Part Two

Wow. I’ve been here over six months now. I feel like I made it over the mountain and now my time here will be a lot more enjoyable. I couldn’t be happier with the new job that I have interning at the Korean cooking school. So far I’ve designed some flyers and helped out with their website. I’ll also be trained to give “food tours” once I improve my Korean. Then I’ll take tourists around the city to different restaurants and marketplaces to try various Korean foods. Oh, and I also am tutoring a few kids on the side to make enough money to get by. Life is good :-) (Below: Paris Park and Mokdong in the fall).


Not to sound ungrateful (because I was and still am so thankful for all the opportunities and experiences I’ve had and am having), but when I worked at the private school, I felt so drained. I mean, yes, I did get out and do things on the weekends, but I still couldn’t help feeling like there would never be enough time for me to do everything that I wanted to do. I didn’t even think I’d get the chance to update my blog again! Working 11-hour days definitely was a challenge. But here in Korea, so many people work just as many or even more hours. Koreans are such hard workers and from being here I’ve really grown to admire that about them. Here’s one example: After work on Fridays (when I still worked at the school), I would do my weekly grocery shopping. As I would walk home with my groceries in both hands, I’d always pass by this one laundromat. It’d be around 9 pm or later and this nice looking man with his glasses set carefully on his nose below his concentrated, furrowed brow, his red bandana placed on his head just right, and his little Korean flag stitched neatly onto his left sleeve, would without fail be there, behind the glass of the window, intently ironing or folding shirts. Whenever I’d see him, a smile would automatically spread across my face.

Nowadays, since I have so much more time, I go grocery shopping during the day. You should see me when I ride my bike to E-Mart or when I walk to a grocery store in my neighborhood--- I have the biggest smile on my face. I guess since this has been my first full week (last Wednesday was my last day) not working at the school, the thrill of being out during the day and not at work hasn’t quite sunk in yet. I even signed up for a Korean class the other day. I’m looking forward to it and I can’t tell you how happy and thankful I am for all the new wonderful opportunities I’ve been given.

Okay--- now I guess I’d better start filling you all in on the past three months of my life here in Seoul! :-)

Living in an Officetel

Even though I don’t work for the school anymore (they used to pay for my apartment), I was able to work things out with the school and my landlord so that I could stay. I’m so glad I didn’t have to move. Big hassle: avoided. I just had to make a deposit and now of course I’m responsible for the rent. Anyway, let me explain what an officetel is. It’s basically an apartment building with some office space in it for businesses. My building has six floors--- on the second and third floors are offices, on the fourth and fifth floors are apartments, and on the sixth floor lives the landlord. I live on the fourth floor. Rooms in officetels vary in size from “shoebox” (my first room on the fifth floor) to decent (my current room). They come with a bathroom, a kitchen sink, and counterspace. What, no stove? No, no stove. And definitely no oven! But in lieu of a stove, we get electric burners. Whenever I plug in my set of two burners, I’m reminded of the Bunsen burners that I used in AP Chemistry in high school. ;-)

The bathroom. Well--- it’s different in terms of the shower! When I want hot water to wash dishes or to shower, I have to press a little button on the thermostat and wait about 5-10 minutes for the water to heat up. The next difference is that the showerhead is attached to the wall right next to the bathroom mirror. It’s connected to the sink faucet, so to get water running from the showerhead, you have to turn on the sink and then pull a little knob. This part reminds me of when I visited my friends in Belgrade :-) because their showerhead was also attached to the sink faucet. Buuut--- in Serbia they had a tub and I have neither a tub nor a separate closed off shower area! That means that my tiled bathroom floor is my shower floor. So whenever I shower or go in the bathroom, I wear my shower flip flops. That’s not all though--- after showering, it’s squeegee time! Not just one, but maybe three or four times until all the water is gone. Since my floor isn’t slanted correctly, I always have to squeegee the water into the drain behind my sink. I’m not complaining--- I’m 100% used to it now and it’s like a routine. But I have to say that when I’m back home, I’ll appreciate being able to jump out of the (actual) shower--- sans squeegee! ;-)

Lastly, something really nice about my apartment and almost all homes in Korea is “ondol,” which is underfloor heating. During the bitter cold winter months it was really nice to have toasty warm feet. :-)

Life’s little details

In Seoul, so many people walk or bike. Young and old. I really love riding my bike here. My “Grüner Flitzer” ;-) (Green Racer) has already more than paid for itself from all the cab money I’ve saved. One thing I admit that I never thought I’d give in to when I first got to Seoul is that I bought and wear (only when I ride my bike) on of those face masks. No, not one of those medical mask looking ones, but a cute stretchy black one with white polka dots. To explain it, it’s like the neck of a turtleneck but a bit bigger and I can just roll it up over my mouth and nose. It does the job, keeping the dirty air out!

Moped Mania. They’re everywhere! I’ve even seen mailmen on mopeds. Something quite crafty that I’ve noticed about the mopeds in the winter months is that boxing gloves (well, they look like boxing gloves), sometimes wrapped in plastic bags, are taped to the handles. The fearless, helmetless delivery guys brave the cold with their hands shoved into those makeshift gloves, speeding away to deliver delicious warm meals for which they aren’t even tipped! It’s not even expected. And what’s more is they come back later to collect the dishes that the food was in.

