Solo in Seoul

One of the ten largest cities in the world? ... Intimidating.
A metro system with arms like tentacles reaching across landspace housing millions of inhabitants? ... Overwhelming.
A lack of language skills or even a phrasebook to afford me a shot at the most basic of communication? ... Stressful.
But impossible? Absolutely not. I've dealt with worse.
I simply couldn't let another weekend pass by without taking the plunge and attempting to day-trip to Seoul. It didn't have to be anything large-scale... it's been a while, after all, since I've flexed the ol' backpacker biceps. Just to spend a full day walking around the city, see what I see, and hopefully meet up with an old friend in Seoul, that was my plan. I had my chance to explore Seoul just this past Sunday, despite ugly weather forecasts and foreboding skies. Granted, I almost got stranded at the bus terminal... but that's another story.
I biked to the bus station in a gray drizzle, and managed (with the help of an absolute stranger) to buy a ticket and find myself on the road northward, aboard a comfy if tattered bus. I had intended to sleep on the trip, but excitement for the day's adventure kept my mind spinning as I leafed through one page after another of my "Lonely Planet Korea" book. By the time I arrived in Seoul, a mere 1h33 had elapsed. It pays to take an early morning bus... little or no traffic to contend with. I spent the next hour hopping along Seoul's many metro lines and walking in circles through busy city streets, trying to get my bearings. (It really sucks not having my trusty sidekick compass...) But finally, it all started to click and before long I was standing outside the entrance gate to one of Korea's ancient palace complexes, Changyeonggung. The air was buzzing as young women, dressed in vibrant blue dresses, scampered across the stone bridge leading to another palace hall. As I poked my head inside, I was delighted to find billowing bundles of flags, dragon-bedecked drums, and carefully arranged plates laden with colorful fruits and other offerings. I spent the next three hours meandering along shady, forested trails, admiring the gracefully sloping rooftops of one palace structure after another, marvelling at the beautiful wood craftsmanship and balance of nature and structure that the Koreans seem to have perfected.
As the afternoon wore on, I took a walk along the pedestrian-only thoroughfare known to tourists throughout Seoul as souvenir headquarters, Insadong. Shopfronts, food stalls, and kitsch-covered carts beckoned to the thousands parading along this busy merchant quarter. I eyed a set of traditional-looking clay bowls and plates with longing, before my attention was caught by yet another, then another enticing display. Certainly this was no place to hurry through -- the din of voices in myriad languages, the abundance of solid bargains, and the joyful exuberance of shoppers anxious to take back with them a little piece of Korea all melded into an atmosphere that almost insisted you linger. Only, I couldn't. I had a timed-entry ticket to another of Korea's old-world gems, the UNESCO palace known as Changdoekbang.
By this point, my feet were growing tired. But I felt another wave of energy overtake me as I entered the palace grounds and walked again among centuries-old wooden masterpieces. Something about Asian design, its simplicity and gracefulness, resonates with me. I couldn't seem to get my fix of the contoured rooftops and the harmony of all elements, both natural and manmade. The highlight was a walk through a secluded area known as the "Secret Garden," complete with a lily-pad topped pool and octagonal pavilion. The earthy green of abundant foliage bled across the scene, and the serenity I felt was inescapable.
Afterwards, I followed one street after another past a huge English bookstore (I'll definitely have to make a return visit there!!), and into a very artsy section of town. A right turn across from Changbukgong (yes, another palace!) landed me smack dab in the middle of... Greenwich Village? Some little European plaza? Where was I?? This place reeked of class, with boutique after cafe after cutesy coffehouse spilling one after another in succession down an ambling sidestreet. Old-world buildings butted up against others boasting a modern design, and vines and flowerboxes peppered the walkways and window sills. This was definitely a happening area, and I was already planning my return visit to Samcheongdong.
Before evening came, I made connections with a friend from the U.S. that I haven't seen in years, another brave soul who decided to break from the norm and come to Korea in search of teaching work. After two years teaching in Busan (Seoul's little sister on the southeast shore), she decided to make her stay here a bit more permanent when she accepted the marriage proposal of her soon-to-be husband Sung Jin. We met at the Daeheung metro station and walked to their flat, a cozy little space on the 8th floor of their high-rise, overlooking a beautiful section of the city. Over rice, quail eggs, and some yummy vegetable banchan, I got to know her husband and hear a bit about their lives over the intervening years.
And before I knew it, time had run away. Literally. So I found myself running to the metro in hopes that I could make my 18 metro stops and line transfer to the Nambu Bus Station in time to catch my bus to Seosan. For the next 40 minutes, I eyed my watch impatiently, counting the seconds between stops as though life depended on it. I had seriously underestimated the time involved to traverse Seoul's metro system, and that lesson hit home with a decided bang as my clock chimed 8:00 PM. I was still 3 stops away. At this very moment, my bus -- the last bus of the night -- was pulling out of the station. I knew I could ride the metro back to Dionne's place, wake up early, catch a morning bus back to Seosan and make it in time for my noon staff meeting. But I was tired, grungy beyond reason, and wanted a warm shower and a good night's sleep in my own bed.
And then, the silver lining shone through. I remember Terry, my boss's wife, telling me that there were two bus stations in Seoul. Maybe, I told myself, I still have a shot of getting on a bus from the other terminal. A mere 40 minutes later, I was cruising out of town on yet another cross-country bus. I had to eat that ticket leaving from Nambu, of course. But at W6,800 (approx US$7), it fortunately didn't set me back too much. By 11 PM Sunday night I was back home again, reliving the highlights of a spectacular Sunday in Seoul. I have a feeling it won't be long before I find myself kicking around the big city again...

