(More) A day in the life

I can't believe how fast this year has gone; I'm only a few days away from my 11-month anniversary in Korea. The last month will be full of errands, tearful goodbyes and preparations to travel. But for now, things are still calm and I've had time to reflect.

Here are a few of those reflections, continued from the previous two lists of everyday observations I've made here in the ROK.

-The kids we teach will often time have English names. Of course, this isn't the name they were born with, but sometimes it's hard for us foreigners to pronounce (and remember) every student's Korean name. Perhaps to make it easier on everyone (and for the sake of being at an English academy), we give them Western names. Sally, John, Amy and Steve are popular selections. Though I've had my fair share of odd names, having taught a Label, North and Sponge. I've even had the honor of "naming" a few of my students. The class works together to come up with a list of names and then the new student can pick the one they like best. I'll admit, I lack creativity when it comes to giving names and the list usually consists of the same ones (mostly names of friends or family from home).

-Fan death. I made a small reference to fan death when I first arrived, but it's crept up on me a few times since then. As I understand the urban legend, many people believe that it's possible to die if you sleep in a room with no ventilation (i.e. windows closed) and a fan circulating. I've heard different theories about why this happens, each more bizarre than the last.

-Sharing things is quite common here. I don't mean sharing pencils or erasers (because students are actually quite serious about their school supplies. Never mess with a child's pencil case). I mean sharing things that foreigners would usually like to have only to themselves. My best examples come from school. We have a water cooler that anyone can use to fill their cups or waterbottles, but it also has two community cups that students will fill up, use, then put back for the next student. No washing or cleaning in between uses. There's also community soap in the bathroom. No, not a soap dispenser, an actual bar of soap. This is the norm throughout all of Korea, including a communal towel. Hand sanitizer has been my friend.

-Eating out was a little hard to adjust to at first. At home, you're accostumed to being waited on. After all, these people are working for tips and they usually do a great job earning it. There is no tipping system in Korea (something I admit, I will miss). Therefore in restaurants, waiters aren't coming over to your table every once and a while to make sure your meal is okay or you need anything in the mean time. Instead, they only come over when you call them. How do you get their attention? Press a button! At most restaurants, there's a button you can press to get your waiter's attention and they will come over swiftly to get you whatever you need. If there's no button (or you're feeling brave) just say "yeogi-yo" which basically means "here!" It seemed rude to me at first to yell come here to the person working, but this is quite common in Korea, and may actually be rude if you do it any different.

-"Bongs" A bong is a room in Korean. There are several different specialized rooms here, the most popular (I think) being a "noraebong," or a singing room. Go and sing karaoke and drink beer with your friends for a few hours (a craze that certainly needs to be brought to America). There are also DVD-bongs, which you might think would be a good way to relax after a hard day at work. It's cheap, easy and you don't have to wait for the movie to download. But beware! Many young couples will sneak off to DVD-bongs and do certain things they wouldn't be allowed to do at home. You'll be used to the idea of sharing by this point, so a community couch should be no problem.

-All men are required to do military service. I believe it's a minimum of two years. Therefore, a lot of men will start their higher education after their time in the military is done. While visiting the DMZ, I was a little shocked by how young some of the soldiers appeared to be. It breaks my heart to imagine my students in those uniforms...

-Smoking. I'm not a smoker and I've been pretty grateful for that while living here. Unfortunately, it seems that Korea is still archaic in many ways and for some reason, it's frowned upon when women smoke openly. I can't say why this is, but I've witnessed friends being stared and even yelled at because they chose to smoke a cigarette in public. Because of this, there are often ashtrays in the women's bathroom. I suppose if a lady is feeling to urge to light up, it's better if she sneaks off to the bathroom instead of doing it for all to see.

-Korea has been incredibly accommodating over the last year. Besides food and people, I can't say I've really missed anything; most everything that you need can be found somewhere in this country. Language hasn't been much of a problem. Many, many people speak English, even if it's simple phrases. I've learned a little Korean, enough to order in restaurants or get home in a cab. Other than that, most communication has been done in English. But besides that, the people have been overwhelmingly accepting. There have been rare occasions when I've been scolded on the subway or people have said inappropriate things. Yes, it made me feel stupid, unwanted and foolish for being an intruder. But then I realize that out of the last 300+ days I've lived here, this has only happened twice. Those few incidents aren't going to ruin my perception of this country and to be quite honest, it could have happened at home, too. Instead, I'm going to always be grateful for Korea, the people, and the opportunities it has given me to learn about their amazing culture and myself.

So I could fly far. Far, far away from... Busan.

Another small update on life here in 부산.

Nothing much has happened since I last updated. I'm patiently going to and from work every day, counting down until it's time to travel once again. I absolutely love Korea and I will miss it dearly but I'm certainly ready to experience something new.

