tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-205090172024-03-13T12:10:41.699+09:00Queen For A YearA small town Canadian girl goes to South Korea to teach English.Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.comBlogger64125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-49476289746222588852007-03-03T18:27:00.000+09:002007-03-17T11:38:07.510+09:00The Reign Has EndedI am writing this to say goodbye. I like the title I picked for this post because I think it's catchy. To me it means two things: 1. I, aka, Queen For A Year, am retiring this blog and 2. Lately, I have had some hard times and in being proactive and making a change I hope that personally my life will improve and that the "rain" will end. I was thinking about the song from the musical Annie "The sun will come out tomorrow. Bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow they'll be sunshine...."<br /><br />I will be returning to Eastern Canada on Monday, March 19th, 2007 so I will no longer be living and teaching English in South Korea so it seems like the right time to say goodbye to you and this blog. Moreover, I have not posted since just prior to Christmas 2006 and some of you may be wondering why. I feel that I owe you an explaination. I could very easily just let you assume it was because I was busy planning my return to Canada but that is not the truth. I have always tried to be honest and maintain my intergrity in keeping this blog so to lie to you by omission now goes against the grain. I just can't do it. So, here's the truth.<br /><br />I have not been doing my weekly post recently and the true and primary reason for this is that unforunately rather than promoting understanding and discussion I have received several "comments" [which although I chose not to publish - at the time] I feel hurt and personally attacked by. This has taken the fun out of blogging for me. It's one thing to write about your own personal experiences while in your own country and culture and surrounded by the people you love and who love and support you. However, it is quite another thing entirely to try and write a weekly blog when far from home. As some of you know, Korea is called "The Hermit Kingdom" [even my Lonely Planet Korea book calls Korea that] and it can be a very socially isolating place for a Westerner. To live here and has been a series of ups and downs but to live my life more publically became too much a strain for me.<br /><br />After four years here, I will be leaving Korea permanently. I feel that I have given Korea more than a fair chance and I have come to the conclusion that it is time for me to go home. I came here very idealistic and I leave some what dishearted. The truth is I no longer feel comfortable living and working in Korea nor do I feel that I can make a difference here. One of my critics who I had chosen not to publish [at the time] made a comment on my post about Korean Bakeries which I titled "Not Quite Right" and he told me and I quote him "Bob Barker has left a new comment on your post "<a href="javascript:ol(">"Not Quite Right"</a>": Heard it all before.... not quite right? or night quite what you're used to?If you dont like it, go home. " And, I have chosen to go home.<br /><br />I am aware of the fact that people who write blogs often receive a lot of judgements by people who don't know them and some of them are even harassed over cyberspace. I alluded to this a little bit in talking about Shawn Matthews committing suicide in Beijing and that some people said that one contributing factor was that we deleted his <strong>Korean Life Blog </strong>and had given up blogging - which he loved in response to hassassment.. I talked about this in my post titled "Goodbye Shawn" [here a link to that post <li><a href="http://queenforayear.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_archive.html" target="blank">Goodbye Shawn</a></li> found in my June Archive]. Although, thankfully, I in no way have received the same amount of harrassment that Shawn did I feel as he did - compelled to stop blogging. It's no longer fun and enjoyable. It not longer makes me feel less isolated and more understood but rather the opposite.<br /><br />I wrestled with how much I wanted to get into the negative comments and rather I wanted to put them here for everyone to see and read. But, in the end I decided to because I want people to know the truth and I, also, want to serve as warning to other bloggers - becareful what to write. If you are too candid you will be criticized and sometimes even personally attacked.<br /><br />Sunday, February 25th, 2007 I received what I consider to be my worst "comment" so far. Of course, the harshes of of the negative comments were made either with someone using "Anonymous" as their ID or another obvious fake ID names. At the time this really annoyed me since prior to this very moment [when I just removed my e-mail address] I have always had my name, photo and even my e-mail address posted on this blog for the world to see. I would have like to personally answer these people. However, now I have decided that it is a good thing it was done this way as it allowed me time to calm down and thankfully now and I more collected. I have chosen not to respond to these critics because I have come to the conclusion that there are some people who read blogs with their own personal agenda of finding fault. I no longer am idealistic enough to think that I can change the minds of these "hard liners". It is the more moderate people who have always been the target audience of my blog - at least in my mind.<br /><br />Thus without farther ado here is the latest "comment".<br /><em><strong>"Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "</strong></em><a href="javascript:ol("><em><strong>"Not Quite Right"</strong></em></a><em><strong>": I work at an English Language Center in the U.S. We receive students from every part of the world, and found your blog through a friend. She emailed me the entry about the discrimination you face in Korean. After I read that post, I continued reading the rest of your blog. First of all let me state that the "discrimination" you mentioned you are experiencing in Korea is the same here. I mention this because I can add the voice of many people from many countries with many experiences, not just one person from one country relaying one experience.<br /><br />I think the reason you are so outraged is because you somehow have taken the title "queen for a year" to heart. I hope that you understand that people are allowed to assign their own rules in their own country as they see fit. They do not have to give you special privileges because you are a white Canadian.<br /><br />I kept reading your blog because I thought that you were just going through an adjustment period, I was wrong. I also cannot believe your attitude in your later post. You state that some things in Korean are "not quite right." I find it unimaginable that you have lived in Korea for 3 years and you are still fighting against the culture. Other countries are not a different version of the "first world" as many westerners would like to think. If it exist in Korea, then it is just right from bean curd popsicles to eating dogs. I am sure that if you had encountered the same puffed air dessert in France you would rave about it.<br /><br />I am well versed in the ways of the ugly American, but the ugly Canadian, for some reason I didn't think it existed. I guess I was wrong. "<br /></strong></em><br /><br />Another comment I received but did not publish at the time was this one. <em><strong>"chacha has left a new comment on your post "</strong></em><a href="javascript:ol("><em><strong>New Furniture</strong></em></a><em><strong>": Nobody says white people get a lot of male attention. They just stare because they're wondering wtf you're doing there. Don't flatter yourself, babe."</strong></em><br /><br />I even received what I consider to be attacks on my ample figure. For example I got these two comments. <em><strong>"leone has left a new comment on your post "</strong></em><a href="javascript:ol("><em><strong>"Not Quite Right"</strong></em></a><em><strong>": Perhaps it's a good thing that Korean cakes don't taste so good to you - think of your figure!!!! "<br /></strong></em><br /><em><strong>"Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "</strong></em><a href="javascript:ol("><em><strong>Adventures in Cooking</strong></em></a><em><strong>": why are your boobs next to your belly button"<br /></strong></em><br />Moreover, even my right to express my opinion and experience was questioned. I write as a white, Canadian woman because that is what I am. I never made a secret of that fact. I can only write about my experiences through my own eyes. However, again and again, I was told that because I was a "white Canadian" I could not write about discrimination or I think that only when a "white Canadian" experiences racism do I think that it is important Here is one such criticism I received on my post "Discrimination Against Foreigners in Korea".<br /><br /><strong><em>"Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "</em></strong><a href="javascript:ol("><strong><em>Discrimination of Foreigners in Korea</em></strong></a><strong><em>": i am a korean canadian, living in US. although i feel sorry for your troubles, for most of us, it's pretty much the same. your post makes it sound as if korea is the only country that treats foreigners like this, but it simply isn't true. i work with a company here in US, in California, and whenever i have people come on an extended business trip from, say, Korea, they go through the same: need to deposit $500- $5,000 to get "secured" credit card (you can only use up to the amount you deposit). they have to deposit $500 (another $500 if they want to call overseas) to get a mobile phone service, if they can get it at all. </em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><strong><em>I'd love to join a local country club, but alas, my money is not good with them. apparently, i have to be white and old (they say, you must know a member and get recommended by one - sure if you are new, you'd know people like that)</em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><strong><em>You claim that you can navigate through most websites in Korea, apparently not so. I don't have Korean citizenship, so when I signed up for Cyworld, for example, I used my Canadian passport to sign up. And I do use it frequently. i.e. Cyworld does accept foreigners. and yes, i have nate/nateon messenger as well. </em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><br /><div align="left"><strong><em>Foreigners in Korea feel they are discriminated against, sure, I think that is true to some extent, but I am not sure it's any worse than what people get when they come to either Canada or US. i certainly hope anyone is implying that only when a canadian/american gets discriminated it's worth blogging about while the other way, it's just way of life here. "</em></strong><br /><br /><center>***</center></div><br />Not all comments were negative and some were very favorable and encouraging. To those of you who enjoyed my blog and wrote to thank me let me offer my thanks to you. I appreciate your support. I feel you understood the true spirit of my blog - which was not intended to be a social commentary or political lighting rod but rather a frank and sincere personal account of my sojourn in "the land of the morning calm".<br /><br />It is with mixed feelings that I say goodbye to you and this blog. If you enjoy my writing and want to hear more from me don't fret. I am in the process of writing a book about my adventures living and teaching English in South Korea. Moreover, it will not just be a recap of my blog but a include fresh new ideas and material. I have always planned to write a book about my experiences and therefore although I used this blog to try and discipline myself to consistently write and to try and hone my writing skills nonetheless it was always with the knowledge that I needed to save some of my funniest and most dramatic experiences for my book.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong>I plan to keep this blog as it is and later offer an excerpt from my book as well as a link showing where you will be able to purchase my book - as soon as I complete it. </strong></span><br /><span style="font-size:180%;"><strong></strong></span><br />Rest assurred this will not be the last you hear of me or my writing. "Queen For A Year" was rather tame or so I thought - and yet it invited a level of viciousness that was - at least to me -shocking! However, through this experience I have become even more convinced that words are power - they can hurt or they can heal. They have the ability to convey emotion and allow others to learn and grow vicariously though another person's experience. It is with this hope that I embark on the next chapter of my life and journey.<br /><br />AnnQueen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1166704657560380752006-12-24T21:27:00.000+09:002012-09-12T01:00:31.385+09:00Christmas in KoreaIt has taken a lot to get me into the spirit of Christmas this year. It just doesn't seem like Christmas to me without snow. This time of year seems to naturally lead to reflection and I amazed to realize that this will be my third Christmas in Korea. Wow! It seems like so long ago I first arrived here in South Korea and yet time has gone fast.<br /><br />To get into the spirit of the season I have consciously made an effort to try to feel more seasonal. My journey went something like this:<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/32885/SPF.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/998660/SPF.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />I noticed a lady selling roasted sweet potatoes in the market area behind my apartment building and I could actually smell them [amazing with my bronchitis] and they smelled so good. I stopped and got some for my dinner. They were delicious! Since then every Friday night I stop and chat to the vendor and buy some more sweet potatoes for my dinner. The wood fire is so pretty sometimes I just stand and watch it for a few moments and think... it does seem a little more like Christmas.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/138516/CIMG0503.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/174357/CIMG0503.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Last week when I made my weekly visit to Dunkin' Donuts [its my mid week treat] I saw a poster and was able to read that they were offering a new "Holiday Coffee". It looked good so I ordered one and sat drinking it and looking at the decorations and started to get into the Christmas spirit.<br /><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/289046/CIMG0513.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/320/334373/CIMG0513.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Across from my apartment building is a Korean Beef Restaurant [a Galbi Restaurant as I would call it] and they have some nice lights out for Christmas. But, I have to admit is still looks strange to me to see outdoor tables and Christmas lights at the same time. It's too cold to even consider eating outside in my hometown in Canada anytime around Christmas.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/742531/Lights.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/174869/Lights.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Mega Mart the large supermarket [small department store] near my house has some lovely Christmas lights. I went for a walk last night to look at the Christmas lights around here and took this picture.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/920756/Best%20Lights.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/289146/Best%20Lights.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Another shot of the Christmas lights outside Mega Mart.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/904462/Ornaments.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/656688/Ornaments.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />We put up a few decorations in the teachers' room at school. And, that made it feel a little cozier and a little more seasonal.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/611790/CIMG0530.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/320/164032/CIMG0530.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />This Santa Claus is on display at one of my schools. I love that his banner is on him in Korean. I wish I could read it. Just when I think my Korean is improving I can't read a simple Christmas banner. Ba hum bug!<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/489221/CIMG0570.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/461273/CIMG0570.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Even the subway stations are decorated for Christmas. This is the Nampo-dong Subway Station Christmas tree.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/375245/CIMG0569.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/987459/CIMG0569.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Last night in the Nampo-dong Subway station there was a band wearing Santa hats and preforming. They were pretty good and a number of people stopped to listen and enjoy the music.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/5643/CIMG0544.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/372202/CIMG0544.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />This is "Julie Teacher". She is the Elementary School Korean-English teacher at one of my schools. She gave me a lovely red scarf for Christmas.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/861883/CIMG0565.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/164376/CIMG0565.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Yesterday, at my Yong-do school we had a Christmas party and of course there was pizza. Here's "Harry" enjoying some pizza and posing for a picture for me.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/724223/CIMG0564.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/4507/CIMG0564.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />I snapped this picture of my students digging into the pizza. I guess pizza really is an international favorite food. Notice that it's still so hot that the cheese is stringy. YUMMY!<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/210684/CIMG0536.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/320/581521/CIMG0536.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />My Grade 6 student "Rocky" surprised me with a Christmas present of a set of 4 Cappuccino Mugs. They are so pretty and huge. Lately, I been making a mug of hot chocolate at night and curling up on my bed with it. There I've been watching Christmas shows which I download using bit torrents and watch on TV via my Xbox and the FTP program [that sends them to the Xbox without me evening having to burn them to a DVD]. Who knew I'd even become so technologically sauvy? Not me.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/387502/CIMG0535.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/320/104316/CIMG0535.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />This week I had a class on how to make a Christmas card in English for my students. I expected them to take the cards for their families. However, some of my students surprised me and gave me the card they had made at the end of the class. They wrote really nice messages like "I love you" and "Annabelle Teacher, Pretty". I am so flattered.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/66200/CIMG0576.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/36242/CIMG0576.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />More Christmas cards and postcards.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/393669/CIMG0534.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/320/562818/CIMG0534.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Another Christmas card from a student.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/702717/CIMG0532.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/320/43992/CIMG0532.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />This Grade 5 student wrote in English and smaller on the left in Korean. I am embarrassed to say I had to get a Korean-English teacher to help me read the Korean message. I speak Korean much better than I can read or write it and I think in that way I have fooled the children into thinking I'm much better at Korean than I actually am.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/276259/CIMG0531.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/320/250989/CIMG0531.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Still more Christmas cards.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/993056/CIMG0575.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/559746/CIMG0575.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />More Christmas cards and postcards. I feel so loved.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/148937/CIMG0579.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/864331/CIMG0579.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Last but not least I finally broke down and bought myself a new digital camera. I've been wanting one for a long time. I love my old digital camera but it's only 2.0 mega pixels and it doesn't do on well close ups. I have been wanting to take clear, crisp pictures of some of the Konglish I see daily but haven't been able to with my old camera. This is a Sony Cybershot camera with 7.2 mega pixels and a macro feature that lets me do close ups of printed material. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">I am considering this to be my Christmas present to myself for surviving my ill health and getting into the Christmas spirit in spite of being far away from the people I love most int he whole world. Merry Christmas to me.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">***</div><div align="center">Well, I'm off to watch "It's a Wonderful Life" on my Xbox and TV and drink some hot chocolate.</div><div align="center">***<br />Merry Christmas everyone.</div>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1166276645862598402006-12-17T22:43:00.000+09:002012-09-12T01:00:47.859+09:00Too Close To The Fire<div align="left">I haven't posted in a couple of weeks because I am still sick. I thought it was just a very bad cold but come to find out I have bronchitis. I am managing to drag myself to work everyday but it's not easy and my free time tends to be spent coughing and sleeping. I try to watch tv or read a book only to find that I have fallen asleep. Of course, I realize this only later when I wake myself up coughing.<br /><br />I have tons of medication from an Internal Medicine Specialist called a 내 과 [nae gwa]. In case you don't know, in Korea often you have know what's wrong with you and see a specialist. There are some general practice doctors or family doctors around [or so I have been told] but I can never seem to find one so I just figure out what kind of specialist I need and go directly to see them. Luckily, almost all doctors here can communicate quite well in English.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/234512/Med2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/209535/Med2.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Here in South Korea, there are no fancy pill bottles with your name and the medication name and dosage printed on them. You get a paper bag with the name of the pharmacy on the outside of it and the telephone number of the pharmacy. Inside the paper bag are a strip of wax paper envelopes filled with pills that you tear apart at the perforations to made individual envelopes that are small and easy to take to work with you in a pocket or purse. It's really quite convenient.<br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/886640/Med.jpg"></a><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/256538/Meds.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/536769/Meds.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Your pills come in a sealed wax paper envelope and you often get several different kinds of pills to take at one time and you don't even know which drug is which. Sometimes the envelope has the pharmacy's name printed on it but never the drug names or dosages. Moreover, these pills are taken 30 minutes after meals and sometimes they are different for each meal. The name of the meal is printed on the envelope in Korean. However, most pharmacists give me a permanent marker and tell me which meal and I write it in English on each envelope so as not to get confused later. However, this time all the envelopes are exactly the same for breakfast, lunch and dinner so I didn't need to do that.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/732610/Csyrup.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/810323/Csyrup.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><center>I, also, got a bottle of cough syrup. It, as you can see, is also not labelled with a drug name only the date it was prepared and the dosage to take [in this case 20cc]. The Korean teachers laughed at me when they saw this bottle of cough syrup. Apparently, Korean adults never take this only children. So, they teased me that I must be just a "big kid". But one teacher speculated that maybe it is because Korean drugs are very strong and that maybe this was better for a foreigner like me.<br /><br />***</center><div align="left">I hate to admit it but I am sure that the reason I am so sick is that my school is not properly heated. In fact, until just last week there was no heat at all. Even now the heat is on only about 4 or 5 hours a day while the children are there and not the 8 hours we teachers are in the building. Once the kids leave for the day the heat gets turned off again and we are left to huddle around any portable heaters we have.<br /><br />Some teachers buy electric heaters and hide them under their desks to use. I assume they think management wouldn't let them use them since if they are too frugal to pay for an couple extra hours of heat they wouldn't want to pay a larger electric power bill. Once I got sick, however, I went to see the owner of the school and told him I need a heater in the teacher's room or I would have to resign. I wasn't playing hard ball it's just that if I get sick any sicker than I won't be able to work. And if you can't work most schools fire you cutting off your health insurance. I wasn't willing to take that chance.<br /><br />Moreover, since I work at three different locations of the same school I would have had to buy 3 heaters an expensive proposition. Not to mention the days I wasn't at the school the heater would likely get used and confiscated by management or broken. I have terrible trouble at one school even keeping a pencil in my desk drawer. The next time I look for it or anything else, I stupidly, left there it is gone - obviously someone else has walked away with it.<br /><br />Lucky for me the owner of my school likes me and didn't want to see me resign. So after some negotiating he told me he'd provide a heater in the teacher's room of each school for me to use. Now, I am feeling warmer and hopefully can start to recover. The negative fallout from this is that some of the Korean teachers resent me and feel I am getting special treatment. But I try not to worry about that too much I had to fight my own battle and since they work at one location most of them had already bought a pillow for the cold seat of their chair and a blanket to bundle up in and a number of them had, also, smuggled in electric heaters. They did what they needed to do to make their work-place bearable for themselves I am I did what I needed to do to take care of myself. I wish they could understand we aren't so different. We're all just trying to get along the best way we know how.