Relaxing by the Han River on our second pleasantly mild Saturday of 2011. Even though it's pouring today (Sunday), I love that Korea's winter is usually a short one.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
좋은 날씨
Relaxing by the Han River on our second pleasantly mild Saturday of 2011. Even though it's pouring today (Sunday), I love that Korea's winter is usually a short one.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Things About Graduation
In Korea, the school year finishes in February so we had a big graduation ceremony for the kids on Friday.
It was a busy final week with the kids. My class finished all of their textbooks by the skin of their teeth (last month I realized I had something like 120 pages of the reading book left and about five 30 minute classes remaining to teach it!) but we had time to play too. On the last day we went through a "greatest hits" of class favorite activities- from a game of Mario Bomb (don't ask) to the Cookie Monster's "Healthy Food" video (a running joke in the class all year) to one last story time.
The story that we read was one that our class wrote ourselves! The students drew the pictures (with heavy Photoshopping from Shawn Teacher) and wrote the words (with heavy embellishments from Shawn Teacher) to "The Ugly Panda", our version of "The Ugly Duckling". The school had the book made for us, and each kid got to take a copy home with them. I felt like Oprah- "and YOU get a book, and YOU get a book" passing them around to happy faces.
The school also sent home a copy of it's annual "PSA Kids" magazine. Each teacher had written a short note to their students in the magazine and- can you believe it- they misspelled "SPELL" in my article!! I had to double-check the writing that I originally submitted and it had been spelled correctly. Whyyyyy!!?
Of course, every school has a yearbook at the end of the year and my school was no different. They were beautiful- huge, leather bound, and full of super-cute professional photos uniquely made for each child. If you'd like a copy, they were only 180,000 Won, or approximately $165 Canadian!!!
Me with my co-teacher Jamie (she's surely the best kindergarten teacher in Korea) and mute assistant teacher, Clara (who was unfortunately not told to dress up for picture day) in the yearbook.
Like I said, Friday was graduation day, and if you were a 7-year old homeroom teacher this was great news because you got to sleep in! Woo! I got my times messed up and was the LAST to arrive for our shuttle bus to the ceremony, but it turned out to not be a problem since we had TWO HOURS before the event for all 50-60 teachers to set up the chairs. We had so much time on our hands that we set up the chairs in a variety of ways before finally choosing a style that we liked. We did this again after the ceremony was finished too, just for fun.
As a 7-year old teacher, I sat with my students and helped them as they stepped up on stage to get their diplomas and awards (everyone got an award, even if it was tongue-in-cheek like "most inquisitive," AKA the "never stops talking" award). They also sang a couple of songs- that's them performing for their audience of snap-happy moms in the photo above.
After the ceremony we got hugs from the kids and took lots of pictures in every imaginable combination of poses. Some of the kids gave us flowers, which was sweet, but my favorite was class valedictorian Rachel who said, "My mom told me to say bye to you". Bye Rachel, see you in Super Elite (our afterschool program), which your mom is also making you attend :)
Of course, after the ceremony was a good old-fashioned staff dinner of galbi and (mostly) soju. I never realized what a ringleader my principal is- she had us doing co-teacher shots, shot waves, you name it. It was a very fun time.
So next week begins a new year for the staff at my school. Most of us are changing classes and looking forward to our 3 prep days (and a holiday!) next week to get ready. I'll be moving down to the 3rd floor for my new class. You know how every school has a a weird, slightly "off" art teacher? Yeah, that's me now :P
It's gonna be another good year.
It was a busy final week with the kids. My class finished all of their textbooks by the skin of their teeth (last month I realized I had something like 120 pages of the reading book left and about five 30 minute classes remaining to teach it!) but we had time to play too. On the last day we went through a "greatest hits" of class favorite activities- from a game of Mario Bomb (don't ask) to the Cookie Monster's "Healthy Food" video (a running joke in the class all year) to one last story time.
The story that we read was one that our class wrote ourselves! The students drew the pictures (with heavy Photoshopping from Shawn Teacher) and wrote the words (with heavy embellishments from Shawn Teacher) to "The Ugly Panda", our version of "The Ugly Duckling". The school had the book made for us, and each kid got to take a copy home with them. I felt like Oprah- "and YOU get a book, and YOU get a book" passing them around to happy faces.
The school also sent home a copy of it's annual "PSA Kids" magazine. Each teacher had written a short note to their students in the magazine and- can you believe it- they misspelled "SPELL" in my article!! I had to double-check the writing that I originally submitted and it had been spelled correctly. Whyyyyy!!?
