Home Stay Two

I haven't even written about our second host family and we leave today. Not only are we busy all day with our events, but this family is more social than our last one, and there have been visitors every night. Last night was a bit of a 'celebration' in the wife's terms, of our being there, and probably also of our leaving-having 5 foreign women descent on your household must be stressful, especially since we all had laundry and I think she must have spent half of yesterday washing it all. Koreans don't use clothes dryers, everything hangs to dry. It ends up smelling really good, (but that may be mostly the laundry detergent--I haven't used laundry detergent with a frangrance in years, with the exception of Italy where it does not aggrivate my skin. So far the Korean detergent is giving me no problems, and it's sort of nice to have pretty smelling clothes.) Two rotary couples came last night, bringing some kind of Korean chicken-spicy with dipping sauces and some covered in cheese, cookies and grapes that were added to an already full coffee table, and we drank some beer and soju and talked. It was really wonderful to feel so welcomed into someone's home.
Tuesday was a visit to the nuclear power plant-as far as we can tell we do not glow--yet. The plant is government owned, as are all of the energy sources in Korea. We watched a very enthusastic video about nuclear power, then were thermo-scanned, metal detected, and possibly scanned in some other secret ways before going on a tour that included a peek into the control center. After the tour we were able to tour the plant owned and operated aquarium, no deformed fishes there, just a great collection of fish that are found in the waters surrounding Korea.
Lunch was in a famous seafood resturant-I think they are famous for the insane amount of food they serve. We think there were 12 kinds of fish on the table at one point, plus the kimchee and side dishes and rice and soup-ack!
We really are movie starts now-we were asked to be interviewed for a commercial for the resturant as we were leaving. We obliged, and we'll have to see if it ends up on tv before we leave.
In the afternoon we visited a beautiful Buddhist shrine, then drove along the coast road. We stopped for tea in the afternoon, a nice rest in a day full of walking and looking. Dinner was Shabu Shabu-food cooked in a hot pot of broth at the table. It was yummy, and followed by iced passion fruit tea in the office of a Rotary memeber who had joined us for dinner. His law pratice was right above the resturant we ate at. We came home and visited with our host's guests for a bit before bed.
We also learned how connected and caring the Rotary members are yesterday in an easy to illustrate story. Sometime on Monday, between the switching of cars and luggage and changing after the sauna, I managed to leave my sunglasses in a car I was no longer in. (sorry Tim). I didn't realize it until the next morning, and once I had mentally traced my steps, I narrowed it down to one car that it could potentially be in. I asked our translator to inquire about them, and two text messages later, they were located and in the district office. Knowing where they were, I was content, and sure they'd find me somehow. I did not expect to have them handed to me by the waitress as she showed me to our table for dinner-some one had dropped them off at the resturant so I'd have them that night. This kind of thoughtfullness had been evident through out our stay. I had been so worried about the glasses, and then so happy that they were located, I didn't even realize I had left my notebook in a completely different car until Mr Moon came to the apartment we were stayng in, to drop it off and visit for a bit. He said it was an excuse to come see us, and I really appreciated his finding it. After he handed me the book, he joked with me and said he told me he wouldn't accept money for his delivery of my book, but would accept from me a slice of the orange that was laid out on the table. I happily obliged him.
Breakfast is almost ready, so I will have to talk about yesterdays events later, they probably deserve their own post as it is. Pictures as soon as I can get my own computer online, I only have 621 so far-good thing Tim got me the big SD card :D

