blurb

last night in my neighborhood (not in Korea though) ... got a huge plate of bokeumbap at the awkward kimbap place and secured a smile from the stiff-lipped proprietor by saying "I'm full" in Korean.  walking there my favorite ajhumma at the ttuk shop inquired about my sunburn and gave me ttuk for free -- she told me I should eat that instead of going to the kimbap place haha.  on the way back I was eating a popsicle and found 50,000 won (like $50) in the street.  I asked the folks at the butcher shop nearby if it was thiers and it wasn't ... but they gave me 20,000 of it for good character.  I left the house empty-bellied and came back full of bokeumbap, with free breakfast for tomorrow and an extra $20! 

the pork restaurant on the corner that Rebecca and I use as a place of reference is now something else.  on facebook today it showed me my status on this day last year and it was "when I go to sleep tonight, I'll be in Korea!"  I can't believe a year has flown by so fast already!  I am a mess of emotions ... ranging from ready to return to familiarity, to at peace, to agonized that I could be leaving soon.  tomorrow is my last day at school -- if I make it out of there without tears I will be surprised!  but I hope I don't ... my weepiness is so embarrassing!

finishing up packing and then it's over to Hannah's with my baggage.  then a major cleaning overhaul of the place and tomorrow I go to school one last time and turn in all my keys.  after tomorrow I'll be in Korea the maximum 10 days before my visa expires and they kick me out!  then 3 days in Hawaii, then home to my Mommy!  though I've been a stress monster, I'm looking forward to these times.  and I only got back from Thailand last night!  poor Thailand, I have had no time to sit and steep over how much I loved you.  another time.

pack, wash, haul, clean!
<3 Kayla

Almost Hometime!

One week from today I will be on a plane to Thailand.  One month from yesterday I will be on a plane home to the States.  There’s a whole lotta leavin’ going on!

I am sorry to have to skip to the end – things have been pretty crazy busy the last 3 months!  And it’s August now so ohmygosh! That’s what it’s been!  3 months!

I’ve been keeping a running list of things to post about though I have not posted – so I think I will post this for the time and then break my lovely linear flow by doing some flashback posts in my leisure time post-Korea to tell you about those events.  I can’t believe how fast this year in Korea has gone!  

I have oscillated between extreme sadness to leave Korea and extreme happiness to be home, but now the feeling is predominantly happiness at returning.  Though, when I stop to think about it, I am still very sad to leave here. 

 I’m going to miss my little apartment.  I’m going to miss eating Korean food 75% of the time.  I’m going to miss the mountains near my house (Dobongsan!) and seeing colorful cranky ahjummas everywhere and drinking Cass Lemon with Hannah.  I’m going to miss my kids terribly, and all the kind teachers at my  school.  I’m going to miss the ease of travel to other Asian countries and being able to take weekend trips to Buddhist temples.  I’m going to miss the excellent shopping (although it’s much healthier for us to be parted).  I’m going to miss regular visits and outings with the friends I have accumulated here.  I’m going to miss the smell of Korean laundry detergent and having kimchi with every meal.  Sigh!

Picking up my life each year and starting over from scratch is really getting old.   Though I’m hoping for a little stasis in the Pacific Northwest,  I am seriously considering graduate school for the fall of 2012 and therefore might be moving yet again.  But that is a year from my arrival home (damn! that yearly cycle of mine), so there’ll be time to think and nothing is decided.

Right now my little home is a total mess of suitcases and crap to stuff into them.  I have a particularly aggressive batch of fruit flies that keep flying at my face and floating around every which way I move (the apartment is small!).  I hate them!  One thing I will NOT miss about Korea – the everpresence of these little #@%&#*^s in summer.  I have acclimated to the heat and humidity, though I still carry a handheld fan and hanky everywhere I go to combat it.  

I am packing for both Thailand AND my move.  I have to be completely of my apartment only 2 days after returning from that trip and so I want to be packed for everything so all I have to do is clean and do last-minute things when I return.  

Some things I have acquired in Korea:  a great, almost idyllic, value of my home in the US (Washington specifically).  An appreciation for weekend and other short trips around the area I’m living.  I’d like to do this more when I’m home!  There is so much to do that I haven’t done!   An even greater desire to travel in general.  A propensity to wear shorter skirts and slimmer pants than I used to, but higher necklines.  A love of seaweed, Korean canned tuna, and gochujang (spicy/sweet Korean chili paste)! 

I will write posts about individual events as I have time and inclination and will try to post pictures.  But, you can always go to my facebook page to look at pictures there (though without the story to accompany them).  **Look for the flashback posts to come!**

Lots of love!

Kayla J

PS~ at first I accidentally typed “lots of log!”   : ) haha

Jajang myun

I love Korea.  I'm having one of those evenings. 

