Day 15: The Amazing Race, revisited...

Today was graduation day for our kindergartens, and I'm feeling so proud of them! Each of them, in their cap and gown, received their little diploma, bouquet of flowers, and some said a little thank you speech in Korean to their families and teachers - how sweet! Awww shucks, my kids are all growing up... *sniff sniff*
:-) It's amazing how attached I'm becoming to some of these kids already. Kindergartens are still very much at an 'innocent stage' in their lives, when all they know is play time and games, and all seem to give out love so unconditionally. As frustrating as they can be to teach sometimes, they're still adorable. I must admit that I really do love walking into class every morning and having several of them run up and give me a big hug.

And hey the big surprise today was that there was no singing involved! I don't know if either plans changed or maybe I just never understood them in the first place, but there was no rendition of "My Love" from the elementaries! I was relieved at not having to try and sing that song in front of everybody, and plus I really have heard it enough times for a lifetime or two already..

And once again, it was 'photo shoot' time again after the formalities, as all the parents wanted to have me in a photo of their kid. I'm getting used to this 'popularity avec the cameras' thing and must admit that I kinda enjoy it... I was a big hit with all the Moms today, but that should come as no surprise. I've always been "in with the Moms" of all my friends my whole life. I remember having a conversation with Karen and Ellen in the Red River Road Seattle Coffee House about this about two years ago, and today I was having flashbacks back to that chat. The Moms can be quite flirty with me which is kinda fun yet also a little uncomfortable for me. One of my favourite pupils is this kid named Steven, and his Mom thought I was the greatest thing since kimchee. She kept touching me and saying stuff like "Ooohhh, Scott is hot!" in her thick Korean accent. I wanted to play it up, but with little Steven there watching the whole thing, so I thought it was best to behave myself. (Note to self: must inform Fountains of Wayne that it's actually Steven's Mom that's got it going on, and not Stacie's!)

After graduation Steven took all of us teachers out for dinner to a nearby Japanese restaurant. I was a little nervous when he mentioned the restaurant choice, as Japanese is a type of food that I can only handle on certain days - I really gotta be in the mood for it most times. But hey it's a free meal and it's bonding time with all us teachers, so I wasn't gonna turn it down. IF ONLY I HAD KNOWN WHAT I WAS GETTING MYSELF INTO!!! Wow!!! I was expecting a little sushi, a little California rolls, a little chicken teriyaki, a little miso soup and rice....NOPE!!!!!

We were proceeded to be served course after course after course of some really exotic Japanese food that I have never seen before in my life, most of which were some unknown sea creature. Plates full of fish (and I mean the *whole* fish) and squid and crab heads and and clams and squishy eel-things (some not much bigger than your finger, some as long as your arm!) and octopus and shrimp-like things and a million other creatures that I had never seen before. And they were all either barely cooked or RAW!!! It was like being served for lunch the entire Vancouver Aquarium! Now as you know, seafood and I don't really get along all that much, especially when it's STILL ALIVE!!! (I'll get to that part in a moment...)

I really wanted to be brave and try a bit of everything, but just looking at these things made my stomach do loop-de-loops. I can handle cooked fish and maybe a bit of shrimp, but that's about all I've ever been able to eat in the seafood department. I'm just not very adventurous when it comes to food, and I feel really guilty about it. My plan was to come to Korea and experience "all that was Korean" but I just can't get over this food thing. As you know I've been phasing meat out of my diet for quite some time now, and I think just looking at all this seafood fastforwarded me in the direction of vegetarian a couple more notches. Steven noticed that I wasn't really eating all that much (the only vegetables on the table was corn and some seaweed thing, which I was eagerly hoarding for myself) and attempted to tempt me with a giant clam about as big as his hand - "It's yummy Scott! Look...it's still alive!" He poked the clam with his chopstick...and it moved... I instantly became light-headed and lost any and all of my appetite! Again, I feel guilty for being so fussy this way, but it just seems like it's something that I can't get past - my queasy stomach won't allow it!

I spent the rest of the meal watching in awe as my coworkers wolfed down the delectable sea treats while I picked at my corn. More and more plates of exotic food kept coming - the eggs of some bird that I had never heard of, a little plate of roasted silkworm larvae, jellyfish tentacles, flourescent yellow and pink fish eggs.... All of this was topped off when the table was brought a plate full of a fairly large octopus, all chopped up, but still alive AND SQUIRMING AROUND THE PLATE!!!! (yes, just like you saw on The Amazing Race!) It's main body was still pulsating and writhing while severed tentacles wiggled left and right - it was an effort just to keep the creature on the plate. I watched Steven as he picked up each tentacle and slurped it down, watching the thing still wiggle while in his mouth. And then he ate the body, and I swear I heard the octopus cry out one last time in its desperate fight for life as it went down his throat.... At this point, seriously, I just about lost it. I was feeling light-headed, the room was beginning to spin, and it took all I had to keep myself from gagging. I know I must sound like such as wuss, but you had to see it to believe it!

After lunch we went out for ice cream for dessert (yes! something my wimpy stomach can handle!) and then home for a rest. I had plans for a night out on the town with a friend in Itaewon, and had to clean myself up/recover from the lunch time spectacle before heading out. I took the subway into Seoul and met up with another new friend of mine - Charles. (yes, a different Charles from the Kolon-Mart/night out at Bucheon one you're familiar with.) Charles is actually my first friend who's not an English Teacher. He's an American from Colorado and is in the airforce down in a city about an hour south of Seoul called Osan. He's well familiar with the Itaewon night club scene so he was gonna be my guide for the evening. My first night out in Seoul proved to be a blast, but very exhausting!!!

The problem with Seoul is it has a great transit system, but it stops running very early! The last trains leave downtown around 11:30pm, right when the bars are starting to get going... So you have either one of two options - you can go out to the bar, but have your night cut extremely short by leaving at 11pm or so, or you can party Seoul-style. And this means partying ALL NIGHT - until the morning trains begin running the next day at 5:30am! Guess which choice I opted for??? Seoul-style, of course! I tried to keep up with the Koreans, but I just don't have the energy!!! We went to 2 lounges for pre-drinks, and then 2 night clubs - all of which were fun but much smaller than what I had imagined. For being a city of such massive size, the bars here are not very big (but they make up for it in quantity!) One could go to a different bar/club every night in this city and never go to the same place twice!

Cover at Seoul clubs are pretty reasonable too - the first one we went to costed 10,000 won (about $12 CDN) and the second one 15,000 (about $18 CDN) but cover charge included coat check and 2 free drinks! I ended up running into Michael at one of the bars (the guy I hung out with around the city last weekend) and got to meet a lot of Charles' friends as well. Plenty of drinks, plenty of dancing, and lots of new friends - A GREAT NIGHT!!! But then 3am came and I started to crash.... There was no way I was gonna last another 2.5 hours to catch that morning train home... Fortunately Charles had planned ahead better than I had, and had reserved himself a room at a nearby hotel so that he could crash whenever he felt like it. He was getting really tired too so we left the bars and he let me crash in his room - oh how wonderful sleep felt!!!

Oh yeah, forgot to mention one important thing. It was a great night out on the town in Seoul, except for just one thing - we had our jackets stolen!!! The line-up for coat check at the last club we went to was just way too long, so we decided to hold onto our coats for the night. This was fine for a while, but then eventually we got tired of holding onto them. We stuffed them under a seat near where we were dancing, stupidly assuming that they'd be safe and sound. BOY THAT WAS A DUMB MOVE!!!! When we went to retrieve our coats later, they were nowhere to be found!!! I was pretty pissed off at myself for allowing something so avoidable to happen... It's not so much the coat that I'm upset about (I have others, and this one was getting really old and ripped and I've been browsing for a new one anyways,) but still, it was *my* coat and now someone else out there is wearing it... If I happen to be walking down the street one day and see the bastard who stole it wearing it, man is he in for an awful surprise!!!

Day 14: Love Overdose

Every day in class this week, the elementary students have been learning the words to a Westlife song, entitled "My Love." When I first heard that this was going to be our fun way of helping the kids practice their English, I thought "great idea!" What could be more fun than learning the words to a good ol' fashioned cheesey pop song and then watching the video? Well this was a blast at first, but it became really old, REALLY FAST. We play (and sing along to) the song *at least* three times in each class. You multiple this by three classes a day, times five days this week...you can do the math pretty quickly and see that I've sung "My Love" WAY TOO MANY times this week!!! It's an okay song, but now it's started to seep into my 'outside of school' life...I find myself singing it in the shower, while making dinner, while walking home... I CAN'T ESCAPE!!!!

At first I thought that we were doing this tortuous, errrr.....fun exercise just for the hell of it, but I learned yesterday that there's a method to the madness... Turns out that all the elementary school kids are going to be doing a real live performance of "My Love" in front of all the parents for the kindergartens' graduation tomorrow! I'm hoping that I don't have to sing with them (I have an absolutely terrible singing voice, which is a shame cause it looks like I could be in a boy band...haha!) Most likely I will have to though, being the token celebrity foreigner and all, I'm sure that they'll want me up there... I'm so nervous! :-)

I received my first piece of mail today, and I was so excited!!! It was from my friend Arion, who lives near Seattle. I was honestly really surprised to see that the package had arrived safe and sound, and had somehow made its way to me. The Korean postal system seems so crazy I have no idea how it functions... Most streets don't have names (unless they're major ones) and the addresses of houses and buildings are completely chaotic. House #6 could be next to #38 next to #629 next to #103. Apparently they're numbered based on a system of *when* they were built, not in any kind of numerical order! And supposedly that in order to be a mailman here you have to train and have lived in a neighbourhood for years, because you literally have to have every single address in your area memorized! WOW!! I have a new respect for postal workers now! Anyways, it was awesome to get a package from a familiar name back home (he sent me a newspaper and a Lonely Planet book!) and it totally made my day! THANKS ARION!!!! YOU ROCK!!!!

