Squidelicious

Last week I had the privilege of videotaping a few of my friends partake in yet another Korean tradition- eating live squid! Now, when I say live, what I mean is that the tentacles have been chopped off of the body and eaten while they are still wriggling and sucking. Yummy! People have actually choked to death because they didn’t chew properly and the suckers grabbed onto their throats and suffocated them. Or, so I’ve heard. Anyway, the entire thing was quite amusing to me. For one, it has the Fear Factor effect of just watching someone do something so gross you just have to watch. Furthermore, it was entertaining to watch my friends try to pick up these slimy, wriggling things- sucking for their lives to the plate- using chopsticks. Lastly, I got a kick at how you could drop it in the sauce and leave it there for a moment as it went for a swim. Here are a few videos if you want to check it out!

All in all, it was an entertaining evening. Of all the crazy things that happened that night, perhaps the stupidest thing I did was to use the shot glass of a friend who was sick. I figured that the soju would kill any germs, but I was wrong. Come morning, I had quite the sore throat. It was bad enough that I actually went to the doctor- a rarity for me- that afternoon. Luck me caught an upper respiratory infection. It's been one of the worst colds I've had in a long time. Going to the doctor in Korea isn't much different from going to the doctor anywhere back home. The biggest thing is that you don't need an appointment, just show up and wait a few minutes. Also, the cost of a visit is negligible. I actually have gone twice now and it was about $4 each time. What I think is most interesting is the prescriptions that get written. I've got all these little packets of pills and I have no idea what any of them are. I just have to go on faith. They seem to work though, so who am I to say anything. And they are cheap too. I take about 5 or 6 pills three times a day for five days and the cost was about $6. Can't complain about that! Can complain that my entire weekend was wrecked! I sat home going stir crazy and watching the first two and a half seasons of The Office- which, by the way, doesn’t get my vote for best sitcom.

Work yesterday was hellish, though I’m feeling slightly better this morning. I’m hoping that I’ll be up and about come tomorrow, since it is the beginning of my Lunar New Year vacation. No big plans, but it will be nice to have some time off and time to myself as most of my friends are out of town for the week. I’m going to try to make it into Seoul and find the foreign food market in Itaewon. I want to see of they’ve got some sour cream and guacamole because I’m having some of my friends over for a chili and quesadilla night on Sunday.

Last bit of interesting information- tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent. I’ve decided to give up both beer and coffee for the next 40 days! I think that people are betting against me on this one, but I’ve made up my mind and I’m sure that I can do it. I’ve been consuming both in vast quantities and I need to cleanse out my system a bit. Should help me save a little money, too! I’m going to sign up of a yoga class next week with my friend Natalie. This body is going to be ready for the beach come summer!

The Latest...

Where does one begin to describe a place like Korea? The culture unfolds before me. Things that were at first strange now seem common place. I suppose that is to be expected. What I actually find the most interesting is the more subtle things that an outsider might not even notice. For example, you never see a Korean person alone. They are always in a group or a couple. I regularly go into my local Starbucks- yes, you read that right, Starbucks- and sit with a book to read about far off places or write about my adventures, and I can't help but notice that I am the only one there sitting by myself. I never feel uncomfortable about it- I'm used to doing things on my own- but I do get a lot of sympathy glances from the people around me. They just don't do things like that here. I think that even if the odd Korean felt so inclined to do something like sit in a cafe by him or herself, they wouldn't because the culture doesn't allow for it. Korea has a very strong collective identity. I notice this too when I'm walking down the crowded streets. Koreans will not move out of your way to let you pass, they will literally push you out of their way, and they will spit on the ground a inch away from your foot. This drove me crazy when I first got here. I thought they were so rude and self-centered. Until I realized that, this too, is part of the collective identity. They are all one. The following analogy isn't meant to be offensive- they are like ants building a hole or collecting food. It doesn't matter if one climbs on top of the other, they are all there for the same purpose, working toward a common goal. And so, it just isn't offensive to push someone out of your way.

A Westerner needs to learn to retrain their mind a little bit if they want to be able to try to not stick out too much. I refrain from saying "blend in" because I don't think that it's at all possible- even for some of the people I know who have been here for years. But, you can learn to at least not make a total ass of yourself. On this, I'm still trying... I first got over my frustration with walking the city streets when I was able to let go of my idea that it was rude to push someone out of my way. Once I became comfortable with this, I stopped wanting to strangle someone every time I went for a walk.

