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Published: October 5th 2009
Hello again! September has been quite the month for us in S. Korea, we have been able to relax into our lives, check out some areas of Seoul, visit with Jess' friend who came to see her parents and have fun with our friends here. Although the month began the way August had left off - hot and somewhat humid - the weather became progressively cooler and the last weeks actually began to get a little cold at night. In school we spent the entire month (minus the first week) working with 5th graders, so a few shots from those classes are also included. It was nice to relax into the rhythm of the weeks although the school has been giving us a bit of trouble lately... we'll let you know how that turns out.
At the beginning of the month Jess went with two of our friends to the Jamsil area of Seoul where hidden off the main street is a store called Home Plus. Home Plus is actually a Korean Tesco. (For the Americans reading this Tesco is a store common in England. It's a bit like Walmart or Target; selling home supplies as well as food.) Here
it is in a massive 6 story building, with the lowest level being the groceries. And what makes it so great is that they actually carry some foodstuffs from Tesco as you would find them in England. So we found a little bit of 'home' there (pasta sauces, pasta, curry sauces, gravy, wine and beer, and even a better fruit and vegetable selection than you would find in our E-Mart here). It was nice to see a somewhat decent beer selection which Korea seems to be lacking. Our friend Lydia was even able to find the sewing machine she was already going to purchase for less than what she was expecting to pay with a bonus package attached.
At the beginning of the month we were also met with an unexpected (and unwanted) visitor. Jess woke up at 7 one morning and walked into the living room still half asleep to discover an absolutely massive spider had created a web just on the outside of our living room window! She immediately woke Fran up as it startled her so much. Fran taped a large white sheet of paper over the inside of the window so we wouldn't have to
see it. Unfortunately with the sun shining through the window it created a rather large shadow of the spider on the middle of our living room floor! The spider continued to create an even larger web in the evening and hide in the outside corner of the window during the day for about a week. One evening after dinner with our next-door neighbors we were walking home and telling them about this spider. They offered to come up and take care of it for us. Bring on the brave ones!
When then finally saw it they realized this was not an occasion where it could simply be squashed. And trapping it seemed a little 'hairy' (pun intended) as it would involve being in incredibly close proximity. At last Latanya (genius that she is) settled on using a clothes hanger to knock the spider down by destroying the top of the web - the spider was at the time hanging in the middle of it. She was successful. The spider fell three stories to the ground and landed right next to the foot of a Korean man who was sitting outside the duck restaurant on the ground floor. He didn't
even notice. When Dan & Latanya went outside later to inspect the spider they discovered that although hurt, it was attempting to move. Dan made sure it wouldn't come back to haunt us. We now refer to them as the 'Spider Busters'. (But they don't do wasps!)
Insadong Explorations
The second weekend in September we spent in Seoul. Immediately after school on Friday we hopped on the new bus in the area (our wonderful M2104) which goes straight from the bus depot at the end of our street into the center of Seoul (Dongdaemun). It drops you off right outside the Dongdaemun subway stop which we could then use to get us to Itaewon in about 15 minutes. Itaewon is the 'foreigner's' district. It is known throughout South Korea for having the best selection of international food in the country and tends to also be a place where foreigners go to hang out, shop and party.
This was a special trip though, as we were meeting Jess' friend Holly. Holly was born on the American military base in Itaewon. She lived in the states for quite a few years before her parents came back
to Itaewon where she finished high school (at the school on the base) before moving back to the states for University. She comes back as often as possible to visit her parents. Holly was a huge help and a wealth of information for us as we prepared to move to Korea. She is also the first person from 'home' either one of us has seen since moving here. After checking into a hotel in Itaewon, we went to an area known as International Food Street to a Thai restaurant called Pattay for dinner. It was delicious. We all split an order of Dim Sum, a spicy chicken dish with cashew nuts and pad thai with beef. Holly also ordered us Thai iced teas. They are hard to describe... Iced tea with something a bit like sherbert inside. Not frozen but of a milky orange colour.
After that we were given a bit of a tour of the area. We had explored some of Itaewon before on our own, but Holly knew more of what was what and where to find it. I think she was a bit surprised at some of the changes which had occurred since she'd been
there last year, but many things hadn't changed such as one particular vendor selling street food who had been in business on the same corner since she was 14.
We stopped in a bar called Geckos which was pretty busy (it was Friday night). It is one of the many haunts of the Americans from the army base just down the road. When we came out it was pouring! Fran ran across the road to secure an umbrella and then we waited it out a few minutes before making an attempt to get down the street to our hotel.
The next morning we met Holly at a restaurant just down the road from our hotel where we were attempting to order breakfast. It was delicious but took about 45 minutes to reach the table. From there we took a taxi to Insadong. Insadong is "the country's craft capital. Paper made from mulberry bark, stunning lacquer ware, hand-painted fans, exquisite embroidery... Insadong is a hit with tourists and locals alike. ...Insadong's glorious blending of old and new is exemplified by the fortune tellers, some of whom now use a laptop to help with their predictions. A hundred private art
galleries showcase the best of modern and traditional Korean art. ...Hidden down the alleyways are great restaurants (Insadong is a gastronomic centre of excellence too) and atmospheric teashops..."
