Sweet Daegu

Tonight Sonja and I went to dinner at a chicken and beer place we found across the street from our campus. It's kind of new. When I was here three years ago there was a bakery in its place.

When I walked past the other night and noticed it, there was no one there. They had tables outside and it was a beaufitul cool evening. I wished I had gone there instead of the Well-Being restaurant again.

Tonight as we walked up I could see a rather large crowd of men sitting outside. I started to feel like I didn't want to go, but I didn't want us to have to figure out where else to go, so I kept quiet. I tried not walking directly up so I could case the joint first, but Sonja went boldly forward. I followed and we went inside.

There were two men sitting at a table and two women at another. A middle-aged woman seemed to be running the place with the help of a younger guy - maybe her son.

We sat down at a table in the back in order to be as inconspicuous as possible. At least it wasn't like my experience in China when everyone turned to watch me eat. Once we sat down, no one paid attention to us.

The woman came over to take our order. She asked if we wanted barbecue chicken. We said yes. She asked if we wanted spicy. Sonja said no, I said yes. Sonja was turned off of spicy food by our lunch today. I had to go to the bank during lunch to change money and Sonja went with me. We went to the kim bap place for lunch because we didn't have time and it is near the bank and fast.

I was going to get cold noodles but Sonja pointed to something all of the ladies were eating and asked for it. I decided to make it easy and said "two".

We got noodles with some vegetables on top and half a hard boiled egg. The noodles were drenched in kochujang - the spicy red chili paste that Koreans use in so many dishes. It was fiery to say the least. I ate mine, but Sonja couldn't finish hers. So, I could understand why she was wary of spicy barbecued chicken.

Anyway, Sonja ordered and I had no idea what she asked for. She just kept saying yes to everything the woman said to her in Korean. Sonja does not speak Korean, so she didn't know what she ordered either. At least we knew it would be chicken. We also ordered beer.

Turned out we got a plate of chicken, half was not spicy, just salt, and the other half had a spicy/sweet barbecue sauce. It was very spicy, but only tip of the tongue spicy. I really liked it. Sonja ate the mild chicken and I ate the spicy chicken.

The food was okay, but the experience was a bit odd.

The two men who were there were quite loud. They had already finished several bottles of beer and then were working on a bottle of soju. One guy's cell phone kept ringing and he would answer it and speak very loudly. They were both older guys, one was wearing a traditional Korean linen shirt and had a big fan. They both had dyed jet black hair. They reminded me of the Yakuza types I would sometimes see in Japan (Japanese mafia). They had a kind of roughness about them that I found a little scary, but maybe it was just that they were of a different class than most Korean men I have interacted with.

Soon another guy joined them and more beer came out. The conversation got louder.

Two more men of the same type came in. One had a cigarette dangling from his mouth. I have not seen people smoking cigarattes in restaurants here. I think it's illegal, but this guy lit up. The place began to smell of smoke and it was getting loud. I imagined it would only get louder as the night wore on and the bottles of beer on the tables stacked up.

The woman who worked there was really sweet and kind to us. She made us feel very welcome in spite of the otherwise unseemly crowd. As soon as we finished eating we left - the smoke and the noise were not pleasant, and the kung fu movie I could see from my seat was really violent (though it only added to the overall effect).

We decided to go to the Marshmallow Cafe for a waffle with ice cream for desert. We walked through the little market nearby to get there. I love this market. It's another one of those markets that has fish mixed with clothes and everything else. We passed some tables with people eaitng and drinking, a ginseng store, some dried fish, fruit vendors and came across a little store with a lot of activity. I could smell roasted sesame seeds which smelled really good and made me want to eat whatever it was that was made with them.

As we passed this store, the smell got stronger. I told Sonja I thought maybe the smell was coming from there. They had a little plate of mochi (or in Korean "ddeok") - rice cake, that was covered in adzuki beans. I pointed to it and the people from the shop came out and offered us some. It wasn't that good and was definitely not sesame. They motioned for us to come in, but it looked like they only had fish. We tried to decline.

Someone came out with some liquid in dixie cups. I tasted it and said, "shikye" - it was one of my favorite sweet rice drinks. The guys standing in the doorway applauded my Korean. Again, they motioned for us to come inside. Finally Sonja went in. I followed. One of the guys led me in by my elbow.

They had all kinds of dried fish in bags and were packaging these big round things that looked like some kind of thin, dried fish pancake. It did not appeal to me at all. I felt like I should buy something, but wasn't in the mood for a bag of dried anchovies.

Somehow they communicated to us that it was their opening day. We congratulated them and wished them good luck and then bowing and saying thank you, made our way out. They said "good-bye" and "thank you" in English. They were really sweet. I felt like I had just visited good friends for dinner and they were waving good-by from their porch.

We walked further down in the market and finally found where the smell of sesame seeds was coming from. A woman was working in a little store that had rice cakes and all kinds of seeds on display, including black sesame seeds. I bought a package of rice cakes.

Finally we made it to our destination, the Mushroom Cafe. We ordered our waffle after exchanging greetings with the owner. She brought our waffle over and told us it was a "big" one. It was good.

The cafe was busy with mostly women. One guy came to get something to go. As we were finishing up our waffle, Nan, the woman who owned it, brought us two cups of something that looked like tea. We thanked her and smelled it as she went outside to wait on a table of ladies sitting outside. It was coffee! It was the same weak, not decaffeinated coffee she served us last week that kept me up all night. What were we to do?

I took a sip, but since we are going to Andong tomorrow by bus, I did not want to risk being up all night and didn't care if I offended her by not drinking it. We paid up and left, promising to return again (even though I am thinking I will not).

We had to stop back at the chicken and beer place because Sonja left her sunglasses there. As soon as Sonja walked in, the woman came running with her glasses. She told us to come back again sometime. I wouldn't mind going back on a weeknight when it is not as crowded and we can sit outside. The woman who ran it was adorable.

The people of Daegu have been so sweet to us. Everywhere we go we get smiles, bows, and extra service. It really has been amazing being here and speaking so little Korean and being treated as if we were special guests. Of course not everyone is that way, especially downtown where it is more of a big city feel, but where we are, it feels very country and sweet and I really appreciate the kindness of our neighbors.

Broke In Daegu

Changing money is a real problem here. I have never been to a place where it is so hard. I guess it's because we are off the beaten track.

I changed all of the cash I had at the airport and have spent it all. On Saturday we were downtown and we went to the one bank I know that has an ATM that works with foreign credit cards for cash advances. I only got 100,000 won, which was about $86.00, thinking that it would be enough to get me through the week. It lasted me until today. Where did all of my money go? I guess eating out is costing more than I think.

Well, anyway, I tried a nearby bank today that has a sign outside saying Foreign Exchange and their ATM did not work with my card - it is only for Domestic accounts (they why do they say Foreign Exchange?).

I went with Sonja downtown this evening and ran to the bank where we got money on Saturday, inserted my credit card, asked for money and it was denied. It said something like "you can no longer use this card". I assumed my credit card company had frozen my account, like they had been doing on just about every third purchase I made a few months ago until they got tired of me calling them and chewing them out. I supposedly now have the highest security clearance on my account.

Well, I didn't know what to do, so I went across the street where Sonja was waiting for me and told her I needed to find a pay phone. I thought I could call them and they could unfreeze my account and I could go back and get the money I so desperately needed.

We found a pay phone and I dialed 0, and a little voice told me to insert a coin. I inserted a coin, and dialed 0 and a little voice told me first in Korean, and then in English, that my call was "delayed" and I should try again. I tried again and the same sweet voice told me my call was delayed. What the hell did that mean?

I was getting really frustrated.

Sonja said, "let's find some young people and ask them if they speak English". I hate doing that, but I was desperate, so I followed her as she approached a trendy looking young couple and said, "Do you speak English?" and they just looked at her like they had seen a ghost and shook their heads. She asked if I wanted to try someone else and I told her it was too embarassing for me and for them.

