2009

... is off to an interesting start. I feel very fashionable losing my job in the middle of a global economic crisis. Mostly I feel totally uncomfortable with my situation but I'm trying to treat it as part of my Asian adventure... we'll see if it sticks. However it is not without its entertaining moments. During a call to my boss we had this comical exchange:

Me: You need to pay me.
Boss: I need run.
Me: What!? No! We need to meet.
Boss: No, I need run.
Me: No. Really, we need to meet.
Boss: I need ... L-O-A-N rlrlroan.
Me:Ohhhhhhhhhhhh yes, yes you do. And we need to meet.

That's the latest. We're meeting tomorrow.

Happy New Year!

(Though it's 15:00 on Jan 1 in SK it's not even midnight in BC where my blog thinks it lives so the date is off -ah what it is to live in the future! ;-)

To See What I Can See...

My second airport post comes to you live from YVR.

Vancouver is very pretty today. The sun shone through a very thick and low lying pearl coloured fog this morning that covered the fields between Tsawwassen and the airport. It may have been a result of the significant snow pack on the ground finally being exposed to decent BC temperatures.

I was relieved to see the crowds have dissepated since the xmas mess. The lines were long but not unbearabe i.e. not (literally) days long. I did manage to hold things up a good deal at security when my bags and I were asked to go through twice and then be personally checked (my bags not me) by a guard.

I am returning to Korea to try and complete my year of teaching abroad. Being jobless is interesting but I don't think it will be too hard to fix that situation. My more pressing concerns revolve around money, my boss and the future of my shoebox.

I wont know anything more until I track down my boss in Busan early next week.

KABLOOIE

So all had been too calm here on my blog. What else than drama at work to change that up?

Here it goes:

I don't have a job.

ARGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGH.

This was not the plan. I knew that what had been the current plan was probably a little too good to be true. But I still had reasonable hope that I would have some kind of job in 09. But alas that was not to be.

So here I sit in Victoria with a ticket to Seoul on Sunday but no solid promise of employment in the new year. And so it goes.

It's really real

A major advantage of this mini break in Canada is the opportunity to buy travel gear in English stores and in reasonable sizes. I went to MEC today and bought a beautiful backpack that will take me all around SE Asia. I also bough some lulu crop pants (reversible so really it's like 2 pairs) which will be my outfit for 3 months straight. 

Traveling SEA now feels very real and very exciting!

Snow!

That's right, snow is falling and on the ground in Victoria. It's at the pretty stage, clean, white and quiet. Very winter wonderland.

I <3 Ferries

I went to Vancouver this week, which meant I got to ride the BC ferries again, which is always a plus in my book. 

A. from MTA is now at UBC in T.'s old program. It was really great to catch up even if it was only for a night (I inconveniently arrived in the middle of exam season for students). We hadn't crossed paths since graduation more than a year and a half ago. Suddenly a year and a half seems to pass really quickly and I'm pretty sure that's a sign of getting old. We made plans to hopefully cross again in Europe next summer. Ah to be part of a globalized world...

Inevitable Post

As a general rule I don't like comparing Canada and my current country of residence. It was true for DK and it's true for SK. I tend to find the exercise pointless and almost always biased toward your current audience. That said, with the opportunity to return to Canada three quarters of the way through my stint in Korea, I am particularly aware of the differences these first few days back on Canadian soil.  In an effort to stop talking about Korea in every conversation, a common/annoying problem for people returning from abroad, here is a concise list of my observations.

• Seeing white people everywhere is weird. I feel like I should know them. Seeing white babies and old people is also pretty novel.

• Not feeling moderately guilty every time I flush toilet paper is quite nice.

• Being able to eavesdrop on conversations in the street or on the bus is fun -sort of like being let out of a bubble.

• Eating all foreign (aka not Korean) food all the time feels decadent.

• Tax is a pain.

• My suspicions are confirmed, my English has gone down hill, I said "big size" in a Canadian store.

• Traffic is stupidly calm here. The cars actually stop for yellow lights.

Typically, I can't remember half the things I want to now that I'm writing them down.

Two Wednesdays

I'm in Canada! What a shock to return so suddenly. But I'm very excited. I think it finally dawned on me aboard the BC ferry passing through active pass (~20 hours after leaving Busan). Also, man it's a beautiful country.

I'm pretending that I'm not tired and that I have simply lived two Wednesdays where most people only lived one. I left Busan on Wednesday morning and caught a flight Wednesday night. Fell asleep and woke up and it happened to be Wednesday morning... again. That's my strategy and I'm sticking to it.

Live from Incheon Int'l Airport

Just because I can. 

I am fairly impressed with Incheon (Seoul's airport). It's very big, bright and clean. There are helpful people stationed literally every 20 feet with huge banners tied around their bodies reading: "CAN I HELP YOU?" 

The five hour bus ride here was pretty good too. The driver was pretty good but prone to all too exciting sudden stops on the highway. I met a bunch of Uzbeks (or Uzbekis?) at the Nopodong bus station which I thought was pretty cool. Unfortunately they thought I was Russian. Which from a sketchy Korean would not be cool or exotic; its often used as a euphemism for how shall I say... woman of ill-repute. I've learnt to be very clear about being from Ca-na-da!

I arrived pretty famished and my main mission after passing security was to locate food. I'm giving Incheon minus points for only providing one "AmJoe" with crummy sandwiches stuck amid a myriad of designer shops. Who buys $1000 purses at an airport anyway?

Now to kill time before my flight. Maybe I'll peruse the Chanel bags...

It's a Beautiful Day

Today was stunning. I'll admit my mood was boosted substantially by the prospect of going home for xmas tomorrow but it was seriously nice out too. I had a very pleasing morning bagel set (latté incl) with J down at my favorite JavaCity. The balmy weather afforded us warm, sun-soaked seats on the beachy patio. Not bad for December 2nd. 

I think going home will do wonders for my appreciation of Korea. I must admit my enthusiasm has been waning in the past couple months. I know I am extremely lucky to have my sketchy school close in time for a month long xmas vacation. Though this reward is hardly without its price (months of job insecurity, multiple bosses...). I am leaving the country not 100% certain of a job in the new year and definitely with my fingers crossed. I feel better that B will be here the whole time and can keep me informed. 

Tomorrow morning I head off to Nopodong bus station to catch a five hour express to Incheon Airport. My flight leaves at a comfortable dinnertime hour and delivers me to Vancouver magically many hours before I left. Then a bus/ferry combo will take me all the way to Victoria. I think it's going to be a long day. Thanks Mor, the book arrived just in time!

Have a Hep-B Day!

I have a flight! I have confirmation of my month off. I don't have confirmation of my future salary/hours/job. I'll take what I can get.

One of the consequences of a looming international flight is I suddenly have to do the many things I could have done last week but at the time didn't have to ergo I didn't.