A Foreign Affair

I had to give myself a little talking-to the other night. I have been here in Korea for over two weeks now, and I've barely explored beyond my own little quiet corner of Seosan. Oh yes, I've hiked on the nearby, forested trails into the hills of Seosan (thanks to Terry for showing me where to catch the trail). And I've driven around town a few times with Harrison and Terry -- for groceries, bedding, even my beautiful peace lily, which I adore (again, thank you Harrison and Terry!). But as for solo exploration... I've been severely lacking in this department, and I'm ashamed of myself... where is the nomadic explorer within me whose heart beats for the adventure of discovering the unknown? It's been a while, I guess, since I had to deal face-to-face with the intimidation of a complete language barrier. Beyond "annyeong haseyo" (hello), I'm at a loss.
Fortunately, I've managed to meet a few more foreigners here in my town -- one through Maggie (the teacher I replaced), and another quite by accident on the trails just the other day. Dave, it turns out, is from Missouri (my old stomping grounds!) and a friendly guy. I met him at Maggie's farewell party, along with a handful of other foreigners. He's the only one who I've managed to meet up with again. He lives just down the hill and kindly called the other evening to see if I'd be up for a night walk around town. It was a perfect idea -- the temperature was cool, the air not too heavy, and the outskirts of Seosan are lined with astroturf trails, for the hundreds of locals who round out their evenings with a stretch of the legs as well.
Chett (or Chetty, as he likes to be called) is a South African native, teaching in a public school in town. He's been here for only a few short weeks longer than me. We were a few meters apart on the trail last Wednesday evening when a flash of recognition hit us both... recognition not of a familiar face, but of our "foreigner" status. Yes, this was the bond. We chatted for a minute, swapped email addresses, and both headed back out on the trail in opposite directions. It was a well-timed affair, and panned out well -- I had a chance to meet up with Chett and a lovely couple on Friday night while we bonded further over pizza at a cushy little joint near the movie theater.
I have to back up a bit, because this story has a bit of a funny beginning. I was on my way home from work Tuesday night when I turned the corner to hear some casual conversation floating out through an open window on the ground floor. At first, it didn't strike me as anything. I heard the clatter of dishes and thought, oh, a nice dinner conversation. And then it dawned on me that the conversation was not some caucophony of foreign sounds, but down-home English. I half considered rapping on the window and saying hello, but thought that might come off a bit too random. So I sauntered down the sidewalk and smiled at the thought that there were yet a few more friends yet to meet.
Friday night at the pizza joint I met up with Chett, and was introduced to Penny and Francis, a very chill and pleasant couple who had somehow managed to survive living on separate continents (Penny is from Australia, and Francis from South Africa) to teach in yet a third. I could tell right away I was in for a good evening. I hadn't been sitting for more than a minute when Penny said to me, "Hey, I know you! Your face is on a huge banner just around the corner from our apartment." And it was only then that I put it together -- they were the couple I had heard through the screen a few nights ago.
Over a large pan of pizza and a few pitchers to wash it down, we chatted together about everything from inequalities for women in Korean society, to teaching rambunctious kids (while at the same time pitying them for working longer days than most adults back home). And their adventures! The more I listened to my new friends' travels, the more I started to feel my own been-there-done-that list blend into the wallpaper... Chett had recently finished a two-month cycling trip through southern India, in which he had gone completely off the beaten track and managed to bunk down with locals along the way. Penny and Francis had just last year backpacked through Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos, and were in the final stages of planning their round-the-world trip to commence next month when they leave Korea. Still, I was happily in my element among these free spirits who, like me, have some inexplicable inner pull to cross oceans and traverse great expanses of land with little aside from the barest of essentials and a very open mind. It's this sameness that has brought us here to Seosan, I want to believe -- much moreso than the glimmering promise of cash to stash away. And it's somehow comforting that here, even in the counter-culture nomadic lifestyle I have chosen for myself, I am yet in the company of others whose passions are close to my heart.

