Philippines in a few days to spend my 3 week xmas vacation on warm beaches with cool drinks in my hands. I’m sad that I’m not going home for the holidays, but it’s a good move on my part-as I’m getting homesick and miss things from home and I want to continue to acclimate to Seoul a little more before coming home to the things I miss.... #1 is my family, my cat, and of course my friends... but I miss the little things too- like:
   
   
   
   1. Diet Dr. Pepper
   2. Driving 70 (ok, 79! :) )on an interstate and blaring my music and not having to stop every 5 seconds for the millions of Korean drivers on the same road at the same exact time. 
   3. Low fat food
   4. Acrylic nails
   5. Pants in stores that ACTUALLY fit my big wide hips!! 
   6. Understanding what is at the grocery store
   7. Weather in Farenheight- not celsius
   8. Size 10 shoes!!
   9. Flip flops and tank tops
   10. Unlimited calling and texting 
   11. Target
   12. Actual MALLS!!
   13. Movies without subtitles 
   14. Microwavable meals... 
   15. Gum!! 
   
   
   Until next time, Happy Christmas and New Year!!! May your days be merry :)
   

Chusok- The Korean Thanksgiving

CHUSOK!!!

"Chusok, also known as the Korean Thanksgiving.. 

 It occurs during the harvest season b.c. the farmers believed that if they would present their first batch of crop harvest or first batch of the farming they do, their year’s produce will be profitable and would not involve any nature’s calamities... So Koreans take this time to thank their ancestors for providing them with rice and fruits.

The celebration starts with a family get-together at which rice cakes called "Songphyun" are served.  Then the family pays respect to ancestors by visiting their tombs and offering them rice and fruits.   In the evening, children wear their favorite hanbok  (traditional Korean clothing)

and dance under the bright moon in a large circle.

They play games and sing songs such as Korean Wrestling,

Archery, singing folk music, and a game called turtle tag. (Turtle Tag is when a person will be dressed in a covering crawling around trying to catch the other people around them.)

When did Chu Suk Start?

According to, "The Three Kingdom" history book, written by Kim Bu Sik, in 32 CE,

the story goes:

... the king of Shilla, King You Ree, took women from 6 local towns and separated them into two groups. A daughter of the king was the leader of each group.

The King requested that the women make clothing to see who was the better at weaving. This grew into a big contest... basically, which daughter was better...

The women from the two groups took Hemp and started to weave...

It became this huge contest that the king then chose the winners..

The winners were then served drinks and dinner by the losers while the losers sang a real sad song.

The title of this song is, "Hoe So, Hoe So..." This song has a very sad and sorrowful meaning-- ( I don't have any clue what the song is about..)

Then.. somehow- this turned into Chusok... I don't know how though...

So Koreans travel home for this holiday- so the roads and all of Korea will be jam-packed with them (even more so than on normal weekends- which I have no idea how!!!) So... for Chusok..  I'm headed to Taiwan!!! wahoo!!! :)

Some real culture-- Korean baseball, a Jjimjjilbang, and Bulgogi

Thank God I got my cast off last week b.c. even tho it's still broken- it's healed somewhat and I can walk a little and go places and oh my- have a life once again!! Wahoo!!

So Saturday I was real productive... I went to the community rummage sale and actually grabbed some good practical things for my apartment- it was EARLY in the am, obviously, but well worth it b.c. I def got some stuff I needed. :) I went grocery shopping for the first time in over a month b.c. I could actually manage getting there! I went back to Itaewon for another chiropractic appt. and then went to a Korean baseball game!!
It was pretty interesting.. very entertaining. There was a male cheerleader that lead the crowd in constant cheers and guys that walked around with kegs on their backs filling up cups o beer! :)

 Koreans def take their time when playing baseball... it was SO long- much longer than a normal American game.

Afterwards, I went on the subway, by myself, to meet up with Berengere and go out to Hongdae (the happening university place).