I spent my morning picking up the results of my medical check for teaching in France next year. I'm pretty sure it wasn't necessary to give me blood/urine tests and x-ray my lungs. I think they just needed to know I wasn't dying. But when operating in a completely foreign hospital with a weird language you sorta do what they say. It turned out that the series of Hep B shots from grade 8 had run their course and I got another today. Good times. Though it reminded me of the deeply cheesy  slogan I made the title of this blog post. Finally the doc checked and signed the "healthy" box. 

There's the issue of the global economic crisis that sadly has affected the Won rather catastrophically. Generally speaking the English teachers in Korea are extremely unimpressed. I am trying to devise a plan to best protect my hard earned millions (of Won) that will hopefully include a James Bond titanium suitcase ;)

I'll be home for Xmas... yes... no... yes... yes!?!

I think so at least. I will be in Canada for xmas this year. How surreal is that? Since signing up for Korea about 11 months ago I've had it firmly fixed in my brain that I would work in Korea for a year and that would include my first xmas away from all family.

That all changed dramatically when my school closed its doors yesterday. Originally I was led to believe I had happened upon an unexpected month of paid vacation (hanging out essentially until the new school opens at the beginning of January). Probably the most awesome deal ever. So I started thinking about what to do. It finally dawned on me two days ago I should go to Canada. It is xmas after all.  

I arrived at work yesterday totally jazzed about the prospect of going home for xmas and a list of questions to iron out the details of this holiday time; but also acutely aware that this seemed absolutely too good to be true and therefore probably was.  Well the trouble started around 2 pm. I was chatting to boss no.2 (whose English language skills are quite iffy) who said something that instantly put me in a heightened sense of alarm. He alluded to boss no.1 maybe paying for a flight home for me. (The standard operating procedure for teachers in Korea is we have our flights paid for at the beginning and end of a contract.) If I would be getting a flight I would not be getting a new job in January. Not good.

The last day had a very weird vibe to it as last days are prone to have. As the day wore on I got more and more jittery about the uncertainty of my future in Korea. What was I doing on Monday? Would I be in Canada or Busan? Or Jinju (at about 6 pm my boss inexplicably offered me a completely new gig in a city 1 hour north of Busan)? I can definitely say Friday was not a good day for Julia's nerves. 

So at the end of the day we had a work dinner. Ok, game time, I thought, let's clear this all up.

Hoo boy was it a doozy! Three hours of non-stop negotiation about December, pay, vacation, pay, contracts, pay, the new job, pay, hours, pay.... It was probably the most intense dinner discussion I've ever had riddled with language barriers and miscommunications at every turn. If I could, I'd like to offer this general piece of advice to employers in Korea: foreigners do not take kindly to statements such as "Frankly speaking, I don't know your old contract and I don't really have a contract with you." I almost had a heart attack at the table. 

That was probably the worst it got. There was also talk about not paying us for December, making us show up and do nothing at the school if he was paying us, and many conflicting statements and ideas about my future job in general. The most bizarre outcome of the night was without a doubt the exorbitant salary he is proposing to give us under the new school. It is literally more than double my current salary and 50% more than any salary I have heard of in Korea. And he signed the paper.

Currently I am still reeling from the events of last night. I'm looking at booking a flight to Vancouver but also waiting for a reply from my bosses to confirm what they said. I am quite unsure of what to make of it all. And I definitely haven't got my mind around the fact a week from now I could be walking along the Breakwater in Victoria, BC. 

A capital weekend

It must be the Canadian in me that is waiting for some form of meeting to confirm what exactly is happening to me and my job in my last 3 months in Korea. I can't help but feel that my unexpected month of holiday is somehow not real. But I think the few words I got out of my boss last Monday are probably all that I'm gonna get.

So in that spirit I'll accept my circumstance, believe it's happening and get back to my regular blogging. 

I went to Seoul last weekend to visit C and finally see some palaces. I caught an early morning KTX and discovered a new car of the high speed train: cinecar. For the price of a regular movie ticket I got a seat in the movie car where they showed "The Bank Job." I wouldn't have sprung for the extra entertainment but the rest of the econo tickets were sold out. 

Following in the tradition of my previous visits to the city it rained. It rained all day Saturday which is somewhat unusual for Korea where it usually pours and  then the sun comes out. 

The deep grey and stormy sky did serve as a phenomenal background to the fiery fall foliage surrounding Changdeokgung Palace in central Seoul. I thoroughly enjoyed the 1.5 h tour of the palace buildings and gardens. (Even if we had been forced to wait 30 mins in the rain for the English tour to start).

Afterwards we found warmth in a bowl of Korean porridge (a thick milky soup with rice, veg and tuna). The second palace we hit promptly shut its doors in our faces thus concluding the palace touring portion of my visit.

Not to worry, we were close to Insadong home of some awesome tea houses were we spent the rest of the rainy afternoon. 

We had a chill Saturday night with the exception of temporarily getting locked in a bank at 11:45 pm. Seriously how does that happen?

Sunday was a beautiful sunny fall day in which we traveled to the far reaches of the city bumping and pushing our way through ginormous Korean  crowds in the subway. There we found the Museum of Contemporary Art. It was good to get out of the city and see some open space and also get some culture. Busan is sorely lacking in the museum department so I appreciated the opportunity if not the tower of TVs that was offered up as art. 

Definitely a top notch weekend! Photos on Facebook.

Two Weeks Notice

I'm going to bump my previously scheduled Seoul post to bring you the latest news from my job. 

The first I heard of the fate of my school was from B, my coworker, "you know the school is closing right." Me: "uh, no." B: "yeah, like next month. D just told me." 

D spoke to us together a few minutes later. He told us first off that there's this meeting on Wednesday. Yeah fine but tell me about my job I thought. It was like playing twenty questions. Not that he didn't want to tell us what was happening; more he just didn't think it was very important and he answered everything in a very casual off-handed sort of way. When is the school closing? At the end of the month. What happens to me in December? Nothing. No classes. Will I be paid? Yes. Will I have an apt? Yes. Will I have a job in January? Yes.

So that is all the information I have for now. It sounds pretty freaking amazing. I am trying to remain calm and not plan an amazing trip to Japan in my head before anything is certain...

 

Couple Culture

When I was in Seoul last we visited Seoul Tower. It was predictably a good spot to take in the view of the ~20 million+ city. I hadn't expected to find thousands of "couple love locks" hooked onto the chain link fence that was keeping us from falling down the mountainside. I came across this article about the phenomenon at the Korean Times website. The experience, for me, encapsulated the rampant couple culture here in Korea otherwise most notably present in the Sunday couples outfits.

ahhh shiver

I learned in my first month as a teacher in Korea that the word "shiver" is Korean for sh*t. It came up in the predictably entertaining situation in which newbie Julia Teacher tried to teach "to shiver" as a spelling word. Needless to say that got many laughs from the kids who were all much too eager to repeat the spelling words that week.