Since my friends and I have been wanting to do something different (and perhaps a bit adventurous) we decided to go paragliding! Melissa found an awesome company that picked us up in Busan and took us to jump near Ulsan. We didn't quite know what to expect and I think some of us were close to backing out, but we all went through with it and we're all so happy we did.

We basically drove to the top of a mountain, put on a backpack, chose a partner and jumped! No real instruction, no rules. It was very laidback but professional; I felt safe the entire time (except I did see two different people literally crash into trees, but they were solo jumpers not with our company). We had to go in groups of two; Alix, Kavita and Lindsey went first then Melissa and I jumped second. I think the wait and anticipation was worse than actually running off the mountain.

I wanted to go with the "daredevil" of the group, just because he seemed fun. He put my safety gear on, gave me a very quick rundown on what to do, and we were off! It was pretty hard to run off the mountain, not because of a lack of nerve, but because the wind and the parachute was pushing you back. I finally made it off and what an incredible experience it was! It was almost as if you were sitting in a lawn chair in the air with a man strapped to your back, guiding you along the way.

My tandem partner definitely was a little "psycho" like the rest of the instructors were calling him. He told me we were "rolling" and "pitching" and before we landed we did a "spiral," but I had a great time and a lot of laughs (between almost losing my breakfast).

All the girls had a lot of fun and we're glad we went out on a limb and did something different. I would definitely recommend this to anyone, anywhere. It's a lot easier than you would think! And the view is hard to beat.

Other than that, I guess I do have another small bit of news. When I wrote last, I was going to return to Jeju for my long vacation in two weeks. I didn't see enough of it and I wanted a nice, relaxing vacation before leaving Korea. But I'm always prone to change my mind and I've never really enjoyed relaxing (especially by myself) because those who know me know how bored I get.

Instead, I'm going to Tokyo with Alix! It would be a shame not to visit Japan, living so close. I tried to convince myself that I would be okay with not having gone to Tokyo during my time abroad, but realistically, I would have been bummed if I didn't go. We leave two weeks from today. If I thought Korea was a bit bizarre at times, I can't imagine what Japan will be like.

A Cornucopia of Updates

There has been a lot going on as of late, although my blog activity doesn't reflect it. I'll be honest, I got lazy and didn't want to write. My dedication goes in ebbs and flows, I have found. But now I'm back and ready to tell the world (or a few people reading) just what is going on.

Alix and I went to Jeju in the beginning of June. We had a 3-day weekend so we decided to take advantage of our time and the island's close proximity. We didn't get to see much since it rained on our last day, but we made the most of our trip.

On our first full day, we visited Hallim Park. This isn't really a must-see attraction in Jeju but it was literally next to our hostel so we thought why not. It was nice to walk through and we enjoyed ourselves, but nothing too out of the ordinary.

We made our way to Loveland in the northern part of the island. We had a long bus ride there, but we couldn't go to Jeju without visiting this one-of-a-kind park.

I don't know for certain, but I believe it was created in order to stifle the sex taboo that remains in Korea til this day. Korea, as advanced and cutting edge a culture as it is, still remains quite archaic in some ways. Jeju is a popular honeymoon destination, so maybe it would help those first timers get over the initial, maybe somewhat awkward, experience. Maybe it would help adolescents learn about male and female anatomy. Maybe it would just provide a few good laughs and endless photo opportunities. Whatever the case, Alix and I had fun walking through the exhibits and seeing everyone laugh and pose with the giant naked statues. I won't post the pictures, but if you'd like to see them for yourself (and trust me, they're worth seeing) I would be more than happy to send some your way.

Here is one of the more tasteful pieces.

The next day, Alix and I went on a tour of the eastern part of the island with a group of students that were staying at our hostel. There were some trails we wanted to take, some lava tubes we wanted explore, and some coasts we wanted to admire. We got to do the majority of things on our list, but unfortunately it started to rain and we had to call it an early day.

I didn't get to see nearly everything that I wanted to, so I'm going back to Jeju for my long vacation in August. I considered going to another country, but I thought it wise not to since my contract is finished a few weeks later...

And then it's off to Thailand I go! Which brings me to my next update.

Melissa, Liana and I have been making preparations and plans for our travels throughout Southeast Asia. We plan to (roughly) go from northern Thailand to Laos to Vietnam to Cambodia and back to southern Thailand. We'll travel for a little less than two months before we make our way to the south of Thailand to relax on a beach with nothing but our memories and our thoughts. I thought that I would go straight home after Southeast Asia, but had a change of heart after watching a television program (in Korea) dedicated to the one place I've always felt was my home away from home, a city I fell in love with so hard it hurts.

