New Year's in Busan and Gyeongju! Pt. 1

This is a post from my newest blog. I am too lazy to make another one on this blog.

This one should suffice anyways. It's about me and Jaeeun's trip to Busan and Gyeongju

for New Year's. Enjoy!

I like Jaeeun. She is full of great ideas. One of her great ideas was our special trip to Gyeongju and Busan. It turned to be my most fun filled experience in Korea. The sights we saw and our time together created new stories and memories for us.

Phase 1: Planning

Me and Jaeeun decided to go to Busan and Gyeongju maybe three weeks prior to our trip. We had an interesting time trying to prepare for the trip. Me with my limited Korean and Jaeeun with her limited English. We planned and planned and planned...

However, our plans weren't cemented until 8 hours before we left. As stressful and as humorous as it was we got the job done! Oh but don't worry! We had more surprises and difficulties ahead!

Phase 2: Getting There

We left early on the morning with our Nailro Passes, We bought five day passes to use the Korail trains for only about 50,000 Won ($45), a wonderful deal! However, the logistics of getting to Busan from Mokpo...not so wonderful. We first had to head North, yes North to reach Busan. (Mokpo is in the Southwest corner of Korea while Busan is in the Southeast). So we endured a long train ride up north lasting for several hours to the tourist hotspot of Sintanjin Station (terrible place...absolutely nothing).

Sintanjin Station

After Sintanjin we made the last leg of the trip to Busan in a train with no seats available. We had to tough it in the train cafe. The little cafe also had little Noraebangs (singing rooms) included. The last hour we enjoyed the sounds and melodies of a very overconfident Korean male singing his heart and soul out. Through the grimaces and laughter we made it to Busan!

Enduring the sounds of train Noraebang

Phase 3: The Trip

Day 1: Busan

We finally made it to Busan. I never wanted to see another train again in my life or be within earshot of another Noraebang. My first impressions from Busan? Different! This is a city unlike any other city in Korea. It seems more spread out than Seoul, it is warmer, it is next to the ocean and also has a lot of influence from Japanese culture.

Busan Station

Our first stop was Namdo. An area known for hosting the BIFF (Busan International Film Festival), the biggest of it's kind in Asia. We weren't here for the BIFF, we were here for street food! Hodeok, a donut filled with nuts and other things was our target. It was also the target of about 100 other people too. The wait was long but we finally got our prize!

Hodeok!

After Namdo is was off to Jagalchi Fish Market. It is Korea's largest fish market and incredibly massive! On the way in we found whale meat, Jaeeun didn't approve. Inside are hundreds of stalls in the multi story complex that sell hundreds of different kinds of seafood. It was impressive and busy and full of thousands of unfortunate fish.

Jagalchi Fish Market

Outside Jagalchi

After Jagalchi we walked back to Namdo and ate some amazing pork. If there is a pork heaven, Korea is the place. This pork was heaped onto our table. It was a beautiful thing. Thank you Jaeeun for taking me here :)

Mounds of pork...

Reason 384 to come to Korea

Our stomachs were full and we were a little tired. It was time to head to Haeundae to find our hostel, the Pobi Guesthouse. If you know Busan you know that Haeundae is the most famous location. It boasts one of the best beaches in all of Korea. Our Guesthouse was a five minute walk from the beach (too bad it was winter). We shared a room with 3 Korean guys about our age. For it's price it was great! Especially given it's location! After settling down we went back to Namdo again. This time to Arirang Goli or Arirang Street. Arirang Street was completely decorated for Christmas with lights everywhere! Jaeeun definitely fell under the spell of Arirang Street. This was easily one of our favorite parts of Busan.

Arirang Street

Arirang Street and Jaeeun

We love penguins!

Arirang Street

A Christmas Angel

After Arirang Street it was back to Haeundae. We did a little exploring, went to an Irish pub and I become hungry. I needed to find some Japanese Ramen. Our mission was to find food for me, Jaeeun insisted she wasn't hungry. We found it, Jaeeun ate it too. After that it was off to Pobi. Day 1 was a smashing success.

Finishing Strong.

T-6 weeks or so.

It's the final stretch of my year in Korea.

My thoughts?

First and foremost is why I have neglected my blog so much. In actuality this is not true. However it weighs heavily on my tender soul. I will do my utmost to fill the gaps of the last 3 months.

What have learned these past 11 months? I have learned to depend more on myself to make decisions. What time will I wake up, what time to go get or make lunch. To do food shopping alone every week. To pay my bills and to make some hard decisions. I have learned to grow up a lot. A 23 year old boy became a real man in the past 11 months. I'm glad I didn't end up going the other way.

