Billi takes on Korea!

Back Home...

2008-06-03T14:30:00.000-07:00

I am back in Minnesota.. for whatever that is worth. I am exhausted because I have reverse jet lag! I had to work at 5am and didn't get to bed til about 11pm and was up at 3:30am. ohh. how I hate this. I did take some random pictures of stuff on my flight home from South Korea.
sandy area that looks kinda like a desert

the water on the opposite side of the sand - see the characters reflecting from my window!

this photo is great!

i really like water/mountains

the super long bridge in Korea

they are building this to be the longest bridge in the country!

oh yay! the airport

the plane i was about to board

We were finally in ALASKA! as the sun was coming up.

Well, folks, I am here in the USA now. I don't feel terribly happy to be here, either. I felt really peaceful in Korea.. I'm sure it was the lack of stress and being in the company of someone who helps me to feel empowered. I can't wait until it is my turn to actually move to South Korea. I know it's a different country with completely different sets of norms but I don't mind. I've been reading about this for about 9 months now! I know a lot and nothing has turned me off of Korea. I can be happy there and have that adventure I have always wanted while I am focusing on my career goals.

I might update this randomly with things relating to Korea, but for now this is the end of my adventure!

Leaving on Korean Air

2008-06-01T15:07:00.000-07:00

This will be the last "from South Korea" blog on here! I am terribly sad to say that. I have loved every moment that I have been here and I feel so calm compared to back home. Things are busy and loud here but after a while it's just routine so no biggie. I love how nice everyone is and helpful. If you are just standing there looking lost, a Korean will attempt to explain or help you get where you are going or whatever you need. Most Koreans know some English and with me knowing some Korean it hasn't been that difficult. I am going to miss seeing Hangul everywhere I go and I will miss the sound of this intersection in the morning. I will miss the walking everywhere. It saves so much money just taking public transportation or walking. Everything that you need is pretty much within a few blocks.
For my last day, we took it easy since Saturday was so long. We went to the pottery store so I could pick up some gifts, then we went to check out movie times so we could see one later. Then we chilled in the apartment watching this Chinese movie Eat Drink Man Woman. It was pretty spectacular. She had a rugby meeting so we went there and then we came back to the loft, grabbed a bottle of wine and headed to the park. We ended up going through 2.5 bottles in a matter of 2 hours but it was a lot of fun. I took the kitty along that one of my penpals made me and we took crazy photos of it. It was a pretty awesome day just chilling and goofing off.
There are water coolers everywhere, with cute paper cups to drink from.

the water fountain and fake seagulls in the mall

lunch from Emma's - banana milk, cider, sandwich on fruit bread with ham, cheese, apple, pickle, cucumber, egg salad. it sounds weird but tastes great

the backseat of my last cab ride. see - nowhere to hook your seatbelt into!

art on the wall at Indigo - western style cafe where Mel's meeting was

the many flights of the subway station

the last subway ride.. waiting for the train

kitty goes on an adventure

she snuck up on me

finally.. a decent photo of us.. and wine bottle #2

and awww.. we can be serious sometimes

Namsan Mtn and 63 Building

2008-05-31T15:25:00.000-07:00

Saturday was full of adventure and pain for the Billi. I opted to wear the worst shoes ever and it was a horrible idea. Nine hours of walking was not a great idea. I'm now very sore and have six blisters on my feet. I did have a great time, though. We went to McDonald's for breakfast and then headed to the station to go to the N Seoul Tower.

The little streamy thing, lots of fish in the water

Me and a big heart!

random comics on the side of a power box thing

the street that McDonald's is on

The bricks are thrown down on sand and the tree roots hold the sidewalk together, all according to Mel.

McDonald's is pretty popular. They don't serve American beef, no worries.

the menu board - pancakes and egg mcmuffins

the food. we got eggs though we didn't orer them haha

a less than fantastic area by the subway station. See, there is poverty everywhere!

Once we got off at the correct station we had a hell of a time figuring out where to go. We walked around to a dead end and then found the correct way. haha. After walking way up this mountain, we caught the cable car to the top so we could 'observe' the city from the top. It was a lot of fun.
Our destination.. so far away!

i couldn't resist a photo of this advertisement on the optometrist window

young girls unchaperoned, does this happen in the USA? NO!