I'm an Alien!

Wow, as of today, I believe all of the bureacracy of setting up life in Korea is done! Visa, check. Mobile phone, check. Foreign Residency Card... check! (It came in the mail Friday!!) And this morning, bank account, check.
Getting the Foreign Residency Card (aka my "green card") turned out not to be too painful, but with Korea's recent upgrade of requirements for incoming language teachers, there was a lot of runaround as most of the key people who are supposed to enforce the new requirements don't quite know what they're doing.
Take, for instance, my visit to the hospital just a few days after arriving. When my boss explained to the receptionist that I needed blood and urine testing for (for communicable diseases and drugs), they looked wide-eyed and a bit confused, and then began a string of phonecalls to find out what to do with me. From there on out, the experience was painless. The hospital was quite new and not especially busy. The medical workers seemed quite professional. And aside from having to carry my "sample" back to the nurse in an open container (plastic cup!), everything was on the up and up.
Harrison and I returned to the hospital this past Tuesday for the results of my testing. Everything was clear, which was not surprising but still a relief. (I've wondered what my recourse would be if my results came back with some question... would I be deported without further analysis? Did I have any recourse? Some things are better not messed with, and I was rather glad at least this part of my "initiation process" was straightforward.) We did, however, have to wait for quite some time again while the hospital staff tried to figure out what kind of documentation to give us. It seems I am the first foreigner to this hospital to request testing for alien status. I knew Seosan was small, but I didn't think it was THAT small!
After leaving the hospital, Harrison drove me to Taean's (next city over) Immigration Office, where I filled out a bunch of forms and left my passport in their careful protection. And apparently they processed me quickly, because Friday night, I had my green card in hand! It really helps to have a boss who is watching out for me -- I have read of quite a few experiences of English teachers in China who find out only too late that their visas, which their bosses were apparently attending to, never materialized, and they are forced to leave the country. Nothing like that here... fortunately :) I have to say, I am impressed with the efficiency of things in Korea. I guess we're getting off to a pretty good start!

My Battle with Bureacracy

Living in Korea Lesson #1: Never underestimate the amount of bureaucracy involved in getting your E2 visa!!
This process that I started literally 3 months ago is still not yet finished, despite the fact that I am actually here in Korea! After a quite lengthy, somewhat confusing, an often nerve-wracking paper shuffle, and a little good karma, I managed to get the green light to step onto Korean soil. Here is my E-2 visa two-step, in a nutshell (written especially for all of you who I know are secretly thinking, I want to teaching in Korea!! But... where do I start??):
The early part of the process involved applying for a new passport (my passport from my Round-the-World trip in 2006 was "seriously mutilated," according to the postal worker taking my application), which meant ordering a new birth certificate and getting my picture snapped. Then I had to arrange for fingerprinting at my local police station and forward them to the FBI with a request for my criminal report. Being that I was in Utah and my diploma was buried somewhere in a box in my parents' house in Pennsylvania, I next had to contact my university for a new diploma and multiple sealed transcripts. And then I waited... and waited... and waited.
The first to arrive was my new passport, which was utterly amazing. Without expediting my order, I received it in a week's time (when are government agencies EVER ahead of schedule?? I was amazed.). I was impressed with he new passport layout -- pages watermarked with symbols of American pride and heritage, and encoded with a microchip, plus biometric scanning capability of my passport photo. Most exciting was that they had returned my mutilated passport to me (I was told I wouldn't get it back)... so all of the stamps I acquired from stomping around Europe and Morocco) are mine to keep!! Then the diploma and transcripts arrived. And finally, the FBI report. As it turns out, they took me off the "Most Wanted" list. OK, kidding, I'm still on it. You would think that a report from the FBI would be "proof enough" for Korean Immigration. But no, they require a special seal to be affixed to your report, which is called an apostille. I'd never heard of one before, but apparently, after some such Hague Convention a few years back, a system was agreed upon for authenticating documents for international recognition. Quite a few countries now required that documents be authenticated with an apostille. As this is a fairly new requirement, I got quite a bit of run-around from the US Authentications Office (in Wash. D.C.) and the office of Utah's Secretary of State. No one wanted to take responsibility for helping me out. In the end, Utah came through. I had my documents notarized by a local notary, and then forwarded them to Mr. Sec'y of State for the official apostille. And you guessed it, waiting again to get them back in hand.
The next step was to FedEx my documents to Korea. OK, I way underestimated the cost of this! Copies of my passport, check. 3½ x 4½ cm photos, check. Diploma and transcripts, check. Resume, check. Employment contract, check. Criminal report, check. And last but not least, Korea's Medical Self-Evaluation Form, check. Sending this tidy little stack of papers over the Pacific set me back a handsome $78. And for that princely sum, it still took 4 days to be received!
Are we done yet? Oh, not even close :) So, Korean Immigration processed my documents and sent me a Visa Issuance Number. The next step was to forward another set of documents to the closest Korean Embassy within the U.S. (which happened to be San Francisco), along with this Visa Issuance Number, visa application, my actual passport, and of course, more money... followed by more waiting.
Normally, the embassy requires that you visit in person for an interview with a Consul (this is an official requirement for your E-2 work visa). Because I was living in Utah at the time, the embassy waived this requirement and allowed me to conduct my interview via telephone. (One word of warning: please CALL the embassy to make sure they received and are processing your visa... mine was lost in a paper shuffle in their office for almost a week while precious time ticked by. When I called, they told me they hadn't yet received it, and only later after I had confirmed delivery with USPS, did they find it!)
After completing my interview, the Embassy finished processing my visa, and then shipped my passport + visa back to me. I received it on Saturday, June 7th, just a few days before leaving the country. The whole process took about 2.5 months. (Note: If you're serious about teaching in Korea, go ahead and order your FBI report and university transcripts, dig out your diploma (or order a new one), and make sure your passport is valid. Having these in your back pocket makes you a much more attractive candidate and saves you quite a bit of time waiting, once you find your "dream job.")
That's it for this installment. Stay tuned for Part II, getting your Foreign Residency Card :)