We went into Debec Department store which was right there to see what kind of restaurants they had on the top floor. Fortunately, Sonja had just changed money at the bank today during lunch, so she had cash.

There were several restaurants in Debec that had plastic food. We decided on one that had bi bim bap, some soups and Korean pancakes - one with scallions and one with seafood and another one that maybe had long green peppers. Fortunately the menu had English translations.

We ordered a bean sprout soup with rice and a seafood pancake.

The soup came bubbling in a stone pot and was really, really good. It had rice, seafood and some other stuff like pieces of rice cake (chewy mochi like stuff). I think it was among the most delicious thing we have had so far.

The pancake unfortunately had pieces of octopus. Sonja picked out what she could and I imagine ate some. She is afraid to eat octopus since she got sick after eating it in Mexico (if I stopped eating everything that I've gotten sick from, I would not be eating at all).

It was a good dinner and a nice place.

From there I suggested we go to the basement and see if anyone spoke English. The last time we were there a guy gave us samples of this black rice bread and he spoke some English. I thought they could tell us how to call the operator.

When we got there I didn't see black rice bread and was afraid to ask just anyone (in Japan major face-losing happens when you try to speak English to people and they can't answer). Instead, we sampled some things and walked around until we came to some strange looking candy-like substance. As we looked inquisitively, the woman said, "it's Korean candy" and gave us a sample. It tasted like molasses and peanuts. It was good (my dentist would not like me eating it though).

Sonja picked out a few pieces and when she was done paying, I asked the woman if she knew someone who spoke English (after she spoke to us in English, we had asked her and she said no).

She told me, "wait a minute" and went over to an older man who was standing near another stall. He got on his cell phone and the woman came back and told me, "please wait". She gave us a sample of some molasses like substance while we waited.

Soon, a younger guy in a shirt and tie holding a cell phone came walking through the market area and walked directly towards us. He asked, "Can I help you?"

I told him I needed to call my credit card company but didn't know how to call the operator. He didn't understand. I said I needed the operator on the telephone. I dialed zero but nothing happened. He was thinking and discussing it with the older man and the candy lady and Sonja said, "He needs to call his credit card company because there is a problem." I think they were getting really confused.

Finally, he said, "I don't know". Woops. Face lost.

I told him not to worry about it, I could call when I got home. I thanked him and we left.

From there we explored a little of Daegu. I took Sonja underground to show her the other world there. There is an entire pedestrian shopping mall under the main street that goes to the subway station. It is like a parallel universe. We found a complete store dedicated to Hello Kitty, along with lots of other gems.

When we came up above ground, there was a little concert in the small park at the edge of the trendy area of downtown and we were close to another park I remembered from last time.

The park is the Debt Repayment Park and was built to commemorate the time in 1907 when Koreans contributed small amounts of money so that Korea could repay its debt to Japan and maintain its national sovereignty. Amazing. Women sold jewelry, people contributed the cost of a pack of cigarettes and the debt was paid off. Can you imagine the US government asking Americans to pay the cost of a pack of cigarettes to pay off our debt? There would be outrage.

We walked through the park, which is really pretty. There was a really nice basketball court, lovely little benches and paths, and a pagoda with a big bell in the center. Trees were lit and music played out of speakers on the lamp posts. It was a beautiful evening, clear, not too humid, cool and with a gentle breeze blowing. It was really a great night to be out.

Finally we took the bus home and I skyped my credit card company. They told me there was no hold on my account, so I don't know why it didn't work. I have some cash I can exchange tomorrow at the bank and tomorrow evening I'll go back and try again. I am hoping it will work. Otherwise, I may resort to begging or singing for change on the street.

Eating Is A Challenge

I'm no stranger to Korean food. I thought I knew it well. I can name several dishes and I've eaten in my share of Korean restaurants both in SF and here in Daegu. Yet, each time we set out to find something to eat, I feel like I am on a search for the holy grail and never know what obstacles will come in my path.

Tonight Sonja told me she would bring me to a restaurant she went to with a student the other night. They had a bento and some kind of potato pancake. She said it was good. But on the way, she told me she wanted Korean barbecue. I know the requirements - pork instead of beef, chair seating, air-con, and hopefully beer.

We headed down the big street from our dorm towards the bus station and subway stop nearest our campus where there is a lot of activity and I thought a lot of restaurants. On the way we passed several interesting possibilities - one had rose noodles, which I hope to find more about and try. One looked like they had kalbi, and maybe even pork kalbi (rib meat). But on we went, pushing our luck.

Sonja showed me the restaurant she ate with her student. I recognized it from last time I was here. We had to take taxis every day from our dorm to another site where we taught and we passed this place every time. Sonja then told me it wasn't really that good. She suggested the place next door but I could not tell from the sign what kind of food the served. I've learned from experience that going in and looking at the menu or talking to someone inside doesn't help but can only be more confusing and kind of embarassing. Across the street we saw a place that said "Korean Grill". It seemed like a good bet. But the sun was shining directly into the place and I thought it would be hot, so I suggested another direction.

We walked but didn't find anything. I then suggested we turn back to the Korean Grill. We walked up to the place and I was trying to read the menu outside. It looked like a bunch of circles, squares and lines. Sonja just walked right in. She tried speaking to the waiter in English. He motioned for her to wait. A woman came over and spoke to us in Korean. This is the 2nd time that has happened. Why they go and get another person who also only speaks Korean is beyond me. She spoke to us in Korean, Sonja spoke to her in English. No one understood anyone else.

I said, "kalbi?" and she said no - and mentioned something else. I think it was that fatty pork we had the other day. I said, "dweji kalbi?" thinking it was a pork restaurant. She said no, and mentioned the same thing again.

We got up and left.

We walked past another restaurant where people were grilling things on hot plate type things. Sonja walked in. I couldn't make out anything on the menu, so I stayed outside. I did not want to be embarrassed again.

Sonja stuck her head outside and called me in. I thought maybe she found someone who spoke English. Instead, I think I was summoned to speak the few words of Korean I could muster.

I said, "kalbi?", he said something else, but then he said, "kalbi sal". I wasn't sure what that was. I said, "dweji kalbi?", asking if they had pork ribs, he said again, "kalbi sal". I didn't know what it was, but I assumed it was beef rib meat. We said okay and sat down.

We grilled our meat on a big iron plate rather than charcoal. The side dishes were good. The meat was okay. I wondered if it was dog. I didn't say anything to Sonja. She wasn't thrilled with the meal. I thought it was okay, and filled myself up on whatever it was.

From there were walked to the little market next to the bus terminal. It was very interesting and as we reached the back of the market the huge mountain that we can see from our dorm appeared against a pink sky. It was beautiful.

We walked around the back alleys of the market which was quiet. It felt like we had entered a different world. We passed all sorts of little shops, clothing, hambok, meat, fish, hardware stores, rice and beans, you name it, all interspersed. Sonja mentioned how odd it was to sell fish and clothes in the same place. I hadn't thought of it, but it was kind of "different".

It was fun exploring, even though finding a restaurant can be very frustrating, especially since the responsibility seems to always fall on me unless we're with one of the other trainers who live here and speak Korean. I really wish I knew more about the restaurants and could tell from the sign what kind of food they served. I'm getting really tired of entering places only to find I have no idea what they are serving.

Korean Customs

This being my second time here, and after living in Japan for 6 years, you'd think I'd hardly take notice of Korean customs, but it's hard not to pay attention. For example, I am really distracted by the little 2nd floor outside area of the hospital across from the classroom I am in on Tuesday and Wednesday. There are several hospitals in the vicinity of our campus and it's not uncommon to see people walking in their pajamas in the park on our campus. It wasn't until I could see the deck of the hospital that I realized those pajamas are actually hospital issued, and those people are not just local residents, but patients in the hospital. What is really trippy though it to see guys sitting out on the deck garden hooked up to an IV and smoking cigarettes. I was watching yesterday and saw one guy with an IV, a guy with a broken arm, and another with a broken leg. What struck me first was that they were all smoking, and that they were still in the hospital and hadn't been sent home immediately like in the US.

