I suppose this isn't that odd, considering hiking backpacks are this large.
But WOW.
October 20, 2011
TOUCHE
Three days a week I teach a private lesson with an exceptionally bright 10 year old boy who pretty much speaks fluent English. Every day I assign him seven vocabulary words that have included luminous, magnificent and exacerbate.
Today I made him read me a paragraph about the difference between facts and opinions and after he was finished he told me that "even a baby knows the difference between facts and opinions." DUH, TEACHER.
This morning he had his "Big Test" at school, a test that I'm assuming is very weighted by the chorus of, "UHHH. TEACHER! BIG TEST TOMORROW. MANY HOMEWORKS! MY MOM! UGH! TEACHER!" that I hear from my other kids. He informed me that he was tired today because he stayed up until 1am last night studying.. and then was up at 5am to study some more. YES. THAT'S RIGHT.
"Well, how do you think you did?"
"I don't know."
"I bet you did pretty well. You're really smart."
"I don't know. We'll see."
"You don't believe me? I think you work hard, study hard and that you're really smart."
"... teacher, is that a fact or an opinion?"
And then he ran out the door.
Today I made him read me a paragraph about the difference between facts and opinions and after he was finished he told me that "even a baby knows the difference between facts and opinions." DUH, TEACHER.
This morning he had his "Big Test" at school, a test that I'm assuming is very weighted by the chorus of, "UHHH. TEACHER! BIG TEST TOMORROW. MANY HOMEWORKS! MY MOM! UGH! TEACHER!" that I hear from my other kids. He informed me that he was tired today because he stayed up until 1am last night studying.. and then was up at 5am to study some more. YES. THAT'S RIGHT.
"Well, how do you think you did?"
"I don't know."
"I bet you did pretty well. You're really smart."
"I don't know. We'll see."
"You don't believe me? I think you work hard, study hard and that you're really smart."
"... teacher, is that a fact or an opinion?"
And then he ran out the door.
October 19, 2011
October 9, 2011
WEEK END
One of the coolest things about Gwangju is that it's geography contradicts itself. One moment you're in the city and the next you're in the mountains.
Mt. Mudeung is a 15 minute bus ride from downtown and in fact, I heard a rumor today that it used to hold the record for being the tallest mountain such a short distance from a city of over 1 million people. I have not found the information to confirm this claim, but regardless, it is unusually close to the city.
With it's tallest peak at 1,187 meters (3,894 feet), climbing to the top is a multi-hour adventure and my co-hiker and I did not get started until about four the in the afternoon. We hiked one of the shorter trails and stopped when we got to a gargoyle spouting fresh mountain water from it's mouth. We filled up our water bottles, ate some almonds, and headed back down.
This morning I found myself out the door by 7:30 to catch a bus to the Gwangju World Cup Stadium to run my first organized 5k. I have been running pretty regularly with the Gwangju Running Club, a group of mostly foreigners and a few Korean's who meet Sunday afternoons to run, eat and be merry. The race this morning supported breast cancer and like in The States, everyone was dressed in pink. Following, I went downtown to do a bit of shopping and watch the South Africa versus Australia rugby game. Rugby is INTENSE, man.
OH, & ON FRIDAY I GOT MY FIRST PAYCHECK SINCE MAY. MOMMA NEEDS A NEW PAIR OF SHOES. (OR THE ABSOLUTE PERFECT SWEATER DRESS. DONE!)
Mt. Mudeung is a 15 minute bus ride from downtown and in fact, I heard a rumor today that it used to hold the record for being the tallest mountain such a short distance from a city of over 1 million people. I have not found the information to confirm this claim, but regardless, it is unusually close to the city.
With it's tallest peak at 1,187 meters (3,894 feet), climbing to the top is a multi-hour adventure and my co-hiker and I did not get started until about four the in the afternoon. We hiked one of the shorter trails and stopped when we got to a gargoyle spouting fresh mountain water from it's mouth. We filled up our water bottles, ate some almonds, and headed back down.
This morning I found myself out the door by 7:30 to catch a bus to the Gwangju World Cup Stadium to run my first organized 5k. I have been running pretty regularly with the Gwangju Running Club, a group of mostly foreigners and a few Korean's who meet Sunday afternoons to run, eat and be merry. The race this morning supported breast cancer and like in The States, everyone was dressed in pink. Following, I went downtown to do a bit of shopping and watch the South Africa versus Australia rugby game. Rugby is INTENSE, man.
OH, & ON FRIDAY I GOT MY FIRST PAYCHECK SINCE MAY. MOMMA NEEDS A NEW PAIR OF SHOES. (OR THE ABSOLUTE PERFECT SWEATER DRESS. DONE!)
October 6, 2011
SAN FRANCISCO?