Florence, of course! Alix called me into her room so I could watch it and at that time I decided that I'm going to make a stop in Italy before flying home. I can pay for a trip with my own money and I don't have to ask permission; if I want to go I can. So I am!

I don't mind traveling solo, but Italy is a painfully beautiful country and best, I believe, when experienced with someone you love; I knew that I had to convince my mother to go. I came up with this, a petition to show my mom how loved she is, how hard she works, and how deserving she is of an Italian vacation. With a little persuasion and some encouragement from friends and family, she booked a flight to Rome! We're meeting for a week before I return home to the states for a long while (I promise).

Other than vacation and trip updates, I wrote another small piece for The Travel Belles, a website for women who have a hard time sitting still (sound like anyone you know?) Click here if you'd like to read it.

Hiking Jirisan

Liana and I took a day trip to Jirisan last weekend, a national park about three hours from Busan. There are numerous trails and temples to explore. We chose to begin at Ssanggyesa temple and ended at a beautiful waterfall, enjoying the sunshine and a banana sandwich.

DMZ

I'll start this post by saying I am not an expert on history. I know an embarrassing amount of American history and know much less about Korean history. So what I write about the demilitarized zone may be wrong. To the best of my knowledge, this is what I saw and learned during my day trip up north.

Side Note: Working nights is nice. I get to sleep in and do a lot of things I wouldn't be able to otherwise. But it's not good for going anywhere, especially different cities, after 8 pm. That is why Alix and I chose to do a tour of the DMZ on a Sunday, so we could take our time arriving in Seoul the day before. Because of this, our tour was somewhat limited. We still got to see a lot but we didn't get to visit the JSA- joint security area. According to Wikipedia, this is the "truce village," where North and South Korean soldiers face each other and engage in "peace talks." I believe this is where you can actually step into North Korea and get a view of the propaganda village. It would have been incredibly interesting to see this and I'm a little disappointed I didn't get the chance. But to be perfectly honest, the entire situation weighs heavy on my heart. I think I would have been overwhelmed, and truthfully scared, to go there.

Our first stop on this particular tour was Imjingak. According to this helpful website, it was built in 1972 in the hopes that the two Koreas would reunite. There are several monuments, a park and various artifacts from the war on display here. There is also a Freedom Bridge which South Koreans crossed when they entered from the North for the first time after the war "ended."

From here, we went to visit the Third Tunnel. According to Wiki, it "is a tunnel under the border between North Korea and South Korea. It was the third tunnel to be discovered running under the border between the two Koreas." The tunnel was discovered in 1978 and was, as the name indicates, the third out of four tunnels that were found. As I understood it, some believe there are as many as 20 tunnels that were dug that have yet to be discovered. Amusingly enough, "Initially, North Korea denied building the tunnel then officially declared it part of a coal mine; black "coal" was painted on the walls by retreating soldiers to help confirm this statement."

We got to walk through the tunnels wearing goofy helmets (which I did not regret wearing whatsoever when I hit my head numerous times on the ceiling). It was interesting to walk through, imagining that hundreds of soldiers could have possibly taken the same path into South Korea with the intentions to do harm. We weren't allowed pictures of the tunnel and I was clearly not going to press my luck, so you can imagine; it was dark, damp and small.

After the tunnel, we went to the Dora Observatory where it was possible to look into North Korea. It was a bit smoggy that day and there was a photo line we were forbidden to cross, so I don't have much proof of this, either.

It was so fascinating. From here, it's possible to see the border and the two gigantic flags representing each country that fly alarmingly close to each other. A realistic slap in the face that these two countries (once the same) are still, technically, at war.

We ended the tour at Dorasan train station. If I remember correctly, this was made entirely from donations. Wikipedia didn't give much information on the station itself, but as of now, it's waiting to be put into use. It actually broke my heart to see how abandoned it was. Besides the few other tour groups, it was ghostly.

We were able to get "stamps" into North Korea here. We were told not to put them in our passports but we didn't give that advice much consideration. If nothing else, it will make for a nice conversation starter in an airport. We also bought "tickets" to Pyeongyang, the capital of North Korea. What a bargain, only 1,000 won! I made the remark that the man working at the counter was just playing make-believe, which in many ways he was. He sold us our ticket and gave us our stamp but it was all just one big game of pretend.

If the North and South ever do reunite, it would be possible to take a train from Busan all the way to London. Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it, uniting countries, continents, citizens all over the world. There just isn't enough of that these days.

