We leave our seaside resort today, and while I'm sad to go, I'm excited that we are now at the one week until home point. A month is a very long time to be away from real life, and I am ready for real life again. Though some of the creature comforts I'm used to were available here (I may have been waaaay too excited about the full sized towel in the hotel bathroom), there's still the uncertainty of our daily schedule, and the lack of control of simple things like when you eat or when you can go to bed. I've done my best to go with the flow most of the time, but I can't fully change who I am, and that I like to be more in control than this trip allows me to be.
This whole process has been a learning experience for me, about myself as much as Korea. I've had a chance to step back from my life, and maybe look at it critically for a bit. It turns out I was just as happy with everything as I thought I was, but it's always a good thing to stop and reevaluate.
As busy as these last few weeks have been, I'm looking forward to the different kind of busy that I'll be greeted with at home--the busy I choose everyday. All of the big projects that wait for me (summer reading! battle of the books! teaching summer session! remembering to breathe!) are things that i choose because they make me happy. A few of the things that await me are more necessities than big exciting projects--no one considers fund creating or cleaning the bathroom fun, but at least there's a sense of accomplishment when they are done. One of the negatives of this trip is sometimes it feels like the only thing I'm accomplishing is being on the trip. Though that's not consistently true--I've of course learned about Korean culture, and seen a University library organized by DDC, which boggled my mind, and met some wonderful people who I know will influence me for years to come--there is a nagging feeling that this may not have been the best choice for me right now. Not that it's bad mind you, it's a life changing experience that will stay with me forever. I know that the world is spinning quite nicely for the people I've left, but I can't help thinking I could be doing more there than I am here and now.
By chance (or by a subconscious need for meaning in everything) my reading choices for this trip have all revolved around journeys---physical and emotional. I suppose it's a common enough theme in literature that I shouldn't read too much into it, but it's still interesting to me that I'm so enjoying books that are so closely related to my daily events. Feelings of isolation, of being lost, of miscommunication, they are definitely undercurrents to this process. The books have all had happy endings, with joyous reunions and feelings of being home, and I'm very looking forward to my own happily ever after to this story.
This trip has definitely solidified one thing-my love for my Kindle. The fact that I packed about 40 books, with the intentions of reading 6 or so of them on this trip, and it took up the space of a small paperback is reason enough to love this thing. It is probably the technological invention that is influencing this trip for me most, other than the internet (or lack thereof). I throw it in my purse, and spend long car rides and gaps in the day reading. If I were to do this whole process all over again (and I'm not planning to anytime soon) the only things that would defiantly get packed are the Kindle and my sunglasses. Everything else would require analyzation and some second guessing--even down to the suitcase I packed in. These are the things one learns though. I packed much lighter and more efficiently than I did for my last month long journey, and will likely pack better even for weekend trips now. I did learn that 3 pair of shoes are sufficient for a month-but that will not change the number of shoes I keep in my closet. If I don't have to carry them around every three days, more shoes are certainly better than less. :D
Friday, May 14, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Sunday
Sunday was a 'free day'--so I started in our new house by sleeping in, until almost 11:30!! That was so very needed at that point, it was truly blissful. We had Korean 'brunch', but since breakfast and lunch are traditionally the same foods, it was really just late breakfast.
E and I took a trip back to Art Street with our host mother, to make sure we didn't miss anything on the side of the street we didn't get to walk down the day before. I found some beautiful hand made shot glasses--I'm coming home with an insane amount of ceramics.
We got to sit in a coffee shop for a bit, I had a deliciously strong latte, and tried to remember everything we've done over the past 5 days. There was one whole morning lost to the depths of memory for a bit, but I remembered our trip to the High School before I had to doubt my mind too much.
Lunch was Sushi--with a Korean twist of course. It was nice to have tempura and california rolls and things that seemed more familiar. We walked around a Korean department store, which was very expensive and full of designer brands in tiny sizes. We stopped by Starbucks after the department store--real coffee twice in a day was such a treat. Starbucks in Korea does not have the Venti size listed on the menu, though it was apparently available. The sizes of everything is smaller here, the portion sizes are much more reasonable.
We did some visiting of family with our host mother, and picked up her son from the airport when he returned from a weekend on Jeju Island. (http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/Cheju) He is currently a college student in Canada, and had gone to high school in Canada as well, so spoke wonderful English. It was strange to hear a Korean person saying 'eh' at the end of his sentences though. We had dinner at an Outback Steakhouse, it was nice to have forks and red wine and steak and not share plates with everyone--a western style meal was absolutely wonderful at that point. I even had french fries--with ketchup! That was more exciting than I could have imagined.
Monday's plans went through a series of changes since most of the schedule was places that were closed on Monday. So instead of the museums, we went to a green tea field, drank delicious green tea and ate some green tea candy. In the afternoon, we visited a temple, and had a bit of walking around. We had a Roatary meeting for dinner, and then went to a Korean nightclub, which is very different than night clubs in the states. There's a sea of booths, and a small dance floor in front of a stage. The stage holds a rotating cast of comedians, djs and singers, and we danced and drank for an hour or so before moving houses for the evening. That change was probably the hardest, as we had to arrange to just carry one bag for the night, leaving the rest of our stuff on the bus that was our transportation for these few days. We got in pretty late, and had to acquaint ourselves with a new bathroom and sleeping set up, before collapsing into bed.
We spent Tuesday at Chonnam National University, first in their Robotics department, then walking around the campus. The robotics department does research in biomedical and intelligent robotics, and have been working on things like robots that incorporate bacteria and tiny drills and all kind of things. They even let us poke around in their labs. I got to visit the University's library, and got a bit of a tour. Asking questions that include any kind of jargon is an act in humorous frustration when dealing with an interpreter, since I had to try to explain what I meant in English enough for him to translate to Korean, and even then some things were definitely lost.