After driving halfway around the city b.c. the cabbie misunderstand the location we wanted, we eventually ended up where we wanted and walked down the street drinking beer and meeting lotsa people to talk to. It was random and fun.

On Sunday we went to a Jjimjjilbang which is like a mixture b.n. a Roman public bath, Turkish sauna,  and a spa...

Tips for the JjimJjilbang (... I didn't see this before I went...)

A description:
"The spa experience in Korea is a way of life for Koreans. It is a place for young couples to court away from the gaze of parental eyes; leisure time for the whole family to retreat for Sunday afternoon or an environment for fathers to bond with their sons. It’s a place for the elderly to come and maintain their health and for those wishing to relax in the early morning before they prepare for a full day’s work. In short it is a necessary part of the culture for young and old. Spas are widespread in Korea covering every corner of the country and can be found in idyllic mountain settings or within an office complex building in the city centre.

Most spas have private areas for men and women, where every item of clothing is left at the door; this ritual of de-robing is itself a means of freeing oneself from the daily grind and into a peaceful zone of hot saunas and even hotter baths. These are very quiet places where remarkably few words are ever spoken. This is probably no surprise bearing in mind one is baring all."

Ok, so this is the process:
You walk in and take off your shoes, of course, then go into a little room where you strip naked and put the provided tshirt and shorts on and this weird funky (and small) hat thing on. So Berengere and I got real up close and personal from the getgo.

We then head to the first sauna which was the "Amethyst stone sauna" (yes, real big fat Amethysts lined the entire cave!! musta been pretty $$) We ducked through the little hobbit-like entrance (and no, it's not b.c. "Koreans are short" b.c. they really aren't) and laid down for about the 10 hottest minutes ever! Supposedly this amethyst was produced in the Ural mountains and it's a good mineral for the human body..
Next we went thru another hobbit-sized doorway into the "germanium sauna" which was not AS hot, but still hot indeed.. It was supposed to dissolve the sugar in the body to promote blood circulation and release the body's fatigue in order to get back to powerful skin. who knows if that actually worked.. i was too hot to notice.
Next we went into the big showering area where we stripped naked (getting close and personal once again) to shower off the sweat from the 1st 2 saunas only to then go into our 3rd sauna!!!
This next one was a "vacated ground earth cave sauna" that we sat in for another 10 minutes (yes, NUDE!) and it was supposed to decompose the body fat and make the blood circulation smooth.. however, I didn't feel skinnier afterwards, so who knows!!
We then took another shower.
We then got into a hot tub in the center of the room and waited to have our number called.
The elder Korean woman called on me, took me to this plastic table and poured cold water on me. She then took scrub brushes and scrubbed my ENTIRE body!! (Weird!!) She def. had NO qualms about scrubbing the dead skin off all parts of my body, yowza.
I was also shocked to see the amount of skin that came off- considering how I've never had that done b4.. it was a lot!
Then I got another shower.
Back on the plastic table, I got a cucumber mask and oil massage- again, the woman had no qualms at all what-so-ever about my nudity.. wow.
After this, I took yet another shower.
Then she washed my hair and...
guess?
Another shower. ha.
Then I was done.
It was quite an interesting experience and I will do it again.. I feel amazingly smooth and clear skinned.. it seems to be quite healthy and real good for your skin..
But, yeah, you can't do it unless you feel real confident being completely naked in front of other people AND having an older Korean woman getting real up close and personal with you, lol.
wow.. what a cultural experience!

After that I went to the Penpal Bulgogi dinner

with my penpal- Jo..

Basically she was in touch with me before coming here and gave me tips or any advice, she coordinated purchasing some things for me and keeping them til I could get them.. she hooked me up w. my adjumoney (aka housekeeper) and she lives right above me. (not to her benefit of course b.c. she injured her shoulder - see her sling?!?... and now we call ourselves the "Crip Crib" b.c. both of us are the injured ppl. here, lol. But it was fun, none the less. :) Nice to see all the newbies that I had orientation with b.c. despite living and working in the exact same place, we NEVER see each other! so crazy.

