The pair went over the mountain...

Hello. Another weekend has gone by and we’ve seen yet another sunrise from the wrong end. We just wanted to se the new Planet of the Apes (we did. it’s good) and discuss over a casual pint. Well, toss a blanket over the window and pass me the Advil, ‘cause it’s 6am and there are another two hands yet to Rummy 500. Needless to say, we’re still getting used to Korean moderation. So far we have hit upon reasonably spaced out immoderate behaviour. But don’t despair; the weekend was not lost! After seeing to some housekeeping stuff and watching the original Planet of the Ape on Saturday, we made up for our early weekend appetites with late weekend healthy activities.

We set out Sunday early afternoon to hike up the nearby Mt. Geumjeongsan (basically our backyard), aiming to get to the top on one of the many peaks. Ideally, we’d like to find our way to the notoriously difficult to locate Seokbulsa Temple. It’s carved out of the mountainside and rated #1 out of the top 68 things to do in Busan by Lonely Planet. It being a Sunday, and hiking being the most popular activity in Korea, the trails were busy. It was rare that you couldn’t se someone else ahead or behind you. That being said, there isn’t much underbrush and Koreans tend to be fully decked out in hiking garb (i.e. bright). 

A note on fashion: Korean men who are a bit over the hill end to dress like this a lot, and a staple part of this uniform is the mesh zip-up vest with baggy pockets, often in navy blue. They’re everywhere.

We didn’t find the temple. We did make it to the top of Paribong – one of the peaks of the mountain. We took some pictures and enjoyed the cool air at the top, or summit, as we mountain-types call it.

As you may know if you’ve ever walked up a hill and then down the other side, it’s a lot faster getting down. That was our experience as well. This is more the case when tackling a mountain. This becomes exponentially more the case when I hit a wasps nest with my hand on the way down and we have to run away and Beth gets stung like three times on the face and ear. Don’t worry, she’s fine, but there are some good swollen ear pictures here to remind me to look with my eyes, not my hands. Once we had lost the little stingers we tried to warn the solo hiker heading towards the agitated wasps of the impending danger. I succeeded in communicating my excitement only and he bounded away, eager to learn what had animated us so.   I posted the photos above, as trying to get the pictures where I want them on the page is aptly compared to getting 13 kindergarten kids who don't speak English to play a proper game of soccer. 

So we headed home, but not before trying our luck on an upside-down health machine, which are common amongst the equipment found in the ubiquitous public workout stations here. You’ll find a video of us blasting our abs below.  I saw an old man rocking one of these hard last week; he was pretty much going nuts on the thing. OK so I just posted this and it turns out the videos below is of Beth on one of the equally popular pendulum-type machine.  

‘til next time. Keep fit, have fun, and try to stay out of the rhubarb. 

Long weekend

            Hello! It was a long weekend for us here in Busan (National Liberation Day) so we made the most of it and checked out some of the features of our fine city. Friday night we went out with our fellow foreign teachers to a bar called “Thursday Party.” It was pretty fun and Gavin killed it on the beer pong table with another COREM teacher, Kyle. Before leaving the building we met up in Kyle’s room to have a few drinks. I had been warned about soju, a Korean alcohol that tastes like watered down vodka, but wasn’t deterred and had a few drinks of the stuff. Suffice to say the hangover took a day and a half to subside. I will not be indulging in soju anytime soon, or probably ever again.

Vendors and crowds at Nampodong market.

     So Saturday was a write-off (although laying in bed watching action movies all day wasn’t terrible). On Sunday we decided to venture down to the famous Jigalchi fish market and the nearby Nampodong market. I wanted to find some fun souvenirs to send to a couple of friends and we thought we might find some tasty fresh scallops to cook for dinner. I was not prepared for the crowds, noise, or sheer volume of stuff and quickly became overwhelmed. We spent a few hours wandering the narrow streets of Nampo, looking at the zillions of things for sale. You can pretty much buy anything there- clothes, shoes, toiletries, food, bedding etc. Eventually we found our way out of the mayhem and back onto a main street (thanks to Gavin’s sense of direction). We decided to check out the fish market and found it to be even more crowded than Nampodong. It was difficult to turn around and walk back against the rush to where we started, but we found our way out. At that point I was ready to get the heck out of there so we hopped on the metro and back to Hwamyeong (our lovely neighbourhood). The experience was kind of nuts, but I’m ready for round two now that I’m a little bit familiar with the place and how it works.

The trail on the mountain

A couple of massive slugs we passed en route.

