Blogs from Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea, Asia - page 16

I've just finished wandering around today's New York Times, peaking in here and there, mostly looking for people-pieces...an article about the editor-in-chief of Men's Health -- described as "handsome middle son," or something of that sort. And then I found Modern Love on the Style page. The woman talked about her divorce from a white man, as a black woman, due to her impassioned views on race and his dismissal, or inability to firmly grasp the still prevalent racism in America. Although the actual piece was about her attempt to date a new white guy - "No one in American can clam to be free of racist indoctrination and doing so only perpetuates the crime.." she paraphrased someone else. Tim Wise. And I try to look at my situation here, tossing it around in my head. ... read more

We left for Gyeongju on Friday afternoon (we had an early dismissal of school that day). The whole staff went; not just teaching staff but dorm staff, kitchen staff, cleaning staff, and Korean admin staff. It is a time to build community between the different parts of our school. The school foots the bill for everyone to stay at a really nice hotel for the weekend, eating these massive buffet dinners and even getting some cultural experiences (I’ll talk about those later). Our speaker for the weekend was a guy named Ben Torrie (which I thought was pretty funny, eh Freemans?). He comes from a long line of American missionaries in Korea and China. He spoke on building community (and did this well), but what I found most interesting was his current mission in Korea. He ... read more

I left for South Korea on the 15th of September 2005. I wanted to explore a new country, and with the job opportunity that came up, I just couldn't pass up. The three weeks in Europe, and two weeks in Mexico, only wetted my appetite to see the world. After two weeks at home, I couldn't wait to leave. My good friends Alex and Ben decided to get with me the night before I left and have a few drinks. A few drinks turned into a few pitchers, and a few pitchers turned into drunk beyond recognition. Got to the airport drunk at around 5 in the morning, and got into Chicago around 10. I left for Tokyo, and the 14 hr plane ride was pleasent. Another 2 hours to Seoul, and I had been travelling ... read more

For one thing, it is an adventure in and of itself to travel with 12 co-workers, co-inhabiters for a weekend long single room stay. OK, in all fairness, the first night we had two rooms....one housing our Korean administrator, her friend, and 3 female foreign teachers. The other, the rest of us. You learn in a hurry who snores...and if you are reading this, you know who you are. Let's admit it, everyone in Gyeongju knows who you are. But it was all part of the fun, watching the drama unfold as 13 people that already get quite enough of one another, attempting a weekend of fun and togetherness. No fists were thrown, no pillows anhiliated, no hearts broken. There was a little tension, but all things considered, the weekend went off without a hitch. Aside ... read more

I have to say thank god for my lessons on the subway with Jen in Seoul seeing's I had never been on one in my life before. The one here is much simpler only consisting of 4 lines which I easily got myself to my first destination stop with. Then searching for a hotel that no longer exists got me a little confused, but I got'er all figured out with my ever improving sign language/sherrades (sp) act. By noon I was unpacking in my not so wonderful room and opening up the guide book on what to see. Honestly though people I wouldn't by the Lonely Planet "Korea" book because most of the directions in it suck. First I though I'd take a gander over to the oh so famous fish market. Jagalchi Fish Market ... read more