Want a Cup (or Two) with Your Cereal?

Shopping in Korea can be quite challenging at times.  First is the issue with transportation.  Back home, I would get a lot of groceries at one time and put them in the trunk of my car.  Once I got home, I would take several trips into the house just to get all the groceries inside.  In Korea, we have to worry about how much we are buying because we have to take a bus back home.  We could take a cab but it's still a hassle.

The second issue is knowing what everything is.  Since we've been in Korea over a year, it's not quite as bad as it was when we first arrived.  But, there are times when I have to stand in an aisle and seriously consider what I'm about to buy.

However, shopping in Korea can be kind of fun.  There is a thing here called 1+1.  It's basically: buy 1, get 1.  This happens a lot!  I like to wait and get expensive items this way like shampoo (Dove) and detergent.  It's great to get 1+1 but you do have to remember that you have to carry it all home.

Another great thing about shopping in Korea is: buy 1, get something else.  Several times, I bought detergent and a sample package of fabric softener would be taped to the bottle.  This is a fairly mild version of this buy 1, get something else.  Sometimes the combinations just don't make sense.  So, I will just show you an example!

We bought a box of cereal and taped to the box were two bottles!  Score!

Shopping in Korea can, at times, be maddening, but it can also be fun and full of surprises and awesome deals!

End of Week 1 in Public School

After being in Busan for four weeks and only being in my classroom four days, I was ready to start my first full week of teaching.  Yes, it was great being on "vacation" but I was also ready to start teaching.  I always have trouble sleeping the night before something new or exciting is about to happen.  Sunday night was no exception.  I didn't fall asleep until after 12:30am and had to wake up around 6:00am.  For those of you who know me, I love my sleep and I hoped I wouldn't be too tired for my first day.

Monday
I got to school at 8:00am even though I didn't have to be there until 8:30am.  I sat at my co-teacher's desk for 30 minutes while everyone in the office went about their own business.  My co-teacher finally arrived at 8:30am and ushered me to the vice principals desk where she and the principal was standing.  My co-teacher then told me that in a minute, I would have to introduce myself to the entire staff.  I was half-way expecting this but thought I would be given five minutes to prepare instead of one.  I was given the microphone and I looked at everyone and said hello in Korean.  That gave me a round of applause.  I then said hello in English and a few more sentences and was finished.  Not so bad!  My co-teacher then told me that I would not have classes that day but that I needed to prepare a binder of the activities that we did during summer camp.  That is what I spent the majority of my day doing, alone, in my classroom on the fifth floor (I am the only room up there).

Tuesday
When I asked my co-teacher what I would be doing today, she told me that I would not be having classes because all of the classes are being restructured.  I went upstairs and spent the entire day alone - again.  I did try to go down to the teachers' office to be visible and ask a few questions but I was always sent back up to my room.  I did bring some paper towels with me and did some major cleaning around my desk.  It was very dusty.  I swept the whole room and tried to tidy up the room a bit.  At 3:00pm, my co-teacher took me to the bank to set up automatic payments on our bills.  That was very helpful since the banks close at 4:00pm and we don't get out of school until 4:30pm.

Wednesday
I got to school a little early again.  I went directly to my classroom so that I could prepare for my day.  I was expecting to have a few classes to teach.  At 8:20am, I went down to the teachers' office to talk to my co-teacher.  She wasn't there but one of the other English teachers asked if she could help me.  After I asked her what my schedule would be for the day, she told me to go back to my classroom and my co-teacher would call me down when she got there.  When I didn't hear anything by 8:45am, I went downstairs.  The other English teacher never told my co-teacher that I had wanted to see her.  I asked if I would be teaching classes today and she gave me my schedule.  My first class was at 9:00am.  I taught 4 classes (I teach 4 classes everyday).  This week, it's all just introductory stuff.  I made a short PowerPoint about myself and about America.  I also gave all the students a note card for them to write their name, birthday, and other fun information.  I would like to recognize all of the students on their birthday by giving them candy.  Also on this day, Korea had a Civil Air Drill.  At 2:00pm, an air-raid siren sounded.  I have never experienced this while being in a classroom.  Last year, I would have been walking to school when the siren went off.  The students were supposed to get under their desks but the teacher just made them put their heads on their desks instead.  For 15 minutes, there was talking over the intercom.  The best way I can describe it?  It was like being in Nazi Germany when the bombings were occurring (from what I've seen in movies).  Some guy, in a foreign language, speaking what seems to be very harshly and sirens sounding.  These kids have spent their whole lives dealing with this so it's no big deal to them, but there is always a chance that war could break out.