On my way to the grocery store tonight I came across a very upsetting scene... I saw a man walking down the street near my home with his dog...but the dog was pulling (against his will) this large tire attached to him by a chain. The dog was completely exhausted and looked weak and poorly fed. He also looked to be in extreme pain, and I felt so bad for the dog. The most disgusting thing about this all is that this is *not* the first time I've seen this man forcing his dog to drag heavy objects down the street! God knows how many times this horrible man has made his dog do this... Now, as a foreigner, I know there's going to be a lot of things that I see here in Korea that I don't agree with, and so I've tried all along to not be judgemental and keep an open mind, but with this I just can't. I think it's cruel and disgusting and I was really upset by seeing it. I wanted to just yell and scream at this man, but yelling out in English would do absolutely no good as I'm sure he doesn't speak it. I almost feel like sneaking into his house and stealing his dog and letting him free, but the last thing I need is the Korean police on my tail. I'm just so frustrated with having witnessed the whole thing, and feeling powerless to do anything about it...

On a lighter note, for the first time ever, I found butter at the grocery store tonight! I haven't seen butter ANYWHERE here yet until tonight, and I'm really excited to break it out tomorrow for breakfast!! haha! Yes, the simplest things in life do give the most pleasure...haha! I've got such high expectations for this butter though, being that I've been deprived from it for so long, let's hope it measures up! :-)

Day 13: Freedom & Imprisonment Via The Subways

My boss Steven informed me with some great news today - there would be no kindergarten classes for me to teach on Friday! A whole morning off? WOW! :-) Our kindergartens are graduating this weekend and I guess on Friday morning is rehearsal time or something like that. He politely declined when I offered to help out, so this means that I get to sleep in tomorrow!!! YAH!!!

It also means that I could stay up late tonight if I wanted to, so why not take advantage of that? I decided that a special treat for myself was in order, and that would mean an evening out in Itaewon! As soon as the bells rang at 6pm I was outta that school so fast... I raced home, changed into something warm (cause it's been so god-damn cold lately!!!) and headed to catch the bus. I bought myself some lovely Roots winter wear before leaving Canada, and so tonight I was decked out in my warm and fuzzy Roots "Canada" touque and scarf - looking quite cutely Canadian if I do say so myself!

On the way to the bus, I passed someone I had never seen before....A FEMALE CAUCASIAN!!! In the whole time I've been living and hanging out in Shihung City/Bucheon, I've never once seen a white female. All the people that I've met and seen so far have been males - which I find highly unusual! Before leaving I was given the impression that the majority of English teachers in Korea were girls, so why hadn't I ever seen or met any? *Where are all the white chick teachers?* Well right there before my eyes was one, but before I had the chance to overcome my shock and say hello, she had walked (more like motored) right past me, and disappeared into the darkness as quickly and mysteriously as she had arrived... I think between the darkness and my disguise under the touque she hadn't really noticed me...surely if she had she would've at least said hello or made eye contact? Us Caucasians are few and far between out in these parts so it seems everyone does their best to make connections whenever they do come across one... Ahhh well, maybe our paths will cross again soon.

So I've been experimenting with new bus routes, convinced that there's a faster way to/home from the subway station. I hopped on the #31 that I had taken the other night with Hye-Young and whizzed right along to the subway. I have to take 3 trains to get to Itaewon, no matter what combination of lines I choose, so I decided to stick with Line 1 as far as I could which would lead me right to Seoul Station (Seoul's version of Grand Central.) The ride was amazing! Line 1 is the only one that is above or at surface level (as opposed to being underground) so you get a bit of a view of the city as you ride along. I had my discman with me and I felt so confident and so happy and so free to be on this train, popstars serenading me all the way along... The train crossed with enormous Han River into downtown and it was beautiful....all the bridges crossing the river filled with the lights of trains and traffic, and the glow of skyscrapers sparkling in the waters...a magical view indeed.

Two more trains later and I was walking out into the streets of Itaewon. I stepped out into the street and looked up....there, rising high into the sky and overlooking all of Seoul, was Seoul Tower, lit up like a torch atop Namsan Hill. It was so beautiful! I walked down the street, never losing sight of the magnificent glowing tower. The tree-lined street curved down into Itaewon, and I followed the crowd, while Pink's "God Is A DJ" blasted in my ears (my current fave song!) I near expected everyone on the street to suddenly break out into some elaborately choreographed dance routine, with pyrotechnics exploding out of the street, and fireworks to explode out over Seoul Tower. I know that sounds horribly cheesy, but it was *that* surreal and magical of a moment for me. I felt completely free in the world, like I had life by the reins and was living out my destiny. I was in such great spirits!!!

(I was also absolutely starving!) I had remembered seeing a Subway here the other day with Michael, and since I've been craving for a big giant sandwich, I made a b-line for it. Mmmmmm....it was the best subway sandwich I think I've ever had!!! After dinner I walked around the neighbourhood, taking in all that Itaewon has to offer. Again, the mix of Caucasians and Koreans was fascinating, yet rather disorienting at the same time. I felt the urge to run up to each and every foreigner and hug them and introduce myself, being like "Isn't Korea great! Let's all be friends!" but I don't think that would go over very well. Alas, I had to keep my excitement contained to my own thoughts. Itaewon has lots of cool stores, and I think it would be fun to come here and do a little shopping on my next payday. There were also tons of bars and clubs all over the place, with loads and loads of military personnel crawling all over the streets. The mix of American camouflage with 'everyday Koreans' was interesting to look at anyways.

I went and had a caramel macchiatto at this cool coffee house called "Hello Beans", and it was nice to just sit and relax for a bit. I'm currently reading, for the second time, The Alchemist, and this book gives me great strength and faith in life during this tumultous period in my life. I could write a whole essay about how amazing and incredible The Alchemist is, but I'll save that for another entry... After my CM (the first really good coffee I've had here in Korea, by the way) it was time to head home. Back on the train, back to the burbs...

I took a different combination of lines on the way home, and all this was again fun and relaxing, until I got to Line 1. THE TRAIN WAS ABSOLUTELY PACKED!!! But it was 10:30pm at night! Why would the train be so crowded at such an odd hour? Surely rush hour traffic out of the city would have come and gone ages ago by now? Was there some special event in the city that I wasn't aware of? Did a stadium just empty out or something??? It came as a surprise anyways. So I squeezed into the train, and it wasn't so bad at first, but then at each station more and more people pushed their way onto the already packed train. I was right in the middle of the car, and could not move at all!!! It was SO CROWDED that their honestly wasn't an inch of room between any of the passengers, so every time the car rocked back and forth, everybody moved together as one giant mass. All you could do was just stand up and sway along with the flow... It wasn't long before it became like an oven in that train, and poor lil me with my touque and scarf and mits, quickly became desperately overheated. And I couldn't take off my winter gear because I couldn't move!!! By the time my station came, which seemed like an eternity later, I was SO HAPPY to be out in the cold winter air.

It seemed to take a lot longer to get home than it did to get into the city, so I was quite tired by the time I got back to my little apartment in Shihung. While walking home from the bus it started to snow!!! (the first time I've seen any of the white stuff here in Korea.) Maybe we'll get a blizzard and we'll have to close the school tomorrow? God I haven't had a "snow day" in ages - that would be such a blast! Here's hoping...

Day 12: Technical Difficulties

I've decided that to provide some balance for my diary entries, I'd do up a small list of all the things that I find really difficult here in Korea, or just the things that happen to be stressing me out at the moment! You've heard all the rosy wonderful things so far, now it's time for the other side of the coin.... Enjoy!

1) Loneliness/Isolation - This would definitely be my number one stresser-outer! Being a foreigner is a great experience, and one I really do reccommend to everyone to try first-hand at some point in their lives, but it's also very lonely at times. There are days/times when I miss my friends and family back home soooo much! I live in a part of town where there's not many other foreigners, or anyone who speaks English really, so it's been really difficult to make friends. I'm used to having a very busy social calendar and not spending so much time at home. Hell, just ask any of my Vancouver friends - while living there I had a social life that could rival that of any Hollywood socialite!!! :-) Now I have sooooo much "alone time" and it's just something that I'm not used to. It's been a good learning lesson for me, and has made me a stronger person, but it has not been easy. I'm very much a social creature by nature and need to feel connected, and these days I feel a little lost and alone at times....

2) Language Barrier - Unlike other foreign countries I've been to (they were all in Europe), English is not spoken very much in Korea. Also, the Koreans have their own alphabet, so unless you're familiar with it (fairly easy to learn I've been told) you can't even 'sound out' words or signs or anything like that. I guess this one ties in with the first point I made, but there's some days when I'm just DYING to have a conversation with a native English speaker!!! The very limited conversations that I have with my kids or boss just do not do enough to stimulate me, and hence the reason why I'm so eager to make new friends. And plus it makes every single day-to-day task that much more difficult - ordering in a restaurant, buying food at the grocery store, asking directions or finding out how things work......all in involve speaking to another person, and therein lies the language barrier! But I'm the foreigner here, not them, so it's my responsibility to learn Korean so that I can communicate with them, not the other way around! I've picked up a few words here and there, but have a lot more yet to learn.

3) Food - My diet here in Korea has not been the greatest! Familiar foods are hard to find, if not impossible, so my diet has been very un-Atkins friendly!!! (all carbs baby!!! cereal, pasta, bread...those are my staples...LOL!) The bit of Korean food I've tried has been tasty, but there's a lot of stuff here, mainly in the strange seafood category, that I know would not go down very well... Probably as time goes on I'll become a lot more accustomed to the dietary change. Still, there's so many things I'm DYING for - like chicken parmesan, or a grilled salmon fillet, or a giant mother-fuckin sandwich, or tacos, or caesar salad, or ANYTHING WITH CHEESE....the list goes on.... And I'd give my left nut for a Delany's mocha or soy chai right about now!!! haha!!! All these are things that I'm sure will taste *ABSOLUTELY AMAZING* and *BREATHTAKINGLY DELICIOUS* the next time I get a chance to enjoy them!