There are other things that we thing are rude that are quite common here. One is slurping. The technique of slurping at hot beverage or soup is actually done with the purpose of cooling the liquid off before it enters your mouth. For months, I would stir my soup or let my green tea sit until it was warm, waiting many long minutes to begin consumption, while the people all around me were nearly finished. Mom always told me to stop slurping and something ingrained into your brain like that is hard to break.

Here's another interesting one. Don't say "please" or "thank you" (except in rare circumstances) to your students. These are courtesies reserved for people of equal or higher rank or age as oneself. I think that I lost a lot of respect from my students when I first started here because I used these words freely. "Please sit down." "Please hand out the papers." "Please open your books." Or, when collecting homework, "Thank you." There are times it's OK to say this to a student, for example, when one of them erases the board for me after class, without me asking. Or, when they bring me chocolates- how can you not say thanks to that? But to throw around "pleases" and "thank yous" in every sentence confused my students sense of Confucian hierarchy that is seemingly innate to every Korean. By eliminating these words from my class, and maintaining a slightly more rigid persona, I have gained an enormous amount of respect from my kids. I think they are actually more comfortable with this than the lose carefree, friendly teacher I tried to be at first, because it is what they are familiar with.

There are many more examples I could give, and many more, I'm quite sure, that I have yet to realize. It's altogether amazing to see how complex culture really is. It certainly calls ones own identity into question. I love the newness of discovery- both this place and myself.

Ansan Summer Music Festival

Friday Mi Hee took me to the Ansan Art and Cultural Center for the Ansan Summer Music Festival. We got there about 2 hours early, so we had some time to check out the seasonal art exhibit. The theme was Korean paper folding called hanji - pretty much like origami, but origami is Japanese. Before we went in, I didn't really know what to expect. All I could think of was the little swans and jumping frogs that we made in art class back in grade school. I figured that it would be more elaborate than that, but I had no idea what I was in store for. First thing I saw when I walked in was a life sized dragon on the wall, all made out of paper. We walked around the first room and saw more than you could imagine. There were entire flower gardens, made entirely out of paper, hand folded and incredibly intricate. There were little paper boxes and animals and people, anything you could imagine. The next room was even more interesting. There were luggage-like boxes and furniture- armours, desks, tables- all made from paper. I don't know how to explain it. The colors and designs were so detailed. In one room, there was what looked like a beautiful impressionist painting. When I walked up closer, I could tell that it, too, was made out of paper. It was very thin layers of paper, carefully and precisely torn and layered on top of one another to create this beautiful image. Another group of items I found incredibly interesting were some pots, vases, etc. They looked so much like real pottery and stoneware, I had to touch them -against the signs telling me not to- in order to make sure. There were also little figurines in panoramas depicting history life in Korea. They looked like decoupaged paper-mache, not life like, but detailed and fun to look at. Check out the pictures, they're really cool! http://picasaweb.google.com/travelingchris/200708KoreanPaperArt

After the art museum, we headed outside for the concert. First up, was a break dancing group. They were pretty entertaining. Overall, they were good dancers and they had some pretty good moves. It was kind of funny though, because they were all wearing baseball caps, which came off every time they flipped. Next, there was a beatbox performer. I'd never really seen this done before and I found it to be pretty interesting. At one point, the guy was playing a harmonica without missing a note and doing the beat simultaneously. It was pretty impressive. Then the first group of guys came back and were dancing to the guys rhythm. It was fun to watch. Man, those guys had a lot of energy - they must have been at it for nearly an hour. The next performer was a bit more mellow, a blues musician -the "Eric Clapton" of Korea, according to Ozzy. He was really good, but I don't know if I'd go that far! Here are a few videos from the show. http://picasaweb.google.com/travelingchris/200708AnsanSummerMusicFestival

There was another band afterward, Crying Nut. They were sort of rock, slightly punkish. But we had been sitting on hard concrete steps for several hours by that time and we were both having back pain, so we got up and walked around while they were playing. We could hear them well, but we couldn't see them at all. After about 30 minutes, we decided to leave early to beat the crowd and we headed over to Ozzy's bar.

