I just want the world to know, the cycling season has officially started for the Colorado Redfields. Oh ya!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Cycling in Korea...who woulda thought?
I just want the world to know, the cycling season has officially started for the Colorado Redfields. Oh ya!
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Our abode
Steph's edit to the stomach post
So yeah, Micah's little post made this ordeal sound like an almost joyous occasion. "Steph got sick, I got to stay home, then I got sick and got to stay home and we watched Friends...Yay!" But no, let me tell you, this is most certainly not the case. No sunshine and roses, no happy go lucky Friends addicts satiating their addiction. This was full out agony for a full day and a half, a slight reprieve, and then another onslaught, slight reprieve then another soulless attack! And I got the worst of it. What is up, Micah never gets sick....Grrrr.....
Even if it wasn't the escargot I don't think I will ever be able to eat snail again. Even the thought of it makes me want to hurl. And my stomach is still on attack mode as if from a personal affront. Vindictive piece of crap.
Laughing hurts.
This is what hell is going to be like. No really, sitting in front of a toilet for an eternity, dry heaving and cringing with no abatement, and of course being flayed alive....Doesn't that sound pleasant? I think not. Thank you Lord for saving me from such a fate! Seriously, I got a taste of it. I don't think I've ever been so sick.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Some kind of stomach thing
Ya the rumors are true, we got sick.
First it was Steph. She had eaten some kind of escargot at Wednesday's school lunch. We thought, "Surely, it was the snails..." I took half a day of sick leave to stay with my beautiful bride on Thursday. She started to feel better so I went in for some needed curriculum outlining.
Friday morning was much sunnier, literally and figuratively. We both skipped off to school. But then it hit me.
Guess it was not a food thing after all. I get talked into seeing the school nurse. Naturally I have visions of Eastern Medicine, needles and weird suction cups all over my body, "These will re-direct your chi and drive the evil stomach spirits out of you!" (read in a Chinese accent)
A simple pill and some carbonated tonic later I get the further bad news from Steph via beloved Google Chat, she is relapsing. Dang.
So here I am back at home, another half day of sick leave taken. Waiting for Steph to get back from her school so we can watch Friends in pain together.
First it was Steph. She had eaten some kind of escargot at Wednesday's school lunch. We thought, "Surely, it was the snails..." I took half a day of sick leave to stay with my beautiful bride on Thursday. She started to feel better so I went in for some needed curriculum outlining.
Friday morning was much sunnier, literally and figuratively. We both skipped off to school. But then it hit me.
Guess it was not a food thing after all. I get talked into seeing the school nurse. Naturally I have visions of Eastern Medicine, needles and weird suction cups all over my body, "These will re-direct your chi and drive the evil stomach spirits out of you!" (read in a Chinese accent)
A simple pill and some carbonated tonic later I get the further bad news from Steph via beloved Google Chat, she is relapsing. Dang.
So here I am back at home, another half day of sick leave taken. Waiting for Steph to get back from her school so we can watch Friends in pain together.
Psalm 19
The rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Karaoke
Ok, so last night my korean co-teacher and her husband took us out to dinner (This is Steph speaking). We went to a bar-ish place that is really close to the University in Bucheon that serves good food as well. They ordered a couple Korean dishes for us all to split and pitchers of beer. Here they drink a lot. When ever Koreans have a business deal they usually do it over drinks because they believe your true character comes out after you've been drinking. Anyway, we had a great time at dinner. They told us about their time in the US and some crazy things that happened to them over there (they lived there for a year and got back the same day that we came here).
Then they wanted to take us to Karaoke. Ok, so Karaoke is HUGE here. Pretty much every time Koreans go out in groups the night ends in Karaoke....after a lot of drinks. We heard some people through the walls and it wasn't pretty. But it is so fun! Everyone sings their heart out even if they are god awful. When we first came into the Karaoke place we heard some girl singing horrendously to an unintelligible song. It was a lot of fu
n and the Karaoke place was really nice! We walked in and I thought we'd got off on the wrong floor. I know there are a couple Asian style Karaoke places in Denver, but the one I've been to in Denver is not nearly as nice as this one and doesn't have nearly the number of songs. Almost every English song we could come up with was represented. It was sweet.But the best part of the night was hanging out with my co-teacher and her husband. They are so nice and comfortable to be around. We laughed a lot too. It's interesting that even across cultures we found we had a lot of the same sense of humor. Perhaps it's because they lived in the states so they understand us a little better. They love Denny's, ha, because it's open all the time. I told them if they like breakfast food we've got some great places for them to try in FoCo when they come out to Denver.
