Kimbap and Construction Workers

If one thing both fascinates and infuriates me at the same time, its the Korean construction workers. I've mentioned before how...diligent they are about working 25 hours a day-but this example takes the cake. I look out the window yesterday during class and see 29 people planting sod on a plot of land no bigger than a good sized back yard; twenty-nine. Compare this to one guy throwing some seeds around when they finished landscaping back at Kenyon--12 months and several erosion control efforts later, we got a nice patch of grass. The workers here turn a patch of dirt into a lush parcel in 2 hours flat. To be honest though, it's both strange and impressive, can you imagine hiring someone to re-sod your front yard and the next day come home to find 29 strangers down on their hands and knees? I guess it's just a matter of priorities--and the here they say go big or go home.

On a separate note, I taught my second class today and it was great. I am sure now that I'm really gonna enjoy teaching this year. Not that I have any intentions of giving up my career path, I just think it will be a great opportunity to connect with people in a different way, and refocus before I jump back into school. The lesson today was on similes--and though it took some of the students most of class to figure them out, I think they all mastered the material. Best of all though, I discovered my secret weapon: the Ipad. New gadgets over here are like crack, and Apple products are like the Johnny Walker Blue Label of crack (I'll leave the interpretation there up to you). In any case, I whip this thing out for a little vocabulary practice and their interest level goes from zero to stage-five clinger in the blink of an eye. In my defense, it's a lot more practical to throw some vocab pictures on the tablet than put together a PowerPoint, and it sure as hell goes a long way in grabbing their attention. But as with any good crack, I can't let them build up a tolerance, so I'll have to use it sparingly.

This evening I also discovered the wonders of home-made kimbap (basically sushi). Some of the Jungwon students put together a little event where we got to make our own rolls. Needless to say, it was a ton of fun and I got to throw in anything from pickled radishes to tuna and imitation crab meat. It's also one of those

things I would have never done on my own...the whole motivational inertia thing...but since they put all the food and necessary devices right in front of me, who am I to complain? I

think mine also turned out pretty well; I managed to keep the rolls together (as opposed to regular sushi, the seaweed on the outside is a lifesaver), and Matt and Neill haven't died yet so I think it was a success. This is in relation to some of the other rolls, which resembled something between vomiting earthworms and rusted sewage pipes--so I'm pretty satisfied with the results (see picture of my half-eaten roll). I mean, I could always give up my dreams and start a kimbap restaurant, but we'll see what the future brings me.

They Have Beer on the Jungwon Campus

This issue is so important that is actually deserves its own blog post. And, no, just to get things straight I'm not going to run out and order 30 beers right now--its just that the discovery of this beverage on the otherwise teetotaling campus is cause for celebration in itself. Specifically, I discovered the holy liquid in the Korean House restaurant--inconspicuously hidden amidst the perpetually empty space but a perfect addition to my bibimbap dinner tonight. In other words, I CAN have a nice beverage in the evening, with my dinner, without walking 20 minutes to the nearest town (and for clarification, we were strictly prohibited to have alcohol on campus, as per jungwon regulations, but if it's in the restaurant....)

On a lesser note, I got to relax this weekend, and even went to an exceptional Korean bbq last night: Ch Il Juk San or something like that. For 8 of us, stuffed to the brim with grilled pork and samgyupsal (see: three layers of fat) = delicious. For those of you who haven't been, at the Korean bbq they bring all the wonderful side dishes, and a plate of raw meat. Then they stoke the fire/coals right there at the table and give you tongs, scissors, and set you off on a manly grilling adventure. Besides being delicious, I actually really enjoy cooking it right there myself. If I want it raw, I eat it raw (and no, I didn't eat any raw pork). It's also a ton of fun when you get a big group of people to go, kind of like a barbeque in your back yard, only more delicious (delicious = ma-shees-a-yo, for your word of the day)

The Food Issue

Ok, so if you know me well you'll know that I like food--good food. The problem is that I like almost anything I eat. Pair this with the fact that I'll try almost anything once, and it gets pretty easy to sate myself in a foreign country. With that in mind, it's about time I comment some more the strange and not-so-strange things I've been eating over here.

