Seoul!

How refreshing it was to go to Seoul yesterday. Not only was it fantastic to meet up with two high school friends in their “hometown”, but it was also great to be in a place where I don’t draw stares from most everyone. Apart from a few small children, I did not garner any unusual attention. *sigh* If only it were like that in my part of Korea.

While in Seoul I was able to enjoy my first time at a pet cafe, Cafe Paws, which houses several small and medium sized dogs of various breeds. I did have to pay 6500 Won for a small hot chocolate, but the fun I had with the dogs, one of who slept in my lap almost the entire time, made the price worth it. There is a pet cafe that has cats in my neck of the woods (more or less) that I will have to try out soon.
I also went to COEX, a GINORMOUS shopping mall in the middle of the city. I had fun with Sun Joo walking around, browsing in the shops, and eating at Mix and Bake, a casual Italian restaurant. I was glad to have Sun Joo with me as I would have been completely lost once inside the mall. Luckily she was familiar with it and could easily find her way around.

It was shocking to have clerks speak English to me and to see many other foreigners. I couldn’t help myself; I had to stare at foreigners in pairs and small groups. Even though I didn’t have anyone speaking English to me and didn’t see other foreigners with any regularity in Mexico or Costa Rica, I didn’t feel as isolated by language (duh, since I can speak Spanish) and people didn’t just stare at me (openly, at least). Here I might as well be dressed up as Big Bird; I think I might actually draw fewer stares that way. I have never been as aware of how most parts of the US are different than homogenous countries. I would never be able to tell that someone was a foreigner in the US, and certainly not by looking at them.

Christmas time!

It is the time for Christmas music! I have to say, since I am living alone here in Korea, I haven’t been feeling very festive this Christmas season (especially since Christmas is a one day holiday here in Korea and is on a Sunday this year, allowing for 0 days off work). However, after DJing the Christmas card and ornament making for the youngest hagwon students on Friday and then attending a little Christmas get together yesterday and finally actually singing Christmas songs at church today, I am in the Christmas spirit. It is past time for me to find and play my favorite Christmas album (Alabama Christmas, 1985, of course). I’m usually listening to it by mid-November at the latest, but the move through me off my usual timeline (not to mention the fact that American Thanksgiving isn’t celebrated in Korea—why would it be?—so I didn’t have a Christmas season marker). 

It’s been busy at the hagwon since the elementary students started a new quarter on the first. Many students and classes have been added and my hours teaching increased. I got news this Friday that my hours will increase again starting January 2^nd with the beginning of winter vacation additional classes; if I have to teach one of the additional classes every day it will max out my contractual hours without putting me over (so no extra pay for the 1-1.5 extra hours of work day). 

Speaking of pay (or lack thereof), I have still yet to be paid, though I am due in this coming Tuesday. I’m quite excited to have money to buy necessary things such as food, cleaning supplies, and furniture. A rice cooker, bedside table, Swiffer, and meat are but a few items on my list. Since I’ve noticed mold growing in my entryway this is good timing to be able to purchase bleach and a scrub brush that will be designated for mold only. I’m also thinking of getting some kind of dehumidifier for the entryway to prevent a repeat of this lovely plant (fungal?) life in my apartment.

It’s hard to believe that Christmas is only a week away. With Christmas comes Christmas break for students in the States, many of whom are returning home, even to places as far away as Korea. This is lucky for me because it gives me a chance to get together with some of my Korean friends who are studying in the US. I already have a planned get together in Seoul and am hoping for another in Jeju. Hurray for get-away weekends with old friends!

Bulgogi traditional meal

Traditional appetizers

Bulgogi Brothers, the restaurant

Bulgogi before it is cooked

What you use to wrap the bulgogi

Side dishes

Rice porridge

Salad

More side dishes

Seoul Trip

I still don’t have the promised table and chair. It’s getting kind of ridiculous at this point because I’ve been here for more than three weeks. The boss, along with promising me a table and chair, has promised to take me to the Immigration Office but won’t nail down a date and time. I may end up going by myself since they have turned over the necessary paperwork to me. I need to get my ARC to enroll in health insurance and to set up a bank account and get a check card. I’m hoping to kill two birds with one stone by allowing the boss to drive me; I am hoping that he will bring the table and chair directly to my apartment when he comes to pick me up. Good luck to me.

