My subconscious is homesick...but I'm still having a ton of fun!

Yesterday after school I decided to check out the little town of Haman. It's nestled in the mountains and apparently I would have seen it from the top of the mountain when I was hiking the other day. As far as I can tell, it's roughly 15km from where I live. So, I went to the bus station and waited for the bus...114-1 or 252-2. And waited. And waited. And listened to the two young Koreans next to me hack up a lung and spit up a storm. And waited. And the bus didn't come. So, I decided to take the 252 when it came. Big mistake. It went up the highway two or three kilometres and turned around, so I got off. Thinking I'll bump into another bus or something I started walking. No bus stops...anywhere. So, two hours (roughly 12km at my pace) later I made it into Haman. The walk was nice, but it was REALLY smoggy yesterday, even worse than usual. I'm sure some of it is also Yellow Dust. Yellow Dust comes down from China...when their ice/snow melts in the spring, all the dust left behind is blown south to Korea.

I went by a huge provincial park that has a nice lake (didn't go to it, though, it was already getting dark), but definitely going to go back there...there were some decent views from the highway, though...

However, all that pollution makes for nice (if a little surreal) sunsets:

A few things along the way...highway sign hidden behind rows of trees...I'm not sure whose brilliant idea this was, but it's pretty funny:

Good Service. Not great. Definitely not fantastic. But it's good enough for the likes of you:

Koreans love public art (at least around here), and that's just fine by me...most of them are interesting modern/abstract creations. This was randomly beside the highway at what appeared to be a rest stop...to me it looks like a giant metal slice of watermelon...

Anyway, once I got into Haman, I was tired (including my morning walk to school I was up to 15km of walking and I'm on my feet all day teaching) and hungry (only had a bowl of cereal and it was 8 p.m.) so I got some directions (with plenty of gesturing and a few Korean/Konglish words here and there, since they spoke NO English at all) to the bus stop and headed home. So, I only got to see Haman in the dark and for a few minutes...initial impressions: looks like a neat little town...smaller than where I live and, from what I've seen anyways, perhaps a little poorer, but a neat town nonetheless...I'll give it another go next week, I think...but this time going to catch the right bus.

Also...I think my subconscious is homesick. Which is pretty funny because I'm not. At all. I'm really having a lot of fun here and I get to talk to my friends/parents on a nearly daily basis and I know it's only temporary, so I'm enjoying the ride and I'll see them soon enough. However...two nights ago I had a dream that I was hanging out with my parents and brother. Last night I had a dream that Jon, Mark and I were exploring around and then, dodging deadly traffic (Korea), got to a beautiful green field and rolled around in the grass, hugging the ground and everything...no surprises, grass was the first thing I noticed I was missing from home.

Okay, that's all for today. I'll be back again on Monday...I think on Saturday I'm going to head into Masan and explore with Des and Dawni (two teachers I have been talking to since back when I was still in Canada, so a hangout session is definitely in order!). Sunday...I'm not sure yet...maybe heading into Changwon or taking the train somewhere new :) 

But, before I go...I'll leave you with this...car customizing is alive and well around here, though sometimes it's hilarious...what's better than a Kia minivan with a hood scoop? A Kia minivan with a hood scoop and a spoiler on the front...

Have a great weekend, everyone! Talk to you soon :) 

T

My first hike in Korea! (and more pics from Jinju)

**The good pics are at the bottom of the post** :)

A couple of days ago I met a really nice girl in the Lotte Mart (Maggie) and she told me about a trailhead near where I live, so yesterday after work I decided to check it out. It's literally (I timed it) two minutes from my front door! On my way up (wearing an Adidas hoodie, khakis, Airwalks and a collared golf shirt) I bumped into two Korean hikers (decked out in the usual Korean hiking gear: tight lycra pants, sweat-be-gone shirts, hiking shoes and aluminum hiking poles), who told me the top was an hour away and asked me if I was planning on going up there. I said yes and they laughed. Well, I reached the top in half an hour with plenty of stops for pictures along the way, so I guess I'm not as out of shape as I thought I was haha!

The trail up appeared to be hard-packed clay with loose sand/rocks and stones and roots sticking out everywhere...not exactly home turf for my Airwalks (shout-out to 1998!), but it wasn't too bad. The whole experience was amazing! (Forgive the crappy quality photos, only had my cell with me, but definitely going back with my real camera...in fact, I think it might be a decent place to shoot the moon/star trails from when it gets a little warmer).

This was what greeted me the first time the trees cleared...it was magic hour (right before the sun set) and the light was perfect:

Some shots of the trail...looks grey and boring here, but it's a little nicer in person...in the summer this should all be green, so looking forward to that:

Unfortunately, they have powerlines criss-crossing every hill and mountain around here, BUT I think it may make for an interesting foreground for startrails...

Also...spring is officially here! The first wildflowers I've seen! (Yesterday finally got into the mid-teens and today they're forecasting 20...spring's a little late, but I'm happy to see it!)

At the top, two things waited for me...a mini gym (I told you guys...they put workout equipment EVERYWHERE)...and awesome views. What's crazy is that none of the equipment was vandalized or stolen...back home (and I come from a good area) this stuff wouldn't last a week.