Eileen is not a Hiker

Today we hiked Mount Mudeung. This was not my favorite activity thus far. The fact that it was raining did not help. It started to get slippery about half way up, and you go down the same way you go up, so the way down was a bit precarious at parts. I was not quite equipped for hiking, especially in the rain, so that added to my frustration. It was good exercise however, and the Koreans say that hiking in the rain is good for your chi, so I hope I now have a happy chi. After the hiking, we went to a Korean sauna. This was an interesting experience since the women in the sauna all walk around in the nude. Though we Americans were nervous and shy at first, once you walk into a room full of naked women who are not shy, you can lose your nervousness pretty quickly. All kinds of women were there, old and young, of all shapes and sizes, which made things more comfortable as well. It was very relaxing, with all the pools and hot tubs and steam rooms, and I'm defiantly less sore than I would be with out the sauna. We changed quickly from mountain hiking clothes to our more dressed up versions of ourselves, and visited the Rotary District offices. After that meeting we were transferred to our new host family, and welcomed with dinner (with soup and rice and kimchee, as well as Korean style sushi). We have settled into our new home, all 5 of us are together this time. This of course means 5 women in one bathroom, we shall see how the morning goes. We're visiting a nuclear power plant tomorrow, and the salt producing region, which I'm sure will be interesting.

Movie Stars!

E and I have begun referring to ourselves as Movie Stars, due to the reception we get from children. We went to a light festival today, and even adults were obviously fascinated by us. It is bizarre to be looked at as so different. I don't know if I will get used to that. Today was our 'free day' which became a full day very quickly. We joined our host family at a funeral ceremony for Mr Kim's mother. The buddhist tradition says that there are 7 doors on the way to heaven, so the family participates in this ritual for 7 weeks, to aid the family member through the 7 doors into heaven. We were just there for the last few moments, but the combination of being in the shrine, with the monks chanting and ringing bells, and the smell of incense was incredible. After the ceremony we walked around the shrine for a bit, then joined the monks for lunch. The meal was vegetarian, but that was the only difference between that meal and most of our other meals, there was still too much food. It was our first time having Korean rice cakes (other than the soup) and there were a few kinds--including a sweet one with beans that was super delicious, and I want to find them and bring home a whole box. After the shrine, we drove to Mr Kim's concrete factory. It was one of two facilities, and he employs about 90 people between the two factories. We got to really walk around since it was Sunday and the factory was not in operation that day. After that, we drove south of the city to a riverside that was carpeted in yellow flowers for quite a stretch of land. There were Korean families out for a stroll, and couples out for a date. It was a great place to walk around a bit and get some fresh air. We had a dinner tonight hosted by a past District Governor, with fresh korean style sushi and about a million other dishes. About every 10 minutes, they would bring out a new plate. I've learned that if the rice is not on the table early in the meal, there is going to be a whole other meal coming, after the dishes already on the table. Now that I've learned that, I'm pacing myself through the meals a bit better, and not feeling like I have to roll myself out the door--an easy thing to do when you're eating on the floor. We said goodbye and thank you to our first host family today. Though we'll still have breakfast here, our in house interperter will likely be at work by the time we are up and ready, so we made sure to give them our little gifts today. The lighthouse magnet is already up on the fridge. :D Tomorrow we hike a mountain (not a big one apparently) before a meeting at the district office and moving to our next host.

No internets? OH NOES!!!