We walked through a traditional Korean market after lunch, which was overwhelming. They sell things like meat and fish next to ceramics and housewares, and the smells were strong and sometimes not pleasant. We bought some famous fried chicken from a stall (I tried very hard not to think of the whole chickens--heads and all--merely feet away that were turned into this delicious snack) and had a picnic back at the University. We gave our presentation again, this time to University students who may be considering studying in New York.
We drove for about an hour and a half to our next hosts--who are putting us up in a a beautiful seaside resort. We had a delicious dinner of meats cooked on a grill at the table, before returning to our big comfy rooms. We're out of the city, and the attitudes of the hosts is much more relaxed, fitting the environment. We've had some free time here, and they've left us on our own for a meal or two, after taking care of the bill. The schedules are also more relaxed--the changes are less stressful, and we dont' feel like we're running from one activity to the next. We visited a salt museum, and a shipwreck museum, and were given about 2 pounds of fresh sea salt that is gathered in this area. Today we got to see the workers gathering the salt, which was very cool as well. We also visited a nursery school, and had lunch at a truck stop. This afternoon we spent in a little artist community, and had tea with it's founder in his ceramic studio. Dinner was Korean style sushi, and most of the group is in the 'singing room' while I catch up here. Tomorrow morning we have a late start, before a trip to Mokpo, the large town/small city of this province and then a transfer to another hotel for the district conference this weekend. Our journey is almost over, and I'm very glad to have this period of relaxed activity to reflect a bit on the fact that I'm in Korea...still. Though this last week especially has been rough, on a whole this is a very positive experience, and I'm incredibly lucky to have this opportunity.
E and I took a trip back to Art Street with our host mother, to make sure we didn't miss anything on the side of the street we didn't get to walk down the day before. I found some beautiful hand made shot glasses--I'm coming home with an insane amount of ceramics.
We got to sit in a coffee shop for a bit, I had a deliciously strong latte, and tried to remember everything we've done over the past 5 days. There was one whole morning lost to the depths of memory for a bit, but I remembered our trip to the High School before I had to doubt my mind too much.
Lunch was Sushi--with a Korean twist of course. It was nice to have tempura and california rolls and things that seemed more familiar. We walked around a Korean department store, which was very expensive and full of designer brands in tiny sizes. We stopped by Starbucks after the department store--real coffee twice in a day was such a treat. Starbucks in Korea does not have the Venti size listed on the menu, though it was apparently available. The sizes of everything is smaller here, the portion sizes are much more reasonable.
We did some visiting of family with our host mother, and picked up her son from the airport when he returned from a weekend on Jeju Island. (http://www.lifeinkorea.com/Travel2/Cheju) He is currently a college student in Canada, and had gone to high school in Canada as well, so spoke wonderful English. It was strange to hear a Korean person saying 'eh' at the end of his sentences though. We had dinner at an Outback Steakhouse, it was nice to have forks and red wine and steak and not share plates with everyone--a western style meal was absolutely wonderful at that point. I even had french fries--with ketchup! That was more exciting than I could have imagined.
Monday's plans went through a series of changes since most of the schedule was places that were closed on Monday. So instead of the museums, we went to a green tea field, drank delicious green tea and ate some green tea candy. In the afternoon, we visited a temple, and had a bit of walking around. We had a Roatary meeting for dinner, and then went to a Korean nightclub, which is very different than night clubs in the states. There's a sea of booths, and a small dance floor in front of a stage. The stage holds a rotating cast of comedians, djs and singers, and we danced and drank for an hour or so before moving houses for the evening. That change was probably the hardest, as we had to arrange to just carry one bag for the night, leaving the rest of our stuff on the bus that was our transportation for these few days. We got in pretty late, and had to acquaint ourselves with a new bathroom and sleeping set up, before collapsing into bed.
We spent Tuesday at Chonnam National University, first in their Robotics department, then walking around the campus. The robotics department does research in biomedical and intelligent robotics, and have been working on things like robots that incorporate bacteria and tiny drills and all kind of things. They even let us poke around in their labs. I got to visit the University's library, and got a bit of a tour. Asking questions that include any kind of jargon is an act in humorous frustration when dealing with an interpreter, since I had to try to explain what I meant in English enough for him to translate to Korean, and even then some things were definitely lost.
We walked through a traditional Korean market after lunch, which was overwhelming. They sell things like meat and fish next to ceramics and housewares, and the smells were strong and sometimes not pleasant. We bought some famous fried chicken from a stall (I tried very hard not to think of the whole chickens--heads and all--merely feet away that were turned into this delicious snack) and had a picnic back at the University. We gave our presentation again, this time to University students who may be considering studying in New York.
We drove for about an hour and a half to our next hosts--who are putting us up in a a beautiful seaside resort. We had a delicious dinner of meats cooked on a grill at the table, before returning to our big comfy rooms. We're out of the city, and the attitudes of the hosts is much more relaxed, fitting the environment. We've had some free time here, and they've left us on our own for a meal or two, after taking care of the bill. The schedules are also more relaxed--the changes are less stressful, and we dont' feel like we're running from one activity to the next. We visited a salt museum, and a shipwreck museum, and were given about 2 pounds of fresh sea salt that is gathered in this area. Today we got to see the workers gathering the salt, which was very cool as well. We also visited a nursery school, and had lunch at a truck stop. This afternoon we spent in a little artist community, and had tea with it's founder in his ceramic studio. Dinner was Korean style sushi, and most of the group is in the 'singing room' while I catch up here. Tomorrow morning we have a late start, before a trip to Mokpo, the large town/small city of this province and then a transfer to another hotel for the district conference this weekend. Our journey is almost over, and I'm very glad to have this period of relaxed activity to reflect a bit on the fact that I'm in Korea...still. Though this last week especially has been rough, on a whole this is a very positive experience, and I'm incredibly lucky to have this opportunity.
So many things...