Grocery shopping in Korea is a bit of an ordeal because, as it turns out, most everything is in Korean. For this reason I have been eating a lot of raw food. A carrot is a carrot. A banana is a banana. SIMPLE. Almost every time I go to the store though, I look at all the products, hoping for a picture or English phrase that might provide a gateway into what it might actually BE. And let me tell you, there are some products on this continent that I am not qualified to identify by sight alone. I need words. Is there an ap for that?
If I'm shopping at the smallish mart in my neighborhood, it's all Korean, all the way. Except today I noticed that the bread I buy boasts in English:
"SF (Stress Free)."
... Oh, thank heavens because I do NOT want to be eating bread that is on the verge of an emotional breakdown.
The real question is, did you play it soothing music when it cut it right through it’s core into nice little slices?! CRUEL.
If I'm shopping at the smallish mart in my neighborhood, it's all Korean, all the way. Except today I noticed that the bread I buy boasts in English:
"SF (Stress Free)."
... Oh, thank heavens because I do NOT want to be eating bread that is on the verge of an emotional breakdown.
The real question is, did you play it soothing music when it cut it right through it’s core into nice little slices?! CRUEL.
bling bling
on the bus, new ring from Seoul
As a side note, it is totally acceptable to be downright VAIN in Korea. Feel free to check yourself out in the mirror, your phone, your friends phone, the window, a camera, a puddle, etc. I did not feel the least bit awkward having this photoshoot on the bus this morning.
(This picture was taken with my Android and edited with Pixlr-o-matic.)
October 3, 2011
MERRY CHRISTMAS
Friday I went up to Seoul with a couple girls from Gwangju. I have yet to find a flaw in the Korean transportation system. It's easy to manuver, tailored for English speakers, and cheap. I arrived at the bus station after work, handed over my 25.000 won ($22 USD), boarded a bus twenty minutes later and arrived in Seoul just after 1am.
Seoul is HUGE and with a population of 26 million, it houses half of Korea's population. There are many neighborhoods and we stayed in Hongdae, a hip, ridiculously cute area on the northwest side.
My friends, Lou and Katie, and I really had limited expectations for the weekend but knew we wanted a few things: shopping and proper coffee.
Korea does a lot of things right. It seems to balance pleasure and tradition, it makes excellent cell phones and it's population is very well dressed. But from what I've gathered from my fellow expats combined with what I've experienced, it is seriously lacking in the coffee department. Coffee is expensive, weak, and tastes bad. However, in Seoul, you can get a proper coffee.
Friday night we arrived late to find nobody at the hostel. As we later found out, we accidentally stated that we were going to arrive at 1pm instead of 1am and the owner was out for the evening. After he and some friends kindly came to let us in, they invited us to out for drinks and food which organically unfolded into an entertaining evening. (By the way, please let me know of a time in the where you have completely inconvenienced someone and then they invited you out for drinks. Korean people are NICE.) In the midst of eating tofo kimchi, one of the owners of the restaurant ABRUPTLY reached accross our table and shoved a lettuce wrap in my face and shouted, "MERRY CHRISTMAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS!" I nearly fell off my chair.
They are also FUNNY.
It seems like I should have at least one bit of touristy information, but my focus this weekend was on shopping. Korean fashion, dude. It's WONDERFUL.
Seoul, I'll be back for more.
Min is the owner. Lara is the manager. Welcoming, accommodating, kind. When in Seoul, stay at the grape garden house.
Seoul is HUGE and with a population of 26 million, it houses half of Korea's population. There are many neighborhoods and we stayed in Hongdae, a hip, ridiculously cute area on the northwest side.
My friends, Lou and Katie, and I really had limited expectations for the weekend but knew we wanted a few things: shopping and proper coffee.
Korea does a lot of things right. It seems to balance pleasure and tradition, it makes excellent cell phones and it's population is very well dressed. But from what I've gathered from my fellow expats combined with what I've experienced, it is seriously lacking in the coffee department. Coffee is expensive, weak, and tastes bad. However, in Seoul, you can get a proper coffee.
Friday night we arrived late to find nobody at the hostel. As we later found out, we accidentally stated that we were going to arrive at 1pm instead of 1am and the owner was out for the evening. After he and some friends kindly came to let us in, they invited us to out for drinks and food which organically unfolded into an entertaining evening. (By the way, please let me know of a time in the where you have completely inconvenienced someone and then they invited you out for drinks. Korean people are NICE.) In the midst of eating tofo kimchi, one of the owners of the restaurant ABRUPTLY reached accross our table and shoved a lettuce wrap in my face and shouted, "MERRY CHRISTMAS! MERRY CHRISTMAS!" I nearly fell off my chair.
They are also FUNNY.
It seems like I should have at least one bit of touristy information, but my focus this weekend was on shopping. Korean fashion, dude. It's WONDERFUL.
Seoul, I'll be back for more.
Min is the owner. Lara is the manager. Welcoming, accommodating, kind. When in Seoul, stay at the grape garden house.
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