4) Distance - This also ties in with #1, but the fact that I live way out in the 'burbs is very frustrating. Shihung City is a pretty cool place, but it's still really quiet, and because is under a lot of development (new towns being built, etc.) it still feels a bit...incomplete...like living in a half-finished city or something. If it was right on a subway station or closer to the central city it wouldn't be so bad.... Any time I want to go and visit the central city, where the bulk of the entertainment and sights (as well as foreigners) are, it involves a 1.5 hour trip. This is a normal part of life for Koreans here (the big commute) but I'm still getting used to it. The trains and buses also stop running around midnight so it's something I have to take into consideration when I'm out at night. At least taxis are cheap and easy to find!

5) Smells - This one is pretty minor actually, but one I'm still adjusting to. I have a fairly weak stomach for certain smells/foods/sights (this is a quality that I *definitely* inherited from my mother - if you don't believe me just sit back and watch the performance that occurs whenever she watches "Fear Factor"!!!) The smells here are ones that I'm not used to at all, and for the most part that's a great thing cause it adds to the 'newness' of being here, but the smell of raw seafood/squid/other gross squishy sea things in the market can be, at times, enough to make me almost gag! Let's just say that I've become really good at 'breathing through my mouth' whenever I'm in the market!

So that's my list of things that, at the moment, are all rather stressful or unpleasant or make my life difficult. It's important for me to emphasize though that they are all things that *I* need to adjust to. They're not going to change, and I don't expect them to. Like I mentioned before, I am the foreigner here and it is me that has to get used to certain things. But it is these 'temporary unpleasantries' that make life here challenging and exciting. If it was all so easy it would be rather boring, I think. Eventually, in time, all of these things will be conquered, and I can look back and laugh at how much stress they caused me, and be proud because I was able to overcome them. All in due time I guess, one day at at time...

Day 11: Waiter? More Water Please!

One of the many great things about being a foreign teacher is the opportunity to teach the kids many fun games that they have never been exposed to, yet are omnipresent in North America. In the last week or so I've had a blast introducing my kids to hangman, musical chairs, "Simon Says", and their new recent favourite - the High Five Game. (You know the one - "Gimme five, up high, down low, TOO SLOW!") They absolutely love that one and would honestly play it with me for hours if I let them (more like if I had the energy!) Today I introduced them to a new game that I stole from the movie Liar Liar. There's a scene in that movie (at least I think it's that one, could be another Jim Carrey movie) where Jim Carrey chases his son around the room with THE CLAW. "THE CLAW" is merely his own hand in a grotesque claw-like position, pretending that it is alive and evil, and wanting to eat his son. I brought out THE CLAW to the kids today and they went crazy - they loved it! I made sure to do this after school hours knowing that it was going to cause a lot of excitement. I chased them around the school, and into the play room where we turned off all the lights. They absolutely loved being chased and screamed at (imagine a mangled scream, and that's what THE CLAW sounds like!) and even the older 12 and 14-year old students couldn't resist joining in. I think that play time is important with the kids, so that they can see there's more to me than just great English, and it's good for teacher-student bonding! :-)

After a good hour of THE CLAW I had worked up quite the appetite! One of the part-time teachers who tutors the kids with their math and science skills invited me out for dinner after work, and it was my first "real Korean" meal since I've arrived! We went to this Korean restaurant near Bucheon Station and it was quite the experience! Once again, we had to remove our shoes, and sat cross-legged at small table that's barely higher than the floor. In the middle of the table is a large grill used to cook our meal, and we were brought a large plate full of several ingredients for dinner. She ordered some sort of chicken stir-fry like meal and it was very tasty. Accompanying the main course were several small side dishes, including a bowl of sprouts and Thousand Island dressing (Koreans are all about Thousand Island), a bowl of pickled radishes, a small plate with seasoning, spicy sauce, and the ever-present kimchee (pickled vegetables - not for the faint of heart). There was also a side of large lettuce leaves so that we could build lettuce wraps with the chicken and steamed vegetables.

The dinner was delicious actually, but so spicy!!! And we're not just talking "I'll have the hot sauce from Taco Time spicy", this is "take a deep breath, hold on tight boy, and pray you don't shit your pants holy fuck is this ever spicy, SPICY!!!" I've eaten a lot of spicy food in Vancouver before, but this was the spiciest dish I've had in recent memory. Maybe I've just been out of practice for a while... Either way I went through several glasses of water, while Hye-Young barely touched her glass!

The dinner is also supposed to be eaten with chopsticks, an art that I have yet to master. (Korean cutlery includes only chopsticks and a spoon - nothing else.) I attempted, rather pathetically I must admit, to eat my dinner with chopsticks but was getting more on the table and all over myself rather than in my mouth, so I just stuck with the spoon! After the chicken and vegetables dish the same grill was used to cook a feast of rice, vegetables, seaweed, and some other spicy seasonings. This was a spicy dish as well, but much easier to handle than the first one. The meal was healthy and delicious and will certainly make my immune system stronger!!!

After dinner we went out for hot chocolate at a nearby coffee joint and sat and relaxed while chatting. Hye-Young's English is fairly basic, but she's really friendly and likes to ask a lot of questions. Koreans are very inquisitive, and will ask you unabashedly questions regarding your height and weight, marital status, economic background, and personal sentiments regarding love and romance. This is not done in a nosy or invasion-of-privacy way, but rather in just wanting to get to know you, and also in order to establish where you lie in the 'social hierarchy' chain. Koreans place a lot of value on the above questions to determine the proper and most polite way to speak to you - it's all part of their tradition and relates back to their Confucian history - one that is based on respect towards elders and those in certain professions. It's all very interesting for me because in Western culture these are all questions that one would not normally ask a stranger, or someone that they don't know very well. Here it's a different story though. Many Westerners unfamiliar with this part of their culture become offended when asked such personal questions, but lucky for me I've done my research, and had been given a good 'heads-up' by others before arriving here. It all makes for another interesting night out on the town in Korea.

Day 10: Everyday Life

There was nothing particularly exciting or eventful going on today (perhaps the first day like it since I've arrived?) but there's plenty of interesting things to comment on about everyday life here in Korea. The following is a list of random things that I am now accustomed to seeing or experiencing on a daily basis here in Seoul. Enjoy!

1) Crazy Motorcyclists! One thing that I was quick to notice here, was how "drivers" (and I use that term loosely) take their motorcycle/scooter absolutely anywhere they damn well feel like it. This includes on the road but in the opposite lanes, on the sidewalk, and through "pedestrian-only" alleys and markets. It's not uncommon for me to have to dodge a motorcycle in the crowded market on my way to work everyday! How they don't end up wiping out, or taking out half a dozen market stands or shoppers, is beyond me!

2) English Music At Random Moments! Because it's not very often that I hear English/Western music, whenever I do it causes me to stop in my tracks and take a moment to enjoy/laugh at the song. It always comes when I least expect it, and from unusual places, like gas stations, on the bus, or in that one not-unlike-Gap store next to my school in the market. Beyonce, Justin Timberlake, the Bangles, Cindi Lauper, Nickelback, Norah Jones, Michael Buble, Avril Lavigne and especially Britney Spears are all artists that I've heard in public in the last week or so. I've heard Britney at least three or four times, more than any other Western singer - perhaps Britney is the official Ambassador to Korea?

3) Squid! Koreans are "all about the squid!" They love the stuff, and it can be bought and consumed anywhere. Every market I've been to is full of them, and so is every restaurant I've visited. I've been walking down the street and had trucks drive by full of squid with loudspeakers blaring (what I'm assuming they're saying in Korean about how fresh and yummy their squid is.) Dried squid is a popular snack here, and is eaten just like how North Americans eat potato chips. Personally I'm not a fan of the stuff, but hey maybe by the end of the year I'll be poppin' squid like Liza Manelli pops pills?

4) Slippers! In Korea it is considered very rude to wear shoes, of any kind, inside a building. This applies to homes, restaurants, and offices. Instead, you must leave your shoes at the door, and wear slippers inside (which are provided by wherever you are.) So everyday I walk to work in my nice classy black dress shoes, leave them at the door when I get to school, and put on a pair of worn, thin, blue or pink or whatever-colour-is-around slippers (the kind your grandma probably wears...) Yes, that means I'm teaching grammar and vocabularly to my students...in slippers. It still makes me giggle too...

5) Virtual Celebrity Status! Every single day, no matter where I go, no matter what time of day it is, I am looked, or should I say, stared at in amazement/confusion/wonder/curiousity by Koreans. Foreigners are still not a common sight in many areas in Korea, including the suburb I live in (where I know of a total of 3 foreigners that live in a pop. 300,000 city!) and so they attract a lot of attention. You get used to it after a while, but every once in a while I 'trip out' over it, or forget that I'm a 'local celebrity' and feel confused why people are looking at me, and then I remember where I am - Korea! Most of the time all this is rather amusing, but sometimes you just don't want to be looked at, or want to feel 'anonymous.' When you stand out so much (especially being 6'3", blond-haired, and blue-eyed) it's like you just can't have an "off day." You are always "on stage", always "in performance mode" because there's always eyes on you. Koreans are always yelling "hello" or "hi" to you on the street or in the stores, just to practice their English or just to get you to look at them. 'And total strangers will even take pictures of you on the street or on the train or wherever... It's definitely *not* something that I've ever experienced before.