The Destiny We Create

I am realizing more and more how fortunate I feel to be exactly where I am, at this moment. During this past year of my life, something really amazing happened. Mostly it was an inward change, and gradual one at that, but it was as if this little flame of light inside me grew brighter and brighter until I looked clearly at myself one day and realized that I had grown into a person I really loved. I began to see my uniqueness not as something to separate me from others, not as something to hide away or minimize or deflect, but as something to prize, to celebrate, and appreciate.
For a soul whose spirit yearns for serenity and inner freedom much as an eagle yearns to soar the skies, and who has experienced through the harsh realities of life the ache of clipped wings and tethering relationships, this realization was monumental. It was as if I granted myself a huge gift -- the freedom to be exactly who I am, with no guilt, no apologies, no hiding behind the paradigms of others or shrinking to fit within the outline of someone else's shadow. I could live my life, live my dreams. My life became truly my own.
And in the year that has followed, I have witnessed and felt so much healing within myself. I have experienced what I can only explain as an upward spiral as life has taken on brighter and brighter hues, as the doors of opportunity have opened wider and wider for me, as I have reconnected with more and more of the people who have been touchstones in my life. Gone are the days of closing myself off from others or shutting down my innermost self in hopes of calming the raging storm that existed in those who pretended to care most about me.
I have felt, certainly for the first time in a long time, an inner assurance that I am where I am "meant" to be, if there is such a thing, or that, at the very least, I am where I have destined myself to be. I remember countless afternoons spent circling the Hampden Heights East neighboorhood during my daily walk. The sun would filter down through clear, cloudless skies and as I relaxed into the rhythm of my pace, I would visit a corner of my mind where I kept an eye on my future life. It was here that I envisioned myself living and breathing and smiling and ... soaring. And now, months later, here I am, the living embodiment of those earlier visualizations.
What we dream of, what we think about, even that which we fear, we pull towards us with the magnetic energy that is within us. I believe this, I believe this, I believe this. And so, as I begin this new journey, I challenge myself to hold on to the highest and best that exists in my mind and heart, to keep it close to me, and to make this experience another in which I continue to soar.

