Jeju Island

My third weekend in Korea was the most impressive experience yet. I had been told I would be going on a work retreat to Jeju Island (the Hawaii of Korea) and of course I had every hesitation known to man. I was excited to see a new city but I honestly had no idea what to expect and I was very nervous. Amy and Mr. Lee picked up Steve, Marie, and myself on Saturday morning. Of course Marie and I being of the same mold packed entirely too much. We headed to the ferry terminal where we would join the rest of our party and begin our almost 5 hour ferry trip. The others included 6 Chinese teachers, 6 Koreans that work on the administrative end, and of course the 3 Americans. Talk about a melting pot of language and culture. Regardless of language barrier everyone was welcoming and my fears immediately subsided.

As we boarded the ferry I followed the group to a room that lacked chairs, beds, mats or anything comfortable. That’s right... this is Asia and they like sitting on the floor. The men of my school sat on one side of the room and the women on the opposite end. I was thinking ok this is going to be weird and than the director of my school along with all of the guys pulled out a ton of beer and some gimbop (or as I like to call it "inside out sushi"). I was starving and relieved to learn this was breakfast gimbop with egg and ham.

The working part came next; this was my first big meeting! Keep in mind the drinking had already started so the meeting was a 20-minute "one" ended conversation. Steve presented some ideas, and the director nodded like he understood even though he speaks very little english. Amy translated and badda boom work time was over and that’s when I thought... I like their style. I fell asleep on the floor of our "ferry room" and woke up to a note from Marie explaining they had gone for lunch in the dining area. As soon as I walked in I was blown away by how truly awesome Korean people can be. They moved quick, one person directed me where to sit, someone else put a beer in front of me, Mr. Lee took off to get me a sandwich, and Amy got me a strawberry shake. In a matter of 3 minutes I was still rubbing sleep away and repeatedly saying "Kam-sa-ham-ni-da"

We arrived on Jeju Island with a chartered bus waiting and headed straight to a museum. We walked through Korean history and stopped to eat giant green spicy pancakes, biscuits with red beans, and drink Moccali (Korean Wine). It was pouring and we were all soaking wet, ordinarily I would be miserable. But I loved every minute of my Korean culture overload. Eventually we headed to our "pension". Men in one pension and women in the other, everyone sleeps on thick mats on the floor like a giant slumber party. We dropped our stuff and walked down a hill for some Korean BBQ. It was a long picnic table with grills built into the table. We cooked meats and drank beer and Soju for nearly 3 hours; it was nothing short of a complete blast. Mr. Wong who is very important but speaks no English actually said "f**king cool". I just sat there once again thinking...I like their style.

The next morning we had to be at breakfast very early. The men looked like they were in pain from their drinking. Our Korean breakfast was a beef broth and rice. No it wasn’t a bagel but it could of been worse! A while later we went to a botanical garden museum that was gorgeous. We went to lunch at a seafood restaurant and my Korean hosts catered to my seafood allergy and ordered me ramen. This was the only occasion I was relieved to be allergic, Koreans eat seafood that no one would ever touch back home. Steve tried to grab what looked like an ear in a shell and it moved. Needless to say we did not expect some of the food to still be alive!! After a long nature walk near the ocean it was time to head back. The ferry ride was rough and I ended up taking medicine for seasickness. It didn’t matter though; nothing could have ruined the end of an incredible weekend with such amazing and thoughtful people. I love Korea :)

Working Girl

I am very lucky to work in what appears to be the prettiest building in Mokpo. The school only opened in September and everything is brand new. Mokpo is an old city so I consider myself fortunate to work in a wonderful building with air conditioning and marble floors. My work schedule is from 2:00pm-10:00pm M-F, I work these hours because my students go to regular school earlier in the day. I teach a range of English levels from 6 year olds learning the alphabet to 10 year olds who speak perfect English and have to write essays and learn science. My little kids melt my heart but the older kids are just such rock stars in English that I really enjoy talking with and learning from them.

My coworkers (Steve and Marie) are an amazing, awesome, great couple from Chicago. They are a blast to work with and they have made my transition into my new job so comfortable. My manager Amy is only 12 days older than me and we get along great. I had to learn not to talk too fast to anyone Korean because it is hard for them to understand. Now every foreign teacher talks in slow motion, cautious to annunciate each sound clearly and slowly. We even talk like that to each other out of sheer habit. Amy is so close in age to me that we have fun comparing what we loved growing up, for example we loved Britney Spears and her favorite rapper is Eminem. She just got her license last month and driving with her in Mokpo has been beyond scary but cars and traffic laws in this city are a whole other can of worms.

Back to my cool school, I have my own classroom and 10 minute breaks in between each hour. I have a little cubicle and my own computer and I basically teach certain books the way I feel is best. On Monday, Wednesday, and Friday Daebul University (my employer) buys our dinner because we don’t have a break long enough to really go out to eat. This is so awesome because we save money! I have been in love with my job so far even though the days sometimes feel very long. We will see how I feel in a few months from now, but so far so good.