Well a long time seems to have passed since then. I have just come from my worst class of the week. Thankfully it is only once a week. It's three hours with 5 thirteen year old tyrants. I don't know how they do it but they manage to maintain a constant muttering of ahh...shiver....ahhh...shiver for three solid hours! Seriously why don't they get tired? Oh and they were none to pleased to discover I was completely ignorant of Pepero Day (Pepero is a chocolate covered stick shaped cookie. 11/11 apparently looks like Peperos and that's a good enough reason to make it a day) Well I didn't know about it so I didn't buy any. It's a side effect of being the only teacher at school. Ahh shiver is right.

In brighter news I got paid today and only a day late.

What's happening at KORUS?

On Monday this week I had a particularly tiny first class. I figured it was a city wide picnic day or some such thing for that age group. When the same kids didn't show up on Wednesday I started to think something might be amiss. However I was rather occupied nursing a particularly unfortunate post birthday hangover to be too much bothered. So it was only today that I finally gathered my thoughts and pressed my VP about what was going on with my High B class. He told me that in fact 7 kids dropped my class en mass. Kind of a big deal in a class that was originally 9 students. Also doesn't do much to bolster this teacher's confidence. Though I had had that class for four months already. I really don't know what's happening to my school.

Look who's old

Well I thought I just turned 23 but apparently in Korea I'm 25. That international date line gets more mysterious every day.

Pottery

I've been itching to do some pottery. It's not always very easy to find specific things like pottery classes here as using the Internet is completely useless and the phone is a ridiculous option. Usually you need to rely on Korean friends or acquaintances for such purposes. So I turned to my bosses. I was quite excited when my VP Eric wound up hooking me up with a workshop with a famous Busan ceramic artist this past weekend.

As with Canadian potters I have visited this Korean artist has set up shop on the outskirts of Busan in a very interesting house surrounded by beautiful countryside. Eric drove J and me out to Gijang and acted as translator for us all afternoon. It was yet another example of the extreme generosity of Korean people towards us foreigners. We had a spiffy afternoon making a coil pot, having a try at the wheel and laughing with out fellow potters. (Laughing works well when nobody knows what each other is saying).

A Very Hangul Halloween

Halloween in Korea was pretty interesting. I spent the better part of my Thursday hunting all over town for a costume and decorations. As it happens there's a Halloween store in Seomyeon its stock entirely imported from Canada and the US. But seeing the price of a tissue paper pumpkin (10,000 won) I bailed and headed to the ever reliable Megamart. There I found black and orange construction paper and orange and purple balloons. The costume situation was comical. I found some cute kiddie costumes mixed in with car seat covers in the bug section. (Yeah the bug section was a new discovery for me at MM but why not?). I finally opted to make my own costume at home and settled on the classic black cat thinking my kids would appreciate it. It worked out well because it turned out B had dressed up as Batman.

I heard a rumor MegaMart had a table of scream masks which may be responsible for its popularity.

Kimbap Heaven

I have been asked many times by friends and family in Canada, "What do you eat over there?" When I'm at home I eat what I would eat in Canada. The grocery stores here are not completely devoid of anything familiar so I am able to eat cereal, yogurt, eggs and toast, and I have access to any fruit or vegetable you can imagine... as long as I'm willing to pay the price. (Avocados are notoriously expensive here at 4000 won a pop ~$4). Essentially I haven't started cooking Korean food at home.

The biggest reason for this is a place I call Kimbap Heaven. This is a chain of restaurants found all over Korea that offers a seriously good selection of Korean food. I don't think I have ever spent more that 4000 won on a meal either. I probably eat there 5 times a week at least.

B came across this sweet site that details all the food available with pics. I'll definitely be keeping a copy at work so that I can branch out from my regular bibimbap! In case you are interested here's the link.

New Bosses, Canes and Doorknobs

So once again I have a new boss. Actually make that bosses, D and E. It appears SSS is no longer as we were bought by another school, KORUS. They tell us in January another program will run parallel with our classes. It will be for US-college bound Koreans who want to polish their English. So I have confidence that they know sort of what's up and more importantly that their pockets are much deeper than my previous boss.

Improvements were made immediately. Most important to me was the installation of a doorknob on my classroom's door. They also painted the walls and replaced all the desks. 

The new arrangement is not without its problems. In their haste to beautify our little ghetto school they chucked our teacher's desks. D thought they cluttered the classroom failing to realize that we might actually use our desks. It seemed odd that they also thought it was okay to throw out everything that was in them as well. 

During his second week D started to show his colours as a principal. I previously blogged about my frustrations with my old boss because he never would back me up with disciplining the kids. I was curious to see how D would act as the head disciplinarian. So when I had two 8 year olds suddenly break into a fist fight I marched them over to D to see what he would do. Their punishment was a popular one here. Making the kids hold their arms straight up for a period of several minutes. I figured it matched the crime pretty well.

Unfortunately it appears the power has gone to D's head. I can watch him from my classroom marching around the lobby with the cane tucked under his arm. A cane for hitting hands. He seems to want to make a point of getting one kid per class per day. Though he is most severe with the smallest kids. Also he will just randomly jump into my class and pull out a kid and it doesn't matter if that kid was misbehaving. I find it seriously disturbing and I feel extremely uncomfortable teaching in that kind of environment.

I am moderately worried, again, that the school will not make it til February. No new kids have enrolled and we have lost 10 students since the beginning of summer leaving enrollment at a skimpy 45 students. This has actually generated a pretty sweet situation for B and me because we now only teach 4 days a week. However, I can't shake the feeling that this is a situation that gets really good right before it all goes to hell. But I'll enjoy my free Thursdays until then!

How to do the Asian Squat

Probably the most popular stance in Korea is the "Asian Squat." Everybody does it, and they do it everywhere. Bus stops are particularly popular places for the squat. The defining difference between the Asian Squat and the Western Squat is heel placement. When I squat my heels are raised and I'm balancing almost on my toes. Here the foot is flat on the ground. It's a little awkward to do at first but through practice you can get the hang of it. 

Youtube has this sweet video.

PIFF

The Pusan International Film Festival in on now. I had to be reminded that it was happening by C who came down from Seoul this weekend to check out the festivities. PIFF has been hovering as a big Pusan event my entire time here. I didn't actually take in any films but the atmosphere at Haeundae beach where it is all going down is pretty cool. Various events at the fancy hotels were being held for people belonging the the ChineseIndependentFilmMakersUnion (or something to that effect) and other such artsy sounding groups. Film screenings were held at outdoor venues as well as the regular movie theaters. I was hoping for some good celebrity sightings but slightly hampered in my cause owing to the fact I can only actually identify one Korean actor probably because he has blond hair. 

It was a beautiful night and I had a good time hanging out with C and her Seoulites.

Outlook... is good

It's been two days since the new boss, or is it bosses, arrived. I'm still unsure about their names. I think there are at least 2 if not 3 or 4 people who are involved now. The first "staff meeting" will be Monday until then B and I are left to observe the changes as they happen. First major change was the installation of a coffee machine. Then a new water cooler. Then suddenly my school which has been run entirely by use of large hand drawn papers now has laptops lying around on every available surface. Yesterday they started reno-ing the break room. I'm sticking to reserved optimism but so far so good.