In a nutshell, I love the food. One of my favorites is the kimchi jjigae--a sort of spicy kimchi soup, and if there's one thing Koreans do well, I'd say it's the soups--that and the 1,001 different rice concoctions they have (I for one say they put George Washing Carver and his peanuts to shame). Some of these soups, though, are delicious. The spicy seafood stew is fantastic--with whole octopus (sorry, not live yet, though I can't wait to take the little guys alive) and all sorts of random squid parts with a medley of clams. I've actually acquired quite a taste for our cephalopod companions, and I really hope I get placed somewhere near the coast so I can appease my taste buds. Also, on the spicy note: they constantly warn me about their spicy foods. They always have a nice little zing, but for me at least the spice level is just right. It's not like "hot" plates at an Indian restaurant where your eyes water and legs start to go numb, I'd say the spiciness really adds to the dish.

On the seafood note, whole fish is rather common. Back home you order trout, you get a nice fillet. Here you get a chunk...generally cooked, with bone in and all. It's all pretty tasty as long as you like fish and want to work to eat your meal. I also had quail eggs for lunch today--pretty tasty actually. I kept wondering whether they had some quail farms some place, they must though since I can't imagine some poor Korean running through the woods stealing 10 quail eggs for my meal. I've already commented on the concept of side dishes at the big meals, and that might be the best part of all this. Oh yea, and KIMBAP--I'd add more emphasis if I could. Kimbap, literally "seaweedrice" is the Korean form of sushi, any sort of meat/vegetable/spice combination rolled up in some tasty salt-infused seaweed. If you've ever been to a sushi restaurant with me before, you know where my loyalty lies, and the Korean counterpart is top notch. Best of all though, its cheap: A five dollar roll back home is only a dollar or two here, it's always rolled right on the spot, and of course it comes with kimchi and soup gratis. Combine that with the fact that there's no sales tax and tipping is akin to a personal insult, and you have the cheapest quality sushi known to man. One of my goals on the year is to try, and remember, as many Korean dishes as possible, so without questions I'll be reporting back on these experiences throughout the year.

선생님 Ben (Sonsaengnim)

So today was my first day in the classroom for Camp Fulbright--and to be honest, I think I felt really comfortable. I mean, I came here to teach English to secondary students, so I better get used to it. I can definitely improve on my lesson plan and maybe spice up the material a bit (I was teaching "music" to beginners to I put together a lesson on rhyming), but I still felt good handling the class. They were very quiet and, since they were at the "beginner" level, could hardly put together a sentence, I think of the 15 or so classes, mine was the lowest one--but I'll be teaching "intermediate" students next week and I here they're quite advanced.

They tell us that most Korean students have trouble with speaking since the school system demands rote memorization and little speech, but my students seemed to be at the bottom of the barrel in both departments. If anything though, they were just tired and unmotivated. Unless I had them actively engaging in some work--writing or talking--they seemed on the verge of falling asleep. My goal next class is to come up with some activities that they can really wrap their attention around, or at least get their energy level up.

Also, it's hard for me to remember back to the 12-15 age bracket, but I guess I wasn't very motivated back in middle school either, especially if I was forced to speak a foreign language 24 hours a day. My next class is over "literature" (I didn't get to choose the subject, if I had it my way---> chemistry, physics, biology...), so I'll be working on haikus, limericks, and Shel Silverstein poems--poetry is literature, right? Maybe I'll get them up and out of their seats acting out some of the poems. Oh, and in case you were interested, the word sonsaengnim (sawn-sang-neem) is "teacher" in Korean, so I guess I'll go buy 선생님 Ben for the rest of the year...I kind like the sound of it.

Haeinsa on Fire

Ok, so yea, we got to take a "break" this weekend and travel a few hours down the road toHaeinsa, a Buddhist temple complex in central Korea. In all honesty it was a ton of fun, they put us up in the Gayasan Tourist Hotel just outside the park and fed us like Korean royalty for the weekend--well maybe not that good, but I'm not complaining. The rooms were pretty sparse--no beds, no couch, just six guys with on the floor with the traditional yo, a pillow and a blanket--but at least no one pissed in my backpack....no more comment there.

