The brilliance of my dog

My dog has learned how to eat food I feed him off chopsticks. Even noodles. No dropping or dripping. It’s fabulous.

Adventures in Food: Cheese

During my first trip to Emart, I was thrilled to see a package labeled “Cheddar Cheese slices”. It looked very similar to what at home would be called “American Cheese slices”, but I held out hope that it was actually cheddar. But alas, it was American cheese. When I took some to work for a sandwich, the other teachers said they love Cheddar Cheese, meaning what I brought. I had to explain to them that this is not cheddar. I consider myself a connoisseur of cheeses, and cheddar is far more delicious than this.

Note: At Costco, you can find actual cheddar, Swiss, and many other varieties (if you're willing to pay big bucks for them).

There's also this variety, which is called "White Cheddar". It was actually grey. I couldn't bring myself to try it.

Seomun Market

I went to Seomun Market with Nic and Elias. We weren’t exactly sure where things were yet, or how to best get there. We found it, but we took the long way to get there. On our way, we passed one of the old City Gates, which was pretty cool. It’s so odd to me that these ancient relics are surrounded by convenience stores, and cars pass them daily, probably without even noticing them after years of seeing them every day. There are just part of the landscape.





We found the entrance gate to Seomun Market at last.



We had to cross a pedestrian bridge to get to the side of the street where the market was. The view from the top was pretty awesome.



The market itself is both indoors and outdoors. It is touted as being the largest market in Daegu. It is comprised of many multi-storied buildings, with hallways and alleyways lined with stalls and cart vendors as well. I’ve been told that you can find almost anything there. The tourist both downtown (on Dongsongno South by Debec) even gave me a map indicating what items could be found where. I mean, the market is massive.



We got there fairly late, not realizing that they close down by 7pm each night. (They are also closed on the 2nd and 4th Sundays for future reference.) So when we arrived, many people were tearing down for the night, so we didn’t get to see very much. I saw enough to know I must go back, preferably with a native Korean speaker, as I don’t think many of the vendors are too fluent in English.



But I did see a Christmas store with light-up reindeer that made me happy.



Then I saw a woman selling a strange variety of animals, including an adorable puppy, and that made me even happier. I played with him for a minute and it was obvious that he could use a lot of love and play time, which, if I weren’t in my current situation, I would have gladly given him. Then Nic said the variety and oddity of this group was probably because they were being sold for food. My heart immediately dropped, because it was likely she was right. Although it’s possible that the wonderfully loving puppy would not become soup, we were otherwise surrounded by chickens and fish and others being sold for food. I knew in that moment that I must either buy him right then, or I must walk away as fast as I could. I really didn’t have a choice, and started sobbing as I bolted down the dark alley, escaping the market.

Why Flu Masks Don't Work

This could be the reason.

In-Class Projects

I decided to make an "Art Day" using the lessons in the books we were using in a couple of classes. In my first class, we used the stickers in the book to arrange the furniture in our "house". For instance, the sofa goes in the living room with the TV, the bed goes in the bedroom, the toilet goes in the bathroom, etc. They enjoyed the activity, but I think Andy enjoyed the "negative" part of the sticker page just as well. (He's 9.)



In another class we made masks, following the steps outlined in the lesson. After several of my best attempts at "creating" string out of rubber bands and attaching it to the paper masks, the kids figured out an easier solution. They do say that often the simplest solution is the best.

I think their creations were great.


A rabbit and an egg, the most original mask ever.


One student (the egg) couldn't see (he explained that he didn't make eye holes because eggs don't have eyes), so his classmate had to point him toward the camera.



SpongeBob mask.





In another class, we made paper dolls. They decided to make teddy bear dolls, one of which was given to me after class as a gift. I love it, and will treasure it always.

My first experience with my Korean heating and thermostat

It was freezing last night and I couldn’t get warm at home. I tried adding clothes, extra blankets; but I was still freezing. I had my head under the covers, and I felt a nudge. Hayes-y was cold too, and joined me under the covers. I finally called Kate after midnight and sent her a picture of my thermostat. She told me how to fix it. I was soon toasty and slept well.

Here’s a picture of my thermostat. Is it any wonder that I couldn’t figure it out?

A Rant, Sorry.

I hate it here most of the time. I can’t do anything- I can’t go to a restaurant because I can’t order. I don’t know what businesses are because I can’t read Korean. I can’t even go to a grocery store for basic things like laundry soap because I can’t read the packages. Usually I just get things based on the pictures, but even then I don’t know how to prepare them (i.e. food). I’m making things up for just about everything. I figured out how to make a mushroom ramyeon (ramen) soup, but maybe not the right way? I had to ask people how to get hot water for a shower, and even then didn’t really get it right until maybe the 4th shower. I still don’t know how to use liquid fabric softener. My machine washer runs maybe 4 or 5 cycles, so I never put it in at the right time. My clothes come out wrinkled and crunchy every time. And I had to send Kate a picture from my phone of my thermostat because I didn’t know how to turn on my heat and I was tired of freezing. I have no friends I can get to without a huge production in time and planning, and even still, the buses and subways stop running at 1030-11pm, so I can’t see them during the week, or even stay out on the weekends without a very expensive taxi ride home. I’m alone all the time, even when people are around. I only have two people I can call to say hi or bitch about my day, and I don’t want to overburden them. I haven’t seen a single foreigner between home and either school even once since I arrived. And I’m getting really tired of being stared at everywhere I go. People sit still through traffic lights because they are staring at me and don’t see the light change. I’ve seen a couple of near-collisions for the same reason. And it’s not like they’re subtle. They stare, full-on at me, mouths open. How do you say WTF in Korean? Even a cat I passed in the park meowed, and looked at me like “Huh?”

Yet for all that, I am invisible. A man stepped in front of me today on the sidewalk and stopped, blocking my path. I said, “Excuse me” in both English and Korean, and nothing. I had to squeeze by him to keep going. Most people either give me a wide berth, cross the street to avoid me, or run right into me and look at me like I’m the rude one for being in their way. I’m confused- for as much as they seem to value learning English in their culture, they resent the Americans they bring here to teach it. I’m a pariah. They need me, resent me, and can’t understand why I would want to leave my own country, even for a year. Most Koreans can’t fathom ever wanting to leave their beloved Korea.

The only thing I’ve got is my dog. I truly couldn’t survive this place without him. When I’m sad, stressed, or angry, he cuddles with me and kisses me until I feel better. He curls up with me on the bed until I start to fall asleep, then leaves for his own bed on a blanket on the floor next to me. He takes good care of me. Although it was difficult and expensive to bring him with him, it was the best decision I could’ve made.

Weather's a-changin'

Well, it got sharply cold, as promised. The temperature now is 7.7C/57F. Today’s low/high is 0C/14C (32/57F). It’s been 18/24C (64/75F) every day since I’ve been here. I actually welcome the cold for the first time ever. It was getting cold when I left home; I was already wearing long sleeves and a jacket. When I got here, it was really warm, and my body was confused. It’s like I was going backward in seasons! Now I’m glad it’s getting colder—maybe my body will stop being angry and making me feel sick…

Handwashing Standard???

I haven’t figured out the bathroom/handwashing standard here yet. Am I the only one washing? There’s no towel/paper in the bathroom, and yet no one comes out with wet hands. Do they keep a towel in their pocket that I’m unaware of?

Survival Tip #1

Give up caring if everyone is talking about you or laughing at you; they are. Just have to try not to think or worry about it. Things you do or say are “cute”, “funny”, and “American”. Sometimes good, sometimes not.