I went to Seoul and saw Yea Jin, which was a lot of fun. I arrived on Saturday a bit before noon and went to meet her after her orthodontist appointment, which entailed traveling on the subway by myself. However, the subway travel was incredibly easy and English-friendly and very clean. I give it an A. In comparison, NYC would get a C for ease of use for non-English speakers and cleanliness. Once we found each other she told me that her parents were in town and were going to take us to lunch. It was great to see her parents, too, but I wasn’t dressed appropriately at all! They took us to Blooming Garden, a “contemporary Italian” restaurant, which was somewhat fancy (and expensive). I had on jeans and a sweatshirt and had my big duffel/backpack of stuff for the weekend. Awkward.

Afterwards, we were going to go to the palaces but it was so late in the afternoon already when we arrived at her apartment that we changed our plans. Instead of taking a long-ish subway trip up to the palaces when it would be dark soon, we walked to Gangnam downtown area, not far from Yea Jin’s place. First we purchased movie tickets online for Moneyball, which was an excellent movie, but since they have assigned seats in movie theaters there was only one spot in the back left for two people. We snapped it up only to realize as we were walking into the theater that we had actually purchased a couple box! The back row was couple boxes: red velvet-looking love seat-like spaces with privacy sides built in and no armrests in between. It was pretty hilarious and also convenient since we were sharing a tub of popcorn (so good!). Before going to the theater in Gangnam we walked around, took pictures in a fancy picture booth where you could then decorate the pictures, and ate at Sabuken (?), a Japanese restaurant. I had fried fish and she had pork cutlet. Both came with shredded cabbage, rice, miso soup, and some other side dishes. I wasn’t a fan of the cabbage or the miso soup (which was different than the miso soup I’ve had in the past), but it was still a good dinner. I’m getting used to steel chopsticks again.

The next day we slept in (or Yea Jin did, at least) after going to bed in the wee hours of the morning. I ventured out to buy breakfast at a Paris Baguette Café to take to the apartment and watched TV while Yea Jin got ready. She then convinced me to put on some makeup, which she then added to after admitting watching American makeup Youtube videos (something she has in common with my sister). We went to church (in Korean) and she translated the service for me. After the service was over we examined our bulletins and found out that there had been an English language service at the same time (doh!). We were then going to go to the palaces but it was raining, so we decided to go to lunch first. We went to Bulgogi Brothers and had some bolgogi along with many side dishes and two traditional Korean soups. I’m not a fan of most side dishes and appetizers since they are so spicy, but I did like the lotus (never before have I seen it, but that’s what the vegetable name translated to in English), which tasted kind of like licorice, and the white kimchi was okay. The bolgogi was quite good and not at all spicy. The first soup was a red soup and was spicy and the second soup was a wheat noodle soup that you put vinegar and a type of mustard into, so it was sour. We then had a cold tea that is good for your stomach and bad breath. I thought it tasted like medicine (you know, the sickly sweet kid liquid medicine), but it wasn’t bad.

By the time we finished lunch it was 3:30 and we learned that the palaces closed at 4, so we didn’t go. We went back to Yea Jin’s and rested (she took a nap, I read), and then we went to Apujeong downtown after a quick stop at the bus terminal to purchase my return ticket. We walked around and saw many cute stores and boutiques and then took a taxi to Hak Saggori to go to Butterfingers Pancakes, a chain restaurant that serves Western (more American, maybe) breakfast. I had some delicious pancakes, hash browns, and bacon while Yea Jin had seasoned potatoes and an omelet. After returning to Yea Jin’s apartment we again went to bed in the wee hours of the morning. However, I had to get up at 6:30 to make my 8:00 AM bus back to Gwangju (to be back at work by 2 PM), so it was a long day Monday.

We’re hoping to meet up in Busan (where she’ll be after today, since her internship will end), but I only have the weekends free and won’t have any money until after the 20^th. We’ll see if it actually happens.

Budget woes!

Instead of getting paid this past Monday like I thought I would be, I actually won’t be paid until next month (4 more weeks!). So instead of my original budget (for a month) that turned into a budget for two weeks (after I learned my payday day), I really have to use the money for 6 weeks. Uh oh! I can make it, even with my upcoming trip to Seoul to visit my high school roommate for the weekend, but it will be a lot tighter than it has been. What I brought with me, even with the addition of 100,000 Won for start up costs, is still less than half what my monthly salary will be. Summary of my new financial planning: aside from a set amount for my trip to Seoul, I can only buy necessary food. No extras in any shape or form or I may not have the money for my phone bill (which will be higher than usual because of activation and registration fees or some such). Sigh.

