But It's Still Moving!

Out last night for Perry's send-off. He had stuff to do in the evening and Sarah and Stuart (her BF, here working on a software deal) had stuff to do so we didn't even get on the subway till 10:30. We went down to Kyungsung, a neighborhood near Suyeong with several universities and lots of bars as a result. This might be a good time to comment on the education system here. High School is really the end of a Korean's education and it is hell. The entrance exams for college are taken at the conclusion of high school and they are gruelling. College, once entered, is pretty much a joke. So, like I was saying, we went down to this "hoe" (pronounced kind of like "whey" with more "h") restaurant down there (one or two alleys west of Subway station). Hoe is kind of a Busan specialty and these places are all over. You know it is a hoe place if there are tanks of live fish out front. The food you eat is alive when you walk through the door. We ordered a platter that had three kinds of fish, served raw. The heads of the fish were on the platter as decoration. Every place you go gives extra stuff, called "service," and this place was no exception. Jellyfish salad, sea slug (started moving when brought into contact with wasabi... like eating a briny pink rubber band), sea urchin (looked like snot and tasted like the ocean), shrimp (steamed whole), quail eggs with the hottest peppers I have eaten since I got here, salmon roe, live baby octopus (they chopped it up right before they brought it and it was still moving... a lot. It latched onto the plate and when I got it off there it latched onto my chopsticks. Tasted great.), and a bunch of sauces, veggies, and etc. After the main course they brought out three different cooked fish dishes, salmon with a mustard sauce, marinated tuna, and something else. One of the raw fish on the platter was a flounder, I am not sure what the other two were but one head looked a lot like a bass. Might have been sea bass. The last thing they brought was a soup that had been made fresh with all of the things left over after they cut up everything we had just eaten. All of the bones, skin, and guts were in there. You only spoon up the broth. It was really good but it was too spicy for me so I didn't eat too much. I was under the impression that these places were prohibitively expensive but the platters we got were 15000 won and they were meant for two people each. There were six of us and we were stuffed.

We moved on down the alley and came to a club called Old 55, a foreigner bar. There was a Canadian band cranking out original blues numbers at volume and then a hippy chick got up with them and started doing Cranberries and Alanis and stuff like that. We were pretty blasted when we left the restaurant (Ro Ju, a girl from work kept making everybody drink a layered Soju bomb with beer and coca-cola. I had had Soju bombs before. The coke just made it even more drinkeable and as a result even more devastating.) At the club we had pints of Cass, a local pale ale that isn't bad cold. The best thing: I saw an expat who was even fatter than me! I seriously thought I was the fattest person in the whole damn country but this guy had a massive gut. Yes!

We cabbed it home and moved some furniture around. I got an arm chair, an iron, a vacuum cleaner, some dishes, an umbrella, and a better desk. We drank a couple bottles of soju when we got here and finally got to bed about 3 AM. Hurt bad this morning but I had a great day at work. Went to Mcdonald's for lunch and had a Big Mac that didn't taste like a Big Mac. I did my laundry today for the first time. I couldn't read the label on the machine so I just pressed in some random settings and hoped for the best. It washed my clothes for two hours. I hung them up out on the roof. About 5000 people can see my underwear from their windows. I went to the store tonight and bought some veggies. I am spending a quiet night at home tonight and it is not easy. I am better when I stay distracted. Maybe that is why I am sitting here writing about my underwear. I might go down to the subway later to get my picture taken in a photo booth. I need pics for my alien card.

Crisis today at work: one of the Korean teachers quit and it threw a wrench in the class schedule. Two foreign teachers left this last week and Sarah, Clayton and I are now pulling the load four teachers were before. We can't pick up the Korean language classes, thank gawd, or I would probably be getting more classes. Jenny, my supervisor, was in bad shape. I got the impression that the director didn't want to hire another Korean teacher and that the supervisors were going to have to take up the slack. Jenny has so much to do already that she will be there till midnight doing office stuff if she has to teach all day. We had a meeting today and they asked for some stuff that I will have to work on. I get a week off at the end of this month and I am going to try to go to Japan. Jenny used to be a travel agent and she said she would help me with tickets. It sounds like everyone else in the country is off that week so it might be hard to get tickets to certain places. Jenny said don't even try to go to Jejudo, it will be a zoo. I will do that this winter.

Perry left tonight for Thailand. He is going to spend a week there. I guy I met at the bar last week said that Thailand is the spot and he is planning on retiring there. I might have to go sheck it out. I will get the lowdown from Perry when he comes back next week.

