Well this past week was a pretty chill week. There weren't a lot of outings and things around work were alright other than the usual disorganization of our management and the big decision to move me to the IVY campus one floor above us.
In the office, Jameson was on holidays for a few days while his girlfriend was still in town, and Andy came back after his two week marriage break, though we couldn't have cared less if he came back or not. My big news came first to me on Monday through Margaret, who came downstairs to tell me that the Nokchiwan, IVY campus, wanted me to switch with their new teacher because she was not happy up there. It has actually been a 3 week struggle to get a teacher up there because in the beginning a replacement was brought in for the former foreign teacher, but then he got in an argument with the director and got fired. So then they brought a girl up from another campus who had only been here for 2 weeks. She is an older lady who seems to have nothing but working at an elementary school in mind, so she did nothing but complain about being moved. Since she wanted out and I don't care where I am, I threw out the offer to switch with her which the people upstairs really liked the idea of. Apparently I am held with high regards by my students and fellow teachers, which is beyond me because there is nothing I do that is very special I don't think. Anyways, on Tuesday my director pulled me into her office and let me know that the switch was going to come into effect as of the coming Monday. While we were in her office though I got the impression that they thought I wanted to move, so I had to explain that it wasn't a want thing is was a willing thing. She understood but did let me know that if it was up to her I wouldn't be moving anywhere, which felt nice to hear.
The week after that went on as usual. I let all my kids know of the change and got things ready for the new teacher to make the switch, which I am apprehensive of since not once did she come down to see any off my classes or get any information until after work on Friday. After Tuesday we spread the news to the rest of the teachers and then waited for Friday. Its going to be a really big change between the levels and I'm going to miss all the people and kids I got to work with, but in reality they are only one floor away and I can go see them anytime.
Friday night after work I stayed late to try and get the new teacher up to speed and then to do my record input for the week. I never got out of there until almost 11, and when I got home I got a few phone calls from Jameson and Margaret asking where I was and if I wanted to meet up for a few drinks. I did, so I went over to Cheonho to meet Margaret, Haley and Diana for a couple drinks at some new bar before going to meet a bunch of the guys at another new bar that was selling 500 cc beers for a dollar. We had a couple beers there before they closed and we went to another place to finish off the night. In the end it turned into a really late night of just talking and hanging out and I ended up taking the subway home around 630 am.
I slept until around noon on Saturday before waking up to hear the rain that would end up lasting all day and ruining the rooftop bbq we were planning. So instead, I met up with the girls from last night and went to Dos Tacos in Gangnam and then had my first DVD bang experience. Its similar to the norae bangs but you just sit around in a small room and watch movies. They are meant for couples since the dating culture her almost forbids couples from going to each others houses unless they are into the serious about marriage phase. So instead they go to DVD rooms, some of which have couches, others of which have beds ; P. We watched a terrible Korean action movie and then I called it a night and came home on the bus.
On Sunday we decided to catch a baseball game since it was such a nice day out. Jameson, Brian, Frank, and I all went to the sports complex to catch the 5 o'clock game. However when we got in we realized that they were already in the 7th inning and it was only 430. We were a little confused at first until we figured it out that it was going to be a double header. After that we settled in with a few beers and enjoyed some good old fashion mediocre baseball. We sat right behind some really nice Koreans who offered us fruit and laughed every time we cheered for either team. In the end we were getting ready to leave in the 8th inning when the home team loaded the bases and then hit a grand slam. The stadium went nuts and so did we just for the sake of fitting in. After the game I went over to Bret's place, who is the head teacher from the elementary school, and watched Korean War movie with some people and then called it a week and a weekend.
From what I hear the weather is warming up back home. Hope you are all enjoying it and getting ready for the summer.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Ready...Set...Climb
Well I'm a little late again but its been a tiresome few days.
So, this week was pretty uneventful for the most part. Ash has gone home and I took the first few days of the week to just relax around the house and catch up on the sleep I missed while she was here. At work things were the same, we were still covering classes for Andy which meant longer days and more running around for everyone. There were a few nights that we did go out for drinks after work to take the edge off and to take Jameson's girlfriend, who came to visit, out to some of our favorite places. But all in all the week went by like any other, a little working out and a lot of crazy school business.