Loudspeaker skills sell! I remember during the first week that I was in Korea, I’d wake up in the mornings to someone in the street speaking over a loudspeaker. I thought to myself, “If he’s saying something important, then I’m really out of luck.” After asking a friend, I learned it was a street vendor announcing what he had to sell! Since then, I’ve gotten used to hearing the recordings of street vendors played over loudspeakers. Vendors sell fruit, nuts, dried octopus… the list goes on and on. I guess in Korea, those loudspeaker recordings do for the street vendors what the ice cream man’s song does for the ice cream man back home. Sell.

People who work in grocery stores use little headsets with loudspeakers too. They shout good deals and speak so fast like auctioneers. They kind of make grocery shopping exciting! :-) One time a man convinced me to buy two packs of strawberries for 8,000 Won when originally each pack was 6,500 Won. I couldn’t resist--- it was such a steal ;-)

My last little detail about life here is something my students told me. They said that some movies are shown at 6:30 am! I couldn’t believe it and they were so matter of fact about it. “People sometimes go see a movie before work or school,” they told me. That would never work in the US!

Trips

Since the last time I wrote, I went on some pretty amazing trips. The first part of the first trip was a ferry ride on Chungju Lake. It was a gorgeous day. I stood on the deck of the ferry admiring the glistening water under the sun’s rays as the little ferry wove its way through stunning mountains. Then all of the sudden, a group of men marched to the back of the ferry, sat down, cross-legged, in a circle, and proceeded to unpack the boxes they had been carrying. They unpacked fried chicken, beer, kimbap, eel, and other side dishes. It seemed like they were a group of friends having a “guys only” outing. A lot of foreigners (who were with the same tour group that I was with) were also on deck. It wasn’t long before the Korean guys started going around to the foreigners offering them plates of fried chicken, rolls of kimbap, and cans of beer. They were so friendly and generous and many foreigners sat down and joined their circle. Including me! That experience is just one of many experiences that I’ve had here that have shown me how genuinely kind and warm-hearted Korean people can be.


Part two of that trip was to Kosu Cave. It was really impressive and also really hot in there. I was glad when I finally got out! Part three was to Dodamsanbong Peak in Chungcheongbuk Province. Supposedly the Peak is the only place in the world where you can see such long rocks protrude in the middle of a river. There also was a natural stone gate--- a big hole in the middle of a large rock. I even got to climb over the Stone Gate and take in the view of Dodamsanbong from way up high.


*** More pictures and video:

Chungju Lake and more

The second trip that I went on in November was to Seoraksan (the third highest mountain in South Korea). There were two hiking path options--- the easy one or the hard one. I chose the hard trail which took me and the other “hard-core” hikers up to Ulsanbawi Rock. To get to the top, we had to climb 888 steps up steep and sometimes narrow staircases. I remember being amazed at how many little kids (no more than 5 or 6 years old) I saw with their parents trekking up all those stairs with their little feet. Not only little kids, but there also were lots of really fit grandmas and grandpas all decked out in hiking gear who also made it to the top.


My hiking buddy was a girl named Caitlin who I had met on the trip. We both were determined to get to the top before everyone else so we pushed each other and kept a good pace. Our guide said that most people take 2 hours to get to the top but Caitlin and I made it in under 1 and a half! Everything seemed like a piece of cake until we got to the stairs. I took one look, said, “OH MY GOSH…,” took a deep breath, and started up. At first it was easy--- we were almost skipping up the steps. But after a while we slowed down. It seemed like I had gone up at least 100 steps and then I looked up and saw hundreds more. My heart definitely was pumping as I trudged up those stairs. At one point I told myself to stop looking up because every time I did, I felt like I was going nowhere. But finally--- finally, after all 888 steps, Caitlin and I made it to the top. We were the first from our tour group. After we high-fived each other, we stood in awe at the summit. As I tried to catch my breath on the clean yet thin mountain air, my still-pounding heart felt like it was soaring as I slowly spun around to appreciate the indescribable beauty that surrounded me. At the top of Ulsanbawi, I was really proud of myself for having made it. Being there was like winning the most awesome prize ever.

*** More pictures:

Seoraksan

Last little bits

In the beginning of December I went to a German Christmas Market. Although it didn’t compare to a real Christmas Market in Germany, I still was happy to go and enjoy some German Christmas treats.


*** More pictures:

Weihnachtsmarkt

Towards the end of December, Niklas came for two weeks. For one week I still had to work so he did a lot of exploring on his own. While he was here we did a lot of eating. I made a list of 36 things that I wanted him to try and we crossed them all off except for 4!


We went to a cultural performance,


the DMZ,


and other interesting places in Seoul--- including Namdaemun Market where Niklas took this video:




For New Year’s Eve we went to City Hall, which was extremely packed.


He had to leave on January 2 and before he left he said, “Steffi, I don’t know if I’ll miss you, or the food more…” Hahaha, I guess I can’t blame him--- the food here is amazing! :-D


*** More pictures and video:

Niklas' Pictures from Korea

From January to now I’ve gone to Namsan Tower,

I went on a ferry ride on the Han River,

I’ve eaten even more delicious food and learned how to make some as well,


I’ve visited cute little cafes and more bustling markets,


I’ve watched my Pre-Kindergarteners “graduate,” I’ve celebrated my last day working at the school, and I’ve begun Part Two of my life here in Seoul. I feel so blessed and I’m so excited for whatever comes next…


*** More pictures:

January-March