Of course, every school has a yearbook at the end of the year and my school was no different. They were beautiful- huge, leather bound, and full of super-cute professional photos uniquely made for each child. If you'd like a copy, they were only 180,000 Won, or approximately $165 Canadian!!!
Me with my co-teacher Jamie (she's surely the best kindergarten teacher in Korea) and mute assistant teacher, Clara (who was unfortunately not told to dress up for picture day) in the yearbook.
Like I said, Friday was graduation day, and if you were a 7-year old homeroom teacher this was great news because you got to sleep in! Woo! I got my times messed up and was the LAST to arrive for our shuttle bus to the ceremony, but it turned out to not be a problem since we had TWO HOURS before the event for all 50-60 teachers to set up the chairs. We had so much time on our hands that we set up the chairs in a variety of ways before finally choosing a style that we liked. We did this again after the ceremony was finished too, just for fun.
As a 7-year old teacher, I sat with my students and helped them as they stepped up on stage to get their diplomas and awards (everyone got an award, even if it was tongue-in-cheek like "most inquisitive," AKA the "never stops talking" award). They also sang a couple of songs- that's them performing for their audience of snap-happy moms in the photo above.After the ceremony we got hugs from the kids and took lots of pictures in every imaginable combination of poses. Some of the kids gave us flowers, which was sweet, but my favorite was class valedictorian Rachel who said, "My mom told me to say bye to you". Bye Rachel, see you in Super Elite (our afterschool program), which your mom is also making you attend :)
Of course, after the ceremony was a good old-fashioned staff dinner of galbi and (mostly) soju. I never realized what a ringleader my principal is- she had us doing co-teacher shots, shot waves, you name it. It was a very fun time.So next week begins a new year for the staff at my school. Most of us are changing classes and looking forward to our 3 prep days (and a holiday!) next week to get ready. I'll be moving down to the 3rd floor for my new class. You know how every school has a a weird, slightly "off" art teacher? Yeah, that's me now :P
It's gonna be another good year.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Umyeonsan
Spring is here! Last weekend the temperature hit 12 degrees on Sunday, after a few straight weeks of very cold and windy weather. It was nice to just be able to go outside and walk around without feeling tense, cold and just wishing to go back home for the first time since we were in Malaysia a million years ago.
We decided to go for a hike at Umyeonsan, a small mountain near Nambu Bus Terminal Station. Online research said that it would only be an hour-long hike, which was perfect for us. The entrance to the hiking trail can't be missed, either: it's marked by a giant glass disk attached to a pedestrian bridge.
Usually, spring hikes mean muddy hikes, but somehow, it was only muddy in a few spots. There were a bunch of people on the trail, but it didn't feel crowded. There was even some wildlife to see- anyone know what kind of bird that is in the above picture? It was huge, didn't look like it could fly, was colored like a rooster and had a long tail of feathers. Strangey.
Stopping for a rest on the way up. With the mild weather and the exercise we found ourselves hiking in our t-shirts by the time we were mid-way through the trail.
After about an hour we got to the trail's summit, which is marked by a large pile of rocks next to some benches and a scenic lookout. From here we could see the whole city- from the 63 Building on the west to Olympic Part on the East and Seoul Tower and Bukhansan up North. Seoul is such a big city and you can lose your sense of distance and geography when you're always traveling it on the subway, getting out in random places, so we enjoyed the view.
If you click on the panoramic image above you can see a lot more detail.
Normal viewage.
We decided to go for a hike at Umyeonsan, a small mountain near Nambu Bus Terminal Station. Online research said that it would only be an hour-long hike, which was perfect for us. The entrance to the hiking trail can't be missed, either: it's marked by a giant glass disk attached to a pedestrian bridge.
Usually, spring hikes mean muddy hikes, but somehow, it was only muddy in a few spots. There were a bunch of people on the trail, but it didn't feel crowded. There was even some wildlife to see- anyone know what kind of bird that is in the above picture? It was huge, didn't look like it could fly, was colored like a rooster and had a long tail of feathers. Strangey.
Stopping for a rest on the way up. With the mild weather and the exercise we found ourselves hiking in our t-shirts by the time we were mid-way through the trail.
After about an hour we got to the trail's summit, which is marked by a large pile of rocks next to some benches and a scenic lookout. From here we could see the whole city- from the 63 Building on the west to Olympic Part on the East and Seoul Tower and Bukhansan up North. Seoul is such a big city and you can lose your sense of distance and geography when you're always traveling it on the subway, getting out in random places, so we enjoyed the view.
