Lately I have been thinking about what I like and dislike about Korea. So I decided to write it down and share it with everyone who reads the blog. (All two of you)
Always break the bad news first so here are the things that I don' like in no particular order:
Generally Korea is expensive. (of course this is relative) There are certain things that are even more expensive than the States. A watermelon for example is 20 US dollars. Beer is another commodity that is really expensive. A decent beer at a restaurant or bar will run you at least 7 bucks, over two a piece in the supermarket. Western food is at minimum 15 dollars a plate.
This may sound a little obvious but not many people here speak even a little English. In Cambodia you could almost always find someone in whatever vicinity you found yourself in that spoke a little English. On top of that Khmer was not that difficult to pronounce and understand.
Conversely I have found Korean very difficult to pick up. (granted I haven't put that much effort into it) It's not a simple language to pronounce and understand. On top of that it is rude in Korea to get to the point directly so most people are very ambiguous when they talk which makes it more of a challenge.
We live far from the city center so it takes us about an hour to get into the city when we want to go. Granted this includes hailing a cab, waiting for the bus etc. but that is all part of getting where we want to go.
It is also expensive to fly in and out of Korea. I miss the days of 90 dollar round trip flights to Thailand.
Korea is pretty monoculture. It has been a closed society for quite a while and people are very aware of what their neighbors are doing and feel they have to do the same. This of course is a generalization but nonetheless an observation I have made in my limited experience.
I miss riding my motorcycle.
We miss our family and friends.
OK now for the things I like:
Korea is a very modern city and as such it is easy to get what you need. If you want something you can usually find it fairly easily.
We don't have to worry that much about getting sick. The restaurants are usually really clean and the water is not really bad. Some people we work with drink straight from the tap. I don't do that in the States so I'm not doing it here. We just run it through a Britta filter, just like the States. The real reason the water issue is nice is that when we give Q a bath we don't have to be hyper conscious about him getting a little tiny bit of water in his mouth when he is splashing around.
Health care is also top notch and inexpensive.
The public transportation is safe, reliable, and inexpensive. We are getting to know the bus and subway system. They have bus only lanes on the expressways so even when traffic is bad the buses cruise right along.
There is mountain biking 10 minutes from the apartment. I started to GPS the trails in my area and have a plan to do some more exploratory sessions this weekend.
There is a sauna/bath house in the basement of our apartment building. It is huge and sweet. This will be the topic of a separate post.
The school we work so far has been bueno. The admin has been super supportive and the people we work with are A++. We are treated with respect and our ideas and opinions are valued. They are only concerned about our well being but the well being of Q man. It nice to know that he is being looked out for even when we are not around.
We make more money than we did in the states.
The air is clean and we have access to open space very close to our apartment. There is a river path that we can follow to school, and if we wanted to, all the way into Seoul. There is also a skate park and rock climbing wall across the street. And of course the trail system a short ride away.
Korean food is cheap and plentiful. Some friends recommended a great restaurant across the street. We went the other night and dinner for four people with beers came to 23 US.
Overall the people have been really friendly. Especially when they see Q. He of course loves the attention and makes new friends all the time. Last week J needed to have something done at the bank but doesn't get home from practice until 6 every night. I tried to do it for her but the bank would not let me. I explained the situation and they told me to come back at a little after 6 the next night. They waited for an hour and a half after they closed so that J could get her stuff taken care of. Over the top customer service. I have had this type of service on a number of occasions. I think it comes down to people being solution oriented. People seem to take pride in getting things done.
Tomorrow is Thursday and one day closer to the weekend and maybe some bungee. I'm off to bed...
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Today was our first day back at work after a really nice weeklong vacation. One thing cool about going back to work was realizing I was glad to see my coworkers. It made me realize again that I work with some really cool people. My students were well behaved to boot.
I ran into Julia on the 4th floor, which doesn’t usually happen since kinder is located on the 2nd, and everything she needs is either on her floor or below. She looked a bit concerned so I suspected something was not right. She told me that Quinn took a header face first on the ground. He has started running everywhere and scoots around at a good clip. I don’t think the rest of his reflexes have caught up with his new found foot speed. Anyway he was zipping along and next thing you know he was spread eagle on the floor and had used his face to break his fall. Like they say, like father like son; the only difference is that he wasn’t on a bike. He knocked a tooth loose, busted his lip, and scared the poop out of himself. He was bummed that he might loose a tooth that he actually just got in the last week.