Perhaps the greatest reward was meeting my now current girlfriend. I met her in November, in the most random place. She caught my eye just like in the movies. I introduced my self and here we are now. Our relationship will be the subject of another blog I plan to create. Did I mention she is Korean?

Another reward has been the appreciation for family and friends. Absence does make the heart grow fonder for those we truly love. I will able to see my parents influence on my life when I made my daily decisions. I have so much to truly thank them for. The maturation process here did wonders for me.

Next I found motivation. Motivation to fill up each day with constant activity. Full of teaching, exercising, traveling, running errands and spending time with friends. An idle life would suffocate me. My constant activity instilled a good deal of motivation for my future. A motivation to continue education and to reach for higher goals in my career and lifestyle.

So many things have come out of my experience here. Too many to write in one sitting. I am too impatient and I am eating my dinner. It just isn't possible.

So over the next few weeks I hope to catch everyone up on the following:

• Trip #2 to the DMZ
• Random events and trips that I forgot about in my cluttered mind
• Busan
• Gyeongju

The future is bright and cheery!

(Korean) Kids Say the Darndest Things

What students or have written for me. Many more to come for sure.

"I like turtles!"

"I don't like distilled spirits."

"I would like a straight shot of gin."

"I have an itchy sensation on my pubic region."

"Mostly friends obesity."

"I knocked my friends sister."

"Teacher, yesterday my dream you die."

"Teacher, son of a ----- is what?

"Teacher, I want to eat Snoopy boshintang (dog soup)"

"Teacher, why people die?...because of you."

"Steve Jobs eat Apple and die"

"Heil Teacher!" (One of my students says this to me everyday) :(

"My sister is Gadaffi"

"My father is Kim Jong Il"

"Everyday I'm shopping mall" (incorrect lyric from Party Rock Anthem, but a hit in my mind)

Boy 1: "Teacher he is crazy" *points to a girl

Me: "He?"

Boy2: "Yes, transexual"

Things that amuse me

The following are things I find amusing, frustrating or humorous about my stay in this country...

I. Kimchi*

II. The notion that all Korean food is too spicy for waygooks (foreigners). This one drives me particularly insane. i.e. Korean: "I think this is too spicy for you", when talking about any Korean food that happens to be served. My typical reply: "No, this isn't spicy at all", or "I love this", or "You clearly haven't had hot wings or good Mexican food." This particular instance, when it happens, actually makes me kind of mad. At the same time I want to prove my spicy food courage and swallow a whole Korean chili pepper in front of said person, it usually ends bad.

III. The assumption that all foreigners don't speak Korean. This is particularly true in Seoul where everyone speaks English to foreigners. It is a rather nice luxury but I am not one to be spoiled and enjoy it for long, hence living in Mokpo where few speak English fluently. Why is this amusing? I speak some Korean, I have a rather decent ear for it at this point. So when Koreans I amy or may not know start speaking in Korean when I am with them I have the power to eavesdrop. The great reward is when the conversation is about me or I chime in on a particular subject. Much to there surprise, rarely to their chagrin.

IV. The assumption that all foreigners do speak Korean. Very true in Mokpo, where ajummas and ajushis may walk up to you and start speaking Korean. You tell them you don't speak Korean, they continue speaking Korean like you said nothing. This usually results in me apologizing and walking away. You can have a lot of fun with this by just nodding you head and saying ne (yes).

V. The lack of communication. Every foreigners knows about this. Korean assume and act on their assumptions a lot. Even when the assumption is bound to offend another person. You leave your wallet in you friends car, your friend will return your wallet but take some of the money. This is Korean custom and not looked down upon. You have an appointment/date, your friend shows up thirty minutes late without telling you. Your friend needs to borrow something, your friend takes yours without asking. None of these have happened to me, but these are pretty common stories/examples.

VI. The driving and law enforcement. Bigger always wins and traffic laws are merely guidelines.

VII. The two questions that rack my brain literally everyday. When you talk to any Korean, whether you are passing by on the street, you are in the classroom or in a cab you are bound to get these two deep and meaningful questions right off the bat. First: "Where are you from?" I understand the great curiosity of seeing someone that doesn't look like you. I really do understand that in a mostly homogenous culture this question is very valid. I just always picture myself asking an Asian-American or African-American where they are from. I get a little giggle, it's not necessary in America. My typical reply, "Mokpo".

The second all important question: "Do you have a girlfriend?" Day in and day out I get this question. My students ask literally every single day. I don't know how they can forget, I would think I would have drilled it into their heads at this point. Maybe it's just a deeply caring status update on my life they want. I don't think so though.

This is all I can think of right now. More thoughts to come I am sure!