The other custom that I remembered from my last trip, but had forgotten in the interim was the toothbrushing after lunch. Students walk around the hallway and into the restroom with toothbrushes sticking out of their mouths, foam seeping out the sides. It's great that toothbrushing is such a public affair. I even bought a little toothbrush with a mini tube of toothpaste in it's own little bag. Especially after eating kim chi with lunch, brushing your teeth makes sense.

People think nothing of kicking off their shoes in class and sitting cross-legged in their seats with their bare feet exposed (I'm jealous because I can't sit cross-legged).

Everyone says "nhe" - I'm not sure what it means, but I think it is a kind of "yes".

Drivers seem like they intend to hit pedestrians, even though it appears that pedestrians have the right of way.

Koreans don't "go Dutch" (or go American as some people say). Yesterday Sonja and I joined some students for lunch and one student paid for everything. All of our protesting was useless. It was his turn to pay and he told me it was "an honor".

When they give and receive things they use two hands. If they don't use two hands, one arm is bent at 45 degress so that that hand touches the elbow of the receiving or giving arm. My student told me this is done to show respect. I have started passing out handouts and receiving their journals more consciously than just throwing them at them like I usually do.

People walk on the backs of their shoes rather than putting them on completely, even women who are dressed to the nines can be seen with the straps of their shoes hanging loose.

Umbrellas are either put into plastic bags when you enter a restaurant, or left in a bucket at the door. They never carry wet umbrellas inside (whereas I'm afraid to leave mine because someone might steal it).

I'm sure there are many more and some of them even might be irritating. For now I am enjoying seeing the differences and trying my best to adjust. I've gotten pretty good at giving a little bow while still walking each time I enter and leave our dorm and say "anyonghaseyo" to the security guards.

Why Are We Here?

Today I had the highest level group. They are a lot of fun. I really enjoy watching them interact with each other. We did a lot of interactive activities and they were great. In one activity they had to tell a partner things they had on their papers. One guy had an ice cream sundae, but didn't know what it was, so he said, "There is a bowl, and on top of the bowl there is something that looks like a mountain. On top of that there is some kind of fruit". There was a lot of laughing and real communication between them, but when we got into a whole group situation and I asked them questions they got quiet and looked like they were exhausted. The difference was amazing.

One woman in the class is kind of a pain. She keeps turning off the air-conditioner, even though she knows I am the one who turns it on. I put the white board in front of it so it wasn't blowing directly on them (it's a really bad set-up), but it didn't matter. She also made me give them more breaks. I think she thinks she is kind of special, and among them she might be. I think she's the oldest one in the class, which gives her the most status.

I glanced through their journals after class where they reflect on what we do and several of them wrote that although they enjoyed the activities we did they can't use them with their students. They gave a list of reasons - big classes, mixed levels, no room, etc., etc... It makes me really frustrated because I wonder why we are here.

The Korean Ministry of Education is paying for this program. That means they pay nothing. They may also be getting paid to attend (I'm not sure about that). Between the High School and Elementary School teachers in our program, there are about 108 teachers participating. There is another program at a middle school with trainers from SIT (the School for International Training), a program in Daejon (another city nearby) and a program in San Francisco. All total, there are 250-300 teachers being trained through this one center. That translates into a lot of money. But all of the trainers are reporting the same things - teachers are complaining that they are being forced to participate, and in our program, many of the teachers are not even teaching English, and some can hardly speak English themselves. The whole thing is kind of crazy.

I will suggest to Jenny that in the future she might consider having different programs and letting the participating teachers choose which one they want to be in. One program can be for development of English Language Skills and the other program can be for developing English teaching skills. It seems kind of crazy to have a PE teacher who can hardly speak English in a program like this. I think the logic was that some of the teachers will be rotated into English classes in the future, but some of them told me that they are actually being rotated out now because there are other teachers with better English language skills.

The good news is that in spite of the many problems like big classes, instruction in Korean, etc., it seems to me that people are speaking more English to me than the last time I was here. Actually the last time, I don't remember people speaking English to me at all. But I had two girls in our dorm talk to me a little, even though their English was not that good, we had a taxi driver who spoke English, and downtown several people spoke to us in English. We even get an occassional "hello!" from kids on the street when we are walking.

The most amazing thing is that the Korean Ministry of Education is investing a lot of money into English training because they realize it will make them more competitive in the global marketplace. And in the US education budgets are being slashed because we don't have enough money. Something is definitely not right there.

ok su su suyum cha is yummy!

I was really looking forward to today because I had such a good time last week, but I forgot how rough my first day was, or rather, I remembered and thought it was just because it was the first day. Today confirmed that it was not that, but it was the group I have. Well, maybe it's Monday. Anyway, today was rough, and I am assuming next Monday will also be difficult because it will be the same group and it will be a Monday. Enough said. The rest of the week should go better.

Sonja and I got one of the cute guys from the office to escort us to a restaurant today and explain the menu. We ended up getting some sort of soup with rib bones that had a little meat on them. It was very spicy, but good. I was sweating for about an hour after lunch from the heat, the soup and the spice though.

I was glad to get to the end of the day and even gladder to get an e-mail from my friend Jen who recommended ok su su suyum cha, which is cornsilk tea. She said she felt bloated last year when she was here due to the high sodium diet and found this in a convenience store and it is recommended for water retention among other things. Maybe I am not fat, I am just bloated. That makes more sense.

So, I went to our little mini-market and looked for the bottle with the Boticelli type Venus that told me to look for. Instead, I found a bottle with a little country looking woman that another posting on the internet said marks the bottle. I could read ok su su on the lable in Korean and brought it to the counter and asked, "ok su suyum cha?" and the two women behind the counter enthusiastically responded "yeh".

So now I am drinking ok su su suyum cha and hoping that tomorrow I will be less bloated and my students will be more alive.

Nice Sunday

I slept kind of late today, maybe until 7:30 or so. It was a good sleep. I felt like I had overcome the jetlag and the effects of the decaffeinated coffee with caffeine. After having some de-caf green tea and a little of this rice cake I bought yesterday I dropped a load of laundry into the washing machine and walked down the street to buy some kim bap for breakfast. As I was walking there a woman rode past me on a bicycle and smiled. As she passed, I recognized her as one of the ladies from the kim bap place. It is funny to compare Korea to Japan. 6 years there and I could eat at the same restaurant and they would not give a hint of recognition. It was nice to feel like I am not invisible here.

After finishing my laundry I picked up Sonja and we walked to Wal-Mart. I know I'm supposed to boycott Wal-Mart, but they have a nice little food court and last time I found these great magnetic Korean letters for my refrigerator.

When we got there it turned out it was no longer Wal-Mart, but E-Mart. I don't know what the difference is, but I know there is a D-Mart near our campus. I wonder if there are A, B, and C Marts too.....

We couldn't find the Korean letters but we both bought a few things (I bought dried seaweed in little packets with paintings from the great masters like Van Gogh, Da Vinci, etc., and Sonja bought yogurt. We then went and had lunch in the food court. We both got tonkatsu - Japanese pork cutlet.

It was a lovely day. Warmer than yesterday, but still on the cool side with a nice breeze. We stopped at Baskin Robins on the way home and spoke to a man and his daugher who was very excited to see us. The daughter had CP and her father was very sweet with her. She kept smiling and was even more excited when my berry parfait arrived because it was the same thing she had. It got a little uncomfortable when Daddy asked us if we believed in God and started talking about his church. He gave me his business card and invited us to visit his apartment nearby and meet some of his friends. I think he was trying to recruit us.

We came back to the dorm and I took a nap while Sonja busied herself in her room. Sue and Elizabeth went to some mountain to hike today and the rest of the guys are gone.

I got up from my nap and took a walk to the park we went to the other night to listen to jazz and eat pizza and cocktails in a bag. The park was really busy today. In one section there were hundreds of older men. Many of them were playing GO, and some were just sitting and chatting. It was really an amazing sight. I can't imagine seeing anything like that in the US. Most of them were over 70, some were maybe a little younger. There were no women, only men.