Sunday Stuff

Last night Perry and I hopped a bus down to the subway station. I was able to get a transit card from a vending machine. This will allow me to make free transfers from bus to bus and from bus to subway. We went down to Seomyeon which is a huge underground and aboveground shopping complex. We went directly out of the subway up into the Lotte Department Store, a huge upscale shopping center. On the top floor is a movie theater and the one beneath it is full of restaurants. We ate at a Sushi place. The sushi was going by on a conveyor belt and you simply pick the one you want and are charged according to the color of the plate. I thought I was going to die. It was so good. I caused quite a stir when I asked for sugar for my green tea. The entire wait staff went to look for it and came back about ten minutes later with a tiny porcelain bowl with a tiny silver spoon. Inside of it was a small quantity of sugar. I think they sent someone to the coffee shop down the way and got a couple of packets and poured them in the bowl. We walked around in the shopping center for a while, saw 75,000,000 won Rolex watches, and a 59,000,000 won TV. The biggest section by far on the men's floor was the shoe section. This is a country obsessed with footwear. Women wear high heels with any outfit for any occasion. I have seen some showstoppers on the men, too. Patent leather side-zip boots with gen-u-wine imitation zebra fur uppers. Stylin'. After this we went to see a movie. "Wanted" with Angelina Jolie, an action film with a premise that is better not to think about too deeply. Some of the action sequences defied the most willful suspension of disbelief, but that's ok. It is what it is. It doesn't invite or deserve thoughtful criticism. I nearly fell asleep in the show. I forgot my camera (really I just hate carrying it around. I already get stared at openly by nearly everyone). If I had taken it you would be seeing the wonderful street vendors selling all manner of fried and sauteed foods in the streets around there. This morning I went in search of kitty litter and found none. I need to find some quick as the situation around here is critical. I went for a walk today and found some interesting things I am going to tell you about after I go again with my camera. I just ordered a Bulgogi pizza and it came in a box tied up with a red ribbon. In the little bag of goodies that came with it was two packets of hot sauce, two packets of Parmesan cheese, and a little tub of sliced sweet pickles.

Listening to: "I Loves You Porgy" by Gerschwin via Dave Grusin.
Weather: Cloudy. No rain.
Mood: Fair to crappy. Maybe its the music.

"Time for me to Fly" (Or "I'm Leaving on a Jet Plane")

Sorry for the lapse between entries. It has been rather busy around here. Moving, packing saying goodbyes, thesis [non]defence (long story), and all the rest of it has kept me hopping. I talked to Brian (been in Korea for about three weeks) via email and asked if he had any last minute advice. He said that the best thing I could bring with me is an open mind. He said that there would be challenges, but that the Koreans are very non-confrontational and a "subtle approach" to disagreements works best. That is good. Subtle is my middle name. He also said that most things were written in both Korean and English, and that getting around was fairly easy. He is in a much smaller town than I will be in so we will see. He said to pack lots of toiletries as it is difficult to find things like toothpaste. I have got about a six months supply, more if I am careful and only brush on Saturday night.

I spoke to another friend of mine, Troy at the bike shop. He has been around to a lot of places and he said that Korea is one of his favorites. He said it was like the Midwest. Down to earth people, good food, conservative with a redneck party attitude. I will see if this holds true. One thing I have always found interesting is the way a culture's character is reflected in their cuisine. Mexican gassy, British bland, French saucy. Springfield cheesy? These things are certainly oversimplifications but not unuseful. Korean food has been described as raw, spicy and pickled. If this describes the people I will fit right in.

I have made some decisions in packing that I think bear discussion as they might backfire completely. The packing list has undergone several revisions, the latest and most dramatic coming after I encountered the 100 Thing Challenge. This guy has decided to pare down his personal possessions to 100 items. The blog is essentially a list of the things that don't count in the 100 items (books, underwear, toy trains), but it got me thinking. Some of the guidelines he set down for himself I applied to my packing list to try to achieve a safe bare minimum. Hopefully it will be only my minimum which ends up bare as a result. For example: the guy tries to keep essential clothing items to one per type. I looked at my packing list and asked myself: how many pairs of blue jeans do I really need. I had two. I am taking one. Ditto sweaters, PJs, dress shorts, dress shoes (one pair, basic black), dress shirts (one, basic white), ties. He also tried to make a single piece of clothing serve multiple purposes. I found a pair of pants that unzip to become shorts. My biggest challenge was outerwear. I wanted and finally found a Columbia shell with a zip-out fleece that could stand alone on cold days. The shell could stand alone on wet days. Together they will get me through Winter. (Best of all I got it on sale $120 off...shopping for Winter clothes in June: if you can find it they are practically trying to give it away!). I am taking three hats: a stocking cap, my trusty Cardinals cap, and a Boat Tavern floppy hat that I am going to use as a travel gnome.

