Life in Daejeon

Link to Map of Daejeon!

2011-10-19T11:22:00.006-04:00

Just in case anyone sees this blog, I will include a link to a very important website:

Link to Map of Daejeon

On the right hand side of the web page, there is a button that reads, "Daejeon Tourist Map"

If you only knew how much wandering and questioning I did to find the physical version of this beast while we were in Korea.

Anyway, if you go to the Expo Center (right next to the space needle, north of the red and blue bridge, think North Central Daejeon) you will find the tourist information center, it's at the front of the parking lot!

The physical version of this map is easier to use, but this .pdf version will help you locate where to go to find it!

Best of luck sojourner! (soju-er!)

o_O

2011-10-18T16:16:00.002-04:00

I can't believe this blog is still up!

It's been nearly two years since our last post and we have effectively settled back in good old Florida, USA. I currently work as a proofreader, Kimchi, a teacher. Looking back on these posts and pictures awakens my desire for adventure! Not to mention the joy of blogging, which truly serves as a great hall of memories (though I did kill off the Utub videos, sadface).

I went back to school for a few computer certifications, sang and danced in a few musicals, while Kim became a Jazzercise instructor. So we have stayed busy, only...What about the rest of the world?!

I really wish I would have captured a few moving pictures of the PC bangs I frequented while we were in Korea...so many snacks, sooo many hours of gaming.

Advice for future self and other documentarians:

Balance your enjoyment of the experience with short clips and pics of what you're up to. Restrict the lengthy captures to once a month or so. Burnout is a reality.

It would be sooo sweet to head out...see a bit of the world's great underbelly once again...

The End

2009-12-04T04:39:00.002-05:00

Tim and I have returned to the States, and here we lie jet-lagged in bed at 4:30 a.m. The past year and a half have proven two new truths: (1) we can live, work, and survive in another country and come back to tell the tale; and (2) we suck at blogging.

For those of you who have followed the sporadic stories of our adventures in South Korea, we figure we owe you a big fat THANKS, just for caring, as well as a fond farewell. This blog has seen its last moment.

We appreciate your interest in our lives on the other side of the globe, but now we must say goodbye -- at least until our next adventure. . .

From Korea to America and Back to Korea Again

2009-05-30T15:25:00.003-04:00

For those of you who missed us...yes, we were back in the United States for a short period of time. From May 15 to May 29, Kim and I were farting around in Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida. We bought things, tied loose ends, and visited a bunch. It was really good to see family and friends again. After a year, South Korea becomes your reality. So when we went back to America, everything there seemed a bit dreamy at first.

Switching from a transitory job to a temporary vacation and back again has a bizarre effect on the brain. Mixed with jet lag it kinda feels like swimming.

Well, six more months to go and then it's back to America again. I've been telling everyone that it will go incredibly fast, which suggests a few things. First, I should probably write down a few things I would like to do before leaving Korea. Second, don't be too sad if you miss us because there's a bunch of cool stuff you can do while you wait! Last, if you plan on visiting us, totally go for it. Soon South Korea will become a dream within a dream.

I hope to post again soon or Kim for that matter. However, given our track record and the few remaining months left to us, expect to see us in person first, lol.

P.S. Narita International Airport in Japan was extremely expensive. We both threw down 20 U.S. dollars to exchange for Japanese Yen, thinking we could buy things to bring back home (when are we going to be in Japan again?). With the 3700 or so Yen the dollars bought us, we purchased two bottled waters, two small key chain trinkets, and a sumo-wrestler-style Russian doll set. Granted we kept a few coins as keepsakes, but a meal for two would have blown the 40 USD easily.

P.P.S. If you're going to fly for 12+ hours internationally, bump yourself one up from economy. The five extra inches of leg space and whatever else it offers will not go unnoticed by your body.

Still Alive

2009-02-27T22:51:00.005-05:00

Hello again. Yes, we are those people who have a blog, have many things to post, and even have our blog set to our homepage...and never post. It's the cell phone effect. A great piece of technology, that is extremely convenient, that you end up hating with your soul. Or, at least you end up developing a purposeful negligence toward.

It is officially February 28th. This means that we have two months left in our contract. How did the time go by? What did we do in the past few months that was so secretive we couldn't share it with the entire blogging world? The biggest deal was celebrating New Years Eve in City Hall, Seoul. There was an undulating sea of bodies that tended to slowly compress the oxygen from your own body. There were lights, sounds, protests, police officers, and plenty of drunk foreignors and Korean natives alike armed with Roman candles, rocketing fiery balls of celebration into the night. We attempted to stay awake for the rising of the new year's sun, from Namsan tower or building 63, but we boldly fell asleep instead.

In January and February we celebrated our birthdays. In that sense, it has been a year of firsts. Spending Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, and your birthdays away from home is not highly recommended. Eventually, for those with a strong stomach, you end up getting homesick, if ever so mild. Hehe.

In business news, we are still in negotiations for new contracts. If we re-sign, we will come home for two weeks in mid-May, and then return to South Korea for an additional six months. In many ways it would be nice, since we would then be home by December first. And that would just rock. "On the other hand" does exist, but I just don't want to worry about it. I figure I'm open to both re-signing and not re-signing (special thanks to Elliot for the hyphenated heads up). I'm just happy.

