The Adventure Gets Wet...Day 21 in Korea

I woke up to the sound of rain drumming on the windows. Normally, I could sleep all day to the sound of raindrops pelting glass, but it was a holiday and I had agreed to go hiking with my friends Ashley and Shawn.  I checked with both of them to see if they were still interested while I sipped on my morning stick coffee. Shawn had to cancel because he had some work that he had to get done for his school, but luckily Ashley was still down for hiking. We decided to meet at E-Mart after the rain died down. Luckily, that did not take long and I was out the door before I could say Jack Robinson, armed only with my trusty pack and some snacks.

It started raining again at about the same time that I met Ashley in front of E-Mart. We decided to go into E-Mart to get water for our trip, as well as some snacks. (You can never have enough snacks) I bought a 6 liter jug of water, remembering how much water I'd consumed on the last hike to Namhansanseong Fortress. We returned outside to find that it was raining even harder than before. In fact, it was pouring down buckets. I looked at Ashley and asked her if she was up for hiking in the rain. She was! I was happy to know that I wasn't the only crazy person in Gwangju-si.

We decided to go to Namhansanseong Fortress, and came up with a plan to take a bus to Moran Station in Seongnam, then hop on another bus that would take us to the bottom of the mountain (where that cool little park was that I'd discovered). From there, we would hike up the mountain and into the fortress. We could hike around up there and see lots of stuff and then catch a bus from the top back into Gwangju-si. It seemed like a great plan for a great day. Or so we thought...

The first problem that we ran into was trying to find a bus that went from the middle of Gwangju-si to Moran Station. I knew some buses that went to Moran from the bus stops near my house, but they stuck to the highway and didn't go down into the city. I wasn't very worried, because I knew how to read Hangeul and I was fairly confident that I could find a bus stop that went to Moran. 20 minutes of walking around in the city finally produced results and we found a bus that was on a line that went to Moran Station. At this point the rain was coming down in buckets, so we sat and waited under the bus stop, in the company of a few Koreans.

When our bus finally arrived, we hopped on board. I was excited because it was my first opportunity to try out my T-Plus card (the little card that goes "beep"). However, it wouldn't take much to throw me off. After stepping onto the bus, I reached up to try out my card but the bus driver looked at me and said "Oh dee." I had no idea what this meant, so I just nodded and said "Ne." (Yes) "Oh dee!" repeated the bus driver. "Ne!" I repeated, fishing into my pockets and depositing 1,300 won into the box (I figured he must have been naming a price). "OH...DEE!" he exclaimed. "NE" I said, scanning my card. He waived me back and wouldn't let Ashley pay (apparently I'd paid for both of us). We rode for about 2 stops before he looked back and asked "Moran?" "Ne! Moran!" I said. He stopped the bus, opened the door, and pointed at the bus stop across the street. Apparently, we were on the bus that was the right number, but heading in the wrong direction. (I later learned that "Oh dee" means "Where." He was trying to ask us where we were going, probably sensing that we didn't want to head into the countryside.)

We were able to immediately catch a bus that was heading in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, the air conditioner was blasting and we were both wet. Ashley was suffering more than I was (over the years, I have built up a thick layer of..."insulation" on my body, much like whales) and so I looked in my pack to see if I'd packed a jacket. I hadn't. We sat in the cold air conditioning for about 45 minutes before we reached Moran. It was raining harder than ever and we sprinted to the nearest cover that we could find. As we huddled under the awning of a building, Ashley looked at me and said that she thought it might be a good idea if we didn't go hiking. She pointed out that we would only be miserable in this weather. As much as I wanted to go hiking, I knew that she was absolutely right. (Also, I was glad that she was the first one to say it and not me). We saw that there were movie posters on the building that we were hiding under, and decided to go see a movie instead.

We went inside the building, which was a multi-floored department store, and inquired as to the location of the cinema. We were told that it was on the top floor. We journeyed up 8 floors by escalator until we reached the 8th and highest floor. The only movie that wasn't Korean was "The Dark Knight Rises." Ashley hadn't seen it, and I wanted to see it again to finalize my opinion of it, so we decided that we would go see it.

(Dah-kuh Na-ee-tuh Lrah-ee-juh) Dark Knight Rise?

I suggested that we dry off first, because being wet in a movie theater would probably only make us cold again. There were some restaurants and coffee shops on the 7th floor, so we went there to warm up. Ashley had to use the bathroom, so I stood by a sign outside of the bathroom and waited for her. While waiting, and older man came up to me and said "Where are you from?" I didn't understand it at first (his accent was heavy), and told him that I was waiting for my friend in the bathroom. He looked at me funny, and started to walk by, but at that moment I realized what he had asked and said suddenly "Mi-gook!" (America). "Oh, America!" he said, smiling, "nice to meet you." I told him that it was nice to meet him, too, and we bowed and then he went off to the bathroom.