Thursday
I felt more comfortable today because I had a better idea of what to expect.  Again, I had 4 classes.  In one of my classes, the teacher was taking attendance and about 6 kids were missing.  She said that 3 of them didn't come to school for one reason or the other and 3 of them were outside in the rain picking up trash for punishment; they had stolen money from some of the other students.  Several of the teachers told me that we have a bunch of thieves in our school.  Any time I leave my classroom, I have to lock it.  This was also the first day that I had to eat lunch on my own.  For the past 3 days, I ate with my main co-teacher.  I went to the lunch room by myself and was the only one in there.  I sat down and a few minutes later, other teachers started coming in.  Luckily, a woman decided she wanted to sit with me.  However, she knew maybe 3 words of English.  She pointed at the chopsticks in my hands and said, "good".  I took that as meaning my chopstick skills were good!

Friday
Friday was a good day.  There are 3 levels in middle school: grade 1, grade 2, and grade 3.  On Fridays, I have at least one class of each grade.  My last class of the day is the period right after lunch.  They are grade 1 students.  However, they were probably my best speaking/understand class yet.  Before class, one of the students sat in my room and started talking to me.  He asked me, "Are we going to have an orientation since we don't know you or are we going to start chapter 6?"  Without trying to look shocked from his speaking abilities, I told him that we were going to do an orientation.  Most of my middle school kids still can't spell the names of the months or colors, let alone have an intelligent conversation - in English!  After school, I was going to meet Zach "downtown" (there are several "downtowns" in Busan) which meant I had to walk to a different bus stop than the one I normally go to.  I don't know if you remember but a couple of weeks ago I briefly mentioned a boy who is special and the other kids throw garage at him.  Well, as I was leaving school, I ran into him.  He kept yelling, "Sam, Sam...."  I stopped walking so that he could catch up with me and we could walk together.  He understands that I'm American, but I don't think he quite understands that I don't know Korean.  I can pick up on some things he says, but not everything.  At one point, he grabbed my hand and interlocked our fingers.  I know in the States, this would be a huge no-no!  Here, I don't know if it's such a huge deal, but with me being a foreigner I could still probably get in huge trouble or even deported if they think something inappropriate is happening.  I immediately found a reason to unlock hands.  He tried grabbing my hand twice more after that.  Here is a kid who doesn't have a friend in the world.  I am being nice to him and he wants to hold my hand.  I felt completely terrible!  However, when I got close to my bus stop, we parted ways.

All-in-all, it was a very good week!  I look forward to sharing more of my teaching/school experiences with you!

Area Around Our Apartment (video)

It's not the greatest video, but we've had several people ask us what the area around our apartment looks like.  There's really not much to see - just a lot of apartment buildings.  But, here's the video.  I hope you enjoy!

Samgyupsal

Pronunciation:  som-gep-sa

This has got to be ONE of my favorite Korean dishes.  I love so many of them.

It's basically thinly sliced pieces of pork belly that you grill at your table.  I will explain it in pictures.

The server will bring out raw meat on a plate.  It is then the job of the diner to put the meat on the grill and cook it to his/her liking.  Then, chop the meat into bite-sized pieces.  Usually you are not given a plate because you eat right off the grill.

Once the meat is finished, you can start eating.  However, you do not need to eat just plain meat.  You are also given leaves of lettuce and 'banchan', or several side dishes.  What you do is: take the bite-sized pieces of meat, dip it in sauce, put it on a leaf of lettuce, add as much from the side dishes as you like, make a mini wrap, and stuff the whole thing into your mouth.

This is what my finished product usually looks like.  Yummy!!!!!!

We also recently tried some marinated pork belly and ate it the same way as above.  Delicious!

I am going to add a video from Youtube.com that I did not make and I DO NOT claim it.  But if you are interested in seeing how to eat samgyupsal, please check out the video.

Liberation Day

Tomorrow, South Korea will celebrate Liberation Day or Gwangbokjeol (literally meaning: "Restoration Day of Light").  This holiday always falls on August 15th.  It celebrates Victory over Japan Day which liberated Korea from colonial rule.  Many homes and businesses will display the national flag.



"Gwangbokjeol song" is sung at all official events on this day.

Since it's a national holiday, Zach and I have the day off of work.  He plans to play Go and I will go to either a park or museum with some of our friends.

Nostalgia

It happens when you hear a song and it "takes you back".  For me, whenever I hear an Elvis Presley song, I think about being in my childhood home.  I think about mom working out in the basement listening to Elvis (only Elvis - always).  Sometimes she would stop exercising and dance with me and my sister.

It happens when you taste something familiar.  For me, it's when I taste ham that was fried in a skillet.  It makes me think about holidays at grandpa's house.

It happens when you see something familiar.  I get really nostalgic when I look at photos from college - especially my senior year.  I miss my Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College girls.  You know who you are.