<br /><br />Anyway, here are some cute pictures I took of the children all bundled up against the cold.<br /><br /></div><center>***</center><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/48756/Sara.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/186977/Sara.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />This is "Sara" in her cute pink bear hat. She usually makes me try it one so she can laugh at how funny I look in it.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/880366/Annie.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/260021/Annie.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />This is "Anny" wearing her winter jacket counting her BINGO chips to make sure she has 25.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/564857/Vicky2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/540093/Vicky2.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />"Vicky" is showing me her Sponge Bob fingerless gloves.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/544479/Toby.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/321232/Toby.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />"Toby". How can such a devilish little boy look so cute in a picture? He is the bane of my Grade 3 Class.<br /><br /></div><center>***</center><div align="left">All this got me thinking about one of the funniest things that ever happened to me my entire time teaching here in South Korea. About 3 years ago I was teaching at a school just outside of Busan and it had no central heat. So we used portable heaters in our classrooms. It was cold so usually I kept the gas heater very close to my desk at the front of the room. </div><div align="left"><br />This school [like some of the other private Language schools in South Korea] had a rule that you couldn't wear your outdoor footwear inside. So, there was a shelf just inside the doorway where you took off your shoes and put on slippers. When winter came I wanted to find a warm pair of slippers so I went shopping in Nampo-dong [the huge outdoor market area of Busan] and bought a very unique pair of slippers. They were bright pink and warm and fuzzy and they had a feather boa on the toe. They even had glitter writing on them that said "Good Girl Gone Bad". I loved them they were just so over the top! </div><div align="left"><br />However, I have a nasty habit. When I am wearing sandles or slippers that don't have a strap on the back and I am sitting down I wiggle my foot back and forth flipping my slipper on and off my heel. With a soft slipper and not a flip-flop this doesn't made much noise and althought somewhat of a distracting to the children it seems like an innocent enough habit - that is until you add the open flame of a gas heater.<br /><br />One day in class I was cold and I guess I had snuggled up a little to close to the gas heater. Because one of my students raised his hand. "Yes, Turner?", I said. To which he replied, "Annabelle Teacher fire!". I had had a somewhat heated discussion with the manager of my school that morning so I replied jokingly, "Scott's firing me. Yipee! I can go home to Canada and visit my family." </div><div align="center"></div><div align="left"><br />My poor students didn't understand - the only reason I had darned say such a smart ass comment in the first place. But the little boy had a frantic look on his face. I thought maybe he had understood what I said after all. So I said, "Don't worry. I'm just kidding. Everything's okay." To which Turner burst out, "No, teacher. Fire!" I still misunderstood the situation. So I piped back, "No Turner. No one is being fired. I'm going to teach here a long time." </div><div align="center"></div><div align="left"><br />At this point poor Turner is jumping up and down in his seat. I looked at him with suprise. "What's wrong?", I demanded. To which he screamed, "You teacher, you fire!", and pointed to my burning slipper. At this point I followed his gaze to my flaming slipper. I smelled smoke and saw the flame shoot out in the air about 10 inches. I used my text book to smother the flame and ran to the bathroom with my still smoldering slipper and ran cold water on it.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">No harm was done except to my slipper. Once I aired out the classroom and calmed down the children and put on a pair of plastic bathroom shoes - things returned to normal and I resumed teaching. Now it is just an amusing but true story I tell sometimes. Thank God my student so very persistent in trying to communicate the problem to me.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/588508/Scott%20.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/750189/Scott%20.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><p align="center"><br />"Scott" the manager of the school. We had a love/hate relationship. There was a lot of chemistry between us and several times we went out partying together. We flirted shamelessly and drove everyone else nuts. Sometimes we argued. Like the morning of the day my slipper caught fire.</p><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/760481/Gas%20Heater.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/911648/Gas%20Heater.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><p align="center"><br />A portable gas heater. It is exactly the same color, make and model of the heater that lit my slipper on fire.</p><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/777116/CIMG0518.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/788424/CIMG0518.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><p align="center"><br />A pair of fuzzy hot pink slippers similar to the pair I loved so much an caught on fire. I bought these this week while looking for a pair of warm slippers to wear in my apartment. I saw these ones and the memories of my slipper fire came flooding back. Since I have no portable gas heater in my apartment hopefully I don't catch these ones on fire.<br /><br /></p><br /><br /></center>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1164461417527633982006-11-26T22:20:00.000+09:002007-03-17T12:00:29.604+09:00"Not Quite Right"I picked the title of this post from the quote some of us westerners sometimes use about South Korea that it is "the land of not quite right".<br /><br />What do I mean by that? Well, mainly that things aren't done here like they are back home. For example, often you will order a ham and cheese sandwich in a restaurant and get served a ham, cheese and jam sandwich. One time at the restaurant chain "Bear Mountain" I ordered chicken quesadillas and they were served with sweetened whipped cream [like you might use as a dessert topping] of course I didn't expect this or realize it until I had spread it over my meal and thus ruined the entire thing. I have learned that even when things look right and are presented in the way you are used they still might not be correct.<br /><br />I have been thinking about this in regards to food lately. Maybe because I have a terrible cold and have had for weeks now - nothing smells or tastes good to me. This got me thinking about the fact that in Korea nothing smells good. You can walk by a fried chicken shop or a bakery and smell nothing. I'm not sure if it is the pollution or what. But, it sure is different from back home. When I lived in Moncton, New Brunswick and attended Moncton High School there was a bakery about 6 blocks away and the smell used to waft in - especially in the fall and spring when the windows were open. The odour used to practically drive us to distraction. I can't speak for anyone else, but I was rendered like one of Pablov's dogs with my salvating. It was the most fragrant and delicious smell imaginable.<br /><br />This got me thinking about the fact that Korean people say they don't like sweets. What I am wondering is if that is true. Is it that Korean people don't like sweets or that they don't like that they make here and call "sweets" cause quite frankly I don't like them either. They look like real cakes and are decorated beautifully but they are mostly puffed air and sometimes some sweetened cream. I have never had a cake here [not even for someone's birthday] that actually tasted like a cake. They don't use icing sugar or frostening on cakes or cinnamin buns. The cake is always a light sponge-like cake. I've never had a confetti cake or a cherry loaf or even a real chocolate cake. I'm not sure if it is because it is difficult to find the necessary ingredients [real cocoa powder is very hard to find] and from the taste of the "chocolate cakes" I've tried from bakeries they used cocoa mix [cocoa that has been cut with sugar and milk powder and is ready to make a cup of hot cocoa] or if they just don't know the difference.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/615413/Cakes.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/755066/Cakes.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A picture of a normal Korean bakery and the delicious "looking cakes". If only they tasted even 25% as good as they look....</center><br /><br />Apparently, I am not the only one to dislike Korean bakeries. Last weekend I went to visit my friend "Ray" in Ulsan. And, I picked up a copy of the November issue of the "Ulsan Pear" an English magazine about living in Ulsan. In it there was an article about "Stohrer Bakery". The article by Jim Saunders starts like this, "Bakeries in Korea seem to be a rather hit-and-miss affair. A casual glance around your local Paris Baguette or equivalent reveals a lacklustre number of tasty looking goods on offer that also seem to contain a strange mix of fillings (sweet potato anyone?). And when an unsuspecting pastery that looks really good spills bean paste into your mouth it can rather darken the day."<br /><br />The article goes on to take about a bakery in Ulsan called the "Stohrer Bakery" owned and operated by Mr. Son Su Dae who gained experience in Japan and France. It continues to say that although expensive the quality is great and it does seem to attract a upper class clientele. This piqued my interest. And, adds to my hypothesis that Koreans would actually like "Western food" if it were actually prepared and served correctly here.<br /><br />I convinced "Ray" to join me on my quest to find this bakery. Truthfully, it didn't take much persuading. "Ray" and a few of his friends had tried to find the bakery a few weeks before without success and I think "Ray" was just curious to see how I would go about trying to find it since I have only been to Ulsan a handful of times and had always managed to get lost while there. But, knowing my persistence he knew it would be interesting to watch. The fact that the bakery was difficult to find just made me more determined than ever to find it. That's just the kind of girl I am. I guess you could say I like a challenge. Whenever, life gets hard and frustrating here in Korea I just pretend I am on "The Amazing Race" and that this is a "roadblock" [a task that only one player can perform before the team can move on].<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/552599/U2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/994914/U2.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A picture of the tarts in the Stohrer Bakery. They were delicious. I bought a plum one.</center><br /><br />Needless, to say we found the bakery and as promised it was quite expensive and the quality was great! I couldn't be more pleased. I should confess that I used the phone number of the bakery and recruited a Korean University Student to call and get me directions. And, later I talked to a Korean guy and showed him the directions and got him to point me in the right direction.<br /><br />It was an interesting quest and the bakery treats were a delicious reward.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/507366/Choc.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/629426/Choc.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />The most delicious treat at the bakery were the chocolates. They were very expensive at 1,300 won [over $1.30 Canadian] a piece but they were exceptional! Yummm... My mouth waters just thinking about them.</center><br /><br />**One note of interest: When the University Student called the bakery to get directions she told the person at the bakery that "Two foreigners were trying to find the bakery" and that she was calling for us to get directions. I've noticed that whenever I ask a Korean to help me they always say "wae-guk-in"["foreigner"] and somehow that is a pertinent part of the equation. I'm not sure why this is and why it matters.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/1600/981325/Dog.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger/4434/2056/400/672913/Dog.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />A funny picture I took the other night of a lady taking her dog into the bakery with her. It's even funnier if you think about the fact that Korea is a country where men still eat dog meat especially in the summer to help improve their "stamina".</center>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1163264034643386072006-11-12T01:52:00.000+09:002007-08-13T04:08:15.646+09:00State of Affairs in South KoreaI have been thinking a lot about the situation in South Korea lately. Being away from South Korea for my vacation in Taiwan let me read international newspapers and see the situation with North Korea and its testing of nuclear weapons in a different light. Living in South Korea with it's insolar state of affairs means that one often lives in a state of denial that North Korea is and can pose a threat to our safety here. I got away from that for a brief while and the blinders were removed from my eyes and there is no turning back.<br /><br />Since North Korea tested a nuclear weapon the pollution in the air in Busan has been unbearable. For the last two weeks we haven't seen the sun and a neon yellow-green hazy hangs in the air. I don't like to think that I am being irraiated and yet and am starting to think that must be the case. Finally, in the last week the air has started to clear a little. Still I wonder and worry about the effects or maybe I should say fallout of the test. Am I over-reacting?<br /><br />Maybe. Certainly, I shouldn't be downloading a watching CBS's new hit TV show "Jericho" about a small Kansas town that is left to survive after a nuclear bomb goes off in nearby Denver. Bad idea for me to be watching it at a time like this but it is a good TV show.<br /><br />Moreover, I downloaded and read the Canadian Embassy's "Emergency Evacuation Plan" and I have to say it is not very reassuring. The fact that the Canadian Government has not updated their plan since I first arrived in Korea in January 2003 and subsequently registered with the Canadian Embassy in Seoul and they first e-mailed me the Evacuation Plan is not a good sign. In fact, even in light of the current heightened tension on the Korean Peninsula the plan says "The chance that an evacuation might be necessary is rather remote."<br /><br />Moreover, they advise me that "In case of emergency, Canadians have to carefully listen to the public broadcasting such as TV and radio, but AFKN [American Forces Korea Network] should be their first source". They give the following frequencies for me to monitor "Pusan Radio FM 88.1 and AM 1260" both of which I tried just this minute [to double check] and surprise, surprise they don't work. In fact, I can get NO ENGLISH broadcasts on my CD Player/Radio. I didn't think the frequency would work now that Camp Hialeah is closed and therefore I assume not broadcasting or relaying transmittions in the Busan area.<br /><br />I am left feeling so nervous and wanting to get out of here and thus the "preceived danger area" that I don't know what to do. I went to my doctor and got sleeping pills cause I can no longer sleep here anymore. I truth I would go home to Canada in a minute it I had the money to. But I am an economic slave so to speak. If I were to leave now I would have to pay back 1,000,000 won to repay the recruiter who brought me here. That's over a thousand dollars Canadian. I would have to repay my airfare to come to Korea [if I give notice or leave prior to teaching six months here]. Moreover, I might have to pay some penality money to my employeer and give one month's notice and I might even be expected to help find a replacement for myself. All, in all I am stuck. I will just have to try and keep my head down and keep my mouth shut and keep marking off days on the calandar until I can get out of here. I will continue to try and make the best of it but truthfully my nerves are shot.<br /><br />I think that I probably never felt in danger before because in all my time in Korea I have always lived close to an operational and functional American Military Base and now that Camp Hialeah in Busan is closed I am not feeling so safe and secure. I used to spend the majority of my free time including all weekends and holidays on the base with my friends here in Busan and before that when I lived in Gumi at Cp Carroll in Waegwan or Cp Walker in Daegu. I felt like I always knew what was going in and that if anything happened that I'd be taken care of. Maybe I was wrong in assuming that [since I am a Canadian not an American citizen] nonetheless that's how I felt.<br /><br />In reading the Emergeny Evacuation Plan more closely I note that it does say that "The Embassy must stress that although a 'global agreement' does exist between the Canadian and U.S. governments to assist one another in times of crisis, there is no specific agreement pertaining to Korea. The understanding is that USFK [United States Forces Korea] and the U.S. Embassy personnel will take care of U.S. nationals first, and nationals of other countries with which they have "global agreements", second, should their resources permit this. Should Canadian nationals proceed to an American military facility for assistance at the time of a crisis, they must exercise patience, and be prepared to wait until American citizens have been dealth with. It is this fact that should encourage all Canadians in Korea to react early to deteriorating political, military or other situations on the peninsula, and arrange for their own and their dependents early departure via commercial transport."<br /><br />All this got me thinking about Camp Hialeah and my days there. I didn't take a lot of pictures there or at least not that many that feel free to use. I try always to protect people's privacy and don't post their pictures unless they give me permission. That said I found the following website that has lots of pictures of what CP Hialeah in Busan used to look like. Here's the link.<br /><br /><br /><li><a href="http://www.geocities.com/caveguru_1/Hialeah_1.html" target="blank">Pictures of what CP Hialeah used to look like</a></li><br /><br /><p></p><br />I took the following pictures during my Hialeah Days.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Camp%20Hialeah%20Gate.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Camp%20Hialeah%20Gate.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The main gate at Hialeah.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Out%20Bus.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Out%20Bus.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Picture taken outside Hialeah's front gate. This picture was taken on the duty bus back from CP Walker in Daegu.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Army%20Comm%20Serv.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Army%20Comm%20Serv.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Hialeah's Army Community Services Center.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Hialeah%20St.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Hialeah%20St.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />A street on the base.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Jess%26Ann.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Jess%26Ann.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />J. a friend of mine, and me taken on the base in front of the playground.<br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Dallas%20Club%20-%20Card%20-%20Map.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Dallas%20Club%20-%20Card%20-%20Map.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Business card showing the location of the Dallas club just outside gate 4 the main gate at Hialeah.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Entry%20to%20Dallas%20Club.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Entry%20to%20Dallas%20Club.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The enterance to the Dallas Club. The place everyone went dancing at 6 am on Saturday morning [the time curfew ended and everyone was allowed out again].<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/DallasClubDancing4.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/DallasClubDancing4.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Dancing at the Dallas Club.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Dallas%20Club.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Dallas%20Club.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The Dallas Club.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Dallas%20Club%20Wall%20Art.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Dallas%20Club%20Wall%20Art.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Painting on the wall at the Dallas Club.<br /><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Mama-san.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Mama-san.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />"Mama-san". A small shop owner just outside the back walk-in gate. She sold long distance telephone cards and cigerettes. I wonder if she went out of business now that the base and thus all her customers are gone?<br /></div><div align="center">***</div><div align="left">To all my army buddy friends from Hialeah and elsewhere. I miss you. Take care.<br /><br /><br /><br /></div><a href="http://www.blogger.com/ht"></a>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1162041932165808142006-11-05T22:24:00.000+09:002007-03-17T12:04:09.952+09:00Taiwan Vacation - Part 3 - TaipeiOn Friday, October 6th "Ray" and I flew from Taitung back to Taipei. We stayed at the Grand Hotel in Taipei. It was fablous! I highly recommend it.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0200.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0200.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />There was even musicians playing in the lobby of the hotel. This hotel was build in 1952 and is located just across the Keelung river from the center of the city of Taipei. Madame Chiang Kai-Shek used to be in charge of the hotel and there are pictures of her hanging on the walls.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0207.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0207.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />A picture of the Grand Hotel lit up at night.<br /><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Grand%20Hotel.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Grand%20Hotel.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Our room in the Grand Hotel. In Taiwan the hotels all have plain white blankets but then they have beautiful silk throws that go over the bed about 3/4 of the way from the top. I like this style a lot.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Grand.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Grand.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />A look the the Grand Hotel in the daylight.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/g%20pool.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/g%20pool.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The hotel has a huge swimming pool that is Olympic size. It was warm enough to swim in even the first week of October.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0221.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0221.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Friday night we went to the night market just outside Longshan Temple. This night market is famous for having snake handlers and selling snake soup. We tried it. It was pretty good. The broth tasted like a cross between chicken and vegetable stock. The meat was boney and a little difficult to eat but not much different from chicken.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0219.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0219.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Most of the shops in the Night Market have signs telling you [in English, too] that you are not allowed to take pictures. However, the lady at the restaurant we ate our snake soup up let up snap all the pics we wanted.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0223.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0223.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The children seemed to be more facinated than scared of the snakes, whereas, the adults attitude seemed to be one more of fear and horror. Guess I'm still a kid cause I was intrigued and not at all scared.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/turtles.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/turtles.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />They even sold turtle meat in the night market. "Ray" sneakly took this picture - I wasn't able to take a picture cause they saw my camera and told me "No pictures".<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0236.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0236.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Saturday we took a city bus tour of Taipei. The tour picked us up at the Grand Hotel and took us around a handful of the major sites in Taipei. We stopped at a couple of Temples. They were very beautiful.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0242.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0242.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The altar inside one of the temples.<br /><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Incence.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Incence.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Incense burning on the altar of a temple.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0247.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0247.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />A woman burning fake paper money for her ancestors.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0248.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0248.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The tour stopped at the National Palace Museum. This houses one of the most impressive collections of Chinese Art I have ever seen. However, it was a mob scene. In fact, this was the only thing or place in Taiwan that reminded me of South Korea and that was only because it was so crowded.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0257.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0257.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Outside the National Palace Museum.<br /></div><center><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Tray.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Tray.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />This is an exhibit inside the National Palace Museum. "Ray" took this picture on the sly. Photo taking is strictly prohibited in the Museum. This tray took 11 years to carve for the Chinese Emperor and the ivory was carved by hand. At least a couple of the craftsmen are said to have gone blind carving it. Looking at the detail I can believe it.