In boring news (for those uninterested anyways), our new semester at school will begin this Monday. All the teachers are more or less stressed out. Friday (yesterday), we just received all the information on the new curriculum, and many of our books are not in yet. Some rooms, namely Kim's and our friend Mike's, are not quite ready to be inhabited. Also, there are about three brand new teachers starting on Monday. I think each of them has a few years experience though, so they will be much better off than I was when I first arrived. It's funny, in two months we will just be settling in and feeling comfortable with the new students and the curriculum. And then our one-year in the land of the wee Kinders will be up. Oh Korea...how you spin us around and spit us out.

IN CONCLUSION~ I hope everyone is healthy and happy. We miss you guys.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

2008-11-16T07:50:00.004-05:00

So, I know many of you are familiar with the play and/or the movie, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Well, I promise you, you would not be as familiar with it if you saw it in a foreign language you can't understand (namely, for us, Korean); but you would leave that show with a sense that you had been a part of a truly multi-cultural experience.

This past Saturday evening, after we suddenly remembered we had tickets to the show, which was starting in two hours (how we forgot, I have no idea -- it was something we had been anticipating for over a month!), we made our way to the concert hall -- a ten-minute walk from our apartment, a 5 minute walk from the place we ate dinner before -- only to discover we went to the wrong venue. With 12 minutes left until start-time, we ran a little, flagged a taxi, and hoped for the best as the cab driver berated (we're assuming he berated us at least) in Korean. (I think it was for not knowing how to get to our destination, but who knows?). Tim had his eye on the prize the whole time and couldn't care less what the cab driver was raving about; I made a few unintelligible grunts when driver seemed to actually address us and was not just venting his frustration.

We finally made it to the real destination, and our fourth row, center seats, at start-time on the dot -- 7:30. We smiled because we couldn't believe we had made it, and then we disrobed down to our t-shirts because it was hot-as-hell in there!

I know what you're thinking. What the hell's the point of going to a musical or show of any kind if it's in a language you don't understand? All I can say is that the language didn't matter. (Think of all those opera fans out there.) We knew the story. We've seen the movie and listened to the soundtrack. We knew the words and the premise. Do we wish that it was in English, so we could understand the jokes, the nuances of the speech, and have a total musical experience? Of course we did, and do. But the energy of the actors and the musical performances were astounding. At the end of the production, after the actors had left the stage, the audience began to shout "Encore, encore!" (but with a short e sound in the beginning, like in the word "hen"). We chuckled and joined in the cheers. It didn't take long for the performers to return to the stage and put on a kick-ass rock ensemble of Stephen Trask's Hedwig tunes.

The show made us excited, and we left the hall with a stupidly huge desire to see Hedwig when we get back to the states -- that is, if it was showing in the states. So if anybody hears that Hedwig is coming to town, please let us know!

Oops! and PIFF

2008-10-11T12:31:00.009-04:00

Okay, so Tim and I have been completely slacking off on our blogging responsibilities, but, let's face it, we thought we would have way more time on our hands to act out our writing skills and techno suaveness via "Life in Daejeon." We were flat out wrong. Commanding a troop of sprouts takes more time than we bargained for, and we do want to enjoy a our social lives, so something had to be sacrificed, and the blog was ripe for the pickin'. Still, all excuses aside, we are sorry we have neglected our posting duties; after all we did promise to keep everyone updated on our lives through this site.

Life has been going well for us in Daejeon, and we have stayed very busy. We have even found a large family of foreigners to play Ultimate Frisbee with (among other things), who have turned out to be quite an amazing (and large) group of people. (Who knew Frisbee attracted such a crowd?) We are contending with the ever-cooling weather, and are a little worried about whether we packed enough warm clothes and long underwear to survive the winter. (Seoul midnight markets, here we come!) All-and-all, we are doing fine.

There are several hiking trips and other things that I would love to post about at this time, but frankly, it's damn near 2:00 a.m. and I want to do something easy, so please enjoy the following slide show of our recent trip to the Pusan International Film Festival (PiFF) in Pusan (or Busan).

We had three-day weekend on October 3--5, so Tim, our friend Mike, and I decided to take a trip to a new place. Pusan won our vote due to a huge international film festival going on there that weekend. We hopped an annoyingly slow train to Pusan on Friday, and stayed until Sunday. The core of the festivities (well, at least our festivities) were held right on Haeundae Beach, although the films played in theaters across a couple different dongs. We spent the majority of our time on the beach near our hotel (as the pictures will show). Tim and I saw one movie, The Sky Crawlers, at the outdoor theater, which was set up at the yachting center.

During the slide show of pictures, keep an eye out for this stuff:
(1) The Tsingtao Panda (can you spot him?);
(2) The hotties on the wave runners;
(3) The nice lady who heated dried squid for us on the beach with her portable burner and sold us beer out of her backpack.

Thanks for checking in everyone! Hope you are all well and happy!

Trip to Seoul

2008-08-10T06:45:00.014-04:00

What better way to continue our vacation of adventure than a trip to South Korea's capital, Seoul! Late Monday night, July 28th, five adults and one child checked into what Tim succinctly termed as "a clandestine motel" that had clean rooms and large T.V.s. Notice the attractive colored lighting? It really sets the mood, huh?

Well, instead of sleeping, we all headed straight for one of Seoul's all-night markets, full of knock-off-name-brand everything! A shopper's paradise.

The night markets had everything, including hot-stone-roasted octopus and squid!

We wandered back into our motel at about 4 or 5 o'clock in the morning. After a handful of hours of sleep, we picked ourselves up and wandered back out onto the streets for more shopping.

