I'm in Seoul. The basics of my travel are as follows: I slept with one eye open the night before I left, waking on the hour every hour wondering if I slept through my alarm… I finally called it quits at 3am, got up, leisurely completed the S's: showered…. you know the rest… and left with papa for the airport at 4am. Received a VERY funny drunk dial from friends who were still out at 5am, said adios, and boarded my little puddle-jumper out of Akron, headed to Chicago.
With a five hour layover and an hour time difference, I was at O'Hare well before the ticket counters were open, so I befriended a Dutch-Canadian who was also en route to Korea and had a 6 hour chat. Boarded a huge Boeing 747 double-decker monster that looked like it would NEVER get off the ground, and spent 14 hours in the air, accomplishing nothing more than a quick cat-nap.
The flight attendants were amazing. Absolutely quintessential Korean girls with perfect features, figures, and hair. Their outfits were sage green silk blouses with tailored khaki trench coats and amazing wooden hair accessories (see below). The most amazing part of the experience was how they constructed a closed-reality with light and food: 15 minutes after take-off: juice and snacks. 2 hours in: the smells of breakfast. 5.5 hours: dinner. After that, the visors mysteriously were all shut... the cabin lights dimmed and people slept. About 4 hours later, the lights rose to half-strength. An hour later visors were up, light flooded the cabin, and more juice. etc etc. Just as you thought of something, it magically appeared in front of you. Very stealthy, Korean Air... very stealthy. They really know how to work a crowd.
above: a river in russia... anyone? anyone?
The "Love Motel" is interesting. Properly named the "All In Motel", it's clientele ranges from students and foreigners, to… well, I'm guessing prostitutes and their Johns. I haven't seen any, but nothing else explains their hourly rate and the sticky doors and walls. There is a mirrored wall next to my bed, a tastefully done sound proof panel on the ceiling above with a glowing green fluorescent behind it, and a pair of dirty flipflops pre-worn by who knows how many people... The window has shutters that have bright, grass green plastic panels screwed onto the back of them, and there's a sex channel that broadcasts on Sundays. As far as I can tell, they don't clean, the bedding wasn't changed, and the mattress is a block of wood. The pillows are covered in permanent shams, and there are no sheets. When I pulled the sham off to replace it with my sanitary, jersey knit pillow case from home, the pillow had a plastic texture to it. Also, after some 25 hours of travel, and not quite having my wits about me, I turned on the shower, which proceeded to blast me in the face with a powerful shot of cold water. Whoops. The place is certainly fodder for some very funny conversation with my fellow teachers.
above: the love palace
That aside, I love it here! It reminds me of New York mixed with Pittsburgh. Many of the little windy side streets and alleys don't have sidewalks, so you walk along the edge while trucks back down one-way streets and scooters whiz by.
The limited Korean and big smile I brought along have gone quite far. I've ordered a Mocha Latte, and even specified large or small, hot or cold--all while the girl speaks to me exclusively in Korean *smiles proudly*. It's fun. I love living in the city… and I'm smack in the center of it. I have yet to venture far… but I've taken the bus and obtained a "T-Money" card… I've been tempted to ask for T-Pain, but no one will catch the joke. Coffee is everywhere, to my surprise and delight, and nearly everything is in English as well as Korean. Oh, unless you want the DAMN good food, and that's only in Korean. In fact, no English anywhere in the place. Now I know why Japanese customers would literally sit down in the New York steak house in which I served and stare at me like, "ok, do your thing, american girl. give me food". That is very much what I did tonight.
A few Canadians, a North Carolinian and myself ventured out for Korean BBQ. STELLAR is the only word even close to appropriate. We ordered pork, which came with all the fixings, of course, and some beers. I've never known spicy like that in my life. They had garlic on the table, and when we put it in the charcoal BBQ pit with the meat, they graciously brought us some more, but this time in a small metal bowl with oil, and placed it over the fire. In my mouth it went.. and SHAZZZZAM. The most firey, unbelievably hot spice hit my mouth. That was some damn spicy oil…sort of like habanero spice, but it didn't linger, so it was great--just a good solid spice that let you live to tell the tale. I caught a few pointers from Lorne, the guy from Winnepeg, who mentioned that if you order rice, the awesome tofu soup shows up for free. It's basically all-you-can-eat until the meat you ordered is finished, so side dishes are replenished constantly. You leave, full and happy, and only 10,000 won poorer (10 bucks). Not bad. Not bad at all.
above: BBQ extravaganza, below: me and the n. carolinian, below-below: the canadians
Teaching is…. teaching. Not too much to say there other than I love the kids, and I need to brush up on my English language sentence structure... participle? pronoun? predicate?… the atmosphere is super casual… no one breathing down your neck--we left several times through the day to get a coffee across the street-- teachers eat lunch with their kids, and the food in the lunch room is very good. PB&J is on hand for the less adventurous. I'll be teaching the "Rose" class, which doesn't mean a thing to any of you, but they're the 7 year old second levels. That's 6 yrs. in the US with probably a 2nd or 3rd grade reading/comprehension level as far as i'm concerned. I get to yell, "ok, Roses! Listen up rosies…" etc etc. It's cute.
above: a shot from a convenience store near my school. 50 degrees and sunny all day
I also met a bunch of teachers today… several are artists involved with the Seoul Art Collective, which I will definitely be joining, and going to an art opening in a few weeks.
I get a phone in Itaewon tomorrow, and next on my shopping list is a straightening iron and hair dryer, because the adaptors I bought don't work here. The outlets are set into the wall about 2 centimeters, and the adaptor I have has no extension to account for that. Oh well! It'll be better not to constantly need the adaptors anyway. Whatev.
Ok! That's a long one. Bye for now.
"How to get to PSA from the airport
- When you arrive, pick up your luggage and exchange some currency.
Taking bus is the faster and cheaper way to Seoul from the airport than taking a cab.
- Please walk out to the bus stop # 5A or 11B with your luggage and buy the limousine ticket (14,000 won) at the ticket booth near the bus stop or you can pay directly to the bus driver.
- Please wait for the bus number # 6010.
- Please take the airport limousine bus #6010 to the Galleria Department Store
in Apgujeong-dong.
- Show the ticket or pay the ticket to the driver and tell him to drop you off.
"Drop me off at the Galleria Department Store in Apgujeong Dong"
압구정동 갤러리아 백화점에 내려주세요. (in Korean to show to the driver)
- Please give me a call before you get on the bus. (X’s cell phone number: XXX-XXXX-XXXX)
- It will take about an hour from the airport to the Galleria department store usually, but in case traffic is heavy (from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm) it may takes maximum 2 hours.
- When you get off at Galleria department store, Mr. X who is in charge of taking care of teacher's housing will be waiting for you.
(The administration manager Mr. X’s cell phone: XXX-XXXX-XXXX)
- Mr. X will take you to PSA.
Have a pleasant flight!"
At that point, I will be taken to a hotel, which I will stay in for the week. As far as I've been told, my class observation period starts 8 or 9 am the morning after I arrive... which will be... 7 or 8 pm in Ohio. Hopefully I'll have slept on the plane to acclimate to their time zone a bit. The following week, I will move into my new, very tiny apartment! First stop: buy a plant and a cutting board; to be used separately, of course.