I took the bus over to the temple complex both Friday and Saturday. On Friday I managed to get (only) half my body completely soaked sharing an umbrella, but it was still great to wander around the temple and check out the monks and ancient architecture--check out some of the pics either here or on flickr (http://www.flickr.com /photos/51620136@N02/), I finally got to put my camera to good use and I think I've really picked up a new hobby with the DSLR now that I know what I'm doing with it. Haeinsa is a pretty cool place; they've got the the typical food stalls and gift shops on the way up to the temples, but it's not the same commercialization I'm used to in the States: most of it just hermitages for the monks, a few stalls with random fried korean food, and a big complex near the top of the mountain that houses the Tripitaka--a collection of scriptures dating back to the 14th century.

The first day walking around was pretty rushed, and wet for that matter. But I came back for a few hours on Saturday and had some time to wonder around and get some great shots of the place. I also had a pretty cool moment with a monk later in the day. Just the two of us in the middle of the road, he was staring off into space as I walk passed. All of a sudden he grabbed my attention and pointed off into a mossy outgrowth in the middle of the woods. Disguised by the moss was a little tree pushing its way up through a massive boulder on the side of a hill. I wouldn't have even noticed it, but he went on to say, in his broken English, how the smallest forms of life carve away and push aside even the largest of stones--then he smiled, and walked away. I'll leave it to you for your own interpretation, but I guess the monkdom (word?) does come with it's privileges, the time for introspection and deep thought about ones place in the world; hopefully I can find that same clarity of thought some day.

On Saturday I also got to check out the traditional drum ceremony (see the pictures), which was pretty cool, but a bit showy or presentational to be honest. The rest of the day on Saturday I just lounged around the hotel and ate some great food. This probably sound boring, but a two hour nap and a full course dinner goes a long way to recharge after two weeks of orientation.

Of course, I hit up the local convenience store/noraebong until 2 each night--completely negating all the benefits of this "rest"--but it was still satisfying to know we bought out every last drop of mekju in the place. Now I'm headed back into the daily grind at Jungwon, only the place is swamped for the next couple weeks with a bunch of Korean students for "Camp Fulbright." I'll give you more details on this later, but this gist is that we get to teach English to students for the first time, a sort of trial by fire if you will.

High Class

So I got to experience the mystery of Korean saunas yesterday, and I have to say it was worth every penny--of 80 cents or so actually, so yes, every penny. I'll start by telling you the saunas here are a truly unique experience: au naturel is a must for all patrons, and they Koreans go all out with opulence, at least here at Jungwon. Everyone has to shower before getting int he pool or tubs, but then you get to choose from a number of spas at different temps and various massage jets. The whole place is decked out in marble, and they've got a number of saunas: yellow mud room, jade room, infrared room, all with their own posited antibiotic, cleansing, or rejuvenating effects. I think one of them is good for a hangover but I'll report back on that one later. Whatever the case, it's pretty liberating just laying around for an hour and letting it all hang out after a workout, even if I am the only westerner in there and stick out like a turd in a punchbowl. I've also got a hilarious story, but I'll refrain from putting on here; but feel free to ask me elsewhere.

On a side note, I discovered the 24 hour kimbap ( 김밥) after B&B last night (B&B is pretty much the only bar in a 50 mile radius of Jungwon, short for "Beer & Bewer," and your guess is as good as mine). With 2,000 won kimbap rolls (like $1.80), I shouldn't go late-night hungry for a while. I'll keep this post short-- we're going to Haeinsa tomorrow for the weekend and I should have some more to talk about by Monday.

Cheongju Photo Class

I thought I'd mention another great opportunity I took up with FB alumni Michael Hurt (metropolitician.blogs.com/) this past weekend.

Michael's a fashion photographer in Seoul and, as a half Korean/half African American expat, he came to talk to us about photography and cultural issues in the country. On Sunday he offered to take a few of us out to Cheongju (about an hour away, good sized city) and teach the fundamentals of DSLR photography. I mean, I know how to use my camera, but I didn't know how to use my camera.