Sometimes I have a little fun with it though, and see what I can get away with... The other day while walking to the bus I happened to pass this church, where about 6 or 7 teenage girls were standing outside together. I was on the other side of the street, but when they saw me they got rather excited and started yelling out "Hello!" and "Nice To Meet You!" and "How Are You?" to me. I turned, smiled, and gave them a big wave. This got them even more hyped up and they started giggling and laughing and making even more noise. Then they yelled back "Hello Handsome Boy!" out to me. Well then I decided, just for fun, that I'd 'kick it up a notch'...

I blew them a kiss...

OH MY GOD!!!! They went absolutely hysterical!!! They started jumping up and down, waving their hands and arms around uncontrollably, and SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUNGS!!! I honestly thought they were going to start to cry, they were so excited!!! Wow - this must be what it feels like to be Justin Timberlake or something! With attention like this I feel like I should be some super-famous pop star or movie actor, but I'm not! I'm just some white dude who's an English teacher in suburban Korea! It made me laugh, and the Leo in me did enjoy the little ego-boost. I wish I had moments like this on video to show you cause honestly you wouldn't believe it unless you saw it!

*GOTTA LOVE LIFE IN KOREA, EH!*

Day 9: First Visit To Seoul

Today was an awesome day! It was my first time visiting central Seoul, and actually was a day full of 'firsts.' I had made plans with my new friend Michael to hang out in the city, but in order to meet up with him, I had to take my first subway ride. I rode the 015 bus to Bucheon Station (where I had partied the other night) and before catching the bus attempted to make a phone call to Michael to let him know I was getting on the train... It proved to be much more difficult than I had thought it would be! I've never made a local phone call before, and was under the impression that all one had to do was drop in a 100 coin and dial.... Well I tried this, but instead had some pre-recorded Korean man sing me a song, three times, then a long pause, then some other pre-recorded message by an operator lady, and then a horrible screeching sound! What the fuck? I thought maybe it didn't work because I was so far out in the burbs, and decided to try again later once I got in the city.

I had to take two trains to get to where Michael lives, and it turned out to be really easy! Seoul's subway system is not only colour-coded, but also has all its signs in English as well as Korean, so navigating it is a breeze. Riding a giant underground subway has as a very 'metropolitan feel' to it...much different than riding Vancouver's SkyTrain, which feels more like a Disney ride to me. Michael lives on the other side of Seoul from me, so it took almost a full hour on the train just to get to his part of town!! When I got off the train I attempted to phone him again, and had the same problems!!! What was I doing wrong? Eventually I had to ask some Korean guy, using only gestures, to show me how to work the damn phone. And what did he do? Just dropped in the coin and dialed...and it actually worked!!! I really don't know what I was doing earlier that messed things up so much...haha!

Michael met me a few minutes later outside the station, and we decided to head on down to Itaewon, which is the foreigners' neighbourhood in Seoul. Because it was a rather rainy and cold day, he offered to drive - so nice of him! Michael is a super cool guy - he's 25 and from Minneapolis, and has been in Korea almost a year and a half travelling and teaching English. He's totally a pro at life in Seoul, and was the best tour guide a guy could ask for. He not only knew his way around this crazy city, but was full of interesting facts about the different neighbourhoods that we passed through. We arrived in Itaewon and it was totally weird being there! It's an equal mix of Korean and English signs, and the streets were crawling with foreigners!!! Between the mix of Asian and Western people and signs, and the dreary weather, it was just like being back in Vancouver! Well, not exactly - but awfully close! We walked around and he showed me tons of cool stuff - where the cool clubs are, what restaurants are good, and also a few stores that sell Western products that you just can't find anywhere else in Seoul! SO IMFORMATIVE!! :-)

We had lunch at this restaurant popular with foreigners called Geckos. Its menu was full of Western food, and the place was packed with American military! (Yongsan Base, which is a huge American military base, is just nearby.) We ordered lunch and chatted away, and then realized that we have mutual friends!!! I was shocked to find out that Michael used to date someone that my ol' Thunder Bay buddy Craig used to date (back when he lived in Minneapolis), and has even been to Craig's house!!! WOW!!! What a small world I tell ya! That whole six degrees of separation thing is so true!!! Amazing! :-)

After Itaewon Michael took me to Namdaemun Market - one of Seoul's largest and most popular outdoor markets. Turns out that this particular Sunday was sort of an 'off day' at the market, as things were much quieter than usual there. Still, it was great to wander through the many streets and alleys, checking out all the stawls selling anything and everything imaginable. The market is so big that it was take a whole day to really explore it fully, but it was cool just to have a sample!

After Namdaemun Market, Michael drove us over to COEX Mall - one of, if not the, largest shopping complex in Korea. The drive there was awesome as it took us right through the heart of Seoul and past many landmarks - museums, memorials, parks, soaring skyscrapers, and busy diverse neighbourhoods. Seoul is an incredible city - there's so much to explore that it just blows my mind away. We also went past Seoul Tower which is in Namsan Park - a big mountain right in the middle of the city! And then across the Han River - the wide, slow-moving river that bisects Seoul. Highrises filled the horizon no matter where you looked, and crazy-huge super-freeways lined the banks of the river. Wow!

COEX Mall is massive and extremely busy, and besides containing hundreds of stores, also has 3 food courts, two luxury hotels, a huge conference centre, an aquarium, a nightclub, and a giant movie theatre called MegaBox that holds 17 screens. And did I mention that it was BUSY!!!??? :-) We spent a good hour plus just wandering around checking out different stores and the various food courts. It was a bit overwhelming to be in there, but I guess I better start getting used to all the crowds here in Seoul!!

After that it was some dinner at the food court (chicken curry for me, which also included kimchee, 2 kinds pickled radishes, a bowl of seaweed, and a small serving of tiny baby silver fish!) Quite the combo! And all for only 5000 won! (about $6 CDN.) After dinner it was time for me to head back to the burbs. I said my goodbyes to Michael, who seems really sincere and genuine, and also has a lot of common interests as me. I think that we will become really good friends and I look forward to hanging out with him again sometime soon.

The subway home was long but relaxing, except for the part where this disabled guy entered our car... I have no idea where he came from, but this guy was probably about middle age or so, and didn't have any use of his legs, so he just shuffled along the floor, dragging himself to move from one end to the next. His legs kept twitching and he smelled absolutely terrible. He was going from subway car to subway car (including dragging himself inbetween cars while the train was in motion!) to beg for money from other passengers. It was the saddest sight I've seen yet here in Korea. He looked so sad and pathetic and near helpless, as he was struggling to move along. I'm assuming this is what he does all day to make ends meet? I really don't know... I was really impressed with the number of passengers, young and old, who gave him money. I think if I had seen this guy back home the vast majority of people would have just walked over him, or tried to pretend like he wasn't there, but the Koreans around me seemed to be really generous towards the poor man. A sobering experience nonetheless, and a good reminder of how blessed I am (not only am I lucky enough to be able to experience life in a foreign country, but I have full use of my legs! Both things that I should never take for granted...)

Day 8: Laundry Day

This was a fairly non-productive day, for obvious reasons!!! After getting home so late, I didn't wake up until almost noon today! (There goes half the day!) I spent the day just puttering around my apartment, doing some cleaning, and also attempting my first run at laundry, Korean-style.

In my bathroom/shower room, is my washing machine. Steven had showed me how to use it when I first moved in, but god help me if I can remember how to work the darn thing! All the buttons are in Korean, so I really have no idea how to work the damn thing. Anyways I piled in all my dirty unmentionables, and just pushed a bunch of buttons until it started to make a noise that sounded like cleaning. My machine has this weird display screen, where the laundry cycle counts down its steps from 84 down to 0. I guess there's exactly 84 steps this machine goes thru to clean my clothes? (cause it makes a slightly different noise for each step...) Whatever...

Now drying is a different story! Notice how I've never mentioned my dryer? That's cause I don't have one!!! I don't know if Koreans just don't do dryers at all, or maybe I just don't have one. Either way Steven had bought me this funny contraption for my apartment to dry my clothes on. It looks like a giant metal praying mantis/torture device that I'm apparently supposed to use to hang my damp clothes on. I tried numerous times to set this device up, but I really have no idea how it's supposed to work! My clothes are hanging on it precariously right now as we speak, but I think that if I look at it the wrong way it'll collapse before my very eyes.

Tonight I was invited to another Park family outing - this time it was Ester's (the youngest daughter) piano recital! This was a thoroughly enjoyable experience! The kids are adorable and could all play piano quite well (a few of them were my 5-year old kindergartens that I teach!) Steven told me that music lessons, especially piano, are very popular here in Korea. It was fun to check it out anyways.

I was invited over to their house, upstairs from my apartment, for pizza after the recital. This was my first time having pizza here in Korea, and it was pretty tasty actually, despite containing ingredients that I could not fully identify (including potato - who would've thought that giant slices of potato on pizza would taste so yummy!) The one thing I really do need to mention is, and this comes as a bit of a sad day for me, is that I believe that I ate...red meat. I gave up eating red meat entirely 7 months ago, and honestly have not touched a piece of beef or pork since, until tonight... I can't say for certain, but I'm pretty sure that one of the toppings on the pizzas was pieces of hamburger... I saw them on the pizza before I ate it, but my Korean family was so excited to have me over for dinner, and were eager for me to "enjoy Korean pizza", that I didn't have the heart to either decline the pizza, or pick off the meat. They've been so kind and so gracious to me, I just didn't want to appear rude... And so I ate it. There! I said it! It happened! Many of my friends predicted that I wouldn't be able to last very long in Korea without eating red meat, and I had been convinced that I could do it, but here I am a week into my trip, and I have cow digesting in me at this very moment... Ugh... *I FEEL SO GUILTY!!!*

Day 7: Adventures At Bucheon, Continued

(please scroll down to read the beginning of this day)

So after the Vanilla Ice/sausage break, it was back to Halloween! There were a few more people in it this time, so the three of us pulled up a seat at the bar and ordered some drinks. Alcohol varies quite a bit in price in Korea, depending what you order and where. Beer was quite cheap at Halloween, but being the more sophisticated man that I am, I stuck to ordering G&T's. (Note: All those know me, know that the drink of choice for S2H is the Tom Collins, however, trying to explain that in Korean would just be too much as I doubt they know what it is. Eventually I hope to meet some Koreans who can translate it for me, or at least write down the ingredients in Korean so I can order it in the future.)