Power in My Pocket

After some serious consideration, I have decided that man's best friend -- on this side of the world, at least -- is not a dog or a puppy or some other furry friend. Man's best friends (and woman for that matter) is a pocket-sized piece of plastic and shiny metal usually found attached to the ear, mouth, or hip pocket of said man or woman. That's really not a slam. It's the truth. And after becoming the proud owner of a slick and shiny LG-KH1600 Cyon slide mobile phone, I'm pretty sure I'll be keeping mine close at hand as well.
Here's the low-down. Getting a mobile phone in Korea is not such an easy undertaking for foreigners. Although we have the legal right to live here and work here, owning anything (a cell phone, an apartment, a house -- even for foreigners married to a Korean citizen) is a no-go. Enter Harrison, answer to my every problem.... Harrison and I went cell-phone shopping today, after returning from the Korean Immigration Office in Daesan (story for another time). A new shop just opened right down the street from the local grocery store right across from the post office, pretty convenient. He had heard that there were some special promotions going on, and I figured it was worth the investment to get connected while here in Korea.
The good news about mobile phones abroad is that, in most countries other than the good ol' U.S. of A., incoming calls are FREE to you. Which means that I only have to pay for calls I make. The second piece of good news is that text messages are ridiculously cheap (about ₩20 per message, or about 2 cents). No wonder teens are typing and texting ad nauseum all over the place. And the third piece of good news is that virtually every plan is a pay-as-you-go type of deal. So for a basic fee of $13, I've got a mobile number and free incoming calls. And from there, I'll pay only for the calls I use. Oh yeah, that, and my phone was free.The catch? Of course, there's a catch... Every mobile provider alive has a deal to hook you and a catch to sink you with. I wouldn't expect any different in Korea! The phone is free with a 2-year contract, and if I cancel early my opt-out is the full cost of the phone, about ₩200,000 (~US$200). And for the first two months, I'm obligated to enroll in some kind of premium service (internet capability, which I don't expect I'll get much use of, as the browser is configured in Korean). Nonetheless, for ₩50,000 (US$50) to set up my account and ~₩9,000 ($US9) for my SIM card, I was out the door with my shiny little sidekick.
I spent some time last night getting to know my little Cyon. She's a beauty, but this phone is much more than just skin-deep :) Inside her Tools menu, are some pretty powerful features... especially for a foreigner such as much. Not only is there a calculator, stopwatch and world clock, but a unit converter useful for Won to USD (and a slew of other currencies), inches to meters, Celcius to Fahrenheit, pounds to kilograms, you name it. There's even a map of Seoul's metro hidden in here. My favorite feature, by far, however, I think will prove to be worth its weight in gold. Built into my mobile is an English-Korean dictionary... type in the word of your choosing, and its Korean equivalent will pop back in a millisecond. This is gonna be a great tool for me, a pocket translator on-the-go! Of course, it translates single words only, and I'm gonna have to get a handle on hangul (the Korean writing system). But from there on out, little Cyon and me are gonna go places!

Serving it Up Korean-Style

This weekend marked the beginning of my Korean culinary experiments! After finishing up the marathon shopping trip with Terry on Saturday, I returned home with MASSIVE hunger pangs! My bare cabinets were bare no longer, and it was time to silence the hungry beast in my belly. So what's a girl to cook??
I decided to take Terry's suggestions and cook up some rice with barley and Korean black beans. Following Korean cooking protocol, I rinsed and drained the grains and beans three times in tap water, then left them to soak for 1/2 hour. I drained them once more, and then loaded everything into my studio-size rice cooker.
The next trick was figuring out how much water to add to the pot. Harrison, nice guy that he is, had stopped by my apartment yesterday to pump up my bike tires and introduce me to the wonders of the rice cooker (seriously, is he too good to be true, or what?). He showed me the age-old Korean measuring technique that his mother used, and that his wife uses still today. No measuring cups needed. OK folks at home, give this a try next time you're making rice in a cooker. Cup your hand over the rice so that your fingertips and the palm of your hand rest on the top of the rice. Now fill the pot with water utnil your knuckles are almost submerged with water. That's it. I'm here, in part, to glean the secrets of ancient wisdom, right? So be it. I cupped the rice with my palm, filled the pot just so, popped down the lid, and let the machine take over.

Meanwhile, I scoured my painstakingly collected Korean recipe "box" (I am in love with the computerized recipe database Big Oven... check it out at http://www.bigoven.com/) to find some general guideline for making a soybean-based soup. With Terry, I had purchased Korean-style miso (soybean paste, called "denjang" in Korean), as well as garlic, Korean chives (think really, really big spring onions), tofu, "gochujang" (a spicy paste made of red peppers), and enoki mushrooms. A few minutes later, the rice cooker was steaming itself into a frenzy, and the fragrance of onion and mushrooms permeated my tiny apartment.
I quickly set the table, and prepared the final ingredient, chopped seaweed, which at Harrison's suggestion, I would eat atop my rice bowl. I spooned everything into little round bowls and, after documenting the big moment :), took a big spoon of my "guk" (soup)... The verdict... a little spicy, with an otherwise mild flavor... and the mushrooms... delicious! And the barley rice with black beans and seaweed? The taste was pleasant, the seaweed added just the right balance of flavor to the very subtle grains. I had to adapt a bit to the purplish hue that the rice took on from the black beans, but in all, I felt quite pleased with myself :) Not bad for my first Korean cooking adventure! Bon appetit!

Stocking the Pantry!