If I had ever had any doubts about my dependence on technology, they were squashed when I found out my host family's internet was not working. I had been depending on internet access so strongly that I really had to reevaluate the free time I had Friday night. Luckily I was rather exhausted, and fell asleep pretty quickly. I'm was still not used to the 13 hour time difference, and woke up a bit to early, because it felt like I was napping in the middle of the day, something I usually don't do for 8 hours. While I waited for it to be a decent hour to wake up and shower, I read a bit on my Kindle, so at least I got to stare at a screen for a few hours, wouldn't want my eyes to forget what that feels like.My hosts are a lovely family. The father, Mr Kim is the President of the Gwanju Rotary Club. His wife is an excellent cook, and has a wonderful sense of design, as she decorated their beautiful apartment. They have two children, a son who is away at school studying to be a doctor, and a daughter who is studying to be a high school math teacher. Though the daughter goes to university in Seoul, we were very lucky that she is in Gwanju for the month to do her internship. She studied english in middle and high school, and speaks it really well, a wonderful thing since my Korean is still so terrible. The home we're in is lovely. It's a 4 bedroom apartment, with a room for each of the children, the parents, and one that had been for Mr ()'s mother, who was living with the family until she passed away last month at the age of 90. The kitchen is spacious and well laid out, and has a large pantry that is kept cooler than the rest of the house, the refrigeratior is stored there. There is a dining area that joins the kitchen with the spacious living room. On the outside wall, there are porches and balconies lining the apartment, the porch outside my room has the Kimchee refrigerator as well as a clothes line and some storage. Everything is very comfortable, simple and beautiful. We have been made to feel so welcome. The issue that seemed to concern the hosts families most was breakfast. Koreans generally eat soup and 'side dishes' for breakfast, the side dishes are generally kimchee and some other vegetables. Our hosts offered to make us something more 'american' for breakfast, and I am very glad we did not take them up on it. The rice cake soup we had yesterday was absolutely delicious. Their rice cakes aren't the crunchy kind, but end up with the texture of a rice dumpling, chewy but soft. The broth was chicken based, and the soup had pieces of chicken as well as vegetables in it. The homemade kimchee was delicious, if a little spicy for me so early in the day. Most of the food here is spicy, so a mild breakfast was a welcome thing. We finished breakfast with some fruit, beautifully cute up and laid out on a plate-not only was it good looking, it had some of the most delicious strawberries I've had in a while. After breakfast we went to the Gwanju Municipal Library. (yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Another post will follow with some of the many many pictures I took in the library. There were many similarities between this library and American public libraries, which was surprising, but made the differences seem more pronounced. After the library we took a ride through Chousun University, which has a large beautiful campus, and where one of our interperters studies. We also stopped at the government offices building where they've turned the outside of the building into a huge garden, which was in full bloom. Though I got a few great shots of the garden, I was very upset that my camera's batteries died on the way to lunch--since lunch was at an Italian restaurant. Not only that, but we went to the wrong one at first--there are more than one Italian restaurant in Gwanju! This may be the most surprising thing I've encountered in Korea yet. The food was good--mushroom soup with a little bread cap over the bowl, a salad with lettuce, bananas, peaches, apple and pineapple, and a sweet yogurt dressing that was delicious, spaghetti carbonara and spaghetti with a spicy red sauce and seafood, plus a pizza with sausage and peppers and another with sweet potato. If that sounds like too much food for 8 people, its because it was, but that is the Korean way. We have not finished everything on the table once, but always leave the table very full. And don't let your dish sit empty for too long, some one will fill it for you, and if you manage to eat that, they'll fill it again! We went to two museums after lunch. The first was a folk museum where we had tour by an English speaking guide, and learned a lot of the historical cultural traditions of Korea. The second was a municipal museum with a historical bent, but it was undergoing renovations so it was a bit truncated, but still a nice overview. There was dinner saturday, and it included rice and soup and kimchee, but 2 days later I can't remember the details of it. This is the reason I've been blogging this whole experience--by the time I come home, I'll likely forget most of the things we've done.

Friday

The festival was huge! There was the festival grounds, with the lay out of the park that the couple first met in, a museum of paintings illustrating the story, and actors in traditional dress, dressed up as all of the characters in the story. All this plus street fair of shopping, on three or four streets worth of space. It was massive. If I had been less tired, I might have shopped more, but I know we will have plenty of opportunities to shop. The children at the festival, about ages 8-16, so excited and fascinated by us. They speak to us in English-Hi, Hello, It's nice to meet you, Where are you from?. It's strange for us, because you can feel like you're on exhibit. Lunch was a spicy soup made with ground up mudfish. Lots of spice in the food, but usually there are a few side dishes that are less spicy. Soup and rice are present at every meal, as well as the kimchee, other vegetables, and other tasty things. Always too much food. We bought some 5 flavor berries from a street vendor--they told us after we can buy them in a store, but it's more fun to buy them on the street. The berries are dried, and you soak them in water for 10 hours to flavor the water. We got to try the tea, and it was soooo good, which is why we bought the berries. I'm looking forward to making the berry water at home. We tried red bean cakes, and bread with sesame and sugar at the festival's street fair. I did not try the caterpillar or the snail, was not feeling quite that adventurous. The parents of our tour guide for the day own a shop of ancient pottery. We got to see examples of 200-800 year old pottery, and the different glazes that the Korean potters were able to createWe had spicy soup with greens for dinner. The greens go on the table in a big basket, and you add them to the soup, cook them for a few minutes, then eat them and add more greens.

