Highlights of the past-well-30 days or so (with subtitles!)

So, end of February and the beginning-or all-of March was pretty cool.  A lot of new things and a lot of the same things we've done all Winter (like pizza, game rooms, singing rooms, dvd rooms, and things like that) but here are some of the highlights of the month:

(would you believe me if I said that I really, really, really am going to start blogging at least once a week, even if it's just the very rare "Hey!  Jean's Actually Cooking!" blog?  Maybe you wouldn't, so maybe I shouldn't say it. . .or maybe I could make a blood pact that if I don't blog every week that I have to publish some really terribly embarrassing or terrible picture of me. . .I don't think that would work either, I would just end up posting one of Lindie or Albert. . .)


Anyway, unfortunately I'm not really sure about the date, but this was a really fun day.  A Saturday I think.  I got a text from my lovely friend Teddy Bear who was asking me about getting together with all of us (Albert and I and also Lindie and Rob who were in town for the weekend) that I completely misread and I thought he was going to meet some other friends and for some reason I was being invited to come along.  Whoops.  That's what you get for reading a text when you're half asleep.

So, he gets to my apartment (which is an absolute wreck and is therefore completely not an option as a hang out spot) and we actually get the plans straight.  So, I call Lindie to see if she's awake.  No luck.  So I go knock on Albert's door and tell him that he's getting lunch with us, so wake up.  Then Ted and I decided the most perfect thing in the world would be to go get cheap pizzas at Pizza Bingo and then take them to the park around the stadium.  So, that's what we did.

As a side note, for some reason a side dish to just about everything here is pickles.  Pickles, really sweet pickles.  You go to a restaurant and sit down and they bring you this bowl of pickles.  At the pizza places, they give you this little to go dish of pickles.  The lady at the pizza place, really nice lady, asks Ted why foreigners don't like pickles, she said all the foreigners tell her that they don't want any.  So, I tried told him that, really I don't like pickles too much, but mainly we absolutely don't get pickles with anything just offered to us, and we never get it with pizza, and while we're on the subject, we also don't have corn and potatoes on our pizzas either.  So, he asked "What do you have on your pizzas, then?"  Anything but corn and potatoes, dude.  Anything.  :-)

It ended up being a beautiful day, so it was really nice.  We sat on the steps of the stadium, clinked our pizza slices after a toast to good food and great friends, and watched the lake.

Apparently, Ted didn't get enough pizza.. .

. . .but, I guess, as bottles go, that one did look rather delicious.

Ted's dad made us a drink. . .I don't think we were ever really clear what it was made of, it looked like it had rice or something floating in it, but it was really sweet.  Interesting stuff.  :-)

Pretty good view for a pizza party :-)  Is that a kill shot, Albert??

There's a FIFA museum there in the stadium (as well as TWO wedding chapels) that I had never been to, so Ted took us there.  Pretty cool.  Lots of soccer stuff and photos from when they had the World Cup here.  And it's right across the street from me :-)

Albert planning on how exactly he was going to steal this.  :-)

The stadium, from inside.

Ted and Albert in a "Curious Inquisitor vs Snobby Know It All" sketch.

These are the mascots outside.  Don't they look incredibly friendly?

High Five, friend!

Beautiful day :-)

We didn't know it then, but awesome, spontaneous dates with Ted were coming to a close.  We had a LOT of good times together, randomly.  The day that his Kindle came he had some news for me.  He said that he got a REALLY good score on his English test and he was going to university in Seoul, which we knew he was planning on, but what none of us knew is that he got the chance to go in later in the semester and they wanted him right away, so he was going to be leaving that weekend.  Which was so awesome for him, but we really miss him around.  MISS YOU TED!!  But he should be back for our birthdays (his is one day before mine, and Lindie's is just after that, so beach birthday party is an absolute must.)


So then, a couple of weeks later. . .


I went to Lindie's house on Tuesday night, a couple of weeks ago, and had to be back in town for my 9am Korean lesson the next morning.  We stayed up watching Scrubs like, all night, so I was a little sleepy when I got to my lesson.  I was there for about an hour, studying, and when Albert got there at 10 the strangest thing happened.  I was sitting there, minding my own business, getting frustrated because I'm hopeless when it comes to Korean, and Jean was patiently trying to get me to not jump on the balcony, and suddenly these people show up with cameras and scripts and want Albert and I to read these lines in Korean to be on TV later.  Perfect timing, let me tell you.  So, in the 45 seconds or so prep time that we had, Jean starts trying to help me get through the lines with any success and Ji Young starts fixing my hair, pulling out all these clips and everything, because I had braided it the day before so it was like a lions mane, seriously.  Then, camera in my face, I looked like I was being led to the executioner, or like I was doing some sort of ransom terms video with a gun to my head. . .not smooth.  They said they could understand me, but I think they were just being nice. . .Albert did a lot better.  Definitely kept his cool better than I did.

