DAE HAN MIN GUK !! !! !

Wow what a day in Seoul. I went specifically to watch the world cup soccer game South Korea v Uruguay.

I ended up getting into Seoul around 4pm so it took approx 45min by subway from Guri to get there. On the way there was a Korean girl with a drum going to the game, but that interesting story will pan out later.

So I decided to get there early as I wanted to have a quick (6 or 7 hour) look around take a few pictures (since I wanted to save some battery life for the game) and go on a location recce so I know where to go next visit to take some more pictures.

Seoul is so easy. People there speak English on the whole and if you stumble into a McDonalds and order with some Korean people will look at you. I was walking around in my red get up and looked up at a 3 storied coffee shop and noticed that everyone was looking down at me some strange white man in red walking the streets so I smiled and thought that was cool.

I walked a fair distance around City Hall area and ended up in the markets and away from white faces. I must say even in that area of Seoul there are a few white people but still not as many as you would expect to see.

There are a lot of palaces and new construction going on so I will have to go back next week perhaps to get some photos. The R-16 B-Boy competition is on next Saturday so I think that will be a good enough excuse to go back into Seoul.

I also saw a few people standing around reading this long board and when I went closes I realised that the newspaper is pinned up on the street for people to read (you can see a picture of this in the slide show).

So I eventually arrived at city hall (again) at about 9pm and the place was packed out with people and police everywhere. So I got a place down the back and just before the game started it rained. Boy did it rain like monsoon rain lucky I had my plastic coat I purchased earlier in the day from some more English speaking Koreans (I spoke to half a dozen Koreans that day and not one foreigner!?) and that's when the people began to move in and out of the crowd. I ended up about in the middle for the whole game. I must say there was no pushing and shoving and everyone was polite and I really enjoyed that atmosphere. No drunks or stupidity and when it was all over people carried their rubbish to piles and did not just leave things lying around.

So the game was one of the best I had seen. The South Koreans put the pressure on and dominated the ball for most of the game and were just unfortunate on a couple of occasions no to have scored. I was sure they had to win just because they had so much ball possession. But at the end it was a 2 - 1 goal loss but that was OK as everyone just enjoyed the time they had all chanting, singing and sharing the moment with each other.

The strange thing was as when I was getting back on the subway I noticed the girl with the drum again and so I was sure I was on the right track. So I followed her group onto the train and began having a conversation. Luckily I did because the train stopped before the usual transfer point and you had to transfer to another train then transfer again. So our new group decided to catch a taxi back to Guri. The unusual and interesting part about it was that she works close to me, lives in the same city and is the same age as well as complete unusual circumstance of getting the same subway carriage to the game and from the game. What are the odds?

Check out the flickr slide show link here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624242929691/show

I have also made a youtube video which shows a little of the atmosphere, the Korean goal and the celebration afterwards. Bring on the B-Boy competition next Saturday :)

http://r16korea.com/xe/?mid=index

Wow so big week and still more of it to come! I was a little disappointed with the 3:30am turn out in the streets for the South Korea v Nigeria game as it seemed that very few people were out locally but City Hall and Samgseong were still pumping. I guess that's why I have reached a decision to venture into the heart of Seoul tomorrow to experience the Soccer fever and join in with the sea of red shirts cheering on our national team. Notice I said "our" national team and I don't mean the All Whites. So perhaps if everything pans out it will be South Korea v USA in stage 3?

This week was my medical exam so I was x-rayed poked, prodded, drained of blood and was used for some amusement by Moses who took me there as the Korean speaker. It seems that he told the nurse that he could not speak English and that she (being somewhat fluent in English) had to explain to me that I needed to pee in a cup. It appeared that this was of great amusement and embarrassment to all involved but it all ended well.

After that we went to a restaurant as I had been fasting since 12am and needed a good meal to revitalise my depleted body. Sum geh tung was on the menu (as you will see in the photo slide show). Basically it is a whole chicken boiled up in a pot and it comes out to the table still boiling. The meat slides off the bone and you eat it in a side bowl with of course kimchi and other table assortments. Once finished you then progress to taking the bones out of the chicken soup, add a little salt and dig down deep into the base of rice at the bottom. This is quite a meal and certainly is a good one for vitality.