       Yesterday we went hiking on a nearby mountain. Gavin had tried to find a route up the other day, without much success, so we went by Google maps and a map of Busan we have. We ended up walking along a wooden boardwalk-type path next to a road that wound up quite high. The walkable part ended at the entrance to what I think is an old fort that has been converted into a tourist attraction. After some wandering around, we decided to follow a couple of hikers we’d seen taking a path off the road. It wasn’t marked at all and didn’t look like much from the street, but it turned out to be well maintained. The only sketchy part was the cables hanging from the trees (probably not electrical) that we had to occasionally duck under. Also the heat and humidity were insane. I have never sweat so much in my life. It was like walking through 32-degree soup. The pictures do not do justice to how wet and hot it was. That being said, it was a great introduction to hiking in Korea and I’m sure we’ll do much, much more of it, especially when the weather gets a bit milder. We were surprised to find vegetable gardens along  the way, even after hiking for an hour! I guess they belong to the people that sell their produce on the side of the road in town. 

            I’ve added a few other pictures that don’t fit into longer narratives. And soon we will write about the teaching and the kids!

A garden on the mountain.

Gavin at the top, checking out some gardens.

 

Since the caption option isn't working, clockwise from top left: Gavin drinking a queen sized beer at a nearby bar called "Long Life." They have sizes that go up to ace, which looks like a yard glass. A view from outside our building. A rice triangle meal that is quick and cheap (about $1.50 for one) and therefore a popular lunch option. Finally, me drinking a queen as well.

       

Where we live

Greetings!

I’ve decided to change the colour of my entries because I don’t find purple to be harmonious with the overall look of the blog.

View from front entryway.

I think it’s time to give you a virtual tour of our accommodations here in Busan. One thing Gavin and I were both worried about before we got here was the size of our apartment. We knew it was going to be a one-room setup, and that the school was willing to bump up our salaries in exchange for living there, so we were wary lest it turn out to be a closet. Luckily that is not the case and it’s actually a pretty big room- big enough to fit a queen size bed, kitchenette, couch, tv, mini-fridge, various shelving units and two tables. The bathroom is bigger than any I’ve had in Canadian apartments. 
         Although I very enjoyed my time on Charlotte St. Chez Asta, I have to admit that this place is nicer. The bathroom is sweet. You have no idea how nice it is to be able to walk in and out of the shower without worrying about getting water all over the floor. Plus the floor's heated in there.  That thing you see up by the ceiling, above the bed, is our air conditioner. Everywhere is air conditioned and they come standard with any apartment. At least that seems to be the case. It's a life saver. Most days going outside is like walking into a thin broth, a thin fish broth. It's not as unpleasant as it sounds, but I wouldn't want that to be my indoor life too.  

Bathroom, shower is hidden from view in the righthand corner.

            The two main differences between a Korean apartment and a Canadian apartment is that the Korean bathroom is basically a giant shower. The water runs directly onto the floor, which is tile and has a drain in the middle. Ours has a tiny glass partition, but many don’t. I get the sense that baths aren’t really a thing here. The other difference is that they don’t use radiators but rather rooms are heated through the floor.

A large part of our place.

            









The building we live in is pretty standard in Korea. It’s eight stories with commercial space on the lower seven and residences on the eighth. There is a convenience store and a Baskin Robbins on the main floor, then a variety of schools (Taekwondo, music etc.) on the others. The street we’re on is one-way and so relatively quiet. We’re close to a busy street, but you can’t hear the traffic at all from our place. Overall, the area has a very neighbourhoodly feel to it.

            There are also tonnes of highrises all around where I think the majority of people live. There’s a complex going up near us that has more than 5,000 units. You get the sense that the city is only getting bigger, and fast.

 Our apartment window looks out onto a rooftop terrace (sounds swanky, but it’s basically an outdoor gym/play area for the students, although it doesn’t get used much). The bonus is that they’ve planted a big garden along the edge, so we’ve got greenery close at hand. The ladies who cook lunch for the kids are often out there picking peppers, lettuce, tomatoes and corn to use. From the shot on the terrace you can see one of the many mountains poking up from behind the highrises. If you're at ground level you'd never know that you were in a three sided bowl created by the mountains and a river to the west. The view is obscured 90% of the time by the 8+ floor buildings and their hundreds of neon signs. It's cool when you see catch  glimpse of the lush mountainside reminding you that you can get away from the busy street level in just a few minutes if you need/want to.

Our window is on the far end.

            We’ve figured out a lot of the Korean domestic ways, but not all of them. The washing machine is still a mystery, but garbage and recycling has been explained (you can only use specific garbage bags that are very expensive- nearly $1.00 each, I guess to encourage recycling). 

            All in all we’re settled in and are happy with the place. I wouldn’t want to spend my life living in a single room, but one year is certainly doable. 

Me, squinting, next to the garden. You can see high rises going up
in the background and a mountain behind them.