The first bit of our travel up the mountain

the first flight of stairs!

Billi's climbing commentary

We are on the cable car... something I've never done and I'm terrified of stuff like this. I was brave!

view of the city from the cable car

again, a view!

a beautiful little building

finally, we made it!

The N Seoul sign

random grass sculpture

view from the top

A little tear jerking at times but you know, stuff happens. I thought it was really sweet and romantic how many locks were on the fence. When Mel told me about this when she first got here I thought it was so sweet and romantic. Seeing it myself was fantastic and made me want to lock my love on the fence as well, if only I had a romantic partner.
Wow, isn't it amazing

the initial few of these locks of love.

they are all inscripted with messages in english or korean

mushy mushy

There were these smokehouses used to notify Seoul if North Korea ever were to attack. There is a great view from between the smokehouses.
Mel leaning against a smokehouse, admiring the city

I am too short to get up on the wall, so I stand beside the smokehouse!

Then we grabbed the cable car back down the mountain, walked down many flights of stairs, and started our shopping spree.
Mel getting fresh spun cotton candy.

on the ride down

this was the next car coming down! I can't believe i actually did this.

We went to the underground market and then to Namdaemun Market. Mel bought several items while I was more frugal. Eh. Oh wells.
YAY! the underground market

inside the market

They are rebuilding this from when it burnt a few months ago, so there is a wall of what it used to look like surrounding the entire place.

these blankets say MODERN FEEL and COMFORT IN THE HEM. I thought it funny

need some blackmarket US goods, GO HERE!

leaving the market

something was going on, lots of people were outside

The police lined all roads, it was intense.

i just thought this made a cool photo

the swirly thing!

where we had lunch

I had creamy bacon spaghetti. It was freakin' amazing!

Mel has seafood tomato spaghetti

more people, a building. police persons.

another exciting subway stop

Then we made our way to our ultimate destination - the 63 Building. It is Korea's 2nd tallest building and has a lot of cool stuff inside. She hadn't been there yet, either so it was a lot of fun finding it. I took a zillion photos of the view from the top but will only post a few here for you. We got off at the wrong station and walked about an hour to find it. When we left, we realized there was a closer station about fifteen minutes away!! My feet were blistered and ow and I was so frustrated we didn't realize that the other station would be A LOT closer. You live and you learn, right?! We had planned on taking a night cruise but the next one wasn't leaving for another hour and a half. So, we decided to wait and do it on Sunday.

The first of many signs we had to follow on our long walk to the building

the automatic door tells me that the 63 Building is my special story!

my first view

wow, what a city! See the N Seoul Tower? We traveled across the city. :)

this bridge photo looks amazing

the sun was going down

there is part of the floor that is see through.. don't wear a skirt!

from right outside the building.

this random sculpture

yes, i am tiny compared to a 63 story building

this awesome bridge on our walk to the cruise area

looking back at the 63 Building. Isn't it fantastic!?

a different side of the city. amazing

need candy? at the subway convenience store

this almost our stop - Songnae Station

embarrassing photo of the day, Mel face deep in Watermelon

Friday Fish Market

2008-05-30T16:12:00.000-07:00

This is like Ramen but WAY better!

Nothing exciting happened for me on Friday. It was a chill day and we had dinner at home. Then we went to Bucheon Market so I could see what the fresh markets are like. WOW. I love fish but seeing so much fish and SMELLING so much made me want to gag. If you know me, you know I have a really sensitive sense of smell. It is so weird seeing TONS of fish right across the walkway from clothes stores. I mean, all the clothes must smell like fish. Definitely have to wash them when you get home. (Oh! Did I mention there are NO clothes dryers in Korea? You wash and then hang dry everything. The places you can get dryers are really expensive and apparently don't really dry the clothes anyway. )

need hair/beauty products? take your pick!

minnows! get them now!

mm.. fishes. ew.

At the market I was able to score several new set of stationary!! I absolutely love the paper here, it is cute and the envelopes are amazing.. besides the fact that you have to tape or glue them shut. hehe. I also bought some amazing socks because I have a sock fetish. We bought a watermelon because they looked so tasty. When we got home we cracked it to eat but something doesn't taste right to me. I can't explain it. It's just not a taste that I really enjoyed.

the lady was "bagging" the melon for us.