Whilst waiting for our meal to settle we witnessed a couple of female patrons fighting over who was going to pay the bill (I should have taken a video of this but I am sure there will be other opportunities). By fighting I don't mean arguing I mean physically pushing each other and wrestling each other away from the cashier. Judging by the empty bottles of rice wine at their table I guess they were a little excited... at lunchtime.

I have a load more to write about but I shall leave it for later in addition to my World Cup Soccer post which I hope to have up later in the weekend.

I shall leave you for now with a small flickr slide show and a short video of sights on my street.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624354939320/show

Please also check out http://www.howtodestroyangels.com/store/ where I obtained this music. They have a free high quality download available here. If you are unfamiliar with Nine Inch Nails or Trent Reznor he promotes the collective commons and releases music for free which leads to people like me buying concert tickets to see the show live.

Here is the video to "The space in between".

Also as a bonus this week I found a video I laughed at... thats right me laughing at something is quite uncommon. Just watch the tiger looking guy on the left in the background :)

All right! I'm going to Seoul tomorrow for my medical check up. It's not quite the check up I'm excited about but the actual trip on the subway because once I know how to do all the transfers between the different lines (insert complex subway map here...) I will be free to unleash myself on the big smoke!

So I have been busy over the weekend taking some videos which I have to edit and post to youtube. I also was busy cleaning the apartment and finally figuring out how to use the washing machine which I may also take some kind of video of or post some informative pictures.

As for teaching I had a couple of good lessons today. The first was my second attempt at "How to talk about Music" which I discovered the template here: http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/esl_resources/index_files/howtotalkaboutmusic.php

I changed up the media files (all details can be found in the description to the youtube video) and simplified the task of writing as I have elementary students. I also had a go at Battleships but need to tweak that a little so things go more smoothly and are easier to understand.

So the big news for today (well yesterday now) is the Top released his video for "Turn it up".

I managed to obtain a copy this morning and thought I would treat the students to a brand new hot off the press video that perhaps none of them had seen yet! I expect that the parents will be calling the school tomorrow as the content of the clip (although fairly tame by our filthy foreign standards) had some students covering their eyes. Hmmmm you decide for yourself if my judgement was off:

big day tomorrow with the medical and then early Wednesday morning its South Korea v Nigeria (3:30am local time) so I should get some rest before then. Will have more to add later.

Click on the following link for the flickr slide show:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624200332981/show

Interesting video I stumbled upon on the Japan top 30 countdown:

Ahhhhh! Can I get some sleep around here? Had a couple of noisy nights. Wednesday consisted of a guy in his shed banging and grinding something and then a surprise 3am phone call from an American woman wanting to talk to some aid organisation. Thursday was a couple of cats screaming at each other; even one of the dogs somewhere up the road woke up and started telling them to shut the hell up.

Crying babies, motorcycles, trucks and people are the norm at all hours but its just the unusual sounds that become annoying.

So this weeks mission was to find the plane church. That's right a church in a plane. I read something about this here: http://wikitravel.org/en/Deokso unfortunately it gives you no directions and just some vague idea about how long it takes to walk to from the subway station. Lucky you have the self confessed research king on the case. It is more like 30 - 35 min to walk at a good pace and here is how to get there: (I drew in a more direct route)

This is what you will see when you get across the bridge at the end of town:

I may even have to link this page to those sites lacking in this information just so people can have the viewing pleasure of this if they so wish to seek it out.

So I took a video from the upper level of McDonalds which overlooks an intersection in Deokso (about 5 minutes walk from where I work). This phenomenon seems to occur all over Namyangju and perhaps all over South Korea; a Zebra (or perhaps we are meant to think it was a Zebra) has randomly rolled around painting white lines on the road... perhaps as a practical joke because as you will see it doesn't seem to mean the same as the same marking in other countries.

I went to McDonalds for my weekly visit today and I made a little more progress as they spoke to me in English and I answered in basic Korean so that is 100% better than my first week here, just a whole lot more to go but I have taken the first few steps.