If you click on the panoramic image above you can see a lot more detail.
Normal viewage.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zGtV6Gbmv4
Of course, it wouldn't be a hike in Korea without seeing some funny exercise from our fellow hikers. The guy in the video isn't being too ridiculous, but the woman at the end is pretty awesome. She was killing it earlier, but I was too slow with my camera. Anyway, you get the idea. I love Korean public exercise <3
Not to be outdone, here's an ajumma passed out on a tire, who we spotted on our way back down Umyeonsan.
We enjoyed our hike and had a good workout, but it totally paled in comparison to the exercise we would experience next: we went to Costco. In Korea. On a Sunday. The things a guy does for bulk granola bars...
Here's to spring! Woooo! Annyong, winter!
Previous posts on hiking adventures:
Elephant Mountain- my favorite hike
Bukhansan- our first Korean hike (the one where we got lost and came out 2 towns over, broke)
Monkey Mountain- there were monkeys
Gwanggyo- the one where we almost died in the woods, lost and thirsty
Not to be outdone, here's an ajumma passed out on a tire, who we spotted on our way back down Umyeonsan.
We enjoyed our hike and had a good workout, but it totally paled in comparison to the exercise we would experience next: we went to Costco. In Korea. On a Sunday. The things a guy does for bulk granola bars...
Here's to spring! Woooo! Annyong, winter!
Previous posts on hiking adventures:
Elephant Mountain- my favorite hike
Bukhansan- our first Korean hike (the one where we got lost and came out 2 towns over, broke)
Monkey Mountain- there were monkeys
Gwanggyo- the one where we almost died in the woods, lost and thirsty
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Sexy Sillim
From the Wikipedia for Sillim-dong:A few years ago, the neighborhood was suddenly flooded with talking bars, massage parlors and other (sex-related) shops," said a student who asked to remain anonymous, having lived in the area from 2000-2007.
He explained that Shillim-dong is now known by many as a place to enjoy easy and cheap sexual entertainment and that some even come from far away to visit the neighborhood for such reasons.
After deciding to take a more scenic 35 minute bus ride rather than a boring 25 minute subway ride we arrived at Sillim Station. The first sexy thing we were interested in finding was a decent lunch, and although the area is famous for it's sundae (blood sausage), we opted for TGI Fridays instead. Can't deny that chicken burger looks pretty foxy.
Satisfied, we headed up some side streets off the main drag, which is where all seedy things happen. Sure enough, the area has quite a few more night clubs, love motels and sexy looking norebangs than your typical Korean neighborhood... though not more than I've seen in other places. All of the norebangs we saw seemed to be the sexy type (the one in the top photo says it offers 24-hour Thai massages...), with seductive ladies on the store signs. I've read about these karaoke places where young girls will "sing" along with you, which is maybe the service being offered here.
Next, we walked by a tomato-themed real estate office. And you know what that means.
A dollar store at the end of the road offered some pretty kinky merchandise , such as this Hello Jiny organizer.
Who knows what goes on at the JUICY hairshop. This area was starting to make me feel dirty, but luckily there was a mall on the corner.
Just look at the obscenity on display in the Renaissance Shopping Mall! Harlot mannequins brazenly on display in an area where easily-tainted children and weak-hearted old ladies shop. The harassment didn't end there, either. After buying some boots from a shoe store, the guy working there shouted "I love you!" after we made our purchase. Was he coming onto us? Is this why Mel was given service-uh insoles??
The overwhelming sexuality in Sillim was starting to get to us, so we decided to head home. A cold shower and a solid 3 or 4 hours of watching Oprah/North Korea documentaries helped to erase the sins of our afternoon.
Editors note: There is nothing really especially sexy or interesting in Sillim. If you go there you will be bored and forced to take pictures of tomato-themed real estate agencies. Travel at your own risk.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Papa John 's Delivery
It took 1 year and 51 weeks for us to learn enough Korean to dare and phone for pizza delivery! After role-playing a delivery order in our Korean class last Wednesday night we decided to try and order a pizza on the weekend.I wrote my script all out and dialed the number for Papa John's, 1577-8080 (if you'd like to try yourself). Because I didn't want the operator to think that she was talking to a Korean with a speech (or brain) impediment, I began by saying "I'm sorry, I'm a foreigner," (which is something you do truly have to be sorry for when living in Korea). "Oh, English?" she said, as she immediately switched languages. I'd been looking forward to ordering entirely in Korean, so I continued answering her questions in Korean as she asked them in English. She misunderstood my address, so I gave up and switched to English. 30 minutes later, one of those annoying delivery scooters that threaten our lives daily on the sidewalk finally became useful by bringing a piping hot pizza to our door. Success! Delicious success!