At Ozzy's bar I met a few new friends. There was a seemingly nice guy from Austin who turned out to be a little weird -like he was high or something. He kept on asking me the same questions and telling me the same stories. When I walk over to talk to someone else, he followed me over and started rubbing my shoulder and getting a little touchy-feely. I walked away again and he left me alone after that. I did get a chance to talk for a while with a guy named Paul from Nova Scotia. He lives just a few minutes from my apartment and was able to tell me a lot about the area and places near-by to check out. He also offered to take me around this week and show me where I could get some good vegetarian ethnic (non-Korean) food.

I also met a guy named Adam who is going back home to Chicago in a few weeks. He is actually Paul's roommate, and Paul told me that Adam has a bike that he is looking to get rid of. He mentioned that I could probably get it for free if I asked nicely, but Adam was pretty well on his way to oblivion by that point. I will try to talk to him about it when I meet up with Paul on Tuesday.

There were a few other people I met that night, including on of the bartenders - Something-Soo. I don't remember. But she's very sweet. She make jewelry and sells it at a boutique, but she had a few pairs of earrings with her and she gave me two pairs. She also read my palm and told me I was very smart. What a nice girl! Another great Korean girl I met was named Julie. She was there last time- one of the New Zealand guy's girlfriend- but I didn't get to talk to her then. But this weekend, we had a lot of time to get to know each other and I think she's just a sweetheart. She's also strikingly beautiful, with very distinguishing features. Yet, more photos of that night! http://picasaweb.google.com/travelingchris/200708OzzySBar

All-in-all, I am still quite enjoying my time in Korea, learning to get around and making some really great friends.

Wongok-Dong

The neighborhood I live in, within the city of Ansan, is called Wongok-Dong. It's not centrally located and it's not the prettiest part of the city, but what can you expect? I never assumed that I would be living in the lap of luxury here in Korea. When I first saw my apartment, it was about what I expected -minus the all-important coffee maker, which has since been remedied.

One day at work about a week ago, the director asked me how I slept. I told her that I had had a hard time getting a good night sleep because I wasn't used to the noise of the city. I also mentioned that on the particular night in question I could smell marijuana very strongly on the corner by my house, though I couldn't tell where it was coming from. Ji Won went off talking about how my neighborhood is full of Chinese and Russian immigrants and how they are trouble makers. I didn't think too much of her tirade. Though I understand that Koreans have a strong sense of national identity, I would never personally accept the idea that people are trouble simply based on their nationality. Besides, the people smoking dope are rarely the ones causing trouble, in my experience. And I've never felt unsafe walking around, even at night. If anything, I am fascinated by the counterculture neighborhood I live in. When I walk around, I try to see if I can tell the difference between the Koreans, Chinese, and Russians.

Today was a free day for me -no school and no plans with anyone. Earlier in the week, I happened by chance upon a group of English teachers at a bar. It turned out that they were the same group of people that I had been chatting with on-line. They are a nice group of guys from the US, Canada and New Zealand. We got to talking about the free Korean lessons offered on Sundays near Ansan Station, which is close to my house. No one knew for certain if they were going this week, because it's summer vacation for everyone, but I got pretty good directions and a few numbers of people who go regularly. One of their Korean girlfriends asked me where I lived and when I told her, she was surprised and told me to be careful because there are a lot of foreigners in my neighborhood. A few other people agreed with her. One of them told me that it was like CSI. I laughed, but made a mental note to make sure that I was careful walking around. I suspect that perhaps my town is just a little different and that scares people -especially a pretty homogeneous culture like Korea.

So anyway, plan for today was to go to the Korean class. I was going to head out on my own again and see if I could find the place. I did call two of the guys to see if they were going, but one was not and the other I couldn't get in touch with. I had directions from Ansan station, but I had a feeling that I was actually going well out of my way since it looked like I'd be circling back up close to my house. Not having an exact address or even street name -most of them don't have names- I decided not to take any chances and headed off in the direction I thought the train station was. I gave myself an hour to get there, though I though if I did it right it would only take me half that long. I was glad I had the extra time, because as I headed down a long street which I thought would take me out on the road by the station, I soon had the feeling that it wasn't right. Nonetheless, I walked down to the end. This wasn't right. I looked down the next street in both directions and headed left because it seemed to me like the right general direction I should be heading and it also looked more promising. I made a mental note of the road I turned off of. There was a big pile of tires on the corner -easy to remember. I walked down the following street to the end and looked to the right -no that wasn't it. I looked to the left and just across the street I saw it! Ansan Station! I was a little surprised that it was there. Looking at the map later I saw that the road curved quite a bit when I had thought that it was straight, hence my mistake.

