Happy Independence Day, Korea!

After only two days of teaching, we already got to enjoy a much needed holiday weekend for Korean Independence Day. We heard fireworks from our apartment, so we rushed down to the river walk along the Han to watch. We came to this park once before, but it was completely flooded from monsoon rains. The river park is a very peaceful place with many unique happenings along its route. Our side is pretty quiet, but we did pass one group of people lighting candles, burning incense, clanging bells and chanting what we think were Buddhist prayers. On the opposite shore, we could hear the occasional sound of fireworks and other evidence of merry-making.

We took a trip to Dongdaemun, a section of Seoul with multiple high rise shopping malls, street vendors galore, stages with most entertaining teen dance performances and an artificial river walk. On the subway ride there, Ryan stood up to offer a lady and her son his seat. The little boy began adorably practicing his English with Ryan; "Where are you from? I'm from Korea." Then the father joined in and told Ryan; "you are handsome man." It made us very happy to have a conversation with a Korean family because this was one of the only times since we have been here that a stranger has spoken to us. We've learned that, in general, Seoulites keep quiet and to themselves on the subway/bus. Typically no one smiles at us, nor do they smile at one another. I've been told it's more of a Seoul thing than a Korean thing. I think because Ryan got up to let them sit down, we had officially acknowledged each other's existence, and so we were able to have had a nice few moments together until the family got off at their stop.

At Dongdaemun, a Korean T.V. station was shooting some kind of variety show that had something to do with the Olympics. These two boys were waiting to go on and perform. Ryan asked to take their picture, and they happily obliged, making the "kimchi sign." Koreans almost always make this sign in pictures; Instead of "cheese" they say "kimchi."

On the way home, we noticed that an unusually large number of people were watching the Olympics on their cell phones. When we got to our neighborhood, all of the shopkeepers in our little neighborhood of Bogwangdong were glued to their television sets. The excitement was all about baseball, and it wasn't just any matchup. Korea was playing Japan: a rivalry of epic and historic proportions. Korea won, and when the last out was called, we heard our neighborhood celebrate their independence for the 2nd night.

You & Me & Kimchi

This week we have been spending most of our time at school getting ready for class to start on the 13th. Our class rosters posess the names of our future students from all over the world and we are getting very excited! We have found some time in the evenings to roam around Seoul. We went on a bread run to Paris Baguette last night. It is good to have a bakery so close by with bread that is so F-Style and Fresh:

Food shopping in Korea is never boring.

Nor is traveling via subway. Here is a Korean woman, exemplifying what is a pretty standard fashion trend at current; strappy high heels with anything. It has been very hot here this week; the subway wind is very refreshing.

We walked over to beautiful Insadong, a long cobblestone street with cultural Korean items, including calligraphy shops and traditional dress shops. There are many foreigners and a lot of tourist traps, but the winding side streets are peaceful and charming. Here are kimchi pots lining the stairs. Various vegetables and chili paste are placed in them and left to ferment outside until they are sufficiently pickled. There are many different kinds of kimchi, with cabbage being most common.

Seoul is a very modern city with sleek, new architecture. However, much of the old still stands.

While in the Insadong vicinity, we went to Kyobo, the largest bookstore in Korea. While we were there, we ate dinner at the Korean "fast food" establishment inside. Abby enjoyed some vegetable Kimbap (bap is rice; kim is seaweed). 10 pieces and some kimchi was the equivalent of $3 U.S. dollars.

Ryan had noodle (Udon) soup, accompanied by the ubiquitous kimchi.

From Bukhansan to Agra

This weekend we went with the entire staff of our school to a mountain at Bukhansan National Park just outside of Seoul. We took a nice hike up the mountain, stopping at peaks to look over the valley and admire the numerous cranes and skyscrapers of Seoul. It was a beautiful spot none-the-less.

When we got home we went suit shopping for Ryan. All the suits fit him perfectly here and the shop keepers hem the pants for you right in the store for no extra cost.

We ate dinner at Agra Indian Restaurant in Itaewon. We had Veggie Curry, Chicken Tika Masala and Garlic Naan. There was no spice scale, but i'd say it was very. It was a little steep in cost but we couldn't deny our hunger for Indian food. The ambiance, with all the brass furnishings, hookas (from which we did not partake) and Billie Holiday music made it worthwhile. Also, there is no tipping or tax in Korea.

After dinner, our aim was to hike to the North Seoul Tower. We had a nightmare taxi ride, once again ending up somewhere entirely different than where we intended (Namsan Town apartments rather than Namsan Tower). We made our way back to the park by bus. Then we wandered around the park for a long time, enjoying the trees and catching glimpses of city lights through their covering.

The park is beautiful and there are endless trails and winding footpaths. Unfortunately, we couldn't ever figure out how to get to the Tower tonight, so we took the bus home. It's very enjoyable...setting out to go somewhere, getting lost and then wandering around trying to find the bus stop, enjoying what we see along the way.

World Cup Stadium

Last night we went to World Cup Stadium to watch Korea play Australia. We were a little late getting to the game, and when we got out of the subway station, we could hear the crowd singing and cheering from the stadium. It was really confusing to figure out how to get tickets, and we wandered around for a while amid vendors and scalpers trying to find a booth. Eventually, a man approached us with tickets and hurried us along with him toward the gate. We thought he was legitimate, but when he tried to shove us through, the security guards stopped him, ran him off, and tore up his tickets, which were evidently fake.
We eventually located the ticket booth, and on our way there we heard a tremendous cheer come from the stadium. Korea had scored the first and only goal of the game.