Facebook photos

Blending cultures and interesting Korean legends..

I found a place in Itaewon (the Expat place in Seoul) that has clothes which fit me! Thank God! Granted, they are more $$ than I'd normally pay... BUT if I get a hankering for buying some outfits, I know where to go. (quite a small selection, however... understandably.)

I was talking to my Kiwi neighbor/fellow crip buddy about the differences between all the cultures here at the school- American, Canadian, British, Europeans, Aussie, Kiwi, Korean, etc.. It was interesting b.c. we could tell the Kiwis were the most laid-back, nice ppl whereas the Aussies and the Brits are more uptight/blunt/hard people... I still love em all, but simply in regards to specific cultural and personality differences... it led us to talk about the origin of our feelings towards other cultures.. like the Canadians' and Americans' feelings are ones of competition rooted from way back to colonialism; the Kiwis' and Aussies' are muy competitive which also rooted back to colonialism and the different ways their lands were founded: i.e. Australia was the convict colony for the Brits whereas New Zealand had more pacific islander/ancient Maris roots- there's a bit'o'tension there...

 

 also quite noticeable are the tensions b.n the Aussies and the Brits... now, not serious "I don't like you, can't stand you" tensions, but kidding around "ugh, I'm way better" type stuff... Naturally the Brits think they are way better than everyone b.c. they were the root of all that colonialism and Americans ignore everyone b.c. they know they are the best.. yet, everyone knows that about the Americans, therefore we are constantly shafted for bein' so arrogant. lol. For instance: 

It's just such an interesting mix and it's really intriguing to analyze. I can pretty much tell the difference b.n. all the cultures based on how they act.. it's funny. 

I saw this picture in a magazine which was RIDICULOUS!!! It's these two adjumas (old Korean women) sitting on a humongous stone statue of a penis with two tall stone penis statues behind them.. It's called "The Sea Cock". This was the "Pic of the month" in the mag!!! Basically, according to legend...

A long, long time ago a bay and a girl were dating in this village. The boy was a fisherman and one day he left his love on a rock and told her to wait for him to return. Alas, a storm moved in and the girl drowned before he could rescue her. Legends have it that since the girl died a virgin a serious curse was put on the town. So the villagers did what any good village would do, they had the boy ejaculate into the sea and erected a Penis Park for the girl. Ever since then the curse has been lifted and fish have been plentiful. 

Isn't that crazy?!?! lol. 

"Only in Korea"- a slice of the first stages of culture shock...

Only in Korea are the cell phones real cheap and have TONS of features, yet the iPhone has yet to exist... Saturday I went to Hongdae (a posh, yet eclectic, section of town right next to a university)

and got a cell phone!! I wasn't planning on getting one b.c. my heart is set on waiting for the rumoured iPhone that has yet to arrive... but as time passed while my friend was signing up for one, I thought more and more about the logistics of it all and came to my senses that a free phone was WAY better than an outrageously expensive iPhone (if, and when, it ever comes!) So the plan is way different than in the US... I pretty much have to pay for outgoing txts and calls BUT I can receive as many as I want for FREE... AND I can get email on there... so I'm straight. Only in Korea... 

We ate at a mexican place called "Dos Tacos" where I had the best quesadilla in my life! (Beat that- La Napolera!! granted, no one will ever beat your humongous beers :) )

Only in Korea the Koreans can't do nails and charge an arm and a leg... the fake nails are muy $$$ and made of crap craftsmanship.... So, after dinner, we went to a nail place to get our nails done. Now this turned out to be quite the experience. You'd think, coming from America where everyone that owns nail salons are Asian, that when I come to an Asian country, they should be better... well, wrong. Everyone here actually HAS real nails, so acrylic nails aren't as popular AND their fake nail-tips are formed differently so as not to accomodate no-nail individuals like myself. :( So the lady took one look at my nubby fingers and her face was simply indescribable... she spent 45 minutes talking to my Korean friend that was with us about the different possibilities for my fingers... she eventually decided to go with "Silk nails" which is seriously a piece of silk on my nail covered with acrylic powder and then shaped roundly. This eventually hardens, but is WAY weak... Now meanwhile, I'm not going to say how much, but this was THE MOST EXPENSIVE MANICURE IVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!!!! fo' sho! Only in Korea....