MJ and Cecille bargain with a t-shirt dealer in Namdaemun market, and Tim is shocked by the good-and-plenty atmosphere:

At some point or another, we made our way to Insa-dong, the traditional market neighborhood of Seoul, which has to be one of my favorite areas so far.

MJ shows us the traditional buildings that make up the area.

A clothing store filled with naturally dyed, handmade fabrics, sewn together by hand.

On the streets of this busy neighborhood, a man makes traditional Korean snacks (not including the dried squid). He mostly uses puffed rice and other grains in these treats.

MJ's easy-going son grabs a few Zs in the middle of Insa-dong.

After a hard day's walking and shopping, we find refuge at an old fashioned tea house.

MJ treats us all to the traditional tea and rice cake snack.

Tim, myself, and Cecille, gracefully poised in front of traditional Korean wallpaper, and underneath traditional Korean slippers.

MJ's son insists upon sitting at his own table. He and MJ pray together before he eats his snack.

Our tea and rice cake arrive. For me, MJ ordered some kind of pine tree/needle/seed tea. Tim had date tea.

Okay, a random picture of what a traditional house entrance might look like:

We spent that evening finding a place to eat, walking a couple different dongs, and just enjoying the night. We headed home to Daejeon on Wednesday, the 30th, ready to meet witht he hiking trail.

Daecheong Dam

2008-08-10T05:20:00.004-04:00

In order to kick-off our week-long summer vacation in an adventurous spirit, Tim and I took a day trip to Daecheong Dam with a friend from work, John Paul. Two bus rides and a short hike up a rather steep driveway later, we arrived at the dam sight. We nibbled our snack of roast corn (which John Paul bought from a snack foods vendor on our way up) apples, and almonds as we strolled along a pathway designated for foot massaging (you'll see the picture and know what I mean).

I must admit that seeing the dam was rather anti-climactic.

Now, I was expecting some huge cement block with holes carved in the side and water roaring and crashing into a pool a few hundred feet below (like the thing Harrison Ford jumped out of in the movie Fugitive), but it wasn't anything like that. Instead we were greeted by a large cement block with a lot of metal pipes running every which way, and a steep slope of stones and rickety wooden stairs -- there was no water crashing anywhere, to my dismay (although, there was a trickling leak from a pipe near the water purification building). The saving glory of the place, and the delight of my day, was the beautiful atmosphere and scenic surroundings.

After taking in the view outside, we wandered into the museum that shares the property. The best part of the museum was some of the artwork displayed on the second floor: it was all made out of garbage. The tour indoors was short, and we soon decided to make our way back to the bus stop to head home. But before heading down the mountain, we became quite taken with a golden statue keeping a constant vigil outside. Who the statue is of, we may never know, but it was obliging enough to let us each climb up upon its knees and be photgraphed in its radiating presence.

All-in-all, it was quite lovely there and rather peaceful; although, if we ever do return to that area, it will be to hike the nearby mountains, and not for some idle fancy to see some place that might resemble something I once saw in a movie.

A Typical Walk

2008-08-02T04:04:00.003-04:00

To get us back into posting videos (or more into posting videos), I recorded us walking to one of the many stationery stores here in Daejeon. The main thing you can get from this is that besides the details, everything else is just about the same here as it would be in any decent sized American city.

A few things to look for in this video:

1. A safari of bumpiness. If you have stomach problems watch at your own risk.
2. Kim's body double makes a background appearance at minute 2:57.
3. The cicadas crescendo from minute 3:20 to 5:20.
4. At minute 6:35 I trade proper English for a broken celtic dialect.
5. At minute 7:17 I reveal my laziness for posting videos.

Of course!

2008-07-30T22:44:00.003-04:00

I said it wouldn't happen and here it is being done with every day that passes.

We have posted two times in the past month (this post barely eeks by as the third). I really don't want to give any reasons (or more accurately, excuses) but it would be an even shorter post without them.

After the temple visit to Sunghyeonseowon, which was the topic of our first post this month, we let life wash over us and the month just swam by. Sickness brought it's angry farmers to our castle walls, but we managed to take their little pitch forks and flaming branches, reassure them that we'd ease up on taxes, and cleared the castle grounds of the heaps of dead livestock. All told, that period lasted from mid June to the third week in July. After which, we slept and dreamed another week off, simply glad to be free from the buggers!

Yesterday, we returned home from a three-day trip to Seoul, our nation's capital (read with a Forest Gump accent). Although we had been to Seoul before, with the kids on a trip to an aquarium and a kid's museum, we hadn't tasted any of the meat. My advice to those who ever plan to go: ride the subway (it's extremely intuitive), frequent the night markets (Naemdaemun and Dongdaemun are open till 5 in the morning), and stay at a clandestine motel (they're cleaner than most and they show the best G-rated cartoons). In short we bought a baseball glove, a few shirts and shorts, and drank a respectable amount of coffee. I'll leave the posting of pictures up to Kim. Sigh, our vacation is coming to an end.

Well, I'll say here what I wanted to say at the beginning and the reason I started this whole post in the first place: It took moving away from the US to regain my strong desire (and willingness) to read books. That and to study. Well...the desire to study anyways.

See you guys in a blink of an eye!