We started Thursday with a trip to City Hall-where we met the Mayor! We sipped some ginsing tea while he talked about the volunteer spirit of Gwanju. We also got a tour of their PR center, where we learned about their green initiatives and goal to be a center of Asian Culture, a path they are already on since they are called the capital of Korean culture.
We went to KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) after City Hall. Like the BBC, KBS is owned by the government, and they have 4 television channels and 3 radio stations. We got a backstage tour, got to see sets being built and everything. We watched live radio being broadcast, and I got some pictures of equipment that looks interesting and complicated to me, and that my former radio engineer husband will probably find pedestrian and attempt to explain to me, and I will likely still be confused.
After lunch (which was Korean food, naturally) we went to the KIA plant. The plant is in the middle of the city, and rather large. We first toured a show room, and saw all the models KIA produces for the Korean market. The lower end ones are available in the states, but their luxury model, the Oprius, is only available in Korea. I kinda want one. Since KIA and Hyundai are really the same company, the interior is similar to my car, but nicer in every way possible. My wanting this car may be mostly because I miss driving so much--I miss being in charge of where I'm going, or at least knowing where I am. We're starting to recognize landmarks and realize when we've been in an area before, but we still don't know where anything is in relation to anything else.
We went to a memorial for the May 18th Democratic Uprising. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangju_Massacre) The memorial was very emotional and moving. We watched a film about the history behind the uprising, and though we had heard about the uprising before, that was our first time really understanding the events and timeline. The film was more graphic than I am used to, and I had to turn from the screen when they showed the injured and killed people, as it was not a reenactment, but actual footage of the event.
After all this, we went to a Rotary Meeting celebrating the 29th Anniversary of the founding of that region's club. Since it was a party, the food was even more abundant and elaborate than usual. Since the meals we've been eating seem like buffets, with 12-20 dishes on the table, the buffet which had more items than I can remember, was absolutely overwhelming--but delicious.
After this, there was work to be done, and a bed that I happily fell into once I was finished.
Friday was another busy day, we went to the city of Jeonju, which is a protected site of Korean traditional architecture. There are a few traditional Japanese houses in the area, which serve to highlight the differences in the styles. Many of the houses on the main road have been turned into shops and restaurants. Many of the shops sold traditional crafts and artwork, and I did a bit of shopping there. We went into one of the oldest and most famous Catholic churches in Korea, and it's amazing how similar it was to other catholic churches, with the only noticeable difference being the smell--Koreans must use a different kind of incense. Lunch was bibimbap-literally "mixed rice", it was veggies, meat and other delicious things in a bowl of rice-a quick and hearty lunch. After lunch we went to a paper making shop, we got to make our own paper, and watched as the shop produced piles and piles of paper.
Dinner on Friday was our first at home dinner, it was a 'party' for our last evening with this family. The meal was very similar to what we've been eating in restaurants, it was Shabu Shabu with beef, and they put the burners on the tables laid out in the living room. It was very nice to have a meal other than breakfast in a home, with the family and other Rotarians.
Saturday was our last day with this host family, and we spent it on the Street of Art, looking at galleries and drooling over art supplies. I bought a project--paper boxes that come flat, with directions in Korean (and pictures!) to fold and cover them with paper. I bought some pretty paper to supplement what came with the kit, and I'm looking forward to doing a Korean project once I'm back in the states. We drove a while to a famous restaurant for some delicious fried pork, then spent a few hours at a spa. I wasn't feeling myself, so instead of getting scrubbed and soaked, I sat by the pool reading, and felt rested and relaxed as we headed out for our next transfer.
We went to KBS (Korean Broadcasting System) after City Hall. Like the BBC, KBS is owned by the government, and they have 4 television channels and 3 radio stations. We got a backstage tour, got to see sets being built and everything. We watched live radio being broadcast, and I got some pictures of equipment that looks interesting and complicated to me, and that my former radio engineer husband will probably find pedestrian and attempt to explain to me, and I will likely still be confused.
After lunch (which was Korean food, naturally) we went to the KIA plant. The plant is in the middle of the city, and rather large. We first toured a show room, and saw all the models KIA produces for the Korean market. The lower end ones are available in the states, but their luxury model, the Oprius, is only available in Korea. I kinda want one. Since KIA and Hyundai are really the same company, the interior is similar to my car, but nicer in every way possible. My wanting this car may be mostly because I miss driving so much--I miss being in charge of where I'm going, or at least knowing where I am. We're starting to recognize landmarks and realize when we've been in an area before, but we still don't know where anything is in relation to anything else.
We went to a memorial for the May 18th Democratic Uprising. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangju_Massacre) The memorial was very emotional and moving. We watched a film about the history behind the uprising, and though we had heard about the uprising before, that was our first time really understanding the events and timeline. The film was more graphic than I am used to, and I had to turn from the screen when they showed the injured and killed people, as it was not a reenactment, but actual footage of the event.
After all this, we went to a Rotary Meeting celebrating the 29th Anniversary of the founding of that region's club. Since it was a party, the food was even more abundant and elaborate than usual. Since the meals we've been eating seem like buffets, with 12-20 dishes on the table, the buffet which had more items than I can remember, was absolutely overwhelming--but delicious.
After this, there was work to be done, and a bed that I happily fell into once I was finished.
Friday was another busy day, we went to the city of Jeonju, which is a protected site of Korean traditional architecture. There are a few traditional Japanese houses in the area, which serve to highlight the differences in the styles. Many of the houses on the main road have been turned into shops and restaurants. Many of the shops sold traditional crafts and artwork, and I did a bit of shopping there. We went into one of the oldest and most famous Catholic churches in Korea, and it's amazing how similar it was to other catholic churches, with the only noticeable difference being the smell--Koreans must use a different kind of incense. Lunch was bibimbap-literally "mixed rice", it was veggies, meat and other delicious things in a bowl of rice-a quick and hearty lunch. After lunch we went to a paper making shop, we got to make our own paper, and watched as the shop produced piles and piles of paper.