Sunday in Itaewon

This is the view from our back balcony. That big tower on the hill is one of Seoul's most famous landmarks--called the North Seoul Tower. Our school is nestled up against that hill, but it's out of view in this picture. The Eiffel Tower looking structure to the left of the N. Seoul Tower has something to do with the Korean department of defence.

A family across the street enjoying the summer evening on their rooftop.

We awoke at 3:30 AM and started busying ourselves around the apartment. We learned to work our gas stove and oven and had a bagel and eggs.

A note on Korean coffee . . . We were told that we might have some trouble finding coffee in the same manifestation as what we enjoyed in the States. Actually, as far as grabbing a cup on the go goes, we discovered a pretty good coffee shop on our street. We've had a little more trouble finding stuff to make at home. Most coffee is instant and comes pre-mixed with a lot of sugar and creamer. It's convenient because we have a nice water dispensing unit (pictured above) which has a boiling hot water tap in addition to a cold one.

This afternoon, the Parrishes (Ryan's principal and family) showed us around our neighborhood and helped us identify items in the grocery store. It's been funny to read all the funny Engrish on t-shirts and notebooks. Remember, "punctuality is the most important virtue among the professionals. Don't hesitate to push yourself. The bitterness becomes your strong energy."

After walking around the neighborhood for a while, we were pretty hungry. We picked up a pizza from Pizza School. We were happy to learn that, in addition to academics, Koreans are very serious about their pizza. We ordered a cheese pizza, which also had a mandatory corn topping.

Later in the afternoon, we attended our first Korean church, which has 55,000 members and services all day long. We went to the English service on the 3rd floor. When the bus pulled up, we saw a giant sea of people leaving a previous service.

Safe in Seoul

We have arrived safely in Seoul and have been half awake and half asleep for our first few days. Our first night we woke up at 3 am (2 in the afternoon in Chattanooga) and were unable to go back to sleep. We were fortunate enough to have some Korean-Americans as our tour guides for our first two days in Seoul. Jewon, a fellow teacher at our school, and her husband showed us around. We have been learning some basic Korean, how to get around on public transportation and some places to do our shopping. We spent the first two nights in a hotel before moving into our apartment. We were very happy to see that it had two (small) balconies. This is a picture of our neighborhood as seen from our front balcony. Looking the other way, we can see the Han River, which runs right through the middle of Seoul.
The next picture is a street level shot from a block away from our apartment. Our building is the one in the distance with the green writing and brown stripe running down it. The apartments are called Shin Dong Ah. We learned the correct pronunciation of the apartments when we took a cab on our own for the first time and told the cab driver where we needed to go. He didn't understand our Korean so we showed him the address written down. He laughed at us and pronounced it correctly until we got the hang of it.

It's a bit overwhelming not knowing how to read Korean. Ryan is very zealous about learning and has already learned much of the alphabet. Early this morning, he tried to take a cab to our apartment. In his eagerness to learn the language he tried to give the cab driver directions. Instead of our building, the cab driver took him to the wrong place . . . another Shin Dong Ah apartment building in a different neighborhood. Fortunately he met some friendly Koreans who helped to point him in the right direction.

My method of orientation is more simple. I find any store or landmark that i can read in English and find my way from there. My landmark of choice is the Paris Baguette (right in front of our street.) Inside is all sorts of yummy pastries and bread. Our first purchase was a delicious green tea and cream cheese pastry.

Our apartment is very nice. We are very comfortable here and were surprised by how roomy it is. We have a livingroom/diningroom/kitchen, office, wardrobe room, bedroom, two bathrooms and two balconies. It is also pretty quiet, even though we are in the middle of the big city. But when the windows are open, the sounds and smells of Seoul come pouring in. Right now the neighbors below must be cooking dinner. The aroma of garlic and chilies waft in from time to time.

On our first full day here we went to a food court in a large shopping center. Our guides told us how to pronounce what we wanted and we were successfully able to order in Korean. This is sanje bibimbap (sounds like "beep and bop.") This is a very common Korean meal that is made with rice, vegetables, usually beef, an egg and some hot pepper sauce.

One thing that we have learned to know and love in our first two days here is this coffee vending machine. These things are everywhere--as common as coke machines in the States. You get a little cup of coffee (instant) for 30 cents. We have only tried black coffee but there are many varieties, including cafe mocha (50 cents.)

Memphis

We left our beloved cabin home on the first day of summer. The sadness of departure was somewhat diminished by our mad scramble to pack, clean, and destroy (we set fire to an old loveseat, mattress, and bookshelf). Though we are still excited about our upcoming move, we are somewhat jealous for the ripe tomatoes, cucumbers, squash, and greenbeans we left behind in our garden. Silas Jose and Bobby Kennedy seem to be adjusting well to their new home. They are busy exploring new territories and trying out new scratching posts.

We finished our two week "pre-field orientation" and have been spending a lot of time with various branches of the Ewing family. Adam visited for a few days with his girlfriend Cori, who prepared a tasty Thai dinner for us one night. Mr. Ewing used the opportunity to deck his family in ethnic garb.

Jessica and Will Stone are also in town for the week. We all braved the brunt of the hottest day of the year yesterday during a trip to the Memphis Zoo.