The Let Down

Today Michael decided that Ben would not work for our school anymore. He thinks that Ben cannot adequately teach a class. I am not sure how to feel about this. Ben is a nice guy but may have rushed into traveling to South Korea. Ben was home schooled and also lived at home while attending college. He has not had much time to socialize and as a result is not confident when speaking. Also, Ben has never left the United States before and I suspect he has not left Pennsylvania before either. He got his passport to come to South Korea. He is under the opinion that I am well traveled but I feel that there is so much out there that I haven't seen yet. A difference of opinion, I suppose. Michael is going to try and find Ben a different job in South Korea at a different Hogwan. I think Ben might be more successful at a school that does not focus on proper speaking but instead grammer or reading.

The Son

Michaels son's name is Bryan. He is a spunky little kid and is smart as a whip. I am not a good speller so I find it funny when Bryan corrects me during class. I jokingly pass it off as though I was testing their spelling skills when infact Im not. Bryan is turning 8 years old next week on Sept. 10th although he will soon be different ages in different countries. Korea, like most other eastern countries uses the Gregorian calendar but also the Lunar calendar. The Gregorian calendar as you know has 365 days a year but the lunar calendar only has 360 days. As a result most asians have two birthdays, its nice for the kids because they get presents two times a year instead of one. I am also excited to teach these kids because they are so smart. They study far more than any American student I have ever met. The kids average daily schedule is to go to school from 7am to around 2pm and then on to Hogwans. A Hogwan is an extra school that children attend. They range in subject matters from math to swimming to taekwondo and in our case studying english.

Correction: The lunar calendar is made up of 12 months each containing 28 days. So, one lunar year is 336 days. This calendar was used in ancient times but one problem occured. While we are used to July always being hot and December always being cold this was not the case with the lunar calendar becuase it did not accuratly follow the seasons. Some years July would be hot and other years it would snow because the lunar calendar did not accurately reflect the rotation of the earth around the sun.

The Translator

Yesterday I found an application for Ipod touch called Lingopal Korean. Its very useful for me because I know little or no korean. The application has everything in it from restaurants to travel to cursing and flirting in Korean. Although I doubt I will need either of the later sections. The application is also convenient because unlike most other applications, this one does not require an internet connection to work. It is a must have for any traveler. I think it is more usedful then the dictionary I have and more portable. The application can translate 35 languages too and it only cost $.99 a language. Sold!

The Water

Another adventure is poisoning myself includes not following my directors warnings about drinking the local water. We bought a bunch of water bottles but last week after they were all gone I decided not to buy more but just refill the water bottles, I even boiled the water to get rid of any pathogens in the water. I woke up feeling very hung over the next few days. I talked to a guy I know living in Seoul and he told me not to drink the water because most buildings are old and still have lead pipe. I was giving myself lead poisoning which is always nice.

The Mushroom

UnforntuatelyI was at the grocery store the other day and bought these mushrooms. I made a little stir fry with them. I unfortunately I got food poisoning from the dish and suffered a little because of it. Im not sure if it was the mushrooms or the meat or if I just didnt cook it long enough. They are the king oyster mushroom. I have had then in a few other dishes here with no ill effects. Maybe when I get the courage Ill make another attempt at cooking with them.

The Other Guy

Benjamin Hendricks is the other teacher that is teaching at St. Pauls Institute. I stole this flattering picture from his facebook. He is a bit nerdy but I think I am used to that since most of my fraturnity brother from Drake were nerdy as well. He arrived here yesterday morning at 4am to the delight of Michael. Teaching starts on Monday so Ben has alittle catching up to do as I have been here for a few weeks and have had that time to prepare. In other news I am reapplying to Saint Louis Univeristy Law School here in a few days. My first attempt ended in a draw because I applied too late. This time I will be on top of the pile when it comes to applications instead of at the very end.