Dinner on Friday was our first at home dinner, it was a 'party' for our last evening with this family. The meal was very similar to what we've been eating in restaurants, it was Shabu Shabu with beef, and they put the burners on the tables laid out in the living room. It was very nice to have a meal other than breakfast in a home, with the family and other Rotarians.
Saturday was our last day with this host family, and we spent it on the Street of Art, looking at galleries and drooling over art supplies. I bought a project--paper boxes that come flat, with directions in Korean (and pictures!) to fold and cover them with paper. I bought some pretty paper to supplement what came with the kit, and I'm looking forward to doing a Korean project once I'm back in the states. We drove a while to a famous restaurant for some delicious fried pork, then spent a few hours at a spa. I wasn't feeling myself, so instead of getting scrubbed and soaked, I sat by the pool reading, and felt rested and relaxed as we headed out for our next transfer.
I have not fallen of the face of the earth...
Our schedules have been very busy, and internet access has been spotty at best, so I will be playing catch up a bit tonight and tomorrow since we have the glorious start time of noon tomorrow. :D
I'm about a week behind here, but only a few days behind on paper, so there will be a lot quickly. Pictures someday soon maybe too!
So we'll go back to last Tuesday and Wednesday...We begun Tuesday with a visit to a Christian Girl's High School. The school begun as a missionary school, and is an all girls school because at the time there were no schools for girls. We gave our presentation on life on Long Island for the first time to a group of students who are learning English, they had a very good grasp of the language-good enough to even get some of my jokes! The students were preparing for their midterm exams, so they may have been a little distracted through the presentation (there were a few sheets of notes being shuffled on the desks in front of them) but I'm still counting it as a success. I spent a lot of time and effort to get the presentation together, so I'm glad our first run through went well.
For Lunch we attended our first Rotary Club meeting, and were introduced to the Rotary Song in Korean. The meeting was obviously very structured, we were introduced early on, and then got a chance to introduce our selves a little more later on. There were awards given, we sang 'Happy Birthday" (in Korean!) to a club member who had a birthday, we ate the spiciest soup yet on this trip, and exactly 45 minutes later, the room emptied out.
After lunch, we went to another orphanage. We didn't spend as much time with the children this time, since they were mainly in school, but we did sit with the director and learn a lot about the history of the orphanage. It was founded in 1957 by the current director's father. There are currently 108 children living there, in group homes of 10-12 children. They changed the name from 'orphanage" to institute because the children disliked saying that they were orphans, due to the stigma. Since many of the children do have parents, but were placed in this institute by the government after their parent's divorce because the parents were unable or unwilling to care for them, the term 'orphanage' is incorrect anyway. The children come as young as a year or two old, and can stay until they are finished with University, which the institute pays for with donations. There are 26 employees, and a rotating stream of volunteers. In the summer months, high school students are required to do 8-20 hours of community service, and so many of them want to do so at the institute, a volunteer is required to organize the volunteers. Somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 children have been through this institute since it's founding. There are 284 orphanages in Korea, housing 18,000 children. 10 of these are in Gwanju, housing about 750 orphans. This is a number that will not likely go down with the divorce rate so high (above 50%, and even higher than the US) and a very sad situation for the children who live like this.
Wednesday was a quieter day-another festival, bamboo this time, then some shopping downtown. We moved to a new club, this one has a very different feel then many of the others, particularly the last. This group still has younger children, and thus is more family orientated then the last few. Dinner was at a more casual restaurant, with much less drinking than the last club, and then the 4 team members moved into one apartment (unfortunately taking the bedrooms of the family's two university student children, who were good sports about it) while our team leader moved into another apartment with younger children. I was able to connect my own computer to the internet (!!!!!!!!!YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and do a bunch of work in the evenings. This meant that I was lacking a bit in the sleep department for a few days, but un-inturrupted internet access is worth it.
I'm about a week behind here, but only a few days behind on paper, so there will be a lot quickly. Pictures someday soon maybe too!
So we'll go back to last Tuesday and Wednesday...We begun Tuesday with a visit to a Christian Girl's High School. The school begun as a missionary school, and is an all girls school because at the time there were no schools for girls. We gave our presentation on life on Long Island for the first time to a group of students who are learning English, they had a very good grasp of the language-good enough to even get some of my jokes! The students were preparing for their midterm exams, so they may have been a little distracted through the presentation (there were a few sheets of notes being shuffled on the desks in front of them) but I'm still counting it as a success. I spent a lot of time and effort to get the presentation together, so I'm glad our first run through went well.
For Lunch we attended our first Rotary Club meeting, and were introduced to the Rotary Song in Korean. The meeting was obviously very structured, we were introduced early on, and then got a chance to introduce our selves a little more later on. There were awards given, we sang 'Happy Birthday" (in Korean!) to a club member who had a birthday, we ate the spiciest soup yet on this trip, and exactly 45 minutes later, the room emptied out.
After lunch, we went to another orphanage. We didn't spend as much time with the children this time, since they were mainly in school, but we did sit with the director and learn a lot about the history of the orphanage. It was founded in 1957 by the current director's father. There are currently 108 children living there, in group homes of 10-12 children. They changed the name from 'orphanage" to institute because the children disliked saying that they were orphans, due to the stigma. Since many of the children do have parents, but were placed in this institute by the government after their parent's divorce because the parents were unable or unwilling to care for them, the term 'orphanage' is incorrect anyway. The children come as young as a year or two old, and can stay until they are finished with University, which the institute pays for with donations. There are 26 employees, and a rotating stream of volunteers. In the summer months, high school students are required to do 8-20 hours of community service, and so many of them want to do so at the institute, a volunteer is required to organize the volunteers. Somewhere between 3,000 and 4,000 children have been through this institute since it's founding. There are 284 orphanages in Korea, housing 18,000 children. 10 of these are in Gwanju, housing about 750 orphans. This is a number that will not likely go down with the divorce rate so high (above 50%, and even higher than the US) and a very sad situation for the children who live like this.