After about 10 minutes, Ashley came out of the bathroom. She told me that it was really warm in the bathrooms and that she wanted to go back. I thought this was a great idea (I was really cold at this point) so we each went to our respective bathroom. Ashley was right, the bathroom was really warm. It was also very clean. I spent the next 10-15 minutes standing in the bathroom (while also forming an intimate relationship with the hand dryer).

We each emerged from our toasty, gender-based havens and headed for the coffee shop. Ashley wanted to get a Green Tea Latte, so I read the Hangeul on the sign and told her how to say it in Korean (even though the sign was also in English). She walked up to the man and said the Korean name, and he smiled, nodded, and started making her drink. I decided that I wanted the same thing, so I walked up to the counter and repeated the order. The man looked at me funny and said "You mean Green Tea Latte?" I nodded glumly, my confidence deflated. Damn Monkey Apple Carburetor...

We drank our lattes and stood around for a while, chatting about life and such. Ashley is pretty much a badass. She went to college in Arizona, where she saw Maynard from Tool a few times. (He makes wine out there) She's been to a few countries, including Japan and India. She's even met the Dalai Lama. She's done all this cool stuff and she's younger than I am. I hope I can catch up some day.

After chatting for a while, we made our way back up to the theater, where we asked about Dark Knight times. The lady told us that the next showing was in 4 hours. We didn't want to wait around that long, so we made an executive decision to head back to Gwangju-si, where we would try to watch the same movie at our local theater. We went through Moran Station to get across the street to the bus stop where I knew that the buses to Gwangju-si would be. I knew some of the buses that went back but didn't remember all of them. I saw a bus pull up that had a number that looked familiar, so I suggested we hop on it. The bus started heading back towards Gwangju-si, but then suddenly turned and started driving down a major highway that was heading west (Gwangju-si is southeast of Seongnam). I swore and told Ashley that we'd gotten on the wrong bus again. We decided to get off at the next stop.

The bus didn't stop for probably 15-20 minutes. When it finally did, the stop going in the other direction was on the other side of a 10-lane highway, with no way to apparent way to get over to it. We waited until the next stop, where we could see a little bridge for pedestrians that led to the other side of the highway. We hopped off and headed over to the other stop. It was some time before the bus that we needed to get on pulled up, and we then had to ride back to Seongnam. We had to go through Moran Station again to get across the street to the bus stop. At this point, I was feeling like a Class-A idiot.

This time, we got on the ride bus and made the 45 minute ride back to Gwangju-si. We got off at a bus stop that was past the city, but before my apartment. Having never gotten off at this stop before, I wasn't quite sure as to the nearest place where we could cross the highway. We walked towards the place that I knew, which was in the direction of my apartment (but away from the city) until the sidewalk disappeared. Not wanting to walk on the street, where we would surely be killed by traffic, we retraced our steps. This time when the sidewalk ended, it seemed to be next to a junkyard that was down some steps. Feeling frustrated, I walked down the steps and saw a place where we could cross to the other side of the highway (it went beneath the road).

We crossed under, and headed back towards E-Mart. We cut through the park, where we could see that the river running through it had risen drastically and had a strong current. We crossed the little bridge and entered the E-Mart food court through a back entrance. To try to begin making up for my idiocy, I bought us some fresh gimbap. We ordered it to go, but sat and ate it in the food court. The lady at the stand that we ordered from sent out 2 bowls of soup to our table. (She must have felt compassionate after seeing how cold and wet we looked). It was Ashley's first time trying fresh gimbap and she loved it. I was glad that I had at least been able to do that much for her, after taking us on a rather out-of-the-way journey around the area.

Shawn met up with us in the food court, and then went to check on the movie times. He returned with bad news: The Dark Knight Rises was no longer playing at our local theater. Dammit, dammit, dammit.

Shawn had not eaten, and Ashley and I were both still hungry, so we went to a little Vietnamese restaurant in the food court. I had an awesome dish that consisted of spicy pork and rice. It was pretty awesome (and filling!). While we were eating, Shawn and Ashley started to giggle. When I looked up at them, Shawn said "You have a fan." I looked over next to me, and there in her high chair sat a little Korean baby girl, ogling me. I must have been rather interesting, because she had to turn almost all the way around to see me. She stared at me periodically throughout the entire meal, probably fascinated by my white skin, big eyes, and facial hair. I wish I could have taken a picture of her, because she was one of the cutest babies that I have ever seen.

After dinner, we said goodbye to Shawn and then headed towards the rear entrance to E-Mart. We stopped by the bathroom on the way out. It was there that I took this picture (the only picture that I took that day!)

That's not how you spell "Smoking"!

Ashley and I walked as far as the park together and then parted ways. I cut through the park to head home, crossing back over the little bridge. When I finally reached my house, I was wet, tired, and happy to be home. I was annoyed at the rain, which had ruined all of the plans that I'd had for my day off. I spent the rest of the day blogging and chatting with people before I finally went to bed and hoped that my day at school on Thursday would be much better.