Mel, the proud carrier of a watermelon

in the elevator, she is SUCH a camera hog

Anyway, at the market we were strolling around and something horrible caught my eye. PIG HEADS! I turned my head to the left so I didn't have to look and then there were some on the left side too. By this point I was shaking and crying. There was a time in my life when I didn't eat pork or ham because all of a sudden I realized it actually came from a pig. I might be entering back into that zone! We had to walk past them again to get out and I snapped a photo. If anyone has any idea why a person would actually want a pig head, let me know!
yeah - DISGUSTING!

in the cab home - the cool castle like building

another city shot! (cabbies drive like maniacs and have to slam on the breaks ALL the time)

It's blurry but I love it. buildings are awesome.

Another day in Bucheon

2008-05-29T18:41:00.000-07:00

Mel plays the Goo Goo Dolls for them and they actually have learned the words. it is fantastic.

Thursday I spent the day at work with Mel again. Her munchkins were "cooking" which consists of making something educational and then eating it. Yesterday Mel demonstrated to them the making of a butterfly with oranges, tomatoes, and cucumber antennae. The kindergardeners were really driving her insane yesterday. They didn't seem to want to listen to anything. I would have lost my mind and killed one of them at some point, I think. hehe.

when kids get bored, they play violin with pencils and hair

Ms Cherry helping with their writing

she really does look this lost all the time

This is mel's favorite student, she's funny

the closest to a dress we'll ever see her! in her apron
preparing for her demonstration

he is a jokester

they wait patiently for her to let them make their own butterfly

Ms Cherry's butterflies

a student's butterflies - with no bodies haha

Show me how we line up!

watch this video. it amazes me how she lets them all read aloud, different books at the same time. I can't handle all of that noise!

For lunch we ate at the little restaurant by her work and I had Donkasu, the same thing I had the first day I was here. I love this dish. It is pork cutlet that is really crispy on the outside. It is served with white rice and baked beans on the plate. The shared side dishes yesterday were fish, kimchi, and cucumbers in red paste. I still haven't aquired a taste for the kimchi. It is way too spicy for my mouth. tear tear.
here you see the beans, rice, and pork!

side dishes = kimchi on the far left, fish already eaten from the top bowl, cucumbers, then some mushroom onion mix of yuck. soup in the bowl directly behind my plate

for dessert, a mystery popcicle. it was strawberry flavored and DELICIOUS

Mel had coke zero and I had pineapple juice

The head directors of Mel's school came in and they gave me 3 sets of 3 pencils advertising the school. hahaha. I think it's great because Mel already sent me some so now I have like 15 of these KC pencils.
the older classes are crazy too. this kid never shuts up

she's always talking, all day long!

she's beating the knowledge into them

he wanted his photo taken! haha

Yes, she ended the class with a game of hangman and the answer was SHUT YOUR PIE-HOLE!

you have to love this one too!

After work, we went to Pizza Muru. This is Mel's favorite pizza place. The crust is rolled into little pizza rolls, so picking up pieces is really interesting. The crust is stuffed with cheese and sweet potato. That was a taste I couldn't get used to so I tore off the crust and ate the yummy pepperoni pizza. It was FANTASTIC! Loved it. I bought some Australian Ice Vod (lemon flavored vodka drink similar to smirnoff) and it complemented the pizza rather well. When we got hungry later on, we went for street food. I have been eyeing these corndog looking things. I looked them up online and it says "hotdog cooked in pastry" so why not. It's only 1,000won so who can pass it up?! It was tasty except the hotdog was super thin and there was 2 inches of pasty. I had to tear the breading off so that I could taste the hotdog. It's double fried too, so nice and crunchy! I forgot the camera so no photos of pizza or corndog thingy.

OH! About the wine I said I'd comment on from a few days earlier - it was way too strong for me and Mel drank the entire bottle herself.

Wednesday

2008-05-28T16:28:00.000-07:00

We had dinner at the Sand & Food. I had a chicken sandwich and it was SPICY but tasty.

Another random sign from the restaurant

Mel getting her hairs cut

she has issues getting them to cut her hair really short - it is not typical of women here.

Wednesday wasn't much to talk about. We went to see the new Chronicles of Narnia movie, which was amazing. We had dinner at the Sand & Food and it was tasty. Small sandwiches on rice bread yum yum. I ordered a cherry coke and it tasted like candy, I am curious about what makes it that taste instead of just cherry.