Yes, I actually did a few sets with the freeweights...I think I may make this into a regular routine! When in Rome...

A few feet away:

At the very top, they had an awesome little lookout tower (I'll go back and get better panos with the real camera in a bit):

The view from the tower:

I think that's Masan off in the distance in the valley...I love this about Korea...the valleys are built up fairly densely, but the mountains are largely left alone (at least around here):

Sunset at the top of the mountain...it's just mountain range after mountain range after mountain range around here...awesome:

And, finally...my humble neighbourhood viewed from the start of the trail...my house is somewhere just to the right of the hospital (with the blue/green cross):

All in all, an absolutely awesome hike...took me a little over an hour with all the pictures and stuff...I think if I go just for the exercise (hike up, do some weights, hike down) I could make this into a 45 minute routine, give or take...

After the hike, I went home, watched some TV and ate my dinner then headed out to the weekly expat meeting. The old place we met at closed down and the new place is even closer...I'd be surprised if it was a full minute from my front door :) The meet was great, talked to a ton of people, met a bunch of new guys and girls and met Ross, a fellow photo geek (he even has a few oddball film cameras!), so we chatted a lot about that. He and his wife Nicole live pretty close, so I'm sure some shooting outings are in our future. I was there 'till almost midnight (very late for me these days, since I'm up at 6-6:30 most mornings), but it was well worth it...definitely looking forward to the next one!

Oh yeah...I also had the class from hell yesterday, but I think they're starting to get the idea that they really and truly don't bother me. They were all talking, punching each other, making dumb popping noises with their mouths/tongues, throwing stuff, talking back, you name it...since it was the last class of the day, I had one awesome weapon on my arsenal: keeping them late.

After making a few of them kneel at the back of the class for misbehaving was having little effect I told them that the more of my time they waste by having to get them to behave, the later they will leave because, come hell or high water I'm finishing the lesson. I explained to them that, while they're off at 3:20, I am required to stay at school until 4:30. Whether I sit in my office or hang around in my classroom, it doesn't matter to me, I get paid either way. They thought I was bluffing. When they were still there at 3:30 and I was still going with the lesson, they realized I wasn't....after 3:20, they were angels! I think they got the point :)

Also...randomness:

Apparently private investigators from the 1940s are not welcome in my neighbourhood!

Okay...I have been going through my pictures and slowly processing them...

The Candyman of Jinju (Koreans are generally nice, but this guy has been one of the nicest):

Roughly 500 year old military documents from the time of the Japanese invasion of Jinju:

Gate at the Jinju fortress:

Bamboo forest near the Nam River in downtown Jinju:

The gate at Jinju fortress:

Poem about the woman who saved Jinju by killing herself and the Japanese general:

Entrance to a Confucian school (I think)

Sunday market on the smaller streets of downtown...you could probably walk for kilometers checking out all the vendors:

Beautiful church (unfortunately it's really built up around it, so the only pictures you can get of it have to be at extreme angles)

I'll leave you with one of my favourites. I loooooove silhouettes... the general's statue at Jinju fortress:

Have a great day, everyone and thanks for reading!

T.

Welcome to my home!

Well, since so many of you have been asking (okay, so maybe it's been my mom mostly), I figured I'd show you my little apartment, since I FINALLY unpacked my bags, threw out the old tenant's bras littering the floor when I moved in and had a few thorough vacuuming sessions.

This is what the place looks like from the outside...I just noticed a few days ago (I usually go for a big walk right after work and get home in the dark, so I never saw it before) that there is what appears to be a rooftop patio on the top! I'm going to investigate tonight...if it's what I think it is, it'll probably be one of my hangouts when the weather gets warmer (oh yeah...just my luck, it's an unusually cold spring...go figure). Okay...so, my window is the one above and to the left of the main entrance...the one with the big air-conditioning unit thingie on it...my bed is right under that window and the tiny windows around the corner are my bathroom, kitchen and laundry room.

And a few pictures of my block...looking one way...

And the other:

Inside, it's pretty simple...little bachelor place with a sliding door separating the kitchen/bathroom/laundry room (the latter two have their own doors too haha). This is looking from front door (as usual, my trusty old British Columbia flag was the first thing to grace the walls):

And this is looking from the other corner on the same side of the room (looking at the sliding door to the kitchen):

Looking the other way (I still need to organize this area...there is a mini dresser at the foot of the bed, then a desk with an ancient computer and a small book shelf):

And looking toward my front door...thankfully I have tons of storage space:

My tiny (but well-equipped...few gas burners, a TINY little oven, sink, microwave, medium-sized fridge, toaster, kettle - yeah, like I'm going to make tea... - etc):

My all-in-one bathroom (the shower is annoying...I can never get it to the right temperature, and it gets everything wet and is about 2 feet too low)...