The nursery ladies were beside themselves. They rushed him to the school nurse who immediately made an appointment at the dentist’s office. Julia took the afternoon off and went with him to the dentist’s office since Q didn’t bring his wallet and probably couldn’t pay for it himself. The dentist looked at it and said it was fine and would either fix it self or die and fall out. The appointment costs a whopping 10 bucks.
During our break the upstairs neighbors and we split a sitter and went into town to an area called Itaewon. Itaewon is an area near one of the military bases just north of the river. When it was built I’m sure it was outside of town but now has been swallowed by a booming metropolis. The area has a ton of great shopping (read cheap) and a good selection of western style restaurants and bars. We found some cool wall hangings for the apartment as well as neat toy for Q. It even has shops that specialize in “plus” sizes, which in addition to large girthed can also mean tall. We had a really good burger and fries and cruised about the shops for a couple hours. Here are our friends Brian and Gisella.
We hopped a bus back to our area and took it a couple more stops than where we got on to see where it went. It dropped us off and we waited for a cab. It seemed that all the cabs were avoiding this area for some reason so we jumped back on a bus and rode it a bit further. We got off up the road a bit and tried again but were unsuccessful in finding a cab. We could see our apartment off in the distance so we just decided to hoof it. It was actually not that bad of a walk. It probably took between 20-30 minutes.
This past Saturday Q went to his friend’s B-day party. The party was actually for his friend’s older sister but he didn’t mind. He got the B-day girl a sweet bubble gun that shot bubbles and flashed bright colors. It was a big hit.
Yesterday we bought Julia a bike at our neighborhood shop. It is a sweet Raleigh. Now we can ride to work if we want, get the groceries, ride up to visit friends, or just tool around and enjoy the nice weather. I’ll get some pics of J riding her new bike up soon.
I think some bungee jumping might be in the near future stay tuned.
I ran into Julia on the 4th floor, which doesn’t usually happen since kinder is located on the 2nd, and everything she needs is either on her floor or below. She looked a bit concerned so I suspected something was not right. She told me that Quinn took a header face first on the ground. He has started running everywhere and scoots around at a good clip. I don’t think the rest of his reflexes have caught up with his new found foot speed. Anyway he was zipping along and next thing you know he was spread eagle on the floor and had used his face to break his fall. Like they say, like father like son; the only difference is that he wasn’t on a bike. He knocked a tooth loose, busted his lip, and scared the poop out of himself. He was bummed that he might loose a tooth that he actually just got in the last week.
The nursery ladies were beside themselves. They rushed him to the school nurse who immediately made an appointment at the dentist’s office. Julia took the afternoon off and went with him to the dentist’s office since Q didn’t bring his wallet and probably couldn’t pay for it himself. The dentist looked at it and said it was fine and would either fix it self or die and fall out. The appointment costs a whopping 10 bucks.
During our break the upstairs neighbors and we split a sitter and went into town to an area called Itaewon. Itaewon is an area near one of the military bases just north of the river. When it was built I’m sure it was outside of town but now has been swallowed by a booming metropolis. The area has a ton of great shopping (read cheap) and a good selection of western style restaurants and bars. We found some cool wall hangings for the apartment as well as neat toy for Q. It even has shops that specialize in “plus” sizes, which in addition to large girthed can also mean tall. We had a really good burger and fries and cruised about the shops for a couple hours. Here are our friends Brian and Gisella.
We hopped a bus back to our area and took it a couple more stops than where we got on to see where it went. It dropped us off and we waited for a cab. It seemed that all the cabs were avoiding this area for some reason so we jumped back on a bus and rode it a bit further. We got off up the road a bit and tried again but were unsuccessful in finding a cab. We could see our apartment off in the distance so we just decided to hoof it. It was actually not that bad of a walk. It probably took between 20-30 minutes.