Check Out My New Digs

My studio apartment is really nice and I have a lot of closet space; which is really the key to my happiness. Other foreigners have seen photos of my new pad and all seem to think I have lucked out. So here is the deal with Korea in general, no one has a dryer and there are no bathtubs. So all of your clothing dries like cardboard and you shower next to your sink and the whole bathroom floor serves as a shower. No divider and water goes everywhere. But Koreans are so thoughtful because they all keep a handy pair of shower slippers at the door of your bathroom. This is not to shower in, it’s to use in the bathroom after your shower because the whole floor is soaked. Strange, I am not sure why they don’t just build the simple wall that we call a tub. I have very new appliances and 3 English channels (I am on CSI Miami overload). My nifty wash machine is a front loader and actually built into my tiny kitchen. My stove is a gas stove which is something my generation has never used or seen. My bed came with a very brightly colored bedspread; this is Korea for you. They love the bright colors and the wallpaper is just down right ugly, although mine is more attractive than most. The ceilings are always covered in wallpaper too, odd. Most importantly it takes me 3 minutes from my front door to my classroom. Oh and another added bonus, I live on top of a 24 hour convenience store and a dry cleaner. For those of you worried about my safety I have an around the clock security guard. Even better if someone rings my doorbell I push a button on the house phone and it shows me a video of who is standing there. Cool, I know!!! I am very happy with my apartment and I think we are going to bond just fine.

Add Some Spice To Your Life

I wanted an interesting year of life and after being in Korea for less than three weeks I know that’s exactly what I am going to get. I could already write a book about all of the differences in culture I see just by walking down the street. I am going to dedicate this particular post to food and the overall dining experience in Korea.


Food was the least of my concern when I decided to move to Mokpo. I had already been told that I would find a cheeseburger, egg and ham sandwich, and chicken quesadilla. So naturally I thought that I had this eating in a foreign country stuff covered. What you cannot prepare yourself for is the difference in flavor that even the most American dishes will have. Egg and ham sandwich with coleslaw…and a chicken quesadilla loaded with mushrooms that look like octopus spawn. Even after you accept that these foods have a Korean twist you must eat everything with water. The food (all of it) is extremely spicy and I am going through Tums like a mad woman. As promised Mokpo is a port city and they love their seafood, as I walk to school its very typical to pass tanks of fish outside of restaurants as they await their fate. I am allergic to seafood so here’s to hoping Nemo doesn’t find its way into one of my dishes.

In Korea they do NOT eat cats. No, No, they much prefer dogs. Dog meat is difficult to find and I am working on forgiving Korean people for this gross cultural insanity. I could not help but confirm with my students that dogs are truly a meal and the response I received was something like “oh yes teacher, dog is very delicious”. Not kidding!! I have found some food that I do think tastes like home which gives me hope for the future. The chicken wings are great! I had spaghetti in a bread bowl and a chicken sandwich, I am sure I will have it again… and again. The much talked about Kimchi (fermented cabbage), is served with almost everything. It might be just a tiny side dish but it doesn’t matter what you order it comes to the table. It too, is pretty spicy and in some type of red sauce. If you don’t get Kimchi, your table will start out with pickles instead. They taste most like a pickle for your sandwich but every restaurant has their own tasting pickles. In addition to Kimchi or pickles you might be served yellow radishes, Mr. Lee called them “pickles brother” during my first Korean meal on my way to Mokpo. I have been to two restaurants that served eggs on a hot dish before you get your meal. You fry them up right there at your table and they are awesome! Eggs in Korea and eggs in the states taste the same, finally something normal.

Korean BBQ is well known within the world except there isn’t any BBQ sauce involved. This particular meal involves cooking pork at your table that is loaded with fat, adding some anchovies that still have eyes (I pass), rice, and wrapping it in lettuce. Kimchi will be available for your Korean lettuce wrap as well. Overall, Korean BBQ passes on my food radar. Dining with Korean people is a very drunken experience. Shots of Soju (Korean liquor) is the primary drink and if you take that shot you better believe it will be refilled. But DON’T refill the glass yourself! It is tradition to poor each other drinks at a table. So if your thirsty you start pouring everyone water, put the pitcher down and hope someone catches on to pour you some as well. Typically you really aren’t supposed to poor your own drink. While someone is pouring your drink I have learned you must hold the glass with two hands. This is the case with more than just drinks, the same tradition holds when you are having anything put into your hands (use two). When you are the “passer”, you have to pass with one hand and use the opposite hand to touch the upper arm of the one you are using to pass drinks or money or anything. It is difficult to remember but I am getting there.

There really is no breakfast food; my students usually have rice for breakfast with either Kimchi or a broth. So much for finding the pancake house in Korea. I did find bagels but the small tub of cream cheese will run you nearly 6 dollars because Koreans really don’t eat cheese so foreigners really have to cough up some money for the good stuff. Speaking of the good stuff, there are websites such as nicedeli.com and ezgokorea.com that offer up the food we foreigners miss so dearly. This is good to know in those times of desperation but it certainly is not cheap. Rice and broth it is!! I have attched a picure of some breakfast sushi which has egg and ham in it. I have also added pictures of the other food that has become part of my regular diet. Korean food is a daily learning experience, many meals I have had are very tasty. However, one really cannot escape the desire to just want food that tastes like home.