On the up side, I have finally (after three trips in three days) wrapped up my mandatory hospital visits and can now go to the Immigration Office to apply for my ARC. There is a fee, though, so I might wait on it. Also, I only have a general idea of where the Immigration Office is located. What I wouldn't give for a comprehensive map in English.

South Korea: First Days

I’ve been in Gwangju for over a week now. I’ve mostly been keeping to my little corner of the city (Wolgye-dong, Gwangsan-gu), but I have been on guided tours (thank you, Emily and Jason) of downtown, the bus terminal shopping area, and parts of Seo-gu. 

I am now equipped with a bus charm and a bus map. The map is from 2009 and is entirely in Korean, so it’s not as helpful as it could be, but it is helping me find routes to my desired destinations. It is certainly more helpful than the city bus website, which is not only in Korean, but is also not user friendly. Even when I can understand the Korean I can’t make the darned site do what I want! Ditto for the bus app on my phone.

Speaking of my phone, I got mine last Monday. My hogwan had actually provided me with a temporary cell phone, which was nice, but I was glad to get my own. I am the proud owner of a Pantech Sky Vega X Plus smartphone, which is fully capable of internet, calls, and texting. Typing in Korean is also available on my phone which is really helpful, especially for the dictionary app.

My apartment leaves something to be desired. It is tiny (and I mean tiny), but that’s okay. What is not so okay is the lack of furniture and other items that would qualify it as a “fully furnished accommodation” as per the contract requirements. Thankfully, the day after I arrived, Emily came bearing gifts of necessities such as a chair, a toaster oven, toilet paper, paper towels, and dishes. We went to church (which turned out to be a special joint service of the Korean, Chinese, and English services, so we had to use a translation device) and then she took me shopping so that I could get some groceries and a pot, a pan, and a kitchen utensil. Funnily enough, a stove range doesn’t do you any good if you have no food and no cookware. I did talk to the director of my hogwan about the situation (through a Korean English teacher, since the director doesn’t speak much English) and he agreed to get me a table and a chair and he gave me W100,000 (a bit less than $100) to purchase the rest of what the apartment needs. Needless to say, that money won’t even come close to covering the cost of what the apartment should have in it, but I plan to take anything over that amount with me when I move out.

I went for the foreigner check up that I need to get my Alien Registration Card (ARC), which I need to open a bank account. It was quite an adventure as the hospital my hogwan sent me to does not have staff who are fluent in English. I felt so bad for the poor guy (a nurse, maybe, or some other medical-type person) who ended up guiding me around the hospital. He spoke a tiny bit of English (more than my few words and phrases in Korean), but it was still difficult enough for us to communicate that I ended up calling one of my Korean co-workers. After getting weighed, having my height, bust, hearing, eyesight, and blood pressure tested, and then getting a chest X-ray (for what purpose, I have no idea), my blood drawn (which went excellently; I practically felt nothing when the technician stuck me), and a pee-in-a-cup test (I believe for the purposes of checking for marijuana, which is highly illegal in Korea), I was sent on my merry way but told to come back tomorrow after 11 AM and bring two passport photos. I was under the impression that I would only need passport photos for the immigration office forms, but maybe they do that in the hospital. Who knows.

Five Things I Miss from Mexico

1. More flavorful and simpler food.
        The food here in Costa Rica is somewhat bland and attempts to make it not so just seem to drown it in fattening sauces, hot sauces, or cilantro. It's not that I don't like the food here (I like some of it), but I liked to food in Mexico better. I also was more comfortable with their eating schedule.

2. Hot showers.
        There is this concept in Costa Rica that people should take lukewarm to cold showers, and it is supported by their plumbing system. I'm not a fan.

3. Easy public transit.
        I don't know why the bus system is so much more complicated here and most of the drivers much less friendly, but I would give this area of Costa Rica a C in public transit, whereas Merida would earn an A.

4. Street names and addresses.
       Unfortunately, an American girl like me has no use for directions that say go 200 meters East, turn left, walk to the old lemon tree, turn right, and continue 350 meters South until you get to the blue house with white roof decorations. If only there were street names and signs and addresses with numbers, I wouldn't be so lost. After Merida's easy grid system, coming to a place that from a friend's description sounds a bit like Cameroon as far as directions go, I can't help but miss the simplicity.

5. Safe streets at night.
       Here it is not very safe after dark (6 PM), which means no going outside at night or out at all unless you take a taxi. Thieves abound during the day as well, there are many areas in this small town where you must be on guard for purse snatching, camera stealing, and the like. If you are carrying a large amount of money (say, to pay your rent), you had best take a taxi. Merida was extremely safe, even at 1 AM, so it has been a change.