In another section there were some women, but I imagined most of the women were at home cooking.

I kept walking and passed a swimming pool and a lake. Then I came to a little bicycle course that had a section set aside for kids on bikes with training wheels. I walked further and found a nice little pine grove with benches under the trees, and finally came across a really beautiful little temple.

I walked back towards the dorm, taking different streets and exploring different neighborhoods. As I approached the dorm, I decided to go to the little produce market next to D-Mart where we went last week. I got some really good plums there but really wanted a peach.

I went in and the husband was working. His wife and little boy were not there. He was sitting behind the counter looking a little bored. He jumped up and smiled at me, obviously recognizing me from last week. I picked up a little basket of peaches and he came over and said, "no". I was confused. Why couldn't I buy these peaches? I looked at him waiting for an explanation. He struggled with Korean and tried to use what few English words he knew. His gestures finally helped me to understand. "No good?" I asked. "Ah, yes, no good." he said, and then pounding his chest said, "honest".

I thought it was really sweet that he let me know the peaches were not good. They looked like they might be hard and maybe not ripe. So, I picked up a little basket of plums and said, "good?" and he said, "yes, very good!". He then went over to a box and pulled out a different kind of plum and gave it to me and said, "sample". I tasted it. It was the same plum we sampled last week when we were there. It was good, but there were none in a basket, and I didn't know how to ask for them. I looked around for something else to buy and he said, "apples", and then told me they were from his home village. I'm picky with apples and don't like apples that have been sitting in a warehouse for 6 months, but these looked like they might be freshly picked. I got a bag of apples.

My total was 5,000 won, about $4.00 US more or less. Somehow we started having a conversation at the cash register about something, I don't remember, but I didn't understand much of what he was trying to say. Then he said, "wait", and ran around from behind the counter to the box of plums he had me sample and grabbed a bunch and said, "sample". I thanked him and he continued to try to speak to me. At one point, he said something about Japanese, and I told him I spoke a little Japanese. That was when it got really funny. We started having a conversation in Japanese, Korean, English, and a little Spanish. For me the Spanish was sneaking in just because it is the one foreign language I feel most comfortable speaking. It was very odd. He told me he works for a Japanese company. I told him I lived in Japan for 6 years. We both laughed a lot.

Soon, my total went down to 4,000 won. As I got my change and picked up my bag, he said, "wait, wait", and again ran out from behind the counter and picked up a little plastic bag of something that looked like apple juice. He put it in my bag and said, you guessed it, "sample".

He was the sweetest guy I have ever interacted with anywhere. I came home and had a few plums which were very sweet, and a green apple, which was quite good. I have a lot of fruit though, and gave some to Sonja.

After I took a shower, I skyped Sonja and we arranged to go have dinner. We went around behind the dorm to a little neighborhood restaurant I went to the last time I was here that I thought served stews. It turned out to be a chicken soup restaurant. It had a nice homey, neighborhoody feel and I thought the chicken soup was better than what we ate at the other restaurant we normally go to. This one had a lot of rice in the pot.

We were sitting eating and one of the women in the restuarant walked by and took my ladle and mashed the remaining chicken in my pot. I wished she hadn't done that because then I had to pick through all of the bones, but I guess that is what you are supposed to do. The women who worked there were very sweet as well.

I thought when I came here I would be mostly working and not really enjoy being in Korea again because I thought the thrill of my first visit would not be there anymore, but I actually think I am having a better time this time than before. I am familiar with a little more of the food, I'm managing the language a little better (even though I still speak baby talk) and I am really enjoying my teaching. On top of all that, the weather these past few days has been amazing. Today we reached a high of 77 and when I went out with Sonja there was a deliciously cool breeze blowing.

I'm all set for the week, I have my copies all made and lessons all planned. All is good.

Traveling Alone is So Much Less Complicated

Once I got my door working properly and after Sonja and I had lunch, the four of us from the Bay Area went to the market.

Daegu has a huge market that has several buildings and is a maze of confusion. It's like a department store with thousands of vendors instead of one owner. We took the bus which somehow I remembered from 3 years ago. Something about Daegu is very easy for me to find my way around.

Once we got to the market though, I was a little confused. I was able to find one stall which had little Korean tchotchkies that make good souveniers, and we also found the stall that sells these lightweight type of linen jackets that men and women wear in the summer. Sonja bought a beaufitul one to cover her bare shoulders in class (apparently that is a no-no, but many of our students have bare shoulders - which is why they keep turning the air-con off).

We tried getting money from the ATM but once again failed. It is really difficult to find ATMs that work with foreign credit cards.

Walking around the market was exhausting, but interesting. I bought this little pancake like thing in a cup. The woman making them started with a ball of dough and then she put some cinnamon and sugar in the center and made it into a pancake. Then she fried it on a grill and stuck it in a dixie cup. It was super deliciously yummy. I would go back to the market just for that! It tasted like a cinnamon bun, but better.

I also liked the area where they sell hambok. Hambok are traditional Korean dresses, kind of like a Japanese kimono, but I think they are more beautiful. That section seemed cooler and less crowded than the rest of the market and all of the women working there were well-groomed, made up and some were wearing hambok themselves.

From the market we were able to figure out how to get to the subway - it all started coming back to me...but we made a stop at "sock street" which I don't remember seeing last time. After sock street we decided to take a cab and went to Dong A - a big department store on the edge of the downtown area.

Dong A had a little Starbucks on the first floor and we sat outside. It was nice and cool, even a little chilly - so strange for Daegu in the summer. I was sitting outside with my lemongrass tea (without caffeine) and a little old man wobbled by. He looked at me and then came over to talk to me. The only problem was that he was speaking Korean and I didn't understand a word he was saying. A young woman sitting alone at the next table began to translate for me. She told me he was curious about me. He asked where I was from and if this was my first time in Korea. It felt a little strange, and afterwards the woman asked, "do you ok?" I told her I was fine and that he was just curious.

When Sonja, Sue and Elizabeth joined me we all started talking to this woman who was a business administration professor at some university outside of Seoul. She was very nice. As we were leaving, I thanked her again for helping me with the old man. She told me he was actually very sweet. He was.

We walked through the traditional medicine market and down the little street with pottery shops and made our way to the bank that I knew had an ATM that worked with our credit cards.

I got money from the machine but when Sonja tried all she got was a piece of paper. She began to freak out. We grabbed a young couple at the next machine and asked for help. We explained that she tried the machine, got the receipt but no money. The young woman said "aeeeeeeh?!!!" - but after looking at the receipt Sonja got, they told her it said there was an error so she didn't have to worry.

I told Sonja to try the machine I used, and she did, and again the same thing happened. After talking about what she did, we figured out that she was using an ATM card and not a credit card, so that rather than doing a cash advance, she should have been making a withdrawal. She tried again and got her money. Phew! Problem solved.

We walked back to Dong A to eat. By this time we were all tired from walking and hungry. I thought we could go to the top floor where there were restaurants. Eating is troublesome with this group. Elizabeth doesn't really like Korean food and neither she nor Sue eat beef or pork. Sonja won't eat octopus (not a huge problem), and Elizabeth and Sue don't eat red pepper paste (a huge problem, since many Korean dishes have it in them). I thought we'd have a choice of restuarants and that the restaurants would offer more than one thing (most restuarants specialize in one thing - pork, or beef, or chicken, or chicken soup, etc.)

We got to the 12th floor and walked right into a restaurant. It turned out to be an international buffet. They let us look around and we saw that there was sushi, steak, pizza, Chinese food and salads, plus desert. It looked good and we were about to sit down when Elizabeth informed us that she has a problem with Korean buffets. Ugh....

So we went down to the 10th floor where there were two other restaurants. One was sushi and looked expensive. The other looked like shabu shabu, but seemed to have other stuff on the menu.