The eighth floor (dingy) hall.

Gavin on the roof.

            

First weekend with pictures.

Note: From now on we will be colour coding our entries to make them more legible. Gavin is green and Beth is purple. Black is the hive-mind.

Hey everyone, Gavin here. First off, a note about my new food habits. I have so far eaten a jellyfish salad, dried squid, fried herring, raw whitefish (all in one meal) and mussels and fake crab in a soup. So far I have positive reviews of the herring, raw fish and, surprisingly, the jellyfish. Jellyfish salad is kind of sweet and a little bit tangy – like a fruit. A fruit of the sea.

It would be hard being straight veggie here, although not impossible, but for whatever reason, the attitudes that I’ve encountered up ‘til now about even having a fish-inclusive diet range from skeptical to something like incredulity. I don’t think these responses have tonnes to do with food availability, but more to do with taste and the possibility that having me along for the ride might limit the amount of pork and beef that arrives at the table, or that I might create some bad feelings surround whatever does. Anywho, I’ll be attempting to clean and prepare a whole fish tonight for dinner. We’ll let you know how that goes along with a recipe if all goes well. If not, we’ll be in hospital getting our throats deboned.

Gavin breaking in our new kitchen with eggs and homefries.                     

Good morning! Due to jet lag I’ve become quite the morning person. It started with waking up at 4:30, then 5:30, and today it was 6:30, although I managed to stay in bed until 7. Gavin doesn’t seem to have been affected by the time change in the least- he has slept soundly through the night since day one.

Yesterday we tackled the grocery store, with modest success. The “Lotte Mart” I mentioned in the last posting has a big grocery section on the bottom level that pretty much looks like a Loblaws. The differences are that there are tonnes of samples to try, even of prepared foods like stir-fry mixes that they make in front of you. We picked up some bananas, a loaf of bread (which in hindsight was a mistake since we don’t have a toaster or an oven or anything to make sandwiches with yet), chocolate digestive cookies called “Diget,” etc. Figuring out how to cook like a Korean is going to take some time and research I think. All the foreign teachers swear that it is cheaper to go out for all your meals, but we met a South African guy named Greg who assured us this is not true. You have to take advantage of the markets and maybe learn some new techniques, so I think this will be our plan.

Along the sidewalks are these ladies who sell produce out of baskets and we’d noticed one of them selling red peppers on our way to the store. As expected hers were much cheaper than those at “Lotte Mart,” so we bought some from her and she threw in an extra one free of charge. I think that bodes well for the big market.

The temple 

Later on we went to Haeundae, which is the most popular beach area, and met up with Sophie, a friend from Montreal who’s teaching in Ulsan, and some of her teacher friends (including another Gavin). We grossly underestimated the time it would take to get there and were 30 mins late. But at least we discovered the subway is easy to use and very comfortable. They were hanging out at the bus station drinking this milky looking rice wine I have yet to encounter, so we didn’t have to feel too bad for our tardiness.

The reason for the outing was to visit a temple on the outskirts of the city. I think it is called Haedong Yonggunsa and it’s unique in Korea due to being right on the ocean. The most amazing part for me was the deafening sound of cicadas in the trees. It was loud to the point that conversation was difficult. The temple itself was kind of neat but hard to really absorb amid the throngs of Korean tourists. At one point we were walking up a path and a little crab sidled out from under         a rock and scurried along beside us.
After our temple trip we headed back into the busier part of Haeundae for some food. After a brief squabble about where to dine we went to an ex-pat resto-bar called The Wolfhound. There we learned that when you’re in Korea it is in your best interests to go to a Korean restaurant. I had a grilled cheese (either a Kraft slice or Cheese Whiz) served with 6 fries. Beth fared little better with her BLT. Having shat on the ‘Hound, I was a necessary learning experience and would have happened sooner or later. Also, I’d like to point out how weird it is to be in a restaurant with people smoking. It brought back memories of The Only circa 2004. Oh, and if you’re ever in Korea and are faced with ordering either Hite or Cass beer, take the Cass.

The trip to the grocery store and the long journeys to and from the temple really took it out of me (and Gavin too I think), so when we got home we quickly picked up some stuff from “Lotte Mart” and headed home to watch the latest Weeds episode and fall asleep. Here are a few more pictures from the temple.

 

Us posing next to our Zodiac sign statues. We later discovered that Gavin is actually a dog, not a rooster.

From the decorative temple roof.

Gavin in front of the huge golden Buddha.

We've arrived!

Hello all! Gavin and I made it and we’re in Busan! It’s been a crazy few days getting here and settling in (as much as you can in one day).