I know it seems really illogical that a criminally shy girl would take herself to the other side of the world, alone, but, hey, when have I ever been a logical person.  Still a shy girl, turns out. . .I've got more work to do.

But it wasn't over yet!!

One of the guys that studies there is a REALLY good singer and plays guitar really well.  He sang for us one time while we were avoiding studying one morning.  And I guess he had applied for this show called GO GO NORI BANG where you get on and sing and talk about yourself and things like that, and the show was using the language cafe as their set, so about an hour after the first TV thing, the whole places gets transformed into this TV studio complete with everything you can imagine.

So, everyone is just sort of sitting around watching all of this happen.

Lots of people and lots of equipment. 

Fancy sequenced jackets :-)

They didn't want us to just watch, though.  They wanted us to be background.  Dancing, cheering, smiling background, while he was singing.  What??

Albert, Ji Young, and I. . .dancing.

They choreographed us. . .

And had several signs that all said SMILE!

He did really well.  :-)  He sang I'm Yours by Jason Mraz

Apparently the show aired last night sometime while we were at work.  Not sure if I can find it. . .not really sure if I want to. . .and I have no idea about the one where we were talking, but I KNOW I don't want to see that.  :-)

The next weekend or so. . .time for a road trip.


We love theme parks.  One of the mornings at the cafe while Albert, Jean, Jay, and I were standing out in the sun trying to wake up, they told us about a theme park in Daegu, which is about two hours by train from us.  Albert and I really wanted to go to Daegu anyway, and look around, because we had both applied for the same phantom job in Daegu that ended up leading us to Ulsan (for which I am thankful everyday) so we wanted to just go check it out and see what was there.  Plus, there was an amusement park, that was supposed to be bigger and better than any of them that we had been to so far.

So, Sunday, a couple of weeks ago, Lindie, Rob, Albert and I went to the train station (a really great way to travel around here, just so you know, cheap, fast, comfortable, and you can see a lot of the country side and no insane stopping, starting, jerking, blah blah until you inevitably vomit like when you take a bus for a long time, and it's often cheaper anyway.)

So, we get to Daegu no problem, we were given really good subway directions (there's only two lines in Daegu, so it's a little easier to navigate than the six hundred thousand lines in Seoul.)  We got off at the stop we were told to, and left at the exit some really nice stranger told us to use.  We didn't instantly see it, so we hailed a cab.  I was sitting in front and was supposed to talk to the driver and tell him where to take us, so I told him and he started asking me all of these questions and gesticulating and everything, then finally gave up and started driving. . .for about 50 feet.  It was literally right across the street. . .but we didn't see it, or see any signs. . .so I think he had a pretty good laugh at our expense and we exited the cab in shame and then ran off to see what would be waiting for us in the invisible theme park.

It was a strange place, in the way it was built.  I guess I'm used to theme parks that instantly showcase everything that they have to offer, or at least show you tons of stuff right off the bat so you can start planning how you're going to get to everything.  This one, you walk in, walk up a hill, walk around corners, walk, walk, walk and see nothing and-perhaps stranger still-hear nothing.  No screams, no clicking roller coaster inclines, nothing.  So, we kept walking.  It did have a lot of stuff there but it was really strange the journey they took you on to get to everything.

The first ride we went on was called the Can Can.  It was supposed to be like you were in the shoe of a Can Can dancer.  Well, in the shoe of a Can Can dancer that had no bones in her feet.

In line for the Can Can.

 This ride spun you around, flung you up and down, and then did flips in its little two person bucket--for about half an hour.  We were all praying just to stay alive, absolutely scared to death that this was going to be the bloody and horrific end of our lives.  When we finally met up again a year later at the end of the ride we needed some serious recovery time.  Well played, Can Can, well played.

The next ride was the one where there's two cars and they go in opposite directions and hang you upside down until all the blood starts to run out of your nose.  If you remember, when I wrote about Gyeongu World, we went on one of these things and that it was the most horrific experience in my life to date.  This one, we all noticed, actually had the shoulder harness thing in addition to a vinyl seat belt so that you weren't surviving solely on your arm strength pressing on the ceiling to keep your butt in the seat, and of course relying on the integrity of the tin can cage you were surrounded in.  This one looked about 1000% safer, and it was much shorter.  Still, I decided to stay put and take photos on this round.  Interesting thing happened though while we were waiting in line.  While the ride was upside down, someone lost their cell phone and it plummeted to the sidewalk like a comet and somehow no one but us noticed it.  They didn't even get it when the ride was over.  Of course, it was pulverized, but still.