What an adventure I had today!! I spent several hours at Lotte Mart, Seosan's biggest department store, where I had my first lesson in Korean grocery shopping. Fortunately, I had done a little homework before heading out, or I would have been in some serious hot water. Those of you who know me, know what a passion -- verging on obsession -- I have with all this ethnic, cultural, international. So it shouldn't come as any surprise to you that while I'm here in Korea, I fully intend to do a lot of things Korean-style. Bloom where you're planted, isn't that right? To my mind, a fully authentic experience, one that rings true to my reasons for coming here in the first place, does not revolve around dinners of pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken, or spaghetti. (Actually, all of the above are right here in town, for those times, which I'm sure will happen, when I'm craving something really Western).
For a while now, though, I've immersed myself in a love and fascination of Eastern cultures, philosophies, religions, medicines, and of course, cuisine. That love is one of the over-arching reasons I chose to come to Korea. I happen to believe that there is a lot of wisdom passed down from generation to generation in these cultures that have been in existence since ancient times. And I think it would be a terrible waste if I were not to really try to integrate and assimilate as much as I can, this knowledge. So with that rather philosophical opening, I give you ... My First Korean Shopping List!
I thought it might be interesting for some of you back home to take a look at what a typical trip to the market yields here in Korea. Also, the prices are listed in Won, as well as USD, which is also kind of interesting (or is that just the analyst in me coming out? Thanks, Dad, I've always attributed my number-crunching interest to you!!)
₩8,780 $8.51 dried small anchovies, 900g (for using to flavor soups)
₩4,130 $4.00 rice vinegar
₩2,430 $2.36 apple vinegar
₩1,420 $1.38 buckwheat noodles (Japanese style)
₩1,030 $1.00 wheat noodles (Korean style)
₩1,580 $1.53 black bean paste chunjang
₩2,130 $2.06 roasted sesame seeds
₩3,860 $3.74 rice paper wrappers (Vietnamese style, for spring rolls)
₩1,868 $1.81 yellow miso paste (Korean style, made of soybeans)
₩2,740 $2.66 red pepper paste
₩3,866 $3.75 soy sauce (regular)
₩4,320 $4.19 soy sauce (Korean style, for making soups)
₩7,632 $7.40 sesame oil
₩7,930 $7.69 dried black beans (Korean style, for cooking with rice)
₩15,980 $15.49 ground soybean + grain health drink
₩1,300 $1.26 sea salt
₩3,800 $3.68 barley (dried, for cooking with rice)
₩1,630 $1.58 seaweed paper (for chopping into cooked rice)
₩1,920 $1.86 Nori sheets (seaweed for rolling rice/kimbap)
₩1,950 $1.91 oyster sauce (Chinese style)
₩2,740 $2.66 soy milk (1 quart)
₩1,050 $1.02 soybean curd (tofu)
₩3,680 $3.57 eggs (1 dozen)
₩1,160 $1.12 bananas (5 little bananas, ~$.022/ea)
₩4,333 $4.20 sweet potatoes (4 medium, $1.05/ea)
₩2,115 $2.05 carrots (4 HUGE!)
₩2,980 $2.89 fresh pineapple
₩1,760 $1.71 bean sprouts
₩2,123 $2.06 tomatoes (2 med, ~$1.03/ea)
₩830 $0.80 fresh garlic cloves (about 12)
₩980 $0.95 Korean chives (1 massive bunch)
₩860 $0.83 fresh ginger
₩650 $0.62 baking soda
Who knew, for instance, that there was a special kind of soy sauce just for making soup? Or that there were so many different varieties of sea plants / seaweed? I'm already missing the abundance of fresh fruit I enjoyed at home... prices for fruits here are steep, and with the exception of this week's pineapple sale and little bananas (which are very affordable), I had to pass them up :(Stay tuned for my next post, in which I'll be trying to turn some of these ingredients into the solution to my already-growling stomach!!

Feels Like Home to Me...

It's a good feeling to have my bags unpacked, to look around this itty bitty living space and see that it's starting to resemble something I could call a home. I've rearranged the furniture a few more times (oh no, my inner perfectionist has emerged again!), and I think I've finally found something that works for me.
I've always more or less prided myself on being a person who is content with simplicity. I count it as a pretty big notch on my belt that I managed to live out of one big backpack for five months while tramping around Europe and Morocco a while back. So why has it been somewhat mind-bending to wrap my head around the fact that this little one-room apartment is where it all happens for me? I'm coaching myself through this one, a little at a time. I think once I get some of the outdoors in -- dress up the place with some splashes of color, a potted plant here, maybe an orchid spray there, green, green, everywhere -- it'll feel more like home.
I'm pretty satisfied with the packing choices I made -- it looks like I brought just enough clothing to fill my wardrobe, even a few hangers left over. And the books fill out my desk shelves nicely. All of my spices fit in the freezer (where hopefully, they'll stay fresh for quite some time). And my toiletries are happily sitting on the cabinet shelves inside my little icebox of a bathroom. And I really haven't come across anything yet while unpacking that reeks of impracticality.
I found a huge, glass bowl stashed under the gas range earlier today, while I was cleaning out remnants left behind by the previosu tenant. I got it out and turned it over and over, trying to figure out what it was... much too large for a serving bowl... a punch bowl? (here in Korea? come on!)... It took me a while to realize it was a FISH bowl. I'm now seriously pondering the idea of getting a pet fish (or two?) to keep me company while I'm here. I kind of like the idea of a tranquil little creature to share my home with.... Any name suggestions, anyone?