The Adventure Loses a Norah Jones Fan...Day 20 in Korea

I don't know why, but for some reason I didn't have any stick coffee on Tuesday morning. The result: Nothing really noticeable. I didn't really feel any lack of energy, so to speak.

I'd been told on Monday that we had a national holiday on Wednesday and that I would be getting the day off. Tuesday morning I made plans with Shawn and Ashley to go hiking at Namhansanseong the next day. I was pretty stoked about a) hiking and b) getting to explore more of Korea with some of my American friends. 

The morning followed a pretty normal routine. By the time I'd walked down to the gas station and climbed into the back of Mrs. Yoon's car, I felt like I knew what to expect from the day. On the way to work, Mrs. Yoon invited me to go fishing with on Wednesday with her family and some friends. Upon further inquiry, I found that this meant that they would go to a stream with a net and try to scoop up fish who were swimming in it. This actually sounded pretty fun and I kind of wanted to do it, but I had already made plans with Ashley and Shawn and I really wanted to go hiking, too. I was unsure of how to respond, because turning down an offer can be very insulting to Koreans. I decided to tell her about my plans that I'd made the next day and see how she reacted. She seemed to understand that I had plans, but suggested that I could also invite my friends. She said that whatever I decided to do would be okay with her, so I considered the possibility of going hiking and then going fishing. I had options to think about for the rest of the day.

Justine was still playing Norah Jones songs in the office, and it still made me happy. While making lesson plans for the day, I overheard Justine say that it would be her last day at the school. This took me by surprise, as she had not shown any obvious signs that she would be leaving. From what I could tell she had been treating every day as another day at the office and had been working just as hard as any other day. I did not ask about the conditions of her leaving, but from what I could tell she was retiring and leaving on good terms. I also found out that Jane was there to replace her. I jokingly told Jane to go away because I wanted Justine to stay. Luckily, she understood that I was joking and didn't seem to get offended. 

Before the children arrived, we had lunch in one of the classrooms. For her final day, Justine had brought in ramen noodle takpokki and gimbap to share with everyone. She joked that she should have brought takanjeong for me. What a sweet lady. While eating, Justine told us that she'd been working at that particular hagwon since 1996. (except for a brief hiatus, where she'd gone to New Zealand...I think with her daughter) I thought about the things that I'd been doing in the year of 1996 while Justine had been working at the school, like riding the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia, leaving elementary school, beginning middle school, discovering alternative music, buying a Nintendo 64, and graduating from Cub Scouts into Boy Scouts. It felt like a lifetime ago, and at the same time it felt like it had all been only yesterday. I wondered what it felt like to work in one place for that long. 

After lunch, we went back into the office to finish planning our lessons. Some of the kids started arriving and going into the computer lab for their self-study. Some of them kept coming into the office to ask questions and search for mischief. Pictures!

This is actually a photo from Monday. Jenny and Jake are working together to give me a massage.

Jenny and me. Jake was playing with my phone.

These 2 girls spend about every waking moment together. They say that they're not best friends, though. Here they are in the office. I found out that taking pictures of them is a good way to get them to leave.

Oop! There they go!

Thank you, Jake, for yet another flattering photograph.

Oh Jake. How can you not love this kid?

Class was pretty standard. I tried to get a couple of pictures of one of my favorite classes, but they weren't really having it. I had to settle for these.

More hiding

The little girl with the glasses is really funny. She can be very excitable. After I took this picture, she screamed "Teacher! Why you take picture?!"

After class, I filled out the rest of my paperwork while Jake downloaded Angry Birds onto my phone. We spent the rest of the day playing it, trading off on levels. It was pretty fun.

Mr. Lee drove me home after work. The roads were very cluttered, due to the holiday the next day. I thought about Mrs. Yoon's offer to go fishing and decided that the best course of action would be to go ahead and go hiking, because it was likely that I would be finished by the time that they left to go fishing. That way I could do both things!

Tuesday night was pretty uneventful. I noticed that it started raining that night and hoped that it would not interfere with my plans for the following day.

The Adventure Becomes Tiring...Day 19 in Korea

I woke up around 8 am on Monday morning. For the most part, my morning consisted of its usual routine of showering, shaving, Skyping, and stick coffee. I did, however, hear some very important news from my family that made me very excited. It was news that I pondered all morning. For the first time since I'd been in Korea, I really understood that I was an entire continent away from my family and friends in the US and that I couldn't be with them.  When the phone call came to meet Mrs. Yoon at the gas station, I was still deep in thought. I was deep in thought all the way down to the gas station where I met them. As I climbed into the backseat of the car, I said good morning to Mr. Lee and Mrs. Yoon. They said good morning back. I looked over at Jake, who was sitting next to me, and said, "Good morning, Jake." "Jook ja!" he responded. Apparently I'd made quite an impression on Friday. On the way to school, Mr. Lee and Mrs. Yoon asked me about my weekend adventures with the Westerners. They were happy to hear that I'd met some friends. I was happy about it, too.