Rob had never been on one of these before.    There were like seventeen month old kids on this ride!  It was madness!!

But they made it off alive.

Lunch.   Deep fried spam on a stick covered with sauce.  I thought I was ordering a waffle with chocolate sauce that I saw some students eating. . .but it wasn't.  Still good, though.

First line.  "The drunken are not allowed to take on."  Awesome.

A view from the top. . .well, the top before we took the cable cars to the tower.  Lots of climbing at this park :-)

Good times :-)

Lindie and Rob

I love how midways and theme parks look at night :-)

The Can Can that almost killed us.

A huge Hulk statue in front of the "Haunted House"  We all had to take pics, ya know :-)

She looks like a mouse.  Awesome.

We were about to leave the park, after looking everywhere for the place to get on the cable cars and having no luck.  On the way out, we finally found it.  So, we had to ride it.  The glass was really cruddy, but these (Albert's photos) came out pretty well! 

This is part of Daegu from Daegu Tower.  I think it's the 3rd biggest city in Korea.  This view is mostly apartment buildings.  Lots of people, man.

These were the fountains on the way back down.  So pretty.

 So, that was Woobang Land :-)  We made it home in one piece and absolutely passed out.  It was actually a really nice, warm day that day, which was really nice.  Fantastic day all around.


And then, a couple of weekends ago. . .


Now that the weather is getting warmer again, it's time to start ticking off the 12 Scenic Sights of Ulsan again. So, Albert and I got up Saturday morning, a couple of weekends ago, met Jean and headed off for the Bamboo Forest.

As a side note, I've become a bit of a bus snob since I've been here.  I mean, I never had to ride a bus back home, but here there are two kinds of public buses that go everywhere.  There is a litany of 3 digit buses that cost about 70 cents to ride and always have about sixteen million people on, and stop every 30 seconds and then there are a few 4 digit buses that have a lot more room, are cooler in the summer, have very few people on them, and get to where you're going in a hurry.  These cost about $1 or so to ride.  On my way to school everyday I wait for one of the 4 digit buses to take me, then I can sit in quiet and read my book, get to work quickly, and relish in the last moments of peace before I'm thrown into a crazy classroom.  I'm just a snob that way, I guess.
Let me just explain a little though.  It's not just that the 3 digit buses are overcrowded and slow, it's also that no matter how I try to stay out of people's way, it's a constant battle for standing space, mixed with the jerking of the bus, which usually means passenger dominos, etc etc etc.
So, we met up with Jean and started walking down to the bus stop to get a bus (somehow, I managed to leave my cell phone on the sidewalk outside of my apartment and didn't realize it until I tried to charge my bus pass and realized that the cellphone, to which my pass was attached, wasn't in my bag.  So, we had to go back and get it.  Thankfully it was still there.  So, for the second time we all walked down to the bus stop and thankfully had enough time before the bus showed up for Albert and I to grab a hot waffle at the little kiosk where they charge the passes.  Those are really great, actually, less than a dollar, fresh waffle with whipped cream and apple, like, ice cream topping, in the middle, folded together and wrapped in paper for a perfect little handheld snack.)

We had to take a 3 digit bus.  No problem.  A little crowded  but nothing too bad, and we were standing there just talking.  It was getting fuller, but it was no problem.  Then, suddenly, after maybe 10 minutes in the bus or so this old man starts yelling.  All I can understand is "student" and "foreigner" so I look around for the students he's yelling at, that are sitting right behind us.  Just two of them.  So, after yelling for a while, the students begrudgingly stand up and grab on to the rings and the old man pushes me until Albert and I sit down.  Jean tried to tell him that it was alright, and so did we (we do know how to say "It's okay" in Korean, but he was on a roll)  So, we finally just sat down, embarrassed to death, and I asked Jean what he had said. He said he was yelling about how Koreans need to be nice to foreigners so that when we go home we will say nice things about Korea.  But obviously, every single eye on the bus was staring us down for the rest of the trip.  I've seen an old man yell at students who were sitting once before, but that was because he wanted to sit down.  Which was cool.  I'm definitely of the school where if there's an elderly person nearby I will give up my seat happily.  This was just one wild situation.