Spent all evening planning a trip to New York.  When I finally emerged from the lair my officetel has become as a result of having a 3-week long cold, the smell of the rain in the streets just felt so homey.  I think it’s because in all my first experiences with Korea, there has been rain.  When I arrived in Yeosu at 2009’s Chuseok to visit, and when I arrived in Uijeongbu last August.  Korea has a feeling of familiarity; of a place where I am and could always be happy … I noticed it when a tourist and tonight I felt it again.  

I walked over to the area near the college I live by, and found a new place to get one of my favorite things—jajang myun.  “Jajang” is a black (bean?) sauce with meat and onions which Koreans call Chinese food—they are always surprised when I say there is no jajang in American Chinese restaurants.  The story is that Chinese immigrants in Korea created it using Korean ingredients.  So really it is unique to Korea.

mmm ... so delicious.

“Jajang myun” is putting the black sauce over a big bowl of noodles, served with raw onion on the side and the ubiquitous yellow radishes (that seem to come with everything).   On Black Day in Korea (sometime last month), single people eat jajang myun or “black noodles” to morbidly wallow in their own singleness.  I told Lisa I thought a jajang myun restaurant on Black Day would be a great way to meet people if one were in the market.

the yellow pickled radishes -- they are sweet and tangy.  also the raw onions and nasty bitter black sauce that come with jajangmyun

So I ordered my jajang myun and asked several times for it to be take-out … but alas my new friend the proprietor did not understand me, so I sat alone in his place as it was closing and slurped down my late dinner.  Tonight marks the first time I’ve ever eaten jajang myun without splattering black sauce on myself somewhere!  Eating noodles with chopsticks has not been my forte as yet, but I like jajang so much I’m happy I finally managed it.  

Impressed with the little Korean I knew, the proprietor made many attempts at asking me questions I could not understand, but he was so smiley and happy I only felt sad I couldn’t answer him.  My dinner only cost me 3,000 won, or about $2.80.   I left incredibly satisfied—not only no longer hungry, but also proud of my little Korean skills, new noodle-eating skills, and that I found a fun new place to go eat.  On the walk home I stopped in at one of the ever-present mini-stops (the Family Mart near my apartment) and got an “iced lolly” as I’d once heard them called, and some Cass.  Cass is Korean light beer and an iced lolly is ice cream on a stick, as you might imagine : ).  I am enjoying them now.

It has occurred to me lately that while I’ve posted about some things, I’ve left you in the dark as to the mundane details, like tonight, that comprise living in Korea.   I am going to attempt to share more little things with you so that you can picture it.  It really is a very happy place to live.

Further reading:   jajangmyun   Black Day

Busan Weekend

Last weekend, we went down to Busan on the relatively spontaneous whim of my friend Thildi, whose birthday was the week before.  We took a late KTX (Korean high-speed train) down on Friday night and promptly found a cozy wine bar to eat and relax.

I love how over-the-top the decor is in so many bars and coffee shops in Korea :)

That night we stayed in a love motel - a novelty which never ceases to amuse me and one of my favorite things to do in Korea :).  Koreans only call them motels, but everyone knows that the quirky, completely dodgy motels' primary function is a place for unmarried Koreans to meet for a singular purpose, as Koreans live with their families until marriage (sometimes into their late 30's and 40's).  Anyway, they are very seedy looking but always, in my experience, clean and well-stocked with the amenities.  Shampoo and anything else you might think of is always provided.

The next day we checked into our minbak, or Korean guest house.  It had 2 rooms with lots of blankets and cushions for sleeping on the floor, and an excellent view of the ocean just on the corner of Busan's famous Haeundae Beach.

one half of the minbak.  that mattress was nothing but springs so we all ended up on the floor.

view from the minbak. Haeundae beach to the right!

After, we visited the Jagalchi Fish Market -- another famous location in Busan.  There were many interesting fishes available for immediate chopping and eating raw.  My friends enjoyed trying a couple strange shellfish raw, though I abstained and offered to be the photographer instead.  It was a memorable experience, nonetheless!

the coolest fish in the market, my opinion.

friends with their raw eatings

Jagalchi Fish Market

That night we had delicious Thai food and then went out to have drinks for Thildi's birthday.  We went to a bar called Miami, haha.  An ice cream cake was stealthily purchased for the birthday girl, and then less stealthily smeared over just about everyone in our party all in good fun.  We decided to go home to the minbak after braving the stormy weather to catch a cab and getting soaked in the rain.  Rainstorms at the beach are always more exciting!  But, earlier in the day, it came about that the dress code for the evening was going to be ahjumma clothing.  You may have heard me refer to ahjummas before -- middle aged women with a very specific style in Korea.  It all started because I actually liked a dress I saw at an ahjumma shop and then everyone else decided they wanted to try out ahjumma clothes.  It was a great time :).

the beautiful ice cream cake ... before

ahjumma dresses, pants, and expressions.  they are tough!