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0256.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0256.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The Taiwanese Flag blows in the wind.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0266.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0266.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The ceiling at a temple. I loved the bright vibrant colors.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0267.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0267.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />A close up look at the details of the ceiling and the paint work.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0272.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0272.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />A door handle at the temple with it's dragon's head.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0284.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0284.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />We went to Chaing Kai-Shek Memorial Hall on the Taipei City Bus Tour.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0293.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0293.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />A statute of Chaing Kai-Shek.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0298.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0298.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />As usual with every tour I have taken in Asia it ended at a souvenir shop where hopefully we bought something so that our tour guide would get some extra [kick-back] money. I know I sound cynicial but it's the truth. When you go into these shops you are given paper tickets with a number on them [the number corresponds to the tour group] and after the tour when everyone gets back on the bus the tour guide mysteriously disappears inside the shop again for several minutes.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">This picture is of Oolong tea. Taiwan is famous for it's Oolong tea which I happen to love.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0302.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0302.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />I happened to check out a computer room while I was in Taiwan. They were much more difficult to find than in Korea where there is one on every corner but when we did find one it was nice and actually even had a non-smoking section in a different room which I appreciated.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0301.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0301.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /><em></em>I took a picture of the Yahoo homepage in Chinese.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0303.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0303.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Saturday night "Ray" and I found a cafe called Grandma Nitti's. It was fablous! It had a section of used books [in English] we could buy quite cheaply. And, the food was amazing. The menu offered a huge selection and even included comfort food like meatloaf with mashed potatoes and gravy. Yummy!<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0305.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0305.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /><br />They even had pumpkin pie and whipped cream. Being that it was Thanksgiving back home in Canada in decided to indulge in some pumpkin pie. It was good. Not as good as my mom makes but good nonetheless.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0308.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0308.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Getting a foot massage is very common in Taipei and after wandering around the night market looking for Oolong Tea and gifts for my friends and family I decided it was time to take care of my feet. The man who worked on my feet had awesome English and he was able to tell me when a certain spot was tender when in the body it corresponded to. I learned that my neck and back are especially sensitive or a least the reflexology spots that pertain to them on my feet are.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0313.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0313.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Sunday morning found us off to the Taipei 101 building. It is the tallest office building in the world. I have to admit that after the CN Tower it didn't seem that tall to me but it is a famous landmark in Taipei and not to be missed.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0314.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0314.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Looking up the side of the Taipei 101 building.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0325.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0325.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Drug%20Store2.jpg"></a></center><div align="center"><br />The view from the top outside deck of the Taipei 101 building. <em></em>I was suprised at the visability. This day you could see far into the distance without much smog. This is certainly different that South Korea especially of late.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Drug%20Store2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Drug%20Store2.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />On the same building as Taipei 101 we found lots of shops including a real honest to goodness pharmacy. I have never seen one in Asia and certainly not in South Korea where there are small drug stores on every corner but no big ones that carry everything from drugs, to food, to magazines, to hair color, etc. This one was called Watsons and it had everything. Including travel [motion sickness pills] which we loaded up on for the plane ride back to Incheon airport in Seoul, South Korea. </div>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1162037320241770272006-10-28T21:04:00.000+09:002007-03-17T12:05:23.818+09:00Sorry No Post This Week - I'm SickHi Everybody:<br /><br />Just a really quick note to let you know that I am sick and won't be posting this week. Hopefully, I will be back to my old self by next weekend and I will finish my last post on my vacation in Taiwan. Then I will be back to writing about South Korea again - as usually.<br /><br />I think I have the flu. I missed all my Korean classes this week and even had to get a doctor's note and take one of my three yearly sick days from school. I am feeling a lot better already but I am still extra tired and weak. I'm just not up to sitting in front of the computer blogging right now.<br /><br />I'm off to watch some tv until I fall asleep.<br /><br />See you next week.<br />AnnQueen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1161438641704760242006-10-22T22:32:00.000+09:002007-03-17T12:06:17.894+09:00Taiwan Vacation - Part 2 - Green IslandThursday, October 5th, 2006 "Ray" and I caught the ferry at the port in Taitung to Green Island. Green Island is an island of approximately 3,000 people but has become extremely popular during the summer because of the natural beauty and the wonderful coral reef that makes scuba diving and snorkling so enjoyable here. The ferry and planes to the island get booked up quickly even in the early fall so we had to get up and make sure to catch the first ferry at 8:30 am as that was the only option including plane or ferry that had any tickets available for that day.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Ferry.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Ferry.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /><br />This innocent looking boat caused me the most distress of any vechicle in my entire life. It was only a 50 minute ferry ride from Taitung to Green Island but it felt like it lasted FOREVER! I have never been sea sick in my life and I grew up around the water and boats - so being sea sick was a entirely new experience for me. </div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">My Lonely Planet book that warned that in the winter in bad weather the ride good be rough. It says and I quote "During winter, boats run infrequently, if at all, due to choppy water. If you dare to take a boat during winter, prepare your stomach in advance and brace yourself for a very rough ride". It was early fall so I never dreamed it would be a problem. But when we boarded the boat and sat down the boat was rocking even while docked at the pier and I knew then I wasn't going to enjoy the ride. I took some travel sick pills but at that point [3 to 4 minutes before departing] it was too late for them to work.</div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">The whole ride over I prayed and cursed my own travel planning and itinery and hoped that Green Island would be worth the hell it was getting there. Well, I am happy to report it was. However, if I am ever given the opportunity to go back [and I hope I am] I intend to plan far ahead and book a flight there and avoid the ferry altogether.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/G%20Island%20R.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/G%20Island%20R.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The touist office at the Taitung airport had helped us the day before confirm which ferry had tickets and even called and made us a reservation at the Par Far Hotel on Green Island. When I managed to crawl off the ferry in a very shaken and dizzy way I was relieved to see a man holding a sign with my name on it. It was a man from my hotel who had come to drive "Ray" and I to the hotel.<br /></div><br /><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />This is a picture of the main street of Green Island just outside our hotel. And, my first real glimpse of Green Island.<br /></div><center><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0083.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0083.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />I took this picture from the window of our hotel room. After 45 minutes of lying on the bed I was able to bounce back from my sea sickness. I got up and grabbed my bag and set off to explore the island with "Ray".<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Mopeds.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Mopeds.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />We were able to rent mopeds from the woman who owned our hotel. She didn't speak much English but she still managed to communicate quite well with us. Of course, "Ray" and I have pantomime down pretty well after over 3 years of living in Korea.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0084.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0084.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />We had to put gas into our mopeds and we had no idea how much money to put in. Luckily, one of the girls at the gas station spoke English and told us that $ 100.00 [Taiwan New Dollars - about $ 3.33 Canadian] would fill the mopeds - so that's what we put in. As, it turned out they don't take much gas and when we left late the next afternoon my bike still had 3/4 of tank of gas left. Oh, well live and learn.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0088.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0088.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />My Lonely Planet book said that it would take about 30 minutes to drive around the island but it took us about 1 and 1/2 hours cause we stopped to take tons of pictures talk and admire the scenery. I took this picture of "Ray" with his Roots Canada backpack on driving his moped. Truthfully, neither one of us had ever driven any motorized cycles before but it didn't stop us from trying and I've got to say I am hooked. If I wouldn't get killed I'd get a moped of my own for Korea but the drivers here are just to scarey for that.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Surf.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Surf.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />One of the reasons I wanted to visit Green Island is that is was formed from a volcano and it has lots of igneous rocks. It looks a lot like I picture Hawaii but not so commerical [at least not yet].<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0114.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0114.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The vegetation was so rich and lush. The green was so green that it almost didn't look real but like some Hollywood movie set or something.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0145.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0145.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />There was a beautiful white sand beach [called Tapaisha or Dapaisha both spelling seemed to be used in English] and even better because it is the off-season and the number of people who can get to the island via the transportation available is limited it was deserted when we came across it. I think Green Island is one of the few unspoiled natural beauties left in Asia.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0117.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0117.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />I took this picture of the coastline. When I looked at the water and the surf I understood why the ferry ride over had been so rough.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0116.1.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0116.1.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /><br />Another picture showing the vivid greens and blues of the scenery.<br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0135.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0135.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />About half-way around the island we came upon this restaurant and store by the side of the road. We stopped to buy a cold drink and rest a few minutes. I took this picture because I was attracted to the blowing strings of the awning that to me look quite Polynesian. In fact, most of the people on the Island looked quite native. They had very dark skin and the men sported mulitiple tatoos. After living in South Korean which can be very conservative and conformist it was like a breath of fresh air to see people expressing diversity and looking like individuals again.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0122.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0122.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />They were selling some kind of liquor with pieces of cut up antler honks in it. - I imagine it was for men to help increase their "stamina" or that's what it would be for in Korea - anyway.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Sweetsap.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Sweetsap.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />I saw this fruit for sale everywhere in Taiwan and I wanted to try it but no one could tell me the English name for it or what it was exactly - so I didn't. I took a picture of it so I could look it up on the internet when I got back home. I found it out is called "Sweetsap". It is a custard apple. I wish now I had tried it. Ummm.... maybe I'll have to go back to Taiwan just to try it....<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0155.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0155.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />I saw some kind of fish drying on a line and I snapped a picture of it.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0147.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0147.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /><br />This is a picture of the Green Island airport. This will be the first sight a see next time I go to Green Island. Did I mention that I plan to fly there if I ever go back rather than take the ferry????<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0137.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0137.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />This is a picture of the Green Island Prison. It is now closed. It used to be a symbol of Taiwan's White Terror and used to house political prisoners who were thought to be too dangerous to house on the mainland of Taiwan.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0153.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0153.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />This is the Green Island Lighthouse.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0162.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0162.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />One of the reasons I wanted to come to Green Island was to go snorkling. I am not allowed to go scuba diving because of problems I have with my middle ears but I love to swim and I have always wanted to try snorkling. All these mopeds were parked outside the dive shop in town. They were for rent.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0170.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0170.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />This shows all the people snorkling and scuba diving just outside Nanliao Harbour. This seemed to be the best place as there was a large coral reef and millions of beautiful fish.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Blue%20Many.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Blue%20Many.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />I found a cheap underwater camera at the 7-11 store in town and I decided to try my hand at taking some underwater shots. I had to get my Recruiter at <strong>Kim and Joe Recruting</strong> in Busan to scan these pictures in for me so that I could up-load them to share. [Thank you Jessie and Amy.]<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Best%20Water.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Best%20Water.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />There were so many types of coral some I had never seen before. There was a vivid purple kind in small branches but it seemed to grow deeper and I wasn't able to get a good picture of it.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Blue%20Fish.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Blue%20Fish.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />I saw this beautiful blue fish that reminded me of a book my Swiss penpal had sent me years ago. It was written in German and it was called "The Rainbow Fish".<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Brain%20Coral.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Brain%20Coral.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Here is a picture of the surface on the water and some brain coral.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Fish.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Fish.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />There were some dark colored fish, as well as, some fish that looked like gold fish except they had some black markings on them. <br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Surface.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Surface.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />I took this picture of the surface of the water and I love the light and color. I love the light and texture so much and I had such a great time snorkling that I made it the screensaver on my computer. It calms me down and makes me smile when I look at it and remember my fablous vacation.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Reef.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Reef.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />This shows staghorn coral. The color is not as brillant as it was taken quite deep in the water. The sunlight doesn't penetrate well that far down.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Striped.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Striped.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Here are some stipped fish. I love them. </div><div align="center"><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Spa.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Spa.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The real attraction of Green Island is that it has one of only three natural hot salt water springs in the world. The other two are located in Hakkaido in Japan and on Mt. Vesuvius in Italy. This is the Chaojik Hot Springs on Green Island.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Spa.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Spa.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The beauty of the outdoor spa is that you can lazy around in the water and look at the volcanic rocks and the surf pounding below on the beach. Also, it was not crowded when we went since it was not the tourist season. It was so luxurious to have it almost completely to ourselves.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Inside%20Spa.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Inside%20Spa.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />There was an indoor pool, too. It is lined with volcanic rocks so that even inside you can see and feel connected with nature.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Goat.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Goat.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Driving our mopeds back to the hotel we spotted a goat. He seemed as interested in peering at us as we were in tooking at him.<br /><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0096.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0096.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Another picture of the volcanic rocks that ring the island.<br /><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Best%20Pic.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Best%20Pic.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />A smaller island just off the main island. Again, I am struck by the vivid colors.<br /><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Best%20Pic2.1.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Best%20Pic2.1.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Another picture of the coastline.<br /><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Bamboo.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Bamboo.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Some bamboo fences poles surround a beach on the island.<br /><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0176.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0176.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Friday, October 6th, 2006 "Ray" and I head back to the ferry to head back to Taitung. We went a little early so that I could sit and try and relax and calm down. This time I was prepared and took some Gravol [travel sick medicine from Canada - thanks mom - love the care packages :)] about a hour and a half before the ferry is scheduled to depart. And, I am happy to report I slept the entire way back to Taitung. Lots of other people got sick but I didn't. I am so glad my last ferry ride was okay so that it ended on a good note and hopefully won't leave me to scared to even take a ferry again.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">There were some beautifully painted boats in the Naliao Harbour. They appear to be sight-seeing boats.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0179.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0179.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />There is something about water and the coastline that is so peaceful and beautiful to me. I'm not sure if it's just that I grew up around the ocean or not but it just seems to restore me to sit near it and meditate on it's serenity. This Taiwanese man seemed to feel the same way and it make me see how some feelings transend language and culture and are universal in scope.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/B%20Flag.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/B%20Flag.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><center></center><center>A picture taken from the stern of the boat watching the Taiwanese flag blow in the wind as Green Island disappears into the distance.</center><center></center><center>***</center><center></center><div align="left">Next week I will conclude my vacation in Taiwan. I intended to finish it this post but I just had too many pictures and memories of Green Island to share.</div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Next week it is Taitung and Taipei.</div>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1160844916714518272006-10-15T00:52:00.000+09:002007-03-17T12:08:16.671+09:00Taiwan - "Touch Your Heart"The tourism slogan for Taiwan is "Touch Your Heart". I adore Taiwan and so I love the slogan, too, for Taiwan did indeed touch my heart. I had the best time and made wonderful memories to last me a lifetime. It was a time of firsts for me: I went snorkling for the first time, rode a moped for the first time and tried some strange and exotic foods like frogs and snake soup.<br /><br />I took a ton of pictures too many to post today so I decided to talk about my first three days in Taiwan this time and next week I will post more pictures and finish with the rest of my vacation in Taiwan.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0081.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0081.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Here is a sign outside a restaurant with the "Taiwan - Touch Your Heart" slogan on it. These signs are everywhere in the tourist areas.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0002.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0002.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />We arrived at CKS: Chang Kai Shei Airport [the International Airport in Taipei] just before lunch on Tuesday, October 3rd. We headed for the information booth and got them to book a hotel for us. And found out that we could take the airport bus to the Main Train Station in Taipei and that our hotel was literally next door. We stayed at the Cosmos Hotel and it was so close to the train station. The MRT [the subway system in Taipei] is under the train station, too, so it proved to be a most convenient location. I took this picture of the train station from out hotel window.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0010.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0010.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />We got off the airport bus to the side of the Main Train Station in Taipei. There were lines of these yellow taxi cabs watching us hoping for a fare but alas they were out of luck since our hotel was next door.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0011.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0011.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Walking through the Taipei Train Station at 1:03 pm and seeing only a handful of people was so shocking to me after the crowds of people in Korea that I stopped to take a picture and admire the peace and quiet. I'm glad I took this picture as I like the way the light falls in this image.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Cosmos%20Hotel.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Cosmos%20Hotel.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />This is a picture of our hotel room at the Cosmos Hotel. It was clean and bright and I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a convenient place to stay in Taipei.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0003.