The big adventure we were waiting for was the weekend excursion to Sokcho, to hangout at the beach and climb Seoraksan, Seorak Mountain. Sokcho is a beach city located just North East of Seoul on the Sea of Japan coast. We were able to get bus tickets for the last bus of the evening leaving Seoul's East Bus terminal at 11 Friday night. This meant that Jameson, Tyler (Jameson's gf), Brian, and myself had to go from work but with plenty of time to spare. The only concern was for Margaret, since she doesn't get off work until 1030. Luckily they let her go early since she has been bending over backwards for them these past few weeks. We all got to the bus station and got on the bus in time and it felt great.
The bus ride there was only 2.5 hours with a stop along the way to get some food. Where might I add Margaret and I got ripped off for some mandu, because the lady working the food both had an inability to remember that she had already been paid and made us pay again. And by made us pay again, I mean made Margaret pay again and drag me away while I was mildly freaking out. Either way it wasn't a big loss and we did get some food in us.
We got to Sokcho and found a hotel for the night near the bus station to drop our things at before going out for a walk and a beer. On Saturday morning we got up and headed further in to the city to the other bus terminal by the beach, where we got another hotel and then caught a bus to Seoraksan from. We got to Seoraksan around 1130 and headed into Korea's third largest and highest mountain range. We chose a route that took us away form the interior of the park but promised to be a decent hike.
We climbed for nearly 3 hours, up past a couple different temples and beautiful scenery before coming to what was the wildest set of stairs I have ever seen. They guide book set there were 880, but I'm sure there were over 1000 in the end. The stairs covered the last 1/3 of the trail, which is the only way you could get to the peak without being wither a mountain goat or a rock climber (which we also saw people doing). The were metal old and unreliable looking in some spots, and even went straight up like a ladder in others. We took our time and worked our way to the peak and boy was it worth it. The view was amazing, and the sense of accomplishment was pretty nice. We were standing around 850 m above sea level and figured it out to be about a 10 -12 km hike from where we started.
The decent was much easier and only took about 2 hours. We were all pretty tired and sore after resting at the top but we made it back down and rewarded ourselves with corndogs. I got one that was dipped in chocolate and sprinkles, because there is nothing better than eating a doughnut with a hotdog in the middle. Also, while we were eating we were approached by a group of middle school girls who were working on a projects and asked us if they could film us saying "Bea-ti-ful Sok-cho", and since there was five of us it worked out perfectly.
After that we got back on the bus and headed into town, where I took a nap to work off a headache I got form not drinking enough water during the day. Saturday night we headed out to find some sea food since we were on the coast. We found a place and ended up having not exactly what we wanted, but delicious anyways, fish soup complete with heads and all. After that we went back to the area our hotel was in and hit a bar for a few beers. Eventually another group of foreigners showed up, most of which were from Southwestern Ontario, and we talked to them off and on for an hour or so before heading to the beach to light off some fireworks. Then it was on to the norae bang. Some of them eventually came to norae bang with us which was great, because the more the merrier. After that we headed to the hotel to get some sleep because we were hoping to get some beach time in on Sunday.
Unfortunately it was over cast and crappy on Sunday so instead of going to the beach we packed up and headed home to Seoul around 230. the bus ride home was excruciatingly long, and took a solid 5 hours. We were all glad to be home and each went our separate ways to rest up for the week to come.
Well that is another blog down and anther adventure had. Hope you are all dong well back home and I will see you all soon.
So, this week was pretty uneventful for the most part. Ash has gone home and I took the first few days of the week to just relax around the house and catch up on the sleep I missed while she was here. At work things were the same, we were still covering classes for Andy which meant longer days and more running around for everyone. There were a few nights that we did go out for drinks after work to take the edge off and to take Jameson's girlfriend, who came to visit, out to some of our favorite places. But all in all the week went by like any other, a little working out and a lot of crazy school business.
The big adventure we were waiting for was the weekend excursion to Sokcho, to hangout at the beach and climb Seoraksan, Seorak Mountain. Sokcho is a beach city located just North East of Seoul on the Sea of Japan coast. We were able to get bus tickets for the last bus of the evening leaving Seoul's East Bus terminal at 11 Friday night. This meant that Jameson, Tyler (Jameson's gf), Brian, and myself had to go from work but with plenty of time to spare. The only concern was for Margaret, since she doesn't get off work until 1030. Luckily they let her go early since she has been bending over backwards for them these past few weeks. We all got to the bus station and got on the bus in time and it felt great.