My blowdryer doesn't really work here in case I haven't mentioned it. When I tried to use it the first day it started smoking so I only use it for about 3 minutes a day. The voltage converter thing isn't meant to handle so much volts I suppose. So, I have had the WORST vacation hair ever which is why you don't see too many photos of me doing wild and crazy things. Not that I am actually partaking in anything wild and crazy, though.

When I am alone I think a lot about my future as an expatriate. It is something that I am really looking forward to. I am falling in love with Korea, but I realize being on vacation here and living here are two completely different things. I have been learning Korean for about 5 months now through a private tutor and I start official classes at the University of Minnesota in August. By the time I graduate, I hope that I am able to handle basic conversations. Being here has been fantastic for getting used to the sounds of words. I love it that I can pick out a word when someone is talking to us. I like being able to read a lot of things even if I don't know exactly what the words are. (Mel says she likes having me at her disposal to correct her reading skills haha) I am scared of living here, too, because I don't have a support network. I'd really have to be on my own and handle all my situations with my own strength. In the days that have been emotional for me here, I haven't been able to just dial someone and talk about it. I have to email and wait a day for a response, if I get a response. That is a definite adjustment for me but it's nice. Not having a cellphone and being on call for work all the time has been one of the major perks about being here. I am hoping that I can get a job other than teaching after my first year here. I want to do other things with my life, but that is a definite stepping stone.

Stepping into what? I have no idea. I don't know where I'm going exactly but I'm looking forward to getting there!

Tuesday's Incheon City Tour

2008-05-27T14:52:00.000-07:00

This is going to be an intensely photo based post. Tuesday I actually was brave enough to venture to the bus stop alone and take the bus to the subway and then figure out how to get where I was going. This adventure was made easy by Mel giving me some detailed directions. She only left out a few minor details.
There are a few things I want to mention about transportation here. First of all, you get on at the front of the bus but you exit it in the middle. This was confusing, no one had told me that. Secondly, the cabs have shoulder strap seatbelts in the back but you aren't supposed to wear them. Most of the cabs i have been in don't even have buckles to buckle the strap into! The first time the cabbie laughed at me and said something about it to me in Korean. Getting in and out of subway stations should be easy.. it's actually confusing. There are too many exits lol. I don't think I'll get lost leaving my exit again as long as I remember it's by the earring store.
My breakfast, strawberry flakes with apple chips

Once I got off the subway in Incheon I went directly to my left where the tourist center was. There was a super nice, older lady there who spoke English and she explained the types of tours to me and how to go about getting on and off if I wanted to. I paid my 1500won and then hung out for an hour waiting for my bus to arrive. Across the street was Chinatown but I didn't wander over just in case I got sidetracked and missed the tourbus.
my lonely subway ride

getting off the subway

CHINATOWN

WELCOME TO CHINATOWN

Once I was on the bus, an older man sat me down and was asking me all sorts of questions. He was telling me that he'd been to California 3 times and was asking me where I was from and if I had a poy-friend. haha. I love the b/p sounds here. He asked me if I was going to go eat fish with chopsticks. This confused me a little but I found out why he was asking me just a short while later.
This is Wolmido Garden, very pretty

Incheon Inner Port - the largest port in the Oriental countries, according to the guide, and 6th largest in the world.

another view of the water and port

a huge ship

this says CLEAN INCHEON - there are signs everywhere about how clean cities are

this is part of Yeonan Fish Market, it's very well known.. and the old man wanted to take me to lunch here.. however I stayed on the bus

The entrance to In Spa

in small letters it says In Spa

a sign for another city we were going into

these AMAZING mountains

a better view of how rocky they are

if you need a mechanic, go to one of these places

cool architecture at Songdo Park ( i think that's where this is)

In Songdo there are signs for stuff everywhere

In Songdo again - the #1st World

some HUGE buildings

yes, the building says I'm Nature - this sort of English is on buildings everywhere you go

oh look! the POLICE!

this is a cool sign in Namdong

an autobody shop, the red sign in small letters says "Happy Auto Life"

i think this is the Incheon flag, they were flying everywhere

we were stuck on a blocked street for a longtime, and this is what was out my window!

the Munhak Stadium, some world series sort of games have been played here

typical buildings

and then my tour was done! and back to the subway

When I arrived at Songnae Station, i had to pee. So I tried the bathroom for the first time. Luckily I had tissue and there was also a roll outside. Talk about interesting!

now, I wait for the bus

when I got off at the wrong stop, I had a chance to see lots of sculptures on my walk home

like this awesome one of hands!