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0003.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">I had been warned by one of my blog readers to take "moped repellent" to Taiwan. I thought he was exagerating but I found out that he wasn't. These mopeds are everywhere. I still didn't find them as reckless as the "autobi" drivers in Korea as for the most part in Taiwan or at least Taipei the mopeds seemed to drive on the roads and not on the sidewalks.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Thai%20Food.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Thai%20Food.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br /><br /><div align="center">Our first night in Taipei we went to "Very Thai" a Thai restaurant I had read about in my Lonely Planet book. It was great. It was open until 2 am and in fact the later we stayed the busier it got. </div><div align="center"><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Frogs.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Frogs.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />"Ray" read the menu and decided we needed to try the frogs. We got the spicy ones knowing that after more than 3 years of eating Korean food we could handle spicy food and figuring that the fried frogs would be just too much like chicken. The spicy ones were good - a little boney but good.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0019.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0019.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /><br />The next afternoon we were off to the Sung Shan [the Domestic Airport in Taipei] to fly to Taitung.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0024.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0024.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Taintung is a smaller city to the South East of Taiwan. The reason we headed for it is that is is the gateway to Green Island. It is, also, the gateway for Orchid [Lanyu] Island - an area where most of the aborginals in Taiwan still live. Taitung celebrates is aborginal culture as you can see even in the telephone booth at the airport.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0027.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0027.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /><br />A picture outside the Taitung Airport. As you can see it is quite a small airport.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0026.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0026.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />A fountain outside the airport.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0030.1.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0030.1.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><p align="center">The gift shop outside the Taitung airport.<br /><br /></p><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0185.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0185.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The gift shop sells a lot of aborginal beadwork. It reminds me of the native Canadian beadwork.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0035.1.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0035.1.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The Tourist Information Center at the airport was able to not only book as a hotel in the nearby area of Chihpen [ a resort area famous for it's hot spring] but was able to arrange for our hotel to come and pick us up at the airport. We stayed at the Chihpen Hotel. This is a picture of the hot pools that I took from our hotel room window.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Lizard.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Lizard.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />That night while "Ray" and I were taking a soak in the hot pools were looked up at the light fixture above us and saw a lizard. I guess he was drawn to the heat of the light.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0047.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0047.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />I was amazed by the tall palm trees in the Chihpen area. It was so exotic looking.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0048.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0048.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />We took a walk before dinner and found this waterfall. It was beautiful and so natural. Unfortunately, the light was fading and to get enough light I had to use a long exposure and I guess I jiggled a tiny bit and slightly blurred the picture. Darn it!<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0050.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0050.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />I enjoyed seeing some nature after the concrete jungles in Korea. I just couldn't get enough scenic beauty.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0080.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0080.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Walking around Chihpen after dinner we came across a temple by the side of the road. We stopped to take a closer look.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0079.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0079.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />A closer look at the temple.<br /><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0078.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0078.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Even the foliage was so exotic looking.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">***</div><div align="left">Next week I'll post the rest of my Taiwan pictures and talk about my trip to Green Island and the night markets in Taipei. </div>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1159632878106851832006-10-01T01:04:00.000+09:002007-03-17T12:09:33.316+09:00Chulsok 추석The eve of Chulsok 추석 [the Korean Thanksgiving Holiday] is upon us. This time of year gets very hectic and busy for nearly everyone. I am amazed at the shopping and expense that go into the holiday preparations. For example, nearly every company gives each of their employees a gift set as a Chulsok present. In fact, I got a lovely, gift set that included Rice Day shampoo, hair conditioner, body wash, bars of soap and toothpaste.<br /><br />Even after over three years in Korea I am still amazed by the cultural differences. For one thing gifts here are not individualized but sets that come already prepared and the same thing is given to everyone regardless of age or gender. I guess I'm still used to gifts being painstakingly chosen for each individual on my list according to hobby or personal interest. Moreover, if you were to give someone back home in North America bars of soap or toothpaste for a gift it would seem like you were telling them they were smelly or dirty and they'd better use this. I love my gift set, now that I am now used to the idea of getting personal care items, and it is a very practical gift.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0033.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0033.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br />Here is a picture I took at Mega Mart a large department store near my home of some of the gift sets. These ones include bars of soap and toothpaste.<br /><br />Another cultural difference can be seen in the Korean love of SPAM. And, no I don't mean junk e-mail [ha, ha]. I mean the canned luncheon meat. The Koreans love it and give it to one another in gift sets. They even go so far as to consider it a "luxury" item. My friend "Ray" has told me that it is only in Asian countries where there is a history of US Military involvement or presence that Spam is considered a delicacy.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0039.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0039.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br /><br />This is a picture of a gift set of Spam. Back in North America we consider Spam a food that you eat when you're poor or running low on cash just before payday but at over $ 32.00 for this gift set here Spam isn't exactly cheap.<br /><br />"Ray" and I talked about the Korean love of Spam tonight and in taking about it he found this article about Spam being considered a desirable gift set item. Here's the link. (Thank you- "Ray".)<br /><br /><li><a href="http://wcco.com/watercooler/local_story_290104938.html" target="blank">Watercooler Story on Spam</a></li><br /><br />Also, Wipipedia has an article about Spam that tells about the link between its popularity and countries with a US Military history. Here's the link to that.<br /><br /><li><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spam_(food)" target="blank">Wipipedia Article on Spam</a></li><br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0034.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0034.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br />In case, I forgot just what an important occasion Chulsok is I would soon be reminded when I saw the sales clerks in the supermarket in their beautiful Hanboks 한복 [traditional Korean clothing].<br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0038.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0038.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br /><br />Here is another picture of a Hanbok. This is one as seen from the back with the intricate embroidery on it.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0040.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0040.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br /><br />There are, also, tuna gift sets [which although cheaper by half than the Spam gift sets] we foreigners seem to enjoy and appreciate more.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0044.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0044.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br /><br />This lovely sales clerk was kind enough to pose for a picture near the gift sets.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0036.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0036.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br /><br />I noticed these Korean cookies and snack sets and wanted to take a picture of them especially when I saw a box just above them wrapped in the cloth that older Korean women routinely use to carry their packages. I guess it is much more durable than a plastic bag and much better for the environment in the long run and gosh darn it sure looks pretty, too.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0041.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0041.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br /><br />I would be remiss if I didn't mention the gift sets of Korean liquor. I believe this is a traditional rice wine since the label on the bottle says 법주 [bab ju] and "bab" is the Korean word for rice and "ju" is the word for any type of alcohol in Korean.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0046.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0046.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br /><br />Last but not least the most expensive gift for Chulsok would be these boxes of Korean Ginseng. 인삼 [in sam]. Ginseng is considered a health food and is highly desired and the price is reflective of that. The most expensive box of ginseng I saw was priced at over $ 178.00 dollars. W0w!<br /><br /><div align="center">***</div>Well that's my post for this week. On Tuesday I am off to Taiwan with my friend "Ray". I can't wait. Yipee! I will be away for more than 6 days so I will not be posting an article next weekend. However, I promise to take tons of pictures in Taiwan and I'll write about my trip and post tons of pictures sometime the following weekend [October 14th to 15th].<br /><br />Thank you to everyone who gave me advice about places to go and things to see in Taiwan.Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1159025644092435672006-09-24T11:51:00.000+09:002007-03-17T12:11:23.456+09:00GwangjuI recently went to Gwangju 관주 in Jeollanam-do [a province to the South West of Korea]. It is a province known for its rich agricultural lands. In fact, it has a history of tensions between it and Gyeongsangnam-do the province I live in and where Busan is the major city. The tensions seem to as a result of Jeollanam-do being an argicutural province and so financially much poorer than Gyeongsangnam-do a more industrial province.<br /><br />I left on a Friday night at midnight on my 277.6 km journey. I took a night bus called a 우 등 [uh dung] which means it is a luxury bus that has only 3 seats per aisle and they are like armchairs and they recline so you can really relax and even sleep if you want. It was very posh and very nice.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Nopodong.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Nopodong.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">We started our trip in Nopo-dong in Busan at the express bus terminal.</div><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Bus.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Bus.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">Here is a photo of our luxury bus. It is definately the way to travel especially at night and for trips that last 3 and 1/2 hours like our trip was.</div><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Accident.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Accident.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br /><br /><div align="center">We had a rest top half way through our trip and I went to the restroom. On the way there I noticed this large display board showing grisly photos of traffic accidents. Not exactly reassuring. I guess they believe in the adage "Scared Sober" at least in regards to their Drunk Driving Campaigns.</div><div align="center"><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/4%20tea.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/4%20tea.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The first place we were off to on Saturday was a green tea planation. It was in a place called Boseong 보성. It was called Boseong DaWon 보 성 다원 which means tea planation or garden. I was surprised to discover that green tea grows in waist high shrubs. I'm not sure how I thought it grew but I guess I thought it grew close to the ground. This is me and my three friends at the tea planation.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Tea.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Tea.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br /><br /><div align="center">The tea planation was massive and it covered the side of the mountain in curving patterns. It must make it difficult to harvast with machinery.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Stream.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Stream.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><center><br />There was a stream running through the tall trees leading to the gardens surrounding the tea planation.<br /><br /></center><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Lake.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Lake.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br /><br /><div align="center">There was a lake in the distance surrounded by fields of green tea. One thing I noticed was how green everything was and how clean the air was. It actually smelled clean and fresh. Since then I have noticed that one thing missing in the big cities of Korea is fresh clean air - being from small town Canada I miss that. This weekend and the scenery reminded a lot of home [except there are no mountains near my home].<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Lunch.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Lunch.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br /><br /><div align="center"><br />We had lunch at a Korean restaurant and the food was great! It was seafood and there were posters on the wall saying that they used green tea in the preparation and cooking of some of their dishes. </div><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CU%20Page.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CU%20Page.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />After lunch we were off to Nagan and a Folk Village that included a walled fortress. It just outside of the city of Suncheon 순천. It is called 낙안민속마을 [nak an min sok ma ul]. It was amazing! At the gates of the fortress there were these Pages. I felt like I was living in The King and the Clown movie with Lee, Jun-Ki.</div><div align="center"><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Drum.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Drum.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />There were musicians playing instruments and dancing around. I've seen them before elsewhere in Korea but it seemed more athentic to see it here.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Totem4.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Totem4.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /><br />I love the totem poles that can be found at most tourist attractions in Korea.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/3%20at%20Totem.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/3%20at%20Totem.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Me and two of my friends posing for the camera.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Best%20Pic2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Best%20Pic2.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /><br />A picture from the walls of the fortress looking off into the distance.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/D%20View.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/D%20View.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />I am told that although this is a Folk Village people actually live here. They are subsided by the Korean government to live and work here. There is even a water wheel.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Hut.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Hut.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />There are thatched huts and squash vines growing everywhere.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Mushroom.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Mushroom.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Later that night we went to a resort. It was amazing. It even had a fablous pool.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Biennale.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Biennale.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />The next day were were off to the Gwangju Biennale. It is an art show that is held every two years [in case you did guess that by the name]. There I was interviewed by Arirang TV about my impressions of the art exhibit. The problem was they asked us on the way into the show and despite our protests they pressured us to comment. So, since I had read about the exhibit in my Lonely Planet Korea book I bluffed some sort of answer. Wonder if it will ever air on Arirang? I'm not sure I want it to.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Flower.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Flower.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />One of my favorite displays was this massive outdoor display of flowers. They are made of some kind of fabric and air is blown into them to keep there puffed out.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Flower3.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Flower3.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />A close up look at the same flowers.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Web.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Web.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />This photo doesn't do the exhibit justice. It was my favorite piece. It was a room with a piano and chairs and artist had constructed a giant spider web out of black string. I keep looking at it wondering how long it took to construct and marvelling at the fact that it only seemed to be tacked to the walls in a dozen or so places and still hung in the air. It still boggles my mind how the artist was able to do that without more stabilizing from the ceiling and walls.<br /><br /></div><center></center><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Cooking.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Cooking.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />After three of four hours at the exhibit we were off to dinner. Duck soup 오리 탕 [ori tang] is famous in Gwangju so we decided to try it for our last meal in town. It is supposed to stain your clothes terribly if you get it on you so we were given these aprons to wear to protect our clothes.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/G%20Bus.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/G%20Bus.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><p align="center">At the end of our day we were off to the Gwangju Bus station in U-Square. Gwangju might be only the 6th largest city in Korea but its bus station puts some of the bigger city stations to shame. U-Square has make-up stores, convenience stores, a bookstore with 3 aisles of English novels [even Lonely Planet Guide Books in English], and restaurants. I wish Busan had such a nice bus station.</p><p align="left"></p><p align="center"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/G%20Bus.jpg"></a></p>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1158412305475019602006-09-17T22:11:00.000+09:002007-03-17T12:12:33.950+09:00Updates<div align="left">At the risk of sounding like John Walsh and America's Most Wanted [who I admire a lot for the way he has taken a personal tragedy and used it as motivation to try and change society for the better] I have gotten a lot of comments from people as of late so I decided it is time to up-date people on a few things I have been blogging about.<br /><br />In my post on "Red Devils - Korean Soccer Fans" Jonathan a teacher on Long Island said he was glad to know that the alternative spelling of Korea with a C was not just a spelling error. I had promised to check into the reason for the spelling of Corea. I learned that Korea used to be spelled with a C. However, when Japan invaded Korea in the early 1900s Japan changed the spelling of Korea to start with a K. This meant that when countries were listed alphabetically Japan was listed above Korea. Koreans now want to change the spelling back to the original way it was spelled. I have not been able to find this written about anywhere but this is what every Korean knows and will tell you when asked about the spelling of their country's name.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/soccerfans.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/soccerfans.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /><br />This is the picture I posted that inspired the comment by Jonathan.</div><p align="center">***</p><p align="left">When I wrote my post "Revisiting Gumi and Daegu" I posted a picture of the Gumi train station and mentioned my surprise that it STILL wasn't completed nearly 2 years later. Travis wrote to me and told me that the reason for the slow progess was contract disputes. Thanks for the info, Travis. Another mystery solved.<br /><br /></p><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/G%20S.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/G%20S.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><br />This is a picture I previously posted of the still unfinished Gumi Train Station. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />*** </div><div align="left">In my post "Adventures in Cooking" I wrote about my struggle to learn to cook and my growing skills in the kitchen. I am pleased to report that I am continuing to improve my cooking despite not having an oven. I recently made my first banana bread EVER and it was fantasic - if I do say so myself.</div><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Toaster%20Oven.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Toaster%20Oven.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><p align="center"><br /><br />My toaster oven. The only way I have of baking anything here in Korea. It's almost 3 years old but I love it cause it's so big I can cook most anything in it. It will even hold a full-sized loaf pan for making meat loaf or banana bread.<br /><br /></p><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Banana%20Bread.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Banana%20Bread.jpg" border="0" /></a> </center><p align="left"><br /><br /><center>My first banana bread. It turned out so well I have made a couple more. I plan to try a cinnamin bread someday soon. Cinnamin is one of the few spices that is easy to find and buy in Korea and I love it so much - I even put it in my coffee sometimes for an extra zing.</center><br /><br />Last but not least last week when I wrote about "Vacations" I meantioned how difficult [if not impossible] it is to get airline tickets to go anywhere for Chulsok - the Korean Thanksgiving - but that I was on a waiting list. Well, thanks to Mode Travel being next door and my persistence [I literally went there everyday to see if anyone had cancelled their airline tickets] I got tickets for myself and my friend "Ray" to go to Taipei, Taiwan. Yipee! We will leave on October 3rd and we can even fly out of Busan. We will have to transfer planes in Incheon [the International airport in Seoul] but that's a small thing and it means we don't have to take the train. We will be in Taipei by lunch time. We will stay until Sunday, October 8th when we will fly back to Incheon. Unfortunately, we will have to take the train [and the slow one at that] from Seoul back to Busan and it's a five hour trip but I don't even care about that. Mode Travel was even able to book our train tickets for us. Moreover, they even hooked us up with travel insurance throught AIG. I still have to pinch myself to make sure it is real and that I really got tickets out of Korea for Chulsok. Everyone I know is bummed out cause they can't get tickets anywhere for their vacation. I feel like a very lucky girl! Yipee!<br /><br />I went to Kyobo Bookstore in Seomyeon last night and ordered a Lonely Planet book on Taiwan. They had lots of Lonely Planets books and a good selection of English books and novels but, alas, they didn't have the Taiwan one. They said it should arrive in about a week. I hope so cause we don't have any idea what to see in Taiwan and where to stay. I want to see Taipai but I'd love to go somewhere else with a beach and some natural beauty for a few days. If any of you readers has been to Taiwan and can recommend somewhere please let me know. You can comment on this post or shot me off an e-mail. I'd really appreciate any advice anyone can give me.<br /><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/E-ticket.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/E-ticket.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><p align="center"><br /><br />Our airline tickets to Taipei, Taiwan. </p>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1157977765054256602006-09-12T12:40:00.000+09:002007-03-17T12:18:37.152+09:00VacationsWhen I thought about coming to teach in South Korea over three years ago I thought about how nice it would be to travel on my vacations. I had several friends who had taught here and they had all gone to Thailand for their Christmas vacation, etc. I thought I would be able to do the same. Well, the fact of the matter is that if you work at a "Hogwon" [private language school] often you don't get more than three consecutive days off for a holiday. It is true that some schools close down for a week in the summer and a week at Christmas time giving the teachers that work there time to travel but from my experience this seems to be the exception - not the norm.