Seriously? again?

My boss: "Just a minute." 

Me: Ok. sure. Class time is a good a time for a meeting.

My boss: "I want you to meet Mr Kwan. Tomorrow Mr Kwan is new boss. I am stopping." 

Me: Awesome. 3 bosses in 7 months. Is that a record?

Around Korea with T

T came to Korea for a visit. We traveled to the tiny island of Somaemuldo and up to Seoul. I have a photo album, mostly of our island hopping adventures, but including a few pics of Seoul. 

It was wicked to have T over here and be able to discuss our various experiences of Korea. We have both noticed many of the same things. I was entertained by our convo about Korean compost buckets. Everybody has the same one. It's red. Another candidate for extreme mass market appeal in Korea is the apparently single design of apartment buildings. On a KTX trip to Seoul (500 km and 3 hrs) you have the opportunity to see it roughly 500 times. It's funny.

Trials and Tribulations of Teaching

I knew it was going to be sketchy. Being given a job based solely on my ability to speak my mother tongue and having a degree, any degree, is kind of weird. Really what do I know of teaching? Or discipline? How to control a class of wild 6 year old, or are they 1o? I can't really tell.

I think the first sign of sketchiness was when I knew I wouldn't be getting a work visa in time for my start date. My future employer, or rather an English teacher at another of my employer's schools who was given the task of communicating with me, told me that wouldn't be a problem "you'll just have to do the Japan visa run." Ok, I thought no biggie and I get to go to Japan.

Well I arrive in Korea and am shuttled straight to school from the airport. Nuts to jetlag. OK, I think to myself that first week, this is a little weird standing at the front of the class, but I think I can get used to it. And I do.

Then there is the small matter of my one and only co-worker doing a runner. I am now the most senior teacher at my school. I have been teaching 6 days. I manage and teach double classes for a few weeks until they find a replacement.

A month goes by and apparently there is some confusion with my documents to get the visa. Finally after FedExing my criminal check back and forth to Canada my boss comes up to me and tells me I'm going to Japan, tomorrow. Great! Who needs to plan? I get a holiday! Oh yeah and finally be legally allowed to work.

Well actually apparently I was missing some important document. Hmm guess I'll have to go again.

So back in Korea my boss is acting very relaxed. He hasn't popped by my class at all and when I enter his office I frequently find him stretched out on his couch, shoes off, fast asleep. In between naps he has been taking regular meetings with an older Korean man. I generally regard this man as odd and a tad annoying. He has developed a habit of popping into my class when I am prep-ing and asking me questions about sentence structure. Who is this guy? I wonder.

Well turns out he's my new boss. I guess they didn't feel they needed to tell us more than a day in advance. Tomorrow no more Old Boss. Now, New Boss. Ahhh great.

Another month goes by. Back to Japan Julia Teacher. When? Tomorrow. Of course.

Now a familiar face at the Korean Consulate in Fukuoka I had to be taken pity upon and get strings pulled in my favor in order to avoid a third visa run because, alas, my paper work was still not quite right!

Three months in and I am finally legally allowed to work here. Good stuff and things are looking up. I've had the same co-worker for 2 months straight. The new boss has spent his first couple weeks measuring the font on the front door and washing the plastic plant in the front hall. He is probably crazy but whatevs as long as I don't talk to him and I get paid life is good.

Where's Minnie our secretary? She's sick? Oh she's gone home? Why? She quit? No you fired her? What? Oh you don't have any money? That's great. Can you pay me? Yes. You promise? Ok.

Seriously starting to reevaluate the job. Will I be paid next month is not a fun question. So now my boss is also the secretary. Time to call in reinforcements, his wife. Now she is the secretary. Or is it official plant cleaner. I'm not sure. What I know is she doesn't speak English. 

New developments again on the job front: my boss is now the bus driver. Apparently he is broke or something and can't pay anyone but the teachers. Awesome.

The biggest impact of the new arrangement is I now order food via his wife. I think it's improving my Korean. Also she cuts up apple for us during our supper break.

This summer I got locked in my classroom three times. The worst was the time I was being observed by a potential parent. She wanted to leave halfway through and the doorknob came off. This wasn't the first time so I knew the door could be opened from outside. Unfortunately nobody was outside. There were a few awkward minutes in which I tried to reassure this Korean mom who clearly spoke no English that everything was fine. She wasn't too thrilled so I resorted to shouting at B through my window hoping he would hear me and come let the mom out. My plan worked but the mom didn't sign her kids up for SSS. I still don't have a doorknob.

I am passed the half way point. I have come to terms with the sketchiness of this job. I can handle broken doors, lost coworkers, new bosses, language barriers, fighting children etc. The one aspect that I am having trouble dealing with is my boss' reluctance to discipline students in fear of them pulling out and losing the cash. The students have become wise to this fact and many of them are becoming very nasty as a result. There are still many days that are a lot of fun and every day is interesting but I will be very excited to see the end of my contract not least because it means the start of what I hope to be a great adventure in South East Asia.

Halfway There

I passed my six-month mark last week. At the same time E came to the end of her year in Korea and I went to Daejeon to say goodbye (photos). It is strange to think that I am now where E was when I arrived. At the time I looked to E as though she had been in Korea forever and she must know everything. So I guess I'm the seasoned vet now. I have just started to feel as though I haven't just stepped off the plane. 

However, my level of Korea is still abysmal. I mastered "thank you" and "hello/goodbye" in my first month. But I am pretty sure I say goodbye when I mean hello and hello when I mean goodbye. Also I only figured out the word for "toilet" around my five-month mark. I am proud I learned to read Hangul. It also does come in handy when looking for food. The one phrase that I can read quickly, none of the grade one style reading painfully sounding out each character, is "im dae" "for rent." Yes my Korean knows no bounds.

I noticed the other day, when wandering around the massive Jagalchi fish market (photos), that I no longer remark the craziness of Korea. It's become normal. The baskets and buckets of unimaginable sea creatures that clutter the streets beside tables of whole octopi under a canopy of mismatched ancient beach umbrellas is just what it looks like. But it's familiar and not so very strange anymore. I guess I am a seasoned vet.

A Very Beachy Summer

Summer in Pusan for me has been all about embracing the beach culture of my sea side city. I have logged many hours on Gwangali Beach aka my beach and ventured over to Haeundae Beach a couple times. To switch it up even more I ventured all the way out to Songjong beach in the furthest reaches of the city beyond the end of the subway line. Generally speaking Gwangali is a very good low key beach -by Korean standards. On a Saturday I still know there's an ocean there. Haeundae is quite another story.  It is a famous beach in Korea and is a cultural experience in and of itself. I heard rumors that one weekend they had 1 million people on the beach basking under their umbrellas. I visited on a Thursday a couple weeks ago and even then the ocean was completely obscured from all the umbrellas. 