Holly helped us to find our hotel which was a little out of the way, but once discovered was really less than a 10 minute walk from the main Insadong area. And it was worth it! We ended up in a cozy room in a quiet neighborhood with an en-suite bath. Yes, bath. We were very excited about this as neither of us has seen a bathtub since leaving America/England. It started pouring again just before we found the hotel so we waited out the rain inside. Jess & Holly spent most of the time attempting to dry their pants with the hotel's hairdryer while Fran flipped through the channels on our huge flat screen. We think we were watching a bit of Robinson Crusoe.
When the rain stopped we walked back to the central Insadong area to explore. Holly was again helpful in explaining what many of the crafts were and why they were so important to Koreans. We were fortunate
enough to have chosen a weekend when a crafts fair was going on. There were tents set up all down the center of the main street. Some were selling hand-made wares while others gave customers the opportunity to make their own crafts with a bit of help from those 'in the know'. Down the far end of the street the tents suddenly switched to those giving samples of makkeoli. Makkeoli is Korean rice wine. To be honest neither of us found the sound of that appealing when we first got here. Fran's initial experience with it was when he first climbed one of the mountains in the area. It is tradition to bring makkeoli and gimbap (sort of a Korean sushi, though most of it doesn't contain fish and when it does, it isn't raw). Gimbap is a great portable, healthy snack and Koreans will use any excursion as an excuse to snack on it. But in Insadong we were exposed to different flavors of makkeoli (raspberry and plum flavoured among them). Unfortunately those weren't so tasty.
Holly also brought us to a place for lunch. It was a noodle soup dish of sorts but neither of us can
remember the actual name of it. From there we went in search of a tea house our friends had mentioned to us. It is call the Old Tea Shop. There are two floors, the top of which had live birds able to fly around. It was cozy and sectioned to give guests some privacy. Jess had hot cinnamon tea and Fran tried Harmony. It was a blend of two flavors. The woman warned Fran it might be slightly bitter. That was putting it mild. Needless to say, Fran won't be trying that particular type of tea again. Afterwards we walked back up to the 'top' of the street where Holly said 'goodbye' and we headed back to our hotel to drop off our purchases and get ready to go back to Itaewon to meet some of our friends for dinner.
We weren't sure if we'd see Holly again, but ended up running into her briefly in Itaewon as we were preparing to leave that night. From Itaewon we took a taxi with two of our friends to Dongdaemun to check out the night market we'd heard so much about. It seems all Asian countries are known for their knock-offs.
The night market was the place to find some of the best in Seoul for more reasonable prices. It was an interesting experience. Fran kept asking, "Are they real? Or fake?" And sometimes it was difficult to tell the difference. This may be partially due to the fact that some might be the 'real deal'. Many goods are stolen from factories by workers and then re-sold. (If you look at the labels on some of your clothes you will surely discover that many come from this part of the world.)
The next morning we headed back to Insadong. We wanted to get to know the area a little bit better and a great way to do that was just to wander the back streets off the main drag. The craft fair was still there & Jess decided it would be fun to try making something herself. Her first choice was a paper lantern of sorts but after waiting around a long time, she decided to move on down the street. She ended up painting her own lotus flower on a block of wood. It took about an hour to do with all the detailed coloring, so Fran had a
bit of an explore. He saw some short parades including traditional Korean costumes, visited an indoor/outdoor mall area which sold more upscale crafts and jewelry and found a peaceful garden area. He was a bit surprised to come back and find Jess had not only moved from her original seat, but was being watched by many Koreans passing by. The reason for the move was a photographer for a magazine had asked Jess to take her picture for the magazine. He wanted to do it in a 'natural setting'. (Of course moving for the purpose of obtaining a more natural picture just sums up some of ironies of Korea.) He was only the first in a line of magazine photographers to come by and do the same.
We spent the rest of the day wandering the side streets and experiencing Korean traditional and modern art forms before collecting our bags from the hotel and heading back to our home in what Seoulites call 'the country.' (We probably wouldn't refer to such an area as the country considering how urban it appears, but when looked at from the perspective of someone living in Seoul it is conceivably so.)
And...
lucky for us, Holly managed to hang out with us one last time before returning to the states. So, Tuesday right after school finished we rushed into Seoul to meet her in Itaewon, where she took us to the American army base in Itaewon. It was nice for both of us to spend an evening on American soil and incredible to see what they have on those bases! Grass for one thing... something we haven't seen very often here. Buses, cars, a hotel, an entire school system, restaurants, American food and products. All in all a lovely evening. Thanks again Holly!
Partying It Up Mexicana Style
For over a month we had talked about having a small get together at our apartment. Originally we were thinking it would be a sort of house warming. As time passed it became clear it was a little late for that, and as we have become prone to craving Mexican food since coming to Korea (not sure how to explain that, but it happened), we thought a Mexican theme would be fun.