<br /><br />I hope very much that if I come back for another year to teach in Korea that I can get a job in a university or a public school. That way I would get about five weeks of vacation time in the summer to travel.<br /><br />So far, I have seen most of Korea even traveling to the DMZ [Demilitarized Zone] for the Lunar New Year in February 2004 and I've been to Fukuoka, Japan at least three times on over-night Visa runs. But as for traveling and getting to see a lot of Asia I have not really gotten to do so. With one exception. In February 2005 for the Lunar New Year's holiday I got to take a tour of Beijing, China. I went with Kangsan Travel [an English Travel Agency here in Busan - I have a link to them on the sidebar of this blog].<br /><br />Right now I am trying desperately to get plane tickets for Chulsok 추석 [the Korean Thanksgiving holiday]. It is based on the Lunar Calendar so the date changes each year. This year it is from Thursday, October 5th to and including Sunday, October 8th. Moreover, Tuesday, October 3rd is a legal holiday 개천절 [Kae Chun Chul] what we call Foundation day in English and I managed with much begging to get my boss to give me Wednesday, October 4th off. What that means is I have from Monday night at 10 pm until the following Monday afternoon at 2:00 pm off on holiday - almost a whole week. It is almost unheard of to get that much time off in Korea and especially from a private language school. I am so excited I can't stand it!<br /><br />However, despite what I thought - that it was a time when every Korean went home to see their families - it seems that in actuality every Korean has already booked airline tickets out of the country. I some how managed to get two tickets booked for October 3rd to Taipei, Taiwan but so far I can't get any tickets back to Korea. I am on the cancellation list and I pop by the travel agency everyday to see if seats have become available but so far there are still no tickets. I could come back on Tuesday, October 10th no problem but there is ABSOLUTELY NO WAY EITHER MYSELF OF MY FRIEND CAN GET ANYMORE TIME OFF WORK!!!<br /><br />Everyone keeps telling me I should have booked my tickets months ago. Maybe I'll find out when Lunar New Year is in 2007 and book my tickets now. At least that way I might finally make it to Thailand. I'm not kidding - I'm considering it - quite seriously. It seems that there are no extra flights put on for holidays - making travel at any holiday time a nightmare. Well, I've learned my lesson. As the Boy Scouts say "Be prepared". Come next holiday - I intend to be.<br /><br /><br /><div align="center">***</div><div align="left"><br />Here are some pictures from my first real vacation in Korea. I went to the DMZ and did the 3rd tunnel tour in February of 2004. It was amazing to see.<br /><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/4d66[1].jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/4d66%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />This is looking out the window and looking over North Korea. This was taken from the Dora-san Observatory.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/2dce[2].jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/2dce%5B2%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><center><br />This is the Dora-san Observatory where you can look over towards North Korea.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/4310[1].jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/4310%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br />This was taken inside the 3rd tunnel. This was a tunnel that was discovered in 1978 and was only 44 kms and less than one hours drive from Seoul. It is said to have been capable of moving a full divison per hour and was designed by North Korea for the purpose of making a surprise attack on Seoul. Scary!<br /><br /></center><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/8a52[2].jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/8a52%5B2%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />This fence marks the boundary of the DMZ or should I say No-Man's Land - between North and South Korea.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/8d1e[1].jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/8d1e%5B1%5D.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Every Lunar New Year South Koreans hold a rally where they show their support for the reunification of North and South Korea and their desire to see their relatives who live in North Korea.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/DMZwatertower.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/DMZwatertower.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Here is a watch tower that is located in the DMZ. It is so stark looking that I wanted to use Black and White Film [I didn't have a digital camera at this point so I had to scan this photos into my computer] to emphasis that aspect of the scene.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><br />***</div><div align="left">Stay tuned for up-dates on my potential trip to Taipei.</div>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1157685986487922182006-09-08T12:16:00.000+09:002006-09-08T12:26:26.503+09:00My Post this week will be a few days lateHey Everybody:<br /><br />Just a very quick note to say that I am okay and will be doing my weekly post. However, it is going to be delayed a few days. It won't be available on Sunday this week as it usually is.<br /><br />I am going away for the weekend in Gwangju and despite my best intentions to have my post ready it hasn't happened - life got in the way.<br /><br />What do I mean by that? Well let's see:<br /><br />My life has been good but very busy of late with dental appointments, Korean classes [yes, I am continuing to try and improve my Korean], meetings at work and just my normal [heavy] teaching schedule at three schools [and yes I have a legal visa to teach at all three since it's one owner and thus one pay check]. Huh... just thinking about my schedule makes me feel tired.<br /><br />So check back on Tuesday or Wednesday for my weekly post [albeit a late one]. Thanks for your patience and understanding.<br />Bye for now,<br />AnnQueen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1157207288424741962006-09-03T10:55:00.000+09:002006-09-28T11:27:20.240+09:00Adventures in CookingI have a confession. I can't cook - or at least I couldn't when I moved to Korea over 3 years ago. As my friend and former roommate, "Ray", will tell you I even "burned water". My mother would say that, "I couldn't boil water".<br /><br />The burning water joke is actually closer to truth than fiction. One day when I lived in Yangsan, a suburb of Busan I was boiling water for tea on our gas range. The stove was located directly in front of a window. As I stood there waiting for the water to boil I looked out the window and saw the most incredible sight. I saw these paragliders sailing over our apartment building and a 6 lane highway to land in an empty field across the street from our apartment. Without thinking I grabbed by camera and ran out to take some pictures. However, I left the kettle on the gas burner and didn't turn it off. OPPS! I was gone maybe half an hour. I returned to find the apartment smoky and the kettle boiled dry and scorched and the handle of the kettle completely melted. I tried to air out the apartment before my roommate returned but I couldn't find a replacement kettle on such short notice so he saw the evidence. I have never been able to live it down. In hindsight it is pretty funny and I am just lucky I didn't burn down the apartment or the entire building.<br /><br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Kettle.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Kettle.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></center><br /><br /><div align="center">This is a kettle like the one I burned up.<br /></div><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/aptbldg¶gliders.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/aptbldg%26paragliders.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">This was the first glimpse I had of the paragliders when I ran out of the apartment with my camera. I wish I had had a telephoto lens. There are four of them and it looks like a couple of them are close to colliding.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/3%20PARAGLIDERS.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/3%20PARAGLIDERS.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><p></p><p align="center">Here's a picture I took of them landing across the road.</p><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/BEOMO%20PARAGLIDERS.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/BEOMO%20PARAGLIDERS.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><p align="center">This is my favorite picture of the paragliders.</p><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/PARA%20LANDING.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/PARA%20LANDING.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br /><br /><br /><center>Another shot of them landing.</center><center><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Yellow%20Para.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Yellow%20Para.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></center><center><br />I went picture crazy taking photos of these paragliders.</center><center><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/PARA%20SIDEWAYS.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/PARA%20SIDEWAYS.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><center><br />The sky really was this blue that day. I wanted so much to be up in the air with them. It seemed so amazing. I imagine it would be quiet and peaceful sailing through the air like that.<br /><br /></center><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/BeomoParaglider.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/BeomoParaglider.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><center><br />Within minutes the clouds rolled in and it got cloudy looking.<br /><br />*** </center><div align="left">Taking all those pictures took time and allowed the kettle to burn up. I always forget that gas is so much more powerful than electric stoves and I guess it's not a good thing to walk away from your apartment and leave something on the stove unattended. I am - or at least I was - like a walking ad for fire prevention.</div><br /><br />Now, however, to the amazement of myself, my friends and my family I have become quite a good cook. I admit when I first started cooking it was out of frustration at not being able to find any of my favorite foods even at the western restaurants here in Korea. At first when I would cook I would call up my mom or my friend "Ray" and ask them "If you were making curry rice [or whatever] what would you do?" Then I started to experiment on my own and of course having an internet connection helps, too. If I get stuck I Google the name of whatever I am trying to make and voila up pops a recipe.<br /><br />I still get frustrated with the lack of spices available in Korea. There are two aisles at the supermarket devoted to red pepper paste but I dare you to try and find cumin or cilantro or even garlic powder.<br /><div align="left"><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/PPaste.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/PPaste.jpg" border="0" /></a></div></center><p align="center"><br />A picture I took of all the red pepper paste at the supermarket.</p><p align="center">***<br />In desperation to find some ingredients to cook my favorite foods I turned to the black market and Texas Street. In Busan, Texas Street is located directly across from the Busan train station and it is infamous for being a bar area with lots of Russian and a number of Filipino juicy girls. But it also sells long distance telephone cards, stick deodorant, North American brands of toothpaste and some canned specialty foods.<br /></p><p align="center"></p><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Day%20TX%20ST.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Day%20TX%20ST.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><center><br />This is a picture of Texas Street I took during the daytime.<br /></center><center><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/DraganLampPost2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/DraganLampPost2.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><center><br />I took this close-up picture of a lantern on Texas Street.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Texas%20St2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Texas%20St2.jpg" border="0" /></a> </center><center><br />This is Texas Street at night.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Russian.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Russian.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><center><br />As I mentioned there is a large Russian population that works and frequents the Texas Street area. A lot of the signs are in Russian.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/NH.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/NH.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br />Many of the bars and cafes are named for American places. This maybe because they want to appeal to the American soldiers [before Camp Hialeah the American Military Base in Busan was closed just this summer] and to American sailors when the Navy ships are in port. This restaurant is where I buy my long distance telephone cards and also they serve the best lumpia [Filipino egg rolls] ever.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Canned%20Corned%20Beef.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Canned%20Corned%20Beef.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></center><center><br />I am able to buy canned corned beef on Texas Street.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Black%20Market%20Cheez%20Whiz.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Black%20Market%20Cheez%20Whiz.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></center><center><br />I even find a full-size jar of North American Cheez Whiz [Australian Cheez Whiz is white in color as is their cheddar cheese]. With this I can made toasted cheese, bacon and tomato sandwiches and homemade macaroni and cheese, ummm!<br /></center><center><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CB%20Hash.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CB%20Hash.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></center><center><br />Here's the corned beef hash I made with my can of corned beef. [I cut up sweet pickles - they come when you order pizza in Korea since Koreans eat pickles with their pizza - and added them to the potatoes and onions to give it a little more flavor. It was delicious, if I do say so myself.<br /><br /></center><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Lumpia2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Lumpia2.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><center><br />I got the New Hawaii Restaurant to sell me some lumpia that has uncooked so I could cook it myself at home later. I even found a sweet spring roll sauce at Mega Mart to serve with it.</center><center><br />***</center><div align="left"><br />My success with these cooking ventures lead me to explore even more and expand my repertoire of dishes. My neighbour last year, Mrs. Lee, served me lotus root in a sweet light corn syrup sauce for dessert once and it was divine. I decided to try my luck at making something similar.<br /><br /></div><div align="left"></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CS%20&%20Lotus%20.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CS%20%26%20Lotus%20.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><center><br />First I found and bought the lotus root and the light corn syrup.<br /></center><center><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Steam%20LR.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Steam%20LR.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Then I steamed the lotus root until it was tender. Then I put it in a plastic container and poured some of the syrup over it and let it set over night in the fridge. I was really exotic and quite refreshing. It certainly wasn't anything I would have even eaten if I'd stayed in Eastern Canada. I quite like it.<br /><br />***</center><div align="left"><br />I visited Costco in Daegu a couple of months ago and when I was there I got some spices. But I found myself cooking more and thus in need of more spices. It is just too hard for me - as a new cook - to try and substitute spices [ones I can find for ones I can't]. In desperation I turned to an internet website. <span style="color:#cc0000;">On pusanweb I had read about this website called Costcoplaza and although it is entirely in Korean it doesn't require a Korean ID number to join or a Korean credit card to purchase items.</span> You use your e-mail [and yes they even accept hotmail] and set up an ID and an account and then you place your order. It gives you the total price and you go to the bank and deposit the money into the bank account number they give you on the site. It's actually pretty easy. I had a Korean friend help me set up the account and make the order but I think I could do it myself now if I had to. They have lots of spices including cumin, fajita seasoning, Cajun seasoning, dill weed and coriander leaf. To browse the items available if you don't read Korean just click on the first link on the left of the page. It says 식 품 [shik pum]. Here's the link to the website.<br /><br /></div><div align="left"><li><a href="http://www.costcoplaza.co.kr/" target="blank">Costco Plaza</a></li></div><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Spices.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Spices.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><br /><div align="center"><br />Three days after placing my order my spices had arrived. They are big bottles, too, 85 grams.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Coffee.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Coffee.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br />Also, I ordered Starbucks House Blend of coffee and Jelly Belly jelly beans. I am happy, happy, happy. :)<br /><br />***</div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">I found another internet website where I can order sour cream, icing sugar, canned pie fillings and all the other goodies I can't find anywhere else in the stores here. <span style="color:#cc0000;">However, like most Korean websites, it requires a Korean ID number to join and since I don't have one and my Alien Card Registration [ARC] number doesn't work I am dependant on my Korean friends to order things I want from this site for me.</span> Here's the link to the site. If you can't read Korean but are interested in the products they have click on the link [it opens a new window] and click on the icon that looks like a toaster located about 5-6 inches down on the left hand side of the screen. This shows all the products.<br /><br /></div><div align="left"><li><a href="http://www.ehomebakery.com/" target="blank">E Home Bakery</a></li></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center">***</div><div align="left">I am now even the proud owner of a Cuckoo rice cooker. I make a great curry rice and some wicked stir fries. Who would have thought even a few years ago that not only would I learn to cook but that I would actually be so proud of this skill that I'd be writing about it on my blog? Not me - that's for sure!</div><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Ricecooker.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Ricecooker.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><p align="center"><br />My Cuckoo rice cooker. I love it. I don't think I ever want to live without a rice cooker again - not even if I ever move back to North America someday.</p><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Pizza.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Pizza.jpg" border="0" /></a> </center><center><br />One of the reasons I am not afraid to try cooking here and now is that I know that if all else fails I can order a mean pepperoni pizza.</center>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1156338291360701532006-08-27T21:10:00.000+09:002006-09-01T21:23:30.993+09:00Another Busan BeachHaeundae Beach is the most famous and therefore the most crowded in Busan. About a week or so ago I had a couple of days off so I grabbed my Busan Tourist Map and decided to go exploring. In my tourist map there is a great picture of Songjeong Beach and a write up on it. It says, "Citizens can take a rest at the white sandy beach formed with sands and shells carried from the Songjeong Stream and at the pine tree woods, where seawater and fresh water converge, thereby providing a good fishing place."<br /><br />Also, I had read that Songjeong beach is not as crowded as Haeundae Beach and that appealed to me. So, I set off to discover Songjeong Beach, [송정] or as it is sometimes called in Korean Songjeong Hae-su Yok Jang [송정 해수욕장] which translates into Songjeong Swimming Beach, for myself.<br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0021.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0021.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><center></center><center><br />The first thing I saw was a pagoda off to the left-hand side of the beach. There are a lot of rocks in this area but a few people seemed to prefer the rocks to the crowded sandy beach located on the right-hand side.</center><center></center><center><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0035.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0035.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><center></center><center><br />A picture of the more crowded sandy part of the beach.</center><center><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0043.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0043.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><center></center><center><br />This is a closer look at the pagoda located in back of the pine forest. It has a good view looking out to sea.</center><center></center><center><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Me.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Me.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />My friend snapped this picture of me despite my protests.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/LGS.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/LGS.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />An interesting feature of this beach was that the lifeguard chair was set out in the water marking the area past which you are not allowed to swim. This is something I had never seen before either back home in Canada or here in Korea. Unfortunately, the limit was only waist-deep for me so that I couldn't really swim.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0032.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0032.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />A took this picture from the beach looking over towards the left hand side of the beach and the pine woods. It shows the layout of the beach a little bit.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/MB.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/MB.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Here is something else I had never seen before a mobile bank. It was parked along the backside of the beach. I know I am a small town girl and all but who knew these things even existed? Not me. But, how convenient. Renting an umberella is 5,000 won and renting an inter-tube is at least the same or maybe even a little bit more. So, if you run short of cash you can just dash of the the insta-bank.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/kf.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/kf.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />I saw this cute little Korean boy who was all alone on the beach beside this washed up fish trap. He had a bottle which he was filling with sea water and pouring it out on the beach. It was such a peaceful scene and one that I am sure is repeated by children all over the world.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/CIMG0045.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/CIMG0045.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div align="center"><br />Leaving the beach I walked left past the pine woods and found the harbour. It was so quiet and peaceful looking at the boats moared and just looking out to sea. </div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1155885128456816702006-08-20T16:03:00.000+09:002006-09-04T18:15:08.686+09:00Discrimination of Foreigners in KoreaWriting this post is not easy for me. I don't like to think about or admit that because I am a foreigner that I am discriminated against here in Korea. But, the fact of the matter is that I am. I had never experienced discrimination before. Of course, as a woman I had experienced sexism but never racism or discrimination. Now I know what it means to be set apart and sometimes unable to spend my hard earned money to purchase goods and services I desire. I have been turned away from nightclubs and told that they don't "admit foreigners". I have had to use a Korean friend's ID number to buy sour cream on-line because I couldn't find it in any store here and my own Alien Registration Card number was not recognized or accepted. It has often reduced me to the same status as that of a dependant child. At first, it was just my inability to read and speak the language that made me so dependent on the help of Koreans. Now, that a number of years have passed and I have worked hard to become - if not fluent at least - competent in Korean I no longer see things with the same naivety that most new-comers do. Nor, do I accept that it is some how my fault for not trying to learn the language and adapt because I have done both to a higher degree than any other foreigner I know here. They say "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing" and in this cause I have to agree. Sometimes I wish I could turn back the clock and not know all that I do about the discrimination of foreigners in Korea. Sometimes the discrimination is subtle and sometimes it is more systemic and wide-spread.<br /><br />It has taken me a long time and a lot of thought to write this post for my blog. Mainly, for the same reason that I don't post everyday [because of the way life is experienced living as a foreigner in a strange country if I were to post everyday I would seem like I am manic and in serious need of medication. What I mean by that is that when I had a good day I would write how much I love Korea and living here and when I had a bad day I would rant and say I hated Korea and all things Korean]. However, I have never wanted this blog to be a one-sided and negative rant on Korea and Korean society but I did promise myself that I would be honest and try and always present the truth if I could do so in a fair and balanced way. Attaining this balance requires a lot of time and thought and sometimes a cooling down period until I can look and write about an issue that is close to my heart in a more composed way.