Yes, another plug for street food
Americans have no idea.
I think I’ll be kicking off many a blog with that opening line. It’s just so true. But before I give into the temptation of ranting about how Americans need to stop “opening their minds” to other “sexual orientations” and “sustainable living habits” and start opening their minds to other cultures, countries and people groups, I’ll restrain myself and move on to my original topic.
Food, more than any other variable, defines a culture. This is a debatable statement, but for the sake of brevity I shall not digress (this is where you all laugh.) Yes, it can rightfully be argued that due to the “flattening” of our world we are seeing more and more culinary fusions. And nowhere is this more true than America. I maintain that the best place for a food lover to live is Big City, USA.
But it is a subgroup of Asian cuisine that I wish to praise, one that has only recently been discovered by the Food Network and the Tr
avel Channel. (I must remind myself to devote a posting to our hero of culinary travel, the master Anthony Bourdain; Tony, if perhaps you are suffering from insomnia some late night, and out of sheer boredom decide to Google your name, and then by some stretch of possibility you stumble upon this humble blog…drop me a line)
I’ll be right back…gotta go prepare for class.
I think I’ll be kicking off many a blog with that opening line. It’s just so true. But before I give into the temptation of ranting about how Americans need to stop “opening their minds” to other “sexual orientations” and “sustainable living habits” and start opening their minds to other cultures, countries and people groups, I’ll restrain myself and move on to my original topic.
Food, more than any other variable, defines a culture. This is a debatable statement, but for the sake of brevity I shall not digress (this is where you all laugh.) Yes, it can rightfully be argued that due to the “flattening” of our world we are seeing more and more culinary fusions. And nowhere is this more true than America. I maintain that the best place for a food lover to live is Big City, USA.
But it is a subgroup of Asian cuisine that I wish to praise, one that has only recently been discovered by the Food Network and the Tr
avel Channel. (I must remind myself to devote a posting to our hero of culinary travel, the master Anthony Bourdain; Tony, if perhaps you are suffering from insomnia some late night, and out of sheer boredom decide to Google your name, and then by some stretch of possibility you stumble upon this humble blog…drop me a line)I’ll be right back…gotta go prepare for class.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Oh Street Food How I love thee.
Oh street food, Oh street food how I love thee.
Oh how your savory goodness comforts me.
My stomach is happy
My purse, it is napping
I think I'll go have another...
Before you rag on me for my pathetic poetry skills just realize that the street food phenomenon cannot possible be put into words. There are stalls all over the place where they fry up their specialty food right on the spot and for a pittance you can partake in the goodness. I feel my belt will have to go up a loop in a week because the goodness is just so overwhelming you cannot possibly abstain. There are fish shaped pastry-ish goodies with sweet red beans inside, meat on stick with chili sauce, tempura veggies, little balls of waffle-ish batter, cinnamon filled bean flour goodness fried to perfection, corn dogs, sausage, and so much more!! It is incredible!! You could not find this anywhere in the states so I suppose you'll just have to drop by Bucheon sometime and check it out!
Oh how your savory goodness comforts me.
My stomach is happy
My purse, it is napping
I think I'll go have another...
Before you rag on me for my pathetic poetry skills just realize that the street food phenomenon cannot possible be put into words. There are stalls all over the place where they fry up their specialty food right on the spot and for a pittance you can partake in the goodness. I feel my belt will have to go up a loop in a week because the goodness is just so overwhelming you cannot possibly abstain. There are fish shaped pastry-ish goodies with sweet red beans inside, meat on stick with chili sauce, tempura veggies, little balls of waffle-ish batter, cinnamon filled bean flour goodness fried to perfection, corn dogs, sausage, and so much more!! It is incredible!! You could not find this anywhere in the states so I suppose you'll just have to drop by Bucheon sometime and check it out!