TILS Kindergarten

2008-07-28T03:45:00.002-04:00

I think I can speak for both Tim and myself when I say that teaching kindergarten has opened our eyes to a whole new world. Far from lectures, homework, and tests, and immersed in an environment where washable paint and markers, Old MacDonald's Farm, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? reins supreme, teaching kindergarten has taught us many lessons:

First and foremost, you gotta roll -- there is no room for completely defined plans and a tight schedule; if you haven't planned more than two things to do, and you can't change your tune at a moments notice, you're SOL, and it's likely that you might be eaten alive by your little sprouts.

Second, if you haven't planned a game, song, or any other interactive activity for them to do, it's more likely than not that the kids won't remember a thing from the lesson, and they will enact their revenge for your boring plans by (1) punching, hitting, pushing, and/or kicking the kid next to them, (2) falling asleep and drooling on the table and themselves, or (3) drop-kicking their book and start licking their eraser for amusement.

Third, there are no breaks during the day. If you decide to take 30 minutes for yourself at lunch in the middle of the day, be forewarned, it will probably mean extra time on top of your pre-existing after hours work to wrap up your day and get ready for the next. You must pencil in some personal time when preparing your school plans, then cross your fingers and hope for the best.

Teaching kindergarten is harder than I thought it would be, I have developed a new-found respect for anyone who teaches this age group -- actually, for anyone who teaches, period. It is demanding work, but with great reward (at least, that's what I'm hoping for).

We wanted to post pictures of our work at TILS, the kids, and the things we do, but due to the questionable legality of posting pictures of the kids without parental consent, I think we'll stick to mentioning the TILS Homepage link at the bottom of our blog. Click on the Photo Gallery tab under the Kindergarten bullet to see pictures of us with our kids/classes, the school and field trips we go on. Keep checking back too, they're supposed to update them regularly.

Locked Temples Remind Us Why We're Here

2008-07-06T06:29:00.007-04:00

One of the greatest obstacles that both Tim and I are currently trying to overcome is remembering that we are in a new country, and that we came here not just to work, work, work, but also to see and experience new places, things, ideas, etc. In an effort to live up to this expectation that we set for ourselves, Tim and I took a three-hour bicycle journey after work last Monday to a nearby mountainous area in order to hike a little and sneak a peak at a Buddhist temple.

Well, we left the house without a map (and without our nocs), and upon coming to a crossroads, we took a right instead of a left, then backtracked a bit, as there was a sign for a temple to the left. Although it wasn't our intended destination, we found the temple at Sunghyeonseowon quietly nestled behind the main road and a multitude of cramped houses and a couple small patches of land used for farming. We locked our bicycles to an obliging tree and proceeded towards the awaiting holy ground. And wouldn't you know it -- it was locked.

We peeked in over the short gates and walls (which we could have easily climbed over except for that whole disrespect-issue) and took some pictures of the temple, including the informational sign, which was in both Korean and English. See below:

After we left the temple at Sunghyeonseowon, we contintued our bicycle travels down an "alternate route" towards home. On our way we stumbled across another temple (also locked), only further up the mountain behind the temple was a shrine and graveyard (graveyards in Korea don't seem to be placed on level ground -- maybe because level ground is prime area for building -- rather, they are built across the mountainside). Tim and I introduced ourselves to some of the marble creatures near the shrine, as the pictures will show (the last picture is the view down the mountain towards the temple):

Since it was getting dark, and, let's face it, it was a school night, we headed home to get some rest.

Thanks for keeping up with us everyone. We appreciate your interest, comments, and encouraging words!

See you next time.

The Place

2008-06-26T07:01:00.003-04:00

And now, for what you've all been waiting for, our apartment: a tour in photographs. Narration by Kim, pictures by Kim and Tim. By the way, turn your sound as high up as you can -- as it turns out, I'm a novice narrator and movie publisher.

P.S. Thanks for the video info Elliot -- you were right about the settings adjustment during the movie publication.

The River

2008-06-14T05:57:00.010-04:00

Tim and I reside in an apartment that is a three-minute walk from the Daejeon River. A biking/walking trail has been lain along the entire length of the river, as well as a fairly large banking, which provides room for picnicing, sports, and many other activities. The river serves as a haven for many walking and biking enthusiasts, as well as people who just want to find a little peace during their hectic days, weeks, months, and years.

Tim and I have found that taking the riverside walk is a much more enjoyable way to get where you are going. There are periodic stepping stones that look like large tofu squares, which provide more daring river-crossing routes, particularly at night. The stepping stones are a test of your agility and balancing skills, especially when passing by other people who are also trying to cross.

Here are a few pictures of the river and our travels near and across it.

The river near our apartment:

The view of the river from a restaurant on the top floor of Homever (a big, high-end, WalMart/mall-type shopping building):

Birds fishing:

Daejeon River at night near the EXPO (technological/science area):

Tim and I crossing the along the tofu pathway (Mom, I got some duck-butt pics!):

'Preciate Cha

2008-06-08T19:01:00.005-04:00

I just wanted to thank everyone for posting their comments on our blog. I'm fairly certain that we haven't replied to any of them (yet?), but we do read each and every one of them. It makes a difference seeing everyone's reaction and it's surprising to see who has decided to keep up with our lives and times.

'Preciate Cha

Video file info - We still need help

2008-06-06T06:19:00.002-04:00

Here are the properties for one of our video files (at least, I think this is all of them). Hope this helps. Work your magic, Elliot!