I copied the following from a site that has advice for foreigners coming to Korea,

"Nail salons are as abundant as gas stations, and there are over 14.6 million registered vehicles on the road here as of 2005. The salons also cost a fraction of the price as compared to back home, I only know this because my Korean girlfriend gets her nails done all the time ;) 

Things you wont find easily: high end specialty items, usually required for hobbies and recreation. In my case, lot's of specialty camera and motorcycle gear is difficult if not impossible to track down. Also, if you're over 6 foot and have big feet, forget about finding any kind of selection of shoes, shirts and pants.

Hope that helps, take care,

Greg"

My thoughts on this, GREG, are that: 

#1. You're a man, thus you know nothing about nails. 

#2. This is the type of stuff I read prior to coming here thinking I would be able to find everything I needed, thus I got rid of everything I owned and only took 4 checked bags at the airport which I why I've intensely regretted that decision numerous times. Esp. when I want to buy stuff. ugh. 

Culture shock much?!? Lol... not yet!! (It's supposed to come later... egads!) 

Recent news from SoKo...

CGV opens world's biggest screen

From: The Korea Herald | Sept. 17, 2009

The largest movie screen in the world opened at the Yeongdeungpo CGV multiplex in western Seoul yesterday.

(It's about 103 feet tall and 43 feet wide!! Yowza!)

'Many more people dying from suicide than H1N1'

From: The Korea Herald | Sept. 14, 2009
By: Lee Ji-yoon

Suicide is the 4th leading cause of death due to the rapid modernization and stress for competition which has led to a breakdown in family ties/connections.

(Esp. this year!! There's been something like 4 major suicides made public or something like that!!)

Culture Clash a Constant Struggle for Foreigners in Korea

From: The Chosun Ilbo | Sept. 17, 2009

For a Canadian English teacher, one of the most challenging moments of living in Korea comes every morning in the changing room of the gym near his home. The Korean men in the shower often glance at his lower body, and some stare with explicit curiosity at his private parts. He feels "like a monkey" in a zoo whenever it happens, he says.

(Yep... it sure is like this... not that I know what it's like in the men's showers... lol)

Taechon beach retreat and Korean traffic!

Sorry it's been so long since an update-- as I've broken my foot, I can't go anywhere... thus no new and interesting things have happened to me. Blech.

I did go on a faculty retreat this past weekend to Taechon, South Korea to our school's BEACH house!! Nice!! There was a lodge there and I truly felt like I was back home, camping, and having a good 'ole Girl scout-y time :) I couldn't go down to the beach b.c. then I'd get sand in my cast and blech about that... I also couldn't go to the campfire b.c. you had to walk up this huge hill that- well- I mean I have a cast on my foot, so obviously I wasn't going to be able to do that... but, luckily I had some friends that stayed around the lodge area and hung out and played games with me! :) Nice friends!

Now- one thing I DID notice was that even though the beach was like 2.5 hours away- it took us 5 hours to get there!!! I thought, "ok.. is this some holiday I'm unaware of?!?" NO... it's simply a Korean weekend!!! lol. The way it was explained to me was: The Koreans work all week long, so on the weekends they like to get into their cars and go somewhere... even if it's just to sit on the highway with all the other Koreans and never really have any time at a destination.