After lunch at Mr. Pizza (where the average pizza costs about $30 and whose official slogan is "Love for Women," hmmm, apparently only women eat there anyway. Oh yea, and Koreans will put anything on a pizza: kimchi, crab, you name it. I also saw a kimchi donut at Dunkin Donuts, but that's another story; story for the aside) we headed out back and Michael taught us all about fill flash, ambient exposure bracketing, and all sorts of ways to get just the right shot.

Needless to say it was a great opportunity to play around with the camera at a higher level. I've posted a few random shots from the day, some of the better ones after playing around with all the settings. That's Jing above, failing to use her massive D40. Better yet, I got the lady-killer shot on the bus from Goesan to Cheongju. I always knew that telephoto lense would come in handy. In any case we're all headed to Haeinsa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haeinsa) this weekend, so I should have some good shots after that. It looks great, but I honestly don't know what we're going to do there for three days--better pack an extra bottle of soju.

Construction Workers and Something You Might Call A Bathroom

Ok, so it's been a few days since the last post and I thought I'd just comment on some of the oddities around here. They're actually keeping us extremely busy with Korean classes and cultural/professional/teaching workshops, and I just turned in my first lesson plan for Camp Fulbright, so this is probably the first half-hour I've had to sit down and relax since my last post. Well, by relax I mean listen to construction outside my window. I can't really complain too much to be honest though. In fact, I'm flat out impressed at how productive Korean construction workers are compared to American ones [-------> unions]. On one hand I wake up to the sound of pounding hammers and fall asleep to the dull roar of heavy machinery, but on the other hand I can actually see progress--in the course of a day no less. I can't help but think about home: one highway worker pushing around a puddle of tar while 3 others drink coffee and comment on how fast it's drying. Around here, I see 30 workers in a constant state of motion building something that would take a generation back home. But, alas, I digress.

What I really wanted to tell you about was the Korean bathroom. The shower and the bathroom (toilet, sink, etc), are all one unit. I don't think this is backwards or anything, nor do I know if it's common around Korea, but it's actually pretty genius. The sink doubles as the shower with a spray handle coming out the side. You can stare at yourself in the mirror while you shower in front of the sink and wonder why we didn't think of this first...probably because Americans like big things. I mean, I like big things, but this is just practical. I can even save time multitasking on the John with the shower going, the possibilities are endless. I'll get on here later and tell you about our first trip to Cheongju over the weekend with a few pictures to post.

Korean Drinking Culture

I'm finally getting settled in here and used to the Korean lifestyle. I just wish I could master the basics of the language and maybe communicate a few words to the people I meet--a smile and a bow can only get you so far on the street. I'll get there though...four hours of languageclass a day goes a long way. I just wish we could get over the pronunciation/alphabet portion. I can only say "ah, ah, ah, ah, oh, oh, oh, oh, i, i , i, i" so many times before I wake up in the middle of the night thinking I'm being attacked by korean vowels. It's a great program though, with teachers from Korea University (like the Harvard of Korea) and they do a great job of getting us ready.

For the orientation they've also got us going to workshops on culture, and teaching, and even photography in Korea. The FB network is Huge, and definitely one of the best parts of the program. They bring in outside professors, past ETAs, and all sorts of bigwigs to give us the lowdown on life over here and how to succeed both in and out of the classroom. Though some of these workshops and classes can be a bit grueling after a long night....

The past couple nights I've been out with various ETAs and some Korean students from Jungwon University. I'm starting to get down the drinking games and their songs--most of which end with me taking a shot of soju dumped in a glass of beer, maybe some cola or spicy soup for good measure. Don't let them fool you though, those little Korean guys can drink, and the girls too. One of the girl RAs from Jungwon (not like freshman year RAs, but really just there to help us get around....or tell us where the good bars are) walks in late and downs half a pitcher to catch up. She couldn't be more than 130 lbs or so.