And my laundry room...note the hose from the washing machine that just dumps on the floor...every time I do laundry, that room floods...it's like that by design. Wonderful. Especially because I forgot to move my cardboard box of detergent the first time I did laundry, thoroughly soaking it). Above the washing machine is my water heater/underfloor heater unit thingie...and I just noticed that orange hose...I think that's the one I'm supposed to connect to the machine if I want it to wash in hot water...I must investigate this tonight):

And finally, something completely random:

This was on my (very cheap) bottle of ketchup...now I'm worried. I mean, my OTHER bottle of ketchup didn't specify that it's safe. There must be a reason for this one proudly proclaiming its safeness...what are the others hiding???

Okay, that's it for today. Not much to report from yesterday, it was a pretty chill night, oh...but I GOT PAID!!! For only the first 10 days or so, but it's nice to see SOME money in my account! :) Aside from that, got some groceries and met another foreigner (in Samgye, of course) and found out that that fun weekly hangout at the restaurant I went to last week? Yeah, the restaurant's closing after something like 15 years in the business...just my luck. Oh well, they're trying for another place (I think more of a pub) tonight, so we'll see how this is...the crowd is a great one, so I think anywhere we go will be fun).

Have a good day, everyone!

I'm officially a resident of Korea!!! (Also, some pics from the weekend)

**Pictures from the weekend are at the bottom of the post**

Yesterday was a big day! My Alien Registration Card (or, as the other foreigners call it, the Alien card) came in the mail. This means that I'm officially a resident of South Korea! Pretty neat feeling :) It expires on 2012 April 14, a month after my contract is up, so I think that means that if I feel like exploring a bit in Korea after work, I can do it all nice and legal-like...it also means that now I can exchange money at my bank (for some reason, some branches won't let you do it even with a passport), I can have my own internet and a cellphone! Oh yeah...and I can finally get paid :)

Here it is! (I blurred out my Alien Registration Number, for obvious reasons)

**Picture deleted due to privacy reasons**

Just before I got it, I went to the bank with my coteacher to exchange some money (I was down to about $25) and we thought the Alien card would take much longer...which kind of sucks because I'll get paid today or tomorrow, and would rather have kept my dollars, but oh well.

After work, I went wondering across the big storm canal and explored a bit more of Hogye (where I teach) and Jung-ri (where I live...though I teach and live on the other side of the canal). It was pretty cool...tons of little shops, and for some reason a TON of kids said hi to me, some were even encouraged by their parents to try and strike up a conversation with me. I'm used to kids in their school uniforms coming up and saying hi in the street, but it usually happens once or twice on a walk. Yesterday, it happened like 8 times...weird...but cute :)

Also, now that I'm starting to (still not there yet, but slowly getting the hang of it) learn Hangul (the Korean alphabet), some stuff is hilarious...they LOVE adding I's and U's to words. For example...Mart becomes "Maru"...and Nestea...becomes (roughly)... Nae-su-ttee. I also saw some almond cereal that had a label that said "Alumondu" or something in Hangul haha.

They borrow quite a few words from English and add their I's and U's, so just learning the alphabet is helping me understand more stuff, even without learning more words...for example, even if there was no TAXI sign here, it would be easy to figure out...the Hangul translates roughly to: ttaek-si

The annoying thing is that they have certain letters that change their sounds depending on where they are in the word. BUT...for some sounds they also have two letters...so, for example, for the CH sound, they have two letters...one that's always CH the other one can act as either CH or J depending on where it is in the word. Why they couldn't have one of them be CH all the time, the other be J all the time is beyond me. On the bright side, they're so proud of their written language that there is a national holiday for it...so I get a paid day off thanks to Hagul :) .

Random stuff from Korea...most people have their cellphone numbers displayed in some form on the bottom of their windshield...for most people it's a simple plaque, others have ones that are lit by colourful LEDs at night. However...a TON of people have these little embroidered pillows with their numbers on it...whether they make it themselves or there are stores that do this, I have no idea, neither do I have a clue what the point of having your phone number (maybe if it's towed?) on your windshield is...but here you go:

Okay...that's all I have to report...oh and that the little veggie cocktail sausages are delicious. Below are some of the pics from the weekend...I just started going through them, so it'll be a little bit before I get to all of them, but I'll put them up a few at a time.

Some big general at the fortress (by the way, this would be the equivalent of a national historic site back home...at home, it's about $10-15 bucks to get in. Here, admission is free for Jinju residents and about 90 cents for non-residents and includes the admission to an awesome national museum). This guy still strikes fear into the humble citizens of Jinju!

Huge bell in a beautifully decorated tower outside a Buddhist temple (and I think Confucian school)

The inside of the nearby Buddhist temple:

A memorial to one of the generals who fought the Japanese at Jinju fortress

Massive gate at the fortress:

The bridge with the golden rings (can't really see it in the pic) commemorating the woman who jumped into the river with the Japanese general to save Jinju...also, the part of the fortress on the left, then the Nam river (goes through the middle of Jinju) and part of downtown Jinju on the right.

That's it for today...thanks for reading, and I'll try to have more tomorrow...although it may be a while as I'm FINALLY getting around to unpacking my suitcases (instead of grabbing whatever I need out of them) and making my little apartment a little more home-like, so I might have some pics of my home soon!

Cheerio,
T