Once I was there, I had no trouble finding the next turn -another left- which led me down a road with mostly foot traffic. My directions said I would know it was the right place because there would be a lot of South East Asians walking around. I didn't really know what that meant until I saw them. They were darker skinned and didn't have quite the same almond shaped eyes. I saw signs for "Restaurant of Thai" and "Hal ah Specialties." Yes, this must be it. It was a slightly different atmosphere here than I've experienced in the rest of Korea. Koreans are great, but it was nice to see some cultural diversity. And there was a pleasing smell -like clove cigarettes- in the air.

When I got to the building where the lessons were supposed to be, I was about 25 minutes early, so I walked around a bit. I found a small park and sat on a bench, looking at my map and trying to figure out a faster was way back to my house, but I really had no idea. It's a decent map, but not great. So I walked a block or two in different directions, trying to see if anything looked familiar. I had a strong feeling that I had literally walked around the block to get next door. I kept having the feeling of being so close, like if I just made one more turn somewhere or walked one more block, I'd be right near my apartment. A creepy guy appeared to be following me for a few blocks so I turned around and headed back to the main, very populated road and he disappeared. But I didn't find a new route and it was time to head to my lessons. When I got there, I headed up the stairs to where I thought the class was supposed to be, but the door was locked. I waited and walked around for a while longer, but no one ever showed up. Maybe it was canceled due to many people being on break this week.

On my way home, I tried one more side street. It felt so right, but after a few minutes, I had walked to one end of the street and didn't know where to go from there. I was starting to get tired and it was so very hot, so I stopped into a 7-11 -yeah, they've got them here!- and bought an iced tea, then headed back the long way. As I walked up the road I came from, I looked down the side streets and I could see the foot traffic from the road I had been on a few minutes before. I was walking parallel to it, about half a mile away. But once I turned I could no longer see it. I climbed to the top of a hill and made my way across an intersection and low and behold, on the opposite corner I saw the 7-11 I had been in just half an hour earlier! I found my shortcut! I was feeling so happy about this and trying to make a mental note of everything I could see around me. It turns out the classes really were just 10 minutes or so from my house, just as I suspected.

Still feeling victorious, an Indian looking guy walking nearby said hello to me in English. I was happy to talk to someone who knew English and said hello back. I told him I was from New York and he told me he was from Sri Lanka. But when he started asking prying questions, I started to feel slightly uncomfortable. He wanted to know where I lived and if I had any friends, to which I gave nondescript answers. I was at a major intersection just across the street from my place at this point and I was waiting for the light to change so I could cross. Then he asked if he could come home with me. I told him very firmly no and he said he wanted to lick me and curled out his tongue and started moving it in and out of his mouth. "Eww, you gross pervert!" I yelled, just as the light changed and I ran across the street. "What? You don't like it?" he called after me, but thankfully he didn't follow me. Just to be sure, I took a longer, out of the way route back to my apartment and stopped in to buy a few groceries next door before heading home.

So, the lesson is that you need to be careful no matter where you go. I never felt threatened by this guy, but I did feel very uncomfortable. I won't give into the Koreans' racist ideas that I live in a bad neighborhood because it is full of foreigners, but Wongok Dong isn't really the best neighborhood in the city. Still, Korea is listed as one of the safest places for foreigners to visit and after living near and spending time in both New York and Baltimore, I feel relatively safe here, so don't worry about me Mom!

Weekend Excursions

http://picasaweb.google.com/travelingchris/200707DaebudoIsland

My new friend Mi Hee was kind enough to bring me a tourist map of Ansan from City Hall the other day, and I decided that this weekend I would venture out on my own. Saturday morning I took a good look over the map and still had no idea, I was just going to walk a while in one direction and see what I could find. I thought that maybe if I were feeling brave, I might get on a bus or subway. The problem is, I don't know how to say my address in Korean, and my exact street isn't on the map. So, if I got lost, it would be very difficult to get back. It turns out that none of this would be a problem because Ji Won called me -just as I was on my way out- to see if I wanted to go to Mi Hee's mother's birthday party.