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Ode' to the Dollar Store
American's have no idea.
Their idea of a "dollar store" is the Dollar General or American Dollar - leaving a bad taste in ones mouth even for cheap party decorations. The truth is, the only good an American dollar store ever did is provide some mild entertainment, ie. "people actually buy this stuff?!"
The one notable exception being us CSU Alumni who fondly remember running over to the dollar store on N. College Ave. to purchase some sort of "new toy" for a donation in exchange of a gleaming-foil wrapped Chipotle burrito in all its glory.....drool...
But my friends, that is the ONLY exception to the dollar store rule and I challenge you to prove me wrong! ie. post a comment if you have anything interesting to say! Entertain ME for a change!
Okay, so here we are in Bucheon in the Land of the Morning Calm. Bucheon Station - hub of busy commuters and gawking students alike. The west route takes one into Seoul and the east out to Incheon. This place is just packed with every kind of food vendor (think Anthony Bordain) and store front you could think of - vibrant colors- the constant yammer of Korean - new smells both good and bad - masses of people moving like tides in the Yellow Sea- orderly chaos.
Then smack in the middle of this circus (that some would call intense - or was that in-tents?) is a Korean dollar market.
Envision, my friends, a Wal-Mart/AceHardware/BedBath&Beyond, with every type of home-ware item, to every type of convenience-store item and everything in between. This is the type of stuff you just can't live without - soap, laundry detergent, water, dishes, clothing, jewelry, dog food, underwear, candy, tools, tape, shampoo, air-fresheners, etc. etc. etc. And you can find it all here for w1,100 each, no more, no less. These are cheap Asian goods at their finest!
And they call my stories ani-climactic...
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Adjectives fail me.
Okay, so far the bottom line is: YOU have to get your butts out here. Period. Adjectives fail me, seriously…a first person experience is the only justification for all the crazy-weird-wonderfulness that is Korea.
The thing that stands out to me most, and I don’t know if a tourist would quite get the full taste of this, is how the Korean people will almost literally bend over backwards for a foreigner. They will go miles out of their way to care for you, see that you are comfortable and welcome.
Case in point: Thursday was my first day spent in school (only after spending hours in the hospital for a required health check…a whole story in-and-of itself; remind me about it and I’ll tell of that weird experience). Classes are over by 3pm; teachers stay till 4:40pm and then promptly leave, even the principles. But this was my first day, so the standards are not known to me. 4:45pm roles around and I am still in my office, in rushed this little Korean man, somewhere in his mid-fifties, dressed very sharply as all Koreas do regardless of position of employment (city bus drivers wear ties, slacks and dress shoes - full business attire).
In he rushes, yammering in Korean, I can’t understand a word, finally he says, “you go, you go” motioning that I need to leave the room. He proceeds to demonstrate how to lock all windows and doors, then motions to me to shut-off the computer (which by the way is all in Korean too…yay! Korean Microsoft Windows XP!...and you thought your plain old Windows was bad).
Next blog: Korean Windows versus English Apple OSX – place your bets
...to be continued
The thing that stands out to me most, and I don’t know if a tourist would quite get the full taste of this, is how the Korean people will almost literally bend over backwards for a foreigner. They will go miles out of their way to care for you, see that you are comfortable and welcome.
Case in point: Thursday was my first day spent in school (only after spending hours in the hospital for a required health check…a whole story in-and-of itself; remind me about it and I’ll tell of that weird experience). Classes are over by 3pm; teachers stay till 4:40pm and then promptly leave, even the principles. But this was my first day, so the standards are not known to me. 4:45pm roles around and I am still in my office, in rushed this little Korean man, somewhere in his mid-fifties, dressed very sharply as all Koreas do regardless of position of employment (city bus drivers wear ties, slacks and dress shoes - full business attire).
In he rushes, yammering in Korean, I can’t understand a word, finally he says, “you go, you go” motioning that I need to leave the room. He proceeds to demonstrate how to lock all windows and doors, then motions to me to shut-off the computer (which by the way is all in Korean too…yay! Korean Microsoft Windows XP!...and you thought your plain old Windows was bad).