Lol.. I mean, I got to the beach house/lodge 2 hours AFTER the retreat part ended! lol... then on Sun. when we went to leave... another 5 hours to get home!! If anything, I learned to not buy a car, to not travel via car or bus anywhere throughout Korea, and to not plan on getting anywhere on time! lol.

Also, Korean rest stops are like mini-malls... there's stalls that sells things like pottery and stuff... there's a convenient store but then also a food court like thing (like in our malls) and then of course there's the outside food stalls that sell the Korean food like potato balls, octopus, kimchi, etc.. Quite interesting.

I have 12 days left until my cast comes off!!! Thank God!! then I get to go to Taiwan for Chuseok and def. have some more updates :)

Scary movies

It’s been a nice little break for recuperating with my foot- but SUCKED b.c. I couldn’t go ANYWHERE!! :( Viable travel opportunities... gone.

Oh well... I still had a good time with “Asia movie week” with Tish -- we watched 7yrs in Tibet, Memoirs of a Geisha, and Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. It was nice for my foot AND back since we laid on her awesome mattress!!! (Yes, she shipped it from home, so it’s nice and comfy and soft- totally unlike the mattresses here... hard and crap. :( )

ALSO- she had gone to a massage place last week and the guy gave her his card saying “Call me and I’ll come to your house” !!! Pretty much b.c. it’s cheaper to make house calls instead of him having to pay a fee to his boss... NOT b.c. he wanted to do other things with us... (which I say that, b.c. in China- it’s like that.. In China, you pretty much just DON’T get a massage at all b.c. a massage means... well, you know!!)

So I had a 2 hour massage for about $40!!!!! UH-Mazing!!! We will make it a bi-monthly ritual :)

Today I had to get outta the house. So we called for the “international taxi” which is supposed to come pick you up at your house and take you wherever.. except, they didn’t have on in our area!! (which doesn’t make a whole lotta sense since we are the rich foreigner area of town, but whatev!) So- Tish got a cab at the bottom of the insane hill we live on and came to get me and we went to see a movie.

Now- first off... you can’t really find out the movie times here b.c. everything is in Korean.

You can’t call the movie theatre for times b.c. everyone speaks Korean.

And you can’t just randomly show up at the theatre hoping to get a movie you want, b.c. everything is in Korean and all the Koreans buy their tickets from home.. ( which I can’t do b.c. #1 I can’t read the website and #2 I can’t buy an online ticket b.c. I don’t have a Korean national ID #!!!, I’m just an “Alien”!)

So... we called this help line and asked for the movies.. the only english ones were “Orphan” and “The Prefect Getaway”.. The Koreans TRULY enjoy scary movies!! :)

So we went to the “Orphan”..

The movie theatre was in a tall building about 13 stories high.. each story was a theatre with a different movie playing..

So we were on the 11th floor (luckily there were elevators.. which you really take for granted in the US, having them.. but surprisingly S. Korea, despite it’s real advanced nature, is lacking in the motorized moving helpers.. aka elevators, escalators, etc.)

We went to choose some seats in the back of the theatre b.c. of my broken foot and about 5 minutes later 3 korean 20-somethings come and stand next to us looking like we’d taken their seats.. I was like “What are there assigned seats here or something like that?! lol..”

Well, sure enough..

There are!!!

Evidently the US is one of the only places in the world that DOESN’T have assigned seating at the movie theatre!!!

So after realizing our seats we pretty much in the front (which we entered at the back and naturally there are stairs going down towards the front) I sat in some other people’s seats and waited til they came to see if they’d switch.

Luckily when they came, they guy understood a little bit of English and agreed to take our seats in the front! whew.

Crisis averted. (ESP since the seat-holders came late and it was already dark and mid-scary music and creepy scene #2!!)

So.. it was interesting seeing a movie.. but I don’t think it will be a common occurrence b.c. there’s no recent movies playing here yet!!! Like, movies that came out in the US in June have yet to arrive here!!!! No wonder the blackmarket on bootlegged movies is SO popular AND good here... like under $10 for 5 movies that are in US theatres!!! Not bad, not bad.

