Boong a bang

Wow--- this past Wednesday marked my first month in Korea! Time keeps speeding by and everyday I experience more and more great new things, so I really appreciate the rare quiet moments when I can sit down and write a bit for you all to get a little glimpse into my life over here.

Since the last time I wrote, I’ve become quite the accomplished mosquito killer--- not even hesitating to kill one of those little “Steffi-blood-suckers” with a loud *CLAP* between my two hands followed by a loud and proud, “Yessss!” :-) In other news, I’ve moved on “up” to a bigger and better apartment, but literally, I’ve moved down a floor from room 508 to 408. Sadly, the view from my window isn’t as nice anymore--- I still see buildings but no more mountains. :-( But, to be completely honest, the loss of the view in exchange for the upgrade from my first apartment (which was very comparable to a can of sardines) to my current one, was worth it. It definitely makes a difference to have more “moving around space” where you live.

For the rest of this blog entry I’ll write under headings because 1.) I’ve got a lot to write, and 2.) it’ll be easier for you all to read it in pieces that way. So here goes:

Work

One of my co-workers summed up how I feel one day as we were walking home when she said, “The days are long and the weeks are short.” Over the past few weeks I’ve certainly gotten more used to the long hours but they still are long hours. Once the workday is over, the time left in the day is really short, so the weekends are what we look forward to because that’s when we have the most free time to go out, explore, and have fun. And of course everyone knows that time goes by even faster when you’re having fun. So, those precious weekends slip away faster than the inside of delicious Korean grapes can slip out of their skin when you bite down on them. (For those of you who’ve tried these grapes, you know what I mean, but if you haven’t, then you should!) (Below: buildings I see on the way to work)

The students I teach (boys and girls) are really bright. But some are lazy. Some don’t talk enough, and some talk enough for themselves and for the ones who don’t. In the mornings I teach Pre-Kindergarteners (age 5) and in the afternoons I teach students from ages 8-11. For the older kids who come to the school where I work in the afternoon, my school is the second school that they attend in a day. In the morning, they go to their regular school (Hakgyo) from about 9 am to 3 pm and then they go to after school programs like the one where I teach. My school (a Hagwon) is a private school that specializes in teaching English to gifted and talented students as well as students who have already lived abroad in the US or Canada. Some students go to more than one Hagwon. Other Hagwons specialize in science, math, foreign languages, etc. So these older students also have very long days, especially if they attend one or more Hagwons after a regular school day. (Below: My Pre-Kindergarteners)

Weather

When I first arrived in Seoul, there was no relief from the hot, thick air, even at night! The humidity made it feel like I was constantly sweating or sticky. There also was tons of rain. For days it would just pour and pour and I’d wonder if it would ever stop. But now I’ve started to notice the seasons are actually changing! I can definitely feel it cooling down and the crispness of fall air on my skin makes me anxious to see the beautiful colors of fall leaves, which are soon to come. (Below: pictures from around my neighborhood. I live in the building on the left in the third picture.)

Day-to-day

Grocery shopping here is always a fun outing. My friends and I usually shop at E-Mart--- a mega supermarket chain and the Korean equivalent of Costco (without the buying in bulk part). They give out lots of samples like they do at Costco and there is so much to look at that if you wanted, you could spend a whole day there. The big difference though is that E-Mart is like Costco turned on its side. What I mean is that Costco is huge, spread out horizontally on one level. E-Mart, on the other hand is distributed over several levels in a high-rise building. Oh--- and E-Mart has a slightly annoying jingle that intermittently plays over the store loud speaker in a high-pitched voice: “Happy, happy, happy E-Mah-Tuh!”

There also are lots of sloped escalators (with no stairs) for shoppers with carts. The escalators have a super-strong magnetic force field (doesn’t that sound cheesy?) so that the carts won’t move. The shopping carts here are attached to each other with chains (like in Germany) and get detached by inserting a 100 Won piece.

Fruits are very expensive here--- in supermarkets and from street vendors. I bought four apples from a street vendor for 5,000 Won (~ $5) a while ago. Although it really got on my nerves at first and sometimes still does, I’ve just accepted the high prices for fruit now because I’m used to eating fruits everyday.