The bus ride there was only 2.5 hours with a stop along the way to get some food. Where might I add Margaret and I got ripped off for some mandu, because the lady working the food both had an inability to remember that she had already been paid and made us pay again. And by made us pay again, I mean made Margaret pay again and drag me away while I was mildly freaking out. Either way it wasn't a big loss and we did get some food in us.
We got to Sokcho and found a hotel for the night near the bus station to drop our things at before going out for a walk and a beer. On Saturday morning we got up and headed further in to the city to the other bus terminal by the beach, where we got another hotel and then caught a bus to Seoraksan from. We got to Seoraksan around 1130 and headed into Korea's third largest and highest mountain range. We chose a route that took us away form the interior of the park but promised to be a decent hike.
We climbed for nearly 3 hours, up past a couple different temples and beautiful scenery before coming to what was the wildest set of stairs I have ever seen. They guide book set there were 880, but I'm sure there were over 1000 in the end. The stairs covered the last 1/3 of the trail, which is the only way you could get to the peak without being wither a mountain goat or a rock climber (which we also saw people doing). The were metal old and unreliable looking in some spots, and even went straight up like a ladder in others. We took our time and worked our way to the peak and boy was it worth it. The view was amazing, and the sense of accomplishment was pretty nice. We were standing around 850 m above sea level and figured it out to be about a 10 -12 km hike from where we started.
The decent was much easier and only took about 2 hours. We were all pretty tired and sore after resting at the top but we made it back down and rewarded ourselves with corndogs. I got one that was dipped in chocolate and sprinkles, because there is nothing better than eating a doughnut with a hotdog in the middle. Also, while we were eating we were approached by a group of middle school girls who were working on a projects and asked us if they could film us saying "Bea-ti-ful Sok-cho", and since there was five of us it worked out perfectly.
After that we got back on the bus and headed into town, where I took a nap to work off a headache I got form not drinking enough water during the day. Saturday night we headed out to find some sea food since we were on the coast. We found a place and ended up having not exactly what we wanted, but delicious anyways, fish soup complete with heads and all. After that we went back to the area our hotel was in and hit a bar for a few beers. Eventually another group of foreigners showed up, most of which were from Southwestern Ontario, and we talked to them off and on for an hour or so before heading to the beach to light off some fireworks. Then it was on to the norae bang. Some of them eventually came to norae bang with us which was great, because the more the merrier. After that we headed to the hotel to get some sleep because we were hoping to get some beach time in on Sunday.
Unfortunately it was over cast and crappy on Sunday so instead of going to the beach we packed up and headed home to Seoul around 230. the bus ride home was excruciatingly long, and took a solid 5 hours. We were all glad to be home and each went our separate ways to rest up for the week to come.
Well that is another blog down and anther adventure had. Hope you are all dong well back home and I will see you all soon.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Another busy week that was well worth the effort.
Well this was Ashleigh's second week here in Korea and we kept up with the sight seeing and busy scheduling.
We started the week still feeling the effects of Saturdays booze fest, but were able to get to the Coex Aquarium and the temple complex beside it called Bongeunsa. The aquarium was pretty cool. They had fish from all around the world, both fresh and salt water and even some penguins to finish it up. The temple complex I had been to before but we went over for a quick look around since it is a rather large place with lots of different temple styles covering a decent amount of Korean temple styles. After that it was off to work for the first week of the new semester.
On Tuesday we went to Lotte World with Margaret and had a great time riding some roller coasters, and hating on their weird ticketing policy. It turns out that if you just buy the general admissions pass it only gets you on half the rides. The other half you have to either buy extra tickets for once you are in the park, or buy the magic pass from the start. Had we have known we would have bought the magic pass, but since we didn't we just made do with what we had.
On Wednesday both Ash and I were feeling a little worn out so instead of going to do more sightseeing I took her to our favorite Mexican place in Gangnam called Dos Tacos. They serve up some pretty hefty sized burritos and we usually make it there at least once a month. After Dos Tacos I headed to work and Ash went out to do some exploring on her own. After work however, we along with Brian went to Dondaemun (The East Gate to the original city) to see both the gate and check out the night market. Unfortunately we were unable to find the right market (the Black Market), but did get in some good shopping at the regular markets until about 3 am. Then we grabbed a bite and cabbed it home to get some rest.