That's the funny thing about Korean beach culture, Korean culture in general is so sun-fearing that beach behavior revolves first and foremost around how to avoid the sun. Quite the opposite of what I am used to in North America. But then to further entrench the Korean-ness of it all every family hidden under their umbrellas and visors are also sitting on large reflective blankets.... go figure. All I can say is: that's Korea for you.

Maybe in anticipation of getting bored of the Pusan beaches I booked a trip to Jeju in June for the August long weekend. Jeju is commonly referred to as the Hawaii of Korea. Yes, well, I'm not so sure about that but maybe my experience is skewed by the fact I visited during rainy season and it acted accordingly. Though I have yet to hear of a dry trip to the island between March and August...

My facebook album of the trip sums up everything pretty well. We spent a total of 3 days there. We rented scooters for 2 days and motored around the island to the best of our ability given the regular 2 pm downpour and giant highways. I have a feeling there is more to Jeju than what I saw and would give it another go... in a car. Mostly the trip was interesting and exciting due to the interesting and exciting scooters and travel companions. The most successful day was the day we climb, the long way, up Hallasan Korea's highest peak. We had originally intended only to climb the short 2 hour trail but took the wrong bus and ended up at the start of the long trail (7 hour round trip). We decided to go for it and the only slight problems were not enough water or food. Problems we remedied with a stop at a mountain stream and an excellent Mexican restaurant in Jeju-si that night.

The heat has finally broken back in Pusan. I'd say it had been unpleasantly hot and sticky for just over a month. Yesterday on my way to work at 8:30 am I noticed, for the first time in a month, that I did not have sweat trickling down my back. I slept without the AC on last night and didn't wake up in a pool of sweat. I count these as signs that summer is almost over and fall is definitely on its way.

Ewwwwwwww Gross!

Last night I returned to my shoe-box to find an uninvited creature had taken up residency on my wall. I guess I'd never seen a cockroach before. They're huge! And I gotta say I wasn't much of a fan. Trying to psych myself up to squash it proved very difficult. I got more and more freaked out and less and less convinced I could touch it. Then it flew out from the wall straight at my head and it was game over for me. I tried to recruit reinforcements but as luck would have it nobody in my building was home. In the meantime it had scuttled away somewhere and all I could imagine was it dive-bombing me as soon as I entered my room. Thankfully A finally got home we teamed up against the sucker and after a fairly destructive 15 minutes in which my apartment was thoroughly trashed A got him with one of my hikers.

Yuck!

Holy destruction Batman! You can see the remnants of the king kong bug between my shoes and the blue bucket.

Waiting for a Typhoon

July is supposed to be rainy season in Korea. So far there was more rain in June. When B informed me there was to be a  typhoon on the weekend I was pretty excited. Saturday dawned hot and sticky as usual but with a wicked warm wind kicking up some pretty impressive waves. The beaches were jammed with swimmers. The lifeguards had their hands full keeping everybody in the shallow. 

My Saturday night was dedicated to typhoon watching down on the beach. Sadly it came to naught when it rained for a grand total of 5 minutes. Hope was restored on Sunday when we were assured the typhoon would arrive at 4 pm. But again we were thwarted! The lifeguards herded everybody out of the water and all we got was a mere sprinkling. 

I still have hope though maybe next week!

The crowds on Haeundae were out of control! All there to revel in the pre-typhoon waves.

Mud, Mud Glorious Mud

I attended debauchery central a few weekends ago aka The Boryeong Mud Festival. The idea for the festival is fairly enterprising and intended to bring money to the otherwise desolate city on the sea. Fancy spa quality mud is shipped in and set up in various containers and slip 'n slide contraptions. The entire weekend consists of a crowd of young people (mostly foreigners) covered head to toe in mud hanging out on one the biggest beaches in Korea. The ice cream sales were through the roof. Probably so were the beer sales. 

It's alive!!!

Last night we went for sashimi for JB's birthday. Sashimi or Korean style raw fish in Pusan is usually quite the dining event. It typically begins with personally choosing live fish from tanks laid out on the ground floor of a building that is stacked high with restaurants. Once you have sentenced a bucket full of fish to a filleted fate you proceed upstairs to the designated restaurant that your fish vendor belongs to. 

As a bonus, for being foreign, funny and/or weird looking, a bunch of sea urchins, sea penises (yes that is their name) and octopuses were sent up to our table. Most of these extras were sliced and diced and looked only vaguely horrible in their deep red, pink, purple or grey splendor. The octopus on the other hand was still writhing as a mass of expanding and contracting tentacles in a small porcelain dish when it arrived at our table. 

If you live in Korea for a year you are bound to have to try this sidedish eventually. Last night was my night. The entire experience was fascinating and disgusting in equal parts and ultimately not completely successful. Watching the writhing pieces of purple sucker cover tentacles is really quite mesmerizing. Watching it curl around your chopsticks is intriguing. Putting it in your mouth doesn't happen before several fortifying shots of soju have boosted ones courage and provided the comforting thought that once swallowed it will be undoubtably be killed on arrival. My tentacle of choice was actually particularly feisty. So feisty in fact that it managed to escaped certain death by squirming its way out the side of my mouth. I now have a new rule about food: if it physically leaves my mouth on its own accord that's a clear sign it should not be eaten. It also had the consistency of snot so I wasn't too broken up when it ended up on my plate rather than my stomach. What can I say, I tried but it was not to be.

Youtube has a sweet video of exactly what this whole ordeal looks like.

Those Lazy Hazy ...Teaching Days

I am approaching four months in Korea. I have become one of thousands of Canadians who have landed legit teaching jobs solely because their mother tongue happens to be in vogue. I cannot help but feel it's cheating a little bit. 

Teaching at an English Academy in Korea is pretty easy. I have a weekly schedule for each of my five classes that I update every week. Every minute is scheduled. I teach new spelling words, reading, writing, grammar, handwriting, math and science. Each subject is allocated about 10-30 minutes. I play a lot of games too. There're reading games and math games but usually I play a lot of Hangman and I-Spy.

I teach 5 different levels of students. The smallest kids I teach, High Beginner, are around 6 or 7 years old. (I am always vaguely unsure about their ages because "Korean Age" is one or two years more than "Western Age.") They're pretty cute but also have ridiculous amounts of energy. On average I spend half the time telling them to "sit down!" "be quiet!" "sit down!" "get your books!"... I find HB makes me appreciate the easier higher levels. 

I also have one terrible level. They were actually my favorite class when I took over in March. However, about 2-3 months ago the class as a whole hit puberty and every since has been full of little monsters. They can be cute, they have a tendency to sing the song of the week together. But I have also run my voice ragged trying to control them. 

At the end of the day I like my job very much and I would highly recommend a year in Korea to anyone looking for a bit of an adventure.

The view from my classroom window. 

It's a bird! It's a plane! No it's..... a bulldozer???

Korea has some very weird beach activity. 

It's happened more than once that I've had to flee my part of the beach because I am inches away from being plowed over by a bull dozer. Yes that's right. A bulldozer. On the beach. It was zero-ing in on my beach blanket so much so that I swear the driver must have had a hit out on me. 