Next blog: Korean Windows versus English Apple OSX – place your bets
...to be continued
Getting Crazy Lost
Ok, so I already told I didn't know how to get to my school so I took a taxi. I also didn't know how to get back, however, so my co-teacher asked another Korean teacher which bus I should take because she lives by me. Now, mind you, I don't even know my address. I only know that I live my GS department store. So I'm told to take the 23-2 and it'll go by GS department store. So I go down to the bottom of the hill where 23-2 has a stop and take it going into town (I work on the outskirts) but it starts turning a different direction than I think I want to go. I assume that it loops back around because they said this bus took my to GS department store so I wait patiently. No the people in the bus start thinning out and then everyone gets out but me. I see this as an ominous sign, but not knowing what else to do, I stay on the bus. We start going through slums and tight streets and finally stop out in the middle of nowhere. The bus driver opens the door and I get out and he drive away to park next to other buses and take a break or something. Now I have no idea where I am. No map, no phone, no nothin. So I go around to the other side of the street and wait.
Another bus comes and I ask what to take to go to GS department square and he says 23-2. I figure I must have taken the bus the wrong way, but it turns out there are two routes to 23-2 so I took the completely wrong one. Anyway I get on this bus and I finally get to GS department square with the help of a friends bus driver who was trying to talk to me supposedly in English but I couldn't understand a word he said. He asked me: "we are friends?" and I said "Yes" and he got really excited, it was funny. He told me what stop to get off at which was good because the bus was so crowded I couldn't see out the windows. I finally get home and Micah isn't there because he went for a beer with the maintenance guy from his school so I just broke down and cried.
I was trying not to freak out the whole time I was on the buses so I think it was just pent up and I started hyperventilating which has never happened to me before and as you only exacerbates the situation, but Micah came home and calmed me down. You have no idea how scary it is to get lost in a place where you don't understand the strange alphabet let alone the language, you don't have a phone or anyway of contacting anyone, no one speaks English very well, and it is raining, and you don't know the address of where you live or if there are multiple GS department stores and you are going to the wrong one. It turns out there is only one GS store so that's good but it was so scary. It was one of those moments when you can't even pray you just think "God, God, God" over and over again. I was afraid I wouldn't get home that night and no way of contacting Micah or talking to anyone so I'd wonder around all night and die in a gutter. Ok that's a bit melodramatic and morbid, but these are the thoughts that were going through my head. But I am alive!! And the better for it. I've gotten lost since then, multiple times in three days, and it is still nerve racking but I have confidence that God will lead me back home so I don't have to freak out anymore. Micah has no idea, he hasn't gotten lost because he has only ever taken one bus which he was led by the hand to by his co-worker. Hopefully he'll experience it too.
Another bus comes and I ask what to take to go to GS department square and he says 23-2. I figure I must have taken the bus the wrong way, but it turns out there are two routes to 23-2 so I took the completely wrong one. Anyway I get on this bus and I finally get to GS department square with the help of a friends bus driver who was trying to talk to me supposedly in English but I couldn't understand a word he said. He asked me: "we are friends?" and I said "Yes" and he got really excited, it was funny. He told me what stop to get off at which was good because the bus was so crowded I couldn't see out the windows. I finally get home and Micah isn't there because he went for a beer with the maintenance guy from his school so I just broke down and cried.
I was trying not to freak out the whole time I was on the buses so I think it was just pent up and I started hyperventilating which has never happened to me before and as you only exacerbates the situation, but Micah came home and calmed me down. You have no idea how scary it is to get lost in a place where you don't understand the strange alphabet let alone the language, you don't have a phone or anyway of contacting anyone, no one speaks English very well, and it is raining, and you don't know the address of where you live or if there are multiple GS department stores and you are going to the wrong one. It turns out there is only one GS store so that's good but it was so scary. It was one of those moments when you can't even pray you just think "God, God, God" over and over again. I was afraid I wouldn't get home that night and no way of contacting Micah or talking to anyone so I'd wonder around all night and die in a gutter. Ok that's a bit melodramatic and morbid, but these are the thoughts that were going through my head. But I am alive!! And the better for it. I've gotten lost since then, multiple times in three days, and it is still nerve racking but I have confidence that God will lead me back home so I don't have to freak out anymore. Micah has no idea, he hasn't gotten lost because he has only ever taken one bus which he was led by the hand to by his co-worker. Hopefully he'll experience it too.
