Tag Archives: Korea
Skiing in Vivaldi
January 13, 2009I went skiing for the first time about a couple of week ago. I went with a friend that had about as much experience as I did. We were not very familiar with the difficulty ratings or where exactly the ski lifts would take us, so the first time up we found ourselves on a slope that we should not have been on. I basically crashed my way down the mountain. It seemed as though as soon as I stood up I was moving 50 miles an hour. Many people were retrieving my skis and poles. My friend had to walk most of the way down the mountain. After shaking the snow out of my jacket I gave it another try and was moving pretty quick. I found that most of the time when I fell was when turning or stopping, so I decided no to slow or stop as much, instead I made large sweeping turns and held on for dear life.
A week later I went skiing again with about 10 co-workers. I was glad I got broken in the previous week. Half the people I had skied with had never been. My stopping got better this time but I was still going quite fast. I am not sure if I should blame my speed on my desire to go fast or my inability to stop . (more…)
Posted in Korea |Seafood in Incheon
September 1, 2008 The teaching staff and I went to a Korean seafood restaurant near the ocean in Incheon. Incheon is like a slightly nasty port for hauling in sea creatures. It was also a very important city during the Korean war. Korean restaurants have lots of side dishes but this is ridiculous. I would say that for 6 people about 130 small plates or dishes where brought out with little samples of vegetables and sea life. I could only recognize about 10% of the food. The Koreans would find translations for the food names on their cell phones, but that didn’t help in my identification. As for the snails and shell fish they went down pretty easy with some hot sauce. I wouldn’t say I enjoyed what I think were sea cucumbers and a few other cut up pieces of raw something. The dolphin was pretty good. Tuna was good also but I don’t think it was dolphin safe tuna. The octopus legs(or arms) that had just been chopped off and continued squirming on the table were the most interesting. When you tried to pull them off the plater they grab hold with great strength. You have to snatch them quickly off the plate. Their fight for survival doesn’t stop once you put them in your mouth. They attached to my lips, teeth, and roof of my mouth with their tiny suction cups, causing a painful ticklish sensation. Posted in Korea |Korea in a nutshell
April 25, 2008Korea has been wonderful so far. Everyone, not just the students are very friendly and eager to learn english. My job was a little difficult at first, but after learning how to talk to the kids and realizing that just having fun with them is a big part of making class fun for everyone, I now feel like a natural.
My jet lag was horrible, it lasted about 2 weeks. I always had trouble sleeping at night. The food here is not what I expected. I was thinking it would be more like Chinese food, but it is not. It is very spicy with lots of uncooked vegetables. Meals are often cooked on the table with many side dishes and soups are very common. Meals are very healthy, spicy and inexpensive.
My apartment is nice. Most all the heating in Korea is done by heating water in the floor. It takes longer to heat up, but once it does you can turn it off and it last all night. Next door to me lives Mike, one of my American co-workers. The only thing between my apartment and my school is a beautiful park that is quite a pleasure to ride my bike through.
I have enjoyed not having a car for once in my life. Public transportation is very inexpensive and well organized. I have become quite the city boy! Posted in Korea |
Day 2 in Korea – Success!
April 4, 2008 Make sure you read Day 1 Post first!In the afternoon after finally getting some sleep I knocked on my neighbors door. My boss said that my co-worker lives there and he could help me out with what I needed. He wasn’t home. Looks like I’m on my own.
First off I needed food. My dollars wouldn’t work, but my Visa might! I walked a few blocks and found a bakery that sold some sandwiches. I gave the shop owner my credit card and my hungriest look. Success! I decided to push my luck. “Do you know where the subway is?” He didn’t speak english.
As I walked back into my neighborhood I stopped by a large building to see if could pick-up wireless internet on my iPhone. I wanted to check my email. The previous night I sent an email to a girl named Jyung Hee that I saw on MySpace. In the email I told her I just got to Korea and I know no one. Basically I told her I’m a lost little boy who needs a hot Korean girl to show him around. It worked, she said she would like to meet up with me that evening. (more…)
Posted in Korea |Day 1 in Korea
April 2, 2008I was picked up by my boss from the airport. He was very friendly but his english was painful to listen to. It was a struggle to understand him but we managed.
He took me to my new apartment and told me that he would pick me up Tuesday for work. That was Friday night, Monday is a holiday. So I have 3 days off! Is that a good thing? He told me that my American Coworker lives next door if I need anything.
I have been up all night. Jet lagged and kind of anxious. I have no tv(not that I could understand the Korean channels anyway). But, thank God, I am able to pick up wireless internet from someone on my laptop.
Problem One is that I don’t know where I am. I know I am somewhere in south east Seoul. I looked at google maps to see if I could figure some things out but google doesn’t have any Korean streets for some reason.
Problem Two is that I don’t have a phone. You first have to get an Alien Registration card.
Problem Three was that I don’t have any Korean currency. I don’t think I will be exchanging any money today because the banks will be closed. Not sure how I will get food.
The sun is coming up. I should really try to sleep. Posted in Korea |