This past Saturday Q went to his friend’s B-day party. The party was actually for his friend’s older sister but he didn’t mind. He got the B-day girl a sweet bubble gun that shot bubbles and flashed bright colors. It was a big hit.
Yesterday we bought Julia a bike at our neighborhood shop. It is a sweet Raleigh. Now we can ride to work if we want, get the groceries, ride up to visit friends, or just tool around and enjoy the nice weather. I’ll get some pics of J riding her new bike up soon.
I think some bungee jumping might be in the near future stay tuned.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Vacation Mode
Aahhhh it feels good to be on vacation. I was completely and totally ready to have a break. It has been go go go since we got here. Now we have a week to do all the things that we have been wanting to do. Or we can choose to do nothing at all and rest up.
So far the break seems to have gotten of to a good start. We have been engaging in good mixture of relaxing, fun, chill and non-stressful activities. I got a good ride in on Saturday before going out to meet with friends that evening. We also had a chance to walk around the neighborhood a bit more and take mental stock of the restaurants and shops. There are an abundance of coffee shops which is good. The earliest doesn't open until 8 AM, not so good. It was a great day to walk around the hood as 70% of the shops were closed and most of the residents were out of the city visiting relatives. We could meander along taking our time to notice all the things you miss when there are hordes of people, cyclists, rollerbladers, baby-strollers, motos and any number of other wheeled contraptions whizzing about as you navigate the sidewalks.
Saturday night I met some buddies for a night out on the town. We met up at Jeongja station and hopped a bus into the city. 40 minutes later we were there, almost where we wanted to be. A short taxi ride and we had arrived at our destination, which to be honest was not anywhere specifically. We were in an area called Sinchon which was more or less our generic destination. We took stock of the wants of the group and decided to for Mexican food.
A short walk ensued and, with bubbling enthusiasm we arrived at a Mexican food restaurant. Then someone threw us a curve ball. It was closed for the holiday. Ooohhhhh. Not to fret, we moved on to Korean food. Our trusty guide BH took us to a great little dive he knew of. It was cheap, tasty and the service was great. Here is a pic of our dinning local.
After filling our bellies we hopped from bar to bar for a couple hours. We mostly stuck to bars that had massive libraries of vinyl records behind the bar from which patrons could request songs. It was really cool to see and even cooler to here great songs being played off vinyl. Here are a couple of such establishments.
Notice the little slips of paper on which you scribble your request.
Check out the LP's lining the wall behind the bar.
We nicknamed this guy the Asian John Belushi, or AJB.
Ahhh, nothing like a Lowenbrau.
Classic.
Sunday J, Q and I hopped in a taxi, then in a bus and went into the city to visit with our friends Stu, Sheree and their two daughters. We walked around sightseeing and spent a couple hours just shooting the breeze. It was great to see them and catch up. They are great people and we are excited to have the opportunity to hang out with them again. Here are some pics from our outing.
Today has been a lazy day. We took a walk this morning down by the river near our apartment. I'll post some photos in a bit.
The only thing we have planned is to check out the Indian food restaurant in our neighborhood later with our upstairs neighbors the Longbothoms. I am crossing my fingers that it is open.
Adios,
So far the break seems to have gotten of to a good start. We have been engaging in good mixture of relaxing, fun, chill and non-stressful activities. I got a good ride in on Saturday before going out to meet with friends that evening. We also had a chance to walk around the neighborhood a bit more and take mental stock of the restaurants and shops. There are an abundance of coffee shops which is good. The earliest doesn't open until 8 AM, not so good. It was a great day to walk around the hood as 70% of the shops were closed and most of the residents were out of the city visiting relatives. We could meander along taking our time to notice all the things you miss when there are hordes of people, cyclists, rollerbladers, baby-strollers, motos and any number of other wheeled contraptions whizzing about as you navigate the sidewalks.
Saturday night I met some buddies for a night out on the town. We met up at Jeongja station and hopped a bus into the city. 40 minutes later we were there, almost where we wanted to be. A short taxi ride and we had arrived at our destination, which to be honest was not anywhere specifically. We were in an area called Sinchon which was more or less our generic destination. We took stock of the wants of the group and decided to for Mexican food.