When we arrived at the school, Jenny and Justine were already there. Justine was playing Norah Jones songs. Awesome. Everyone wanted to see my new phone, so I showed it to them. They seemed satisfied. I should take this moment to mention that I think I have seen maybe 3 cell phones in Korea that weren't smart phones. Koreans love their smart phones. (And who can blame them!) Jenny used my phone to take this picture.

That's soy milk on my desk. Jenny gave it to me. It was pretty awesome.

I had to go teach middle schoolers at 12:30. They were much more responsive this time around than they had been before. I was pleased. Class went well and I was even able to snap a few pictures of them during one of their breaks.

I love this picture. Three of them are hiding, one is just sitting there, and one is flashing the victory sign.

This kid is awesome. He often looks like he's up to something, though.

I caught most of them unaware with this one. 

After I finished teaching their class, I felt drained. All of the excitement from the morning had taken its toll on me and I felt exhausted. I went to the office to discover that no one was there. I searched around the school and found Jenny, Jane, Justine, Jake, and Mrs. Yoon in one of the classrooms eating takpokki with ramen noodles. They invited me in, and I helped myself to some of the food, hoping that it would give me energy for the rest of the day. It did help a little bit.

The next wave of children came in for their pre-lesson self-study in the computer lab. I managed to get a few pictures of them in action.

Awwwwwwwwwwww...

These twins are adorable.

The children were all excited because it was Monday and we were giving them candy in some of the classes. I didn't have the energy to match theirs, and found myself losing control of the class frequently. It took everything I had to wrangle some of them back in, but somehow I managed to get through the day. I managed to get some candid photos of some of the younger kids.

I got them all to smile for this one.

I got these two to frown. The twins couldn't do it without laughing.

By the end of the day, I was so tired that I couldn't think. It took forever for me to fill out my paperwork. It felt like my mind simply couldn't process anymore information. We had a meeting in the office with Jane, Jenny, and two new teachers who taught in the upstairs classrooms. Their English names were Kim and Adam. One of them taught math, and I think the other one taught Korean. The meeting was held in Korean. Every now and then, something would be translated for me by either Mrs. Yoon or Jenny, but for the most part, I was oblivious to what was going. I hated not being able to speak and understand the language almost as much as I hated not knowing what was going on. Even though it probably wouldn't have improved my situation much more, I wished I had spent more time studying the language before I came. The language barrier combined with my exhaustion really took the wind out of my sails that day.

After the meeting, I sat at my desk staring at a copy of our work schedule for the week, and it looked like hieroglyphics to me. I wanted to sleep so bad. Apparently, my lack of energy was very noticeable because Justine asked if I was okay and told me that she was worried about me. She thought I was depressed. Mrs. Yoon and Jenny thought the same thing. I tried to explain to them that I was just tired, but they thought that I was homesick. They were probably right to some degree.

Mrs. Yoon decided to take us out for samgyeopsal, a meat that is a lot like galbi, only not as sweet. The name of the meat translates into "3 Layers of Fat." Yes, it was awesome.

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

Mr. Lee and one of the other teachers joined us. They ordered soju and poured a shot for me. I waited for Mr. Lee (the oldest of those who were drinking) to take his shot before taking mine. As I put my glass down, Mr. Lee almost immediately refilled it. I knew that it was rude to refuse the drink, so I kept taking shots with him. After about 6 shots, Jenny pointed out that they weren't drinking all of their shots, and that I didn't have to drink the whole shot either. I didn't understand. Mr. Lee explained that in Korean culture, it's rude for the host to let the glasses of the guests to go empty. After that, I only drank a little of the shot each time. Mr. Lee ordered some mulberry wine for me to shoot, since it was less alcoholic than the soju. I was thankful, not only for his consideration, but also because it was some of the best wine that I'd ever had. 

I felt a lot better after dinner (and somewhat drunk). As we left the restaurant, I asked Jenny how to say "Thanks for the meal" in Korean. (Literally translated, it means "I ate well.") She told me, and I said it to Mr. Lee. This seemed to please him very much. Once again, I was very thankful to be working for such a generous and caring family. The food, drink, company, and hospitality had done a lot to lift my spirits.

They dropped me off in front of my apartment. I thanked them again, and skipped inside. I made sure to drink lots of water before going to bed and hoped that I wouldn't have a hangover the next day.

The Adventure Stays Inside...Day 18 in Korea

I woke up Sunday morning, eager to put on my backpack and tennis shoes and go hiking up the mountain. Unfortunately, when I looked outside I could see that it was raining. I decided to wait out the rain, so I killed time by Skyping with people, doing laundry, and cleaning my apartment. I showered, shaved, and cleaned my bathroom. I made sure that every dish was washed and dried.

The rain still fell.