They also have a smattering of interesting customs that go along with the drinking culture. There's a distinct lack of leisure drinking as oppose to back home--a good microbrew is nearly nonexistent as far as I can tell. Missing my good beers is going to be a lot harder than the savory american meals. Hence I'm all about drinking to enjoy the beer as well, but so many people here (I hesitate to say most because my view is so myopic right now) just drink to get drunk, even the older folks. This difference though is that its always a big event with lots of people where everyone has a great time. The beer here though (Cass, or Hite usually) is pretty low grade, and I can't imagine anybody sitting back with some soju on the rocks like you would with a nice whisky or scotch. It's also interesting that when you're out with people, you never pour for yourself--I'm not exactly sure what the tradition is there but I imagine it's got something to do with the gift-giving, communal atmosphere. They also Always order food with drinks. I can see this as a natural cultural norm that arose from the obviously beneficial aspects of having some food in your system. It's funny though how they'll order the food (adamantly) with drinks and often never touch it--they don't waste the food, some one will always get it, but it's as though the mere presence of food is necessary for it to be OK to drink. I'll get back on here after I get out to a bigger city and see some more of the country.

Cheers.

First Look

Finally got into Korea yesterday and this is the first post from

the other side. LONG trip on the plain but it was really pretty good. All the Asiana stewardesses were young and beautiful and would be a discrimination suit waiting to happen if it were in American. But hey...I'm not complaining. After a day or so here it's finally starting to sink in that I'm not at home any more. After arriving, we sat around at the airport for a couple hours waiting for a bus to take the ETAs to Jungwon University where we're having our orientation and language instruction (see picture).

Jungwon is this mysterious castle-complex-monstrosity in the middle of Korea run by "the Foundation ," but really just a bunch of empty rooms and highly polished marble outside of Goesan. Around the outside of the building they have a golf course, statues of godzilla (yes, actually) and strange rock fountains--I'll post some pictures on flickr of the place. Since we got here though we've been going to a bunch of lectures and organizational meetings.

I had my Korean placement test today...and by that I mean I wrote my name on the piece of paper and handed it in, which is not surprising because I didn't expect to reach "intermediate" korean level after two weeks with a grammar book. Finally this evening we got to hit up the nearby town and wonder around. I picked up some dried squid (salty, impossible to chew, but not bad really) and practiced Tae-kwon-do with the locals....after that we played some Korean drinking games with the few Jungwon students still on campus and, yes, I actually went to a karaoke bar (noraebang).

The Most Expensive Beer in the World

Ok, so I'm sitting in the International terminal of O'Hare airport at the beginning of my 9 hour layover. The natural reaction: grab a beer and watch Ghana lose to Uruguay. I quickly discovered a new tier of beer prices previously unknown to both myself and mankind. Well, in all seriousness 9 dollars for a cup of beer doesn't break the bank, at least I can rationalize it by pretending I got two--in which case it would only be 4.50. This is pretty exciting though, I've now experienced the bottom of the barrel (1.25 coors tall boy in a gas station), the lower middy (2.50 happy hour), the mid range 5.00 bar price, the 7.00 classy ballpark/club price...and now the pinnacle of beers at 9 dollars. I just feel classy thinking about it. This pretty much sums up my bucket list. In any case I won't waste your time any longer, by the next time I write I should be on the other side of the world and hopefully I'll have a few pictures from the view in Seoul or my room at Jungwon college. Korea, here I come.

The Dark Truth Behind Packing

T-minus 20 hours before I leave Columbus where I get to sit in Chicago for 8 hours. Anticlimactic to say the least. For the maiden voyage of this blog I though I'd comment on the mystery that is packing. I just don't understand it; I talk people who spend days, weeks packing for a short vacation. I really don't understand what they (or is it the royal They?) could be doing all this time when I will have spent at most 3 solid hours packing for the next year. I mean, besides the emergency rations, road flares, and collapsable triage unit that I'm taking on the carry-on the process just involves a few loads of laundry, folding, and the neatly or not-so-neatly placing of all my accouterment into a bag or two. Maybe I'll feel differently when I'm stranded half-naked in O'Hare terminal 7 wishing I dug out that last sock from behind the dryer, but in the mean time (sp?) I'll rest assured that I am a master-packer...no pun intended, so get your mind out of the gutter.