We had Nepalese food, I got the chicken korma - its drumsticks, not dramasticks and it's served in a bowl with creamy marsala sauce and i had garlic nan with it. DELICIOUS

a visual of greatness! the bread went fantastic with the curry

fresh fishes anyone? these are EVERYWHERE

the Batman bar haha

a stop sign

Bucheon, at night

Hope you are all enjoying this blog so far. I'm always impressed with how many photos I take and I bet some of them aren't as interesting to you as they are to me, but oh well.
Today it is super rainy so I have no idea if I will go out, if I do it will be to something inside, for sure. No random outside walkings for me today!

Lazy Monday

2008-05-26T07:02:00.000-07:00

me chilling at home before i go out

Today I wasn't very productive but it was a nice day of relaxing and then going out about town. I was on my own and it was scary! I hate going out alone and I had a panic attack once I was safe in Mel's loft again. I don't know how I'll be able to handle this going out alone stuff.
Then Mel and I went to dinner and I have no idea what I ate but it is tasty. It's great that all of the food was on display. We wandered around EMart again.

That is all for the Monday, sorry that there isn't more to tell. I kind of just relaxed and did some introspection today.

what i had for dinner

mel had sweet and shower chicken

the wine we bought, i'll let you know how it works out

It is Korean Spam!!

Sunday = Insadong, Sinchon, City Hall

2008-05-25T13:27:00.000-07:00

Sunday was full of adventuring! We got a late start because I actually was able to sleep until about 9am. I was feeling really awake and energetic when we set out for the day. First we went to this cool pottery store that's a few blocks away. I bought some gifts that were requested and then we brought them back to the apartment before we headed out for lunch. We had Bennigan's because it's super cheap for their "Power Lunch". The restaurant was way nicer than a Bennigan's in the States would be. We were served the "Special Drink" and neither of us knew what to expect. It was like Sierra Mist with a real lemon in it, VERY tasty! We brought the left overs home and then were really ready to start the day, at like 1pm.

the public spaces are all full of art - sculptures, fountains, etc

the intersection near Bennigan's

the happy korean bennigan's ketchup
We caught the Subway to Insadong, which I liked a lot more than Itaewon. The stores were pretty awesome and I was able to pick up a few souvenirs for people. There was a music festival going on and a parade was involved and a skit. It was really beautiful to watch. The music here is really soothing. I generally felt really relaxed there and we had a good time. Mel had me try this fried something, we have no idea what it's called. It's piping hot and can literally burn your mouth if you don't wait for it to cool down. Mel swears this stand is the best place to get them in all of Korea. I have nothing to compare it to, so sure. haha.

one of the first things i saw getting out of the cab in Insadong - note the tall pointy building in the back

The Galloper! this is the funniest name for a vehicle!

the fried things Mel love

We both think that they are super tasty but don't burn your mouth!

this skit is part of the musical festival going on in Insadong

and then the lady character came out and sang

maybe it was a love story?

the butterflies were awesome, I LOVED this giant market place

you can see there were flower sculptures going up the stairs. very pretty

at the bottom of the stairs was a funny little statue, so it was PHOTO TIME

There was a robot walking around. Everyone made peace signs and got their photo taken

the parade!

i can't read these signs

the important guy being carried at the end of the procession

and of course, what parade is complete without rural people being represented!

it ended with the lady drummers!