Other alternatives abound of course. Maybe the object of the day is to plow over as many foreigners as possible not just me. Even the most reasonable explanation, leveling the sand, seems highly ridiculous. What's the point? It's a beach. My personal favourite came from E: the driver must have had the bulldozer idling away at home, got bored and decided to drive about on Gwang-ali. 

Never a boring day in Korea that's for sure.

Better Late than Never

It was Buddha’s birthday around a month ago. To celebrate I took the KTX up to Seoul where I met E and her Daejeon crew at some foreigner oriented festivities. The lateness of this post is partly due to my jet-set way of life last month and also procrastination. Here is my long await *cough* *cough* post on Buddha’s bday.

Buddha’s bday is also known as the Lotus Lantern Festival. Needless to say we saw a lot of lanterns. (You can view my Facebook pics of them all here.) Specifically for foreigners there was a lotus lantern-making event. About 200 foreigners spent two hours of their Sunday afternoon feverishly twisting and gluing pretty bits of paper in an attempt to make a lantern. In the end prizes were awarded (yours truly got away with a “Lotus Lantern Maker” prize) and then we dispersed into the light drizzle of Insadong Street to check out what else there was to see.

That night there was a pretty and very lengthy parade. The highlight of which was the soldiers who did some pretty impressive tricks with their guns. The least impressive was the pseudo female soldiers who followed in short skirts and fake guns.

All in all it was a short and sweet trip to Seoul.

Island Hopping

Check my pics here.

My latest weekend escape from Pusan took me to the fabulous Geoje Island. It is a mere 45 minutes ferry ride from Pusan harbour. My enthusiasm for ferries, however, is waning due to the fact in Korea they are always completely enclosed. There is no opportunity to go out on deck, which is clearly the best part.  It’s my theory that the sun-fearing culture in Korea has conspired to build boats with zero outdoor exposure. What a pity. Ferry rides have now been reduced to nap time.

The scenery of Geoje reminded me of Jurassic Park. The inevitably hilly landscape was particularly peaky and covered in lush forest. A and I were headed for Hakdong beach in the South East. We found it in a protected cove surrounded by towering hills. We had a smashing view from our motel of the pebble beach and South Sea. The weekend was largely spent lounging on the beach, a highly pleasing activity indeed.

In classic island style the bus system on Geoje left something to be desired. Whenever we got it into our minds to take a bus we would go to a random stop and wait hoping a bus would drive by. Returning to the ferry terminal on Sunday we waited at a stop (on the beach) for 75 minutes before a bus came. 

Good times island hopping!

Japan: Take Two

On Wednesday my boss came up to me and said: “Tomorrow you will go to Japan.”

For all that the communication is somewhat lacking at work I really don’t mind discovering I am being thrown into a five-day holiday. Due to lucky timing I was to go to Japan on a Thursday and would be able to stay until Tuesday morning due to a holiday in Korea.

As it was my second trip to Japan I was considerably more relaxed. I slept through the entire 3-hour journey, harbor to harbor. I met J2 getting off the ferry. She is essentially my clone here in Korea. We have the same name, same age, we were both on our second trip to Fukuoka, went to the same French camp…. kinda nuts actually. We hit it off –being clones and all- and had a marvelous time in Japan.

J2 introduced me to bike rentals at our hotel. On my first visit I had tried to navigate the public transit system or walk. This time the city was much more navigable. We toured temples and gardens and even happened upon an older Japanese man, dressed to the nines, who gave us the low down on one of the temples we were admiring.

I left Fukuoka Friday afternoon in favor of a more famous city, Kyoto. I took the Shinkansen (aka high speed train) because it turned a 9-hour bus ride into a mere 3-hour train trip. Not having planned to go to Japan I wasn’t terribly organized when I got to Kyoto. I didn’t have a map, tourist book or even a phone number of a hostel. I had been counting on leaching info from the tourist info center but I discovered it had, regrettably, closed its doors an hour before I arrived. So my only option seemed to be hassling random western tourists for information on hostels. This did eventually work. However I do not recommend it. Considering how really unpleasant it was to be alone, clueless and without accommodation in a Japanese city at night I immediately booked places to stay for the rest of my time in Japan.

Kyoto is the old capital of Japan and positively a Disneyland of temples. My intention was to rent a bike and tool around the city finding what temples I might. I woke up to find a steady rain pouring down on the city and thought better of my original plan. So I walked to some nearby temples but was totally soaked (and wearing only sandals) I concluded it was more of a museum day after all.

Thanks to Facebook I connected with a Mt.A friend currently living in Japan. As luck should have it she wasn’t very far from where I was and we made plans to meet in Osaka. Three days before this I had no idea I was even going to Japan. Suddenly I found myself aboard a rapid train to Osaka for a night on the town with J3. Life’s pretty good.

Osaka was terrific. To get the total urban Japanese experience we stayed in a capsule. It’s a pretty sweet experience. The capsule, which felt very much like sleeping in un upside-down overgrown bathtub, is fully decked out with TV, stereo and lighting. You have a locker for your things where they have provided pjs and towels. If you want to chill out they have a hot tub and sauna à la public bath style popular over here. We weren’t the chilling out visitors and actually only managed a few short hours of sleep in our capsule before we were forced to check out (they charge extra for every hour after ten o’clock that you may stay).

After Osaka we headed to Nara a beautiful but touristy town. It has many impressive temples on offer complete with equally massive buddhas. Wandering the grounds around the temples are herds of deer. I’m told they are messengers of God. I guess God has a lot to say in Nara.

I went back to Kyoto for my last day in Japan. Probably one of my favorite things about my trip was the abundant opportunity to rent and ride a bike. As I may have blogged before biking in Pusan is more of an extreme sport than useful mode of transportation. I took full advantage of having a bike in Kyoto and biked to the Imperial Palace as well as the Gold and Silver Temples and stopped at many interesting temples in between.

Japan pretty much rocks my socks.

Here are pics of the trip.

Ping Pong

Before I was able to update my blog with my stunning tales of Daejeon and Seoul I am jetting off to Japan... again. I found out yesterday during class I am leaving today at the crack of dawn. I managed to get my trip extended until next Tuesday (it's a long weekend courtesy of Buddha's b-day). I'll hopefully head to Kyoto from Fukuoka to see "the cultural center" of Japan. So stay tuned for amazing updates next week!

Let's check out the DMZ

So I went to Seoul last weekend with A, J and E. We had signed up for a DMZ tour for Saturday. The only way to actually get to the DMZ is through a tour as they do not let people loose in the area. It's probably a good decision by and large considering from the tour bus we could see that on both sides of the road were wires tagged with triangular signs that read: "MINES." 

It was an interesting trip to have done if not overly exciting. Our first view of the DMZ came just after passing the Super Viking amusement park. Kind of odd if you ask me but whatever. At every stop we had about 40 minutes to peruse the souvenir shop (a bit much but the theory was if we got bored enough we'd at least want to buy some ice cream). My favorite quote of the day was the name of the first shop we stopped at: "Intangible Cultural Properties." Somebody definitely had their thesaurus out for that one!