The trip itself was mainly uneventful. 24 hours of travel turned out to be much less intense than I was expecting. Because it was either very late at night or very early in the morning when we got into the Vancouver, Beijing and Busan airports, they were all quiet and actually quite peaceful. We spent the flights watching movies and sleeping, with a few rounds of Crazy Eight Countdown thrown in.

            All this is not to say that we were not eager to get our stuff and get to the school by the time we got to the Busan airport. We waited with the crowd around our flight’s baggage carousel until we were the last people there. My stomach dropped when the conveyor belt stopped and the baggage handler started to walk away. We got his attention and a quick exchange of gestures let us know that our bags had not arrived with us. All we could do was file a report, so after that we found our ride and were at the school building about 30 minutes later.

            I was trying not to utterly freak out, and having Gavin there was pretty much the only reason I was able to stay calm. Losing all our stuff meant that we would have to buy all new clothes in a country where the women are about a foot shorter than me and size 10 shoes are non-existent. It would also mean that I’d have to figure out how to get my medications re-prescribed and filled here, and that I wouldn’t be able to use my camera, iPod, or computer the whole time since the adapters etc. were filed away in my “electronic stuff” Ziploc bag. Needless to say it was a worrisome situation.

            Right away we were greeted by the director of our school, a very nice woman named Chelsea, who immediately got on the phone and did her Korean thing with airport to help figure out the bag problem. She then took us out for a lovely lunch at a traditional Korean spot. The deal is you sit on the floor on pillows and eat off a very low table. We were brought “appetizers,” consisting of various bowls of salads and stuff. Koreans eat somewhat communally, so everyone has a metal spoons and chopsticks and a small plate that they use to eat from the bowls on the table. The main dishes were more substantial, but still served in the same style. You even eat soup out of a communal bowl. This meal was particularly significant because it was Gavin’s first (voluntary) meat eating experience in 15 years. I won’t go into it and steal his thunder; suffice to say he started with jellyfish, ended with fried whole herring (minus the heads) and had lots in between.

            After lunch we went to the bank and the to “Lotte Mart,” a department store nearby. Chelsea had to get us bedding and a few odds and ends, and we had to get stuff to get clean with. The only dud purchases were our towels. Koreans use towels that are about exactly the same size as a tea towel, if not smaller.

            We got back to the school and it was time to go over our teaching schedules for the Friday (today)!!!! That evening the very helpful Lisa from down the hall, one of the three Canadian teachers already here, took us to a place to get dinner and we ate it in our apartment and watched "Wolverine" on TV.

I haven’t started yet, but Gavin is currently in teaching his second class of the day. This place is an extreme example of learning by doing. I don’t know how it will go, but we’ll post more about the teaching later…

            So anyway, all in all it’s been a bit of a whirlwind! And oh yeah, we got the call this morning that our bags have been located and will delivered to the school late this afternoon! The relief I feel is so immense that I won’t care if the kids tie me up and hang me upside down from the rafters this afternoon.

More later...

Beth

Busan here we come

Hi!

In 1.5 hours we'll be heading out in a two car caravan to Pearson International Airport, Toronto. One car with Beth and her parents, Jim and Judi, and the other car carrying myself (Gavin), Jamie McDonald and my Mom (Margaret).
For those of you who don't know, Beth and I are heading out on a 24-hour long series of flights that will land us in Busan, South Korea (http://maps.google.ca/maps?client=safari&rls=en&q=busan+south+korea&oe=UTF-8&redir_esc=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x3568eb6de823cd35:0x35d8cb74247108a7,Busan,+South+Korea&gl=ca&ei=4F84Tp2WONLCsQKS4O0_&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=2&ved=0CDEQ8gEwAQ).

(Question: does anyone know how to make links smaller? Like maybe just turn the words 'South Korea' into a hyperlink?)

We fly from Toronto to Vancouver, Vancouver to Beijing (google the Peking international airport, it's sweet), then Beijing to Busan. Neither of us has ever been to Asia, so be prepared to read our confusions made public for the first bit of this blog.

We've signed up for a year teach a bunch of Korean kids English at COREM English school. It's not their regular school, but something called a 'cram school'. There are also math and music cram schools that kids attend in addition their public schools in order to get ahead of the pack, although we get the impression that a sizeable chunk of the pack go to cram schools too.

I'll just add that I (Beth) hope people find the blog entertaining and informative- we've gotten most of our info about life in S. Korea from other people's blogs over the course of planning this trip.
I promise to have my camera at the ready for when crazy/hilarious/beautiful photo ops arise so I can share them with you. We'll get an internet connection up and running as soon as we can.

So anyway, there's obviously not much to report yet but we're in for a crazy few days and I'm sure we'll be eager to fill you in when we get to our new home.

That's all for now...down to 45 minutes! eep.