Because we had such a late night on Wednesday, we decided to sleep in on Thursday and just relaxed around the apartment until I had to work. After I left though, Ash went out to check out the Children's Grand Park, and do some more shopping. That night we went back over to Cheonho to meet Jamesons girlfriend who has flown in for a couple weeks and get some drinks.
Feeling a little more rested on Friday we got up and went to the National Museum of Korea with Margaret to see both the Korean historical exhibition hall and the special Egypt exhibit they have on right now. Disappointingly there was no photography allowed in the Egyptian exhibit, even though every piece looked like crappy replicas. So I snapped off one photo and then was told by security not to. I had to try. After that we did a quick run through of the Korean side of the museum and headed home so that we could get to work.
Then came Friday night. Brain, Jameson, Tyler (his gf), Ash, and I all went to Sincheon for some more samgipsal, drinks and eventually.........Norae bang. We introduced Ash and Tyler to their first singing room experience with a bang, and it was awesome. We had a great time and still made it home by 4 am.
Saturday was Ashleigh's official last day in Korea so we went for a walk in Seoul Forest before meeting up with my friend So Hyun for some dak-galbi. Then after lunch we went for fish pedicures. That's right, pedicures done by having a really tiny kind of carp suck/nibble the skin off of your feet. It is called Dr. Fish and is done at several cafes around Seoul. All you have to do is go to the cafe, buy a drink and you can pay an extra two dollars to have the fish eat at your feet. We decided to go for it and boy was it weird. It felt like a hundred little bubbles were popping on our feet at once and when they popped they pulled a little. We laughed and squirmed the whole time, but both agreed that we would do it again in a heart beat. After Dr. Fish we came home so Ash could pack and then went out for a couple good-bye drinks with some friends.
Sunday morning came early since we had to be at the airport by 930 am. We got up and got on the bus by 730 and were actually 45 minutes early. So, we got some McDonald's breakfast before checking Ash in and heading back to our homes. I slept on the bus ride home and even after I got back I went to sleep for another 4 hours. I'm sure Ash stayed awake for a bit at the airport until she got on the plane at least.
It was a great couple of weeks, and we had so much fun.
Hope you are all doing well and that the early summer weather is kicking in back home because it is here.
We started the week still feeling the effects of Saturdays booze fest, but were able to get to the Coex Aquarium and the temple complex beside it called Bongeunsa. The aquarium was pretty cool. They had fish from all around the world, both fresh and salt water and even some penguins to finish it up. The temple complex I had been to before but we went over for a quick look around since it is a rather large place with lots of different temple styles covering a decent amount of Korean temple styles. After that it was off to work for the first week of the new semester.
On Tuesday we went to Lotte World with Margaret and had a great time riding some roller coasters, and hating on their weird ticketing policy. It turns out that if you just buy the general admissions pass it only gets you on half the rides. The other half you have to either buy extra tickets for once you are in the park, or buy the magic pass from the start. Had we have known we would have bought the magic pass, but since we didn't we just made do with what we had.
On Wednesday both Ash and I were feeling a little worn out so instead of going to do more sightseeing I took her to our favorite Mexican place in Gangnam called Dos Tacos. They serve up some pretty hefty sized burritos and we usually make it there at least once a month. After Dos Tacos I headed to work and Ash went out to do some exploring on her own. After work however, we along with Brian went to Dondaemun (The East Gate to the original city) to see both the gate and check out the night market. Unfortunately we were unable to find the right market (the Black Market), but did get in some good shopping at the regular markets until about 3 am. Then we grabbed a bite and cabbed it home to get some rest.
Because we had such a late night on Wednesday, we decided to sleep in on Thursday and just relaxed around the apartment until I had to work. After I left though, Ash went out to check out the Children's Grand Park, and do some more shopping. That night we went back over to Cheonho to meet Jamesons girlfriend who has flown in for a couple weeks and get some drinks.