<br /><br />Lately, I am bothered by the discrimination I face in Korea. It is not something that is often discussed in a calm clear-headed way at least not from what I have been reading on the internet. The new people who arrive here often don't know they are being discriminated against. Mostly, this is because they can't speak or read Korean and therefore have not tried to integrate themselves fully into Korean society.<br /><br />I have lived in Korea for over 3 and 1/2 years and have spent a considerable amount of time and money [on books and cd's] to try and learn Korean and my Korean may not sound perfect or pretty but is actually quite functional. I can read Korean and enjoy watching Korean movies with English subtitles. I like to browse the internet and can read and navigate most websites in Korean quite well. As a result, I have tried to join some of the websites that are de rigueur for Koreans such as Cyworld, Nate, and Naver. But as unable to do so because I am a foreigner. How do computers know I am a foreigner? Simple. The system is set up to tell them this.<br /><br />For almost everything you do in Korea from setting up a cell phone, establishing a bank account or signing up for a Korean e-mail account you need a number. Korean citizens have an ID cards and foreigners have Alien Registration Cards [ARC] both systems assign the numbers for life. Now comes the sticky part, there is a separate system of numbers for foreigners. For example all women in Korea born before 2000 have a number that starts with a 2 and all men born before 2000 have a number that starts with a 1. [After 2000 the male numbers begin with a 3 and female numbers begin with a 4]. The problem is ARC numbers don't begin with the same numbers, in fact, my ARC number begins with a 6 and therefore instantly identifies me as a foreigner and therefore not eligible for service. Computers don't recognize any numbers other than the ones that begin with a 1 or 2 [and I guess now 3 and 4]. When I use my number beginning with a 6 on-line all I get is an error message.<br /><br />This requirement for numbers and the assigning to foreigners of numbers that are not recognized even by major corporations is a huge problem. It sets up a system by which foreigners can never really participate in all aspects of life in Korea. It sets us apart and segregates us.<br /><br />I have been thinking about this situation and the frustrations and hard feelings it causes by making foreigners feel like second-class citizens in a country where they are legally living and working and paying taxes sometimes for multiple years. I've even talked to Korean friends and colleagues about this situation. None of the people I talked to were even aware of the situation and they were surprised to learn that a "white woman for {Canada} a first world country"[their description of me not my own] was not allowed to even internet shop in Korea. The only discrimination they were aware of was that directed toward women from third-world countries in Southeast Asia who marry rural Korean men. [Korean men living in rural areas cannot find Korean women willing to marry them and live away from the bright lights of the big cities but that is an issue for another post.]<br /><br />My circle of Korean friends and acquaintances would be even more surprised to learn that <span style="color:#cc0000;">"Korea earned a reputation as one of the more hostile countries toward foreigners"</span>. I read this in an article in the Korean Herald just this week.<br /><br />Here's the link to the article to which I am referring.<br /><br /><li><a href="http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2006/08/15/200608150044.asp" target="blank"><em>Korean Herald Article</em></a></li><p><br /><br />However, the Korean Herald has a nasty habit of after a couple of weeks making their webpages accessible to only "Premium Service Members" and this requires paying a fee {probably with a Korean Credit card for which I as a foreigner am not eligible} [if you don't believe me check and see the link I added to their article on "Heavy Rains" in my post entitled "Typhpoon Ewinar and Rain, rain and more rain". This was the first time I linked directly to their site and it worked well for several weeks, now however, it isn't accessible even to me. Since I am sure this isn't an isolated incident I have taken the precaution of cutting and pasting the entire article into this blog. Despite, that I am leaving the link so that if anyone wants they can check my sources and the link should work for the next couple of weeks anyway.</p><p><span style="color:#003300;">***<br /></span><span style="color:#000099;"><span style="color:#003300;">Seoul sketches fuller life for foreigners<br />--><br />Foreign community says much more must be done to help them feel at home<br />This article is the last of a 10-part series dealing with multiculturalism in Korea. - Ed.<br />In an eagerly awaited move, the Korean government recently announced sweeping changes to its policies toward foreigners in an apparent effort to tackle the rampant discrimination against noncitizens. </span></span></p><p><span style="color:#003300;"></span><span style="color:#000099;"><span style="color:#003300;"><br />In May this year during the first policymaking meeting on the treatment of foreigners, officials from 17 government organs gathered alongside the prime minister to discuss feasible measures for upgrading the lifestyles and overall environment of the foreign community.<br />The focus of the conference was mostly on ethnic Koreans holding foreign citizenship and women who crossed borders to marry Korean men.<br />Outlining six key policy goals, the government stated that it would build on these initiatives to continue molding policy safety nets for people of foreign nationalities.<br />The six goals, although only an initial step, are compelling, observers say, since so far, Korea has been classified as not quite up to par when it comes to governing foreigners.<br />In fact, contrary to its vision of blossoming into Northeast Asia's throbbing financial and logistics hub catering to global businesses and residents, <span style="color:#cc0000;">Korea earned a reputation as one of the more hostile countries toward foreigners.[This is the part I quoted earlier].<br /></span><br /></p></span></span><p>Further fueling the bad press, the Roh Moo-hyun administration cracked down on multinational firms by ratcheting up tax guidelines. Fears arose in the foreign business community here that the red tape would soon catch up with them.<br />"Many foreign firms complained that there are no clear guidelines on how to interpret regulations of the Korean government," said Chung Tong-soo, the head of Invest Korea, an organization committed to foreign investment under the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency.<br /></p><p>In May this year, the government raised eyebrows in the foreign business community by ruling that Lone Star Funds, a U.S.-based equity fund, owes Seoul City billions of won in taxes. Lone Star is currently trying to sell Korea Exchange Bank, <strong><em><span style="color:#000000;">[the only bank that offers a credit card marketed towards foreigners living and working in Korea - my comment]</span></em></strong> which was bought in the aftermath of the financial crisis, but complications arose after the Finance Ministry was found to have played a hand in selling the bank at a discounted price.<br />"The time is ripe for Korea to step up an exchange with foreign cultures. That is the trend of the future and the world, and one that is aligned with our national vision," said President Roh Moo-hyun during the May foreign policy meeting.<br /></p><span style="color:#003300;"><p>The significance of the role that foreigners play in local society can no longer be ignored, he stressed, since Korea would inevitably have more multinational companies.<br />As of 2005, the official number of foreigners residing here hit 747,467. That is approximately 1.55 percent of the entire South Korean population, according to figures from the Justice Ministry, the main government organization in charge of migration and foreigner-related affairs. Given the steady rate of increase, the figure is expected to reach 2.54 percent by 2010.<br /></span></p><span style="color:#003300;">Another staggering reflection of the growing foreign community is the number of foreigners who entered and left the country; that more than doubled between 1995 and 2005, the ministry data showed.<br /><br /></span><span style="color:#003300;"></span><span style="color:#003300;"></span><span style="color:#003300;"></span><p><span style="color:#003300;">So even from a nationally strategic standpoint, it has become impossible for Korea to put foreigner-related issues on the back burner, experts say.<br />Key policy goals<br />Under the broader aim of enhancing personal security for foreigners in order to improve social integration, the government laid out six policy goals: ease discrimination against ethnic Koreans holding foreign passports; beef up protection for foreign women married to Koreans and their offspring; increase support and protection for refugees; streamline legal guidelines for foreign workers; step up protection of human rights for illegal foreigners; and overall, create a healthy environment in which foreigners and Koreans can cohabit.<br />In efforts to distance itself from its previously domineering image, the administration said these goals would be rooted in the basic ideas of "mutual respect and understanding."<br />The detailed measures in the policy goals include the deployment of visitor working visas for ethnic Koreans, who account for a significant number of the foreigners streaming in.<br />Last year, China, where large numbers of ethic Koreans reside, was the main source of foreigners coming to Korea.<br /></span></p><p><span style="color:#003300;">The government is planning to allow the parents of Chinese students with Korean roots who attended university here for over six months to work for Korean companies.<br />Despite the quota the government will impose to control the volume of students, this means easier access to Korean schools for these children and could possibly help the current shortfall in university students.<br />"I am most confident that the introduction of this system would significantly change the dynamics of the Chinese-Korean society by urging students to study more and in particular, learn the Korean language," said Seo Kyung-suk, a pastor at a Seoul-based church for Chinese immigrants.<br /></span></p><p><span style="color:#003300;">Seo added that the plans should be applied to all foreigners. "Parents must be allowed to join these students," he said.<br />Foreigners - mostly women - who crossed borders to marry Koreans will receive a boost in their status.<br />They will be provided with minimum living expenses and medical care, while more education opportunities are to be offered to their children.<br />There has been a dramatic increase in the number of Korean men choosing foreigners as spouses<br />These women are often maltreated by their Korean families, a practice the government has vowed to crack down on.<br />Exclusive ethnic networks will also be created to enhance friendships between the women to help them feel more at home, officials say.<br /></span><span style="color:#003300;">Illegal residents will receive more lenient penalties so that despite their status, their children may become eligible for proper education here.<br />The need to create a better environment for foreign workers was also addressed. A key clause the government suggested was to allow skilled technicians to stay for up to five years at a time, up from the current three years.<br />Looking forward<br /></span></p><p><span style="color:#003300;">In this year's local elections, foreigners with Korean residency were allowed for the first time to cast ballots.<br />Although the votes were limited to those who met strict residence conditions, the move marked a compelling change in Korea's foreigner-related policies.<br />"For me, it was a watershed moment. I have waited so long for this day. I have endlessly petitioned on this issue because I felt it's unfair that I am regarded as a foreigner even though I pay my</span><span style="color:#003300;"> taxes and look and sound like everyone else," said Yang Jong-seung, a 56-year-old Taiwanese businessman who was born and raised here.<br />Yang was joined by over 6,000 other voters who were ecstatic over their recognition as full-fledged citizens.<br /></span></p><p><span style="color:#003300;">Looking into the near future, Koreans will have to embrace an even larger foreign community as the country opens up to more investment from abroad and most importantly, foreigners who look forward to a savvy lifestyle in Asia's third-largest economy. Competition with other Asian neighbors is likely as more countries eye finance and service industries to bolster their growth.<br />The volume of immigrants, regardless of whether they are wanted or not, will also inevitably climb higher if the figures so far are anything to go by.<br /></span></p><span style="color:#000099;"><p><span style="color:#003300;">The time appears to be more than ripe for Korea to shape new policies to help form a society where both Koreans and their foreign counterparts live and work as compatible partners.<br />(jemmie@heraldm.com)<br /></span></span></p><span style="color:#003300;">By Kim Ji-hyun<br />2006.08.15</span><br /><span style="color:#003300;">***</span><br />Even after 3 and 1/2 years here I have not been able to get a cell phone account and have to use PPS [pre-paid service] or as Canadians call it "pay as you go". This is very expensive over 50 cents a minute Canadian [double the rate in Canada]. I have a Canadian credit card, a Korean bank account, a job, an Alien Registration Card and even a working Visa issued by the government of Korea and I still can't get a cell phone account. In fact, I know only two foreigners who have their own cell phone accounts. One is a friend who I will call S. who has a management position at a large multinational company here in Korea and the other is a Cat, a fellow blogger, in Seoul. Cat wrote about her struggles to get a cell phone account in Korea.<br /><br />Here's the link to that.<br /><br /><li><a href="http://seoullife.net/2006/07/20/%ed%95%b8%eb%93%9c%ed%8f%b0-is-mine/#more-137/" target="blank"><em>Cat's Struggle to get a cell phone account</em></a></li><br /><br />The Galbijim has a great article on getting a cell phone in Korea. Even they say that it is hard for foreigners to establish an account in their own names. This is a quote from their site. "<em>Sign up for a plan under your own name. This is the most difficult option. You must have your Alien Registration Card (ARC), so you will be unable to sign up for at least a couple weeks after your arrival in Korea. </em><strong>[I had to have my ARC card to re-establish service on my own Pre-paid cell phone so had my Recruiter do this for me until I got my ARC card. I laughed and told friends a Russian Mobster could get a throw-away phone easier in New York City than I could get a cell phone in Korea.]</strong><br /><br /><em>Even once you have the ARC, not all companies make it easy for foreigners. SK requires an extra 200,000 won deposit and KTF requires a Korean credit card for the monthly balance to be automatically deducted. If you want to get a monthly phone plan from SK or KTF, then you need your ARC, passport and a deposit of 200-300,000won, in addition to the cost of the phone. If you are lucky enough to have an employer or Korean friend willing to do this for you, they can sign the plan contract in their name to avoid the deposit. There's usually a hookup fee of around 50,000won. There are many usage plans to choose from, so choose wisely.<br /><br />LG does not require the extra deposit, just a 30,000원 setup fee that can be spread out over a few months' payments. Your monthly bill can be deducted from your bank account, rather than a Korean credit card, so make sure to bring your bank book with you.<br /><br />Note: if you have a credit card, you can usually have the deposit waived."</em><br /><br /><br /><br /><li><a href="http://wiki.galbijim.com/Cellphones" target="blank"><em>Galbijim Info on Getting a cell phone in Korea</em></a></li><br /><br />I have been reading a lot on the internet about this issue and I have found some interesting discussions on Pusanweb and Dave's ESL Cafe. The Pusanweb link is from an open forum on Korean Related Issues. The people there discuss the same things I have mentioned that even the internet sites that let you join won't accept a foreign credit card so we can't even buy the services they offer. One member mentions the fact that a few years ago the discrimination against foreigners on the internet was a huge issue and made the press and that the government then told Korean corporations that foreigners ARC <em>"... numbers CAN be accepted. They did not say MUST be accepted. So, it is up to each individual company to decide if they will accept the numbers or not. And for most of them, we are not worth the trouble of hiring a couple of temp coders to write the variables into their databases that would accept numbers in the 'wegugin' ranges</em>."<br /><br />The posts go on and on with people making fun of Korean's marketing slogan "The Hub of Asia". As per most of the forums related to Korea posted by foreigners things get pretty heated and sometimes down right hostile. I don't often read and post on these sites because of the negativity and hostility that can result but in this case I do understand. It is frustrating when [often well-intentioned] Koreans post on these sites and try to either offer excuses for our exclusion or try to tell us we can use the services when we have tried multiple times and have failed. Anyway, you can read all about it for yourself at this link.<br /><br /><br /><li><a href="http://www.koreabridge.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1086/" target="blank"><em>pusanweb forum on Korean Internet Sites</em></a></li><br /><br />Dave's ESL Cafe the mecca of ESL teachers has multiple discussions about Foreigner Discrimination and links to more sites than I can count. Here's the link.<br /><br /><br /><li><a href="http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=62674&highlight=internet+websites+foreigners/" target="blank"><em>Dave's ESL Cafe Discussion on Koreans Attitudes Towards Foreigners</em></a></li><br /><br /><br /><li><a href="http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=40501&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=websites+foreigners&start=0/" target="blank"><em>Dave's ESL Discussion about Foreigners Exclusion from Korean Websites</em></a></li><br /><br />When I used to teach adult students sometimes they used to send me e-mails to my hotmail account from hanmail [the Korean equivalent to hotmail] and when I would reply to them hanmail would not let my message through. It said that my message was "spam". However, I am unable to set up a Korean e-mail account. My students used to get angry at me for not replying to them. The really found it hard to believe that their e-mail systems would not recognize my e-mail address since they had sent me a message first and that I absolutely unable to find any international e-mail system [yahoo, gmail, hotmail] that Korean internet serves would let be delivered. Now I know that if a Korean friend or student asks for my e-mail address I must tell them to add me to their hanmail address book or e-mail me from yahoo or some other more international e-mail site or they will NEVER receive my reply. What a pain and not exactly user friendly. Other foreigners agree here's yet another link to information on that.<br /><br /><br /><li><a href="http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=53085&highlight=websites+foreigners/" target="blank"><em>Problems between English and Korean E-mail</em></a></li><br /><br />There is now a petition to on-line at Dave's ESL Cafe to let foreigners numbers be accepted on the internet in Korea. Here's the link to that.<br /><br /><br /><li><a href="http://www.eslcafe.com/forums/korea/viewtopic.php?t=25360/" target="blank"><em>Petition to let foreigners join Korean websites</em></a></li><br /><br /><p>Well that's my rant on Korean and some of the discrimination I face on a daily basis here. I hope it didn't turn out to be as nasty as some of the threads on the discussion boards I have just been reading and to which I have been linking. This sometimes systemic discrimination is an untenable aspect of life here in Korea and it makes foreigners feel even more isolated and alienated than we already feel living in a foreign country far away from our loved ones. I guess maybe when you discuss such emotionally charged issues it does bring out the negative side of people. I can only hope that with petitions and the education of average Koreans to the plight of foreigners here in Korea that change can begin.</p><br /><span style="color:#000099;"><span style="color:#003300;"></span></span>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com69tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1154781809633109692006-08-06T21:20:00.000+09:002006-08-09T11:24:42.330+09:00Haeundae Beach, BusanI am lucky to live in Busan, South Korea. I love it in the summer. The beaches are fablous and so easy to get to using public transportation. Back home in Canada the beach was great but so hard to get to if you didn't own a car.<br /><br />Well, with the convenience comes crowding especially right now. The first week of August is the time when everyone in Korea takes their yearly vacation. Last weekend [July 29th - 30th] marked the end of the rainy season in Korea. Every year the newspapers in Korea run a photo of Haeundae beach here in Busan, South Korea and tell how many people visit the beach each day. I have heard estimates say that from 200,000 to 700,000 people will visit this beach on any given day in August. I found that hard to believe coming from a city of only 250,000 people back home in Canada. However, after visiting Haeundae beach myself each year for the past four years I have actually come to believe that number. They don't call this area the "Korean Riveria" for nothing.<br /><br />As far as the eye can see there are people and beach umbrellas. The only clear space is at the beginning of the beach walkway.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Haeundae%20Beach2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Haeundae%20Beach2.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /><br />I enter the beach area and am amazed at the sea of umbrellas and people. I notice many other people taking pictures of the scene.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Haeundae%20Beach.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Haeundae%20Beach.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br />The only way you can find someone on the beach is to arrange to meet by a lifeguard chair and tell the person the number of the lifeguard chair. Also, as you go along the beach the color of the umbrellas change from red to blue and white. It depends which hotel you are in front of what color the umbrellas are - although the umbrellas are rented for about 5,000 won each and advertise different things like cellphone companies.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Beach%20Walkway.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Beach%20Walkway.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br />There are vendors set up along the beach where you can rent inner-tubes. I highly recommend doing so. It might seem a little cornball but is sure is fun. Just watch out for rogue waves. I got caught in one two years ago and got flung up onto the sand like a beached whale. I landed 30 metres into the crowded beach still in the innertube legs sticking up in the air and my butt buried in the sand. Not a pretty sight and apparently [to hear my friends tell the story] I knocked about 50 Korean people over like bowling pins on my way. </div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Back%20Circles.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Back%20Circles.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br />When I first came to Korea I used to see people in the bathhouses with these bruise like circles on their backs. I couldn't imagine what caused them. I had many theories like maybe they were marks left from some kind of gang initiation to maybe they are from some kind of innoculaton to thyphoid fever or some such thing. Finally, I found out. I had some back problems from writing on the blackboard all day with my arm extended in the air and a teacher at school brought her "Traditional Chinese Treatment". It is a series of cup like things that are attached to the back by suction and although they hurt a little when they are first attached they are quite effective. The only down-side is the buises they leave.</div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Ajumas.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Ajumas.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br />As I mentioned before Koreans [especially the women] really try and protect their skin from the sun. Here are some older ladies enjoying a picnic lunch at the beach.</div><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">***</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">After a day at the beach I make my way to the Busan Aquarium. There is a Mermaid Show going on until August 27th and I really want to see it. In Korea a mermaid is called 인어공주 [in ah kong ju] which roughly translates to princess fish. Having taught swimming and lifeguarding in Canada I am so interested in anything to do with the water. I watched a documentry on the training that women who swim in mermaid shows have to do especially in regards to breath control and after that I always wanted it for myself in real life. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />To my surprise there is so much more to see at the Aquarium that I didn't allow myself enough time to see it all and still make it to the Mermaid show. I promise myself I will go back someday when I have more time.</div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Blue%20Plant.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Blue%20Plant.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br />I am so attracted to the color of this beautiful blue sea plant. </div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Fish%20on%20Surface.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Fish%20on%20Surface.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br />I love the way the light hits the water. I tried to be artistic and take a picture in a glass tunnel of the surface of the water and the fish swimming above me. </div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Glass%20Boat.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Glass%20Boat.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br />There is even a glass bottomed boat you can go out in and look down at the fish in the water. I like this shot cause with the blue screen in the background it makes me think of a movie set from the "Truman Show". </div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Kid%20&%20Penguin.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Kid%20%26%20Penguin.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br />I saw a cute little boy posing with this stuffed penguin by the penguin exhibit and while his mom was taking his picture I snapped this one, too.</div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Stuffed%20Penguins.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Stuffed%20Penguins.