Size: 186 MB (195,923,898 bytes)
Type of File: Windows Media Audio/Video file (.wmv)
Video--
Length: 5 minutes, 44 seconds
Frame width: 640
Frame height: 480
Data rate: 7207kbps
Total bitrate: 7207kbps
Frame rate: 30 frames/second
Audio --
Bit rate: 113kbps

Payday!

2008-06-06T01:25:00.005-04:00

So, this past Thursday payday finally arrived and we are living like Kings. Really? Nah, it's just a good feeling when you have a bank account to your name with some fliff inside to give it shape. Which means, yes, we have opened bank accounts here and yes we are able to shamelessly withdraw money like any other hardworking, misguided kindergarten teacher from the states. Also, the ATMs here are in English. Just when you think the language barrier is going to, well, live up to its name, you find what you're looking for in English. Good or bad, I'll take it.

After a better-than-the-day-before workday drew to a close, we were escorted to the capital building (was it the actual capitol? we share the same question) to a modern clinic where one of our student's father's work, and proceeded to have our eyes, ears, lungs, height, weight, urine, and blood examined as required by immigration in order to complete and receive our alien registration cards. Besides the eye examines being set to the outer limits of normal capabilities (literally, the first setting had clear numbers and everything after that was a blur), the urine testing was just silly. *Warning: If you don't want to be potentially offended skip to the next paragraph* The nurse gave Kim and I tiny plastic strips to pee on, only to be told, after having emptied out the reserves on the strips, that: "Oh my gosh. We're very sorry. You will also need to pee into a cup for an additional test." After our escort departed, our nurse performed a handful of dances rejoicing in our inability to communicate. It was cute. A few cups of water later, we were finished with our physicals and pointed in the direction of E-mart, the only landmark we would be able to recognize. We walked home feeling only mildly violated and happy to be that much closer to palming our ARCs.

Turning the corner to our apartment later that night, we encountered a drunken man seemingly talking to himself. After passing him by, a tiny black creature darted out at me and played around on my pant legs. My gut reaction was, "this is a rabid cat," but no, it was a tiny black puppy making its first real attempt at mugging foreigners. It looked about four weeks old and had a tremendous amount of energy. It danced from my legs to Kim's shoes and erased all the stress the day had previously held. We laughed with the owner, our mutual adoration being understood, and took turns returning the little sprout to him (it kept chasing us).

We headed home feeling like a million won.

Still alive and functioning

2008-06-03T19:02:00.002-04:00

Hello all! Just a quick note to let you know that Tim and I are still alive, well, and functioning (at least most of the time). Sorry we haven't posted in a while. I think we were both deluding ourselves as to how many hours are in each day, and that we would have plenty of time to work, live, play, and post our little hearts out. As it turns out, 24 hours just isn't enough time for all that stuff.

Well, unfortunately, we don't have much time to post anything really substantial right now either (off to work we go!). What we can do is leave you with a small teaser of what's to come. To be covered in future posts:

The Best Hang-Gliding Jump Points From the Daejeon Devil Cliffs;
Health Spa Tips Revealed: A Buck A Day Can Keep You Naked;
Scooter Delivery Services: Scrubbing the Treadmarks Out of Your Clothes;
How to Score Free Kimchi: All the Best Burying Sites Unearthed; and much, much more!

Thanks for checking in!

A Note Before Bed

2008-05-28T09:50:00.003-04:00

I had a few minutes to spare tonight, after all of the day's little necessities were tidied up, to read a few lines from The Fountainhead.

It reminded me of a few things:

Now that the dust has begun to settle on the big move (from the states), the little move (from the hotel to the apartment), and I've found some footing in my role as a teacher in the other worldly atmosphere of kindergarten, I remember why I came here in the first place. I'm writing it down for the days that I forget it:

I'm going to learn more about who I am and what type of work brings me joy.

I'm finally living in the same city that Kimberly is living in.

I've already found a spark of creative inspiration that hasn't haunted me in what feels like a lifetime.

And that is it for now. I hope everyone reading this understands the importance of these aspects of my life. Besides family and friends (my core), these are the coals that fuel me.

Fresh Fish

2008-05-27T07:48:00.008-04:00

So, I know many of you want to know about our jobs at TILS, the students, our apartment, how the garbage system works, and the fun and exciting things to do in Daejeon, but this takes priority over all those other little tidbits of information.

After a hard day's work, Tim and I left TILS some time nearing 7:00 p.m. (working 10-12 hour-days is typical for new instructors). We were on a mission to find a new place to eat -- that served something besides kim and rice, bi bim bap (a vegetable and rice mixture with many combinations), and soup (of any kind) -- a place that served seafood, in particular. We stumbled upon a restaurant on the second story of a building -- a floor we rarely visit in any building because you cannot peer inside the windows first to see what goods are for sale -- but there we found ourselves, removing our shoes so that we could be seated on cushy, yellow floor pillows in front of a shiny, dark wood table.

When the waitress arrived, she told us which part of the menu was seafood, and which was devoted to noodles and side dishes. We asked (using pointing and gesticulating, of course) if the listed choices in the menu served two people. We ordered one of the cheapest seafood listing because, you know, we're on a budget, even though we really didn’t know what came with the item we ordered.