First day of classes
Alright, so as I said before, I didn't know how to get back to my school from our apartment. Chloe wrote down the name of my school so I could give it to a taxi driver. So I took a taxi the first day, which was good because I would have had no idea what bus to take. Luckily I remembered where my teacher's lounge was so I went there first and met Megan, the foreign teacher from last year whose contract is up the end of this month. She is from Canada and probably the smallest person I have ever met. Yes smaller even than Kels and Linds. She could be a midget, but she's not disproportioned or anything. She is really nice and helpful because she's been through all the initial shocks of this society. So I shadowed her that day and the next and it was really fun. All the kids treated me like I was a celebrity. I'd walk down the hall and they'd all say "Hi!" and bow and stare. Then when I walked into my classes with Megan they all started clapping and shouting and getting rowdy. Then they'd ask questions and exclaim at every answer. It was pretty funny. The boys were disappointed in finding I had a husband (the first question is always: "Do you have boyfriend?") and the girls were disappointed to here I had no babies.
Other than the three classes we taught each day we had office hours, which means we sit at our desk and do whatever we want. I surfed the web, read Korean travel books and started trying to learn Korean on Rosetta stone. In another week I'll have to start preparing for classes. Micah doesn't have to facilitate his classes, but I have to prepare the lesson plans and do it all myself. The Korean teacher is just there to keep order and translate. It's a little daunting because I don't know what level they are at or what vocabulary they already know, but I'm sure I'll be told this later.
Also, I finally got to meet my "Co-teacher". Technically I teach with multiple Korean teachers, but she is the one that is kind of "responsible" for me. She is so nice! Her English name is Kaylie, and she just got back from living in LA for a year so her English is pretty good, and she understands what it is like to be living as a foreigner and therefore is empathetic. She wasn't there the day we got in because she got into a car accident in LA right before they were going to leave. It wasn't their fault but there were no witness and no cameras so the policeman sided with the other driver probably just because he couldn't understand them as well and they were foreigners. I feel really bad for her because on top of having headaches and a hurt back from her crash the other teachers are giving her a ton of work to do and she has to deal with me and she has never been a "co-teacher" before so she's not sure what to do. But she is so nice and I already feel comfortable with her. She said she feels comfortable around me already because one of her English teachers in the States looked exactly like me. I'm sure I'll talk more about her later, but this is already getting too long...
Other than the three classes we taught each day we had office hours, which means we sit at our desk and do whatever we want. I surfed the web, read Korean travel books and started trying to learn Korean on Rosetta stone. In another week I'll have to start preparing for classes. Micah doesn't have to facilitate his classes, but I have to prepare the lesson plans and do it all myself. The Korean teacher is just there to keep order and translate. It's a little daunting because I don't know what level they are at or what vocabulary they already know, but I'm sure I'll be told this later.
Also, I finally got to meet my "Co-teacher". Technically I teach with multiple Korean teachers, but she is the one that is kind of "responsible" for me. She is so nice! Her English name is Kaylie, and she just got back from living in LA for a year so her English is pretty good, and she understands what it is like to be living as a foreigner and therefore is empathetic. She wasn't there the day we got in because she got into a car accident in LA right before they were going to leave. It wasn't their fault but there were no witness and no cameras so the policeman sided with the other driver probably just because he couldn't understand them as well and they were foreigners. I feel really bad for her because on top of having headaches and a hurt back from her crash the other teachers are giving her a ton of work to do and she has to deal with me and she has never been a "co-teacher" before so she's not sure what to do. But she is so nice and I already feel comfortable with her. She said she feels comfortable around me already because one of her English teachers in the States looked exactly like me. I'm sure I'll talk more about her later, but this is already getting too long...
