Friday, October 24, 2008
And the Weather today...
Today was overcast and 15 degrees. It poured for several hours. It's supposed to drop to below 10 next week. People are afraid.
Friday, October 17, 2008
Birthday, a tooth, and a ballin' suit to boot.
More pictures of the children I teach has been requested. Thought I'd drop some today, as it was quite eventful for the kindergarteners. Sally turned 7, Joseph lost a tooth, and Chris has an awesome suit on.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Photo Diary #4 The Legend of Pusan
Right then! So after a week of procrastination i've finally put up some pictures from the great trip Kev and I had to Pusan. This trip was characterized by a blistering pace of travel and sightseeing; more was compressed into a four day period than I thought possible. Due to the long weekend(National Foundation's Day), we had Thursday and Friday off so we had a fair bit of time. Thursday morning we hopped on the highspeed KTX train south to Mokpo on the south west corner of Korea. Kevin's familial property is nearby.
Here you can see Kevin's maternal Grandfather, the proprietor a sweet country restaurant, and myself chillin' after lunch. Mr. Kim owns a Sasum (elk) farm nearby, so we stopped at this restaurant for some of his elks. Next is me enjoying some sengsasum and elk antler liquor. Sengsasum is small marinated strips of raw elk. Quite palatable, it was very soft, almost gooey meat. A traditional delicacy, it's served with the distilled juice of elk antlers, which is is quite similar to my good friend Jaegermeister. Last shot here is Kev and I up on the hill overlooking the farm. To get there Mr. Kim drove us up a mountain in what appeared to be a 30 year old 4x4 land rover type deal. Very exciting. We're facing towards the shrine to his Grandmother and ancestors where we paid our respects.
That night we headed south to Mokpo proper, climbed a mountain there and did a quick driveby tour with Kevin's uncle. After a very picturesque sunset overlooking the harbour and massive shipworks, we took a cross-country bus east towards Pusan. That night we stayed at the Vesta Jimjibang on Haeundae beach for a measly $8.
Note on Jimjibangs: Dotted all over Korea is the culturally unique establishment known as as a Jimjibang, or sauna room. Basically they're very nicely decked out sauna's, with segregated male and female whirlpool areas and a common area with huge clay saunas. Entire families to come and sweat out some toxins for a few hours. I say it's pretty unique because there's really nothing quite like it. Because they're open 24hrs a day and many have 'napping rooms' you can save yourself a lot of money by staying at them. Just bring earplugs. It seems that in Korea, the harder you snore, the better a sleep you are getting.
That Friday we got up early for a ferry tour of the Pusan harbour. This place is unreasonably big. Claimed to be the 4th largest commercial port in the world, it's busyness is compounded by Korea's status as one of the most prolific shipbuilding nations. The cargo vessels shipping goods to and from Pusan are just ridiculously big. Hyundai, who we know for making cars, has an even larger ship building division.
After the ferry tour we walked down Haeundae beach, the most famous in Korea. The Pusan International Film Fest was taking place, so Kev and I took the obligatory 'I was there' shot. The rest of the day was spent at an Aquarium, walking all over downtown Pusan, going to City Hall, and a night out in the student district of Seomyeon. A note on the second picture here: This was a wonderful sight that made me pretty jealous. We found a primary school with a slide that went from the second floor of the school OVER a busy road and into the play ground. I believe batman, indy jones, macgyver and wonder woman went here together.
Saturday morning was a bit fuzzy, but we managed to drag ourselves to Beomuhsah mountian for a climb. Amazing views of the sprawling metropolis of Pusan, however the pollution was a little nauseating to see. You can see the haze in the first picture. At the summit were these two Ajushi's (old men) enjoying some Ramyun and Makkoli (riceish wine).
The climb down was through a valley between Beomuhsah and the rest of hte Pusan range. Halfway down there was a Buddhist temple with the building sprawled down the mountain. Very transcendental two hour walk back to the subway station, complete with Buddhist chanting that echoed through valley. Thart night we entered the foreigner district for a night out, which is never advised. Too many drunk expats exploiting cheap Korean beer.
Sunday morning we headed to some Film Festival events, walked through an open air market and shopping district, and climbed Pusan tower. From the tower we could see the summit we climbed the day before; gave good context for the height of hte tower. Doesn't approach the CN tower. We then headed town to the fishing wharfs to watch a little tug vs. trawler action. Great fun.