Appetizers came first: vegetables such as carrots, lettuce, spinach, onions, etc; a small salad with sesame dressing; some kind of thick, lukewarm, squash soup (which was actually pretty tasty); some small shrimp; and chili and soy sauces for dipping. Within a matter of minutes, our main course arrived: thinly sliced raw fish (of what kind, we still don’t know), what we believe were raw sea urchins, raw clams/mussels/oysters (I have no real clue), raw scallops or some other kind of fish (again, don’t know), and raw octopus tentacles, all piled high on a bed of rice noodles that could stuff a pillow. They also brought out some kind of seaweed-mussel soup, a watery egg soufflé-type thing with peppers and scallions, as well as a greater assortment of dipping sauces. See below (FYI - you can click on the photos to enlarge and get a close up of the goods):

Tim and I began our eating “frenzy” with a slow, deliberate sizing-up of the table contents. We tasted the raw fish (not bad, but a bit chewy), the sea urchin (very salty and very chewy), octopus tentacles (rubbery, yes, but not horrible) and before we could move on to other items, out came more plates and bowls full of delicacies: a creamy corn and ham mixture, shrimp nigiri and sushi roll, fried fish, and some kind of pan-seared cow nostril with peppers and onions (we are guessing that it was either pig or cow nostrils, although, I’m leaning towards the cow). We continued to try everything. Check these out – see if you can spot the nostrils:

Tim and I were both beginning to reach our fullness and queasiness levels, and just as we were discussing when to leave and what to do next, another round of plates floated down to our tabletop. (I swear it was like a Disney movie, the way all these dishes kept appearing in our midst, except the Disney goodness of roast chicken, steamy soup, and tiny pink cakes for dessert were replaced with nostrils and sea urchin.) This next course: fried shrimp, sautéed fish with tomato and seaweed decoration, and some other kind of baked or roasted fish, which was actually really tasty. See pictures below:

Okay, so we tried almost everything, and we were both ready to go, when the waitress came with one more plate. Hold on – I’m going to give you a minute to see if you can guess what it was.

You think you got it?

Let’s find out shall we?

The finale of the meal consisted of slices of cold pork, pickled cabbage, and either raw or fermented snake that smelled like rubbing alcohol. And yes, we both tasted it. All I can say is that it really didn’t do anything for me.

Tim and I both tried everything, except one thing apiece: Tim didn’t eat the corn mixture, and I stayed away from the slimy globs of oyster mess, or whatever it was.

We picked up and left before we could be surprised with any more tasty treats from the fish tank or countryside, which is when we discovered our ordering mix up. We didn’t place one order of the cheapest item on the menu, we ordered two of the cheapest item (no wonder we had so may goodies!). Score one for the side effects of the language barrier.

Our Second Sunday in Daejeon

2008-05-24T21:02:00.003-04:00

Good morning!

It has been a busy week. Since last Sunday, we have moved from the hotel to our apartment, had our gas line connected, had our internet connected, had a friend show us how to use our Korean laundry machine and thermastat, more or less cleaned and arranged our home, and created our own version of a western shower. Today, we do laundry (all day), and I prepare for my first class (dolphin class) for tomorrow morning. The scary part of the next two weeks? We have to prepare our kids for the upcoming open house, which includes (per class): a play, a poem, and a song. Holy crap. I'll try to find time today for taking pictures of our apartment and our neighborhood. They should be up later on today (tomorrow for those state side).

Seeking assistance. . .

2008-05-24T01:08:00.004-04:00

Hello all!

Tim and I are still alive and well in Daejeon, although we are running into a bit of a snafu regarding uploading video files. It is literally taking hours to upload one video onto YouTube.com because the files are so large. Does anyone know of some kind of converter or something that we can use to have a more upload-friendly video file? Thanks for the help.

Our First Weekend in Daejeon -- Better Late Than Never

2008-05-23T13:31:00.002-04:00

Before I get started with the meat-and-potatoes portion of this post, I would like to start with a bit of an appetizer and mention how freakin’ awesome the bathrooms are in the Incheon International Airport. The bathrooms are clean and smell nice, there is a machine that replaces a plastic covering on the toilet seat by pressing a button, and the stall doors look like they came from a bamboo forest -- I swear that all that is missing from these bathrooms is a machine-operated cleansing device that rinses and wipes your bum when you’re done. I hope some of you have a chance to use these bathrooms one day.

My first impression of Daejeon upon our being deposited on a busy curbside with a mountain of luggage: busy and bright. At 9:30 on Friday night the city was buzzing with people, ranging between toddler and adult ages, all talking, walking, waiting, and buying drinks and late-night dinners (seriously, people here eat dinner anywhere between 6:00 p.m. and midnight, or later). The buildings towering over us were adorned with vibrantly colored signs, boasting the buildings’ contents in the written script of hangul, the Korean language. Lost in a sea of Asian faces, Tim and I waited until an extremely helpful man offered to call our school companions.

We united with our new co-workers and got put up in a motel, the details of which are pretty sweet: first of all, we had our own water cooler in the room with both hot and cold taps (the tap water in Korea is not drinkable unless it has been boiled, so must establishments have water coolers in them with some kind of purified, drinkable water); second, the tub/shower has no shower curtain, so while you are bathing, you are simultaneously cleaning your bathroom (only without the added benefit of disinfecting cleansing agents); third, there is a small area just inside the door where you deposit your shoes just before entering the main room, a custom that is practiced throughout Korea (you just don’t wear your shoes all the way inside someone’s dwelling; for example, the two men who carried our luggage into the hotel room kept taking their shoes on and off as they brought the luggage into the room).

