Venture to Korea with Amanda & Abi

To all our friends, families, and vistors - thank you for visiting. We will be updating this blog as our adventure develops.

singing room

Hey All. I figured it's been a while since we've updated so here's the latest.

As usual, things are getting easier with time. I'm actually enjoying myself! We went on friday night to a singing room which is the weirdest thing ever. Our school took us out to eat at this really cool restaurant and then to the singing room. It's like a booth with really nice couches and a very complicated Karaoke system. Apparently new workers are required to sing....so I did a stunning rendition of "changes" by none other than 2pac. Their eyes were as big as quarters. I'm not sure if it was the offensive language or the speed of my English but one of my coworkers said i did good so hopefully no one was offended. You never know what's going to piss them off but it was fun anyway.

We met up with a friend of a friend last night and she's really cool. Sucks because her name is Amanda but it's nice to have another American to hang out with. We go to these bars called "western bars" which tend to have balconies. They say it's so you can enjoy the weather but it seems more like it's a place where all the white people sit while the Korean's walk by watching in amazement. Sort of feels like we're on display but what else is new.

We found a great place to eat lunch. It's only 1$ for a very full meal and at least it's not raw fish. Today we're going downtown to attempt to find an English book store. Without TV, movies or music I find myself reading a lot. The people in our neighborhood are becoming accustomed to us and seem to like helping us. Lots of little kids run up to us and say "hi" but that's usually all they know. Amanda bought a shirt that says "humble panic"....any guesses as the meaning of that?

Oh and if anyone knows an education major or teacher who would like to pass on some ideas/resources, they would be much appreciated. I'm also looking for some American kids who would like to have a South Korean penpal. I have to make my kids write each week and it would be cool to be able to have them write to someone. Ok that's all for now! Hope life is swell there.

P.S. We've moved from Monsoon season to the hot season. It has to be at least 100 degrees or better with the humidity. It's insane!

posted by: 2SKLadies at 05:48 | link | comments (2) |

monsoon season

So it hadn't rained at all up until yesterday. People kept telling us it was monsoon season and we supposed that meant it was humid or muggy, which it is. Yesterday morning, we finally understood what monsoon season really is. It doesn't just rain here, it pours...."pour" isn't even a good enough name for it. It's like violent angry rain that beats the junk out of you in about four steps.  We now understand why everyone else walks around with umbrella's all the time. Then today, it appeared sunny outside and I went on a trip to the bank to exchange travellers checks. Of course it began raining and by the time I got my umbrella open I was soaked. Walking back I was under the umbrella but due to the poor drainage on the sidewalks my jeans were soaked up to my knees, not to mention I had to quickly dodge any passing traffic as they give off a five foot spray. Oh and FYI don't EVER go to the bank to change in travelers checks without a passport..........this is getting to be more fun.

~abi

p.s. I think the lunches here are delicious, even if I may not enjoy the company. And we just found out that the wonderful cabbage dressing is actually......ketchup and mayonaise.....how glamorous. Dang.

posted by: 2SKLadies at 05:48 | link | comments (1) |

Beer & Cabbage

Alright, eating out here in Busan is a total adventure!

Our school provides us teachers with lunch daily. It is a rather traditional spread. Lunch is delivered and comes in these nifty boxes with a lid and two trays inside. There is usually about 8 different side dishes, a large bin of rice, and an entree (usually fish).  Oh, and you get soup too. It's nice, because if you don't like one thing, there are many other options.

But, then there's dinner, on our own. Last night we decided to be bold and write down a few things we'd like to eat. I was leading the dinner train this time, so we went around the corner to a place we pass regularly. We spoke our three known Korean words, pointed at our paper, and he nodded.

So what did we end up with? Well, a pile of buckwheat noodles in an icy broth with veggies. It reminded me of ramen, but it reminded Abi of some bad buckwheat memory. I ate away and Abi ate enough to not look rude. You know how it is. Cheap meal though - 7000 Won/$7.

Afterwards, we decide to go into another place we had tried earlier in the week. A chicken place that had some excellent cabbage. Shredded cabbage is a rather standard side dish here in Korea, and each place adds it's own dressing. Whatever dressing the chicken people put on - it's awesome! And they speak a bit of English and have cheap pitchers of beer - we like them!