I also managed to find Malgeumee and Purumee the Namyangju mascots. You can see pictures of them on the top of street lights and to my surprise I believe I found them sitting in a tree also!

Soccer fever! TV come out from every corner and appear on every street corner or in amongst apartment blocks and people are out in the street cheering on the Red's. I will go out and about to take some footage but it looks like the next game is at 3:30am on Tuesday morning sooooo maybe but I am sure South Korea will make it with Argentina from their group so there will be more opportunities. But for now I will give you a little taste courtesy of http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/ (Thanks Simon and Martina!):

Well Im sure to have more adventures this weekend. I am in the process of making a "random things Korea"! video so stay posted it may turn up in a week or two but there will be other interesting videos in the mean time.

Until then.... check out the slide show of this weeks photos by clicking the following link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624178368679/show

And... here is the video of the moment!

So on Saturday I was invited to the movies by Moses and his friends. It had been a horrible rainy weekend and I had to run down to the nearest store and buy a 6,000 won umbrella which I had been stressing out about not having for a couple of days!

So we went to see Prince of Persia. Little differences in getting tickets is that you get a ticket and wait until your number comes up next to the teller then you purchase your movie tickets.

Another cool thing I saw was in the bathroom (it is in the picture slides to follow) an amazing hand dryer from outa space! It actually dries your hands as well!

It was off to watch Korea battle Greece after that and we ended up at a little restaurant and had some interesting food (which later I found out was pork ground up with the bone and the other dish was pork intestines... hmmmm).

There is a picture of the lot of us outside. Moses took the shot.

So on Sunday it was my mission to track down Toys R Us which was quite a mission since I walked right past it and ended up on the border to the next city (Donong which is across the river from the Guri tower... or there about's).

I passed a few soccer games and did a full circuit before stumbling across the correct Lotte Mart.

There seems to be quite a few pets stores around as well.

I then made the brave decision to go super market shopping at the said Lotte Mart (as I will explain later). There are women at the end of just about every isle wanting you to buy food, cosmetics, beer and just about anything. Also there is an unusual practice here to have specials on items. The specials come taped to the item on special, for example you can get 2 soft drinks attached to each other for the price of one or as you will see in the slide shoe a box of biscuits or cookies taped to another box of cookies or perhaps a couple of popcorn chicken packets taped to a bag of chicken nuggets.

Outside there are gentlemen with white gloves directing traffic and bowing to the cars.

So I ended up walking a mile or 2 with my shopping 12L of water and 1.5L of cola... not advisable at 26 degrees 69% humidity but I did make it.

I also saw a few interesting things on my 3 -4 hour walk... a jaw bone...? a Police station, fire station and Taekwondo where perhaps I will be studying in 2.5 weeks.

Another interesting fact is that if you order in the food will be delivered to your door and once you are finished you put the dirty dishes outside your door and they will come back and pick them up!

Click on the following link to see the Flickr show:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624280430880/show

I have also decided to add a interesting video of the times section in addition to my Blog rantings just so you can keep up with what's new and happening out there ;)

This weeks/times video is:

1st Week of Work

Well the fist week of work went quite fast and surprisingly well.

I am teaching for about 18 hours a week and the rest of the time is preparation.

It is kind of difficult as the rooms do not have internet access on the computers (or I have not figured out if I need some kind of card or something) so I will have to try and find some games I can put on my flash drive. maybe some music clips or short video clips that are relevant.

A few interesting Korean things:

1. People drive around in open back little trucks with loud speakers advertising that they have onions, oranges, potatoes, fish and whatever else. They stop on the side of the road just about anywhere and sell it. This is a fantastic way to wake up in the morning!

2. Almost everyone has a cute little pin cushion, animal or just a plain plaque on the dashboard of their car. This is so when they park behind you, across you or on top of you then you can give them a friendly call to come and move their car.

I have not seen any parking wardens about, in fact I have not seen any pay and display street parking.