We went in and sat down. Sonja and I ordered a seafood hot pot and Elizabeth and Sue ordered some sort of rice with vegetables. With the help of Sue's guidebook we were able to say "no octopus" for the seafood dish.

Our dish came first and looked good. It had lots of seafood in a broth with some green vegetables on top.

Next Sue and Elizabeth's dish came. A big plate of different types of leaves and a small plate of bulgogi. Bulgogi is a type of beef dish. Turns out the English translation on the menu failed to mention it was beef with rice and vegetables.

After a big confusion, the waitress brought them bi bim bap to share. Elizabeth was going to eat the seafood and I was going to eat the beef, but Sue and Elizabeth ended up sharing the bi bim bap and I ate the beef and some seafood. They were nice enough to give us the bulgogi on the house.

It was total confusion but everything worked out. I found all of the Koreans we dealt with, especially our waitress, to be extremely kind, accomodating and gracious.

Decaffeinated Coffee With Caffeine

Last night I stayed up until midnight and was not tired. When I finally laid down I couldn't sleep. Elizabeth had the same problem. It turned out the decaffeinated coffee we had at Mushroom probably had caffeine in it. I think something got lost in the translation. I was only glad I didn't have to teach today.

At about 8:30 I went to the little mini mart down the street to get some water and coffee (I am not drinking caffeine, but since I couldn't sleep I needed some to wake up). When I got back, my door wouldn't open.

We have these little key pads on our doors that kind of look like cell phones. We don't have keys. I tried again and again and it just would not unlock. I knocked on Sonja's door and we called Jin Hee, one of the office grunts who has not been around all week. I asked her to tell the security guard that my lock would not open.

The security guard didn't come up so I decided to go to the office to see if anyone was there. When I went downstairs, I saw it was one of the nice guards (and not one of the scary ones), so I decided to ask him for help. I went over and mimed opening the key pad, and "beep beep beep", entering the numbers and then made the sign for "no" (arms crosses like an X) - he understood immediately - I wasn't sure if Jin Hee had called him or not.

He came up and tried my door several times and had the same problem. He was laughing as he went downstairs to return again with a transister batttery which he used to charge the batteries in my door lock. Thankfully it worked and the door opened. As I was leaving to go to the office to make copies for next week, he told me "ba ta ri" - I understood I needed new batteries. When I went to the office later I told Jenny and Chan and they gave me fresh new batteries.

The good thing is when I changed the batteries the little song that used to play each time I opened and closed the door stopped playing. It had played so many times it was playing in my head when I went to bed. Talk about annoying. Now my door opens and closes with no problems and with no song, just a few little beeps.

Happy Virus

I was really tired today. I think maybe we drank a little too much last night. That plus the heat and remnants of jetlag made me very groggy this morning in class.

I have been starting off each class with a name game. Students introduce themselves and something they like and as we go around everyone repeats what the people before them said. It helps me begin to learn the names of the students in each class. This morning however, nothing stuck. I wasn't able to remember more than just a few names.

The class today was cute. Their level was a little low, but we had fun together. They wrote nice comments in their journals and most of them said how much they enjoyed my class.

At lunchtime I suggested to Sonja that we go and have samgyetang - the chicken soup with a whole chicken stuffed with sticky rice, dates and ginseng. I thought it would help energize me. What I didn't realize was that today was one of the three summer days that you are supposed to eat it. Even though it was rainy and cool, the restaurant was packed. Actually for me it was because it was rainy and cool that it seemed like a good idea, but apparently according to the Chinese lunar calendar, there are three days in summer that are supposed to be very hot and eating samgyetang is supposed to help with the heat.

After class I came back to my room, read journals and took a nap, and then we all gathered to go to the Well-Being restaurant for dinner.

On the way, we stopped at a little coffee shop that Elizabeth and Sue found. They said it was called the cupcake coffee shop but I think it is actually called "Marshmallow". The woman who runs it came outside and said, "Sue and Elizabeth!" Then another woman came over and got very excited about us. We promised we'd return after dinner.

The well-being restaurant was good. I had bulgogi and rice. I've had better, but this was "well-being".

After dinner we went to the little market nearby and explored a little. Mostly they were selling things like shoes, clothes and some housewares, plus produce and fish. there were some meat shops, one old woman selling traditional Korean side dishes like kim chee, anchovies, etc.

As we walked to the back of the market we found a little bakery and Sonja and I bought some cookies, and then we came across a ginseng shop with huge jars filled with liquid and ginseng. I bought some ginseng candy which is quite good. It's supposed to give me energy. I hope it will help me lose weight because I think I'm getting fatter here even though I am trying to eat healthy (well-being) food. I'm probably eating a bit too much of it.

Another woman gave us a taste of some ginseng juice that came in packets. It was nasty stuff. She insisted we drink it and even suggested holding our nose (through gesturing) and just downing it. We didn't finish it all.

It was a lot of fun walking around the market and using the little Korean I have managed to learn. I am able to ask how much and understand prices now. It helps that I did it three years ago.

Finally we returned to cupcake/marshmallow coffee shop. The owner was behind the counter and her friend was sitting at a table reading. It was a cute little place that reminded me of a little doll house.

I asked for something without caffein and was hoping to get a Korea tea. Instead I got an iced coffee that was so weak I mistook it for bitter tea at first. We all shared a waffle with ice cream.

We hung out there for a while and spoke to this funny woman, whose name is something Su, like Jeong Su, Ming Sun, or something. Elizabeth asked if we could call her Sue and she said yes. The owner, a very stylish woman, was named something Nan, like Ming Nan, Kyong Nan or something like that, but Elizabeth called her Nan. I don't know if this is appropriate by Korean standards, but it was fine with them. We had made some new friends, and Su offered to take us to different restaurants, the market and just about any place we wanted to go. I noticed a big bruise on her arm and commented that I wondered where it came from. She said her husband was a police officer who worked the graveyard shift and he stopped by the coffee shop from time to time. I got the impression that she was supposed to be there when he stopped by and wondered if the bruises were from him.

She eventually told us that she had gotten a Thai massage and the bruise was from the massage. I am skeptical. Something didn't seem right.

As we got up to leave I suggested we walk a different way home. We found a really nice park we walked through and ended up in another little "village" with a bunch of restuarants and a nice little mini market. I bought some "kim" - dried and salted seaweed and found a really nice shopping bag that says, "Happy Virus - Are you happy!! Take this gift and don't ask why, Cause if you will let me."

This is why we are here teaching teachers how to teach English.

TGIF

Today will make a week that we've been here, and it completes a full week of classes. The jetlag is getting better, even though I still wake up quite early. I'm glad it's Friday. I'm feeling exhausted from the heat and the full teaching days.

Teaching is good. The students are very nice and they like the things I am doing with them. I love reading their reflective journals because it helps me to see what they are getting from my classes and also I find out that they do like things even though their faces might not be expressing it during class. I think we're all tired and hot (even though they keep turning the air-con off).

Yesterday after class I volunteered to show Sue how to get downtown to meet a former student in front of Daegu Department Store. Sonja went with me. As I was in the hallway waiting for Sonja and Sue, Ethan came back and when he found out where we were going asked if he could tag along. And then as we were getting on the bus Kevin walked by and jumped on the bus to join us. So we had a little mini outing.

It was fun. We stopped in the basement of Daegu Department Store where I thought we might eat. Ethan was very restless and didn't seem to want to allow us time to browse. But still, we looked around at the food offerings and sampled some of the things they were selling. It was like being in a small, clean, air-conditioned market.

Then we went up to the street where Ethan took charge of finding us a restaurant. His Korean is pretty good because he has been living and working in Seoul for some years (I don't know how many). We (or at least I) enjoyed walking around and browsing, but Ethan was on a mission. At one point we completely lost him while Sonja was buying a bag with three little cats on it.

But, Ethan came through and found a Korean BBQ place where we first had beef (kalbi) and then some pork. It had all of the requirements we were looking for the other day. It was air-conditioned, we sat in chairs, they served beer and had pork. It was really good.