Feeling a little more rested on Friday we got up and went to the National Museum of Korea with Margaret to see both the Korean historical exhibition hall and the special Egypt exhibit they have on right now. Disappointingly there was no photography allowed in the Egyptian exhibit, even though every piece looked like crappy replicas. So I snapped off one photo and then was told by security not to. I had to try. After that we did a quick run through of the Korean side of the museum and headed home so that we could get to work.
Then came Friday night. Brain, Jameson, Tyler (his gf), Ash, and I all went to Sincheon for some more samgipsal, drinks and eventually.........Norae bang. We introduced Ash and Tyler to their first singing room experience with a bang, and it was awesome. We had a great time and still made it home by 4 am.
Saturday was Ashleigh's official last day in Korea so we went for a walk in Seoul Forest before meeting up with my friend So Hyun for some dak-galbi. Then after lunch we went for fish pedicures. That's right, pedicures done by having a really tiny kind of carp suck/nibble the skin off of your feet. It is called Dr. Fish and is done at several cafes around Seoul. All you have to do is go to the cafe, buy a drink and you can pay an extra two dollars to have the fish eat at your feet. We decided to go for it and boy was it weird. It felt like a hundred little bubbles were popping on our feet at once and when they popped they pulled a little. We laughed and squirmed the whole time, but both agreed that we would do it again in a heart beat. After Dr. Fish we came home so Ash could pack and then went out for a couple good-bye drinks with some friends.
Sunday morning came early since we had to be at the airport by 930 am. We got up and got on the bus by 730 and were actually 45 minutes early. So, we got some McDonald's breakfast before checking Ash in and heading back to our homes. I slept on the bus ride home and even after I got back I went to sleep for another 4 hours. I'm sure Ash stayed awake for a bit at the airport until she got on the plane at least.
It was a great couple of weeks, and we had so much fun.
Hope you are all doing well and that the early summer weather is kicking in back home because it is here.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Busy can't even explain it.
I don't even know where to begin. Ash is here and we have been going non-stop this entire week.
we started Monday by going to Gyeongbokgung palace complex. We walked around for a few hours before heading back home to get ready to get to work. I took Ash to work so that she could meet all the other teachers I work with and see what I do around here for a living. the day went by rather smoothly until the end of the night. Ash had watched my classes all day and then at the end of the night we had received word that some new foreigners had been diagnosed with H1N1 (the dreaded Swine Flu). This threw one of our head teachers into a frenzy, and over the next few days all of Avalon went crazy so it seemed. Having our head teacher freaking out and practically bathing in Purel was quite hilarious until she said that Ash was not allowed to come to the school anymore because she might be infected. To this I got a little upset, but if she couldn't come to the school it was no big deal.
On Tuesday we got up early and headed to Namsan, the mountain in the center of the city, where the Seoul Tower is. We took the cable car up to the top and then went up the tower to get a great look out over the city. After the tower we walked around for a bit and saw a few other small compounds and gift shops before we had to come home so I could go to work. After work we went over to Cheonho for Ash's first taste of galbi. It was one of our favorite places and she really enjoyed it.
Wednesday was our earliest day. We had to get up extra early to go and meet the ladies I tutor. After tutoring we went to Hanok Village, which is a traditional housing complex that has houses from a variety of eras all in one spot. They were brought there so that people could see how the houses changed over the years while maintaining traditional Korean design. Wednesday night we went to Sincheon for some samgipsal and then came home to get some rest. On Thursday I took Ash to my Korean class where she was blown away by the little Korean we know and by how weird the language is. Then it was off to work again.
Friday we decided to take the day off from touring around and just got groceries and had a rest. But, after I went to work Ash went to the Amsa Prehistoric Village on her own for a couple hours and got some pizza for dinner. When I got off of work I came home and we went over to Cheonho again to have a few drinks wit some friends before they left on the weekend.
Saturday we got up and were supposed to go to the beach but everyone was feeling a little worn out and not like sitting on a train for 2 hours. So instead, Ash, Margaret and I went to the Seoul Zoo just south of the main city on the subway. It was a pretty big zoo with all kinds of animals and they even had a small amusement park. We decided to concentrate on the animals and walked around until we found saw a sign for a dolphin show. We decided to see that because it gave us a chance to sit down inside out of the sun and see some dolphin tricks. When we got home we went to a rooftop party at my place fora few hours before getting into a whole world of trouble.