We finally got there and were able to escape all the eyes, and we got to this lovely park on a lovely afternoon.   The bamboo forest was on one end of the park, so we just walked along, enjoying the day.  I think Jean is entertained when he's with us to see the reactions we get.  Albert and I don't even notice anymore, but everyone stares at us all the time.  We only really notice when it's a little kid who's walking by and then turns to walk backward for a while to just stare, and then falls over or something, which happens frequently, but I don't notice adults anymore.  So, Jean was pointing out all the people who were looking at us and we were just looking at all the pretty things in the park.

Then we got to the bamboo forest.

For some reason, I have always loved bamboo.  And I guess I didn't really know what to expect, but this place was beautiful.  The first thing I thought of when I got into all that thick bamboo is how I would have lost my mind when I was a kid and taken off pretending to be every animal under the sun, hiding from my parents (who played, of course, the parts of the fearsome hunters) with my brothers in tow.  It was actually difficult not to do that, actually.  But, I held it together.  :-)

Albert and Jean at the beginning of the forest.

Jean and Jean at the beginning of the forest.

A bench where we sat for a while, watching people while they watched us.

 We sat here for about 20 minutes or so, talking about the Korean education systems, the dreams kids normally have about what they're lives will be like when they grow up, and stuff like that.  I can't tell you how many people almost stopped in their tracks just to look at us.  One tiny little kid was too cute for words, he was probably old enough to just start walking, and he was following his parents until he saw us.  He stopped dead and just stared and stared.  We were trying to talk to him and waving and everything and he just stared, then looked at his mom, who was walking away, and then kept on staring.  After a while he took a few steps toward his retreating mother, then turned around, looked, and came right back to stare some more.  While this was happening, a kid maybe about 12 or so came riding by on his bike.  He was in the middle of saying "Welcome to Korea!" to us when he almost wiped out trying not to hit the kid that he didn't see because he was busy looking at us.  Everyone was fine.  But it was pretty funny.

It went on and on.  It was beautiful!

We got to the end of the trail and stood for a while against a fence across the creek from a basketball court.  Right in front of us was a bunch of elderly men and women all sitting together, talking and singing and occasionally waving to us.  Then to the right of that was the basketball court filled with kids.  One group of kids spotted us and started waving and shouting hello.  Eventually, we walked over to that side of the river to continue walking around the huge lake.  As soon as we got to that side the kids started yelling Hello!!  How are you!!  My name is So and So!  And so we said hello back of course, and one of them ran up to me on her cell phone and handed it to me to talk to her friend, so I took the cell phone and said hello and there was just breathing on the other side, I think her friend may have hung up before I got the phone back to her, but she grabbed it and started talking, talking, talking.  So we talked to them for a minute and then continued walking.  After a few minutes we decided to get on a bus and head to another town to go sing or get something to eat or something, so we had to pass back by them again, and they freaked out again.  So, Albert says "Do you want to take a picture!?"  He might as well have asked them if they each wanted a million dollars and a trip to the moon for the reaction they gave, just one huge "YES!!!!!!!" and they ran over.  One little girl grabbed me and took a couple pictures of us on her cell phone, speaking English the whole time.  They were maybe 10 or 11 or so, so cute.  Then Jean took Albert's camera and they all lined up for a photo. :-)

And here it is. :-)  Fun kids.

 Then they all thanked us, started calling their friends, and shouted goodbye as we left.  Awesome.

So we got on another bus (uneventful trip, thankfully) and went to Shinae, the old town down area, to find a game room/singing room until we got hungry.  We found one, sang, played Wii Sports (Jean schooled us at everything, especially boxing.  Albert and I were humiliated.  :-)  For about two hours (we made Jean sing and dance again, because it's really too much fun to watch.)  Grabbed another bus and headed to Samsan, the new downtown area where I work, to get some dinner.  Galbi Jim.  Amazing.  Here it is!

It's like beef stew, with a very little bit of heat from some red peppers.  It's amazing.  I need to learn how to make this.  And I'm so mad I went the whole winter without knowing about this!  The place was so crowded because this restaurant specializes in galbi jim.  It was fantastic.  Beef (on the bone but it falls off and just melts in your mouth) carrots, acorn squash, a few peppers and rice noodles.  Fantastic.  My favorite thing that I've had so far.  I told my students that I had it and they were drooling and falling out of their chairs, "Teacher!  Delicious!"  I know, kids, I know.  It's fabulous.

Those were some of the highlights from the past 30 or so days.  I promise I'm going to update more.  I'm a terrible blogger.  So, feel free to write abusive emails or leave mean comments on my Facebook so that I don't forget :-)


Thanks for reading!!