Going around in Korea, I’ve gotten used to seeing a familiar face everyday on every type of ad imaginable (clothes, make-up, food, glasses, cell phones, etc.) It belongs to Yuna Kim, the beautiful and graceful Korean figure skater who in 2010 became the Olympic champion in ladies singles. I mention this (seeing her everywhere) because in the US, I can’t think of one celebrity that I see literally everywhere. (Below: Yuna Kim)

Transportation--- walk, bike, bus, subway, taxi, or train! I’ve done a lot of walking here and I enjoy that because I can look around and practice reading Hangul when I look at all the signs. I took a bus once and it was okay--- kind of crowded but it did get me to where I needed to go. I do think that the subway system is a much easier mode of transportation to use though. It’s fast, reliable, and cost efficient. Per trip it costs anywhere from 900 Won (~ 90 cents) to 1,400 Won (~ $1.40) from what I’ve had to pay so far. Taxis cost 2,200 Won for the first bit of the trip and then it can add up to 6,000 Won (that’s the most I’ve had to pay). When I take a cab, I usually am with friends, so we split the cost. The KTX is Korea’s really fast train system. I haven’t used it yet but I hear it’s as pricey as it is fast. Also, lots of people bike here as a means of transportation. Including myself! Last week I bought a bright neon green bicycle with a nice basket in the front. Including the bike lock it was 150,000 Won (and I got a bike light for free!). Riding back home with Lillian, I kept telling her how extremely happy I felt to be riding my new bike. I felt like a little kid at Christmas time. The cool night air and rotating pedals beneath my feet plastered a smile on my face that could not be wiped away. (Below: an entrance to the subway in Gangnam, a video from the train, and my new bike)

After a quick grocery shopping pit stop, Lillian and I continued our trek back to our apartment building. Riding back home was an adventure as I weaved cautiously through the still busy sidewalks (not like Lobenfeld, where “the sidewalks fold up at night.” ;-) )

Differences

There are delivery people for everything! You can order groceries and even McDonalds. All you need to do is call and place an order and someone on a moped will be off to deliver your food or whatever it was that you ordered ASAP. I haven’t ordered anything yet, but I’ve heard and seen that little restaurants bring your food in real dishes. When you’re done, you put the tray and dishes outside of your door and the delivery person will come get them later. (Below: McDonalds delivery mopeds)

Speaking of delivery guys--- they are quite daring people. I’ve seen lots of them zipping by on big intersections without a helmet on. One rainy day I even saw a helmetless deliver guy on a moped going through a side street carefully holding an umbrella with one hand and driving with the other.

Another thing I’ve noticed is that people aren’t too big on wearing seatbelts, which I cannot understand--- especially with the crazy traffic/drivers they have here.

Something that I see a lot of in Seoul that always makes me smile is that many people on the subway watch t.v. on their phones. And some phones even have a cute little antenna. What I’ve also seen here that I think would be HORRIBLE to have in the US is what many people (including taxi drivers) have--- t.v. channels on their GPS systems. While driving there is a little corner of the GPS display that shows the t.v. show. The little corner can also go to ¼ of the screen, ½ of the screen, and full screen. Can you imagine an avid football fan driving while a big game was playing on his GPS in the US?

Something else unique to Korea that I’ve seen are the live infomercials. :-) Often times when I ride the subway or train, a man will come on and in a loud voice start to talk about whatever it is that he has to sell. Sometimes the man is even wearing a headset with a mic to catch more bored travelers’ attention. For me, it’s always interesting to watch, almost like live entertainment. I especially like to look around and see how many people buy things. So far I’ve seen cds being sold (this seller had a boom box in tow, loudly playing old-fashioned Korean songs), electric razors, gum, special toothpaste, special clothes hangers, and exercise equipment. Prices range from 1,000 Won to 10,000 Won.

From the apartments (for families) that I’ve seen from relatives here, I’ve noticed a common layout. There are a lot of windows and usually balcony-like areas on two sides of the apartment. One balcony-like area is by the kitchen to store food, and the other is by the living room and master bedroom area. That’s where drying racks for clothes are put. A lot of people sleep on the floor with mats that get put away during the day. When I stayed overnight, I also slept on the mats and I liked it. The apartment buildings themselves are so tall. Twenty stories or more is nothing here. Often times there are parks nearby with outdoor exercise equipment, which I think is really nice.

Little Reminders

Every so often I’ll stumble across something here that reminds me of friends, family, and/or home. Last weekend I bought Baum Kuchen (Tree Cake) at Hyundai Department Store. The Korean lady who worked at the bakery told me that it was German cake and I nodded (because I already knew that from its name). The funny thing though is that I’d never before heard of this German specialty before coming to Korea. (Below: Hyundai Department Store)

The weekend before last, my friends and I went to Itaewon, a mecca for foreigners in Korea. After I had started getting adjusted to my new surroundings, it was such a weird feeling to suddenly not feel like the only foreigner in a crowd. I saw so many people from so many different backgrounds.