The third tunnel was a feature stop of the trip. It was discovered back in the 70s by the South who claimed it was dug by the North right under the DMZ. The North tried to claim is was a coal mining tunnel. They supported this claim by painting the walls with coal. Hmmm not quite an airtight plan but maybe it could work....

We had lunch at a town located in the civilian monitored zone. The food was good an assortment of about 12 Korean side dishes. People who live there pay zero taxes and make about 3x as much as other farmers. This is seen as compensation for living in the most dangerous part of Korea.

My favourite part of the tour was the view from the observatory. It was a bit misty when we where there so we couldn't see very far but it did complement the general serious nature of the DMZ. 

Here are my photos of the tour and the next day in Seoul where we went to Insadong and ran in to the Olympic torch relay.

Kickin' It In Geumcheon

This video is sooo Korea! ...minus the rapping white guys.

Baseball, Sashimi and the Great Wall of Busan

I've updated my facebook album. And created a hiking album.

The Pusan Giants had their season opener last weekend. Until then I had been to one baseball game in my life: the Ottawa Lynx. Needless to say this was somewhat of a different experience. For starters, it was a sold out game. Twenty thousand Koreans singing what I can only assume was the equivalent "bring him home!" made for a highly entertaining afternoon.

Another thoroughly pleasing aspect of life in Korea is the endless opportunity to eat out for usually less than $10 (drinks included). The general set up here is whatever meat you are eating is cooked on a barbecue at your table and you wrap each small piece of meat in a sesame or lettuce leaf with your choice of sauces, garlic and greens. Delicious!

As I have blogged hiking is the national past time of Koreans. So on Saturday my neighbors A and J and I joined the masses and hiked along an old fortress wall aka The Great Wall of Busan to Beomosa Temple. The hike took ~5 hours and was about 8.8 km. The views were absolutely spectacular!

Holiday in Japan

I went to Japan last week. Within two hours of arrival I had spent a fortune on a very posh taxi ride and discovered that my entire reason for being there was null and void without a specific paper which I was remiss to have forgotten.

Not to worry I was fully prepared to enjoy a two-day, mid-week vacation in beautiful Fukuoka. It is cherry blossom season and the city is beautiful. Everybody says Japan is like Europe and Korea is more like... Mexico. It was fun to visit Japan for a few days but given the 30-40% price hike between Korea and Japan living in Pusan is definitely more in step with my current financial reality. Also Korea has character coming out the wazoo!

Wandering the streets in Fukuoka I frequently found myself staring down a band of oncoming bicyclists. In Japan the cars drive on the left. The same cannot be said of bikes. They drive three across all in the same direction and always on the (extra wide) sidewalk. I love that every bike has a basket. In Ottawa my bike (complete with basket) is considered hideously un-chic I feel somehow vindicated now that I know the always fashionable Japanese believe in baskets too!

 Click here for more photos of Japan.

Break Time

B Teacher has arrived! By next week the schedule at SSS will be back to normal. 

A and I have further explored Pusan. Last weekend we attempted to go on a hike in the east end of the city. Though it turned into a saunter down into a quaint fishing village it was no less interesting. What was most notable was the almost total lack of people in this isolated spot of the city. I have learned empty spaces in Korea are somewhat of a rarity. I would bill it near the top of my list of things missed most about Canada -and cheese.

Tomorrow I will go to Japan. I'm pretty stoked about  this mid-week holiday. I don't know what I'll see there. I'm sure just walking down the street in Japan will be a completely different experience than here in Korea. Pictures will follow.

Happy Birthday jj!

No Smoking

Happy Birthday T!

Gradually I'm getting the hang of this teaching thing. Every week is the same so I foresee becoming very adept with this curriculum, eventually. We found a temporary teacher last week who could come 3 days a week. By his second day he had found a better job and was going to leave. Ack! Not again! But in the fastest recruitment operation in history Mr. Director came to me the following day to tell me he had found an American replacement and he will be here in a week. Nice.

I've been to see a few cultural sites on the weekends. Beomosa is a temple in the mountains on the outskirts of town. E came to visit with some friends and we went exploring out there. (This was after a morning spent lounging on the beach :-) It was my first temple and it was beautiful. Also there appear to be monks living there and also the potential for a temple stay exists. E told me that all temples in Korea are painted with the same colours: jade, red, blue and ochre. 

This weekend A, Michigan J and I went on a day trip to Gyeongju. It is a town of temples from the Silla dynasty. Because the temples are made of wood no originals are still in tact. Most of them have been rebuilt recently after being destroyed 500 years ago by the Japanese. But they are no less impressive. 

Yesterday I had my first encounter with the double standard between Korean men and women. Since moving to Korea I have had a couple conversations about Korean women's position in society. Apparently it is "looked down upon" for a (Korean) woman to smoke in public. So on a visit to the ladies room last night I waited extra long while the girl in the stall puffed on her cigarette away from the judging eyes in the bar.  

"Teacher! Candy Day!"

In their infinite wisdom Koreans have created multiple Valentines/Candy days. Today was White Day aka the day boys give girls candy. I was showered with candy in every one of my classes. It was pretty awesome and a genius way to end the week.

Also today I experienced my first siren drill. I'm not sure if it is a practice air raid drill, nuclear drill or general alert system. But from what I understand there is a monthly drill in every Korean city that consists of a really loud droning siren that lasts app. 2 minutes. Traffic is supposed to stop and people are supposed to go inside. I was at work when it happened and could observe many stopped buses on the street below. It was kinda creepy and surreal and a definite reminder that I am very far from home.

Fishes

Click here for more pictures.

Seriously!?!?!?

I now represent 100% of the teaching staff at SSS. My @#$% coworker flaked.  Apparently the "midnight run" as it is known when teachers take off suddenly is quite common. Today I went in to work and it soon became painfully clear that he just wasn't going to show. He didn't call nor did he answer his phone. Definitely AWOL. 

His classes were merged with mine. After work all interested parties from SSS went to The Runner's apt. A lot was left behind. I scavenged some food and I have my eye on his sheets and a nice reading lamp.

We have found a very temporary teacher replacement (for the mammoth Tuesday Thursday classes) but I think SSS may be in serious trouble if we don't find a full timer soon. Fingers crossed SSS will make it to my second month...

Mega Mart

Quite possibly the most overwhelming experience so far has been the two trips I have made to Mega Mart. The first time I went was Day 2 of my time here and I was pretty desperate for food. I had tried to find some place to eat that day, but lacking any knowledge of hangul, I was hard pressed to figure out any viable food options. Around 2 pm I found a place that claimed to sell "cheese pizza" and I was sold. It looked and tasted like pizza and came wrapped in a red ribbon with a side of sweet pickles.