Being a pedestrian here is dangerous with bikes, scooters, cars, buses all competing for fatalities. Don't think that that Zebra crossing will save you either. But I still enjoy the slow down courteous toot of the horn of little bikes to remind people not to step out too soon.

3. Had lunch at McDonalds an equivalent to a large Big Mac Combo for $4,100 won and then I had a roll of Pork Kim Bap or Sushi later on for 2,000 won! But not everything is so cheap and you definitely need to know where to go for good deals.

Made my fist Bulgolgi meal this week with Bulgolgi from the supermarket and some microwave rice.

Met 5 westerners outside a convenience store on Wednesday. Got talking to them and found out they do Taekwondo not far from where I live so I got their number and when I get paid it will be Taekwondo for me!

Also met the girl downstairs (April) who is from Florida and has been here 3 months. So we discussed how to get rid of the rubbish and how neither of us knew how to really work the washing machine.

Raining here today. First time it has rained in Guri since I have been here. I dont have an umbrella or anything water proof... hmmm I hope tomorrow is fine enough to be able to go out and find one somewhere...

Soccer world cup tonight. May see the game, or may not depending on how wet it gets here.

Click on the following links for pictures and video content!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624255922660/show

Summary of Saturday, Sunday and Monday...

Saturday:

Went for another adventure and found a park at the end of the street filled with artistic sculptures and fitness equipment... could come in handy soon.

My Director (David) took me on the subway and showed me how to charge my t-money card (which I already knew how to do - thanks eatyourkimchi.com).

Met Julie who is a Korean English teacher and she took me through the basics of the school and material.

Was dropped off at the subway and had to find my own way home. I met a nice young Korean girl who helped me find the right track to be on and found my stop (Guri Station).

Went home then hit the town again exploring the bright lights.

I have yet to talk to another westerner (apparently there is one living below me?) but the younger Koreans all like to shout out hello.

Saw a couple of REALLY drunk girls (like rag dolls) being carried about by their boyfriends.

Made it back home past the trusty Eel.

Sunday:

Decided to go have a look at some Puma shoes I spied last night (I may be lucky enough to get them on pay day).

Also went to Lotte Mart and purchased some groceries which was scary.

Had a tasty fishy ice cream.

Monday:

First day of school I will take some pictures of the school later). Caught the subway by myself to Deokso.

1st class was naughty! Second class was better as it was a review of some lessons that they had done before so we talked more about animals and things that took their thinking away from is this a solid, liquid or gas...

Third class was hard core English with inferences, context and just plain hard questions. It went well though.

Caught the bus home with Moses (another Korean English teacher)... strange things tend to happen when I am around apparently.... there was this guy in full martial art regalia with a Samurai sword in the street... he said "hello"...something, something and then went of and hit some innocent passer by then came back and asked if I liked hamburgers and I said "I like Hamburgers"! then he went off a few feet closed his eyes and held his hand up, stumbled over and then the bus arrived...

Got off the bus at our stop and we were accosted by some woman who was most likely a prostitute or something similar... Moses ignored her like someone would ignore a fly until she planted herself right in front of us looking for something and saying something (I cant understand much Korean right now). We managed to escape her and I went on alone to order a Bulgolgi Burger and a Cheese Burger from McDonalds in full Korean.

Have a look at the slide show pictures. Still have not quite ironed out all the slide show problems yet. :/

Click on this link for the Flickr show:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624098776389/show/

In Country

4 June 2010

1st day in. Met at the airport by the recruitment agent and then was taken to the school to meet the Director. I will post pictures of the school later when I take them.

Went to see my new home which is in Guri... somewhere?!

A typical apart with the shower in the bathroom... a huh in the bathroom like normal... well its in the middle of the bathroom.... I have a little laundry room, fridge, desk, clothes hanger and cupboard. The guy that was here before left some rice, noodles and coffee. Must have been a typical foreigner since there is more coffee than anything else.

Went out on the town for a look. There seems to be one main road but then you go behind it and there are streets and streets of shops and eating places and things I haven't found yet.

Almost got lost and couldnt find my way home but there is one distinctive landmark which has been my reference point eversince... the yummy cooking Eel!

Click on the link for images.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624088533533/show