Halloween turned out to be pretty cool. They played all English music, and you can even request songs by browsing through the 3000-CD library on the wall behind the bar. After a couple Gin & Tonics, I was in a *really* good mood (price of a G&T = 5000 won, or about $5.75 CDN - the same as what I pay back home for a Tom Collins.) Charles already had had a good buzz going by the time we got to Bucheon, so he was in the full swing of things after a few drinks at Halloween. A couple times he made his way to the dance floor, which was empty, and boogied away - occasionally attempting to get the crowd going by pretending to take off his clothes. (Don't forget Charles used to be a stripper - I guess old habits die hard?)

A foreigner sat down next to us at the bar and I introduced myself. His name was Chris, and he was a 24-year old American from Chicago teaching English here in Korea. He seemed like a really cool guy and the four of us had a blast just hanging out drinking and enjoying the music. After a little while we decided to change venues so went back up to the street, where we met 2 other guys - both of them Korean. The first guy was James who was Korean-born, Seattle-raised, and now recently-re-Koreanized. His buddy was from Korea and I was introduced to him a number of times, but alas, those darn G&T's, I forget his name... We cruised around the strip for a while, drawing much attention wherever we went (we were the only group of foreigners I saw the whole night.) Plenty of Korean girls, and boys, gave us the eye during the night, and I think Charles tried to hit on each and every one of them! :-)

James led us to a big club called "Speed", which was a very classy, VERY EXPENSIVE joint. The 6 of us were led in by men in uniform and sat at a special table, where we were immediately presented with a massive bowl of fruit, a plate of dried squid, and 12 bottles of beer, each of which were opened and poured for us... Chris and I looked at each other with a look of worried suspicion...as enjoyable as this kind of service was, we knew that it had to come with a pretty steep price tag. Neither James nor his Korean friend could tell us how much it was all going to cost us, but kept saying "Don't worry man! It's all cool!" Hmm...

So one round of beer turned into two, which later turned into three.... One tradition that I absolutely love here in Korea is that you are never supposed to pour your own drink, instead you are responsible for making sure that the glasses of all your friends/guests are never empty, and you take the iniative by pouring for them, making sure that you *always* use two hands to pour, and to receive a drink. It seems like a very friendly custom, and I love it!

The music at Speed was really good! It was comprised of about 90% fast songs, and 10% slow songs. When the fast music is on, everybody in the club, and I do mean EVERYBODY, goes out to dance. The tables are literally completely empty in the club when the beats are rockin', but then the slow music comes back on and that's your chance to order more drinks, have a rest, take a piss, etc. The 5 of us (Glenn doesn't dance) spent a good part of the evening on the dance floor and it was a total blast! The DJ was this really attractive, tiny Korean chick on stage, just spinnin' away, breakin' out on her mic once in a while to get the crowd going. (to picture it, think of the DJ in Robbie Williams' "Rock DJ" video). I kept trying to mack on her cause she was all smiles to me, but alas, she refused my gestures to come down and dance with me.

About half way through the evening, something strange started happening whenever we were all sitting back at our table.... The staff of the bar started bringing us...women...to come and sit with us. I had no idea if these were just other patrons in the bar, or maybe they were bar staff, or perhaps they were...ummm...hostesses??? Turns out they were prostitutes, ready and available for our disposal. Oh my!!! Chris and Charles that this was GREAT, and were laying on the charm like you wouldn't believe on these girls, some of whom seemed to really enjoy the attention, and some of whom looked absolutely petrified. They seemed to just come and go, these girls, and I was happy that their visits didn't turn to more.

Next thing we knew it was 2am and Glenn, Chris and I were starting to crash. And plus at this point I was getting really worried about what our bill was going to be like. After all the beer and the food and the women and the special service...I knew it was going to be painful when it arrived... Two others had joined us at this point too - 2 Chinese guys who Charles met in the bathroom. The Chinese guys, Chris and I were pretty sure, either 'swang both ways' or were just plain gay, cause even though they claimed they had girlfriends back home, they were ALL OVER CHARLES who seemed to love flirting with them. Chris gave a few winks to them just to see what would happen, and the one guy practically took Chris right there in the bar! OH MY!

2am became 2:30 became 3:00, and we were still trying to make our way out of the bar. Chris, Glenn, and I had each slapped down 20,000 won, claiming that 'that's all we had'. Something just did not seem right with James and his Korean friend - it seemed like James was doing all the ordering and stuff, and claimed that we didn't need to worry about the bill, yet weren't putting up any cash at all.... Chris and I had this feeling that we were being taken advantage of... After paying what we guessed our portion was, or should be, the 3 of us left the bar to go get some air and let the others take care of the rest. In all honesty I just wanted to get out of there - if the bill was something crazy expensive, Chris and I had agreed to just make a break for it. We waited outside for the others to come out, but they didn't... So we waited and waited and waited...getting more and more worried about what was happening back inside with the bill. Glenn disappeared inside to go and find out what was going on, promising he'd be right back to let us know what was happening. He didn't come back...

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity passed, everybody emerged from the bar, a-okay. Turns out the bill had been disgustingly expensive (I never did hear the final total), but thanks to one of the Chinese guys that Charles had met, who I guess knew the owner of the bar?, it had been bargained down to about $200. Not bad I guess for a night full of booze, food, women, and a growing table of guests... I was just relieved that we didn't have the Korean Mafia after us or anything! haha!

We all said our goodbyes, exchanged phone numbers, and Glenn, Charles, and I caught a taxi back to Shihung. By the time I got home it was about 4 AM, and I could hear my bed calling my name from blocks away... I was dead tired, but it was an awesome night, full of new wonderful experiences, and I can't wait to have a million more just like it before the end of the year! BUCHEON ROCKS!

Day 7: Adventures At Bucheon

Teaching English has been overall quite an enjoyable experience, but I must admit that it's quite draining at the same time. The kids are adorable, but have so much excess energy to burn it can be hard to keep up with them. And also, even though I'm only teaching basic English, everything I speak and write out has to be so carefully thought-out. Will the kids understand what I'm saying? Are they learning anything new or is this just review for them? Is this the direction Steven wanted me to take the lesson in? Am I going too fast? Too slow? Steven has been a great director so far, but sometimes the language barrier makes it a bit difficult to understand what he's trying to convey. We're not always on the same page with things, and I find that he gets really frustrated at times with the kids when they don't understand what he's trying to teach them. But if *I'm* having a hard time understanding the lesson...the kids must be completely lost! Either way, it just takes a lot of patience and dedication, and we always seem to figure things out in the end.

So by the time six o'clock came 'round, I was SO READY for the weekend! I went home, had a quick dinner, and got ready for my first night out on the town in Korea. I was meeting up with Charles at 9pm in front of Kolon-Mart, and had to be prepared for absolutely anything. Who knows what direction the night will lead us?

I met up with Charles, and was informed that Glenn, the other Canadian guy who lives in his building, would be joining us that evening. We marched over to the bus-stop, and I got introduced to Glenn. Glenn was fairly...interesting as well... He's 26 (but looks closer to 36) and had a bit of a surly look about him. He's from Halifax originally but has been teaching English in Korea for almost 2 years now. I also got a bit of a weird vibe from him too (where are all the "normal" North Americans?) but he seemed nice enough anyways. We boarded the 015 and rode on over to Bucheon Station - my first bus ride in Korea!
The bus costs only 520 won (less than 50 cents Canadian) and like Charles promised, the bus ride to Bucheon was only around 15 minutes or so.

We arrived at Bucheon, rounded the corner, and instantly my jaw the ground... Bucheon is the closest subway station to me and is located in a MASSIVE office complex. Just outside the station is a huge roundabout with cars spinning around, surrounded by soaring office towers and dozens of brightly-lit restaurants and stores. And I couldn't get over how BUSY the area was!!! The streets were absolutely packed with hundreds of people coming to and fro, all on their way out to hit the nearby clubs and bars. The street with all the cool clubs is a block over from the station, but before heading there Glenn took us down a dark alley nearby, so that he could show us the nearby 'red-light district.' Charles was giddy with excitement - he's probably the horniest person I've ever met in my life, and talks non-stop about various kinds of Asian women (he's lived in several countries in Asia) and what they like in the bedroom, what kinds of panties various nationalities prefer to wear, the girls he met when he was a stripper in Taiwan, etc. Charles talks pretty much non-stop, but at least his energy and enthusiasm are high. And man does he have some interesting stories... Glenn is much more shy and quiet, but certainly made it clear he likes his Asian women too, especially young ones... Anyways....

So we stepped into the red-light alley (which is literally red, due to the buildings' red-coloured exteriors and neon) but it was fairly quiet with virtually no one in the street. We strolled down the alley, and every doorway we passed had some Asian hooker standing or sitting just inside the doorway, skirt pulled high, blouse cut low, giving each of us bambi eyes and pouty lips, beckoning us inside... "Oh the ones here tonight are all skanky and nasty, let's move on" declared Charles. Fine by me!

