Ace and I are enjoying a slower pace around here, for the time being. The weekend after the Lotus Lantern Festival, I headed back up to Seoul to pick up Rachel from the airport. It was great to have her here- Ace and I loved getting to share all the random bits of Korean insight we’ve picked up, showing off our weak Korean skills, introducing her to our favorite places and restaurants, and introducing her to our friends here. It was lovely to see her again, and a great excuse to visit places I’ve been to and loved, and places I’ve been meaning to check out. It really felt great to get to share everything I’ve learned over the last 9 months.
Unfortunately, we both developed a nasty cold or something in the beginning of the week. The doctor told me I had “cold plus allergy plus voice problem”, whatever that means, which was a bit of an understatement, seeing as I was completely unable to speak above a whisper when I visited him. It was pretty lame having to try not to talk with my friend here, but, on the bright side, I got the day off work and got to spend more time with her. Rach was feeling icky all week, but was still able to enjoy everything. I’d say some highlights were tandem biking around Gyeongju, the cool spas and whole-body-nibbly-fish-pool at Spa Valley, the local waterpark, and getting scrubbed within an inch of our lives, thrown around, beaten and then doused in cucumber and milk by the old ladies at the bath house we visited.
I took the day off on Friday to take Rach up to Seoul, which meant it was a 3 day workweek for me! It was really nice, though I still managed to exhaust myself. Ace met us up in Seoul in Saturday, and we enjoyed some good food, a live show, a night in a Korean traditional house, and a palace together.
Rachel left for Seoul that Sunday, and I spent most of last week catching up on little stuff, while still trying to work out, study Korean, and write in my journal. I had a phone interview with EF INST, my top choice for schools in Istanbul, on Monday. I think it went well, but they won’t be making offers until June, so now I just have to wait. There are a million uncertainties that are driving me crazy, but I’m trying not to dwell on them. What kind of position will they offer me, if they do offer one? How many split shifts and weekends will I have to work? What kind of students and classes will I teach? Will I have enough time with Ace? Will I get enough vacation and holidays to do some traveling in the area? What will my pay be like? What area will I work in? Will I be able to negotiate a 9 month contract? If they don’t offer me something, should I get a job with one of the less desirable schools, or just cruise on into Istanbul when I want and look for work there? Yuck. Anyone that knows me knows that I hate not having a plan, but I’m attempting to be patient.
This weekend was the first time in a month that I didn’t go up to Seoul! Saturday was one of our rare Daegu rainy days, so it was perfect for a lazy day around the house. Ace studied a lot of Korean, and I had a great time working on a photo book with our Turkey pictures, making banana bread, journaling, and getting myself organized. One of the bonuses about our situation is having apartments next to all of our friends, and we spend Saturday evening visiting three different friends’ apartments, all within a 15 minute walk.
Sunday I took myself shopping downtown, and Ace met up with me at night to see Star Trek. It was great! I’m not even remotely knowledgeable about the old stuff, but I still loved the movie. We had a late dinner at one of our favorite little restaurants, then headed home. It was a perfect weekend- just what I needed! It’s getting a bit late here-1:30 a.m.- and I think it’s time to retire with the good book I’m reading, A Prayer for Owen Meany. Goodnight!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Friday, May 1, 2009
Festivals
One week ago, Kait and I went to Seoul to see the Lotus Lantern Festival that was a week-early celebration of Buddha's birthday. To give just a little background, the lotus flower is important in Buddhist beliefs because the flower grows in swamps, an example of beauty that flourishes amid the muck.
There were many Buddhists from around the world who were celebrating at this festival. I saw people from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, and many other Asian countries, but I also saw monks that were completely American, which was pretty cool to see.
The festival took place near the main walking street in Seoul, Insadong, so we all (me, Kait, Carolyn, Laura, and Sarah) enjoyed going from stall to stall to see the activities. The ladies all got their faces painted. Later, we had some traditional tea by sitting cross-legged in a stall while munching on some delicious rice cake. I and Sarah copied a sketch of a hand holding a lotus flower above a bed of clouds. Amid the stalls, there was a temple that we also checked out just off of the street. Many people gathered in this area to pray, pay their respects to the Buddha image, and to watch a slew of performances that were taking place just outside. After we got some delicious potato and pork spine soup and did a bit of browsing through the walking street, we checked out the main event: the parade.
This was definitely the highlight of the festival. The parade went on for roughly three hours, and consisted of hundreds - perhaps thousands - of people walking, dancing, or marching down the street. Also, we saw a bunch of awesome floats, depicting fire-breathing dragons, fire-breathing peacocks, a monk in a taxi, and Buddha in a helicopter -- along with a bunch of other floats that seemed more natural at a Buddhist celebration. Another thing to see was the costumes. Some of them were quite elaborate and beautiful.