We decided that we'd try Dominos this weekend, but their Korean pizza menu is so unappetizing (think 'Spanish' pizza with sweet potato and pineapple or the 'Chasu Chasu', a pork/broccoli/balsamic vinegar pizza) so we called Papa John's again. Their system remembered our address when our phone number rang through and this time I was able to order our meal without using English at all.
This was good Korean practice for me, but I'd wish I'd known that we could have been ordering pizza by phone in English for the last few years! Although it's probably for the best that my fat ass wasn't aware of this special secret all along...
UPDATE: Mel just successfully ordered a roast chicken from Goobne! The ordering process was a Korean-only affair and such difficult questions as "where do you live?" were no match for my Mel. When she got off the phone, I asked her how it went. Her response? "I NEED A DRINK".So, I just bought some wine and we're currently making some potatoes, dressing and gravy to go with our meal. This delivery business is awesome!
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Kitty Toast
Mel bought a Hello Kitty cookie/toast cutter last night at the COEX. Wasting 60% of your slice of toast has never been cuter!
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
Time To Leave?
The top 2 words suggested by Mel's phone when she types the letter "K". Gotta love predictive text!
Friday, February 04, 2011
National Assembly-Hello Living Kitty Cafe-Times Square Sluts
On the first night of the 5-day Seollal holiday we went to Suwon to enjoy another night at the Lucy, but for the next two days we just remained in a vegetative state in our officetel. By Friday, it was time to get out and do something... but what? We have a list of things we want to do in Korea before we leave, but this list was drafted almost a year ago so we're almost out of ideas. We decided to hit up two locations quite low on the list, but that were at least close in proximity to each other: the National Assembly building and the Hello Kitty Cafe.
Here it is, the National Assembly building. This building is where the members of legislature meet. We've seen it from afar many times, and it's always stood out as a unique looking building, especially at night, when it's all lit up. We were the only people there when we visited, aside from a half dozen bored-looking guards.
There were a few nice statues, a small park and a library on the grounds, but otherwise there's not really much to say about this place (even though it felt thrilling to visit a new place after 2 days of cookies and MTV "I Used To Be Fat" marathons).
We got back on the subway and traveled 4 stops north to Hongdae, where the Hello Kitty Cafe is located. When we crossed the Han River I got to see it frozen over for the first time. I don't believe it froze over the last time we lived in Korea, but it's been a lot colder this winter than it was then.
On our way to the cafe we passed by the Cocks club.
We also passed by this tiger-bunny fusion graffiti. I'd been meaning to take a shot of this artwork for the longest time.
Here it is, the Hello Kitty Cafe. We had a few memorable visits to the Hello Kitty Cafe in Taipei (here and here), but this is a super-lame version of that cafe. The Taiwanese version was massive and served desserts that looked like artwork. You could even watch the bakers as they prepared their masterpieces. Korea's version was two small rooms, maybe 10 tables total, so there was nowhere to sit. We were turned away, and no one turns away Shawn Q. Keddy without a scathing review on a blog nobody reads! Oh, and the menu sucked too! There wasn't a single fancy cake or special pastry. Instead it was the same old Korean cafe crap on offer: waffles and thick toast. They should be ashamed. The real Hello kitty would use this place as a litter box.
Spitefully, we walked next door to give our money to a different cat-themed cafe... except this one was full of real kittehs! If you want to visit, it's called "Cats Living" and it's conveniently located just under "Fuckfake". That's just up the road from "Cocks", if you're keeping notes.
We knew we were in the right place because of all the cat fur glued to the mat at the entrance. Just the sight of it made me miss my own cat at home immensely.
This was a lot cleaner than the cat cafe we visited in Taipei, and the cats seemed happier too. There were a lot of places for them to hide, play or just chillax on the windowsills. There were toys laying around to use with the cats, too.
What's on the other side of the wall? A million litter boxes, of course!
We particularly liked this fellow, who looked an awful lot like Wilfred Brimley.
We left the cafe for a crowded, but satisfying meal at Taco Bell and then decided to check out the recentishly-opened Times Square shopping mall in Yeongdeungpo. We'd been meaning to visit it for a while now, but we're never in that area. Since Yeongdeungpo is only 4 stops from Hongdae, it was a convenient stop for us.
Most surprising was red light district directly outside of the shopping mall! There was no confusing what was for sale in this strip of 20 or so bare, red-lit rooms with one young girl in each.