We headed over the the street with all the clubs, which is *amazing* just to look at and walk through. It's probably at least 6-8 blocks long and is completely lined with bars, clubs, hoppin' restaurants and street stalls selling all kinds of snacks, ranging from corn dogs to pasta to deep-fried unidentifiable sea things. And again, the crowds were unbelievable - so busy, so festive, so high-energy. Music is blaring/screaming/bellowing from giant speakers on each corner - a complete party atmosphere to the extreme! And with the buildings covered from top to bottom in neon, it's a completely surreal sight. Like being in some fantasy Asian music video or something... WOW!!!

Charles led us to a bar called Halloween - the ones that's supposed to be popular with foreigners. It was near empty when we stepped inside (still a little early in the evening - only around 10pm) so we decided to walk around a little more instead, and Charles wanted to grab a snack. We found a cafe that serves Western-style sandwiches and I was very excited about this - I've been craving a half-decent sandwich since arriving - now I know where to find one! After eating his sandwich, Charles was still hungry ("I'm really craving some MEAT, man! Let's go get me some MEAT!") We found the stand selling giant sausages, and so Charles ordered three. While standing there, watching Charles eagerly devour the meat, ketchup and mustard running down his hand and all over his face, something totally cool happened. The bar across the street started to blast "Ice Ice Baby", only it was sung by some Asian guy with a girl singing the chorus!! Charles and I instantly broke out into the lyrics, him and I still having the entire song memorized! Glenn looked at us like we were from Mars, but it was absolutely hilarious to belt it out in the street, and it's a silly random moment that I'll never forget.

More to come later tonight...I must duck out....

Day 6: Say Cheese!

Last night I had a knock at my door, and it was Steven. He was popping by to invite me along with his family to attend his eldest daughter's graduation ceremony the following morning. Pass up a chance to not only experience some Korean culture, but also a car ride? I think not! We left the next morning at 10 AM and drove on over to Bucheon, the city next to Shihung City. (The nearest subway station of the same name, according to Charles, is somewhere in this area...)

Bucheon is at least twice the size of Shihung City and is typical of a Seoul suburb - busy crowded streets, massive freeways, and towering apartment complexes as far as the eye can see... And no matter which direction you turn, in the distance you can see other neighbouring suburbs, and other towering apartment complexes dotting the horizon - a full 360 degrees of megacity. The size of Seoul (and technically I haven't even been to Seoul yet) amazes me each and every day.

Sandy's elementary school was located right smack in the middle of one of these high-rise complexes, and all the parents gathered outside the school, eagerly awaiting for their children to exit. I had been assuming that we'd be attending an actual 'ceremony' of some sort, but there was nothing of it - perhaps the real ceremony is for the students only? Either way, it was really nice to just hang outside in the warm sun - today was definitely the warmest day yet since I've arrived.

Since it was a special occasion, I had donned my classic snazzy blue-shirt/yellow-tie suit get-up, and was attracting much attention. Children ran around me and waved at me, and parents stared curiously from a safe distance. Vendors nearby were selling cotton candy (something I didn't expect to see in Korea) and flowers, and soon it was time to enter the school to seek out Sandy. The school inside was a wonderful chaos of proud parents and excited children, all eager to have their picture taken with their respective teachers, extended families, student peers, etc. Soon we found Sandy and it was our turn to join the festivities. And that's when it all began...

Sandy's mother, Susan, took a couple photos of her with her diploma and flowers, next to myself and Steven. And then a few of Sandy's friends ran over and also wanted to have their picture taken with her...and me.... Next thing I knew there was a virtual line-up of parents dying to take a picture of me with their child, each of them absolutely thrilled to have the photo opp with a foreigner. I must admit that I was enjoying the attention, and showed off my pretty pearlies with my arm around each child, as a good sport would. But then it started to get a little too crowded and became a bit too chaotic, so Steven suggested we head outside the school to take some private family photos outside.

No sooner had we stepped outside and had only taken ONE family photograph, it all started up again. I was soon surrounded by a virtual paparazzi of parents with their cameras and videocameras pointing at me. Instantly I was surrounded by kids who wanted to have their photo taken with me too. And *then* I was being pulled by the arm by housewives so that I could be in their family photos - Sandy wasn't even around at this point! These were families and children that I had never seen before in my life! Steven, Susan, and Sandy just stood aside and laughed, enjoying the excitement and watching me get pulled left and right. I honestly felt like I was a Hollywood celebrity or something! I think I had more pictures of me taken today than even at my *own* graduation!

After the photo shoot, err.... graduation, we went and had a nice quiet lunch at a McDonald's back in Shihung. I'm sad to admit that I was actually kinda *excited* to see a McDonald's, and to find out that it's only 15 minutes walk from my house. The McDonald's is located in a newer area of Shihung City, just a few blocks from the now-infamous Kolon-Mart. The area that Kolon-Mart and McD's is in what they call a "new town". It's an entire virtual city built from scratch - a master-planned community on steroids. Apparently Shihung City has won awards for its town planning in this 'new town' area, and I can see why. The new town is divided into several block areas or sections, each comprising a 4x4 block radius of stores, restaurants, and services surrounded by a ring of massive high-rise apartment towers. Right in the middle of the commercial area is a large outdoor public market, where vendors are selling anything and everything - fruit, small kitchen appliances, clothing, baby supplies, stationery, and of course, SHOES! Mixed in all of this is a well-developed network of trails and bike paths, as well as dozens of parks and playgrounds, and several schools ranging from kindergarten to high school. These new towns are very high density with thousands of people living in a small area, but the roads are designed to funnel traffic quickly out of the core, and the area is well serviced by transit, so it actually seems to function really well. It's like walking through a giant version of SimCity come to life! I wish I had my ol' GSU buddies here to walk through with me and just take it all in. So much cool urban planning geeky-stuff to talk about here!!!

The afternoon was spent entirely playing games again the play room - all I had to do was sit back and watch, or join in for certain games. After dinner I decided to go for a loooong walk through the new town area, right where we had lunch earlier. Once again, the city was a dazzling display of neon lights reaching high into the sky. This time I brought my camera and snapped a few shots - here's hoping they turn out!
I didn't run into any foreigners tonight, crazy or otherwise, but that should change tomorrow... Charles and I are supposed to go check out a bar near Bucheon Station that's popular with foreigners...should be a very interesting night, regardless of what happens... Wish me luck, and stay tuned...

Day 5: At The Kolon-Mart

Today was a great day! I woke up in a wonderful mood and was ready to take on whatever came my way. For whatever reason I was feeling especially confident and empowered, and decided that I wanted to tackle several missions today. Just one of those days when you wake up and *know* that it's going to be a good day.

Before I forget, last night while watching TV before bed, I was thrilled to come across some English TV shows - the first I've seen since arriving. I was channel-surfing when low and behold, I came across CSI! (and not the lame Miami version, but the kick-ass Las Vegas original one!) I WAS SO EXCITED! Who would've guessed that Koreans watch CSI? Certainly not I! As my Mom would say, I was 'happier than a pig in a pile of shit!' :-) And after that, I got to watch Sabrina The Teenage Witch, and then The Nanny. Hey, don't laugh! One will be excited over *any* English programming, regardless of its content, when one is removed from English networks.

School was great today - I'm becoming really comfortable with the kids, and feel much more at ease in front of the classroom. I feel like I've come a really long way, even in just 3 short days. The creative juices are flowing, and I'm starting to come up with some cool fun games for the kids to play. (However, I must confess, that I have 'borrowed' a few ideas for my games from Cranium's Word Worm category - who knew that a Starbucks board game would prove to be so handy?)

While at home for lunch today I finally got to open and eat that can of beans that I had been dreaming about the other day. Once again, another setback though... Turns out that baked beans in Korea are, umm....rather disgusting. I never realized that baked brown beans could be...crunchy...? They taste as if they've barely been cooked! (and yes, I nuked them quite well in the micro...) hmmm.... Yeah I don't think I'll be buying those again....

While on my one hour afternoon break (yes, I get a lot of breaks at work - 2.5 hours for lunch, and then an hour break in mid-afternoon) I was feeling especially bold and decided to tackle two of my biggest challenges - the two things that have been weighing on my mind the most since arriving - to figure out which bus will take me to the subway, and where I can catch it! And to figure out the god-damned calling card, so I can phone my parents! I decided to take care of the whole phone thing first, only this time I wasn't going to let any nasty cunty operator bitch stop me from doing it! I found a pay phone, dialed in all 2056 numbers needed to connect to Canada...and the phone actually rang.... Turns out it had been my mistake all along (choosing the wrong phone carrier when being given a choice of phone companies...wow I felt dumb!) So I phoned Mom and Dad at Nana's and it just rang and rang...DAMN! NO ONE HOME! So I phoned my sister in Thunder Bay, and listened to it ring and ring... And so then I tried my Auntie, and once again, it rang and rang and rang... Was nobody home? It was quite the let-down after finally figuring out how to do the call, but hey atleast I know how to make a phone call now!

On to my other challenge. Julia had informed me that the #1 bus goes to Sosa Station, and even though it is a half-hour ride away, is the nearest subway station. And then it's probably *at least* an hour on the subway to get downtown! I was quite distressed when I first heard about this! Turns out that I'm *really* out in the 'burbs. Looks like Shiheung City is like the Maple Ridge of Seoul! So much for 'evening jaunts' around Itaewon! (the foreigners' neighbourhood in the central city.) As forboding as this bus ride is, I thought "to hell with it - if Koreans do it everyday, so can I!" I did a quick walk around the area and found that, just up the street from my work, is a bus stop with a sign indicating that the #1 stops there! WOW! THAT WAS EASY! I definitely plan on going for that bus ride this coming weekend...

I decided that since I still had time to kill I'd treat myself to a coffee and donut at Dunkin Donuts, the one I saw on my first day of exploration. I remembered exactly where it was, went in and picked out a tasty snack, and that became not only my first 'meal' ordered at a restaurant by myself, but my first Western treat since arriving. YAH! On my way back to work I noticed a very large store called Kolon-Mart. Assuming that it is *not* a store selling (il)legal body organs, I made a mental note to check it out after work... Oh what surprises lay in waiting for me there....