Time to Move On...

I'm savoring my last hour here in the spacious apartment where I've stayed with my host family for almost a week now. I'll miss this view from their 7th floor balcony where I am sitting right now, enjoying the fresh morning air and the city scene buzzing to life below me.
I'll miss, as well, the delicious meals that my host mother has cooked for me every day since I arrived.
Yesterday's meal was my favorite, some kind of clear, glossy noodles which Aisha explained were made of sweet potato, mixed with red pepper strips, crushed sesame seeds, and several varieties of mushrooms, most of which I didn't recognize. I'm hoping that I can visit my "family" again, and perhaps exchange some cooking lessons -- Eastern for Western -- with the chef of the house :)

Feng Shui and Logistics of Living in Korea

A vicious rain ensued this morning as I walked from Koaroo Apartments (where my host family lives) to the academy. The compact umbrella that Harrison had given me the day before rattled and buckled under the wind as I pressed northward up the road. By the time I arrived, just ten minutes later, my pants legs and shoes were sopping, and I gratefully took cover under the steel awning as I waited for Maggie and Tahira to meet me. Minutes later, two umbrellas emerged around the corner, and I was greeted by two familiar faces. The girls were off to do a little last-minute shopping before Maggie left for the U.S. in the morning. I, on the other hand, had other plans... I was about to receive the set of keys for my apartment and the school, and see my new home for the first time!
I excitedly walked up the hill and turned the corner to the row of boxy, concrete buildings lining the road. You wouldn't guess by looking that this is any more than a communist compound... it's not exactly aesthetic. Most Korean buildings, I've noticed, are (1) boxy and (2) concrete. I stepped inside, turned the key in the lock, and slowly pulled open the steel door. I was prepared for a bit of a mess (the apartment had just been re-wallpapered), and I was prepared for "small"... but I felt my nose wrinkling up as I scanned my new living space (or should I say, lack thereof)? All of the furniture had been pushed into the middle of the room in a hodgepodge of cords, tables, and other odds and ends. I felt my heart sink a little. This was... my new home?
Well, as I usually do when I sense chaos and disorder, my inner Zen kicked in and I found myself sizing up the wardrobe, desk, and bedframe for configuration possibilities. I rolled up my sleeves and started pushing furniture all over the place, stepping back every few minutes to get a sense of the feng shui vibe. I was just in the middle of my little renovation project when Harrison stopped by to give me a "tour," as he called it, of how to "survive" in my apartment. Necessary stuff, you know, like turning on/off the gas line for the stove, turning on/off the hot water line for laundry, using the washing machine, adjusting the thermostat, and turning on the A/C, fan, TV, and satellite. You'd think it would all be more or less self-explanatory, but trust me, at this point in time, Korean is more or less heiroglyphics to me! (Maybe you can see in the picture, Harrison labeled the remote controls me!)
Even every-day stuff like what to do with the garbage is a bit different. You use a special kind of green bag for refuse, recycled shopping bags for recylable paper and plastics, and a little plastic bucket for any food waste. Koreans are big into recycling, which is great... it's a personal weakness of mine not to care more about sorting out my trash. So I guess I'll get some practice while I'm here. Mom, that's gotta make you happy :)By the time I left the apartment, I was feeling much better about the state of affairs of my apartment, though still a bit shell-shocked about the small space. (Measurements I took later confirmed that the room is 10 x 16 feet, which is not exactly spacious for a bedroom + kitchen + living room + entertainment area... yikes!). Tomorrow is "moving day" -- Harrison and I will bring all my luggage here from my host family's place, and I'll finally begin settling in!

To Market, to Market!

