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.