It's Been 1 Year!!

Wow!  I know this sounds cliche, but this year has gone by unbelievably fast.  I remember Aug. 17, 2013 so vividly that I cannot believe it was a whole 12 months ago.  I remember waiting and waiting for the day of my flight to arrive, and when the time came, I was choking back tears, saying goodbye to my family, and wondering if I was making the right decision.  Now, 365 later, I know that moving abroad was one of the best decisions I've ever made.  It hasn't always been easy living in Korea (missing holidays, time with family and friends and special events), but I wouldn't change anything that's happened to me in the past year.

A collage of some of my experiences this year, also featuring some of my favorite people here!

(Family visiting, rafting, Taekwondo lesson, paragliding, basketball game, etc.)

Learning Korean hasn't been easy, but it's slowly coming along.  The stuff in this picture is sooo easy now.

In honor of my first year in Korea, I’ll tell you my top 5 likes and dislikes of living here (in no particular order):

1. Clothes DRYERS!!!  I could desperately use a dryer, but there non-existent here, so everything must air-dry.  I hate waiting...and I just want fluffy clothes again.

2. Food, food and food.  Yes, I've adjusted to Korean tastes and I will definitely miss certain Korean dishes when I decide to leave, but nothing beats the variety of American food.  If you want PopTarts, there's literally 30 flavors to choose from in the US.  And the only time I can get good Mexican food here is when I travel to Seoul, and if you think I'm paying a reasonable $7 for a meal that includes free chips and salsa, think again.  I also miss crab rangoon, root beer, hotdogs, mac n cheese, etc.  Bottom line here, I'm definitely not starving, but American cuisine wins the food battle hands down.

3.  Time Zones.  Of course the time difference just plain sucks.  Korea is 14 hours ahead of the U.S. which can make calling/texting/Skyping family and friends a bit of a pain because these things can only be done in the morning and late at night.  Have something exciting to share with your parents at 3pm here?? Well, you'll have to wait because it's currently 1am for them.

4.  Age.  The whole age difference thing is just damn confusing.  Korean has their own special way to calculate age, while the rest of the world is calculating the normal way.  So when people ask me how old I am, I have to stop myself from saying "23" (which is my real age) and say "25" instead.  Why do Koreans want to be older than they are??

5.  Relying on Others.  I'm a really independent person and like to do things on my own.  I've had to face the reality that I can't do everything on my own here.  There a huge language barrier (even though I'm slowly learning), and some things are just impossible.  Luckily, I have an awesome co-teacher who is readily available to translate for me in cases of emergencies (phone problems, doctor visits, bank problems, etc.)  I hate having to ask her to do things for me--especially because they're occurrences which I'd be able to handle on my own in the U.S.--but sometimes you just have to ask for help.

One of the people I rely on most in Korea: Jae Hee, my awesome co-teacher

Sooo enough about the negatives; let's focus on the positive aspects of living in Korea.  Of course there's too many to count, but I'll try to narrow it down.

1.  Easy-living.  I'll be honest, I have a really comfortable life here.  I make a decent paycheck with no taxes, my apartment is provided for me, vacation time is substantial and I only have 3 bills a month that are pretty minimal.  Korea is also a really safe place with very low crime and I never worry about walking alone.  I couldn't live this comfortably in the U.S. that's for sure.

2.  Travel.  I LOVE TRAVELING. During my vacation time, I'm always going somewhere new whether it's abroad or within Korea.  This past year I went to Japan, Thailand and Cambodia, along with numerous places in Korea as well.  I already have a list of places that I want to explore this year: Vietnam, Indonesia, etc. When else will I be able to explore Asia??

Petting a tiger during my trip to Thailand in January.

3.  Music Scene.  The Korean music scene is unlike anything I've seen or heard before.  KPOP is in a league of its own, but I love it.  KPOP is so catchy, and I've already developed favorite groups and singers (check out G-Dragon if you don't know who he is).  I still have faith that it will make its way to the U.S. soon.

Teaching! Because that's why I'm here...but look closely and my students are playing KPOP-themed UNO.

4.  Friends.  I didn't know ANYONE when I came to Korea.  I didn't even meet any other English-speakers until about 3 weeks into my time here.  Well, it's safe to say I'm no longer friend-less, although it did take time to meet and develop relationships with people here, Korean and foreign alike. I can say now that I've met some amazing people, people who I will definitely stay in contact with for a very long time.  I have so many friends here now that it's hard to make time for them all!! Oh, woe is me..