As it was approaching time for our train back to Seoul, we headed to the Jalgachi fish market where I was the only white person in the vicinity. For Gordon's amusement, notice the little old lady hanging out behind her dried fish, and the gigantic octopus for sale. Also notice the sweet electrospaceship dolphin on this fishing vessel. Goodluck or to scare off space pirates, I'm not sure.
The train back to Seoul encountered a slight snafu, the tickets we had been sold were keyed in for hte wrong date, and they had sold our seats again. Were we allowed to ride the train? of course, but that meant we needed to stand in the cabin area between cars. Would never happen in Canada, but was kinda fun. Increased our hobo quotient a bit I think.
Back in Seoul we stopped at a traditional bar for some Dongdongjuu and seafood pajon: milky rice liquour and an egg/riceflour pancake. Very good epilogue for this trip.
All in all an excellent weekend. Good chance to see some of the Korean countryside and experince a harbour city. Pusan has a bit of a 'twang' accent that I couldn't quite pick up on, but has a similar jokey quality as Newfies do in Canada. Tried to take my father's advice to be a Traveller and not a Tourist as much as possible, and I think it worked out.
Back into the thick of teaching and touring Seoul on the weekends. Visited Itaewon and a large war Museum yesterday (I hugged a Scud!!!). Jealous of those who got turkey this weekend. Enjoy your poultry.
Take Care,
Evan.
Here you can see Kevin's maternal Grandfather, the proprietor a sweet country restaurant, and myself chillin' after lunch. Mr. Kim owns a Sasum (elk) farm nearby, so we stopped at this restaurant for some of his elks. Next is me enjoying some sengsasum and elk antler liquor. Sengsasum is small marinated strips of raw elk. Quite palatable, it was very soft, almost gooey meat. A traditional delicacy, it's served with the distilled juice of elk antlers, which is is quite similar to my good friend Jaegermeister. Last shot here is Kev and I up on the hill overlooking the farm. To get there Mr. Kim drove us up a mountain in what appeared to be a 30 year old 4x4 land rover type deal. Very exciting. We're facing towards the shrine to his Grandmother and ancestors where we paid our respects.
That night we headed south to Mokpo proper, climbed a mountain there and did a quick driveby tour with Kevin's uncle. After a very picturesque sunset overlooking the harbour and massive shipworks, we took a cross-country bus east towards Pusan. That night we stayed at the Vesta Jimjibang on Haeundae beach for a measly $8.
Note on Jimjibangs: Dotted all over Korea is the culturally unique establishment known as as a Jimjibang, or sauna room. Basically they're very nicely decked out sauna's, with segregated male and female whirlpool areas and a common area with huge clay saunas. Entire families to come and sweat out some toxins for a few hours. I say it's pretty unique because there's really nothing quite like it. Because they're open 24hrs a day and many have 'napping rooms' you can save yourself a lot of money by staying at them. Just bring earplugs. It seems that in Korea, the harder you snore, the better a sleep you are getting.
That Friday we got up early for a ferry tour of the Pusan harbour. This place is unreasonably big. Claimed to be the 4th largest commercial port in the world, it's busyness is compounded by Korea's status as one of the most prolific shipbuilding nations. The cargo vessels shipping goods to and from Pusan are just ridiculously big. Hyundai, who we know for making cars, has an even larger ship building division.
After the ferry tour we walked down Haeundae beach, the most famous in Korea. The Pusan International Film Fest was taking place, so Kev and I took the obligatory 'I was there' shot. The rest of the day was spent at an Aquarium, walking all over downtown Pusan, going to City Hall, and a night out in the student district of Seomyeon. A note on the second picture here: This was a wonderful sight that made me pretty jealous. We found a primary school with a slide that went from the second floor of the school OVER a busy road and into the play ground. I believe batman, indy jones, macgyver and wonder woman went here together.
Saturday morning was a bit fuzzy, but we managed to drag ourselves to Beomuhsah mountian for a climb. Amazing views of the sprawling metropolis of Pusan, however the pollution was a little nauseating to see. You can see the haze in the first picture. At the summit were these two Ajushi's (old men) enjoying some Ramyun and Makkoli (riceish wine).