The plethora of American restaurants (McDonalds, Subway, Outback Steakhouse, Coldstone, Baskin Robbins, Taco Bell, etc.) made it feel like I was back in America. I even found my very own hot dog place! Along with all of those American places to eat, there were plenty of other restaurants--- Persian, Egyptian, Indian, Mexican, Turkish (we ate kebaps)--- that reminded me of friends back home. (Below: pictures from Itaewon)

Finally, going out to sing karaoke with my new friends here reminded me of singing karaoke with old friends at UMBC before I left to study abroad in Germany. There definitely is something exhilarating about singing a song in a small, dark room with a comfy couch, plasma screen t.v., and multi-colored lights dancing up and down the walls and on the ceilings. No matter how horribly you sing (my hand is raised), there’s nothing like belting out a tune after a long day at work to make you feel refreshed and so alive. Lillian totally wowed Yasmeen and I when she sang songs perfectly in Japanese (she lived in Japan for two years). Maybe the lady who owned the karaoke place was impressed too--- because she gave us an extra 25 minutes for free. :-) After that experience, we waited a while for a taxi in a serious downpour but it was absolutely worth the wait. If you ever come to Korea, going to one of these karaoke places should definitely be on your to-do list. (Below: taking the subway and outside before going into to the karaoke place)

Tummy Pleasers

Fruit-filled trucks sporadically appear on streets selling the freshest, reddest, sweetest apples, the most delicious dark purple grapes, the crispiest Korean pears, and the yellowest, tastiest Korean melons. Food stands line narrow side streets selling fried finger foods, spicy rice cake treats (dokbokki, for 3,000 Won), and even hamburgers (for 2,800 Won). I’ve also seen and smelled freshly roasted chestnuts and just-made corn on the cob being sold from truck beds. For those with a sweet tooth, some great street eats include warm, round flat bread with honey inside (2 for 1,000 Won) (which I one day caught one whiff of and then bought immediately), and boong a bang--- a pancake-like batter baked in a fish form with sweet red bean paste inside. They’re sooo good and definitely worth the 1,000 Won that you pay for SEVEN “fishies.” (Below: yellow melons being sold from a truck, a video from Gangnam (the music is coming from the store), food vendors, dokbokki, and boong a bang)

So much of Korean culture is centered around eating. Restaurants are open late and people are always out eating and enjoying themselves. What I especially love about a lot of the restaurants is how there is a grill in the center of the table so you can eat your meat literally fresh off of the grill. I love the bulgogi (marinated barbecued beef), samgyupsal (pork belly meat), and dakgogi (spicy chicken). All of the little side dishes (panchan) that come with each meal (they always include kimchi and other types of vegetables, tofu, egg, etc.) are also very tasty. (Below: Lillian and I ready for samgyupsal, and dakgogi on another night)

More sweet treats that I enjoy include the strawberry milk, the banana milk, the creamy green melon popsicles, and the sweet red bean popsicles. I really hope I’ll be able to control myself because I just bought a pack of the red bean popsicles. Otherwise I might need a freezer lock. ;-) (Below: yummy strawberry milk)

Chuseok

This is a major harvest festival celebrated in Korea over a three-day holiday. That’s why I had Tuesday to Thursday off this past week. For this holiday, Koreans go to their hometowns to be with family and have a feast together. It’s somewhat like Thanksgiving. What I did for Chuseok was visit relatives in a nearby town called Anyang. We ate and ate and ate. A few hours after the huge dinner that I overindulged in (which included bulgogi, chapchae (a noodle dish), fried foods, rice, kimchi, and more “panchan”), we had “snacks” which included apples, Korean pears, raisins, nuts, songpyeon (traditional Korean rice cakes filled with sesame seeds and honey), myulchee (dried, seasoned tiny fish), roasted octopus, blackberry wine (Bokbunja), and a sweet rice drink called shighae. Needless to say, I was completely stuffed. (Below: My Pre-K class dressed up in their hanboks (traditional Korean clothes) on Monday, and some of the food I had for Chuseok)

For the other two days off, we climbed a mountain and went shopping in town before I had to take the train back to Mokdong. I loved the hike to the top of the mountain and I really enjoyed all of the cool, fresh mountain air. I took so many deep breaths of it--- it was a real treat after living in a busy city for so long. On the way down the mountain, we stopped at a temple where I stood from a balcony decorated with cheerful, swaying, bright-pink lanterns that beautifully juxtaposed the luscious, green mountains which peacefully towered over Anyang city, making even its lofty apartment building clusters seem trivial. Seeing that breathtaking sight right below me filled me up with an even greater zest for life and a hunger for more…