Wednesday was a quieter day-another festival, bamboo this time, then some shopping downtown. We moved to a new club, this one has a very different feel then many of the others, particularly the last. This group still has younger children, and thus is more family orientated then the last few. Dinner was at a more casual restaurant, with much less drinking than the last club, and then the 4 team members moved into one apartment (unfortunately taking the bedrooms of the family's two university student children, who were good sports about it) while our team leader moved into another apartment with younger children. I was able to connect my own computer to the internet (!!!!!!!!!YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) and do a bunch of work in the evenings. This meant that I was lacking a bit in the sleep department for a few days, but un-inturrupted internet access is worth it.
Friday, May 7, 2010
The days are beginning to blur together, and I can't even remember what we did two days ago with out going back to the schedule. Though we've happily included coffee breaks into our days, we are still on very tight schedules most days.
I've spent the last couple of days spoiled with my computer hooked up to a very fast internet connection. I managed to get a lot of work done for that real life I left behind, but still don't feel caught up. We move again tomorrow, and return to that scary place where internet access is questionable.
This is the half way point, and there have been some slight changes in our behaviors. We'll ask for a break more often, and we're not necessarily as excited for every activity as we've begun to repeat some experiences and almost know what to expect on some days at least. Though every club we meet is as energetic and eager as the first ones, we've lost a little of that drive that keeps us running from one activity to the next. We are still enjoying ourselves immensely, just at a slightly slower pace. Korean phrases are coming a bit easier to the tounge--at least 'hello' and 'thank you'. The whole experience is wonderful but draining. We meet new people evey day, and a whole new family hosts us every 4th day. Moving that often almost ensures we will leave things behind, or misplace something in the wrong piece of luggage, so there are countless searches for socks, toiletries and the other necessities of life.
There are plenty of things I miss about home. My husband being the first, along with the rest of my family, and of course the cat. But I also miss full sized towels (Koreans use what Americans consider hand towels for everything) and beds with some give to them (Korean beds are only slightly softer than sleeping on the floor) and being able to read menus and order my own coffee. Being at the halfway point is a strange place--I know I will miss home more in these next two weeks, but it's easier to see the end point. Some of the other team members I'm traveling with have expressed an interesting in coming back, perhaps to teach for a year ot something similar. I, however, have been appreciating home as much as this new world I've been introduced to, and will happily stay put for a bit once I return.
I've spent the last couple of days spoiled with my computer hooked up to a very fast internet connection. I managed to get a lot of work done for that real life I left behind, but still don't feel caught up. We move again tomorrow, and return to that scary place where internet access is questionable.
This is the half way point, and there have been some slight changes in our behaviors. We'll ask for a break more often, and we're not necessarily as excited for every activity as we've begun to repeat some experiences and almost know what to expect on some days at least. Though every club we meet is as energetic and eager as the first ones, we've lost a little of that drive that keeps us running from one activity to the next. We are still enjoying ourselves immensely, just at a slightly slower pace. Korean phrases are coming a bit easier to the tounge--at least 'hello' and 'thank you'. The whole experience is wonderful but draining. We meet new people evey day, and a whole new family hosts us every 4th day. Moving that often almost ensures we will leave things behind, or misplace something in the wrong piece of luggage, so there are countless searches for socks, toiletries and the other necessities of life.
There are plenty of things I miss about home. My husband being the first, along with the rest of my family, and of course the cat. But I also miss full sized towels (Koreans use what Americans consider hand towels for everything) and beds with some give to them (Korean beds are only slightly softer than sleeping on the floor) and being able to read menus and order my own coffee. Being at the halfway point is a strange place--I know I will miss home more in these next two weeks, but it's easier to see the end point. Some of the other team members I'm traveling with have expressed an interesting in coming back, perhaps to teach for a year ot something similar. I, however, have been appreciating home as much as this new world I've been introduced to, and will happily stay put for a bit once I return.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The wonders of Modern Technology
Korea is generally more advanced technologically than the US. This is in part because their economy became strong about 20 years ago, and many of the buildings we've been in are probably less than 10 years old--much easier to build with the new technology then to retrofit the old ones. All of the apartments we've been in have a video feed to the entry ways. We were thoroughly confused by our first 'touch to open' automatic door, and had to watch a young child make it work before I even knew what it was. The GPS in their cars know were road work is happening, and beep at you when the roads are dangerous. Their internet is super fast-but they don't use wireless networks nearly as often as I'm used to.
I've been thinking a lot about technology this trip, mainly when it does not work. I had the hardest time getting my laptop online, because logging on required a username and password, and I couldn't figure it out enough to help my hosts who were less technologically advanced than I was. My camera's lens cover likes to stick, my laptop is as useful as a brick somedays. For a few days I was completely unconnected, and was almost adjusted to the feeling. Then I was reconnected, and spent a few hours sitting in the tidal wave of things that needed to be done. The wave has subsided, and we're aiming for a few days of what passes for normalcy in Korea. :D
I've been thinking a lot about technology this trip, mainly when it does not work. I had the hardest time getting my laptop online, because logging on required a username and password, and I couldn't figure it out enough to help my hosts who were less technologically advanced than I was. My camera's lens cover likes to stick, my laptop is as useful as a brick somedays. For a few days I was completely unconnected, and was almost adjusted to the feeling. Then I was reconnected, and spent a few hours sitting in the tidal wave of things that needed to be done. The wave has subsided, and we're aiming for a few days of what passes for normalcy in Korea. :D
Weekend!