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br />Unfortunately, the only decent picture I got of the penguins was of the stuffed ones looking in the window at the real ones. The window was so dirty and it was too dark without a flash and with a flash all I got was glare. But, in person you can see them just fine.</div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Huge%20Fishtank.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Huge%20Fishtank.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br />I am most impressed by a huge fish tank that runs the entire height of the room I am standing in. </div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Diver%20&%20Tank.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Diver%20%26%20Tank.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br />As I stand watching a diver enters the tank and begins to feed the fish.</div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Croc.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Croc.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br />I even find a tank with crocodiles. They are quite impressive to see. They are so quite and move so slinky that I feel they could sneak up on you and you'd never notice until it was too late. I never want to see one in the wild - thank you very much!</div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Upside%20Down.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Upside%20Down.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Last but certainly not least was this picture I took at the Mermaid Show. It was quite impressive. Unfortunately, the musical show was all in Korean and there was no program written in English to give me any summary of the storyline. Also, if you go to the show I suggest you go early as it was so packed that to see it I had to stand way off to the side which mean it was difficult to get any decent pictures. Nonetheless, I am so glad I went.</div>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1154180200329909782006-07-30T22:10:00.000+09:002006-08-05T08:46:32.936+09:00Memorable StudentsI started taking my digital camera to school to try and help capture my memories of some of the children I teach. All of my students have unique personalities. Some students are so wonderful, kind and funny and some are completely spoiled and selfish but all are very interesting and memorable.<br /><br />I know I shouldn't but I have my "favorites". I am carefully to try and treat them all the same but I admit it is very hard when some of them are so special to me and others are just a nightmare to teach. [I will use their English nicknames when I refer to them as this is how I address them in the classroom and in many cases I don't even know their Korean names.] Here they are:<br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/fav%20stud.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/fav%20stud.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /><br />This is one of my grade 3 classes. The kids are Sam, Star and Bobo. Star is hands-down my favorite student this year. She is kind, and sweet and so very smart. Her older brother is in my grade 6 "Genius" class and I think they must practice English at home together because they both learn by leaps and bounds.<br /><br /></div><center><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Giggle%20Girls2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Giggle%20Girls2.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center"><br />One grade four class I have is comprised of only four girls. They are a joy to teach. I call them my "Giggle Girls". They are always laughing and joking around. I always smile when I think about them.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Bad%20Boys.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Bad%20Boys.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Here are two of my grade 3 boys named Harry and Thomas. They are always in motion as you can see in this picture. They are cute but very difficult to teach as they never sit down or stay in one place.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Tommy%20&%20Toby.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Tommy%20%26%20Toby.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Here are Tommy and Toby. Toby is carrying Tommy around piggy-back. They are grade 3 students. One day they are the best of friends and the next day they are punching and hitting one another. When I walk into the classroom I am never sure if it's a day they are friends or enemies [of course within 2 seconds it is apparent which kind of day it is].<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Togo%20Brian.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Togo%20Brian.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">One unfortunate part of Korean culture is that Koreans are very prejudice based on the color of one's skin. I've mentioned before in my blog how Koreans use parasols and special "whitening" creams to try and have whiter skin. The boy on the left I named Brian however, everyone else [including the Korean teachers] call him Togo. Togo was the African team South Korean played their first World Cup game against this year. I kept hearing the students calling someone "Togo" so finally one day I asked my grade 6 class, "Who is Togo?". Brian said, "Ann teacher, I am Togo" and walked up to me and put his arm beside my pale white, freckled arm and said, "See, I am Togo." After class he waited to talk to me and told me, "Ann teacher, I am my father's black son". To which I had no reply. He is very dark but I just think it's tragic that skin color is so important here and that being "Togo" has become his identity.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Mrs.%20Kim%20Bansong.jpg"></a></center><div align="center"><br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Laura%20&%20Carrie.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Laura%20%26%20Carrie.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">Here are two of my grade six girls. They are both in the "Genius" class. On the left is Laura and on the right in Carrie. Laura is one of my favorite students. She is so smart and she often finds me between classes to talk to me and practice her English. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Carrie seems smart enough but she is incredibly shy. One day the lesson in the book I was teaching was about hobbies. I had to ask my students, "What is your hobby?" I got the usual answers, "My hobby is sleeping." or "My hobby is playing computer games". However, when I asked Carrie she didn't answer [as usual - she doesn't talk. She does all the written work but she won't speak in class] so one of the boys piped up with "Teacher, her hobby is not talking". The entire class broke up laughing - myself included. I then had to try and stop laughing and move on with the lesson so as not to make Carrie feel picked on or embarrassed and I know I should have punished the boy who said that but I didn't cause it was just too true.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Grade%206.2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Grade%206.2.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Here are some of my grade 6 boys playing the game "Guess Who?" where they have to ask questions about what someone looks like and try and figure out who the other team is pretending to be. They love this game and it actually teaches them to describe physical appearance. What I like is they just think it's a game - they don't even realize they are learning.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Grade%206%20Girls.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Grade%206%20Girls.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"><br />Here are some of my grade 6 girls playing the "Guess Who?" game.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Grade%205%20Bansong2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Grade%205%20Bansong2.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><br />This is one of my grade 5 classes. As a rule I love my grade 4 and grade 5 students the most. They are old enough I don't have to baby them but they are still eager to learn and not trying to look cool by not answering in class. The boy in the T Shirt with the Union Jack on it is named Tom and he is the most amazing student at translation. If I tell my students something and they don't understand he just translates it into Korean. I think he has a real gift for languages and interpretion. I won't be surprised if he ends up working someday as a translator or UN Intrepretor.<br /><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Grade%204%20Working.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Grade%204%20Working.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Here are some of my grade 4 students. I am not sure why they all look so sad in this picture. They were all writing work down off the board so I took the chance to snap this picture while they were actually still. This is one of my better classes. The girl on the far left is Sara. I do telephone teaching where I have to call my students at home and the first time I called her house and asked for her in Korean her grandfather hung up the phone on me. I guess he couldn't understand my Korean. Sara was so mortified. I thought it was funny - after I got over being annoyed. Now when ever I have to call the students for telephone teaching I tell them ahead of time in class and most of them will answer the telephone themselves. I love it when this happens. It makes my job that much easier.</div><div align="center"><br /></div><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Grade%204%20Peace.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Grade%204%20Peace.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br />Here's another picture of the same grade 4 class. This is how they normally looked animated and always talking and laughing. </div><div align="center"></div>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1153580092645320532006-07-23T23:18:00.000+09:002006-07-23T20:11:21.586+09:00Re-visiting Gumi and DaeguMy friend "Ray" and I used to live in Gumi and we decided to head back there and see for ourselves if it was the same as we remembered. We, also, decided to go to Daegu since it is the largest big city near Gumi. Daegu is the third largest city in Korea so it was where we headed to go shopping and go to some of the better Western style restaurants. It was nice to go back and visit the places which formed our first memories of Korea.<br /><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Leaving%20Busan%20Station.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Leaving%20Busan%20Station.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Our trip started in Busan at the Busan Train Station. It was a beautiful Saturday morning. However, by the time we got to Gumi it was raining and it would continue to rain much of the weekend. [If you read last week's post you can see my pictures of the rain storms we survived.] Nonetheless, although we got damp our spirits didn't and we had a great time exploring and re-living some of our funny and more memorable experiences from 2003.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Gumi%20Station%20Temp%20Entry.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Gumi%20Station%20Temp%20Entry.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />It took about one hour and forty-five minutes to reach Gumi.<br />We got off at the Gumi train station. It had been almost two years ago since I had last been here and yet the NEW Gumi Train Station is still not completed. Not only that, but I was shocked to see that basically NO PROGRESS had been made. In Korea buildings normally go up very quickly. You can walk by a construction site everyday and still see the progress. So, I can't imagine what is taking so long here at the Gumi train station.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/New%20Gumi%20Station.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/New%20Gumi%20Station.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />From a distance you can see the basic structure of the new train station and it looks like it will be amazing IF and WHEN they ever complete it.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Dunkin%20Donuts%20Gumi.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Dunkin%20Donuts%20Gumi.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Directly outside the Gumi train station is Dunkin' Donuts. It was one of my favorite hangouts when I lived here and it has one of the nicest restrooms in Gumi. It has a bidet toilet with a heated seat. I went back to see if everything was still the same and sure enough it was exactly as I remembered it.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Gumi%20Sign.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Gumi%20Sign.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Gumi is said to be the "Silicon Valley" of South Korea since it is where Samsung and LG Companies are located and where many young executives start their business careers. There are so many factories in Gumi and as a result there are a lot of English Teachers here since for young executives to be promotable they must made a certain mark on their TOEIC [English Language Tests]. I guess they changed the Gumi slogan slightly and now it is called "Electron Valley". I saw this painted on a light post and couldn't resist snapping the picture.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Best%20Pic%20Chinese%20Restaurant.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Best%20Pic%20Chinese%20Restaurant.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />After leaving the center of downtown my friend "Ray" and I were hungry so we set off to see if my favorite Chinese restaurant was still is Gumi. As you can see from my photo it was. It is located toward the painted bridge of Dong-A Department Store. It's on the 4th floor of a large building with a bowling pin outside [to show that there is a bowling alley in the top of the building]. I discovered the restaurant by accident one time after spending a rainy Saturday at the bowling alley. It's a place not many foreigners seem to know in Gumi. What a shame, as, it's beautifully decorated, the food is fabulous and the service is quite lovely. Unfortunately, I can't tell you the name since it was written in Chinese characters and not either English or Korean. However, the menu is printed in both Korean and English so if you ever find yourself if Gumi don't be afraid to check it out.</div><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Gumi%20Station.3.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Gumi%20Station.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />We decided to get some exercise and try and walk off our lunch while doing some more site seeing. We walked by the Gumi Bus Terminal and it hasn't changed a bit.</div><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/EMart%20Kiddie%20Cart.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/EMart%20Kiddie%20Cart.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Then it was off to E-Mart. When I lived in Gumi there was only E-Mart. Since then Home Plus and Lotte Mart have been built and now there is a choice of supermarkets/department stores that carry some of the "Western" products we ESL teachers crave. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><br />E-Mart has these neat buggies for the kids to ride in with a basket above to hold their parents' products. It's a brilliant idea and seems to help keep the kids happy and let their parents shop in relative peace.</div><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/EMart%20Toilet.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/EMart%20Toilet.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />At the risk of seeming obsessed with bathrooms I have to add this picture. E-Mart has always had wonderfully clean bathrooms with "Western" style toilets, toilet tissue, and sinks with liquid soap and paper towels. I know it might not sound like a big deal to other people but after using stinky public squat toilets, carrying my own tissue, and drying [my rinsed in cold water without the benefit of soap] hands on my jeans I don't take nice restrooms for granted. Moreover, the E-Mart toilet seats have pressed flowers incased in the clear molded plastic seats making them easily the prettiest toilets I have even seen in Korea.</div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Goldfish%20Promo.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Goldfish%20Promo.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Maybe now that there are two other department stores in Gumi E-Mart is feeling the competition. I say that because while we were there we saw them doing this promotion giving away free gold fish to the children. I hope it works for them since I think it's a neat idea and I really like E-Mart. </div><div align="center"><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Pizza%20Mall.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Pizza%20Mall.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />We walked by Pizza Mall a really nice pizza and spaghetti restaurant in downtown Gumi. I always loved this place. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to eat there but it looks the same as ever and it used to be awesome.</div><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Tacos%20and%20Springroll%20Sauce.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Tacos%20and%20Springroll%20Sauce.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Then we went off to Wa-Bar. I used to hang out at Wa-Bar a lot when I lived in Gumi. However, I have to say this visit didn't impress me at all! Firstly, the menu was printed only in Korean. This kind of shocked me [I hadn't remembered that] and Wa-Bar sort of markets itself as a "foreigner" bar carrying beer and liquor from all over the world. I got a Molson Canadian beer and sat back to relax and enjoy. Soon we were served free corn chips and "salsa". I took a big bite only to discover it wasn't salsa at all but sweet spring roll sauce. I thought it was funny so took a picture of it. As "Ray" would say, "Welcome to the land of not quite right". </div><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/R%20and%20Rum.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/R%20and%20Rum.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Next in our Wa-Bar adventure "Ray" decided to order a rum and coke. However, our waitress couldn't see to understand despite our even trying to order {or maybe I should say clarify his order} in Korean. What is even more puzzling is that rum is "rum" in Korean just said in a slightly different accent. After the manager was called over "Ray" finally got a drink that looked like rum and coke but alas it was pure rum. This is him after tasting the drink and discovering it only had enough coke in it to color it. Oh, well, I guess you can't say they are stingy with their booze.</div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Wa-Bar has a long, long way to go if it wants to compete with the other "foreigner" bars in Gumi. Not somewhere I will ever feel the need to re-visit at least not unless I feel the need for a really, really stiff drink. LOL!</div><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/S%20Bar%20Sign.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/S%20Bar%20Sign.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />After Wa-Bar it was off to S-Bar one of my favorite places to dance in Gumi. I found it no problem but it was closed. </div><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/S%20Bar%20ImDae.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/S%20Bar%20ImDae.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />I thought it was odd that is was closed on a Saturday night and then I saw this sign that says 임대 [Im dae] which means "for rent" in Korean. I guess S-Bar has gone out of business. That's too bad it used to be a great bar.</div><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Psycho%20Sign.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Psycho%20Sign.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Next stop was Club Psycho or as we call it "Psycho". This is the sign. </div><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Inside.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Inside.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Walking up the stairs to the 3rd floor is the sign painted on Psycho's signature black walls.</div><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Aliens.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Aliens.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Inside is the bar with all the different kinds of liquor and the small poster of the "hear no evil, see no evil, and speak no evil" aliens.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Psyco%20Menu.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Psyco%20Menu.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Even the menu is the same. I love it. It's done on an old vinyl record. I thought it was a neat idea when I first saw it and I still like it today.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">One thing has changed. The two Daves [the former owners] are both gone. I miss those guys. At least one of the Dave's had a real gift for remembering people's names. He'd meet you once and after that he'd always greet you by name. It was a nice touch and it always made me feel my business was appreciated.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center">At least the bar is exactly the same, the service was good and the drinks were spot on.</div><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Inflatable%20Doll.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Inflatable%20Doll.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Even the inflatable doll is still there hanging over the bar.<br /><br />***<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left">The next day after coffee and lunch we made our way to Daegu. We took the train to the Daegu train station and then caught a cab to the final destination of our weekend COSTCO. </div><div align="center"><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Costco.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Costco.jpg" border="0" /></a> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><br />This is the only photo I took inside Costco. Costco was over-whelming for me. I even found Jelly Bellies and Rice Krispies Treats, yum, yum. Don't even let me start telling you about the cheese .... Despite my best intentions, I got so excited by all the foreign goodies I was too busy shopping to document that part of my trip.<br /><br />Oh well, I guess I'll just have to make other trip back there so that I can document the wonders of Costco for you - my loyal blog readers. [Okay, I know you're not buying it ... but that's my story and I'm sticking to it.]</div>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1153143515578544672006-07-17T22:32:00.000+09:002006-07-30T09:22:46.956+09:00Typhoon Ewiniar and Rain, Rain and More RainLast Monday Typoon Ewiniar hit and I was a little shocked that not only was my school not cancelled but EVERY SINGLE ONE of my students showed up. I still can't believe their mothers' sent them out in the middle of a natural disaster to attend an Academy. I really tried to teach cause I felt they risked their lives to come to class the least I can do is educate them but, alas, it was impossible. They were so hyper-active from either excitement or fear or both that by the time they got to my class it was all I could do to keep them down to a dull roar and inside the classroom. Forget about keeping them in their seats or teaching. I couldn't even get them to concentrate long enough to play a game.<br /><br />Coming from Canada where we get storm days off from school I still surprised that nothing stops schools in South Korea not even dangerous natural disasters. The attitude seems to be one of complete nonchalance and/or denial. And, I guess it has even sort of rubbed off on me...<br /><br />For example, I was out running around this weekend and traveling in the midst of the heavy rains. It didn't even occur to me that maybe it was a dangerous situation until tonight when I got a phone call from a Canadian Telephone Operator [my Mom was trying to call me and make sure I was okay and the lines were down here in South Korea. Actually, since I use a cell phone I guess it was the transmition towers that weren't working]. Some how this operator was able to get through to me and then I used a calling card and was able to call my mom and tell her I was okay.<br /><br />Prior to this I had found the situation annoying and inconvenient but had failed to recognize the potential danger. So after hanging up from my mom I went on the net to read about the situation. I found this article in the Korean Herald which says that 12 people are dead and 25 are missing and thousands are homeless.<br /><br /><br /><li><a href="http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2006/07/17/200607170024.asp" target="blank"><em>Korean Herald Article about Heavy Rains</em></a></li><br /><p><br />I spent the weekend traveling to Gumi and Daegu where I used to live and taking a lot of pictures. I'll post about that later but for now I want to post my pictures of the rain storms I was caught in.</p><br /><br /><p></p><p><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Daegu%20Monsoon.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Daegu%20Monsoon.0.jpg" border="0" /></a> <p>I took this picture outside the Daegu train station on Sunday, July, 16, 2006 in the afternoon. If you look closely at the cement you can see that the rain is hitting so hard that it is actually bouncing off and up into the air.</p><br /><br /><p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Storm.1.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Storm.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>I this is a photo I took in Gumi on Sunday afternoon.</p><p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Doorway.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Doorway.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></p><p>I took this picture while huddled in a doorway in Gumi waiting for the worst of the storm to end. Other people saw us there and decided it was a good place to wait out the storm so we soon had company.</p><p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Drain%20Pipe.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Drain%20Pipe.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /></p><p>This was taken Saturday, July 15, 2006 in Gumi. It shows the rain and the water pouring down a drain spout on the side of a wall. The white dots in the photo are actually huge rain drops.</p><br /><br /><p><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Rain%20Storm.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Rain%20Storm.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></p><p>This is a street scene or Gumi Saturday, July 15, 2006. I have to admit I have NEVER been in a rain storm like this before. We were laughing and saying we were in a monsoon. Little did we know just how close to the truth our kidding really was!