The next day we caught a few moments' pleasure in the returning good weather before running for the return train home.  It was a wonderful, whirlwind weekend!

the ladies: Lisa, Thildi, Sunny, Holly, and I

approaching Haeundae from our minbak

with Thildi Birthday girl

 I am happy to have friends more spontaneous than I am :). 

kj

Mangwolsa

On Easter weekend, I invited friends from Bucheon to come check out my home, Uijeongbu and to visit the temple my area is named for that I'd yet to visit.

We went to Mangwolsa Temple and it was soooo  wonderful.

lanterns and cherry blossoms on the hike up

Mangwolsa was originally built in 639.  so old!  Here is copied some information I found about it online (here):  Deep inside Mt.Dobongsan is its largest and most historical temple. Mangwolsa Temple was built by Saint Haeho in the 8th year of Queen Seondeok's reign during the Silla era (639). It is said that, from the temple, people prayed for the prosperity of the Silla Kingdom while gazing upon the rising moon, which explains the name Mangwolsa, meaning temple where one watches the moon.
  

doorways are always some of my favorite things at temples.

lanterns up for Buddha's birthday. Generally speaking I love Buddha's taste in decor :)

Anyway ... so you can see, I loved it.   For all pictures, I will create a folder in my smugmug (am so backed up with these pics!).  I'll insert a link when it is ready. 

After Mangwolsa we got cleaned up and went out for budae jjigae, Uijeongbu's spam stew as I've mentioned before.  then out for drinks, then home to my place to crash.  I hosted 4 extra people in my little apartment and loved it :).  I love sharing my home with others.  For Easter I cooked a big brunch and the Uijeongbu friends who live here and thus did not sleep in my apartment came over to partake, too.  Then a walk to our river path, which was at the time brimming with cherry blossoms, magnolias, and the like.  Then the most dedicated of us dyed eggs for Easter.  All in all a brilliant weekend!

Holly, Rebecca, Lisa, and Sungwon on our river path

we're dyeing.  get it?!?!

In Bloom

Korea is aflower with loveliness lately!  Trees I’ve looked on as any other temporarily dead thing for the last months have suddenly proved themselves to be flowering beauties.  All around my neighborhood and my school, flowering cherries, magnolias, and forsythia bushes have run amok with their joy in big bunches of flower.  Delicate clusters drip from their once bare branches.  It has made me feel the need to wear pink and light green, and contacts as much as can be (in the spring and summer I like not to wear glasses!).   The weather has been warming up accordingly, and it’s been nice to doff the last remnants of a particularly freezing winter and go around in cardigans.  

flowers I bought for chun won (~80 cents) in a favorite market in Insadong last weekend.

magnolias and traditional houses near my school

even the trees that line my alley (dodgy looking shortcut to the subway near my apartment) have turned out to be flowerers.

 Today I visited the second-to-last day of the cherry blossom viewing festival (bot go jukje) in Yeouido park on the Han River.  It was so nice!  The weather was a perfect near-70 degrees with pleasant breezes off the river.  And the park was big enough to disperse what was touted to be “millions” comfortably so that only at times did it feel overcrowded.  

ahjummas under a parasol enjoying the day!

posers

the cherries are so beautiful! 

cherries and forsythia

street vendors incurring the business of a LOT of pleasure-seekers.  they were selling sweet bread and churros among other things

I have been reading the Anne of Green Gables books for the first time lately.  They are sooo wonderful!  Anne has sparked a renewed appreciation for good friends and family and many happy remembrances of growing up in a small woodsy town.  She named the white-flowering tree that bloomed outside her window "the Snow Queen" and I thought of it all day today looking at all those gorgeous flowers.

Also, I have decided not to renew my contract to take on another year.  It was a tough decision to make, as I love Korea very dearly and have been very happy here this year.  But, heading back to the career path, family, and the comfort of not being stared at and called "foreigner" every day is something I'm looking forward to.  As much as I've loved it here, it is really a side-track to a fulfilling career.  I love kids and I think I've done a good job teaching them, but I'd like to get back to a job that uses more of my brain.

I'd also just like to get back home for a while.  Since graduating from college, I've gone to Boston, Barrow, and Korea.  I wouldn't change any of those steps for anything and value those experiences immensely, but my nomadic ways are starting to get wearisome!  I'm going to try out being close to home for a while.  And if I get a good job, I'll get my own place and a CAT!  oh, the joy!

Hope you enjoy my pics of the Snow Queen(s) in all her glory :).
Kay

Happy Rainy Day

It’s finally starting to feel Springy now that we’ve had a good rain.  Today I woke up to the sound of cars on wet pavement and this evening there are less old men outside my window hocking lougies.  Unfortunately they haven’t gone or quit this habit altogether.