We started Friday with a visit to Choshun National University. This was the sight of the Gwangu Uprising in the 1970s, a student fronted opposition to the military run government of the time. The school was the site of protests, demonstrations, and clashes between students and police into the 1990s. There is now a museum in what was the main administration to commemorate these events. and the students who died for the cause of democracy. We got a tour of the campus and the museum after meeting with the president. The university has an exchange agreement with Stonybrook, and the exchange has not been flourishing as much as it was in the beginning. This visit was a way to foster this exchange again, since our team leader is in charge of International Student admissions at Stonybrook. Our guide for the morning works in the University's international center, as well as heads the Gwangu International Center, an organization funded mainly by donations to help foreigners navigate Korean life. He was an indispensable guide to the university. He treated us to lunch in the school's cafeteria. For about $3, you can get a full meal--rice, soup and vegetables. For about $0.50 more, you can add a heartier soup or a meat dish. We had too much food on the table again, but not as much as in a restaurant.
We spent the afternoon at the Butterfly Festival-this was voted one of the best Festivals of 2010. There were a number of green houses set up, the last one full of flowers and butterflies. We tried our first Korean Ice Cream--coffee is a popular flavor, and I tried a mix of coffee flavored ice and vanilla ice cream, it was like a very cold latte. It came with it's own little fold up spoon, which is pretty brilliant if you ask me. I also bought a large ceramic bowl from an artist who had a stand set up at the festival-I didn't manage to get a picture of it, and it's now too well wrapped that I'd be scared to open it up. I saw it and fell in love with it, enough to decide to carry it home when I learned that they don't really take care of shipping to the states from here. I'll have to ship something home however, as I've already filled up my extra duffel bag, and the gifts for our host families don't take up all that much room in my luggage.
We ended our festival experience with a snack of rice rolled around veggies and some crab meat-similar to sushi rolls but with cooked ingredients. This is traditional Korean picnic food. Our hosts added some rice wine and a spicy skate fish dish to this snack, and we sat under a tarp roof and chatted for a bit. Though this probably would have been enough for us for the evening, we of course had to go to dinner after, for beef ribs. These came to the table cooked, but went on a hot plate for heating and a nice caramelization. There was a bit of raspberry wine at dinner as well, which went surprisingly well with the beef considering it's sweetness. We went to a 'singing room' for Karaoke after dinner, for about half an hour we sang and danced a bit, before heading back home. A quick stop to check email, then we were off to bed for our next big day.
Saturday was a Rotary Club picnic. We took a bus to an island off the coast of Gwanju, a bridge had recently been built connecting the island to the mainland. Driving on a bridge over the ocean is pretty cool when there's not much else to see except bridge, ocean and mountains. There were many speeches today, and as usual they were translated between English and Korean, but this time we where treated to a three way translation--Chinese to Korean to English. Our leader's mother language is Mandarin, and one of the club members in this club is a professor of Chinese language and literature. It was very interesting to be at the tail end of a three way interpretation.
We started the day at a dwarf tree park, where beautiful bonsai type trees were scattered through out the park, along with beautiful stone sculptures. There was a series of waterfalls flowing around the park as well. We walked down to a restaurant for lunch of very fresh raw fish, along with clams and crab claws. Even using a restaurant's bathroom can be a cultural experience. In this one, you go outside the restaurant, up some stone steps around the back, down a corridor past the guard dogs and drying laundry, to a "women's" restroom with a urinal outside the toilet stall. But there was a toilet, which was better than the facilities later in the day. After lunch we walked down to the end of the parking lot, which butted up to the rocky shore, and took some pictures. After lunch we got back on the bus and drove up to an elementary school, where we used their field for a picnic. Apparently Koreans eat lunch before picnics. We did manage to work up an appetite with some games however--recycle hockey, which was a relay race where you use a broom to push a bottle down the field, around a person, and back before handing off the broom. We also played some football/baseball, or Korean Kickball. We ended in a tie, which was a pretty good showing since it was the Americans (with a few ringers) vs some very experienced and athletic Koreans. After more food (including some delicious pumpkin rice cakes) we headed back to the city. The hour long bus ride was made more interesting since the party bus we were on also had Karaoke. I shouldn't have expected any less with the sparkly floor and disco lights in the roof. We were roped into singing--I sang Crazy Little Thing Called Love with some backup from the other girls. The Koreans tended to sing slower songs, but we weren't really up for that. We went to dinner at a place famous for octopus, which is served whole, and cut at the table. It was good, but spicy, so I didn't eat much--not that I needed to after all we had eaten the whole day. I still have not figured out how Korean people stay so skinny, with all of this food. After dinner we went to another singing room (this group likes to sing) with a mix of more up beat songs in with the slower Korean ballads. After all of this, we happily collapsed into our beds, and got to sleep in this morning. We're now on our own for a few hours, before the 4pm transfer of luggage to our next host family. Free time is a beautiful thing, especially when your life is scheduled so tightly that you have to think long and hard about using the restroom before moving onto the next activity.
We spent the afternoon at the Butterfly Festival-this was voted one of the best Festivals of 2010. There were a number of green houses set up, the last one full of flowers and butterflies. We tried our first Korean Ice Cream--coffee is a popular flavor, and I tried a mix of coffee flavored ice and vanilla ice cream, it was like a very cold latte. It came with it's own little fold up spoon, which is pretty brilliant if you ask me. I also bought a large ceramic bowl from an artist who had a stand set up at the festival-I didn't manage to get a picture of it, and it's now too well wrapped that I'd be scared to open it up. I saw it and fell in love with it, enough to decide to carry it home when I learned that they don't really take care of shipping to the states from here. I'll have to ship something home however, as I've already filled up my extra duffel bag, and the gifts for our host families don't take up all that much room in my luggage.