Overall, it was a great experience and I was glad I did it. I knew that I wanted to visit the DMZ during my time here but it was also heartbreaking. I have grown to love and admire Korea in more ways than I could explain and I've been in denial about the situation the country is in. It was a harsh reminder that this may go on forever. Truth be told, it was bizarre that something representing so much pain and turmoil has been turned into a tourist trap. There were gift shops at each stop selling everything from DMZ puzzles to bath towels. I believe it's important to try and understand what's going on but at what point does it become too much? It seems that it would almost be too much of a hassle to reunite at this point. What will they do with all the souvenir barbed wire plaques?!

All jokes aside, it was a sobering experience. Seeing all the young soldiers, trying to imagine day to day life, it was impossible to try and understand what they have to endure. All I could imagine were my young male students having to stand guard over the border one day. A harsh reminder that wars, and this war in particular, will continue to affect families for generations to come.

Ni Hao, Shanghai

I find it remarkable that I can travel to new cities and fall absolutely in love with them. Shanghai was no exception.

I was relieved to find that getting to and from China was incredibly easy. The flight was only about an hour and a half and we had no trouble going through security or customs. However, we did meet teachers in Busan who didn't know they needed visas for China so they were unable to go. Remember your visas, kids.

Once Alix and I got to Shanghai, we boarded the Mag Lev, which is a high speed train that takes you from the airport to the heart of the city. The train topped speeds of 431 kilometers/hour which I believe turns out to be around 267 miles/hour. We were able to navigate the subway system and find our hostel, The Phoenix, easily. We got lucky with our accommodation once again. Great location, cheap, extremely comfortable. Couldn't ask for more.

Alix and I found Mike, who I met back in Hong Kong; he flew over for a few days from Chicago. We spent our first night strolling along The Bund, the beautiful river that runs along Shanghai (and I think) separates two parts of the city. I love seeing new skylines for the first time and Shanghai's was nothing short of breathtaking.

The next day we really didn't have a set plan, so we decided to just wander around the city. We found a market, which was kind of like a giant dollar store, and got lost in it for a while. We decided to visit the jade gardens which we found recommendations for online. We didn't realize the gardens were gated, so we spent a good amount of time looking for open flowers and trees. We finally found them with a little help and spent some time relaxing and enjoying each other's company.

We also walked around the "old city" which is exactly what it sounds like. If you imagine old time China in the movies, this would be the set. It was beautiful, nonetheless. And it had Dairy Queen.

I think we regretted our lack of research the most on our third day. We wanted to visit a fishing village, but unfortunately didn't know much about the city itself or how to get there. After a failed trip to the bus stop, we decided we would go our separate ways. Mike did a little sightseeing while Alix and I went to a fishing village that was more touristy but much closer. In the end, I'm happy we decided to go where we did. It was convenient and provided all we wanted to see.

While walking around, we found a little cafe and decided to stop for a coffee. We started talking to a university student who wants to move to America to receive her masters in Engineering. She told us that the cafe is famous for its postcards and you could write a postcard to your future self that they will send to you when you like, whether it's in one year or ten. Alix and I both wrote postcards to ourselves, she'll receive hers in a year and mine will be sent in two. It was a nice, unexpected surprise and actually provided a lot of insight. I was able to clear my mind on that little piece of paper. It will be interesting to see where I am and what I'm doing when I get it in the mail.

Overall, I don't think I spent enough time in Shanghai to truly get a sense of what it was about. Alix and I did a little research, but I think we were a bit unprepared on what to do and how to do it. Yet with that being said, we still had a fantastic time and Shanghai left a very good impression on me. The people were friendly, for the most part the city was clean, and everything was so cheap. When we were lost or look confused, people would come up and offer to help us. That doesn't happen in every city and though it was a small gesture, it meant a lot.

It really is true that it doesn't matter where you're at but who you're with. I'm lucky to have such easy-going travel companions no matter where I go. I love discovering new cities, but they wouldn't be as memorable if it wasn't for the remarkable people there discovering the city with me.

Can I come in now, China?

For those of you that care (so, about three people total) I got my visa for China today.

Okay, so in retrospect, getting my visa really wasn't that difficult. It was the worry and "what ifs" and the thought of having to send everything home that made it seem all the more daunting.

I didn't have to do that much more than Alix to get my visa. Yeah, I had to get the certificate from immigrations, yes I had to wait a little longer and certainly, I paid a lot more. But we both exerted the same amount of energy and time into the entire process, so I really have no complaints.

For any teacher living in Korea that is going to China from now on, I hope this option still exists in the future. I'm still confused as to why the consulate won't give visas to those of us who have less than 6 months here. Trust me, I don't want to stay in China. I just want to take a look around.

I'm ecstatic that I don't have to send everything home to the consulate in Chicago, and I'm sure my mom is breathing a little sigh of relief at this news as well.

All that remains to be done is counting down the days until we depart.

16- for those three people that care.