I practiced my Korean. I made my bed. I folded my old laundry that I'd hung out to dry. I watched Podcasts of Joe Rogan interviewing celebrities. The first Podcast that I watched had Joe Rogan interviewing Chael Sonnen from the UFC.

Chael Sonnen: Nice Guy

Chael Sonnen has a reputation for being a loudmouth and a jerk, but in the Podcast I could clearly see that he did most of that for show, and that one-on-one he was actually a very polite, thoughtful, and intelligent human being. I wound up really liking Chael Sonnen.

The rain never stopped.

The second Podcast that I watched featured Tito Ortiz. (Also from the UFC)

Tito Ortiz

Tito was known in the UFC for being a man to make excuses, dodge fights, and talk crap about others. According to Tito in the interview, a lot of that was really slanted by the UFC. He admitted that he trash-talked a lot, but he said it was to put on a show and hype up the fight. He said that he was very grateful for everything that had been done for him in the UFC. He admitted that he and the president of the UFC (Dana White) disagreed on many things, but he said that he regretted publicly insulting him and was thankful for everything that he'd done for him. It was very interesting to hear about his childhood and his former drug addictions. It was really cool to hear him talk about his dreams as a kid and how he'd worked hard to make those dreams come true. He said he pushed his kids in school, and made sure that they respected their mother and him. It was also cool to find out that he taught classes for kids at his gym. 

The third Podcast featured Maynard James Keenan from the bands Tool, A Perfect Circle, and Puscifer.

Maynard James Keenan

In addition to performing in bands, Maynard had recently started making wine out in Arizona along with a friend of his. He owned a few wineries, and it was interesting to hear him talk about the different processes  that went into making different kinds of wine. He also talked about some of his experiences in his bands, and also to hear about his training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with the Gracie family. You can see some of his technique featured in this video.

The sound and image for this video aren't very good, but Maynard's shoulder throw and rear-naked choke are top-notch.


Each Podcast was over 2 hours, so by the time I finished watching them all, it was time for bed. I went to sleep, wishing I had been able to go outside and explore Korea, rather than watching Americans talk about their lives.

The Adventure Ascends...Day 17 in Korea

I woke up Saturday morning with what felt like the beginning of a hangover. I drank a couple of cups of stick coffee and within an hour I felt like a new person. I couldn't wait to go hiking up the mountain! Also, I was very excited because I was supposed to meet some Westerners later that night.

 Mrs. Yoon called around 1:00 pm and told me to meet them outside of their apartment around 5:00. I decided to leave around 4:15 and stop by the I-Mart on the way there.

My apartment is 203.

The tall buildings in the background are part of the complex that my director lives in.

I-Mart

I bought a bottle of water at the I-Mart, and then headed over to my director's complex. I knew her building number, and I'd been there before (only while riding in a car), but walking there by myself was a different story. I looked for her building number and took the first entrance in the complex that appeared to lead to her building. Once I was at the back of the complex, I could see her apartment above me. There was a wall and a fence that kept me from getting there, so I went back out to the street and walked down to the next entrance. This time when I got to the back of the complex, I could see her building was now below me, and that I would have to hop a fence and climb down a steep wall to get to it. I was confused, so I walked back to the first entrance to see if I somehow missed something. Once again, it took me to a wall and a fence. I checked my watch and saw that I was already supposed to be there, so I looked over my shoulder, found a place where I could climb over the wall, hopped over the fence, and walked onto a playground. The playground appeared to be behind their building, so I walked around front. After a moment, Mrs. Yoon came out. She asked me if I'd seen Jake, who she'd sent to the front to wait for me. I told her about my little adventure and she laughed. Jake came running up after a minute or so, and we headed to the mountain path. 

There was a fence behind their apartment building that led to a path. Mrs. Yoon told me that the path started behind I-Mart. (I was happy to hear this, because I knew where that was) She said that there were many different paths on the mountain, but that that was an easy one to find. We started walking uphill on the path. The path led into a forest. Eventually, it led to a station with workout equipment. Jake (who'd run ahead of us) was waiting for us while using some of the workout equipment. I marveled at the fact that he'd run so quickly down the path in order to get to a place where he could work out some more. I wished that I had his energy. The hike was very nice and pretty. I took a few pictures along the way.

Mrs. Yoon and Jake, hiking down the trail

Jake

Bigfoot

Mrs. Yoon, wondering what the hell I'm doing

Mrs. Yoon, posing for a picture

As we hiked, I could see lots of paths leading in many different directions. I couldn't wait to explore them all.  We hiked for about 30 minutes before we took a path that led downhill. Along the path was a little place where water flowed into a plastic tub. Jake told me not to drink the water because it was unclean. He said that it was clean a few years ago, but that if I drank it now, I would die. I decided not to test his hypothesis. 

The path that we took came out by Jake's school.

Jake's school

We took a road from the school back to their apartment complex. 