I'm sure this hooker appreciated my photography as much as she appreciated that gross adjoshi a few minutes after the picture was taken. Oh yeah, and on the other side of the mall is a huge, and obviously effective, police station.
The Times Square building is pretty big but actually only has 5 floors of shopping, plus a Shinsegae Department Store. The rest of the floors are officetels, a gym and a movie theater.
We picked up some random stuff from Hot Tracks (I needed a glaze to finish off the set of nesting dolls I'd been painting this week), but otherwise didn't do too much shopping. It's a pretty nice mall, but very similar to the COEX, which is a lot closer to where we live. If you're in the area, we found that the subway station has some very good shopping too. I got two pairs of nice dress shoes for 29,000/each and a pair of runners, too. So, yeah, that's three new pairs of shoes! It was a good day of cats, cafes and hookers, but it was time to go home and resume our "I Used To Be Fat" marathon. Isn't vacation great?
Here it is, the National Assembly building. This building is where the members of legislature meet. We've seen it from afar many times, and it's always stood out as a unique looking building, especially at night, when it's all lit up. We were the only people there when we visited, aside from a half dozen bored-looking guards.
There were a few nice statues, a small park and a library on the grounds, but otherwise there's not really much to say about this place (even though it felt thrilling to visit a new place after 2 days of cookies and MTV "I Used To Be Fat" marathons).
We got back on the subway and traveled 4 stops north to Hongdae, where the Hello Kitty Cafe is located. When we crossed the Han River I got to see it frozen over for the first time. I don't believe it froze over the last time we lived in Korea, but it's been a lot colder this winter than it was then.
On our way to the cafe we passed by the Cocks club.
We also passed by this tiger-bunny fusion graffiti. I'd been meaning to take a shot of this artwork for the longest time.
Here it is, the Hello Kitty Cafe. We had a few memorable visits to the Hello Kitty Cafe in Taipei (here and here), but this is a super-lame version of that cafe. The Taiwanese version was massive and served desserts that looked like artwork. You could even watch the bakers as they prepared their masterpieces. Korea's version was two small rooms, maybe 10 tables total, so there was nowhere to sit. We were turned away, and no one turns away Shawn Q. Keddy without a scathing review on a blog nobody reads! Oh, and the menu sucked too! There wasn't a single fancy cake or special pastry. Instead it was the same old Korean cafe crap on offer: waffles and thick toast. They should be ashamed. The real Hello kitty would use this place as a litter box.
Spitefully, we walked next door to give our money to a different cat-themed cafe... except this one was full of real kittehs! If you want to visit, it's called "Cats Living" and it's conveniently located just under "Fuckfake". That's just up the road from "Cocks", if you're keeping notes.
We knew we were in the right place because of all the cat fur glued to the mat at the entrance. Just the sight of it made me miss my own cat at home immensely.
This was a lot cleaner than the cat cafe we visited in Taipei, and the cats seemed happier too. There were a lot of places for them to hide, play or just chillax on the windowsills. There were toys laying around to use with the cats, too.
What's on the other side of the wall? A million litter boxes, of course!
We particularly liked this fellow, who looked an awful lot like Wilfred Brimley.We left the cafe for a crowded, but satisfying meal at Taco Bell and then decided to check out the recentishly-opened Times Square shopping mall in Yeongdeungpo. We'd been meaning to visit it for a while now, but we're never in that area. Since Yeongdeungpo is only 4 stops from Hongdae, it was a convenient stop for us.
Most surprising was red light district directly outside of the shopping mall! There was no confusing what was for sale in this strip of 20 or so bare, red-lit rooms with one young girl in each.
I'm sure this hooker appreciated my photography as much as she appreciated that gross adjoshi a few minutes after the picture was taken. Oh yeah, and on the other side of the mall is a huge, and obviously effective, police station.
The Times Square building is pretty big but actually only has 5 floors of shopping, plus a Shinsegae Department Store. The rest of the floors are officetels, a gym and a movie theater.
We picked up some random stuff from Hot Tracks (I needed a glaze to finish off the set of nesting dolls I'd been painting this week), but otherwise didn't do too much shopping. It's a pretty nice mall, but very similar to the COEX, which is a lot closer to where we live. If you're in the area, we found that the subway station has some very good shopping too. I got two pairs of nice dress shoes for 29,000/each and a pair of runners, too. So, yeah, that's three new pairs of shoes! It was a good day of cats, cafes and hookers, but it was time to go home and resume our "I Used To Be Fat" marathon. Isn't vacation great?
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