The climb down was through a valley between Beomuhsah and the rest of hte Pusan range. Halfway down there was a Buddhist temple with the building sprawled down the mountain. Very transcendental two hour walk back to the subway station, complete with Buddhist chanting that echoed through valley. Thart night we entered the foreigner district for a night out, which is never advised. Too many drunk expats exploiting cheap Korean beer.
Sunday morning we headed to some Film Festival events, walked through an open air market and shopping district, and climbed Pusan tower. From the tower we could see the summit we climbed the day before; gave good context for the height of hte tower. Doesn't approach the CN tower. We then headed town to the fishing wharfs to watch a little tug vs. trawler action. Great fun.
As it was approaching time for our train back to Seoul, we headed to the Jalgachi fish market where I was the only white person in the vicinity. For Gordon's amusement, notice the little old lady hanging out behind her dried fish, and the gigantic octopus for sale. Also notice the sweet electrospaceship dolphin on this fishing vessel. Goodluck or to scare off space pirates, I'm not sure.
The train back to Seoul encountered a slight snafu, the tickets we had been sold were keyed in for hte wrong date, and they had sold our seats again. Were we allowed to ride the train? of course, but that meant we needed to stand in the cabin area between cars. Would never happen in Canada, but was kinda fun. Increased our hobo quotient a bit I think.
Back in Seoul we stopped at a traditional bar for some Dongdongjuu and seafood pajon: milky rice liquour and an egg/riceflour pancake. Very good epilogue for this trip.
All in all an excellent weekend. Good chance to see some of the Korean countryside and experince a harbour city. Pusan has a bit of a 'twang' accent that I couldn't quite pick up on, but has a similar jokey quality as Newfies do in Canada. Tried to take my father's advice to be a Traveller and not a Tourist as much as possible, and I think it worked out.
Back into the thick of teaching and touring Seoul on the weekends. Visited Itaewon and a large war Museum yesterday (I hugged a Scud!!!). Jealous of those who got turkey this weekend. Enjoy your poultry.
Take Care,
Evan.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Photo Diary #3
Just a quick update to show some pictures of the past couple of weeks. Been very busy getting acquainted with the school and teaching english and exploring this huge city.
Teaching english thus far been a unique and rewarding but frustrating experience. From my employment as a swimming instructor I would have expected some skills to carry over but the learning curve was much steeper than I thought. The language barrier makes it very tough to explain yourself and the younger classes can be absolutely insane. These kids go to school all day, come to english class, leave 5 minutes early to catch a bus to head math prep, and then study all night. Most elementary schools have Saturday classes every other week, and totally unrealistic homework demands.
I teach kindergarten classes after lunch; we're doing a skit of 'The Tortoise and Hare'. I then teach a 'chant' class with first and second grade students three days a week. The bulk of my teaching time is spent doing 'listening' and 'storybook' classes with third and fourth grade students. I'm the defacto accent specialist at the school as all the other teacher's first language is Korean. Questions like "How many syllables does the word 'dodge' have?" are regular.
In the picture below I'm teaching a 'chant' class to the Beta group, they're in grade one and two.
Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving, was on the weekend of the 14th of September. The kindergarten kids came wearing Hanbok, the tradition dress. I look like a bit of a plug, it was a very long day. My boy Kevin is on the right. The little girl with her tongue out is 'Cindy'. She's my favourite.
Last weekend I went out to visit a palace and a museum at Gyeongbuk-dong. As most are well aware, the US has been in a bit of an economic pickle lately. SK is financed very heavily by American investment, so their market is very susceptible to any fluctuations. I watched the Won evaporate by 12% over the weekend Lehman crashed, much to my chagrin(I'm paid in wons). Riot cops were out in full force all over the city to lock any shit down. Koreans have a long and proud history of taking to the streets; it's a sort of right of passage I think. Last time they did was the huge beef protests against importing american meat
Outside the 700 year old Joseon palace of Gyeongbokgung was a half dozen of these armored busses and maybe 250 odd cops. I was a little apprehensive of taking a picture of them, but I snapped a shot of their equipment stacked outside the bus.
The people know how to riot, and the cops know how to fight back. Billy clubs? Truncheons? Night sticks? Nah man, we go straight for swords. Seriously. I wouldn't want to face off against a pissed off SK Riot Cop in full gear with a hard rubber katana.