(Taking Out) The Trash

Like I said in a previous post The Mascot trash is a little different here. They recycle everything. The only things you can legally throw away is stuff that is not; plastic (including bags, bottles, wrappers) paper, cardboard, glass, packaging, or any other post-consumer products or food-waste. I have been having a hard time finding things to put into the trash. Why am I trying to find things to throw away? The first thing you have to know is that you have to buy trash bags from the grocery store. The bags are these blue bags pictured above. I accidentally bought two different bags a large bag and a small bag which cost 5,000W and 140W. The large bag is a 100 liter (25 gallons) bag and the small one is 1 liter (1 quart). So... I have one enormous bag and one tinnie-tiny bag. I gotta fill them up before they expire. Next time I will buy a 20 liter bag like the one pictured.

The Bus

I thought ridding the bus would be fun. It is not. I guess in Korea when a little boy wants to become a race car driver their parents sign them up to bus driver school. Lets just say that the bus ride is rough because the buses all have manual transitions. I am assuming that the bus drivers are paid by the route and not by the hour or else I would think they would take 3 more seconds at each bus stop. I have missed several buses for not being aggressive enough to catch them. On the street there is spray painted blue markers that show "where" the bus is supposed to stop. It rarely stops in the designated bus stop but instead stops out in traffic. I often have to negotiate cars and/or motorcycles to get to the bus... its fun.

The Promise

A girl I was seeing at Drake has kept in touch with me after I left for Korea. I miss her alot and I suspect she misses me too. Oh, and her name is Danielle. Danielle booked a ticket to come visit me for a few weeks over Christmas break. She'll be staying with me December 25th to January 13th. I am excited to have a visitor as well as a fantastic Christmas present.

"She is a stunner" -Don Langeneckert

The Guitar

I bought a guitar the other day for 110,000W. I went to the guitar shop the night before and they told me if I paid cash I would get a discount. Turns out the discount is around 30%. The guitar was listed at 160,000W. I walked around and tried to get money out of a few ATMs but apparently Korean banks dont accept US Bank Visa Debit cards. The only ATM I have found that works is one right around the corner from my house. So, I had to go back the next morning and to buy the thing. The guitar sounds great. Before I left someone told me that musical instruments are cheap here and he was right.

The Oddity

My director saw that I had bought a fan for my room. Apparently Koreans do not like having fans in their bedrooms for fear of something called "Fan Death". Wikipedia can tell you more. Look at the beliefs section.

The School

Michael is my boss pictured above. This is the school he has created. It is very nice looking.

The Market

On my adventure on the buses system today stumbled upon an open air market. I walked up and down the market looking for something to eat. I needed a large kitchen spoon so I bought one (read "got ripped off") which I paid 2000won for. I went into a butcher shop because I have heard alot about Korean beef and how it appearntly is really good. I finally got it down with the butcher how much I wanted. After all that work he told me the price was 60,000won/kg. I could not afford this as I have no money. He sold me around a half pound for 15 dollars which I think is pretty expensive. I have to say thought... the rumors I have heard are right. The beef here is really good. I dont know if it is worth 30bucks a pound though. Maybe I just got the tourist discount.

The Rice Wine

There are two types of rice wine in Korea. The first one is clear and is very strong (19%). They all come in beer shaped bottles and cost 1000won so I bought it by mistake. The clear one tastes like if you took cheap vodka and diluted it 4 of 5 to one with water. Still the cheap flavor but less potent. The milky white one pictured above is alittle different. It still has activated yeast in the bottle that you can see in the bottle after you have finished the drink. It tastes better to me but is still kinda yeasty tasting as one would expect. I dont really prefer either of them. Oh well... I didnt come to Korea to get drunk. Ill just have to deal.

The Korean Beach

I rode a bus to Ilsan beach today. The beach was only a 30 min ride but was kinda anticlimatic. I got off at the wrong stop first of all, and had to walk for a while to get to the beach. The sand was coarse and the water looked dirty, probably because the shipping yard is right next to the beach. My director tells me there is a better beach a little further north called Jyeongju beach. At the beach I was a little hungry so I ventured over to a food stand to buy something. The lady told me I was buying a corndog but when I bit into it there was no dog in it. It was an articial crab dog. Not too bad but something I maybe wont go out of my way to have again.