*In regards to Kimchi and in close relation to item II. Kimchi is an obsession among many Koreans. I have a deep admiration for the proud, the few, the Koreans who don't like Kimchi or don't require it at every meal. There is also the notion that "kimchi is too spicy for you I think." Or there is the ever present and always occurring question of "Do you know kimchi?" Kimchi is great, don't get me wrong. However, it's not worth having at every blessed meal, at least for this waygook. You know it is a problem when you take your Korean friends out to a nice foreign restaurant complete with foreign cooks and servers and they cry out for mercy for kimchi. That is obsession. When I go for foreign food I don't ask for my fatty American side dishes. Enough said, and I really do enjoy Kimchi.

Five days in Nippon-koku.

It was an inevitable journey that I had to take. I knew for sure that I would one day set foot onto the islands of Japan. There is a mysterious aura that I associate with Japan. It’s fascinating history and curious people aren’t comparable to any in the world. They are distinct behaviorally from other Asian cultures. Long isolated to their islands until the 19^th Century they have cultivated themselves into something beautiful. As a yonsei or 4^th generation Japanese-American I was drawn to what my family was and where they came from. It was one my pilgrimages in life, albeit a very short one. For five days of overload travel I was able to soak in the Japanese culture, barely enough to satisfy my craving for Japan.

From the end of July through the first three days of August I was able to cram in a summer vacation to Japan. When all was said and done it turned into the most expensive five days of my life. I wouldn’t trade those days back though. My journey covered primarily Tokyo, five days is hardly ample time to travel around Japan without mental breakdown. I was able to spend most of my time with my college friend, Matt Henry, who lives and works in Tokyo. Between traveling it was nice to catch up with an old friend and watch some Kurosawa films and catch up.

It would be too long to talk of all my travels in Tokyo. I did most of the touristy things that any foreigner would. I walked through the Shinjuku electric city, the intensely packed streets of Shibuya and its famous crosswalk. I walked through the beautiful Ueno and Meiji Parks and walked the perimeter of the Imperial Palace. I braved the sardine-like subways and melted into crowds in Asakusa. I was just one person in a sprawling city thirty million or so active people.

It was a place so distinctly different than Korea. The people look different, the people act different, the food, the religion, the city life and hundreds of little differences caught my eye. After living in Korea for over six months sensitivity has grown into my perception of culture. We Americans and other Westerners often mesh all Oriental cultures into one homogeneous blob. The reality is far different than the simple stereotype. Each Asian culture is incredibly different than it’s neighbors. The past six months in Korea and those 5 days in Japan are truly invaluable. It is something I wish everyone could experience. The importance of travel and experiencing worlds outside our own little bubbles cannot be overlooked.

More to come on Japan and Korea...

Mokpo, Cyclist Heaven

Avid bikers be aware, Mokpo and most of Korea is a haven for those aching to get out and explore on their bicycles. Perhaps one of the most convenient aspects of living in Mokpo is it's accessibility for cyclists. Virtually every road has a bike line on it's sidewalks. With low pedestrian traffic this makes Mokpo incredibly easy to travel around via a bicycle. For a city of a quarter million it makes a daunting task less threatening and very enjoyable. It will take 30-45 minutes to bike from one end of Mokpo to the other on mostly flat terrain. If you are longing to see the countryside of Korea it is not difficult to hop on you bike and head in any direction to see the beautiful Korean countryside dotted with small villages and plenty of rice paddies. My favorite route takes me east through Namak and Muan along the waterside and onto a highway under construction. Construction continues into weekends so it is wise to head out early in the morning to avoid being yelled at by the construction workers which of course happened last time. This route takes me along the water front and through Korea's rolling hills. It's a beautiful refresher and escape from the repetitive life in the city.
I typically go for 25 miles or so and this takes about 3 hours. One of many things I have found that I enjoy is cycling. I have easily put two or three hundred miles onto my bike the past 5 months I have had it. I definitely plan on continuing cycling when I get back to the states.

Halfway There

It's been way too long since a post, way too long.
Typhoon Muafi is blowing through Mokpo at the moment so I have had ample to time to sit down and be unproductive today. It's been an odd past few weeks or so. I have been busy as ever and struggling to find time to slow down and catch my breath. I am about halfway through my contract and have reached that midway slump where time seems to freeze and you feel a little trapped. I have kept plenty busy with travel and fun but two of my close friends I made here in Mokpo have left there jobs and moved on from ESL teaching in Korea. So here I am, given a new start. Not sure it was the kind of start I wanted to the second half of my contract but I will roll with the punches and look to an even brighter future. Here's to the next six months and many more posts coming ASAP!