Some of my friends during last Thanksgiving

My partner in crime, Cara, who has made this year a lot more fun and interesting to say the least.

5.  Seoul.  I love city life, which may be odd considering I grew up in a town of 5,000 people.  In my opinion, cities are full of life, interesting people, and city lights at night are absolutely beautiful.  Seoul may be similar to other big cities, but it's still a really cool place and there's a lot of fun to be had there.

So I’ve known this for awhile now, but one year in Korea is just not enough.  So, I recently decided to extend my contract for another year.  Here's to round 2, and only time will tell the rest...   

   

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

One thing I've really missed this summer is hitting up a few Cardinals baseball games, grabbing a delicious ballpark hotdog, and watching my main man Molina behind the plate.  Lucky for me, apart from soccer, baseball is Korea's second-most popular sport.  There are nine national teams in the Korean Baseball League and games are extremely cheap to attend.  I've gone to two games this summer and both have been extremely fun!

I went to my first game in June with my friend Cara.  It was 4 o'clock, we were already in Seoul and decided to take the subway over to Jamsil Sports Complex to see if there was a game since all games are played in the evenings.  We were able to get tickets for the 5:30 game, and we were asked which seats we wanted: the $10, $12, or $15.  We decided to splurge and go for the $15 seats between third base and home plate, about 12 rows from the field.  Not bad for the "pricy" tickets.  The stadium is divided into two sections: home team section and visiting section; so when you buy tickets, you choose which side you want to sit on.  We decided just to sit with the home team which was the LG Twins.  The visitors were the SK Wyverns.  All teams are owned by a major Korean corporation.  

View of the field

My second game was just a couple weeks ago, and I got to spend it with the people I love most: my family!  During our time in Seoul, it was a MUST to see a game since we all love a little baseball action.  Of course we "splurged" for the same tickets too.  This time we saw LG play the Lotte Giants, which we were told are the equivalent of the NY Yankees in regards to Korean fan bases.  The Korean guy sitting next to my dad was wearing a special All-Star jersey, which eventually lead to a conversation.  We found out that this guy had obtained his Master's degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1996!  Talk about a small world!  Unfortunately this game was rained out in the 5th inning, but we still managed to witness a homerun and my brother and I left as jersey-holding members of the Giants fan base.

Family at the game...obviously I didn't get the memo about keeping our eyes open.

 My new jersey supporting Che Dae Seong, pitcher

The ballpark food isn't exactly what you would be able to find at Busch Stadium, but there is still quite the selection: Burger King, KFC, Pizza Hut, Smoothie King, etc.  Concession prices weren't overly inflated either which is always a plus.  Many people decide to skip the ballpark food altogether and order delivery to the stadium.  Fried chicken delivery is always the most popular choice for Koreans, and you can bring your own food into the stadium no problem.  My brother happened to be a huge fan of the $3 Budweiser tallboys.  Yep, you heard that right...$3.

Another great view from our seats.

If you go to a Korean baseball game, don't get upset when you don't heard the familiar "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" chant.  Instead, Koreans have their own chants which are led by cheerleaders.  Many of the chants are in tune to popular English songs; my personal favorite chant being the one to the tune of Disney's "It's a Small World".  

Hope you thought this post was a Grand Slam...sorry that wasn't as funny as I had hoped.  Until next time... 

          

Barbara in Korea: Adventures with my Mom

Ever since my mom booked her ticket to Korea in February, I've been counting down the days until she arrives.  Well, after a grueling 24-hour journey, she made it to Korea July 2nd.  I ditched school a little early so that I was able to meet her at the airport.  I had a big sign and smile waiting for her when she walked through the arrival gate; and, I got the hug I'd been waiting 11 months for!  

Since she's arrived, I think she's already experienced quite a lot; some things we've done together, and some things she's done alone because I'm still at work during the week.  On our first weekend together, I made sure to take my mom to the "hotspots" of Jecheon.  First on our list was Urimiji Lake, which is a reservoir on the outskirts of the city.  While there, we walked around the park which surrounds the lake and took a ride on a swan-shaped paddle boat.  There are a few food vendors in this area, so I was excited to have my mom try some authentic Korean street food including a chicken/coke cup and a spiral potato stick (which is a whole potato cut into a spiral shape, fried, and dipped in a seasoning of your choice).  We also took a walk through the rice fields.  Rice is a staple at every Korean meal, so there is a lot of land devoted to growing the stuff!  

My mom also got to see Cheongpung Lake, which is a large nearby lake.  My one landlord was kind enough to drive her there, give her a tour, and take her to dinner since I had to work.  