Went out for beer and samgyeopsal later that night with a bunch of friends. Samgyeopsal is uncured strips of pork belly, a little thicker than bacon. It's served to you raw and is cooked at your table on a little butane bbq at the modern places, or a sunken charcoal grill at the more traditional restaurants. From the left, Vincent, Emily, Evan, Min-Jae and Kevin. The Asian 'V' is obligatory in photos. If you don't do it, it seems to mean you aren't enjoying the picture.
On last shot, apologies for the shaky photog skills. Coming out from a bar around 1AM to the main drag and a nice view of maybe two dozen standard armored police busses. Kevin wasn't too interested when I suggested we find/start a riot.
This weekend is 'National Korean Foundation' day. From wikipedia: The day celebrates the foundation of Gojoseon, the first state of Korean nation. According to Samguk Yusa, Dangun founded Gojoseon on the 3rd day of 10th lunar month, 2333 BCE.
We get a 4 day weekend so we're heading down to Pusan on the south east corner of Korea. It's the world's 4th busiest sea-port so I'm sure I can get into lots of trouble. Will return with pictures and tales.
Evan.
Teaching english thus far been a unique and rewarding but frustrating experience. From my employment as a swimming instructor I would have expected some skills to carry over but the learning curve was much steeper than I thought. The language barrier makes it very tough to explain yourself and the younger classes can be absolutely insane. These kids go to school all day, come to english class, leave 5 minutes early to catch a bus to head math prep, and then study all night. Most elementary schools have Saturday classes every other week, and totally unrealistic homework demands.
I teach kindergarten classes after lunch; we're doing a skit of 'The Tortoise and Hare'. I then teach a 'chant' class with first and second grade students three days a week. The bulk of my teaching time is spent doing 'listening' and 'storybook' classes with third and fourth grade students. I'm the defacto accent specialist at the school as all the other teacher's first language is Korean. Questions like "How many syllables does the word 'dodge' have?" are regular.
In the picture below I'm teaching a 'chant' class to the Beta group, they're in grade one and two.
Chuseok, or Korean Thanksgiving, was on the weekend of the 14th of September. The kindergarten kids came wearing Hanbok, the tradition dress. I look like a bit of a plug, it was a very long day. My boy Kevin is on the right. The little girl with her tongue out is 'Cindy'. She's my favourite.
Last weekend I went out to visit a palace and a museum at Gyeongbuk-dong. As most are well aware, the US has been in a bit of an economic pickle lately. SK is financed very heavily by American investment, so their market is very susceptible to any fluctuations. I watched the Won evaporate by 12% over the weekend Lehman crashed, much to my chagrin(I'm paid in wons). Riot cops were out in full force all over the city to lock any shit down. Koreans have a long and proud history of taking to the streets; it's a sort of right of passage I think. Last time they did was the huge beef protests against importing american meat
Outside the 700 year old Joseon palace of Gyeongbokgung was a half dozen of these armored busses and maybe 250 odd cops. I was a little apprehensive of taking a picture of them, but I snapped a shot of their equipment stacked outside the bus.
The people know how to riot, and the cops know how to fight back. Billy clubs? Truncheons? Night sticks? Nah man, we go straight for swords. Seriously. I wouldn't want to face off against a pissed off SK Riot Cop in full gear with a hard rubber katana.
Went out for beer and samgyeopsal later that night with a bunch of friends. Samgyeopsal is uncured strips of pork belly, a little thicker than bacon. It's served to you raw and is cooked at your table on a little butane bbq at the modern places, or a sunken charcoal grill at the more traditional restaurants. From the left, Vincent, Emily, Evan, Min-Jae and Kevin. The Asian 'V' is obligatory in photos. If you don't do it, it seems to mean you aren't enjoying the picture.
On last shot, apologies for the shaky photog skills. Coming out from a bar around 1AM to the main drag and a nice view of maybe two dozen standard armored police busses. Kevin wasn't too interested when I suggested we find/start a riot.
This weekend is 'National Korean Foundation' day. From wikipedia: The day celebrates the foundation of Gojoseon, the first state of Korean nation. According to Samguk Yusa, Dangun founded Gojoseon on the 3rd day of 10th lunar month, 2333 BCE.
We get a 4 day weekend so we're heading down to Pusan on the south east corner of Korea. It's the world's 4th busiest sea-port so I'm sure I can get into lots of trouble. Will return with pictures and tales.
Evan.
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