Now, if only I could get to the blackmarket to buy them... that’s another issue. :(

My absolute awesome clumsiness...

Today was quite eventful..
At morning swim squad, day #2, I was coaching on deck. (naturally)
I was leaning on the ladder with my weight on one leg... I went to put my weight on the other foot and miscalculated the edge of the pool!
I fell right into the pool and in the process of doing so the ladder steps caught my foot, pulling it up! Ouch. I was in pain, yet laughing.. b.c. really?! Only me.
I was embarrassed but luckily it was just the other coach that saw me b.c. the swimmer was too busy with the workout! :)
I got out, thought I’d jammed my toe and tried to shrug it off.
Time went by, the pain worsened, the swelling increased...
After an hour, I couldn’t put pressure on my foot except for the outside side of my foot and I def. couldn’t get around very well.
It was time to see the Nurse, despite her recent popularity due to the H1N1 virus spreading rapidly throughout S. Korea.
She took one look at the crooked toe and said I needed to go to the hospital.
How would I get there?!
After a few tries, I secured a driver + car from the transportation section of the school to come get me and take me to the hospital. (Yes, it was the international clinic, so they could speak English)
Waiting in the clinic to be seen by the doc, I see a fellow teacher then a student and his mom... later I see 2 other teachers and my wheelchair-wheeler girl says I’m quite popular..
Now the weird part is that in Korea- even if you have insurance, you have to pay the full amount of your bill on-site!! `No matter what it is... xray, appt, surgery! All has to be paid immediately or you don’t get the service. (Luckily, it happened at work so I got this letter from work to say “We will pay, don’t worry”)
But if you don’t have the $$, SORRY!!
So..
I go to the Xray station which is weird b.c. everything is like an amusement park ride with lines and no real “waiting rooms”.. but b.c. I’m a foreigner (aka paying more) I get preference... (at times, that is- IF I befriend my wheelchair-wheeler.. which I did and she was my age and trying to learn English, so it worked well in my favor once I learned that my connections meant everything)
Also- Korean wheelchairs are not made for people my size! Tight fit!!
I get the Xray and the guy didn’t speak English and was hurting me but we couldn’t communicate except for “Ouch!”
The doctor looked at my Xrays with me- the bone in the bottom part of my toe was pushed over to one side- a place where it should NOT be.. she said “I usually don’t do this, but I will give you cast then you make appointment with special orthopedic doctor”
So... I waited for the cast.
The cast guy didn’t speak English and was hurting me but we couldn’t communicate except for “Ouch!”
I get back and get medicine to take home- the tylenol version... so pretty much crap.
Then- How do I get home?!?
Luckily, the nurse at school gave me 5,000 won (@ $5) to get a cab for the way home.
But.. I have a soft-cast on now;

the pain is pretty bad; and I have the crutches I came IN with , as well as the crutches they GAVE me at the hospital!!!
So holding onto 2 crutches per arm, I hobble out to the street and try to hail a taxi.. lol.
It’s so hard managing 4 crutches that no cabs realize I’m trying to get one...
Finally, the man directing traffic gets one for me, Thank God!
I make it to the gate of my housing area.. and the cab drops me off..
I have to 4-crutch it all the way to the back of my little neighborhood (quite a trek) and THEN up my stairs!! Let’s just say I haven’t left my house since.

I’m real worried about how in the heck I’m going to crutch it up the HUMONGOUS hill to work tomorrow morning at 630am...
I’m real worried about it for hours...
THEN~
School is cancelled for 7 days due to the H1N1 virus!!! It’s like a hurricane but better :) (Sorry, that sounded bad.. I meant the days I get off work..)

So let’s just say it SUCKS about my foot b.c. I really can’t get around.. not even to go to the store or to work or ANYTHING!! you go everywhere on foot here.. so it sucks. BUT it’s perfect timing for the days off b.c. I get time to relax and not have to go up that INSANELY huge hill! :) Whew.