First day buying food and stuff
Ok, so we left our apartment with Chloe the first day and went to pick up a few things that would make it more liveable, like sheets, pillows, comforter, dishes, frying pan, food... So we went to this store that was three stories and had magnetized escalators so the carts would stick. She bought food and some things for us but we had to buy the comforter and sheets and it was so expensive it was crazy!! The comforter alone was about $75! But they put $300 into Micah's account the other day for things like that so it's ok. I talked to this other foreign teacher at my school and she said you can get stuff like that in hole in the wall places for 10 bucks but oh well. Then we had lunch at this buffet place where there were two pots on our table with boiling broth and we went to buffet tables and picked out uncooked food to boil into soup in the bowls. I ate so much octopus it was ridiculous! I didn't know if it was ok to leave food on my plate but I couldn't eat anymore octopus! It is really tiring to eat because it's so hard to chew. Anyway, she then took us back to Micah's school to get stuff to set up a bank account and then we set one up for Micah and finally got to go home!!
You'd think we would sleep immediately upon getting back, but hoping to combat jet lag we stayed up 'til 9 unpacking and then fell asleep.
You'd think we would sleep immediately upon getting back, but hoping to combat jet lag we stayed up 'til 9 unpacking and then fell asleep.
First Impressions of our schools
Ok, I am finally going to write a post seeing as how Micah has been monopolizing the blog, I think it's my turn. When we first got into Seoul airport we were picked up by a driver and taken out to his van where we had to shove one of our bikes into the middle so Micah had to sit sideways on the seat for the whole drive. He first took us to my school where we had no idea what was going on. Some lady came to meet us and took us in to meet the principles office where there were a bunch of teachers. She introduced us and it was kind of awkward. She then gave us a cursory tour of the school and told me to come back at 8:30 tomorrow morning. Now I didn't even know where we were let alone where we were living in relation to my school, so this will be prove to be a problem later.
We then went to Micah's school where they were thoroughly prepared for our arrival. His co-teacher, Chloe, met us at the front and took us in to meet the vice-principle and principle. We had tea with them, and the vice principle was so friendly and attentive and the principle looked like a Chinese emperor that I've seen in a movie but can't place at the moment. Then we got a tour of his school and Chloe went back with us to our apartment. Here the driver left us and went out again, leaving our bike boxes (with bikes inside) in the hallway. Ok, I gave Micah a hard time about long blogs so I'm going to switch to another one.
We then went to Micah's school where they were thoroughly prepared for our arrival. His co-teacher, Chloe, met us at the front and took us in to meet the vice-principle and principle. We had tea with them, and the vice principle was so friendly and attentive and the principle looked like a Chinese emperor that I've seen in a movie but can't place at the moment. Then we got a tour of his school and Chloe went back with us to our apartment. Here the driver left us and went out again, leaving our bike boxes (with bikes inside) in the hallway. Ok, I gave Micah a hard time about long blogs so I'm going to switch to another one.
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
In Bucheon
Okay wow, what a day! Over 18hrs of flying, then driving from Incheon to Bucheon, to view Steph's school, and then to my school, and then to our apartment, and then to shop for everything and anything you can fit into a 312 sq. ft. apartment on the 7th floor of a 15 story apartment building in the middle of busy downtown Bucheon, then back to unload, then to a lunch of squid and octopus (i kid you not) and then to buy reloadable bus passes, then back to my school for banking paperwork, then to the bank to set up a new account, then some practice with the public phone system (that works off the same card that pays for bus fairs and subway fairs and items at the corner store - and to go further with the same idea, the locals have their Visas with all the same functions) then to the internet cafe to sent off emails of "God is good and we are safe and here..." to loved family, then finally back to the apartment to unpack and find that the fridge was not on all this time...dang...
What a day...our bed time is your 4am.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
The last hours
So, you may be glad that I don't have the time to compose a long post. I shouldn't even be blogging right now; we are about down to the proverbial wire with 2 big check-ons, 2 carry-ons, and 2 big bike boxes (heck yes we're bringing our bikes! You think I could go a whole year with out one of my babies?)
Count down - 7.5 hrs. till take off.
Count down - 7.5 hrs. till take off.
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