The afternoon was spent playing games with the kids in the big play room - no real English lessons that day. After work I made a b-line for the phone, and tried again to phone my parents. The phone rang and....someone answered!!! It was my Uncle Paul, who sounded a little...out of it... Turns out I had severely mis-calculated the time difference between Seoul and Phoenix, and was phoning at 2:15am their time!!! OOPS!!! Either way, I got to speak to my very sleepy Mom for almost a half hour, and it was so wonderful to hear her voice. Not only was it amazing because it was a real English conversation, but I had been missing my parents so much since arriving, and I felt comforted just hearing her voice. I think I must have been talking a million miles a minute cause I was so excited - she barely got a word in edgewise! haha! I look forward to speaking to both my parents on Monday when they get home to Thunder Bay.

When I got home it was time for dinner, but nothing in my cupboard looked remotely appetizing. Still on my 'high of bravery', I decided a fast-food dinner was in order. I walked on down to the closest fast food joint - a Korean chain (correct me if I'm wrong...maybe they have these in the US?) called Popeye's. I had a cajun chicken burger and fries for dinner, and it was the first meat I've eaten since the plane! YUM! The restaurant was really cool because the eating area was up on the second floor, which provided a perfect view of the streetscape below. One thing definitely worth mentioning, is that Korean cities are night are BREATHTAKING. In the day Shiheung City is rather drab, dirty, and dare I say...plain? At night, that all changes.... All the buildings and stores in Korea are covered in magnificent, brilliant NEON lights! There is neon literally *everywhere* you look! Flashing lights! Changing colours! Dazzling designs! It's like living in a giant arcade! It really is absolutely amazing just to walk around and look at all the lights - Vegas pales in comparison to Korean cities. I wish you could see them - it really is incredible! (I promise to take lots of pictures!)

After dinner I thought it was a perfect time to go and find out what that Kolon-Mart was all about... I entered the store, and discovered that Kolon-Mart is like the Korean version of The Superstore - a huge store selling groceries and books and clothes and electronics and tons of other stuff - WOW! I was in heaven! I grabbed a basket (bring on the impulse buying!) and proceeded to walk up and down every single aisle slowly just to take it all in... It was clean and bright and the ailes were wide...it was almost like being back home, only with everything in Korean!

So there I am, meandering through the frozen foods section, in a consumerist daze, when all of a sudden...I heard a voice... "Hey man, how's it goin'?" I turned turned my head and saw....A CAUCASIAN MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh My God! Seriously, I just about shit my pants!!! I could not believe my eyes! His name was Charles, he looked about my age, and was the first English speaker I've seen since arriving in Korea. Yes, he was teaching English too, and lived about 2 minutes from Kolon-Mart. Charles is from New Jersey, and this is his third (or fourth?) time teaching and living in Asia. Someone to talk to! A new friend! Finally!!!!!!!!

However, my excitement quickly faded away, the longer the conversation continued... Something about Charles seemed a little...off... He was shifty and sketchy-looking, and looked like he came from the shallow end of the gene pool. (sorry that was too harsh...but something about him just did not look right.) I just got a really bad vibe from him... Every fourth word out of his mouth was fuck, he seemed to have a lot of negative views about people he had already met, told me right off the bat that he didn't want to talk about Canadian-American politics, and then proceeded to tell me about his other experiences when he lived in Asia before. Including getting drunk every night with the Chinese when he lived in China, and working as a stripper in Taiwan. (and trust me, on the hot-or-not scale, this guy would rate about a '2'.) Murphy's Law - the first foreigner I meet, and he's right out of Jerry Springer.

We chatted for about a half hour or so, and then exchanged email addresses. On my way home I kept going over the unusual conversation we had, and tried to figure out the strange vibe I got from him. He made me feel uneasy, and I contemplated not ever contacting him again, but then realized that would be foolish. First off, maybe I'm being too judgemental? I mean I only just met the guy - maybe he just gives really, *really*, REALLY bad first impressions.... And secondly, for fuck's sake he's someone who speaks English!!! That is a resource that I just can *not* throw away. He may be a serial killer and eat puppies for breakfast, but he speaks English and seems to know the neighbourhood fairly well, including which bus to catch to the subway (I told him about the supposed half-hour ride on the #1 bus to Sosa Station, but apparently he's been on a different bus that gets him to Bucheon Station (the one after Sosa) in like fifteen minutes!!!) Yes, I hate to say it, but I need Charles in my life. And he even knows another Canadian living in his building! As weird as he is, I'm willing to give Charles another chance. I'll email him later and see what happens...wish me luck.

Day 4: I Have To Go Potty!

So my morning with the kindergartens was rather amusing! I sat in on an English lesson being taught by a 'guest teacher' who only comes to our school once in a while. She had these really funny computer games for the kids to play. Today's first lesson was entitled "I Have To Go Potty" and was all about the importance of how 'to go poopy' properly (ie: the correct order for pooping, wiping, flushing, and washing) and what perils lie in waiting if we all don't follow it!!! These 3 animated characters, "Jolly", "Vanilla", and some-other-whose-name-I-forget re-enacted over and over for the kids on screen about proper bathroom etiquette, and really, it took all I had not to laugh out loud.... But hey, I guess it's important stuff to know, right? :-)

I had my first few lessons on my own this morning too, going over the alphabet and the spelling of basic words (fill in the blank kinda stuff) with the kindergartens. They're all absolutely adorable, and when I first walk into the class they all run up and hug my leg and don't want to let go! They're more difficult to teach than the older kids, even though the lessons are much simpler, just because of their fact that their attention spans last about 5 minutes and then they're bored, so you I have to keep things lively and changing to keep them interested.

At home for lunch I was all looking forward to enjoying a can of beans...yumm....(yes, the simplest things in life really do give the most pleasure, especially these days!) when all of a sudden I realized..."Fuck! I don't have a can opener!!!" Well, there goes that idea!!! And there it formed - my mission for the day - to seek out and purchase the ever-elusive can opener. (I figure if I give myself, and accomplish, at least one important mission which will make my life any easier, than it's been a successful day!)

The afternoon proved to be alright - I got to test my acting skills today when I had to be a mime for the kids and "mime/act out" objects/animals/emotions/body parts that they had to guess. Quite a fun game actually - they seemed to love watching me transform myself (in absolute silence of course, hence the power of miming) into a variety of things, ranging from an airplane to a spoon to a shoe to any and every farm animal imaginable. (I'm expeting my Academy Award For Miming to arrive in the mail any day now...)

I had an hour and a bit to kill in between blocks today, so I decided to go for a walk and check out more of the neighbourhood. REI is located, methinks, in the sort of 'commercial shopping centre' of Shihung City, or atleast this part of the city. There's a lot more streets full of stores in this area than I thought, but at least 1/3 of them seems to be a shore store, or someone selling squid. I've seen squid in every conceivable shape, colour, size, and smell since I've arrived. Koreans sure do love their squid. (and no, that's not a bandwagon I'm about to jump on anytime soon!)

During my walk I was thrilled when I discovered a pay phone that *actually* accepts coins, and not just phone cards, which I have yet to purchase. I attempted to phone my parents, who are visiting Nana in Phoenix, but was informed by an EXTREMELY RUDE OPERATOR BITCH that I couldn't make a collect call to Arizona on a Canadian phone card... What the fuck? Why not? When I tried to explain why I was doing so, she responded with "I can't understand you when you're talking and eating at the same time sir!" in a tone that made want to spit. Was I actually eating anything? NO! I'M ON A FUCKIN' PAY PHONE IN SEOUL, KOREA LADY!!! I swear if I could've reached through that phone to slap her I would have!! Oooohhhhh!!!
Looks like Mom and Dad will have to wait until they get back to Thunder Bay before I can speak to them....*sigh*

On the way back to class, I heard my first English song ever (well, since arriving here in Korea.) I was almost back at REI, when, like a gift from heaven, there I heard it, blaring from a not-unlike-Gap store in the market....Miss Britney Spears, proclaiming proudly what 'a slave for me' she was.... It totally made my day! I think it was a sign from above. I really needed a little Britney at that moment, or really, a little anything English, and it came at just the right time.

After work I set out on my mission to find a can-opener, and once again with a little help from Julia, I was able to find one, along with some tupperware, soap, and a tea towel. Shopping is a very different experience here, as many stores are just a mix of everything. 10,000 little mini-Walmarts all scattered throughout the market, each containing a slightly different combination of useless items for your household that you never really realize you need until you step into those stores... Impulse buying at its best.

Day 3: First Day Of School

Today was my first day of teaching at my new school, and it went smashingly well! My day is divided into 'blocks' of teaching, beginning at 10:30am. The morning is spent with the kindergarten-aged children, who are shy, but polite and very adorable. Teaching English to them is very easy, as right now it is limited to playing games with them that ask them to tell me the colour of the pen I'm holding, or count something, or say 'yes or no' to basic questions I ask them. A breeze!

I was then given 2.5 hours for lunch - wow! I went home and chatted a bit online, talking to friends back home and making perhaps my first new friend here in Korea, Etien, an American who I met online who is in the military here in Seoul. He seems like a really nice guy and almost as lonely as I am! We may get together this weekend to tour the town. I'm looking forward to having some English-speaking company!

My afternoon at REI was great! I had 3 blocks (each block is a half-hour) of elementary kids, and they're my favourite! They're all extremely excited to have a foreigner at their school (I'm the only foreign teacher working at REI - all the rest are Koreans) and they're fascinated by me! My height especially seems to enthrall them, and I am especially popular with my young female students who enjoy taking pictures of me on their high-tech camera cell phones to send to their friends. In each block we played more games, and spent time drawing whatever I asked the kids to draw. The different games test the kids' vocabularies, and allows them to have fun while using English.