We didn't know if they'd give us just the cabbage without the chicken - but they gladly did. In fact, they gave us two bowls (in Mikey Mouse dishes). Oh, and the pitcher of beer. By the end, they only charged us 7000 Won. We think they figured out we'll be regulars :)

-Amanda

 

posted by: 2SKLadies at 04:18 | link | comments (1) |

Kids are kids everywhere...

Oh my, some classes just make you want to hurt children. My last class before lunch is huge and all the students are at very different skill levels. They were so exhausting today! Some are with you - mainly the young ones. And then there are the older ones, who act bored, but really are just so completely lost. I don't have a lot of confidence in the school's ability to place students in the right skill level.

Then, I have my small afternoon class - 5 boys, 1 girl. Poor Jenny sits in front completely isolated,  I can never have them work in groups or pairs - these boys would eat her alive! And they are so loud! The good thing about this class is that they're totally on the ball - always know what's going on.

I don't even want to think about how these kids will be come Friday - they'll be staring down a four-day weekend!

-Amanda

posted by: 2SKLadies at 04:25 | link | comments (1) |

funny shirt

trying to find dinner last night we saw a girl whose shirt said "angle blue super pan."  One of our co teachers sported a "mango addict" shirt yesterday.....actually had a guy stop to speak to us as we were eating yesterday, unfortunately he was trying to sell us insurance..... :)

posted by: 2SKLadies at 03:03 | link | comments |

Little this, little that...

Wow, South Korea is interesting. Abi tells me I need to post because she running mad on the blog. The lucky gal has one less class than me though ;)

For some reason, I am teaching young kids. They're fun, really. Today we were talking about countries and nationalities. Goes something like: My name is George. I am from Canada. I am Canadian - right? Well, turns out that Germany/German is a very funny thing in Korean. The kids weren't able to explain why it was so funny - but every class has laughed when I said Germany.

My Korean 'partner' teacher is an idiot, plain and simple. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why she is allowed to teach English - she can't even communicate with me! And, it's a bit funny, I think the kids know she's dumb. They keep telling her they don't understand the homework - but they do! Damn flaky pushover!

You know what's nice? Coffee machines all over the city. For 30 cents you can get a shot of stong coffee anyway you like it - day/night, whatever. And all over - iced coffee, yummy. We are wired all the time!

Our school is rich - seriously. They have bought lunch for us every time. Some times, you'd like to try Korean food in private, because certain things can really make you gag. But no, everyone watches on as you choke down eel or some nasty seaweed soup.

Otherwise - all is well. Miss all of ya!

- Amanda

posted by: 2SKLadies at 04:18 | link | comments (2) |

today I had to explain to my partner Korean teacher the difference between a "crab" and "crap." Ha ha. Oh yeah, and someone forgot to let the Korean's in on the amazing advances in shower technology...our showers are like sprayer hoses coming from the bathroom sink...you stand in the bathroom and hose yourself down. Lesson #1, don't leave anything that's not waterproof in the bathroom as it's very easy to get soapy, drop the shower hose, and soak your clothes for the day.

Flounder---no pit toilets here my friend, you must be thinking of Japan. They had them in the airport in narita, I didn't try for it but opted for the regular.

~Abi

posted by: 2SKLadies at 03:30 | link | comments (1) |

Running gag

So I've found one thing to be true if you laugh instead of cry you'll be ok....and boy does this place give you plenty to laugh about. The bells signaling the start of class play the song Fur Elise...Amanda saw a girl yesterday had a shirt on that said "pythagorean" and the men seem to be exceedingly fond of hot pink clothing. One restaurant proudly advertised "Fride Chicken." The students pick English names, other teachers claim kids have selected "the hulk" and "I don't like teacher." Very creative. Many Koreans like to talk about us, or so we assume as we can't understand them but we find that if we simply increase the speed of our conversation they lose us as well. Hoping to find toilet paper tonight and perhaps some alcohol....words of the wise to anyone wanting to try this out....LEARN KOREAN. Not just a few phrases, learn it completely! Nothing is in English. Peace out cats. ~Abi

posted by: 2SKLadies at 06:06 | link | comments (2) |

WE'RE HERE!