The Mascot

Ulsan has a city mascot. His name as you can see from the picture is Haeuri. Im not sure if he is a dolphin or porpoise but he is really cute. Haeuri is plastered all over the city. His face appears on every light pole and on the side of several buildings. There is even a statue of him infront of city hall which I rode by today. Ulsan's moto is "Ulsan for You!" The city has declared that they will become the first Eco-polis in the world but how they will achieve that I have no clue. The city is full of cars and trash just like most big cities. One interesting thing to note is that they are serious about recycling. They take every sort of food waste, paper, plastic, glass and metal seperately from trash. Its also really conveinent because you just set whatever is to be recycled outside your door and they come pick it up.

The Street Corner

This is the street I live on. I would equate it to living down town St. Louis on Washington avenue. Its lively with markets, bars and restaurants on every corner. At night the lights are very bright. So bright that the previous tennant in my apartment has two layers of shades installed. My apartment is called 브 라 임 빌 (Pi-la-im Bil) or as I soon figured out Prime Village.

The Real Country

I think the new moto of McDonalds should be... "McDonalds, Required for enterance into the United Nations". As you can tell, Yes, there are McDonalds in South Korea with interesting delights suchs as Kimchi Burgers (A spicy fermented cabbage buguer). I like kimchi but I dont know about how it will taste compressed into a hamburger patty.

The Ferris Wheel

Ulsan has followed other major cities like London and have installed a sightseeing ferris wheel in the middle of the city. It looks pretty cool but I have as of yet gone on it. PS. It lights up at night too.

The Apartment

Sorry for all the pictures but I wanted the reader to get the full "Derrick's Apartment" experience. The last upload is the floor plan so it is easier to understand the pictures. I was not expecting an apartment this awesome. Also, since I got to Korea before my counterpart I got to pick which room I wanted. We are both on the second floor of the building but my apartment faces the street and his will face an alley. Some interesting things to note about Korean living... 1) They like their beds rock hard. 2) Their showers are different. In the US a shower is kind of a seperate room from the rest of the bathroom with a door to keep water from getting on to the rest of the room. In Korea, the sink and toilet are in the shower. This makes cleaning easier and saves space. 3) No clothes dryers. 4) No keys, just a keycode on the door.

The Train Tickets

You know what is more fun than a 3:20am plane ride? Or a 90min bus ride? Or a 5 hour train ride? Doing all of that when the handle broke on your heaviest piece of luggage. I guess thats why "Good Luggage" cost $500.

The Visa

I got my visa. Now just a few short days until I fly to Korea from Guam.

The Dive

This morning we went scuba diving. We dove at a site in the harbor because the surf was high outside of it. The site we dove on was called The American Tanker. Our dive master and guide (pictured driving the boat) is a local named Pete. He told me that the ship used to ferry drinking water between Guam and Siapan after the war because Siapans water purifiers had been knocked out by japanese bombing. The ship was used until Siapan could get their water treatment facility up and running and then was sunk in the harbor.

In other news I went to the Korean Consulate today to get my E2 Visa for teaching in Korea. Hopefully I will pick it up tomorrow and this long wait for the paper work to be over.

The Snail

When it comes to wildlife Guam is full of it. We have to keep any open food in the fridge or else ants will get into it. The night time sounds are very loud and the island is full of wild dogs and wild chickens. I was down on the strip... that touristy section of town where there are many shops and lots of sightseeers and I saw this snail. This is the biggest snail I have ever seen. It was almost as big as my hand. I was shocked.

The Boonie Stomp

They do these cool hikes in Guam called Boonie Stomps. Its just a group of locals that get together and walk through the jungle and around the coast. This time we went through a 3 hour walk which took us from where we parked down a fairly steep cliff, along the ocean and back up to our car. While we were walking along the coast our guides showed us a little inlet where there was a cliff to jump off of and some snorkeling to be done.

The Dancer

Casey Mizell is a dancer in a show called "Dream". I was skeptical at first but the show is great. It features tigers, acrobats and a magician. The show is supposed to tell a story about a girls dream but it got lost on me. Casey looks great in the show. Pictured here is her showing me around back stage.

The Beach

What is Guam?
Guam is...
a tropical paradise
an island in the Pacific Ocean
a haven for Asian tourist
a U.S. territory
a military base
a sales tax free zone
87F all day all year all the time (plus or minus 3F)
humid

Guam is not...
fast
cheap
full of white people
boring