A short walk ensued and, with bubbling enthusiasm we arrived at a Mexican food restaurant. Then someone threw us a curve ball. It was closed for the holiday. Ooohhhhh. Not to fret, we moved on to Korean food. Our trusty guide BH took us to a great little dive he knew of. It was cheap, tasty and the service was great. Here is a pic of our dinning local.
After filling our bellies we hopped from bar to bar for a couple hours. We mostly stuck to bars that had massive libraries of vinyl records behind the bar from which patrons could request songs. It was really cool to see and even cooler to here great songs being played off vinyl. Here are a couple of such establishments.
Notice the little slips of paper on which you scribble your request.
Check out the LP's lining the wall behind the bar.
We nicknamed this guy the Asian John Belushi, or AJB.
Ahhh, nothing like a Lowenbrau.
Classic.
Sunday J, Q and I hopped in a taxi, then in a bus and went into the city to visit with our friends Stu, Sheree and their two daughters. We walked around sightseeing and spent a couple hours just shooting the breeze. It was great to see them and catch up. They are great people and we are excited to have the opportunity to hang out with them again. Here are some pics from our outing.
Today has been a lazy day. We took a walk this morning down by the river near our apartment. I'll post some photos in a bit.
The only thing we have planned is to check out the Indian food restaurant in our neighborhood later with our upstairs neighbors the Longbothoms. I am crossing my fingers that it is open.
Adios,
Saturday, September 13, 2008
A Couple Pics
Here are a couple pics of late:
Here is J and Q walking by a flowery field next to our apartment on their way to the coffee shop.
Here is the Q-man helping me put together the fixie.
Here he is doing his impression of Buckethead the guitarist.
Adios,
Here is J and Q walking by a flowery field next to our apartment on their way to the coffee shop.
Here is the Q-man helping me put together the fixie.
Here he is doing his impression of Buckethead the guitarist.
Adios,
Monday, September 8, 2008
Party Time
Well this Saturday we had a school social that was co-sponsored by another international school here in Seoul. It was at a groovy bar called "New York Bar". It had cool features like a huge fish tank in the ceiling and a bird cage surrounded by a fish tank.
When it comes to going out we have been switching babysitting duties. One weekend Julia goes out and one weekend I go out. It works out well unless we want to hang out together. We have had numerous offers from other teachers willing to babysit but the only problem is that they all go to the socials as well. So this weekend we took the plunge and hired a service. The school researched a couple places and passed on their numbers to us. I called up and talked to a gentleman who spoke great English about the ins and outs of his service. He was very accommodating and informative and was able to schedule a sitter to arrive at our house at 5:30. We were not leaving until at least 7 but we thought it would be a good idea for all of use to hang out and get to know each other. Especially Quinn. I wouldn't want him waking up only to find a complete stranger in the house.
He seemed to like her right off the bat. She seemed to have that natural ability with kids and I think that put him at ease as well. He also like the fact that she paid complete and total attention to only him. It was nice because we were able to get some stuff done and get ready while she kept Q occupied. We told her we would be back by 11 and headed out.
It was great to get to go out together and hang out with our new friends and colleagues. We arrived at the NYB after wandering the block for a couple minutes feeling lost. One of the first people we ran into was our principal who was carrying around a bottle of tequila. A great way to start a party! It was great to be out and enjoying time with our new friends together. We stayed until about 10:15 at which time we hopped back on the subway and headed home. We arrived at our door at almost exactly 11:00. Not bad.
The sitter said that Q slept well. She seemed happy, we were happy, Q was happy.
The next morning I went for a bike ride in search of some trails in my area. After searching and climbing for a little over an hour I actually found some trails. As it turns out I climbed around the backside of the mountain and came up on the mountain top from the opposite direction of the trails. I chatted for a bit with a nice Korean man who spoke good English about the trail network. I got a general understanding of what went where. I took pictures of the trail signs so I can translate them and find out where they lead. I had a great ride down, down, down and was popped out not 2 miles from our apartment. Now that I know where to access the trail system I will definitely be exploring it in the upcoming months.