So, on a Thursday night we went with our next-door neighbors to Costco for some supplies.
And the following night we headed into Seoul for more supplies from Itaewon (the best area for most foreign groceries). It was a bit of a process to hunt down all the bits, but it ended up working out quite well. The apartment received a good cleaning for the occasion and was dressed up using tea-lights. Jess used some handmade Korean paper to cover a box which could be used as an extra table (its now become Fran's nightstand). Fran in turn made two shoe racks out of boxes so that our entryway would be more organized.
All the guests brought a dish and/or drinks. One of our co-teachers was even nice enough to pick up chips and salsa from On The Border. (They're of much better quality than what you can get elsewhere.) The only thing which didn't turn out so well were the margaritas. Without some actual mix (base) for them they were a bit powerful so we gave up on that pretty quickly.
Overall the party was a success. Fun and good Mexican food was had by all!
Biking along the Han
The morning after the party, though tired, we
took the bus to the Jamsil area and made our way down to the water to rent bikes. It was a gorgeous day; sunny with a breeze and just the right temperature. Jess hadn't ridden a bike (aside from the ones at the gym!) in years so she was a little nervous. It was scary for a bit, but in the end the old saying proved true "it's like riding a bike." Fran thought it was good to see Jess overtaking people, especially since she hasn't ridden a bike in so many years. She became very competitive and wanted to overtake as many Koreans as possible on the way back. I'm just glad she had a good time and wants to do it again.
The views were fantastic. You can see all of Seoul, including Namsan tower (the highest point in Seoul). We cycled past parks, gardens, people having picnics all to the sound of music being played from speakers alongside us. We almost got ourselves tangled in a few kites. It wasn't the widest of cycle paths so overtaking was quite difficult, especially when faced with oncoming cyclists. Each bike is 'equipped' with a horn or bell to
alert those in front of you of your presence and to let them know if you plan on passing. Unfortunately some people tend to ignore your warnings & a few even move further into the center whilst you are attempting to pass them.
We haven't managed to go back just yet but have plans to soon return to biking along the Han before the weather gets too cold.
Hiking in Hopyeong
As you've heard us mention before, we live in a city surrounded by mountains. This is common in Korea as 70%!o(MISSING)f the entire peninsula is covered in them. Not long after arriving Fran experienced his first climb with two Western friends & about a month later he dragged/brought (depending on how you look at it) Jess up Chunmasan - the biggest mountain in the area. Jess has vowed never to attempt it again as it is incredibly steep and every time you think you've neared the top you find yourself suddenly having to swing from ropes or climb random staircases in the middle of the forest.
There are other mountains in the area though & Fran ventured up one such mountain
called Baekbong (meaning 100 little mountains). Its an easier climb, although not nearly as high. But the views are just as good. The good thing about climbing Baekbong is that you can see the entire town we live in. Including a nice view of our apartment and the school we work in. Arriving at the top you find a pavilion for relaxing in the shade. It has views of Hopyeong, Pyeongnae (the town next to ours), other towns along the river and lots of other mountains in the area. Also, when Fran arrived at the top a Korean man tapped him on the shoulder and offered him a boiled potato. It had nothing on it and was very dry, but you can't exactly refuse as that would cause the man to 'lose face.'
Just today actually, Jess went for her first climb up Baekbong. It was a much more successful hike and quite refreshing at the top. The pictures in the blog are from Fran's first (solo) trip to the top. It should give you a better idea of what the landscape for the area we live in is like.
The fun thing about climbing mountains around here
is that people are very friendly, always saying 'annyeonghaseyo' (hello) and genuinely seeming happy to see you. Fran has been invited to share meals with Korean families, been offered drinks by Korean men and was recently asked to help an elderly Korean man translate a book he was reading. It can be somewhat awkward when Koreans start speaking to us in rapid Korean but through hand gestures and simpler words we can usually work out what they are trying to communicate.
We plan to continue climbing and hope to conquer a few more mountains before it gets really cold. These will include Namsan (the mountain in the middle of Seoul), and some of the mountains just North of Seoul which will give us a good view of the city. In a few weeks time we will also venture back to Seoraksan (probably the most famous mountain in South Korea) with some of our friends for a second climb.
(We tacked on a few misc. photos so that those of you who don't have/use facebook can see some pictures our friends have taken. Right now we only have the camcorder for taking photos and it can be a bit
cumbersome to bring all the time...)
Mini Blogs
We plan to follow this blog with a series of short blogs (aka 'Mini Blogs') which will be brief overviews of some of the adventures we had over our long weekend and the weekends of October.
Take care! xxxFran & Jess
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your next career
Enjoyed the Sept diary very much Jess and Fran!!.. Jess, maybe you've got a niche ahead of you.... I think you have a career waiting in "travel writing" some day for a travel magazine!... you get to travel the world, see things, and write about it all (hopefully for a fee!)