Anyway, now to pick up where Tim left off:

We met Crystal about midday Saturday (about midnight/1:00 a.m. Saturday morning for you EST folks) and she took us to check out the school. It looks like you would imagine a kindergarten or day care might look like: bright colors, little chairs to seat 4—7-year old munchkins, shelves full of easy-reading materials, and an art/science/cooking room, just to name a few. After perusing the classrooms and a few curriculum books, we headed out the door with Crystal and her sleepy son, and met Jewel, another supervisor/coordinator for TILS. She told us where we could find E-Mart (the Korean version of Wal-Mart), and so we were on our way.

Several blocks later, Tim and I found ourselves at the base floor of three/four-story superstore. Shopping carts and their Korean drivers ambushed us on all sides as we entered the store. We made our way through the swarms of people, only to be cut off, run into, and pushed aside by other shoppers. We eventually realized that people weren’t being rude or discourteous, that’s just how they moved (and how we learned to move) about in a crowd: if you’re in the way, people simply move you out of the way, and vice versa. You don’t apologize for moving in front of another person’s path, nor excuse yourself for moving other people aside to get past them – you just work your way through the crowd like everyone else. As I mentioned, E-Mart has three stories (a money-blower’s paradise) and is complete with a food court selling Korean yummies, as well as McDonald’s and Popeye’s Chicken. (You just can’t escape fast food no matter where you go.)

After an afternoon of listening to E-Mart employees try to hawk their samples on a very willing public, Tim and I returned to the hotel with bean-sprout soup and kimchi in our bellies and Young Frankenstein on our minds. By 6:00 p.m. we were both passed out, only to wake up by 3:00 a.m. to spend the majority of Sunday in a mind-fogging mess. I made coffee and noodles in our room by use of the hot water tap:

I don’t recall too much about that day, except that we ate more kimchi and that we didn’t sleep much more on Sunday night due to the blaring tunes of a bar/restaurant next door and an incessant clicking sound emanating from the air-conditioner throughout the whole of the night.

Monday was a good day, but it was oh-so-long. Tim and I spent the whole day training with the teacher I was to replace the next day (Tuesday). Needless to say, we were bowled over with information, although now I see that all that information just wasn’t enough.

Some images of Daejeon so far: A welcome sign; the view from our hotel room window (those are apartment buildings in the back); hanboks, traditional Korean clothing; delicious, take-out Korean dinner in the hotel room; Korean won (10,000 won bills).

In Country One Day (Retroactive Post)

2008-05-22T05:40:00.003-04:00

Good morning,

It is currently 2:26 in the morning here in Daejeon. I am writing from the bathroom floor in our motel room so as not to wake Kimmy.

So, it has been a busy few days. Right now it is Sunday morning May 18th (Saturday around lunchtime back in the States). We tried desperately not to fall asleep around 6pm yesterday evening, while watching Young Frankenstein on DVD, but to no avail. Against all warnings, Kim wanted to take a handful of power naps, “Wake me in seven minutes.” Then, when I was up to bat, we both ended up falling asleep. Thus I write to you all from the bathroom floor.

Well, last Sunday morning, after spending a wonderful weekend in the Cullowhee mountains in North Carolina with Kim’s mom, dad, grandmother and grandfather, we drove another five hours down to Atlanta, Georgia, to spend a few days at my sister’s house with my family. Monday morning, the consulate interview went off without a hitch and we actually found time to wander a private access mall (footage to be added), which due to timing and formal attire, our presence there was never questioned. After a few happy days with my mom, dad, sister, her husband and his brother, and one week after saying our goodbyes to those beautiful Tallahassians on May 8th, both families were treated to a magnificent, Wednesday night last supper by Kim’s mom and dad at an authentic German restaurant.

Bellies tight with delicious foodstuffs, we returned home to chat and laugh the night away. And, of course, to repack. Again.

Thursday morning (May 15th, the original departure date…lol) we headed to the Atlanta airport. It’s funny how big a deal Kim and I made about the supposed baggage restrictions on dimensions/weight that were posted on Korean Air’s website. In fact, the lady who checked us in at the front desk probably would have accepted two one hundred pound bags from each of us, both twice the size of the restrictions online, just so long as we didn’t have more than two check-in bags a piece. Unfortunately, we were one bag over. To be honest, it could have been worse. The night before Kim repacked my two bags into one and unknowingly saved us an additional $130.00. That’s my bubba. As for the fee we did pay…live and learn.

Fifteen hours, fours movies a piece, a hot towel (Ooh-la-la) and a lunch and a dinner later we found ourselves at the Incheon Airport in or near Seoul, South Korea. Due to the initial cancellation of our visas (Immigration Bureau’s mistake), we were directed to the “Reinspection” office. Having that visa issue brought up again was a worrisome event. However, in under twenty minutes we had our baggage and our bus tickets to Daejeon and were at the bus curb. For one reason or another, the clerk selling the bus tickets strongly felt (sarcasm) that we needed the deluxe seats located at the back of the bus, elevated along with two other seats for a sultan’s view of the other passengers. Only, she failed to share those feelings with us. Sigh. I felt like we were in India and were mistaken for some form of sub-minor-what-is-your-relation-to-the-prince-again royalty. Of course, we yo-yoed back and forth between her and I falling asleep and when the sun set, the Korean soap operas glowed like the moon on the television screen at the front of the bus.