Today I was able to ride the fixie to work. It took about 30 minutes to get there and 20 to get back. As always it was a pleasant way to begin and end the workday. The kicker is climbing the hill to the school. The school is built on the side of a hill and it is a pretty steep climb up.
We had a great outing to Yuldong park. We hung out on the grass and watched the bungee jumpers leap off and bounce around. We decided that we need to get together a "Park Pack" that is stocked with all the essentials needed for a successful outing. There are a ton of cool parks in the city to take advantage of. Of course I forgot to bring my camera. Julia reminded me...on the subway...a little late. Next time.
4 days to vacation!!
When it comes to going out we have been switching babysitting duties. One weekend Julia goes out and one weekend I go out. It works out well unless we want to hang out together. We have had numerous offers from other teachers willing to babysit but the only problem is that they all go to the socials as well. So this weekend we took the plunge and hired a service. The school researched a couple places and passed on their numbers to us. I called up and talked to a gentleman who spoke great English about the ins and outs of his service. He was very accommodating and informative and was able to schedule a sitter to arrive at our house at 5:30. We were not leaving until at least 7 but we thought it would be a good idea for all of use to hang out and get to know each other. Especially Quinn. I wouldn't want him waking up only to find a complete stranger in the house.
He seemed to like her right off the bat. She seemed to have that natural ability with kids and I think that put him at ease as well. He also like the fact that she paid complete and total attention to only him. It was nice because we were able to get some stuff done and get ready while she kept Q occupied. We told her we would be back by 11 and headed out.
It was great to get to go out together and hang out with our new friends and colleagues. We arrived at the NYB after wandering the block for a couple minutes feeling lost. One of the first people we ran into was our principal who was carrying around a bottle of tequila. A great way to start a party! It was great to be out and enjoying time with our new friends together. We stayed until about 10:15 at which time we hopped back on the subway and headed home. We arrived at our door at almost exactly 11:00. Not bad.
The sitter said that Q slept well. She seemed happy, we were happy, Q was happy.
The next morning I went for a bike ride in search of some trails in my area. After searching and climbing for a little over an hour I actually found some trails. As it turns out I climbed around the backside of the mountain and came up on the mountain top from the opposite direction of the trails. I chatted for a bit with a nice Korean man who spoke good English about the trail network. I got a general understanding of what went where. I took pictures of the trail signs so I can translate them and find out where they lead. I had a great ride down, down, down and was popped out not 2 miles from our apartment. Now that I know where to access the trail system I will definitely be exploring it in the upcoming months.
Today I was able to ride the fixie to work. It took about 30 minutes to get there and 20 to get back. As always it was a pleasant way to begin and end the workday. The kicker is climbing the hill to the school. The school is built on the side of a hill and it is a pretty steep climb up.
We had a great outing to Yuldong park. We hung out on the grass and watched the bungee jumpers leap off and bounce around. We decided that we need to get together a "Park Pack" that is stocked with all the essentials needed for a successful outing. There are a ton of cool parks in the city to take advantage of. Of course I forgot to bring my camera. Julia reminded me...on the subway...a little late. Next time.
4 days to vacation!!
Saturday, September 6, 2008
On The Move
Wow it feels like we have been full throttle all week. Tuesday made the whole week feel extra long because we didn't get home until after 10 pm. It was the school's curriculum night. The parents had a chance to come by and see what we are doing in the classroom.
Our upstairs neighbors both work in the high school whose curriculum night was two nights later. We swapped babysitting duties with them which worked out super well.
Speaking of babysitters we are breaking new ground tonight and have hired a babysitter. She works for an organization that was recommended by the school. We had her come by a little early so we could all hang out together and Quinn could feel a little more comfortable when we leave him with a total stranger. Actually he will be asleep by the time we leave and never know the difference.
Another big event this week was my dad stopping by for a couple hours. As I mentioned he had a long layover and hopped a shuttle into town. He was going to ship my bike from Jakarta for me because the airline would not let him only check it through to Seoul. He checked again at the airport in Tucson and they told him the same thing again. He checked again in LA and they were able to do it for him. YES. So he lugged it onto the shuttle for me and met me at a subway stop near our house. We came to our apartment so he could shower and then took a taxi to school where I gave him a whirlwind tour of the facilities. He was able to see J and Q for a couple minutes before we had to hop back in a taxi and head back to the shuttle drop off/pick up spot.