The party was on the top floor of a building at a catered restaurant. The food was set up buffet style. The party was well underway by the time we got there and we were seated in an overflow room. Food was buffet style- and I was ever so grateful! I had been a bit worried about having to potentially eat food I didn't like in front of a large number of people. I filled up my plate with a number of different rice items - little packets of rice wrapped in seaweed, different vegetable leaves, and such, shrimp and vegetables. Another bonus- no chopsticks! So I was able to get through the meal without looking like a fool. I met some of Mi Hee's family and close friends. Everyone here seems to love the chance to speak English, so I get a lot of attention. One woman had a baby -about a year old- who just keep staring at me. She had probably never seen anyone who looked like me before. Very cute kid.

Afterward, Ji Won and I went back to the school and spent a long time reviewing my tourist map. I asked a lot of questions and gained a better understanding of where, exactly, I was. I also asked her to write down my address in Korean so I could ask for directions, or hop in a cab if I got lost. Armed with map, address and several phone numbers, I set out to find my way to the Home Plus. There were a few things that I needed to get. It was a good choice for a destination because it should be only about a 20 minute walk. It was getting later in the day, so the prospect of walking an hour to get to the district I was originally planning was out of the question.

The walk turned out not to be so bad at all. At one point, I had to walk back a block to double check myself, but it was unnecessary because I was going the right way all along. When I got to where I thought the Home Plus should be, I didn't see it immediately. I walked another block and still didn't see it. I finally decided to stop and ask someone. "Do you speak English?" I asked a lady at a magazine stand. Blank stare. I gave her the map. "Home Plus?" I asked her. She pointed at the next street and motioned for me to go around the corner. I had found one Korean who was not eager to practice English. I should have asked any one of the half dozen or so children who called out to me on the street - "Hello! Nice to meet you. What's your name?" Kids have no fear. Everywhere I go, they call out to me. Even inside the store, they ran up to me to say hello. I think it's so cute.

I spent a good amount of time inside Home Plus. I was trying to find a power converter to change my American plug to a Korean plug. No luck. No one I talked to could understand converter. I tried to draw a picture, but they still had no idea. I looked through the electronics department and didn't see anything. I picked up a few other odds and ends then set out on a mission to find ground coffee. It seems impossible to find real coffee in Korea. Most places have coffee, but it is the equivalent of Nescafe. In the grocery store, you buy it in little packets that you add to hot water - like hot chocolate, sugar and milk already added. Many restaurants have coffee in a vending machine. It's the same sort of thing- a very sugary coffee-like substance, but not coffee. I thought if anyplace would have ground coffee for sale, it would be Home Plus. Much to my dismay, as far as I could tell from the Korean labels, I was out of luck! I spent about $10 on the best instant coffee they had, an Arabian blend. At least it wouldn't have all that sugar. I was on my way out, thinking I'd have to learn to get on without coffee in my life, when I passed though the electronics department again, and noticed three different models of coffee makers. I didn't buy one this visit, but it gave me hope. If they sell coffee makers, then someone, somewhere, has got to sell coffee. It is my new mission in life to find it. Then, I will invite all my Korean friends over for coffee and have fun watching them bounce off the walls! Tee-hee!

On my way home I realized that I had gone slightly out of my way going there, and I was glad for the 2 minute short cut, because I was very tired. When I got home, I cranked up the air and lay on my bed until I dozed off. I woke to the sound of the phone wringing- Ji Won calling me to see if I was home safe and if I wanted to go to the bookstore. I had asked her earlier if she would take me, but now I was so tired, I really didn't want to go. On the other hand, I didn't know when I'd get another chance, so I agreed. She asked me to meet her at the school -a ten minute walk- and every step of the way, I was thinking "I'm so tired, why am I doing this?" I was slightly more away by the time I got there, awake enough to refuse a cup of sugar water and we were on our way.

The book store was slightly disappointing. There were a number of books in English, but they were all either books to learn English or abridged versions of classics for students of English. I had hoped that they would at least have a small selection of new releases in English, but I couldn't find any. The trip wasn't a total failure, though, I got a few books for my advanced class to read. I was excited to find "Anne of Green Gables." It was my favorite book growing up. I probably read it 20 times. I'm going to give it to Joy to read. She is the best English speaker of them all, because she studied in Canada for a year. I think she will be able to read it fairly easily and it will suit her because, like Anne, she never stops talking!