I had an hour in between two of my blocks and spent it hanging out with about a half dozen of the kids in the office. Several of them presented me with candy, and even though their command of English is limited, it was fun to ask them questions, and they had plenty to ask me. One of them, a boy also named Scott, seems really attached to me already, but I appear to be a hit with all of them. I took out my Korean Phrase Book (thanks Barb, great gift!) and I had a blast with the kids as they helped me with my Korean and I helped with them their English. They love it when I attempt basic Korean, especially when I occasionally mangle the words.

The other teachers there are really nice, especially one girl Julia who works mainly in the office. Her English is best out of all the other teachers, and she was really friendly. She had plenty of questions to ask me, and was eager to practice her English. She seems really sweet, and also keen to help me with my questions. Every Korean I have met so far has been extremely polite and helpful, and Julia even went as far to accompany me after work to show me where I can buy an alarm clock. 4 of my female elementary kids followed along, and it was fun to wander through the stores browsing. After finding a clock, Julia headed off home, but the 4 young girls continued to follow me through the market, holding my hand and running around me dancing and chasing each other. I went back to the grocery store to buy some more food, and it was fun to shop for food with 3 11-year olds and the one 9-year old! They helped me find food and pick out 'what tasts best' - they especially loved the cookie aisle! They then walked me home and yelled "bye-bye Scott" as they ran off home. SO CUTE!!!

I feel a lot more comfortable here already, and my kids have been wonderful. I think I'm really going to like teaching English to them, and am sure that I will bond to quite a few. I'm looking forward to doing some serious exploring of Seoul this weekend in my free time - if only now I can figure out how to get to the nearest subway station! Step by step I seem to figure things out - I've just gotta learn to be more patient sometimes! It's in my nature to 'land and conquer' immediately, but Seoul is going to take some time. As my Mom used to always tell me while growing up "patience is a virtue", and I definitely need to practice that here. But so far it's so good, and I'm looking forward to my day tomorrow.

Day 2: First Impressions

Today was Sunday, and the first (and only) full day I had to myself before starting work on Monday. I slept in late, and then had a lovely breakfast of toast and water while sitting on my bed watching the Grammy's on M-Net, Korea's music station. Prior to the Grammy's I got to watch bits of Korea's Top 50 music videos - a fascinating experience in musical cheese at its best. Each video attempted to out-cheese the other, with long emotional ballads involving Koreans crying and chasing each other in fields or in the rain while cooing for the camera, or with boy bands (still alive and well in Korea) jumping around some stadium stage getting mauled by teenage girls but pretending not to care, or with bad-ass Korean rocker-pop chicks getting their groove on in slick sexy warehouses, hair constantly moving, yet perfect in every frame. Perfectly cheesy - I loved every minute. Korean commercials are my favourite to watch. Because I can't understand what they're saying, I enjoy trying to guess what product the commercial is for until it is finally revealed. The ones that always throw me off the most are the ones for 'feminine products'. (I never see it coming!) :-)

Steven came by around noon to take me out and show me where the school is. REI American Language School is the name of the school I'll be teaching at, and it's about a ten-minute walk from where I live. The school is located in the local market area, which is fascinating to wander through. At the market, which is always busy, one can buy just about anything, from clothing to shoes to squid to tupperware. I TOWERED above the crowd and felt like a giant. Steven then took me to the local grocery store and bought me my first load of groceries - very kind of him indeed. Him and his family have been extremely welcoming and accommodating, and have been very generous to me. The grocery store was small and had limited selection, but it was fun to wander the aisles and gaze at all the Korean products, none of which contained any English, save for a couple key words here and there on a few products.

I had the afternoon to myself, so I decided to take a long walk and explore my neighbourhood on foot. Shihung City, according to its signposts, boasts itself as "clean and beautiful". In all honesty the area seems rather dirty and run-down to me, but I'm most likely thinking that because I've been spoiled by living in luxurious Vancouver. It was fun to wander down random streets to see what I could find. Shihung is a mix of industrial, commercial and residential buildings, all sharing the same block often. Absolutely massive high-rise housing complexes consume the cityscape, mixed in with older low-rise homes. I was surprised to come across a few familiar Western chains, including 7-11, Baskin Robins, and Dunkin Donuts. I'll definitely have to check those out later!

What was most surprising to me was the fact that I spent the whole afternoon wandering around, and not once did I see a single Caucasian person. NOT ONE! I think foreigners must be a bit of a novelty in this part of the city, because I get plenty of stares and even have random Korean girls giggle and wave at me! I feel like a bit of a celebrity and am not used to all the stares and attention, but it's fun anyways. It's a bit lonely not having anyone to talk to, as my conversations are limited to my boss who speaks basic English at best, but I'm sure it's just a matter of time until I come across some other foreigners. This weekend I hope to venture into central Seoul and feel pretty confident I'll find some them.

I spent the evening at home surfing the net and watching TV. One thing that I've learned for sure in the last day or two is that technology is *amazing*. At one time I was talking on Messenger to 3 friends of mine, all in different corners of the globe - Arion in Marysville, Washington, Travis in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and Matt in London, England. And me in Seoul, Korea! AMAZING! All connected, all together, yet thousands of kilometres apart. Which leads me to ask, if we were all up and awake, when the hell does anyone sleep!!!??? I feel lonely at times, but having internet at home helps me feel better by staying well connected to my friends all over the globe. People whine and cry all the time about all the burdens that technology has brought us, but at this moment, I am so very thankful for it. GOD BLESS THE INTERNET!

Day 1: Safe & Sound

Well here I am, alive and well, in the Land Of The Morning Calm - Korea!!! I arrived here in Seoul after an 11-hour flight over the BC Coast, Alaska's Aleutian Islands, and Japan. I was bitter that not only did I not get a window seat, but the lucky bastards who did *slept* through most of the flight! (Rule #1 about flying - if you're blessed enough to receive a window seat, you must use every single minute to savour the unreal experience that it is to fly thousands of feet above our magnificent Earth's surface, otherwise give up your goddamned seat if all you're gonna do is sleep!) :-) I was hoping, as a 'safe back-up plan', to be bumped up to first class by some sympathetic flight attendant, but alas, my hopes for such were all in vain.... (Note to self - must flirt even more, with any and all flight attendants, regardless of age, gender, sexuality, or level of attractiveness, in order to fulfill desires of flying first class without paying for such.)
I must say that I was impressed with AirCanada's service on this long haul. And I can tell you that it is a VERY RARE occurrence for me to be impressed that with airline. The food was plentiful and delicious, and we were given a variety of movies and tv shows to entertain us as we sailed westward over the horizon.

We landed at Seoul's Incheon International Airport at 5pm and I was thrilled to be in Korea. While landing I got a few glimpses of the sprawling ginormous megacity that is Seoul. Seoul, at 18 million, is the world's fifth largest city and it was amazing to see it spread out in every direction as far as the eye could see. Incheon is a brand spanking new airport constructed on an artificial island in the ocean, about 52 km. from Seoul. The huge multi-billion dollar airport is clean, bright, modern, and very English-friendly. There was about a dozen of us "Non-native Koreans" on the plane and we had to file into 2 lines for Immigration, which proved to be a breeze to get through.

I claimed my luggage (yes Mom, I packed WAY TOO MANY CLOTHES) and gave myself ahernia (sp?) carrying it out. Oh wait...there's one of those handy airport carts. THANK GOD. I was met by boss, Steven, and his family (his wife Susan, and his daughters Sandy and Ester.) They were excited to meet me and very friendly. Into their car we jumped, and then it was off to the mainland to my new apartment.
On the way into the city (which basically has grown right to the shores of the Yellow Sea) I was able to take in the view of the periphery of this megacity. Incheon is also Seoul's main port city and the waterfront was lined with port facilities at sizes beyond my comprehension. The ocean was full of dozens of huge ocean-going ships coming and leaving port. Massive freeways led into the city, lined with rows upon rows upon rows of soaring, near-identical, high rise apartment towers. I felt like I had landed on an alien planet, and was enthralled with the sights. As an urban planner at heart, my poor lil eyes just couldn't take it all in fast enough.

I live in one of Seoul's southwest suburbs, Shihung City, and by the time we got there it was dark. I live in the basement suite of the house my boss and his family lives in. It's a bit of a hole, but it's cozy and comfortable. (I'm *loving* the heated floors in my bedroom!) My apartment consists of a small kitchen with a fridge, table and chairs, sink, microwave, toaster, rice cooker, and a small gas stove. My bedroom has a big comfy bed, and to my surprise, a computer with internet, and a TV with cable! YAH!!!! That was definitely a bonus that I was not expecting.

Now as for my bathroom situation...well....let's just say I'd describe it as "unique". There is one room for the toilet, which is accessed via my bedroom. You open a door, walk up three LARGE steps, and there it is, under the stairs...hmm.... As for the shower, well that's in another room by the front door. In that room, the shower is the WHOLE room, so when I shower, everything gets wet - walls, floor, washing machine, everything. The showerhead is one of those annoying little hand-held thingies, situated about 2 feet off the floor. Luckily I can pull it off the wall and 'aim at will', but I've also already mastered the whole 'lather-rinse-repeat' deal while croutched down on the floor with my eyes closed, trying to touch as little of the -45 C floor as possible. Oh yeah, about hot water...I seem to have plenty (although it does come and go at will while I'm showering) but everytime I want hot water for either the shower or the kitchen sink I have to push a button to 'turn it on' on the wall. Quite interesting indeed.

I've already unpacked fully and have made my apartment that much cozier and homey. I was feeling *serious* jet lag by the time 11pm came in Seoul and so I went to bed and slept a wonderful 11-hour sleep. Sweet dreams for me...