It was fun hanging out with these guys and walking around downtown teeny-bopper heaven. When we first got there some young people came up and asked us if we needed help. They were very sweet. I think the push for English education in Korea is really paying off. I am noticing that more people are speaking English to us than the last time we were here.

After dinner we walked around and found another take out cocktail bar right on the street. We all got cocktails in bags (that look like IV bags) and walked down a street Kevin called "Fashion Street". There were all kinds of trendy clothes. I enjoyed looking at the men's fasions, which are very trendy and even kind of girly looking. One of our assistants in the office yesterday, a cute young guy named Jang, was wearing this t-shirt that had kind of a low-scooping cowl neck. I had never seen anything like that, until we got to fashion street.

We caught a taxi to return to the dorm and the driver was a little confused about where to take us. But then it turned out he spoke some English. He was really sweet.

So, even though I am still tired from jetlag, teaching a lot and the heat, I am enjoying myself immensely. Now I'm off to get something for breakfast.

Daegu Well Being Happy Time

Yesterday I had a good class. It was the first full day of training since the first day we had orientation and placement in the morning.

Yesterday's group was the highest group. I was a little intimidated by them at first. Some of them seemed unresponsive. Some of them seemed pissed off. But gradually, as the day wore on, they began to loosen up and we had some really good discussion.

At one point I asked them why there is such a big push for English in the schools in Korea. Some said it was globalization, so that Korea could participate in the global market and their students could get good jobs. Some seemed angry that this is being pushed on them. One woman eloquently laid out a historical context going back to World War II and the United States occupation of Korea. What became clear to me however was that they seemed to think it was only Korea that was having this massive push to learn English. I explained to them that there are many countries that are also pushing their schools to teach English to younger and younger ages because they all realize it is the international language, like it or not. I also encouraged them to think about how being an English speaker benefits them. It seemed to loosen some of the tension I was feeling, especially in the morning.

At the end of each day we have them write a reflective journal for 20 minutes. For me it is a time to sit down and cool off after a grueling day of sweating and prodding them to try to think outside of their teaching boxes. Of course it means I have homework, but since I am really enjoying reading their journals. It gives me an idea what they did and didn't understand and what they got from my class. So far, most of them seem to be getting at least a little or in some cases all of what I hope to achieve.

After class Elizabeth and Sue invited me and Sonja to join them for dinner. Elizabeth said she knew a good Korean restaurant with "well-being" food. I guess it is what we would call "health" food.

I had time to read a few journals and take a nap before we set off. The restaurant is not too far from campus and is very bright, clean and modern. It is also air-conditioned and you sit in chairs. I think I found a new favorite restaurant.

I got shrimp dolsot bibimbap - rice in a hot stone pot with vegetables, shrimp and chili paste. It was delicious and felt very well-being. Sue and Elizabeth shared a vegetable pancake and bean soup and Sonja got some sort of porridge that she loved.

From there we walked to a park that has a big tower and a lake. We walked through several different neighborhoods. One looking very new and modern and then an older, more traditional looking neighborhood with lots of people in restaurants drinking or sitting outside on little platforms drinking. We got lots of stares.

Once we got to the park it was quite a scene. There were men sitting around playing "GO" - a game that looks like checkers but with black and white markers and seemingly different rules, there were lots of people power walking, cycling and riding bikes and a group of people doing some sort of chi gong. One woman was wearing a dress and heels, which made it seem like the kind of exercise I could handle. At some point, I would love to join one of those groups.

We walked in a little bit and found the Daegu Summer Screen Festival. When we arrived we all had books in our rooms with information about this, but it was unclear what it was. I wasn't sure what the "screen" part meant, because I thought it was a film festival, but then didn't see anything about films.

After seeing it in person I understood.

There was a big screen behind the stage and yesterday groups of hip hop dancers, I think all women, performed. Lots of people were sitting on the steps in front of the stage or on chairs. We watched a little bit and then sat down and got a beer. We met a woman from Colorado, who when she found out we were from San Francisco, said, "I hope you don't mind but I want to go to the Rainbow Parade". Sonja said, "Oh, you mean the gay pride parade? We're GAY!" I thought it was hysterical.

It was great sitting outside and drinking beer. The hip hop dancing had finished and lots of people were also sitting and drinking and eating pizza or fried chicken. They were showing some kind of opera concert on the screen. It was kind of trippy sitting outside in Korea and hearing opera.

From there we walked home again getting lots of stares as we approached the groups of people sitting outside. The men had had several rounds of drinks at this point and many of them raised their glasses and offered the ladies drinks as we passed. I've noticed that when I am with women people react differently than when I am walking alone, especially the men.

It was a fun night. I went to bed at 10:30 and got up at 5:00. Still sort of jetlagged, but beginning to feel more normal.

This morning I went out early to walk around the campus and do some exercise. It was a beautiful cool morning with low humidity until the sun inched up further in the sky. It is going to be hot, but maybe not as hot and as humid as yesterday. It looks to me like we are going to have a few cooler days. Thank god. I think I've lost about 20 pounds just from sweating!

Not Understanding Is Exhausting

I woke up early again even though I was able to stay up until 10 last night. I guess I can continue to go to bed when I am tired since I like being up when it's quiet and cool. I would be out exercising with the seniors, but it's raining.

Last night I watched Laguna Beach 2, which is apparently a reality show about rich, spoiled brats in the OC. Then I got to see Punk'd. It's kind of dumb. I'm glad I don't have cable at home or else my mind would be filled with more trash than it already is.

I also watched some Korean programs. One was apparently about people eating very spicy food. There was a restaurant that was filled with sweaty men eating all sorts of spicy things. There was an audience somewhere, or maybe it was a sound track, that would say things like 'eeeeeeeh?' (e as in bet) when they saw these guys eating this spicy stuff or when they showed how much dried chili the cook put into the food as he was making it. I can't imagine what that stuff does to one's stomach. But after a while I got tired of watching something I could not understand, which brings me to the title of this post.

It is exhausting not understanding.

Yesterday, walking with Sonja, first we went to the stationary store where I got memory cards and two pens. The guy behind the counter in the very hot store said the price. I understood 5, but didn't get the rest. I pulled out a 5 thousand won note and he grunted something encouraging, but seemed to want more. I pulled out a thousand won note and he seemed satisfied. He gave me a few coins for change.

As we were walking looking for an air-conditioned pork restaurant with chairs that served beer, I would look at signs and see a jumble of circles, lines, and squares. I knew they were words and held the secrets of what was served inside, but I only saw circles, lines and squares. Between the heat, my hunger and being unable to read a thing, now I know why I was so exhausted and cranky.

It's Hot!

Today we had our opening ceremony and then leveled the students. Sonja and I arrived at 9:20 because Sonja told me Jenny said we should be there early. I don't remember hearing that. We went down to the basement of the library where the ceremony was to take place. Students were still filing in but Jenny was on stage speaking Korean. When she saw us peeking in she said "Hi Rick". She may have also said hi to Sonja. We walked in - I said hello to everyone and we went to the front to sit down. The other four trainers from the high school group were there. We weren't sure if we were late or what. At about 9:30, Jenny stopped talking and they all got up and left. Turned out we were early and we had entered the orientation for the high school group in the middle!

After they left, our group entered as well as the three other trainers from our group. Woops!

After the orientation we leveled the students by interviewing them and divided them into even groups of 12 students each. Of course, the students complained - some thought they should be in a higher level. 3 students who work at the same school are in the same class and don't like each other so they want to move to other classes. I was able to deal with one of my students who didn't like that she was in the lowest class, but I think Jenny is going to move the other students from the same school to different classes. That means instead of an easily divisible class of 12, we're going to end up with one class of 11 and one with 13. I hate uneven numbers. It makes it really difficult for pair work!

I ended up with the lowest group today. Some are very low. Some are not too bad. Some of them are not even English teachers. One guy is a PE teacher. Trying to get them to answer questions was like pulling teeth, though they did well with group and pair work as long as it had a clear language focus.