Saturday night we went to meet Junk in Apgujong at our favorite bar, W.C. Crazy Bar, where things got too crazy and ended really poorly in the long run. It was just Ash, Junk, and I. It was also Crazy Bars 1 year anniversary so for every bottle of booze you bought you got a free bottle of Makers Mark whiskey. We decided on the Tequila/Makers Mark set and started sipping away. Eventually however, Junk opened the tequila and before I knew it I was about 7 shots in and was too drunk to know what was going on. Ash lost herself in a stairwell and I freaked out when we couldn't find her. Eventually we found her and came home.......not that I remember any of it. In the end there was some puking and we both felt brutal for the entirety of Sunday.
While we were feeling like death we pulled ourselves together long enough to go see a comedic martial arts performance called Jump. It was totally awesome and we laughed throughout the whole thing, but as soon as it was over we got the heck out and came home where we laid around feeling bad all day.
We still have a whole week ahead of us and have lots of plans to fill our time. See you soon.
we started Monday by going to Gyeongbokgung palace complex. We walked around for a few hours before heading back home to get ready to get to work. I took Ash to work so that she could meet all the other teachers I work with and see what I do around here for a living. the day went by rather smoothly until the end of the night. Ash had watched my classes all day and then at the end of the night we had received word that some new foreigners had been diagnosed with H1N1 (the dreaded Swine Flu). This threw one of our head teachers into a frenzy, and over the next few days all of Avalon went crazy so it seemed. Having our head teacher freaking out and practically bathing in Purel was quite hilarious until she said that Ash was not allowed to come to the school anymore because she might be infected. To this I got a little upset, but if she couldn't come to the school it was no big deal.
On Tuesday we got up early and headed to Namsan, the mountain in the center of the city, where the Seoul Tower is. We took the cable car up to the top and then went up the tower to get a great look out over the city. After the tower we walked around for a bit and saw a few other small compounds and gift shops before we had to come home so I could go to work. After work we went over to Cheonho for Ash's first taste of galbi. It was one of our favorite places and she really enjoyed it.
Wednesday was our earliest day. We had to get up extra early to go and meet the ladies I tutor. After tutoring we went to Hanok Village, which is a traditional housing complex that has houses from a variety of eras all in one spot. They were brought there so that people could see how the houses changed over the years while maintaining traditional Korean design. Wednesday night we went to Sincheon for some samgipsal and then came home to get some rest. On Thursday I took Ash to my Korean class where she was blown away by the little Korean we know and by how weird the language is. Then it was off to work again.
Friday we decided to take the day off from touring around and just got groceries and had a rest. But, after I went to work Ash went to the Amsa Prehistoric Village on her own for a couple hours and got some pizza for dinner. When I got off of work I came home and we went over to Cheonho again to have a few drinks wit some friends before they left on the weekend.
Saturday we got up and were supposed to go to the beach but everyone was feeling a little worn out and not like sitting on a train for 2 hours. So instead, Ash, Margaret and I went to the Seoul Zoo just south of the main city on the subway. It was a pretty big zoo with all kinds of animals and they even had a small amusement park. We decided to concentrate on the animals and walked around until we found saw a sign for a dolphin show. We decided to see that because it gave us a chance to sit down inside out of the sun and see some dolphin tricks. When we got home we went to a rooftop party at my place fora few hours before getting into a whole world of trouble.
Saturday night we went to meet Junk in Apgujong at our favorite bar, W.C. Crazy Bar, where things got too crazy and ended really poorly in the long run. It was just Ash, Junk, and I. It was also Crazy Bars 1 year anniversary so for every bottle of booze you bought you got a free bottle of Makers Mark whiskey. We decided on the Tequila/Makers Mark set and started sipping away. Eventually however, Junk opened the tequila and before I knew it I was about 7 shots in and was too drunk to know what was going on. Ash lost herself in a stairwell and I freaked out when we couldn't find her. Eventually we found her and came home.......not that I remember any of it. In the end there was some puking and we both felt brutal for the entirety of Sunday.
While we were feeling like death we pulled ourselves together long enough to go see a comedic martial arts performance called Jump. It was totally awesome and we laughed throughout the whole thing, but as soon as it was over we got the heck out and came home where we laid around feeling bad all day.
We still have a whole week ahead of us and have lots of plans to fill our time. See you soon.
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