Hello all you lovely people! Amanda and I have made it to Busan! The flight was long but strangely tolerable with no delays or problems (although I did rip out the life vest tag on the last flight and we nearly had to stay behind for it to be replaced!) Our apartments are small but comfortable and we have air conditioning which is nice. Today we will have lunch with our director and we are hoping she will help us find some things like adaptors for our laptops and international phone cards (don't worry mom's, we'll call soon). So some people lied about a few things....we are the ONLY white people and NO ONE, I mean NO ONE speaks english. Most people stare but once you make eye contact they look away until you've passed them, then they stare again. Quite a few people have stopped in the street to talk about us but since we don't know the language, it's not too offensive. I, Abi, have begun waving and smiling at people enthusiastically, very out of character for me, and they seem to respond well. So anyone who is worrying, stop it, we're having fun and it's a cool place. Oh yeah, and it smells really really bad here. Sometimes like rotten fish, other times like sewage but the city is very quiet. Ok peace and love!

posted by: 2SKLadies at 03:36 | link | comments |

Friday Fly Day!

Well - we have flight plans. Abi and I will be leaving from Milwaukee at 10:30 in the morning.

We're almost there!

posted by: 2SKLadies at 18:32 | link | comments |

Is this really a good idea?

Forget what I said yesterday, now it's only ONE WEEK until we leave! Although there seem to be some visa issues that may push us back a day. I might be terrified but I'm ridiculously excited. I just want to go already!!! And I want Amanda to find her phone.

(Abi)

posted by: 2SKLadies at 14:41 | link | comments (4) |

Will we be Safe?

We’ve both received many questions about our pending security in South Korea due to the loony Kim Jong Il to the north. After investigate the topic ourselves, we have received multiple reassurances of our safety living in Busan. 

•  This is the U.S State Department’s Consular Information Sheet for North Korea. While the U.S. does not have an embassy in DPRK, Americans are not advised against travel. While North Korea does not having an appeal tourism culture, it remains non-hostile to its Korean family to the south.
• If you look at the Consular Information Sheet for South Korea, you’ll notice that South Korea is a democratic and stable nation, with excellent U.S relations – bottom line, Americans should feel safe. 
•  Worried about how current events will impact us while we are gone for the year. Bookmark this page - the U.S. State Department’s, Current Travel Warnings website.
• "There is a lot more hype than there is fact surrounding it," he said. "You often get reported the notion that this missile could reach the United States: Alaska or the west coast. I think this is completely overblown. Building an intercontinental ballistic missile is, arguably, the most difficult engineering feat you can take on - more difficult than building a nuclear weapon. Countries that built nuclear weapons, built nuclear weapons before they were ever able to build an ICBM, because it is much more difficult. And it requires lots of testing. But North Korea has only conducted two tests in eight years.” [Jim Walsh is a security and nuclear weapons expert with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who has traveled to North Korea over the years.] [Read the Article]                     
• Check the CDC web page (Center for Disease Control) at http://www.cdc.gov and you will find all the information published by the US government on precautions, warning, and risk associated with health. But in general, travel to South Korea is as safe as traveling to South Florida or Southern California or Europe. South Korea is a safe country, more so than foreign travelers view the "violent" US with its murders, killings, and robberies.” [Info found here]

Now time for some encouragement to our friends and family – Please Comment! Perhaps you have a question about what has been posted, or found another resource, or just some other you’d like to throw in the mix. Now, we may not have left yet (by the way, we leave on July 20^th) but we would like to promote an interactive exchange – despite the thousands of miles that will be between us. Hmm, that was a bit sentimental. We will miss all of you terribly – keep in touch.

(Amanda)

posted by: 2SKLadies at 18:14 | link | comments |

Quote of the Day

"As the traveler who has once been from home is wiser than he who has never left his own doorstep, so a knowledge of one other culture should sharpen our ability to scrutinize more steadily, to appreciate more lovingly, our own." -Margaret Mead

posted by: 2SKLadies at 04:57 | link | comments |

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