Two and one half hours later Kim and I and approximately 300 pounds of luggage were distributed along the curbside of the Daejeon bus stop. A good citizen offered us his taxi services and after our decline translated our lost expressions into a need for a telephone. On top of that, he didn’t even accept the tip I offered after our wonderful welcoming party came to meet us. I gotta tell ya, that was a generous experience. I’ll have to remember to pay that forward.

Kim Jung (director), Crystal (coordinator) and MJ (supervisor) got us checked into our motel, cozy and pleasant, and with our shoes put to stable, we declined our party’s invitation for an eleven o’clock food run. Dumb. We ended up going out after all, only now we were down three extremely friendly coworkers/translators/tour guides. Maybe it was our stinky feet (18 hours of traveling…use your imagination) or the fact that we had just arrived that kept us from going with those lovely folks, but I still offer this advice: when a bilingual threesome of wonderful people offer to take you out for dinner in a foreign country…do it. Well, we ended up at a 7-Eleven, purchased two jumbo mam-ma jam-ma water bottles, squirreled them away back in our motel room (number 702) and headed out to eat at a 24-hour noodle type restaurant. We met a Korean official there (what kind of an official you ask… the question remains) who was with his daughter and who thought I looked European. We hit it off pretty well, landed his digits (lol), purchased a sushi type roll with his assistance (Ol ma ye yo?/How much is that?) and parted ways. We found a toy grabber machine and dropped a thousand won for six chances at an American five-dollar bill enclosed in a poke’ball sized wired cage. Another good experience for our first night in the Daej. Lol.

Saturday, we found a Dunkin’ Donuts, had some coffee (Ko-pi pu-laek/Coffee, black) and listened to American hip hop. The Korean DJ kept saying Amy Winehouse and I kept laughing each time she did, thinking how this place is so westernized. I tried desperately to rush Kim and I out of the door to find access to the internet, but alas, most PC rooms here cater to gamers and we decided not to plug our passwords into public computers nor sign up for a wireless internet service before we even had our apartment setup. So, we decided to walk the streets. Along the way we witnessed two women washing cabbage in the middle of the street in large shiny bowls and more Korean nationals than you can shake a stick at. We found the movie theater, which is on floors 10 through 14 of a large building on a yet to be known street name (the majority of businesses here seem to be layered on top of each other in single buildings), and discovered five-dollar (5,000 won) drink/popcorn combos and six-dollar movies. They play many blockbusters from America, all of which are in English with Korean subtitles. Sweet.

We solved the mathematical equation of the public phone system (due to our own silliness which had nothing to do with the intuitive nature of the system) and met up with Crystal for a peek at the school. It truly is a short walk from where our apartment will be. Other than quickly mentioning the well laid out curriculum, the fun classrooms and Crystal’s happy-go-lucky little son I’ll leave the details of the school and the omitted portions of the past few days to Kimmy’s post.

This brings us up to date. Four o’clock Sunday morning. Typing in the dark. Ready for a huge breakfast.

At the Korean Consulate

2008-05-13T19:26:00.003-04:00

At 2:59 this afternoon, we signed in for our visa interview at the Korean Consulate in Atlanta, Georgia. At 3:20, we returned to the check-in counter and waited for someone to ask us why we were standing there. By 3:38, we were called in by the Consul, Mr. Kim, and sat down at a darkly stained wood table with an ashtray in the middle of it. Mr. Kim asked us a few questions about school, work, where we lived, if we had traveled, and then proceeded to tell us about his travels as well, his opinion on Koreans learning English, and discussed a few other details regarding living in Korea. Actually, for most of the conversation, he addressed Tim, and made eye contact with me a handful of times; Mr. Kim subtly exhibited what I have read about Korean culture -- men are of greater import in society than women. (I know that this is part of their culture, but I'd be lying if I said it didn't throw me off a bit when it happened.) Tim wowed the Consul with his knowledge of Korean culture and country, and even thanked Mr. Kim in Korean (Romanization: kamsahamnida). We walked out of our interview with the Consul's approval, and unscathed; only Tim sported a pale shade of brown on his nose and I wondered how the interview would have transpired if Tim hadn't been there. What did I take away from this experience? Learn as much as possible about Korean culture and language while in the country, and remember that a little bit of refined sweet talk can go a long way.

So, about our visas...

2008-05-11T22:20:00.003-04:00

Well, for those who haven't been informed, there was a visa mix up. During a late night drinking game some employee of the Korean immigration bureau dared a co-worker to mix up a bunch of applicant's visas and call in sick the next day. The result? Our visas were invalid and our flight had to be rescheduled. Good thing for flight insurance. The bad news? Turns out the immigration bureau did not have our visas ready by May 9th either and we are now awaiting our fate with the Korean Consulate in Atlanta, GA. Tomorrow morning (Monday) we will be calling to reschedule our interview at the consulate and if all goes according to plan we will be flying out of Atlanta International Airport this upcoming Wednesday (the 14th). We will be cutting it close since everything has to go exactly right in order for us to have our visa numbers before our interviews and have our documents ready before our flight. Hmm, scary. In other news, our days at the Cullowhee mountain hideaway were exceedingly enjoyable. I believe Kim will be posting our first video blog (vlog?) and you will all get a glimpse into those secretive days. Voyeurs...sheesh.

Prior to Departure

2008-05-03T21:06:00.001-04:00

Tim and I haven't left yet. Actually, we have 5.25 days until we leave from Atlanta, GA and make our journey to Daejeon, South Korea. We'll keep you updated on our travels and adventures! Woo hoo! Peace out.