After class Sonja and I went for a walk. I wanted to go to the stationary store and get more memory cards and some pens. I bought memory cards the other day and have used them all. I write Korean words or letters on one side and the English on the other side. I've been studying the alphabet again and trying to learn some key vocabulary like "beer", "excuse me" and "how much?"

From the stationary store we took a walk through a different neighborhood. It was very quaint and filled with all kinds of little shops.

It was dinner time and we started looking for places to eat. Sonja said she wanted pork. I don't know Korean pork restaurants. I only know beef and chicken. She also wanted beer. And it was hot, so we wanted air-conditioning. I also wanted to sit in chairs and not on the floor if we could.

We walked for quite a ways and I was not sure about any of the restaurants we passed. Most didn't seem to serve pork, and those that did looked hot. We finally just walked all the way back to campus and to the row of restaurants nearby. I was sure one of them was a pork restaurant.

Sure enough, the last one in the row was pork barbecue. I didn't know what to order, so I just pointed to a picture that looked like bacon on a grill. It was 5,000 won. The young woman serving us, told us for two people we wanted three orders. It turned out three meant exactly that - three strips.

It was okay. The pork was kind of fatty and we had to sit on the floor. I was starving though, so I would have eaten anything at that point.

I'm now in my cool room and exhausted. I really hate to go to sleep this early (it's 7:10 p.m.), but it is too hot to be outside and I don't know what else to do.

Maybe I'll turn on the TV and see if there is anything entertaining on.

Exercising With the Old Ladies

I just came in from my morning exercise. I went out at 6 and came in at 6:20. I couldn't bear the heat, even though my computer says it's only 75 degrees (I think my computer is wrong).

It was a hazy morning and it smelled like smoke. Seems someone is burning trash somewhere. Perhaps those big smoke stacks I see all over are incinerators? The campus is lush and looking a bit overgrown. I suppose that with the rain, the gardeners are letting it go until the rain stops and then they will go out and trim the bushes and cut down the grass. It feels very jungle like and wild though. I like it.

I did a few rounds of the campus and stopped under a tree to do some of the exercises I saw as I was walking around. Things like swinging my arms in circles, circling my hips, banging on arms, shoulders, chest, etc., with a closed fist. I saw one old dude who looked like he was about 100 years old, rail thin, doing push-ups and then balancing on one arm while he turned and pointed the other arm straight up towards the sky. We did things like that in yoga. The next time I passed him, he was hitting a tennis ball against a wall. I don't know if I want to live to be as long as he is, but I would love to be in the kind of shape he's in. I am going to try to go out and do a little exercise every morning. I think these folks have the right idea.

Yesterday we had our first meeting with the other trainers in our group. The other three guys in our group are a bit odd. They all seem in their late 20's or early 30's and I think they are all SIT trainers. One guy kept using lots of SIT terminology that I didn't understand - ELC, PPC, PLOP (I'm making these up but this is what it sounded like to me). I didn't pursue. I figure since I have been teaching ESL for about the same time he's been living, I didn't need to know what these fancy terms meant. I will just teach the students things that have worked for me. Practical is the word. SIT is a good school and they have great teacher-training programs, but sometimes they can be a little full of themselves.

Today we will have a little opening ceremony and then level the students. After lunch we will have our first sessions with them. My computer says it is going to be 91 degrees today and it looks like it will rain. Students can you say "sweltering?"

I just got a message from Sonja. She has been up since 2:30. She only slept 4 hours. I think I got about 7 hours sleep, even though I went to bed around 9 and woke up at 4:30.

The adventure continues.....

Sonja Is Here!

My buddy Sonja arrived last night! We had breakfast together this morning and then went to the D-Mart. I'm so glad she is here. It will be nice hanging out with her and doing things together.

Our group has grown quite big now. There are 5 teachers in my program, teaching Elementary School teachers, and another 4 teaching High School teachers, plus there are some people from SIT - The School of International Training -I am not sure how many, but I'm guessing at least 4. The good thing is that our group is too big for us all to do things together. I'll be hanging out mostly with Sonja. If there are any other trainers who like Korean food, eat just about anything and aren't too high maintenance, I'll hang with them too. Otherwise, it's too hot for me to deal with people who are in Korea but won't eat Korean food or who take 15 minutes to get out the door when they are dressed and ready to go.

I woke up at 4:30 this morning and got on the computer to study some Korean. I'm doing well with the alphabet and have most of it mastered, but I still need lots of practice. I also learned the numbers and when we went to D-Mart, the cashier was going to tell me the price in English, but I told her to tell me in Korean. I was able to guess the correct price! Pretty good for one day!

Everyone is so sweet here. I know it is the honeymoon phase. I can hardly say anything in Korean and they are aware that I am trying. If I stay longer and speak Korean more fluently, I am sure I'll run into the same xenophobia I encountered in Japan. For now, I can pretend it doesn't exist. That's fine with me. Three weeks is the perfect amount of time to be here. It's long enough to see some things and really get the Korean experience, but not long enough to begin to get frustrated and feel like I will never fit in.

I'm going to go and see if the office is open and if I can make some copies for tomorrow. We have a meeting today at 2 which hopefully won't last too long. I'm hoping after the meeting to have a better idea of exactly what I am going to do tomorrow.

First Day in Korea

After about 15 hours traveling (12 hours from SFO-Seoul and a 50 minute flight to Daegu with short layover), I arrived in Daegu at about 5 a.m. SF time, but something like 9 p.m. here.

We weren't sure we would make the connecting flight from Seoul to Daegu, but we had plenty of time to spare. I asked the ticket agent to put a priority tag on my luggage when I checked in at SFO since we had such a short time to make our connection, so my bag was one of the first ones to come off. The plan was for me to get to the gate and try to hold the plane until Sue and Elizabeth arrived. Elizabeth had a mini-drama and took much longer than me or Sue to get there, but eventually she made it, we boarded and took off. Our flight was very bumpy due to the weather and there had been a slight chance that they were going to cancel it, but luckily we made it.

Jin Hee was waiting for us at Daegu Airport with a driver and a mini-van. We drove through Daegu and eventually arrived at our dormitory, all the while looking out at the busy, bustling city, the neon, markets, smell of grilled meat mixed with exhaust fumes and people out and about. It felt very good to be returning.

Our dorm is the same place I stayed in 3 years ago, but the rooms are nicer. I was in a room that had four bunk beds with desks under them. I had to pull my mattress off of the bunk and put it on the floor. Now I have a very nice room with two regular beds, a table, a small refrigerator and a nice bathroom with a fancy toilet that has all kinds of buttons which I suppose will do things like heat the seat and possibly squirt water (so I will not be touching any of the buttons).

Jin Hee was great and did her best to meet our many requests. Elizabeth wanted to change rooms because she wanted the view out of the front of the building. It seemed like a silly request, but Jin Hee let her do it. We all have name cards on our doors. Mine said "Rickcard" - I folded it in half so it only says Rick.

This morning after a decent sleep, I got up early and went to a little 24 little restaurant and had bi bim bap - rice with various kinds of vegetables, red chili sauce, sesame oil and a fried egg. It was a good breakfast. I returned to the dorm and saw all of the neighbors who come to the campus to exercise. Lots of elderly folks walk around the grounds and a group of ladies gathers under the trees by the vending machines to do morning exercises together. I'd love to join them because I really need some easy, regular exercise.

After taking a little nap I ran into Elizabeth in the hallway and she said she was going to D Mart. I joined her and Sue to see what exactly a D Mart was.

D Mart is a kind of supermarket I guess. They had baked goods, vegetables, meat, and lots of packaged goods. I bought a bottle of barley tea because it was very hot while Elizabeth and Sue stocked up with things like cereal, sugar, milk, etc. I'd rather go out for bi bim bap in the morning than have corn flakes. After I paid for my tea, I noticed a pair of Obama socks, which I had to buy. The cashier laughed when I paid for them.