This evening is one of those occasions when I sat and thought about it and realized that I’m happy.  These are always nice.  Though in recent weeks I’ve had some more extreme ups and downs, I am very content this evening. 

After years of suggestions, I finally started reading Anne of Green Gables for the first time last night.  It is wonderful of course!  And filling me with happy feelings and memories of my own small and country town: its characters and lovely nuances of memory that make it particularly mine.  I also recently re-read Circle of Friends (an all-time favorite and comfort book), which evokes similar feelings of appreciation for my childhood in Woodland.  

The flowering cherry and plum trees lining our driveway are likely blooming, and another May and June will bloom fresh with rain-wet grasses and lilacs everywhere.  The old ladies who’ve helped raise me get older and older while I am far away.  I am a restless person – I feel the need for new experiences but every place I go I just miss the other places I’ve been.  It’s a problem.

lovelies in our yard last May in Woodland.

In recent weeks I’ve had many moments of “I love my students” and “I love the teachers at my school.”  My students are so cute and funny.  They make me happy just about every day.  I also love my little apartment and was excited to have friends come and stay with me last Friday.  I love to be hospitable : ).  And it was nice to share the area I live in, too.  There is a really nice river walking path nearby and pretty mountains. 

Again I am torn between the happy options before me and the unpleasant necessity of planning what to do with myself for the next block of time … a large part of me longs to be at home and look for any waitress/etc. job that will have me in Portland.  But both the practical and adventurous parts urge me to stay another year here if I can.  There is money to be saved and other places I’d love to travel but can’t afford at the end of this year alone.  I have to decide in June for sure, so there’s a bit of time left.  Contract ends at end of August!

Tonight I found a recipe online and made a Korean dish I really like – gye ran jjim.  It is steamed egg and green onion and very tasty.  Also incredibly easy, as it turns out.  I didn’t have fish sauce so I made it with a mixture of beer and soy sauce – it was good!  I had the rest of the bottle of beer after dinner with an apple and a slice of peanut butter toast—a delicious combination, I discovered!

the gye ran jjim, rice and beer. on a tray!  Korean style.

I have also recently discovered that I love Swedish pop music.  My internet radio kept giving me more and more of it and I’m hooked!  I already knew I loved Peter Bjorn & John, and now also am very enamored of Lykke Li (and others).  Wonderful stuff!

After cell phone bills to break the bank I’ve been experimenting more with skype options and this week I had the joy of seeing Momma, Ra, and Sam.  It made me so happy but also wish desperately to not require a computer in order to see them.  

Wishing you all contentment and happy thoughts of springtime!

Kay

ps~ in the next two weekends I have plans to go to a festival and a temple, so I will have more cultural things to report about :).  

Almost Springtime

Hello!  Here is a March update for you.  March begins the new schoolyear in Korea, so many changes have happened at school.  2 of my previous coteachers are now homeroom teachers, and 1 is soon departing to have a baby.  So I have 2 new coteachers and am no longer teaching 6th grade, so I will not have another.  We also have a new principal.  Also there is new curriculum for every grade, with very non-user-friendly interfacing.  CD Rom menus all in Hangul!  Thanks a lot!  haha.  It is all very strange so far.   

I like the one new coteacher I've worked with a lot, although communication is a real challenge so far!  I have great hopes this will improve with time and practice.  I've only just met the other new co- so fingers crossed for a good situation!  I'm sad to see the pregnant coteacher go.  She and I worked very well together.

Recent things:

I made new posters and revamped the display board in my classroom.

it's a shame I didn't have a "before" picture.  I think it's 100% better. 

I crocheted slippers for one long lost coteacher (now banished to the 6th grade).

I went out dancing in Hongdae a lot, which meant I stayed in Bucheon with Lisa and Bilbo.

he's a sweet doggie!

I crocheted baby booties for the departing new mommy. 

the unfinished booties looked like boats.  I was knotting boats for baby's feet.

completed booties

I also finished crocheting the blanket for Sam <3.  I would put up a photo, but don't want to spoil Ra's surprise! :)

The air feels fresher and warmer lately!  Spring will be here very soon.  I miss the eternal greenness of Washington ... the fact that everything's still brown and dead here makes it feel like we've gone backwards to Fall instead of forwards to Spring!  Hopefully we'll get some rain soon to freshen things up more. 

I'm greatly anticipating May when Mommy will come!  and flowers blooming.  I am in a country where lotuses grow!  I cannot wait to see them.  Went to see, and greatly enjoyed Black Swan this Friday night.  It scared the pants off me more than once, but it ended beautifully!  and I do love ballet. 

Since Friday, I've been continually horrified by the disaster in Japan.  my thoughts go out to them!!  I sincerely hope less lives will be lost than it now looks.

Flowers for now: the cactus I bought at the grocery store last weekend.

Love,
Kayla