Scotland J helped me navigate the whole MM experience. As the name implies Mega Mart is huge. I'm talking Asian huge not Canadian huge.  One of the first things I was told about Korean culture is that until you are introduced Koreans will treat you however they feel which usually translates into rude to many westerners. Essentially personal space is at a premium and there is a lot of bumping into people. Purchasing whatever it was I went for was reasonably successful but when I got home I felt absurdly tired from a 1 hour shopping trip. MM can seriously kick foreigner butt.

I went again yesterday with A, who is as new and clueless as yours truly, and both of our experiences were that of total overwhelmed exhaustion. My plan for future MM trips will be to go at 11 pm on Monday nights.

"Kopi"

Also known as coffee to us westerners is reasonably new to Korea. Happily, for this westerner, coffee shops are thick on the ground in Pusan. They offer the whole shebang too. Cappuccino, latté, espresso, americano, regular. Yet when I have asked for milk in my regular coffee I have confused, befuddled and generally amused the poor person serving me. The last time I tried this stunt the girl laughed so hard when I indicated I wanted that I concluded milk in simply isn't done in Korea. Good thing they sell lattés.

"Beachy"

...is how I describe my house to cab drivers in Pusan. "Gwang-ali" "beachy" "Kamsamneeda." Streets have no names and one is forced to describe where you live each time you take a cab. Because cabs are so cheap here it will probably be serious incentive to pick up more Korean. 

My beach is beautiful. In the mornings I like to take a walk along the water after my latté at one of the many deserted cafés. (Life is rough here ;))It's a fairly popular beach but it is still off season so there is only a smattering of other walkers, usually all Korean. From what I've been told Koreans are pretty outdoorsy. Hiking is described as the national past time. So I would guess they take their walking seriously. However, I have never seen so many high-heeled shoes on a beach in my life! Almost without exception the beautiful and well dressed Korean girls who are out for a stroll in Gwang-ali hit the beach in 3" heels! My favorite thing about all this are the footprints left by the pointy stilettos in the sand. 

Annyeong Haseyo

I left Canada one week ago.

The first thing I realized since boarding the plane in Vancouver is Asia isn't really that far away. It seems far because of the date line but otherwise it is merely a short 9 hour flight. Now a 9 hour flight with Japan Airlines is actually a reasonably pleasant experience complete with many movies and a constant tea/coffee service.

My night at the airport hotel in Tokyo, Nikko Narita, worked really well in terms of adjusting to jet-lag. As far as experiencing Japanese culture the most I did was buy supper from the convenience store across the street. Which is to say I dealt with traffic coming from the wrong direction and a talking refrigerator.

From the air Tokyo looked almost like Ottawa! Everything was flat and I could see yellow squares of fields. My first sights of Tokyo city were from the plane the next morning. That was when I finally saw the world's largest city. Crossing the country I saw pointy, snow-covered mountains and even Mt. Fuji!

Pusan looked exactly as I had expected. Probably because I had looked it up on Google Earth. It is a coastal city of tall apartment buildings and pock marked with hills that are bare of any development. 

Immigration, customs and baggage all went off without a hitch. My boss met me immediately outside customs and whisked me directly to school (hagwon SSS) were I will be teaching for the next year. Julia Teacher has arrived.

 

I spent my first night at a motel in my new neighborhood, Gwang-ali, just one street from the beach. There I found the first cultural quirk of Korea. They don't use bottom sheets. The bed was beautifully made with pillow cases and quilt and a completely bare mattress. I thought this was odd because other than the missing sheet the room was quite well equipped with robes, slippers, TV and Internet.

I went looking for breakfast by the beach. I am essentially illiterate in Korean society and rely largely on pictures. I figured it would be a safe bet to go somewhere with other people as well. However, every café I passed was entirely deserted at 9 am on a Friday morning. I am told Koreans don't go out for coffee until the afternoon. I wound up with a bagel and latté with a view of the beach and the Gwang-an bridge. Not bad for my first day.

Goodbye Canada

Tomorrow begins my whirlwind week in which I move to Korea.

Monday - Vancouver hotel 

Tues/Wednesday - Tokyo hotel

Thursday - Pusan hotel

Friday - My very own South Korean shoebox. 

I think I'm pretty excited for all I don't quite believe I'm doing it yet. I guess somewhere between the waiting room in Vancouver Int'l and my hotel in Tokyo it will sink in that I'm really going and/or gone. 

My last night in Victoria was crowned by this spectacular sunset. A highly superior way to leave Canada.

One Week

Victoria has behaved beautifully this week. The Olympics were out in full force the other evening offering this opportunity to photograph the float home community in Victoria's harbour. 

**For those living in cold and snowy parts of Canada: you may want to divert your gaze from the next paragraph**

Last week I went to a coffee shop in Oak Bay village. I like coffee shops and this one was very pleasant. It was a blog-worthy experience because I enjoyed my latté from the sunny and relatively warm comfort of the outside patio... in February! My apologies to all ye in Cold Canada. I'm sure the snow drifts are very pretty.

This is my last week in Canada. I haven't managed to sort my visa woes entirely and will have to make a Japan visa-run shortly after my arrival in Pusan. But honestly, what's so bad about a weekend trip to Japan, especially if it includes a ferry-boat ride? Aside from these purely bureaucratic issues my Korea plans are advancing swimmingly.

Vancouver is next on my agenda where I'll catch up with T and most probably the Korean consulate.

Shangri-la

Victoria is cool and wet. The weather has been 5 degrees and rainy consistently everyday since I arrived.

 On the plus side the roads are clear, the lawns are green and many gardens are adorned with beautiful little yellow flowers.

A drive ~225 km north confirmed that Vancouver Island, the bottom part at least, remains largely snow-free.

That is until you turn a corner at km 220. 

Instantly snow appears. 

I'm not talking about a dusting of snow either. There is more snow at Mount Washington than I have ever seen in my life. It boasts a base of 435 cm of snow! How is possible to go from zero to 4 meters in the space of one highway turn off? My only conclusion is that Vancouver Island is somehow gifted with a Shangri-la type magic. 

Countdown to Korea

I'm flying to Tokyo in exactly three weeks. As I expected there are problems with my immigration papers to Korea. In truth I would have been extremely surprised had my visa application been accepted without a hitch. As it is, I need to resubmit half of my documents. I suppose this is just the beginning of a long and frustrating relationship with Korean bureaucracy. 

I am excited to move and I am looking forward to what promises to be an exciting and interesting year if also very trying as well. Teaching English in Asia is far from original, every day I meet people who have either gone themselves or have a close relative who has gone over, but this just enforces the idea that it's a pretty sweet opportunity for recent grads. 

I left Ottawa the day after a severe winter storm dumped 25 cm of snow on the city. Arriving in Victoria felt like fast forwarding several months to spring. It is still cold-ish but there are flowers in bloom and not a flake of snow (other than on mountain tops) to be seen. I guess that's it for winter for me for 2008. 

I'm living in Faster J's wicked waterfront condo with Pa and S. I went to bed on my first night feeling like I was staying in a posh hotel. I don't know how I'll adjust to my future shoebox-sized apartment after this! But it will be my shoebox so it will still feel pretty sweet.