The road back

Their apartment complex

Once we'd reached the entrance to their complex, I said goodbye and ran home to shower. After showering, I got dressed and walked down to E-Mart, where I was supposed to meet the Westerners. I found 2 Americans, Shawn and Ashley, waiting outside. We decided to get some dinner, and then go out for drinks. Dinner was at a little restaurant with tables that required you to sit on the floor. I'm still not completely sure what we had for dinner, but I know that it consisted of chicken, vegetables, spicy  sauce, and cheese. It was pretty fantastic. Also, we had soju along with our meal. This was the first time I'd had soju since the time that I'd tried it the previous weekend (when I thought it was beer). I found it to be very tasty and smooth this time around. 

After dinner, we went down to a bar that was on the 7th floor of a building. We had to ride in a tiny elevator for part of the trip to the top, and when I tried to get in it I was attacked by both elevator doors. Luckily, the elevator wasn't damaged by my diamond physique and we were able to take it up. The bar we went to was a Western bar. It was pretty cool because it had a lot of Western beers available, but it also had plenty of Korean beer as well. It also had server buttons on the table, a button that you push whenever you need service.

WA Bar

Korean Beer

A Server Button: quite possibly the greatest invention ever.

Who knew they had Honey Brown in Korea?

Two more people showed up, an American named Kim, and an Irish guy named Steven. Both were very cool. Kim loved Troll 2 as much as I did (Troll 2 is the worst movie ever. They actually made a documentary about it.) and she even had some suggestions for other terrible movies. Awesome. Somewhere in the conversation, Shawn told us about the T Plus Card. This was a version of the little card that goes "beep" that you could get at any 7-11. Basically, it was pre-paid. I filed this information away in my head, and planned to get one at my earliest convenience. 

As the night drew on, people started leaving the group. Finally, I was the only one left at the table. I ordered one last beer and became very engrossed in the Olympic handball match between Korea and Russia that was playing on the TV. There was a table full of Koreans down at the end of the bar, who were also very into the game. They were very sad when Russia won, so I wound up buying them 3 bottles of soju and sending it over to their table. How much did this cost? Less than $10...at a bar. I love Korea.

I paid my tab and left the bar, and tried to get my bearings. Unfortunately, pretty much every Korean street looks the same, so I picked a direction and started walking, hoping to see something that I was familiar with. I probably walked around for a good 20 minutes before I became frustrated. I was hungry, so I stopped at an all-night fast food restaurant. I pointed to the combo that I wanted on the menu, paid, and then waited for it. The guy behind the counter brought out some fries and a drink. I reached out to take one of the fries and the guy said something in Korean. Confused, I continued to reach for a fry, and the guy pushed my hand away. He motioned for me to sit down. I thought "Maybe it's rude to eat part of your meal if it isn't completely ready." I sat down and waited. After a minute or two, they laid an entree on the tray and another guy came and picked it up and left. I realized that I'd been trying to eat someone else's meal and felt really embarrassed. The guy behind the counter brought out my order a few minutes later and handed it to me. I apologized in Korean and left.

I walked down the street, eating my food (chicken nuggets) and decided that it would be wisest to try to find the E-Mart first. While walking around, I took some pictures of the area.

I'm pretty sure that this is the restaurant where Jake, Mr. Lee, Mr. Lee's daughter, and I had galbi on my second night in Korea.

A K-Pop band

Some cool statues

Eventually, I came across a group of guys sitting on the sidewalk. They had darker skin and didn't look Korean. They said hello to me in English. I greeted them in Korean. They asked me where I was from. I told  them in Korean that I was from the USA. They asked if I'd stop speaking Korean and start speaking English with them. I said okay. I asked them where they were from and they said that they came from Sri Lanka. I told them that it was nice to meet them and asked them where the E Mart was. They said not to go there because it was late and it was closed. I said that I just wanted to know where it was. They said that there was no point in going because it was closed. Finally I told them that I lived near it. They all said "Ohhhhhhhh!" One of them pointed. At the end of the street, not 2 blocks away was E-Mart. I felt pretty stupid. I tried to make a joke out of it, but they didn't understand, so I thanked them, wished them a good night, and left. 

While walking by E-Mart, I spotted a 7-11. I noticed that it was open, so I peeked in and saw a young guy behind the counter. I assumed that he probably knew some English, so I walked in, eager to get the little card that goes "beep." I approached the counter and said "T-Plus Card." He went and got one, came back, and asked me something in Korean. I looked at him, confused, and repeated "T-Plus Card." He asked me again. I asked him in Korean how much it was. He repeated the phrase. The confusion went on for 5 or 10 minutes before he somehow indicated to me that he was asking how much I wanted to put on it. I gave him some money and he asked me something else. I assumed that he was asking if I wanted anything else so I just said no. He kept asking me the question. Finally, after using his smart phone, and some creative pantomiming, I figured out that he was asking what I wanted to use it for. I told him that I wanted to use it for the bus. He took the money, set it up, and handed it to me. I gave him a big bow and a big Korean thank you, and then told him in English "I wish I could tell you how thankful I am right now." I don't think he understood, but I was happy to have my card and was amazed that he'd refused to give up. In the U.S., I'm pretty sure that someone would have told me to leave after 30 seconds. I couldn't believe how persistent he'd been. I said goodbye, and left.