Pictures! (in reverse chronology, I need to figure out Blogger better)

Yay Schedule! Library Visit on Saturday--exciting!

Lunch! The prickly looking dish on the right is the bowl of teeny fish. We still can't identify the yellowish ovals in the front, we think it was something like cold fried spam.

Our airport reception! Most of the men are wearing ties that sparkle, which I found very cool.

Oh goodness we're in Korea!

Yay for Schedules!

After breakfast this morning, we are going to the Namwon, a smaller city to the north that, according to Wikipedia, has a more country feel and We will visit the Chuhyang Festival, an annual event celebrating a Korean literary heroine. Chuhyang was a girl of the lower class, who fell in love with a boy of the yangbang, or highest class. This of course led to anger on the part of his parents, and the story revolves around Chuhyang's loyalty and chastity to the man she loves, even as he is sent away to become a high member of the King's administration. They are reunited, and the city this all takes place in, Namwon, has been called the City of Love in honor of this much beloved story. It has been turned into a tv show, a movie, and a Japanese Manga, Legend of Chun Hyang. The festival was created in 1931, and is one of the 4 festivals we'll be attending this month.
This afternoon we are going to hte Unbong Holy Place of Korean Classical Music, also in Namwon, hopefully to hear some traditional Korean music. Tonight is our formal reception, with the whole of the Rotary District, and then we will be spending tonight with our first host families.
Busy day ahead, and I was thrilled that there is "Coffee Mix" as well as an electric kettle in the room. Though I usually don't drink my coffee with sugar (or instant for that matter) I was thrilled to find that the packet was not just instant coffee, but had powdered milk and sugar already mixed in.

Korea!

We have arrived in Gwangju, after an uneventful yet disorientating flight. We landed in Seoul at 3:40 am local time, and took a bus to Gimpo, the domestic airport. After a delicious breakfast of Japanese Ramen (when your body's not sure if it's dinner time or breakfast time, it is helpful that soup is served here for breakfast) we flew in to Gwangju. I passed the short flight reading the Korean Herald, one of two English language daily newspapers in Korea. It will be nice to keep up with world events with the cultural slant of the area I am visiting. We were greated by a rather large banner carried by not a few Korean Rotary memebers. They whisked us through downtown to the Palace Hotel where we'll be spending tonight.
We were able to explore a little on our own this morning, and learned that our hotel is located in a very hip and trendy fashion area. We browsed the tiny boutiques for a while, stretching our legs and stimulating our appetites. Lunch was in a small restaurant where we ordered by pointing at the non-descriptive menu and other diner's plates. The meal was fantastic-5 or 6 different kinds of pickled or seasoned vegetables, a dish of itty bitty little cooked fish, dried seaweed and other savory treats that were merely a side note to the beef and vegetable soup that was placed on a hot plate on our table. Though the amount of dishes seemed slight overkill, since each item had just a few bites on the dish, we were able to have a taste of everything and feel energized and fortified for the next step in our day--much needed naps.
That very important activity accomplished, we are now on our way to dinner in our honor. I'm not sure what to expect, though I did remember to wear a long enough skirt so that if we are seated on the floor I am not embarrassed.
We start our more formal cultural explorations tomorrow at 9am, so I expect to sleep soundly if shortly tonight. Pictures soon. So far, it is a great time.

From April 21 through May 21, I will be participating in Rotary International's Group Study Exchange Program in Gwangju, Korea. This program is an exciting chance for me to learn about the methods, scholarship and strategies of professional librarians in Korea, as well as to immerse myself in a different culture. I'll be traveling with a wonderful group of professionals, and I'm confident the five of us will come back with a deep appreciation and understanding of Korean culture, and it's influence on our Korean colleagues.
This blog will be a chance to share my experience in real time with my American colleagues, friends and family, as well as the Teens who I work with at the Elwood Public Library.
I'll likely be posting next from Korea, so long until then!