From D Mart we returned to a little produce store we had stopped in on the way. I got two kinds of plums - small red ones and bigger yellow ones. They are all really sweet and delicious. I love buying fruit in countries where it is grown locally. Unlike in the US where fruit is picked before it is ripe, in places like Korea, Japan, and even Argentina, it is picked when it is ready and travels short distances to be sold. These plums are the best plums I've ever had.

On the way back I stopped in the office which is on the same campus as where we are staying (when I was here 3 years ago, that was not the case). Chan was there along with several young office workers. I asked him for a cable for my computer. He sucked air in between his teeth and said something about wireless. I told him Elizabeth had wireless but I didn't. He was talking to the young guys at the desk. It all seemed so complicated (as things with Chan usually are). I told him Mi Sim had told us we could get a cable. One of the guys reached into a bag and pulled out a cable. I told Chan Sue needed one too. He sucked air through his teeth again. The young guys came back to my room and helped me get on to the internet.

Pretty soon Sue was knocking on my door to see if I wanted to go out for lunch. Elizabeth doesn't eat Korean food I think. Sue doesn't eat pork or beef, so we went to a restaurant nearby that serves samyetang - a small chicken in soup that is stuffed with sticky rice, ginseng, chestnuts and red dates. It is served with shoju infused with ginseng. It is supposed to be very tonifying. It was the perfect thing to do after a very long trip.

I'm trying not to nap, but I am feeling a little sleepy and I don't know what else do to, so I think I am going to take a little nap and then maybe head downtown to see if I can find a Korean phrase book.

Survivor - Korea

The anticipation builds and e-mails are flying back and forth between San Francisco, Daegu, Mexico City and points beyond as the cast of the new reality show Survivor Korea prepare to meet face to face. That's what it feels like. Residual e-mails about flights appear. We're not supposed to tell the other trainers they are paying for a flight to Daegu because everyone else agreed to the limo bus. Requests for amenities like sheets, towels, hangers, a refrigerator in our room go unanswered. Mysterious e-mails about people not needing back surgery, not being able to write much (but promising to explain why later), one guy telling us how handsome he is.....it all reminds me of the last time I was there - 7 ESL teachers/trainers housed in a student dormitory in Daegu trying to survive without driving each other crazy.

This time there will be at least 10 of us.

Yep, I'm in for an adventure!

I was asked to be a spy....

I never thought I was cut out to be a CIA agent. I mean what kind of person does that anyway?

Things are heating up in preparation for take off. Two of my fellow travelers have been bouncing e-mails back and forth between me and them and Jin Hee and Jenny and Chan and whoever else is stuck up there in our "reply all" option.

For some reason, Jin Hee, the poor grunt who has been put in charge of helping us make our arrangements, has been trying really hard to encourage us to take the limo bus from Seoul to Daegu. When I went three years ago we tried to fly but our flight had been canceled due to rain, so we took the Express Train. It only took two hours (once we got on the train). The limo bus takes 5 hours. That would put us into Daegu at 2:30 a.m.! After a 12 hour flight from SF to Seoul!!

Well, Sue and Elizabeth are both pretty frantically against the idea. I am too, but since they are doing all of the objecting, I am staying out of the negotiations.

We got Jin Hee to agree to make the reservation for the flight, which is only 50 minutes. She's afraid we'll miss it. They could pay for a refundable ticket, but since they are cheap, um, trying to save money, they are paying less for a non-refundable ticket. Which means, if for some reason in our hour and a half between our scheduled landing time and scheduled take off time something happens like a flight delay, late arriving luggage or a strip search in customs and we miss our flight, Jenny and gang are out the money. So Jin Hee (I am sure at the behest of Jenny and Chan) asked us to agree to pay our own way on the limo bus since they would have lost the money they'd paid for our airfare (since they were too cheap, um...whatever, to buy the refundable ticket).

With me so far?

In the middle of all of this, and just before Elizabeth called me to tell me that the limo bus was only $24 dollars, so big deal if we had to pay for it ourselves, but why wouldn't they anyway, Jenny sent me an e-mail that said:

Dear Mike,
Dear Rick,

I am interested in Ethan.
If you don’t mind, would you please inform me of his performance during this summer program?
Thank you.

Jenny

Gee, I wonder how unethical it is for me to paste an e-mail onto a blog like that, but, I'm not telling you who Jenny is, and that might not even be her real name....

I'm presently finding it very ironic that they are afraid of paying an extra $24 each for us, but I am being asked to spy and report on another teacher I have not even met yet.

I wrote back to Jenny and told her the best people to ask would be Ethan's students, since they will be the ones in the classroom with him.

I can tell already, this is going to be an adventure!

How I Almost Didn't Get a Korean Visa

I had been putting off going to the Korean Consulate, because it is really just a few blocks from where I live. Being so close, I saw no reason to rush it. I knew I could drop my passport and paperwork off in the morning and go back in the afternoon to get my visa. Simple, right?

ummmm....

On July 1 I had surgery on my throat for sleep apnea. My tonsils and uvula were cut out and my soft palate was somehow reduced. Recovery was hard, draining, but progressed slowly. Finally, after seeing my surgeon one week after the surgery and getting a thumbs up on my progress and permission to change from Vicodin to Motrin, I started feeling human again. I decided on Thursday afternoon to go to the consulate, thinking I could pick my visa up on Friday. Simple, right?

ummmmm....

The last time I went the guy asked me for my diploma. I didn't realize I needed to bring my diploma. Fortunately I lived close-by. I was able to come home and get it. This time I took no chances. I made a copy of my diploma, transcript and included my itinerary, so they could see I had no plans to stay beyond my three weeks.

I handed over my paperwork to a lady behind a glass window. She leafed through the papers, handing me one I forgot to sign. She looked up at me and asked, "Are you going to teach English?" "Yes", I replied.

She continued leafing through the papers and then asked me, "Where is your background check?"

"My what?"

"You need a criminal background check".

I was feeling a bit weak still, this being the first day I had really been out and about. I started to feel a familiar feeling that arises when I have to deal with idiotic bureacracy that makes me want to throw a fit even though I know I'm not supposed to.

"I did not know I needed a background check. I went three years ago in the same program and didn't need one then."

"Something changed. You need a background check."

"There are other teachers going in the same program and no one told me they needed to get a background check. I'm leaving on Thursday", I said as calmly as I could.

"If you don't have a background check you can't get a visa"

"Ok, tell me how I need to do that", I responded, beginning to lose my cool.

She went and asked one of the other clerks about it. I was hoping I would get out of it. I was thinking about coming home and sending Jenny, the woman in Korea who runs the program, that I did not want the hassle and was not going to come. She could contact the consulate on my behalf if she still wanted me. Otherwise, I was happy to forfeit the money, pay whatever penalty I had to on my ticket, and spend three weeks in San Francisco getting ready for my longer trip in August.

She returned with a paper with information about the background check. I had to go to 850 Bryant - where the jail is located - one of my least favorite places to go. I despise the criminal justice system and want to have as little to do with it as possible.

She was explaining to me where I had to go and I was thinking that I was not going to go to Bryant Street when a woman who had stepped behind me in line reached in and said, "It's ok, he is in the same program as me."

It was Sue, a colleague from City College who is also going to teach in the same program. She told me she had the same problem.

The woman behind the window said, "Oh, you are doing teacher training?"

"Yes", I answered.

"You told me you were going to teach English."

"Well, we are doing both. We are teaching English teachers. Isn't it in the contract I gave you?"

"Yes", she said, with a non-verbal indication that I had just caused her to lose face. Argh, I hate this face-losing stuff.

And so she proceeded to look again through my paperwork. I turned to Sue and told her how careful I was to include everything they could possibly ask for and how shocked I was to hear that I needed a background check. I was speaking loudly and being very New Jersey. I knew the woman could hear me. The face-losing continued.

The lady behind the window told me I could pick up my visa on Monday.

What luck that Sue showed up when she did. Otherwise, I might not be going to Korea.