On the way home, I cut back through the park.

I liked the reflections of the lights on the water.

The happy little colorful bridge in the middle of the park

This little symbol can be found on pretty much any piece of property that is owned by the city. I love it. Below it, in Hangeul, is "Gwangju-si," or Gwangju City (If you can't read English...I guess it's pretty pointless for me to explain it in English writing if you can't read it in the first place...or for you to be reading this blog. Anyway, on with the pictures!)

Here it is again!

Walking home, along the bike path.

I got home and immediately crawled into bed. I thought about the people that I'd met that night, the hike that I'd taken, and the fact that I was in Korea. I couldn't wait to wake up on Sunday, so that I could go explore the paths on the mountain. That night, I dreamed of more adventures in Korea.

The Adventure Goes Mobile...Day 16 in Korea

I woke up Friday with a hunger...not for food, but for American Football. I was messing around of Facebook and kept seeing posts about the Falcons playing the Ravens in their first pre-season game. I could only stand it for about 20 minutes before I finally broke down and purchased NFL Game Pass.

NFL Game Pass is a subscription service that allows users to watch NFL games live through the Internet. There are various packages that one can purchase, but I went with the big one that allowed me to watch live games, archived games (they archive the latest games immediately), playoff games, the Super Bowl, and lots of shows, interviews, and commentaries about football. I sat in bed with my morning coffee while watching the Falcons 2nd and 3rd strings bumble about on the field. It felt very different watching football in the morning with coffee while getting ready to go to work rather than football in the afternoon and evening while enjoying beer and junk food.

The game had gone into halftime when Mrs. Yoon called. I hurried down to the gas station to get picked up.

This day was supposed to be a special day because I was finally supposed to get a bank account. Jenny was going to take me to the bank before classes started and help me out. This made me very excited because it meant that I would finally be able to have a little card that went "beep" on the bus and subway. No longer would I have to dig in my pockets for change!

I made sure to bring my passport and when I arrived at work, I sat in my desk fidgeting until Jenny was ready  to go. She got directions to the bank from Mrs. Yoon and we set off down the street for the bank. (Jenny brought her umbrella in case it rained) Once we found it, we went inside and Jenny talked to the woman behind the desk while I stood there and smiled. They spoke for a while until Jenny turned to me and said "Give her your passport." I complied, and then had to fill out a massive load of paperwork. Once that was finished, I was given a checkbook that had my balance printed on the first page ( 0 Won). Jenny thanked the woman, so I thanked her as well, and we left. Jenny told me that I couldn't get a debit card or a little card that goes "beep" until I went and got my Alien Registration Card. Damn! I wanted that card so bad...

We started to head back to the school. We'd gone about a block when Jenny stopped and said "Oh no! I forgot my umbrella!" (Jenny is good at pronouncing most English words, but "umbrella" gives her some trouble. She says something like "umbleller," which I find to be quite amusing) We back to the bank. While she went in the bank, I waited outside and took this picture. 

Traditional Korean Coffee Chairs

Jenny came back out and told me that everyone in the bank had laughed at her. I found this to be quite amusing. On the way back, I saw a sign that I just had to take a picture of.

Oh, those Koreans and their cigalettes!

When we arrived back at school, Mrs. Yoon wanted to know how everything had gone at the bank. I told her that I didn't have a debit card yet, and that I couldn't get one until I got my Alien Registration Card. She told me that she would show me the place where I could get it sometime in the near future. I was thankful.

Classes went pretty well, with the exception of one class who thought it would be funny to repeat everything that I said. I got them good with "Patrick-teacher, please give me more homework!" They actually repeated it so I gave them more homework. Hilarious.

After my classes were over, I spent my time in the office finishing all of my paperwork and organizing my desk. Mrs. Yoon asked me if I still was interested in getting a cell phone. I told her yes. She immediately conscripted Mr. Lee and told him to take me to the nearest cell phone store (which was downstairs and on the other side of the building). Jenny, Jake, Mr. Lee, and I all marched into the tiny cell phone store. Mr. Lee and Jenny talked to the lady behind the counter (who was beautiful) while Jake pointed out different phones to me. After a few minutes, they said goodbye and we left. I asked what had happened and Mr. Lee told me that they were too expensive. He asked if I would like to stop at the cell phone store in Gwangju. I said that I would if it were convenient for him. We said goodbye to Jenny, and went to collect Mrs. Yoon. As we were closing up the school, Mr. Lee pointed out that there were some students in one of the classrooms. Apparently, they were supposed to come at 3 pm that day, but instead came for a night class. Sadly, Mrs. Yoon had to stay and teach them. (Luckily, they'd both taken their cars that day)