We ended our festival experience with a snack of rice rolled around veggies and some crab meat-similar to sushi rolls but with cooked ingredients. This is traditional Korean picnic food. Our hosts added some rice wine and a spicy skate fish dish to this snack, and we sat under a tarp roof and chatted for a bit. Though this probably would have been enough for us for the evening, we of course had to go to dinner after, for beef ribs. These came to the table cooked, but went on a hot plate for heating and a nice caramelization. There was a bit of raspberry wine at dinner as well, which went surprisingly well with the beef considering it's sweetness. We went to a 'singing room' for Karaoke after dinner, for about half an hour we sang and danced a bit, before heading back home. A quick stop to check email, then we were off to bed for our next big day.
Saturday was a Rotary Club picnic. We took a bus to an island off the coast of Gwanju, a bridge had recently been built connecting the island to the mainland. Driving on a bridge over the ocean is pretty cool when there's not much else to see except bridge, ocean and mountains. There were many speeches today, and as usual they were translated between English and Korean, but this time we where treated to a three way translation--Chinese to Korean to English. Our leader's mother language is Mandarin, and one of the club members in this club is a professor of Chinese language and literature. It was very interesting to be at the tail end of a three way interpretation.
We started the day at a dwarf tree park, where beautiful bonsai type trees were scattered through out the park, along with beautiful stone sculptures. There was a series of waterfalls flowing around the park as well. We walked down to a restaurant for lunch of very fresh raw fish, along with clams and crab claws. Even using a restaurant's bathroom can be a cultural experience. In this one, you go outside the restaurant, up some stone steps around the back, down a corridor past the guard dogs and drying laundry, to a "women's" restroom with a urinal outside the toilet stall. But there was a toilet, which was better than the facilities later in the day. After lunch we walked down to the end of the parking lot, which butted up to the rocky shore, and took some pictures. After lunch we got back on the bus and drove up to an elementary school, where we used their field for a picnic. Apparently Koreans eat lunch before picnics. We did manage to work up an appetite with some games however--recycle hockey, which was a relay race where you use a broom to push a bottle down the field, around a person, and back before handing off the broom. We also played some football/baseball, or Korean Kickball. We ended in a tie, which was a pretty good showing since it was the Americans (with a few ringers) vs some very experienced and athletic Koreans. After more food (including some delicious pumpkin rice cakes) we headed back to the city. The hour long bus ride was made more interesting since the party bus we were on also had Karaoke. I shouldn't have expected any less with the sparkly floor and disco lights in the roof. We were roped into singing--I sang Crazy Little Thing Called Love with some backup from the other girls. The Koreans tended to sing slower songs, but we weren't really up for that. We went to dinner at a place famous for octopus, which is served whole, and cut at the table. It was good, but spicy, so I didn't eat much--not that I needed to after all we had eaten the whole day. I still have not figured out how Korean people stay so skinny, with all of this food. After dinner we went to another singing room (this group likes to sing) with a mix of more up beat songs in with the slower Korean ballads. After all of this, we happily collapsed into our beds, and got to sleep in this morning. We're now on our own for a few hours, before the 4pm transfer of luggage to our next host family. Free time is a beautiful thing, especially when your life is scheduled so tightly that you have to think long and hard about using the restroom before moving onto the next activity.
We started our day with another factory-DK Industries, which makes metal pieces for large appliances. We saw refrigerator doors being molded, and rows upon rows of washing machine drums. They also make condensers and back panels for refrigerators, including Kimchee refrigerators, my new favorite appliance. Our factory guide was a GSE team member from Korean to Australia, and the company's CEO is currently on Long Island as the team leader for the Korean group. It was wonderful to meet someone who had so very recently been through the process. He started our day with a presentation of his GSE experience, as well as the company, in a cushy conference room where there was juice and rice water laid out for us. His English was pretty good, though he wouldn't say so, so we got to talk to him directly on the tour, instead of going through the interpreter. He told us that about half way through the trip he was ready for some Korean food-so we know to start expecting that in about a week. He said there were no factories in Australia, just a lot of mines. He also said he understood our accents more easily than the Australian accents-probably because they learn American pronunciation in school. Then we got to walk around and see things being made, and then had lunch in the company's cafeteria. It was actually really great to eat simple food, and to choose our own portions and not feel like we were wasting a ton of food.
In the afternoon we took a trip to a natural dye center, and after some serious shopping, we got to dye our own silk scarves. We got a brief history of indigo dying, which this region is famous for. The nearby river flooded regularly, wiping out rice plants, so the residents planted a heartier grass, which can be turned into indigo dye. We had a choice between tie-dye, gradations or all blue, most of us went for the tie-dye, but we all came up with very different patterns in the end. That was a very cool experience.
We transferred to a new club and new host families that night. This club had a very different make up then the ones we had previously been in. There was much more of an old-boys club feel at this one. At the two other transfer dinners, the wives of the host families attended, but not at this one. There was a Rotary Club meeting going on in the same restaurant at the same time, but we were not aware of that, and so were not prepared with name tags and jackets. There were a few glitches, and our leader had to assert herself on our behalf, but in the end, we all got to where we needed to be, to rest for the next day's activities. Dinner was Chinese food, so just a touch different than Korean food (though there was still kimchee). The meal was much less spicy than most of the others we've had recently, and that was a nice change.
Our host family does not have internet in the apartment, so we took a walk to BK Construction, which is their company. We borrowed some employee's desks, and got to check email and such. It's very odd to work on a computer that has Windows Vista in Korean, I'm not familiar enough with Vista or Korean to do much more than get to the internet, and shut the machine down. I'm pretty proud I can even figure that out with out holding in the power button :D
In the afternoon we took a trip to a natural dye center, and after some serious shopping, we got to dye our own silk scarves. We got a brief history of indigo dying, which this region is famous for. The nearby river flooded regularly, wiping out rice plants, so the residents planted a heartier grass, which can be turned into indigo dye. We had a choice between tie-dye, gradations or all blue, most of us went for the tie-dye, but we all came up with very different patterns in the end. That was a very cool experience.