It was great to see him and to get my bike was a nice bonus.
Kudos to Bryan for getting my bike packed up as well as making and attaching some sweet handles to the boxes. They came in handy when I had to carry it from the subway station to the apartment.
Julia had a volleyball game this Friday. I took Q to watch the first three games. They lost the first and then won the next three. There were quite a few people watching and cheering on KIS. J did a superb job of coaching the girls to victory and of course everyone was very stoked with a win.
Another big bonus this week is that we both got cellphones. YEAH.
We have a week long holiday starting in one week. I am very ready for it. But then again I am always ready for vacation.
I'll try and get some pics tomorrow and get them up.
Adios
Our upstairs neighbors both work in the high school whose curriculum night was two nights later. We swapped babysitting duties with them which worked out super well.
Speaking of babysitters we are breaking new ground tonight and have hired a babysitter. She works for an organization that was recommended by the school. We had her come by a little early so we could all hang out together and Quinn could feel a little more comfortable when we leave him with a total stranger. Actually he will be asleep by the time we leave and never know the difference.
Another big event this week was my dad stopping by for a couple hours. As I mentioned he had a long layover and hopped a shuttle into town. He was going to ship my bike from Jakarta for me because the airline would not let him only check it through to Seoul. He checked again at the airport in Tucson and they told him the same thing again. He checked again in LA and they were able to do it for him. YES. So he lugged it onto the shuttle for me and met me at a subway stop near our house. We came to our apartment so he could shower and then took a taxi to school where I gave him a whirlwind tour of the facilities. He was able to see J and Q for a couple minutes before we had to hop back in a taxi and head back to the shuttle drop off/pick up spot.
It was great to see him and to get my bike was a nice bonus.
Kudos to Bryan for getting my bike packed up as well as making and attaching some sweet handles to the boxes. They came in handy when I had to carry it from the subway station to the apartment.
Julia had a volleyball game this Friday. I took Q to watch the first three games. They lost the first and then won the next three. There were quite a few people watching and cheering on KIS. J did a superb job of coaching the girls to victory and of course everyone was very stoked with a win.
Another big bonus this week is that we both got cellphones. YEAH.
We have a week long holiday starting in one week. I am very ready for it. But then again I am always ready for vacation.
I'll try and get some pics tomorrow and get them up.
Adios
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Visitor
This week has been a busy one. Last night we had curriculum night and didn't get home until after 10:00. I was a bit tired today but I'm sure that J was had it worse. She had her first game tonight. Who knows what time she will get home tonight. Hopefully she will get home with enough time to chill out a bit before hitting the sack. Another bummer for her is that she has to go to work tomorrow. I am taking the day off to hang out with my Pops. He has a very long layover tomorrow so the plan is that he's going to hop on an airport shuttle to our area of town. I look forward to seeing him and showing him around.
Another bonus of my dad coming through is that he is bringing my fixed gear with him. He can't partially check it so he has to ship it to me from Jakarta. Not a big deal as it will save me around 400 bucks. Gotta love that.
Speaking of bikes I found a really cool bike shop this past weekend. On top of having a sweet shop the owner speaks great English. The name of the shop is Plush. I was so excited to find it partly it stocks fixed gear bikes and parts.
J just walked in and informed me that the team lost. It went to five games and she said the girls did great. GO KIS!!
Adios,
Another bonus of my dad coming through is that he is bringing my fixed gear with him. He can't partially check it so he has to ship it to me from Jakarta. Not a big deal as it will save me around 400 bucks. Gotta love that.
Speaking of bikes I found a really cool bike shop this past weekend. On top of having a sweet shop the owner speaks great English. The name of the shop is Plush. I was so excited to find it partly it stocks fixed gear bikes and parts.
J just walked in and informed me that the team lost. It went to five games and she said the girls did great. GO KIS!!
Adios,
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