We left Mrs. Yoon and drove to a cell phone store in Gwangju-si. Mr. Lee talked to the guy behind the counter while I sat there and smiled. The guy kept looking at me while he was speaking, but I had no idea what he was saying. We finally were able to get a smart phone with an unlimited data plan for less than my plan for my less-than-intelligent phone in the US. Awesome! The guy told me that I would not be able to activate my phone until Monday at 11 am, but that I would still be able to use the apps on it that didn't require the Internet. The sacrifice was that I had a limited number of text messages and only 300 minutes of talking time per month. (They don't have rollover minutes, free calling to people with the same service, or free nights and/or weekends). However, with my unlimited data plan, I would be able to use an app to text and make free calls to people in the US, Japan, and Korea. Awesome! I was very happy with my new phone, especially because of the fact that it had an 8 Megapixel camera and video capability.

My new phone

As soon as I got back to my apartment, I broke out my phone and started playing with it. I couldn't wait to get service for it.

Mrs. Yoon called a little while later and suggested that we all go out to eat. She gave me directions to the restaurant and told me what time to be there. I waited about half an hour, and then scampered out the door. The walk to the restaurant only took about 10-15 minutes. Mr. Lee, Mrs. Yoon, Jake, and their daughter (whose name I still don't know) were already there. As soon as I sat down, Mr. Lee ordered beer for us. I finally got to use my new favorite Korean toast: "Jook-Ja!" ("Let's die." Apparently there's something that you can say before that changes it into "Let's die from drinking.") Mr. Lee was pretty good at drinking. Mrs. Yoon said that when he was younger, he could drink a case of beer within about 4 hours. I was impressed. 

We talked a lot about Korea, the U.S., the school, and life in general. I found out that their daughter had traveled a lot and would be travelling again very soon. They told me about Korea's rivalry with Japan. I don't think they ever mentioned North Korea. We joked and laughed a lot. Mr. Lee told me that I had an enormous bladder because I'd stayed sitting while he'd gone to the bathroom several times. (I told him about breaking the seal) We even took some pictures.

Mr. Lee, Jake, and a fat guy who thinks he's from Alaska.

Jook Ja!

After saying "Jook ja" several times, Mr. Lee invited me to stay with him for one last beer while Mrs. Yoon and the kids went home. Before they left, Mrs. Yoon suggested that we climb the mountain the next day. I happily agreed. She said that she would call me. I was excited because I'd been dying to climb that mountain and had no idea where to go up it.

Mr. Lee and I sat around and talked for a while longer. After finishing, Mr. Lee asked if I wanted to go downtown. I agreed. We hailed a taxi and rode into downtown Gwangju. I offered to pay, since they'd bought the meal and beer, but the price only wound up being about 2,000 won (less than $2). Mr. Lee led to a building and up some stairs, where he spoke to an older guy who led us up more stairs to a room filled with pool tables. I noticed that some of the tables had no holes in them, while others were the traditional tables that we are familiar with in the U.S. He asked if I'd like to play Korean billiards or Western billiards. I told him that I was up for either. We played Korean. 

Korean billiards was pretty interesting. It only involved 3 balls. I'm still not 100% sure on the rules, but basically you had to use one ball to hit the other two balls and one of them had to hit at least three sides of the table. When that happened, you received a point. We played for maybe 20 minutes. Mr. Lee had about 5 points and I had about 2. He gave the older man some money and we left. I asked him, somewhat jokingly, how much money I owed him, while I silently prayed that we hadn't been gambling. Luckily, we hadn't, and he said that it was just for fun. Awesome.

We went to another bar, where we had a couple more beers and dried squid. I had heard about people eating dried squid in Korea and had been nervous about trying it. I was very surprised to find that it was delicious, and made awesome bar food. Eating it was kind of barbaric, because you had to rip part of it off with your hands in order to eat it. You would dip it in an awesome spicy sauce before finally consuming it. It went great with beer.

I'm pretty sure that ours was purple

Mr. Lee told me that he thought I was a good person and that he was happy to have me at the school. I told him how much I appreciated him and his family and told him that I was very grateful for all of the care that they'd shown. We basically talked about how awesome we thought the other person was for the next hour, and Mr. Lee asked some questions about culture in the U.S. It was a good night and I felt like we bonded well. After finishing our drinks, I paid our tab and we headed out. 

While looking for a taxi, we came across a young man passed out in the street. He'd obviously had way too much to drink. Mr. Lee and I poked, prodded, and shook him until he finally woke up. Once he was awake, Mr. Lee made sure that he had a place to go (and that he could find it) and once he'd confirmed it with the guy, we left. Taxis weren't hard to find, and it took no time for the taxi to make it to the gas station. I said goodbye to Mr. Lee and trudged up the hill to my apartment. I was really happy to be working for a good family with good people. It was about 4 am when I finally got in and crawled into bed. Sleep was already waiting for me as soon as I laid down.