</p></center>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1151758913041823792006-07-09T22:01:00.000+09:002006-07-25T12:04:12.786+09:00Red Devils [Korean Soccer Fans]<p><p><p><p><p>My last blog was about Korean Popular Culture. When I finished it I realized that I had only begun to touch the surface of what I wanted to say about soccer and the soccer fever that has gripped Korea as the World Cup [월드컵] has been played. <p>Someone who was seen on Korean TV and in newspapers a lot lately was 딕 아드보카트 [Dick Advocate]. He was South Korea's Soccer coach since September and he coached the team through their games at the World Cup. He was quite popular and he had several commericals on TV advertising "Papa Joe's" a pizza restaurant and the "LG Card" a credit card. <p>Since Korea didn't get beyond the opening round of play at the World Cup his contract was not extented and he was been replaced by another Netherlands Coach, Pim Verbeek. Korea is excited to have him as a coach since he was an assistant to Hiddink who coached the team during the 2002 World Cup in South Korea when the Korean team made it to the final four.</p><p align="center"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Soccer%20coach2.jpg" border="0" /><br />This is a promotional picture I found of 딕 아드보카트 [Dick Advocate]. <p align="center">***<br /><p align="left">붉은악마 [Bak un ack ma] means "Red Devil" [or Devils - there is no plural form in Korean]. This is the term used to refer to the South Korea's Soccer fans. They are said to be an intregal part of the team. I have to say that I never saw a country get so behind their soccer team. Having dated several Americans I thought Americans were patriotic and sports-minded, however, the Koreans take it to a whole new level. Supporting the Korean soccer team is almost a religion here! <p align="left">For example, I went to a large supermarket near my house [during the first World Cup game South Korea played against Togo] only to find 99% of the entire store staff in the Electronics Department watching the game on a TV on display there. Moreover, on the night of the game South Korea played against Switzerland I saw a number of people on the subway on the way to a large stadium [to watch the game] and they had actually drapped themselves in the Taeguki [the South Korean flag]. <p align="left">You are never too young or old to show support for the team. <p></p><p><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/child%20fan.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/child%20fan.0.jpg" border="0" /></a> <p></p></center><p>Even the children are dressed in red T- shirts to show their support [or maybe I should say their parents support] of the South Korean soccer team.</p><p></p><p><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/soccer%20fans.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/soccer%20fans.0.jpg" border="0" /></a> <p></p></center><p align="center">Here's a photo of some of the South Korean soccer fans.</p><p></p><p></p><p><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/soccer%20fans2.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/soccer%20fans2.jpg" border="0" /></a> </center><center></center><center><br />This is another pictures of the fans. Notice the girl in the center is wearing the Taeguki [the South Korean flag as a skirt] this is the same kind of thing I saw on the subway. The guys wore the Taeguki like a cape and the girls wore it as a skirt.<br /><br /></center><center></center><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/soccerfan3.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/soccerfan3.jpg" border="0" /></a> </center><center></center><center><br /><br />Stores everywhere sold temporary tatoos so that fans could decorate their faces with symbols of their loyalty and devotion. [I hate to admit it but I actually got in on this trend and wore a tatoo of the Taeguki [South Korean flag] on my right cheek during the game against Switzerland.]</center><p></p><p></p><p><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/soccerfans4.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/soccerfans4.jpg" border="0" /></a> </center><center></center><center><br /><br />There is a trend lately to spell Korea with a "C" so that it reads "Corea". It is especially common on Red T-shirts and banners that are made for soccer fans. I'm not sure what the spelling change is about but I plan to try and find out.</center><center></center><div align="left"></div><br /><br /><center><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/stad.1.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/stad.jpg" border="0" /></a></center><p align="center">My friend "Ray" took this picture of the fans in the Ulsan, South Korea sports stadium. Notice how many people are there and how they are all wearing red T-shirts?<br /></p><p align="center"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/nite.0.jpg"><img style="CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/nite.0.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><p align="center">"Ray", also, took this picture. It is showing the fans at night in the Ulsan Sports Stadium. </p><p align="center">***</p><p align="left">I wish I had had my own camera to take pictures of my own. I saw so many great scenes of fans and their patriotic garb and I kept thinking to myself, "I wish I had my camera". Memo to self, "Always take your digital camera with you."<br /></p>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1150372414456962582006-07-02T20:51:00.000+09:002006-07-15T13:27:08.253+09:00Korean Popular CultureSince I have been living in South Korea for more than 3 years now I have become somewhat familiar with a handful of celebrities in Korean popular culture. Some of these stars I like and admire and some of them just sort of annoy me.<br /><br />On Korean TV there are a number of American Prime-time TV shows that are screened in English with Korean subtitles. This makes it easy to watch my favorite shows from back home in Canada. Usually the shows are a season or two behind but now that I've been in Korea for so long it doesn't matter cause I am as behind in watching the shows as the Korean TV stations are in airing them [and if you think about it - it makes sense that their is a lag time because it would take time to translate and subtitle each and every episode of a TV show - I can imagine it's a pretty labor intensive activity].<br /><br />If you watch TV in Korea at all you will find yourself seeing the actor 이 준 기 [Lee, Jun-Ki]. He is popular for having played in a popular and famous Korean movie called 와의남자 [Hwa oi nam ja which translated means "The King's Man"]. Now he is on TV hawking pomegranate juice for the Lotte Company.<br /><br />He is such a girly looking man. He is what they call in Korea "a flower boy". But his styles goes way beyond metro sexual. The first time I saw him I thought I was looking at a Korean style Michael Jackson only prettier. In one of the commercials playing on TV right now he kisses a glass or mirror and leaves behind his lipstick prints.<br /><br />There is even a song that goes with the juice. It says basically "This juice makes you beautiful and then when I look in the mirror I am happy." The fact, that I know the song and can sing it amazes my students. The song is so catchy but now because of over-use it is so annoying that I cringe whenever I hear it.<br /><br />Here are the lyrics to the song:<br /><br />미히녀는 석류를 좋아해~ [mi hi nun sak ryu jo ah hae ]["I like beauty pomegranate Juice".]<br /><br />자꾸자꾸 예뻐지면 나는 어떡해! [ja kku ja kku ya bba ji myeon nan un oh ddoe kay]<br />["Over and over, I get prettier. What can I do?"<br /><br />거울 속의 나를 보면 정말 행복해~ '[ka ul sok oi nan un bo myeon jang mal haeng bok hae]["When I look in the mirror I am very happy."]<br /><br />At this point the song just starts all over again. The kids sing it all the time and it has become "The Never-ending Song".<br /><br />Below are pictures of 이 준 기 [Lee, Jun-Ki]. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I think these photos will illustrate better than I can say just how feminine looking he is. However, all the young school girls and even twenty-some women are just crazy over him.<br /><br /><br /><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/%3F%3F%3F%20%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F.0.jpg" border="0" /><br /><center>This picture shows him holding a bottle of the pomegranate juice he is advertising on TV.</center><br /><br /><p></p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/%3F%3F%3F%20%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%203.jpg" border="0" /> <p align="center"><br />This is him sitting at a piano surrounded by pretty girls- one is left to assume that they drink the juice and that it is the juice that makes them pretty. Quite a brilliant advertising strategy when your target audience is young girls.</p><p align="center"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/%3F%3F%3F%20%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%204.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p align="center">This is a close-up picture of 이 준 기 [Lee, Jun-Ki] showing his face. See how much make-up he is wearing and how "girly" he looks. I dare you to look closely and his lips and tell me that he isn't wearing lipstick.</p><p align="left"><center>***</center><p></p><p><br />I just don't get the fascination with this man. I don't feel he is attractive at all - at least not for a man! I could never date a man who is prettier than I am [or wears more make-up than I do]. Also, since I have been in Korea the majority of my boyfriends have been American military guys and I find that I like my guys clean cut and rugged. </p><p>There is a web blog that spoofs Korean culture in the same way "The Onion" mocks Westerner culture. It is called "The Yangpa" which means onion in Korean. It's June issue spoofs 이 준 기 [Lee, Jun-Ki] saying he is the perfect spokesman for feminine hygiene products.</p><p>Here's the link to the site. <li><a href="http://theyangpa.wordpress.com/" target="blank"><em>The Yangpa</em></a></li><br /><p></p><p align="center">***</p><p><br />Also, on TV is a South Korean actress I do like. Her name is 문근영 [Mun, Kun-Young] and Koreans call her 국민여동생 [kuk min ya dong sang] Korean people's little sister. This seems to be the Korean way of saying she is "the girl next door". Everyone seems to like and admire her and in this case I whole-heartedly concur.<br /></p><p></p><p align="center"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/Mun%2CKun-Young.jpg" border="0" /><br />She is in a lot of advertisements from KTF [a cell phone company] to make-up commercials, however, my favorite ad is the one in which she promotes "Eye Pender" mascara. It shows her at a movie theatre surrounded by other Korean girls and they are all watching a sad movie and crying. However, since she is wearing water-proof mascara she alone doesn't have circles under her eyes. She looks around and sees the other girls who have turned into panda bears [cause their mascara ran]. It's a really cute and catchy advertisement.</p><p></p><p align="center">***</p><p>I wouldn't dare finish my post about Korean popular culture without talking about the soccer fever that has swept over Korea of late. I never watched soccer before but I found myself getting caught up in the fervor this year. I even have a favorite soccer player. He is 박지성 [Park, Ji-Sung]. He is a Korean Soccer player who now plays for the England team Manchester United. In the recent [2006] World Cup he played for South Korea wearing # 7. </p><p></p><p>Why do I like him so much? </p><p>Well not only is he an awesome soccer player but he seems to be very kind and polite. </p><p>I appreciate this quality in 박지성 [Park, Ji-Sung] so much more now that I have lived in his country! A country where a lot of the time manners are not displayed or appreciated at least not in public. </p><p>What do I mean by this? </p><p>Well, it seems that in Korea strangers don't exist. Unless you know someone they don't exist for the Korean population. Thus, it is normal to be bumped into with enough force on the street to almost get knocked down and never receive an apology. Don't expect to hear a "sorry" or an "excuse me". I have been told it is because Korea is a Confucian society where one's role is society is strictly defined by age, and gender. Even the <strong>Lonely Planet</strong> guidebook on Korea says that "This structuring of relationships is very important in Korean society. All relationships require a placement in some sort of hierarchy for one party to determine how to behave with respect towards the other. The middle-aged male office worker thrusting ahead of you to pay for a Coke at the 7-Eleven does not even register your presence. You have not been introduced and he has nowhere to place you on the scale of relationships. An introduction and an exchange of business cards would immediately place you into a category that would demand certain behavior from him." </p><p>Well, I still like and admire the courteous treatment of strangers in public and 박지성 [Park, Ji-Sung] seems to feel likewise. Maybe it is because he lives in England now that he plays for the Manchester United soccer team and therefore he has become more "westernized". I noticed his manners right away. After Korea lost to Switzerland [2-0] he exchanged his soccer jersey with a Swiss player [something I saw no other Korean player do]. Moreover, whenever he collided with other player on the field I saw him extend his hand to help the other player up. I think 박지성 [Park, Ji-Sung] and his behavior gives Koreans a good reputation with people around the globe. Kudos!</p><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/park%2C%20ji-sung.jpg" border="0" /> </p><p align="center">Here is a picture of 박지성 [Park, Ji-Sung].</p>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1140909637765743962006-06-25T08:19:00.000+09:002006-06-29T03:09:17.526+09:00Goodbye ShawnAbout a month ago Shawn Matthews the author of "Korean Life Blog" [and subsequently when he left Korea for China he wrote the "China Life Blog"] died. He committed suicide in Beijing, China by jumping off the roof of his 15 story building. I am so shocked and saddened! If you look at the "Links" section of my blog you will notice that "Korean Life Blog" is my first link. I have been thinking about the situation and it has taken me a while to decide if I wanted to blog about it and if so - just exactly what I wanted to say.<br /><br />I didn't know Shawn personally but still I felt such a connection to him. I had bought both his "Korean Life Blog" book and his book "Island of Fantasy" from Lulu. His book "Island of Fantasy" was wonderful! It was about his experiences being an American English Teacher on Koje-do, or Geoje-do [depending on how you want to spell it] a small island just off the coast of Busan, South Korea. It was warm and rich and funny and so very honest. He seemed to be fearless in both his ability to capture and replicate authentic sounding dialogue and his ability to tell the truth of even his intimate experiences even when they were not so flattering to himself. I admired him greatly for being so brave and when I finished the book I felt that I had both had an adventure and made a new friend.<br /><br />He was actually my inspiration to begin my own blog. He was a teacher in South Korea like me and he had written about his experiences and even published [via Lulu - a self-publishing company] two books about his experiences. So, basically, he had done [at a much younger age] exactly what I wanted to do. I dream of writing a book about my adventures here in Korea and I am trying to use this blog to not only record my experiences but to try and hone my writing skills.<br /><br />Here are some links to some of the information I mentioned above about Shawn and his books.<br /><br /><li><a href="http://korealife.blogspot.com/" target="blank"><em>Korean Life Blog</em></a> The best blog I ever read about living as an Ex-pat in Korea. I suggest you check it out since now that Shawn is dead it might someday be taken down for lack of current postings or at least I worry that it might. Since I'm still pretty new to blogging myself I don't pretend to understand how these things work when you stop publishing, etc.</li><br /><br /><li><a href="http://chinalife.typepad.com/" target="blank"><em>China Life Shop where you can buy Shawn's two books</em></a> This site used to be where Shawn's "China Life Blog" was located but several weeks before he committed suicide Shawn deleted all the content of his blog - maybe because his sometimes brutal honesty caused him to be harassed [in cyberspace] by Ex-pats in Korea.</li><br /><br /><li><a href="http://www.lulu.com/?gclid=CNP74pif34UCFVBBDgodTQZGSg/" target="blank"><em>Lulu Self-publishing Company</em></a> This is an awesome company where you can publish your own books. I ordered Shawn's books from here. They are still showing up here just search under "Island of Fantasy". I highly recommend this book.</li><br /><br /><li><a href="http://www.comixpedia.com/the_william_gshawn_matthews_is_dead/" target="blank"><em>Blog Posting on Shawn's Suicide</em></a> This posting talks about the fact that other Ex-pats from Korea were harassing Shawn and his ex-girl friend. </li><br /><br /><li><a href="http://chinavlog.typepad.com/china_video_blog/2006/05/shawns_final_st.html#comments/" target="blank"><em>Best Post about Shawn's Suicide by his friend Jake</em></a> I had a problem making this link work but thanks to "Old Army's" comment I was able to cut and paste the link and now it seems to work. THANK YOU! I am still somewhat new to blogging so all help is greatly appreciated. </li><br /><p><br /><br />I am left feeling sad and depressed that someone I admired and wanted to emulate is dead by his own hand. I am not condemning his actions, though, the older I get the more I realize that I can never really judge someone else and their actions. Each person's pain and despair is their own. Suicide is a very complex problem and not something I am qualified to pass judgment on.</p><p align="center">***</p><p>This situation has left me with a need to reflect on the life of an Ex-pat in Asia and the impact that can have on a person's well-being and emotionaly health. Don't get me wrong I love my life here and the amazing opportunities I have had. However, living in a country where you don't speak the language [or at least not fluently] and where you get stared at daily for looking different than everyone else can be an alienating experience - to say the least. </p><p>The support of other "Westerners" could really help with those feelings of alienation and culture shock. However, to be completely honest a lot of the other "Westerners" here are not only not supportive but sometimes your encounters with them can leave you feeling even more alone.<br /><br />What do I mean by that?<br /><br />Well, because Korea is a homogeneous society everyone looks alike [they all tend to be thin, of short to medium height and have black hair and black eyes] so when you see another "Westerner" they stand out and you notice them. I always smile and at least nod to them but the majority of the time my greeting is met with either a blank stare or a haughty look. This is so surprising to me! We are both strangers in a strange land you would think that we could at least acknowledge one another's existence. Canadian and American friends of mine who teach here have remarked on this, too. I am not sure why this is but it is an unpleasant reality of life here. </p><p>Nothing will change the fact that a very talented writer and fellow blogger is dead. But at the very least I hope that Shawn's untimely death will wake up some of the other Ex-pats who can be so bitter and hostile to one another. I just wish that people could realize that we are all in the same boat [so to speak] we are strangers in a foreign land who are just trying to find some kindness and human connection. At the risk of sounding like Mr. Rogers or Oprah Winfrey - I do want to urge everyone to try and be a little kinder to one another. It's a small thing but it can made a big different to someone who is already feeling at the end of their rope.</p>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20509017.post-1147015968425540382006-06-18T00:24:00.000+09:002006-06-17T21:21:08.760+09:00Geumgang Park, Busan<div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">I recently went to Geumgang Park in Busan, South Korea. To get there my friend "Ray" and I took the subway to Oncheon-jang [subway stop # 127]. Then we walked for about 10 minutes to find the entrance to the park. There didn't seem to be any signs that I could see but luckily "Ray" had been their before and remembered the way so I just followed him.<br /><br /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 4px solid; DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 4px solid; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 4px solid; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Ray at Game of Chance" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/Ralph%20at%20Dart%20Booth.jpg" /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"><br />On the way to the park there are dozens of booths set up where you can try your luck at games of chance and try and win a prize. This is a picture of "Ray" at one of the booths where he won a shell keychain which he gave to me.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Keychain.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 4px solid; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 4px solid" alt="Shell Keychain Prize" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Keychain.jpg" /></a> </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><br />Here is the shell keychain that I have as a remembrance of our day at the park.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 4px solid; DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 4px solid; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 4px solid; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Display at Park Enterance" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/Display.jpg" /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"><br />At the entrance of the park is a display. This is a picture of part of the display.<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Hut.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 4px solid; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 4px solid" alt="Thatched Roof Hut" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Hut.jpg" /></a></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"><br /><br />This is a close-up picture of a thatched roof house.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 4px solid; DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 4px solid; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 4px solid; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Water Wheel" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/Old%20Man%20%26%20Water%20Wheel.jpg" /></div><div align="left"></div><div align="center"><br />Part of the display is a wooden water wheel. </div><div align="center"></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left"><br />Also, in this display part of the park there are some Korean men working there who are dressed in traditional Korean clothes. Unfortunately, I can't understand the signs [just when I think my Korean is improving, boo, hoo.] So, I am left to guess that the display is but it seems to show the way Koreans lived in the past. Sort of a "historic village display" or at least it seems that way to me.<br /><br /></div><div align="center"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left"></div><div align="left">Walking into the park we see a large sign advertising a "Rope-way" which means a cable car that will take us to the top of the mountain.<br /><br /></div><p align="center"><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Sign.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 4px solid; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 4px solid" alt="Sign Showing the Cable Car" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/Sign.jpg" /></a></p><div align="left"></div><div align="center"><br /></div><div align="center">This sign shows the way to the "Rope-way" but in Korean it says "Ka-oi-bul-ca" or the way we would pronounce it "Cable Car". We decided it looked like fun and a great picture taking opportunity and, also, we [me especially] were feeling lazy. Let me tell you a cable car is the easy and fast way to get to the top of the mountain.</div><div align="left"><br />For about 5,000 won [a little over $ 5.00 Canadian Dollars] we got a ticket to take the cable car up the mountain [and back down again]. The view was breathtaking! However, I have to admit that I was a little surprised [and not pleasantly] by the smog. The haze you see in the background hanging over the picture is not heat waves it is smog. In fact, it was cold enough up the mountain that I wore a jacket and was glad for its warmth.<br /><br /></div><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 4px solid; DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 4px solid; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 4px solid; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Cable Car" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/Best%20Pic%20-%20On-Coming%20Cable%20Car.jpg" /> <p align="center">Here is a picture of a cable car coming up the mountain and the city of Busan spread out in the distance.<br /><br /><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 4px solid; DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 4px solid; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 4px solid; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Forest and Busan City" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/Mtn.%20%26%20Busan.jpg" /><br />Going down the mountain I was by the window and was able to take this shot of the side of the mountain and the city of Busan. I like the contrast between the nature and the cityscape.<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/The%20Mtn.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 4px solid; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 4px solid" alt="Looking Straight Down the Mountain" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/The%20Mtn.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Here is another picture I took from the cable car. I tried a dramatic shot looking straight down the mountain. Not such a great idea since I am afraid of heights. Yipees!<br /><br /><a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/1600/Game.jpg"><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 4px solid; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 4px solid" alt="Pound a Monster Game" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/400/Game.jpg" /></a><br /><br />On the way down the mountain after we get off the cable car there are some games. This game was a "pound a monster" kind of game. I wish I had one at home. It is fun and a good way to get rid of frustrations at the end of a hard day teaching school.<br /><br /><img style="BORDER-RIGHT: #000000 4px solid; BORDER-TOP: #000000 4px solid; DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 4px solid; CURSOR: hand; BORDER-BOTTOM: #000000 4px solid; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="Merry-go-round" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/4434/2056/320/Merry-go-roung.jpg" /></p><p align="center">There are, also, rides for the kids. Here are some Korean kids enjoying a Merry-Go-Round. I guess some games and rides are universal in appeal. </p><p align="center">***</p><p align="left">It was such a nice day and it is amazing that it takes only about 20 to 30 minutes to get to this park. It's right in the middle of the city and accessible by public transportation. I definately want to go back and since there seemed to be a cool breeze it will be a nice place to visit even on a hot summer day.<br /></p>Queen For A Yearhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07116941675912341113noreply@blogger.com0