We transferred to a new club and new host families that night. This club had a very different make up then the ones we had previously been in. There was much more of an old-boys club feel at this one. At the two other transfer dinners, the wives of the host families attended, but not at this one. There was a Rotary Club meeting going on in the same restaurant at the same time, but we were not aware of that, and so were not prepared with name tags and jackets. There were a few glitches, and our leader had to assert herself on our behalf, but in the end, we all got to where we needed to be, to rest for the next day's activities. Dinner was Chinese food, so just a touch different than Korean food (though there was still kimchee). The meal was much less spicy than most of the others we've had recently, and that was a nice change.
Our host family does not have internet in the apartment, so we took a walk to BK Construction, which is their company. We borrowed some employee's desks, and got to check email and such. It's very odd to work on a computer that has Windows Vista in Korean, I'm not familiar enough with Vista or Korean to do much more than get to the internet, and shut the machine down. I'm pretty proud I can even figure that out with out holding in the power button :D
Thursday May 29
We started today at the Bohae Brewing company where Soju and various other liquors are made. We had a tour of the factory and the informational area that gave the history of the Bohae Brewing company. There soju is made from water that is gathered from 253 meters deep, a fact mentioned a few times. The water is used to make the alcohol, which is then flavored with organic maple syrup. They also make a variety of wines, but I'm not sure if they are traditionally made wines from a variety of fruit, or juice infused liquor. Either way, the black raspberry wine is delicious, and worth my carrying a few bottles around Korea and then home :D. I'm enjoying our trips to factories, because I like watching the machines do their thing. We got to see bottles being inspected, labeled, filled and packed this time. They produce (and sell!) about 1,000,000 bottles a day. We also saw the wine holding tanks-each tank holds 140,000 bottles, and is worth about 12,000,000,000 won, or 1.2 million dollars. There was a whole airplane hanger's worth of these tanks, so I can assume the brewery is financially stable.
After lunch (which was Korean food, unfortunately I can't remember much more about it right now) we went to a Nature School. This combination retreat and Kindergarten was built using only natural materials, so that when it is no longer in use, it will return fully to the earth. After a tour of the building and some shopping (naturally) we got to make our own clay pots. These will be fired and glazed, and returned to us in 15 days, plenty of time to figure out how to pack them and get them home.
Dinner was an emotional experience. We ate at an orphanage, with the children there. I sat at a table with some 1st and 2nd year High School students. They were shy about speaking english, and my Korean hasn't improved all that much in the past week, so we both pulled out phrase books and did the best we could. Dinner was pork cooked on a hot plate right on the table-the girls did the cooking, deftly turning and removing the meat with chopsticks. They showed me how to make lettuce wraps with a piece of the meat, some soybean paste and rice, they even made me some. They made sure I ate enough, pushing salad and fruit on me even after I said I was full. After dinner they took me on a tour, and showed me their room, their closets, and their musical instruments. The orphanage had been the recipient of a grant from Rotary, which enabled them to buy musical instruments for all of the children, as well as hire music teachers for them. At 7pm there was a rush of activity as the children went to the music room to get their instruments then dispersed throughout the building to their lessons and practice. We heard them play a bit before we left, and many of the children came to the front door to say good bye to us. The experience was really hard hitting for me, because the girls I sat with were so similar in some ways to the teens I work with at the library. The giggled when they were nervous, they had too much school work, they launched into mile a minute conversations that I couldn't understand, at least this time because they spoke another language. Though I couldn't ask their story, I'm pretty sure they've been living in this same place for years, and may continue to until they complete University. Though the employees of the orphanage were kind and caring, and everything was well taken care of, there is still the unfortunate fact that these children don't have parents or other family to care for them.
It was our last night at this host family, and there was a bit of a celebration, including Korean fried chicken--with cheese! and some drinking and chatting. We then packed our lives up into luggage that mysteriously gets heavier with every move, and slept soundly, if shortly.
After lunch (which was Korean food, unfortunately I can't remember much more about it right now) we went to a Nature School. This combination retreat and Kindergarten was built using only natural materials, so that when it is no longer in use, it will return fully to the earth. After a tour of the building and some shopping (naturally) we got to make our own clay pots. These will be fired and glazed, and returned to us in 15 days, plenty of time to figure out how to pack them and get them home.
Dinner was an emotional experience. We ate at an orphanage, with the children there. I sat at a table with some 1st and 2nd year High School students. They were shy about speaking english, and my Korean hasn't improved all that much in the past week, so we both pulled out phrase books and did the best we could. Dinner was pork cooked on a hot plate right on the table-the girls did the cooking, deftly turning and removing the meat with chopsticks. They showed me how to make lettuce wraps with a piece of the meat, some soybean paste and rice, they even made me some. They made sure I ate enough, pushing salad and fruit on me even after I said I was full. After dinner they took me on a tour, and showed me their room, their closets, and their musical instruments. The orphanage had been the recipient of a grant from Rotary, which enabled them to buy musical instruments for all of the children, as well as hire music teachers for them. At 7pm there was a rush of activity as the children went to the music room to get their instruments then dispersed throughout the building to their lessons and practice. We heard them play a bit before we left, and many of the children came to the front door to say good bye to us. The experience was really hard hitting for me, because the girls I sat with were so similar in some ways to the teens I work with at the library. The giggled when they were nervous, they had too much school work, they launched into mile a minute conversations that I couldn't understand, at least this time because they spoke another language. Though I couldn't ask their story, I'm pretty sure they've been living in this same place for years, and may continue to until they complete University. Though the employees of the orphanage were kind and caring, and everything was well taken care of, there is still the unfortunate fact that these children don't have parents or other family to care for them.
It was our last night at this host family, and there was a bit of a celebration, including Korean fried chicken--with cheese! and some drinking and chatting. We then packed our lives up into luggage that mysteriously gets heavier with every move, and slept soundly, if shortly.
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