We walked a few blocks to the Unhyeongung Palace. It is small and not like the larger palaces but we enjoyed it anyway. It was a very quick tour because it was so small. I can now say that I've seen a palace, though.

one of the first rooms we walked into

one of the observing rooms showing off clothing

the area before we walked outside

Mel taking a break outside

We walked to City Hall area and it was beautiful. Seoul has done a lot of work to make the city more clean and beautiful for everyone who lives there. We ran into a protest early on but I couldn't make out what they were saying and I couldn't see where they were so I couldn't read signs either. Eventually the protest caught up with us as we neared the waterfall (closer to City Hall). THEY WERE PROTESTING AMERICAN BEEF! I will not go into long detail about this debate right now but basically the US sends Korea beef that is a lower grade that what we sell or use for our dog food. Koreans want better, more sanitary beef. Anyway, there was a truck with a lady in the back and she's screaming away on her loudspeaker while a person in a cow costume is doing the "protest fist". It was all very intense and there were hundreds of people involved in this, walking behind the truck. We stayed a safe distance away but a lot of people were looking at us strangely as we snap photos of Koreans protesting American beef. Then we walked down the stairs to the stream and soaked our feet and chit-chatted about the day.

this building has a hole in it, Mel said it was a must take photo

the stream when we first happened upon it

the view on the other side of the stream - protesters not in sight yet

the truck with the speaker and cow on it

the angry cow protest

the best pic of the people walking behind.. there were riot police (HUNDREDS) everywhere but I didn't photograph just in case it was a bad idea

from across the way, still chanting

and I looked down and saw the pretty stream again

and then there was the cow truck!

the best view of the waterfall!

as we were walking down the stairs

our feet in the FREEZING water

Mel was unsure how to get where we wanted to go but we managed to get us to Sinchon/Ewha women's university area just fine. Ewha is the world's largest women's university! We walked up into the University area and took a few pics and then went back down through Sinchon which was so crowded! We were lost. Mel asked a cab driver how to get to the station that we needed and then we headed home.

during the lost time, mel consults her map and i watch this bird

yes, South Korea has Cold Stone ice cream - in Ewha area

sculpture on the campus

a really awesome looking building

from the top of the hill we climbed, our view of the campus

The subway was SO crowded, too. I guess Sundays are the crazy busy days in Korea because everyone was out shopping and everyone was headed home just when we were. With a quick stop at the EMart for some wine and cereal, we came home. We drank our $9 bottle of wine and i passed out. I've really taken to white wine here, and I hate it at home. It makes me fall asleep, though. I went straight to sleep lastnight after I got dizzy. lol.

this cool building, out the window from the subway

hello CROWDED subway

Its monday and I have to take on the day by myself.. I might be a bit nervous.

National Museum, Itaewon, Indiana Jones

2008-05-24T10:27:00.000-07:00

Today (Saturday) I woke up early yet again. ahh. I am so not wanting to be up at 5am. Eventually Mel woke up and we got around. We decided to go to the National Museum of Korea and they had an exhibit on Persia. We took the subway, my first subway time in Korea. I have bad motion sickness and it was a 45 minute ride of nausea lol. The museum was amazing. We both really like museums so it was an adventure and we learned a lot of stuff. I took photos and it was cool. The workers were very helpful and asked us what they could do for us every time we turned around. It was a good price for the special exhibit and the permanent collection. unfortunately, no one is allowed to photograph things in the Persian exhibit.

The head of a tomb guardian beast, 8th century!

Mel acting super Korean in the "photo area" of the museum

me and my Korean sugarmama haha not. She was getting a photo just when I was getting one.

canopy, throne and painting backdrop of the Crown Hall. This is a replica of the actual throne from Gyeongbokgung Palace.

Record of buried placenta's of princes/princesses.

writings on the outside of a box that bodies were buried in

beautiful painting of a mountain

a bronze vessel from 206 BC!

the happy lily pads outside of the museum

a picture of a king

ancient coins

key plaques

This is the punishing stick! Who wants to get whipped with this?!

Afterward we decided to get lunch and we traveled into Itaewon which is known as the foreigner district. It was pretty lame to me actually. I really liked the place we went for lunch, an italian pizza place. I got to pick the pizza and we had salami and cheese. hehe. It was very tasty. Then we went to What the Book and Mel purchased some books. Then we trekked home in the hottest part of the day. (have i ever told you how much i hate sweating!) We brought the subway home and then took a cab to her exact location. then we drank a bottle of wine and I took a nap.

the sign inside of our window of the cab. some cabs offer this service, but not all.

After nap time we went to the park so she could do her nightly run. I just sat on a bench and watched the Koreans playing badminton at 10pm. talk about interesting.

