First Week in Korea

Well, here's my first blog post. It was previously an e-mail, but I needed something to start off my blog, and I don't have much time to do so, especially with repeating myself over and over again. Thus, the e-mail repeat. I promise my future blogs will be different from the e-mails!

I have been very very busy here - both with school and with socializing. School is very disorganized and hectic - I have been given very little training and very little observation time in other teachers' classrooms, so my teaching has been pretty poor. However, all the other teachers have told me not to worry about it, so I'm ok. :-) I am teaching a number of kids - 7 groups of students in all, ranging in age from 3 years old to about 12 or 13 years old. Educational level-wise, however, none of my students are above about a grade 2 or 3 (Canadian) level in reading, writing, or speaking. My classes are no bigger than 8 students, and my smallest class is 2 students. That makes things better. Despite this, it can be quite challenging sometimes - my patience gets worn a little thin in my kindergarten class - there is a student named Mingu (or Ben, english name - many/all Koreans have a Korean and an English name) who likes to bite other students, punch, whine, throw things out the window, pull hair, steal, and generall be a nuisance to other students (and myself). He tries my patience daily.

My magic tricks have come in handy - the students enjoy my magic and pay more attention when they know that I will do a trick for them later.

My new apartment (new because they moved me upstairs to the third floor of the same building) is really quite nice. It consists of a single bedroom, a kitchen/hall area, a patio, and a small bathroom. I have the luxury of a fridge larger than a "beer frige", and a washer-dryer machine. Strange thing - the showers here are not separate from the rest of the bathroom - the bathroom floor is tiled with a drain - you shower next to your sink and toilet, and the bathroom floor gets wet and drains through the floor. I had a hell of a time for two days because I didn't figure out that you need to turn on the hot water is you want it - it is controlled by a panel that looks like an electric thermostat in your livingroom/bedroom. I thought it was a thermostat...

I love the food here. It is really really good. Let me tell you about some of my favorites:

1. Kalbi (or Galbi) - this is not only delicious, but it is a truly Korean dining experience. You go to a either an outdoor or indoor "grill". They bring a pot full of red hot coals to your table, where it sits in a recessed container. Next, they put a grill on it, and bring out slices of uncooked pork, beef, or chicken, which you have to cook on the grill. Nobody has individual dishes - everything at the table is common, and you can eat whatever you like that they bring out. The cooked meat is best eaten in a lettuce leaf with pickled radish, red bean paste, sea salt, and grated greens. It is SOO delicious.

2. Kim'chi - this is what Korean cuisine is famous for. It is either cabbage or bok choi (I'm not sure) that is fermented in a spicy sauce/paste. It tastes slightly pickled, nice and soft, and rather spicy. It is very very good.

3. Misu soup - ok, so this isn't exactly Korean - more Japanese in origin, but good nonetheless. A watery-broth soup with ground up garlic, seaweed, and green onions. Good stuff! Not my favorite, but worth mentioning.

4. Dong-kas (sp?) - A very good dish of deep fried and breaded chicken breast covered in gravy and sometimes, mayonaise. Served with miso soup, pickled radish, corn, coleslaw, and cubed radish. Mmmm good.

5. Kim-bop (seaweed-rice) - this is what most foreigners would call california rolls - almost identical, except that they are served as a 8-12 inch roll, sliced into bite-sized portions. So good.

6. Mandu - Korean steamed dumplings - you can buy these at small shops, or on the street from vendors. Akin to the wontons in wonton soup, they are filled with meat, tofu, veggies, and other goodness. Unlike wontons, they are slightly firmer, and slightly larger.

7. Soju - okay, it's not a food, but it needs to be mentioned, as it is very Korean. Soju is traditional rice "wine". It is very strong and drunk straight, from small shot-glass type cups. This stuff packs a punch and a half - it's a wicked 21% alcohol and tasted somewhat like straight vodka, although the flavour is distinct. Soju is by far the cheapest way to drink yourself into a stupor in Korea - you can get a coke-sized bottle for about 1000-3000 won (roughly 1.25 to 3.75 Canadian dollars). Two bottles of the stuff will do ya in.

Ok, so that's the extent of my favorite foods I've eaten so far. For the squeamish of stomach, AVERT YOUR EYES. I have now eaten dog soup. I was invited out by my school's wonjangnim (director/principal), and two other foreign teachers were going as well. I thought it would be a cultural experience that I couldn't pass up because I didn't know if I'd ever get the chance again! Dog soup is reputedly very very healthy and is supposed to bestow stamina to those who eat it! The verdict? Well, the other foreign teachers described it as a cross between lamb and roast beef. I didn't particularily like it, but only because of the way it was prepared - it was cooked more as a "stew" instead of a soup - the texture was like boiled roast beef - kinda stringy and at times soft. The flavour, I think, was sullied by the sesame leaves it was boiled with - which I think detracted from the taste of the dog. Woof woof.

What I've seen of Korea so far leads me to believe that Korea is the most technologically advanced nation in the world. Everyone and their dog have cell phones, which are far more advanced than any you will find in Canada - every one is digital, play music, get wireless internet, have games on them, act as infrared debit cards, and solve the world's problems! As well, everywhere you go, you can find something to do. There are many kinds of "bangs" (rooms) - PC-bangs, DVD-bangs, Playstation-bangs, norae-bangs (kareoke), and many more. Essentially, you pay to use a computer, watch a DVD, play games, or sing songs - all in the comfort of a small, relatively private room (in the case of the DVD bangs and norae-bangs). Convenience is the mode of life here!

Transportation is relatively easy - the subway is vey fast and efficient - only about 900 won for a one-way ticket to just about anywhere, or between 550 and 1400 won for the buses. But - why bother? Everything you would ever possibly need is within a very short walking distance. Building are many stories, and businesses, restaurants, and every kind of imaginable shop are always on the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors crammed close together. Advertisements on the side of the building in neon tell of what you can find on each floor. You can find whatever you need within a few short blocks.

The city in which I live is called Bundang - it is a suburb/city of Seoul that numbers about 500,000 people. Seoul itself (without all of its many many suburbs) is about 12 million people. Each suburb probably has about between 1 and 9 million people, and they're all crammed together, so where I live is one giant megopolois. I think that it is about 30 million people altogether (although don't quote me, I'm sure it's larger).

Well, anyway, I should get going. Although internet is exceedingly cheap here, I am rather tired as it is 11pm and I need to get up for school tomorrow morning.

I miss everyone at home - I wish you could all come for a visit and I could show you around! Korea is fabulous!