I want to recount my experiences the first week I spent in Korea. Tuesday and Wednesday I was at the school preparing lesson plans for next week. Also, I went to LG TV and was interviewed to see if I was acceptable to teach some top level executives there. I got the job so the manager at the school was most impressed and relieved. Monday, I will teach a company class there and then go to LG Learning Center for the rest of the day.
Today is a holiday. It is Lunar New Year or as some people call it Chinese New Year. I have no plans cause I just got here and don't know anyone well enough yet and of course since I haven't taught a single class yet I haven't been paid - nor do I feel like I can ask for an advance. Everyone else seems to have plans to travel. But as the other English Teachers have told me Lunar New Year is when everyone goes to their hometown. Thus, traveling by anything other than train or plane is frustrating and dangerous. People joke that Lunar New Year changes Korea into "the world's largest parking lot". I didn't believe this was true until I turned on the TV and saw an aeriel shot of an expressway outside of Seoul (the Capital city of Korea) and it was just mile after mile of cars sitting idel on the freeway. It makes me glad I am staying home in Gumi.
I am a little lonely since even my roommate Ms. Park has gone to Seoul for the weekend. So armed with my Korean Phrasebook I go off to explore my new city.
This is a cart of cell phone/mobile phone accessories on display in the street in Gumi. Since I don't have a cell phone to even put one of these on I feel like the latest fad in Korea has passed me by.
I see this display of jeans on the street. I think it's very smart to use every available space to display a store's merchandise and it helps to draw people into the store. It's good advertising. These jeans are like size 0 and they would never fit even the skinniest western woman so friends and I dubbed them "Barbie Jeans".
While I am walking around window shopping I get thirsty. Then I notice this woman pushing her cart around the open market and streets of Gumi. She is selling drinks including coffee. I get one and it's yummy.
Gumi, at the time called itself the "Silicon Valley" of Korea, is a developing city. Everywhere I go I see things being torn up so that new businesses and enterprises can be built. This is a picture showing a torn up street in the middle of the downtown business district. No one seems to mind they just walk around the rubble so I figure "when in Rome..." and do the same.
This sign is outside the Police Station in downtown Gumi. I can't help thinking that the character on the sign looks like a mouse. It isn't exactly intimidating. I ask some Korean people about it and they tell me it is so that the children will not be afraid of the police. I always call this the "mouse police sign". I don't mean any disrespect for any Korean police officers as the ones I've met have been most professional and competent.
This is a picture of me and my friend -"Ivan". We are standing outside of Dunkin' Donuts which is next to the Gumi Train Station. We met at the Gumi movie theatre. I had bought a ticket to see "Gangs of New York" and I went in and sat down. Soon a Korean man approached me and kept saying something to me. I couldn't understand him. "Ivan" came up to me told me that in Korea movie theatre seats are assigned. I was sitting in the poor Korean man's seat and he was trying to tell me that. I couldn't have been more embarrassed. I apologized and quickly moved. "Ivan" helped me find my seat and he went out and soon he came back and sat beside me - somehow he had changed his ticket so we could sit together.
Somethings I learned my first week living in Korea:
- There are assigned seats in movie theatres. You have to sit in the seat # listed on your ticket.
- You have to take toilet paper to public bathrooms.
- You can buy coffee and food on the street anywhere and it's usually cheap and quite good.
- Cellphones and cellphone accessories are a huge fad in Korea. Not to have them makes you feel like an outcast.
- Don't ever try to drive anywhere on the Lunar New Year holiday - the roads become like giant parking lots.
I'm looking forward to more adventures in Korea in the days ahead.
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