At Urimiji Lake

With the Jecheon characters

Street Food

Rice Fields

Afterwards, we stopped at the dog cafe to get our animal fix since we both miss our pets a lot.  As I've mentioned before, animal cafes are very popular in Korea, and we both really enjoyed playing with the several dogs that were there.  

This past weekend my mom, my co-teacher, a co-worker, my friend and I all headed to the east coast of Korea to see the infamous Haesindong Park, aka the Penis Park.  It attracts many visitors every year, especially foreigners...I'm sure you can guess why!  Yes, the park is filled with nothing but penis statues: fat penises, skinny penises, short penises, long penises, pensises with faces, and even a penis teeter-totter.  You get the picture.  The penis park doesn't just exist for dicks and giggles; there's a story behind it.  

The Tale:

Supposedly a long time ago, there was a young virgin girl who drowned in the ocean in which the park overlooks.  After the drowning, fishermen noticed that fish seemed to be disappearing from the water.  The fishermen concluded that the loss of fish must be because the girl was haunting the ocean and was angry after dying a virgin.  In order to appease the girl's spirit, the fishermen built penises, and more penises and more.  

Obviously these fishermen were smart, because, duh, what else does a virgin girl want?  Nowadays, the park is just a interesting place to visit in a very conservative country.  Did I mention there were families with young kids there?  No?  Well there were, and it was weird.

Penis teeter-totter

Since we were already near the coast, we decided to hit up a local beach.  The beach scene in Korea is quite different from the U.S.; instead of swimsuits, everyone is swimming in regular clothes, and instead of beach towels, there are tents set up on the beach.  Koreans even cook ramen and barbeque on the beach!  It's just a different experience here.  

Food is a big part of Korean culture, so I've had fun taking my mom to some different restaurants to try out Korean food.  The first place I took her was a traditional restaurant in which you eat on short tables and sit on the floor.  Traditional restaurants often serve each person a bowl of rice and then everyone shares multiple side dishes, usually soups and vegetable-based dishes which have been fermented.  We also ate Korean BBQ one night.  BBQ is my favorite here.  BBQ consists of cooking meat (pork, beef or duck) at your table and it is also served with many side dishes.  Surprisingly, my mom has seemed to enjoy Korean food; this was something that I definitely had to adjust to when I first arrived.  My mom has faced one major setback though: chopsticks!  She has been a trooper and tried using them at every meal, but the waiter always ends up bringing her a fork.  Some things just take time.  

Using chopsticks!

My mom has also visited my school on a few occasions and met many of my students and co-workers. Everyone has enjoyed asking her questions like "How old are you?", and we've also heard several times, "Same face!".  It's been a really great experience for my students to meet another "foreigner" and for my mom to finally meet the kids I've been teaching to the past year.  

Next week, we will be off to Jeju Island and Seoul for more adventures since I will be starting summer vacation.

Rafting in Yeongwol

Over the weekend, a few friends and I went rafting in Yeongwol, a nearby town about 25 minutes away.  It's currently typhoon season, but luckily the rain stayed away Saturday and it couldn't have been a better day to go.  I was kind of expecting white-water, Colorado style rapids, but Korea didn't quite live up to those expectations.  But it was a great time nonetheless!

We were the only "foreigner" raft on the whole river, so of course many people stared at us and some even shouted some friendly "hellos" our way.  We quickly learned that it is Korean custom to splash the rafts that you pass or that pass you while you make your way down the river.  Koreans made the splashing bit look really easy, but I proved to be a terrible splasher...it was definitely harder than it looked!!  You had to smack you paddle across the water to splash the raft alongside of you...or if you're me, you try to do it, fail, and then cover your head so you don't get water in your eyes.  I definitely let my raft team down in the splashing competitions.  Oh well, I made up for it by being a great paddler.  

About halfway down the river, we were able to anchor the raft and swim for a bit.  Many Koreans can't swim because they don't get a chance to take swimming lessons and their aren't any outdoor, recreational pools anywhere.  Because of this, I'm a little surprised that rafting and other swim-related activities are so popular.  Because Koreans can't really swim, everyone had to wear lifejackets and helmets the whole time on the raft...bummer.  But it was still a great time!

A friend on the trip had a GoPro and was able to get some great shots of us on our trip.  Here is a link to a video he made with the footage...check it out!    

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNY3cqt7WUE&list=UUVO3AX99iovlmun5WfkHrgw

The rafting crew!

Snappin' a few during our swim break...