Drum lessons, the REAL Seoul Tower, and OCTOPUS!!

School has started and my schedule is strange, but nice. I work from 630-800am, then 12-5pm. Weird.. but it’s nice.. I like it so far- parents are more “involved” to put it positively than they were at Stanton.. I think the culture’s emphasis on education creates an environment of “very involved” parental figures.. Good thing I had all those AP World conferences with parents and learned how to deal :)

After my first week of school was over, us girls went out to celebrate in Hongdai. (It’s right near one of the big universities here so it’s real trendy and a pretty cool hangout spot) After doing some night-sidewalk shopping we heard some music and went to discover it’s origins... there was this group of drummers sitting around in a circle just playing music..

after a moment or so, people start getting up and leaving and members of the audience sit down to play! I was like “huh?! They weren’t all in the ‘band’?” So..... we joined them!

The leader was super-enthusiastic and he taught us different beats and we pretty much just followed him and went along with how we felt like playing.. It was so impromptu and a perfect example of college life. After playing for sometime, our hands began to HURT!! I looked at them and sure enough, I had bruised them! (The next morning, my middle finger was swollen/black/and blue.. the girls each had their own unique bruised finger, but they had at least one!) I have NO idea how super-enthusiastic guy can keep it up for that long... he’s talented!

On Sat. morning we went on a Seoul city tour with Jack Moon, SFS’s activities director. He’s been living here since the 70s so he knows quite a lot and was telling us lots of really cool info... like:

Seoul actually has a population of more like 22 million, not 11 million as reported. The two neighboring regions that aren’t “officially” counted are actually part of Seoul.

The place where I live= Yonghi-Dong (“Dong” means neighborhood or area of town) is the “posh-est, nicest, and most well-to-do” area of Seoul.. when he arrived 30 years ago, the area was simply agricultural land!! Now, former presidents live in the area and well, let’s just say that the night before when I got lost in the neighborhood trying to find my way to a BBQ- I was stopped by some security guards that wouldn’t let me keep walking in their direction b.c. they were protecting some important and very rich people..

hmm.

So.. on the tour we went to Seoul Tower! Which is great b.c. my camera died the last time and I didn’t really get pics.

There were “Locks of Love” at the base of the tower

which is where two lovers will come and each have a lock. They profess their undying and everlasting love in words on each of their locks then they lock them together on a fence.

It’s a really nice sentiment.. except- there were some solo locks which had been there a long time which made us ponder whether the love was NOT in fact “undying” and “everlasting” and the scorned party removed her lock?! (Yes, I say “her” for a reason! heh)

We went up the tower this time (which cheap-o Berengere and I didn’t pay for last time) and it was pretty sweet..

On all the windows were the major cities all across the world and their distances from the Seoul Tower!! So I looked out the window with New York and DC and in that direction was my home!

It was pretty neat to see all that.

Seoul was even more impressive from the top of the tower than the base, like I’d seen before... understandably.

On Sunday, our travel-fun-day, Berengere and I (I’m sure you’re noticing a theme- we are the ones that aren’t obsessed with work and love to travel and sightsee more!) went to try to find this used English bookstore. It’s always an ordeal whenever you want to go somewhere and it took me 25 minutes to figure out the route to get to the bookstore not to mention about 45 minutes to actually take the route!!! We had to walk to the base of our hill and catch a bus to the subway station. We then took the subway and transferred lines, and then walked to our destination... which was CLOSED on Sundays!!! Bummer. BUT!! Luckily.. in such a big city, there’s always something close by so we went to Insadong which is essentially a touristy-ish area with things to buy and places to eat.

Berengere, the adventuresome Frenchie that she is, forced me to eat Octopus!!! Egads!!! But I wasn’t as adventuresome as some who eat it LIVE! Blech. It was an experience and at least now I can say I’ve eaten it!