Electronics: I came very close to purchasing an inexpensive camcorder today but talked myself out of it on the basis that my digi camera takes high def video. A nice person purchased me a universal power adapter (They use the two round-pronger there) and a travel power strip. I have my trusty laptop, world band radio (BBC news might be the only thing that keeps me sane), and mp3 player. I haven't loaded up on tunes the way I wanted, but oh well. I plan to purchase the MLB.tv package when I get over there so I can listen to the games so don't email me the damn scores! I will be watching on tape delay.

In packing I have used Space Bags and this has helped a lot. I have a very limiting weight restriction (50# per bag) so it may end up that there is actually empty space in my suitcases. This will be good if customs decides to open up the space bags and the clothes explode like popcorn. Not good. Last Friday, I purchased a 2200 page Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces to take on the trip, figuring it would buy me a week or so to find a bookstore. I have already read a third of it...oops. There may be more room/weight for books in my smaller case. Another trip to Prairie Archives tomorrow. These books might be like gold when I get over there.

Well. It is the middle of the night and I can't sleep and this is a good thing. It is tomorrow afternoon there now. I may by now have my sleep pattern so jacked up from stress induced insomnia that I won't have any jet lag at all. Onward!

Things I am NOT worried about.

I always try not to worry about anything. There is, in my opinion, not much point. What is going to happen is going to happen and worrying is wasted energy. Prepare for what you can anticipate and leave the rest to fate. Often the things that you were worrying about work themselves out and the things you didn’t even think about whack you upside the head. That said…
Here are some of the things I am "not" worried about as I prepare to go to Korea to work and live for a year. I realize that most of this will be irrelevent and that something far worse will be the actual problem, but just so I can look back and make fun of myself later, here goes:

· Banking: There are apparently limits to the amount of money one can send back home. This, in addition to the exchange of currency and the actual apparatus of wire transfers, has caused me to wonder if I will be able to easily access my money and move around cash.

· Shopping: I wear a size of pants that will likely be very difficult to procure in Korea. Ditto underwear, shirts, socks, and etc. I have been informed that even getting sheets can be difficult. Apparently personal hygiene products, if available (deodorant’s not), tastes horrible (toothpaste). I have heard rumors that there are Walmarts in Korea. I have tried to boycott them as much as possible, but given the choice between supporting the great satan or going commando, well…sorry. They probably don’t even have 38-40 Hanes' Boxer Briefs.

· Transportation: When I originally saw the contract summary provided by the recruiter, it said that my apartment would be five minutes away from the school on foot. The school, when I spoke to them, said that it was actually fifteen minutes away by bus. We have all seen videos of people being literally crammed into public conveyance in Asian countries during rush hour. I no like. She said that most of the teachers had purchased a scooter. There was one in the classified section of pusanweb for 500000 won (about $500), so if this turns out to be the best solution, that isn’t so bad. Then there is the driver’s license (may be hard for me to get) and the driving conditions…

· Food: This worry has two separate components. A) How will I procure it?; and B) What will happen to me guts after I consume it? Language barrier: when I go out I may be able to get by with hand gestures and picture pointing, but they have a thriving home delivery system, and gesticulation and pointy-pointy isn’t going to work on the telephone. Must learn hangul! Second, the spicy. I have had kimchee. I will literally bleed out if I have to live on it. Note to self: procure and pack one year supply of Pepcid AC.

· Teaching: Never taught Kindygarten before. My ESL experience is limited to an Asian woman in an 099 class who, despite being able to speak and understand only a very limited amount of English, excelled at the written form. The contract mentioned again and again the desire on the school's part for innovative methodology. I have been looking at various ESL and linguistic sites to get a grasp of the milieu, but there will likely be a hard landing.

· Packing: My recruiter told me to get the Lonely Planet guide to Korea, in which there is apparently a thorough packing list. I will see when I get it. I have most of the expensive stuff already: new camera, new laptop, world band radio, mp3 player, internal framepack, luggage, guidebooks, phrasebooks. I still need to figure out if there are holes in my wardrobe due to climate differences. Not literal holes (of which there are many), but...oh, you know what I mean.

· Accommodations: This is really the big IF and probably my primary source of anxiety. I have seen quite a few "look at my new apartment" videos from Busan on YouTube, and the qualitative variance is extreme. If I end up in some windowless one room hovel I will literally die.

But, like I said, there is no sense in worrying too much about anything until I get there and find out what is up. I know there will be bumps. Positive attitude maintenance is the key. Starts now I think. I am not going to go into this with a sense of dread. I know it will be a great adventure, no matter what. Adversity is just a little extra wasabi.