Following the bookstore, we went to Mi Hee's friend's bar for a beer. I met one of her friends- Ozzy. "But not crazy like Ozzy the singer," he told me. Turns out, he actually is a little crazy, but a very nice guy. He has a ton of vinyl records and probably knows more about American music than most Americans. We had a nice time talking about music for a while, and he played me some Black Crowes. Then he performed "Let it Be" and "Desperado" on his guitar and sang for us. The guy was pretty decent. All in all, it was a good day, but after two beers, I was so tired, I could hardly keep my eyes open, so they took me home and I slept through the night.

The following day, Mi Hee, Ozzy and I went out to Daebu Island. We were going to ride bikes out there, but it was so crowded, that we just drove instead and parked near a quiet beach away from the mob. This area is unique because the tidal variation is enormous. Incheon, just half an hour away, has the second largest tidal variation in the world, second to somewhere in Canada (Bay of Fundi, maybe?). This is the measure of sea depth from high tide to low tide. I don't remember the exact number, but it's somewhere around 30 feet. This means that the shoreline might be as much as a mile or more difference between high tide and low tide. Aside from being a very interesting phenomena to view, the potential for harnessing renewable energy is huge. As it turns out, we past by a structure on the bridge, which read "World's Largest Tidal Power Plant." Pretty cool, I think. The world could use more ingenuity like this.

The tide was out when we got there, so we walked out for a little bit, but the ground was more muddy than sandy, so we didn't go too far. It was very messy. It was a lot of fun to look at all the crabs and snails and little mud fish. I collected some beautiful sea shells to decorate my bathroom. Though I thought it was beautiful there, I think that it might have been even better if it weren't so hazy. I could tell that there were other islands in the distance, but they were hard to make out. Despite the lack of sun, Mi Hee scolded me for wearing a tank top. "Next time," she told me, "Where sleeves, so you don't get a sun tan." Not likely Mi Hee, sorry. I like my tan!

We ate lunch at a restaurant right on the beach. We had huge, enormous shrimp. I tried to explain to my friends what an oxymoron was, but I wasn't sure if they got it. Later, Ozzy said "Quiet Riot," and then I knew he did get it. The waitress brought us a burner for the table and a frying pan lined with rock salt. We cooked the shrimp on top, using the salt like hot coals. It was so delicious! We talked about different ways that shrimp could be prepared and I told them that I love coconut shrimp. This reminded me that there was an Outback Steakhouse nearby, and I asked if they had ever been there. Ozzy had, but not Mi Hee. I told them I would take them when I got my first pay check. I'm very curious to see what it is like in Korea. Also, I promised Michael Der that I'd try to get him a pin.

We drank Korea wine made from wild strawberries. It was a little sweet and pretty tasty. We also had a bowl of noodle soup. I was told that it was pumpkin noodles. There were little clams in it, but I didn't eat them, only the noodles, vegetables and broth and I enjoyed that as well. Over all, it was my favorite meal I've had in Korea so far. We sat and talked and ate for a long time, and just enjoyed the day. It was a good weekend.

The first few days...

http://picasaweb.google.com/travelingchris/200707Apartment - Link to pics of my new crib!


I arrived at Incheon International Airport about 5:00pm local time on Saturday, July 14th. The flight was very long- about 20 hours in total, including a 2 hour layover in San Fransisco - but it didn't really bother me. Actually, I was fairly comfortable on both planes and I spent most of the time sleeping. I was glad to have a bit of time to myself after the whirlwind of the previous few weeks, and to be off my feet having broken my toe the day prior. The vegetarian food was pretty decent and looked far fresher than what the guy sitting next to me was eating. I would recommend requesting a special meal to anyone flying.

After claiming my bags -are they always the last?- and going through customs -no problems- and changing my money, I found my way out the gate and into a see of people holding signs. I searched and searched but didn't see mine anywhere. I found several other American English teachers also waiting for someone to claim them and we stood together and talked for a while. One at a time, they all left and I was there wonder what to do. I walked to the payphones to try to make a call, but I couldn't figure out how to use my calling card and I wasn't sure I had the right number anyway. I waited a little longer, pacing back and forth. I wasn't worried; I knew that someone would come eventually, but after a long flight, standing around was the last thing I wanted to do.

Finally, a little woman practically knocked me down. She was holding a hot pink sign with my name on it. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she kept apologizing. "Traffic, traffic." "No problem," I told her. "It's OK." I didn't know it at the time, but she was the director of the school that I would be teaching at. Her name is Ji Won Park and in the short time I've been here, we've become friends.