Traditional food and drinks festival
Two weeks ago we went to a festival in Gyeongju that celebrated Korean traditional foods and drinks. For the most part, we saw barbecued meat and rice cakes for the traditional foods. The focus, however, was more heavily put on the traditional drinks...especially those of the alcoholic variety. Dongdongju, Maccoli, bamboo leaf wine, andong soju, and soju were all there, and, for a mere 2,ooowon, Kait and I each bought a small cup about the size of a shot glass that allowed us to go from booth to booth receiving free samples of drinks. [Dongdongju and moccoli are both similar versions of fermented rice drinks. Soju itself is a much harder version of fermented rice wine, and bamboo leaf wine is, well, bamboo-leaf flavoring mixed with soju.]
A mildly funny thing happened while Kait and I were approaching one of the stalls that gave out the drinks. There were many people with high-quality video cameras that were possibly filming for television purposes. Anyways, when we approached the stall, one such man and his reporter (equipped with a mike and everything) saw us coming. I saw these men see us as they started to get their camera/mike poised for us to approach. At this point I stopped Kait, and told her we might want to go to another stall, but just as I stopped, the men saw us stop, and they realized what we were doing, so they took some hesitant steps in our direction. Realizing that we were already committed to getting filmed drinking some free alcohol, we went ahead to the stall, which seemed to please the men very much. They asked us questions in English such as "How is the taste" and the like, so we were happy to answer them.
Herb Festival
Recently (yesterday) after our Korean language class at the local YMCA, Kait and I went to another very small festival that was celebrating the use of plants/herbs/roots/etc. We just kind of perused, and we decided that we wouldn't try the fried ginger root or pumpkin juice, though I was just a bit tempted. Also, the highlight of this festival was perhaps the giant, inflated vinyl artery (as in a human artery)that served as a play area and bouncy room for children; of course, we checked it out immediately. I am guessing that it was a random way to promote the health benefits of herbal medicines.
Anyways, that's all for now. We will post again soon, as there will definitely be a lot going on in the weeks to follow. Until then, we send our thoughts and love!
There were many Buddhists from around the world who were celebrating at this festival. I saw people from Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tibet, and many other Asian countries, but I also saw monks that were completely American, which was pretty cool to see.
The festival took place near the main walking street in Seoul, Insadong, so we all (me, Kait, Carolyn, Laura, and Sarah) enjoyed going from stall to stall to see the activities. The ladies all got their faces painted. Later, we had some traditional tea by sitting cross-legged in a stall while munching on some delicious rice cake. I and Sarah copied a sketch of a hand holding a lotus flower above a bed of clouds. Amid the stalls, there was a temple that we also checked out just off of the street. Many people gathered in this area to pray, pay their respects to the Buddha image, and to watch a slew of performances that were taking place just outside. After we got some delicious potato and pork spine soup and did a bit of browsing through the walking street, we checked out the main event: the parade.
This was definitely the highlight of the festival. The parade went on for roughly three hours, and consisted of hundreds - perhaps thousands - of people walking, dancing, or marching down the street. Also, we saw a bunch of awesome floats, depicting fire-breathing dragons, fire-breathing peacocks, a monk in a taxi, and Buddha in a helicopter -- along with a bunch of other floats that seemed more natural at a Buddhist celebration. Another thing to see was the costumes. Some of them were quite elaborate and beautiful.
Traditional food and drinks festival
Two weeks ago we went to a festival in Gyeongju that celebrated Korean traditional foods and drinks. For the most part, we saw barbecued meat and rice cakes for the traditional foods. The focus, however, was more heavily put on the traditional drinks...especially those of the alcoholic variety. Dongdongju, Maccoli, bamboo leaf wine, andong soju, and soju were all there, and, for a mere 2,ooowon, Kait and I each bought a small cup about the size of a shot glass that allowed us to go from booth to booth receiving free samples of drinks. [Dongdongju and moccoli are both similar versions of fermented rice drinks. Soju itself is a much harder version of fermented rice wine, and bamboo leaf wine is, well, bamboo-leaf flavoring mixed with soju.]
A mildly funny thing happened while Kait and I were approaching one of the stalls that gave out the drinks. There were many people with high-quality video cameras that were possibly filming for television purposes. Anyways, when we approached the stall, one such man and his reporter (equipped with a mike and everything) saw us coming. I saw these men see us as they started to get their camera/mike poised for us to approach. At this point I stopped Kait, and told her we might want to go to another stall, but just as I stopped, the men saw us stop, and they realized what we were doing, so they took some hesitant steps in our direction. Realizing that we were already committed to getting filmed drinking some free alcohol, we went ahead to the stall, which seemed to please the men very much. They asked us questions in English such as "How is the taste" and the like, so we were happy to answer them.
Herb Festival
Recently (yesterday) after our Korean language class at the local YMCA, Kait and I went to another very small festival that was celebrating the use of plants/herbs/roots/etc. We just kind of perused, and we decided that we wouldn't try the fried ginger root or pumpkin juice, though I was just a bit tempted. Also, the highlight of this festival was perhaps the giant, inflated vinyl artery (as in a human artery)that served as a play area and bouncy room for children; of course, we checked it out immediately. I am guessing that it was a random way to promote the health benefits of herbal medicines.
Anyways, that's all for now. We will post again soon, as there will definitely be a lot going on in the weeks to follow. Until then, we send our thoughts and love!
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