It happens when you touch something familiar.  I personally can't think of an example, but I know you know what I'm talking about....

So, where am I going with this?!  Well, if you noticed, I only covered 4 of the 5 senses.  I just had a "smell" moment.  Yesterday, I bought the exact same lotion that I used to buy when we were in Iksan.  I put the lotion on after I showered this morning and I was immediately taken back to our apartment in Iksan.  Yes, I've only been gone from there for 8 months but I couldn't believe the memories that came flooding back.

It's pretty crazy how something so small as the scent of lotion can take you back to good times.  That realization got me thinking - I am so ready to start making memories of my time in Busan.  In fact, I've already started making memories.  I hope one day, a song will come on and I will think back to my time in Busan.  Watch out would, I'm about to have one amazing year making as many memories as I can!

The bottle of lotion that "took me back".

I Get By With a Little Help...

Yesterday Zach and I signed up for our gym membership.  The gym is only about a 10-minute walk from our apartment   That is exactly what we need - convenience.  If it's too far away, we won't go.  It's really helpful that it's near a bus stop so we can go right after school before we go home.  This particular gym (or fitness club) is a little different than what we are used to.

As soon as you enter, you must take off your shoes and lock them in a locker.  The shoes you wear into the gym should not the same shoes you workout in.  Then take the key to the front desk where they switch out keys and you either pay or they swipe your card if you paid for a month.  They then give you a towel and a shirt and shorts.

My fitness club card.

Then take the elevator to the 4th floor.  This is where men and women split up to go into the locker rooms.  However, the locker room is no ordinary locker room.  It is also a jjimjilbang (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jjimjilbang).  I wrote about a jjimjilbang a couple of posts ago.  It's basically a sauna with a place to sleep.  In the locker room you are supposed to change into the clothes they provide.  After changing, you have to go down a flight of stairs to get to the gym.  The gym itself is like any other gym I have ever been in.

Today, Zach and I went into the gym with the intention of working on biceps and triceps and then running.  We started with standing curls.  Soon after we started, one of the workers (I am assuming a trainer) came over and fixed my form.  His English wasn't great, but I could understand what he was trying to tell me.  He then pushed a bench my way and had me do kickbacks.  Again, he fixed my form.  While I was doing kickbacks, he had Zach do a shoulder exercise.  When I was finished, he had me do a back exercise.

Normally, all of this would have frustrated me.  We had a plan and he was interfering.  Was every exercise I've ever done, been done wrong - according to this guy?!

However, I am trying to be more positive.  Here we were maybe the only foreigners to go to this gym and he was willing to help us.  Not only was he trying to help us but he was trying to do it in English.  We both had a mini personal training session with this guy!  I really appreciate all of his help and it was a pretty great exercise!

Attitude

"There is little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference.  The little difference is attitude.  The big difference is whether it is positive or negative."  -W. Clement Stone

Surround yourself with positive people....  This couldn't be more true, especially when living in a foreign country.  This past weekend, we had some new friends remind us of that.  This caused me to do some reflecting on myself and how positive/negative I am.  I wasn't too excited with what I came up with.  If I am honest with myself, I actually complain a lot - Zach will confirm this (he's pretty good about complaining also).  But, I don't know why complain.  Do I want others to feel sorry for me?  Do I want to have a competition about who has it worse?

I don't know why I would want others to feel sorry for me.  I have a great life!  I have good health, a wonderful husband, loving family and friends, no debt, the chance to travel and see the world, etc.  On that same thought, why would I want to have a competition about who has it worse?  I obviously don't!!!  Yeah, I may have to get on a bus for 20 minutes then transfer to a subway to get pretty much anywhere in this city, but who cares?  I live in a coastal city with a million things to do and see.  If I wanted to, I could spend a weekend in Japan without blinking an eye.  Public transportation is great here.  The food is pretty tasty.  My co-teacher is great so far.  And, I am already starting to make friends.  I obviously have it pretty good here.

Yes, living in a foreign country can be frustrating at times.  Things that I would consider common sense, just aren't here.  My all-time, biggest pet peeve is when people chew food with their mouth open.  Here, people don't give it a second thought.  I can't complain about it; it is socially acceptable to do it here.

Anyway, what I guess I'm trying to say is that I plan on being more positive.  I don't want others not surrounding themselves with me just because I am a negative person.  A negative person brings everyone down.  So, if you all could help me be a more positive person, I would really be grateful: call me out if I am being negative - simple as that!  Today is day one of me being a more positive person!

Apartment in Busan, South Korea

For those who are curious, this is a video of our apartment.  It still hasn't clicked that it's our home, but I'm sure it won't take long!