My first impression of Korea is that it is very beautiful. From the plane, I could see tiny mountainous islands popping out of the Yellow Sea. There are mountains everywhere in Korea. Everything is very green - greener than you can imagine. I'm dying to go hiking.

It is about 30 minutes to the city of Ansan -my new home- from the airport, but we stopped first at a friend's restaurant for some sushi. Let's suffice it to say that my first meal in Korea wasn't the most enjoyable one of my life. I choked it down as politely as possible and was eternally grateful when they finally brought me some fried shrimp.

Afterwards, we finally got to my apartment. I was so tired at that point I could hardly hide it. I was ready to fall asleep. I didn't even really care what it looked like, but Ji Won started cleaning it up. It was a little dirty, some things needed to be wiped down, but nothing too bad. I assured her that it was OK and I would do it tomorrow. I said goodnight and we made plans to go shopping the following day.

My apartment is old and small, but it is a nice enough space, though a bit quirky. For starters, and this is probably the craziest thing of all, there is no shower per se. Rather, in the bathroom, above the sink is a shower head. You lift up a knob on the sink and the water switches from the faucet to the shower head and the entire bathroom becomes the shower! It's weird, no doubt, especially since there is a full size mirror staring me right in the face. I have to be careful not to get my towels or toilet paper wet. At least I can sit on the bowl to shave my legs, could even take a poop if I wanted to! As if the shower weren't crazy enough, the hot water doesn't come out automatically when you turn on the faucet. There is a thermostat for the hot water heater in the bedroom which needs to be turned on a few minutes before showering to ensure hot water. It must be turned off and on every time I want to shower or do the dishes. Also, the controls for the thermostat, air conditioner, washing machine, gas stove and pretty much everything are in Korean, so I never really know what I'm doing. Just hope I don't burn the place down!

I've only ventured out once on my own so far. It was a very hot day and I didn't have any water with me. Also, my foot with the broken toe was really starting to bother me. I ended up only walking around for about an hour and a half before I came back to my apartment. Ansan does not have a lot of foreigners here like Seoul does. There is not much written in English. It's hard to figure out how to get around because I don't have a good map. I heard I can get one from City Hall, so I might try to get Ji Won to take me there tomorrow. I have gone out a few times with Ji Won and my other new friend Mi Hee a few times. Ji Won and I eat out together at least once a day. No meal was quite as horrible as the first. I have yet to find anything that I love, but there is usually something on the table that I can fill up on. It's just a matter of getting used to new flavors, I think. Korean food is so much healthier than American food. What little there is that is fried is somehow not as greasy, the sweets not so sugary and nothing is nearly as salty. And yet, there are so many flavors! At least on dish served at a meal is very spicy and then there is usually something very mild to counterbalance the heat - like rice or noodles. They often have pickled vegetables on the table - cucumbers, garlic, radishes and ginger are the most popular one's I've seen so far. There are usually some different kinds of soups, some hot and some cold. Today I had cucumber water. Not what we drink at home, but it was a cold soup with shredded cucumbers, hot peppers and radishes. It was really tasty - a little sweet and a little spicy- served iced cold, it was very refreshing.

Everyone here who has seen me eat says that I am very good at using chopsticks, though I still feel very clumsy with them. They are used to eat everything. All you get when you go to a restaurant are chopsticks and a spoon. To make matters worse, you don't really get your own plate of food, you just share everything off the same plate in the middle of the table. So it's rather embarrassing when drop a piece of something multiple times. It's particularly hard to pick up shredded vegetables, sprouts and the like. I tried so hard the other day to get some sprouts and, after many tries, could only manage to get one. My fingers were twisted like a pretzel and when I tried to get it to my mouth, it fell! Lucky for me, Ji Won puts things on a little plate for me and I can raise it most of the way to my mouth before attempting to grab it with my chopsticks. I am getting better quickly though.

I started teaching on my own the first day in the classroom. The material I am teaching is not difficult, but teaching it is a bit of a challenge. For one thing, even within a class, the students are at so many different levels. Some are very good and others just stare at me with blank looks on their faces. I don't have any prior teaching experience to be able to draw from, so every day it's an adventure. I'm kind of just winging it for now. Over the weekend I will take some time to make lesson plans for the week.

Well, that is more than enough information for one blog. I am having a very good time here so far. I am able to easily keep in touch with everyone through e-mail and with my Skype phone, so homesickness isn't a problem (yet). I am really enjoying getting to learn about a new culture.