I got a free tour of Seosan today, lucky me... OK, actually boss boss, Harrison, took me on a short ride around town today, after the 12:00 staff meeting. Although I'm still staying with my host family for a few more days, I've been anxious to start getting my bearings, learn a few essentials -- namely, where to get money and food.We started with a drive past my apartment (which is literally a 3-minute walk from the school, very convenient, and just opposite a small corner market selling a few groceries). A quick right turn took us to a hill, and after a quick up, over and down, we crossed a busy road and turned right again to reach the one of Seosan's main drags.Just near the corner is Seosan-mart where I will, I suppose, do most of my grocery shopping. Lined along both sides of this road, which leads to a 6-spoke traffic circle (and the point through which all traffic entering Seosan must
navigate) are myriad shops and stores, including an organic foods market, a stationery shop, the post office, and the bank. We quickly walked through several of the shops, and managed to grab a quick bite to eat at the Paris Bakery (one of two French-named bakery chains in town) -- a yeast bread sprinkled with chunks of sweet potato and a bottle of chilled soya milk.As we walked back towards the car, Harrison and I stopped at Seosan's local market, which was, for me, the most exciting. Gigantic, colorful umbrellas formed a canopy of shade above the dozens of vendors ready to make a sale.
Women sat or squatted alongside bulging baskets of leafy greens and exotic-looking fruits. This is the place to buy fruits and vegetables, Harrison informed me, as the prices are best, and everything is locally grown and very fresh. I felt dozens of eyes boring into me, a foreign woman who no doubt looked very out of place in this microcosm of traditional Korea. The next section of the market was lively -- tank after tank of live fish, octopus, crab -- you name it, still swimming, crawling, and moving about. We made a U-turn at that point, as it was time to head back to school for classes. I'm looking forward soon to taking another trip to the local market... but perhaps first, I should learn at least a few words of Korean... haggling for a good price is the name of the game in a market like this!

Happy Birthday to Me!

Staying with a host family has its advantages. (1) High-quality accommodations. (2) Special-guest status and treatment.(3) Fabulous, home-cooked food. On the flip side, the language barrier is anything but slight, and there's really not a cryin' thing to do in a stranger's house when you happen to wake up five hours before the rest of the family. My eyes opened suddenly at 3:22 AM this morning. I was wide awake despite the thick blanket of night which still covered the city. No problem, I thought, I'll just shut my eyes tight and head back to dreamland until the sun comes up. Ten, twenty, thirty minutes later, I was forced to reconsider. Jet lag, I've decided, is an evil, evil thing. A thirteen-hour time zone shift from Eastern Standard Time to whatever it is they call this zone that covers Korea and Japan, is, as I can first-handedly attest, no small thing.
After accepting that sleep was not in the cards for me, I attempted to entertain myself for the next several hours with what little options I had at my disposal. I nosed through another chapter of the book I'd been reading since my arrival. I picked over my duffle bags (which, I have decided, are under no circumstances going to be able to zip shut when it's time to move over to my new apartment on Thursday... how I ever managed to stuff them as full as I did before leaving the US I'll never know... oh wait, that's right, I had expert military assistance with that special operation, thanks Michael!), looking for a hair clip, my lip gloss, a few odds and ends I had been hoping to coming across since arriving, yet hadn't. And then, I literally wore my Palm TX battery down to nothing playing round after round of solitaire. Ugh.
By 9:30, no one in the house was stirring. I know, because I had made the rounds several times, tiptoeing across the wood-paneled floors, peering out the balcony windows at signs of life in the city, helping myself to a glass of water, shrugging at the silence, tiptoeing back to my room again. Wouldn't you know, a short time later, exhaustion hit me, and I melted back into my pillow.
When I awoke, it was time to get showered and cleaned up for my noon staff meeting. It wasn't until I was half-covered with soap lather that it hit me -- today was my birthday. Usually, I rather relish the thought of people making a scene
about my big day. Helium balloons. Phonecalls from far-flung friends. That moment during dinner at your favorite restaurant when the waitstaff serenades you with the birthday song while perfect strangers look on. I couldn't really care about the number of candles on my cake, and I've never understood people that would just assume hide their birthday from the world, kick it under the carpet and hope it goes by unnoticed. But today, as I rinse the suds down the drain, it dawned on me that today would actually be one of those. And I shrugged in acceptance, or defeat, I'm not sure which.
So imagine my surprise when Harrison popped into the staff meeting a little while later with a billowy-white frosted
birthday cake! If this is any indication, my suspicions about Harrison are true -- he is a genuinely kind and considerate being, who does things for other people just because he's a nice guy. Being that he's also my boss, I'm feeling particularly happy about that. So Terry, Christine, Tahira, Maggie, and Harrison sang the birthday song to me, and then we devoured the cake!

The rest of the day was a blur... I managed to shadow Maggie on several of her (soon to be my) classes -- eight students per session, every 40 minutes from 2:30 ~ 8:20 PM. I remember my first day in Taiwan, meeting the children I was about to teach, and wondering how I would ever learn their names -- they all seemed identical, dark hair, dark eyes, same even skin tone. It took me a while to focus in on their individual features to really be able to tell them all apart. It's funny, but looking into the faces of my new students, I didn't feel the same. Despite the sheer number of names to learn (I have about 110 students!), I could already see their personalities and uniqueness. Or maybe I'm just delusional.
I actually managed to leave school a bit early today, went back to my host family's house, filled my tummy with some delicious Korean-style potato curry and rice, and fell asleep by 7:00 PM!! My hard-core party days are apparently over (haha).