Then it was off to the movie place because Mel has been dying to see the new Indiana Jones movie. The only one with tickets left was a midnight showing. So, we got some dinner, eavesdropped on some other foreigners, had ice cream and then went to see our movie.

the convenience store!

this random heart sculpture outside of the mall that we went to see a movie in. haha. Apparently they put up random stuff every few months. It is made from fake flowers.

Kids College and Sopoooong

2008-05-23T05:47:00.000-07:00

Today, against my better judgement, i went to work with Mel. It was ten hours of hell because I was REALLY exhausted. I could barely keep my head up by 5pm. I woke up super early today so that didn't help. I'm hoping to sleep through the night and well into Saturday morning. I had something for lunch that is korean but I already forgot what it was and i didn't take any photos of it. After work, we went to dinner and had beef dak galbi. It was SUPER tasty, I'm glad she took me there. Afterward we went to Sopoooong and walked around looking at clothes and I got the best smoothie EVER! Here are photos of the day:

this is a video of Mel and her kindergartners playing with the teeter totter. the puny little guy his her favorite student, and I like the girl in the pink skirt. they are both cute as heck.

there is playdough - and it is AMOS brand

mel, doing a science experiment

she was getting tired and cranky

they make her want to pull her hairs out

but their hypothesis were correct!

this is a view out of the apartment window

sorry, forgot to rotate this haha. it's a building we pass on the walk to KC - where she works

the desk of an English teacher haha

mel didn't want to push the kids on the merry-go-round

but they talked her into it anyway!

the bulgogi galbi. it was delicious! i'll definitely eat this again.

a salad with red paste on it and a tofu soup. i didn't really care for the soup at all but the salad was good

green peppers, garlic, onions, red sauce, and greens = TASTY i loved these greens

a fantastic sign for the bathrooms

mel standing on the little bridge to Sopoooong

Day One!

2008-05-22T13:33:00.000-07:00

I got in at about 5pm Korean time yesterday (may 22) and finally got to Mel's apartment about 8pm. It was a long wait for her at the airport and a LONG bus ride to her apartment. We were in traffic for a long time. It was nice. i got to see parts of rural Korea and it reminded me of the movies I watched in my chinese history class. there were city buildings and then 2 miles up you see some people out tending to their farm... definitely something you don't see every day. I didn't get to take photos on the bus because it was moving and there are shades on the windows and i think it would have blurred things just a bit.
I had McDonalds for dinner lastnight. We were going to go to this local restaurant but it was already closed by the time we got there. I ordered a bigmac meal. The interesting part is that the beef is peppered. Like if you look at the beef, you can see the pepper flakes and it had no flavor at all. Oh well. The interesting part is that the cashiers knew English and in the US you rarely find a cashier that knows something other than English.
The Koreans that I have met so far have been amazingly nice and willing to help with anything. I was offered the use of a cellphone to call Mel and several people asked if I needed help getting somewhere. I've not felt like I was stared at but Mel says it happens a lot because there aren't an awful lot of foreigners in her town. I'll keep you posted on how that goes.
I only got 4 hours of sleep.. my body apparently thinks its wakeup time at 4:30am. ugh. Maybe tonight I'll get better sleep. Mel is still snoozing but has to get up in about an hour to get ready for work. I'm going with her today, so that should be interesting. Then we are going to get some Korean dinner and then maybe take a walk around the area. The weekend will be full of museums and other things.

PS, don't forget to leave a comment, it lets anyone leave comments anonymously, so SIGN it haha

Now for photos..

this is where i exchanged my dollars into won and Mel used the Woori ATM

this is a gas station. it looked interesting

a statue outside of Mel's apartment building

this is near the cityhall. a fountain advertising Bucheon

this is blurry, i know. this is on the walk home from Emart (the everything you ever want, WalMart sort of place)

this is the fountain machine inside of emart

our groceries - chicken breast, chicken fingers, bananas, pepperoni sticks, yogurt, water, velveeta, potatoes, mango popcicles

Almost

2008-05-19T18:01:00.001-07:00

I am going to South Korea in a day and a half (Wednesday, May 21, 2008). I am excited and scared and just HOLY MOLY all over the place. I've decided to keep a little online journal of the time that I am there. I plan to put at least one photo up each day.. and I'm going to be emailing out the photo's of the day too! So, check back for the most up to date stuffs going on with me!