Try Everything at Least Once: The Adventure in my Mouth

Shabu Shabu: You cook your raw meat in a boiling cauldron in the
middle of the table. Very fun!

Aaaaah, Soju!

Silk worms: I don't just love them.

Say what you like about American lunch ladies, but they never serve
up a steaming bowl of tentacles like Korean ones do.

Bi Bim Bap: Rice, spicey sauce, lettuce, a fried egg, soy sprouts,

chewey brown stuff and beet jello on top. It is actually REALLY good!

Daejeon, My New Home

Daejeon is pretty central
in South Korea, making it a good place to explore the rest of the country from.

This is the view from my aprtment.

                                               

Daejeon is the 5th largest metropolitan area in SK with 1.5 million inhabitants. Though it was originally my 3rd choice, I am very happy that I was placed here. I think that a city any larger or more populated than this would be completely overwhelming. My apartment is right on the subway line and, as you can see from the picture, I am not very far from downtown. I will be able to get around town and explore quite easily. Here are some more Daejeon stats from Wikipedia.

Field Day at Keumsan Temple and Hanok Village

On Sunday, Aug 22nd we had a welcomed break from all-day lectures and were able to see what lies beyond the Jeonju campus. After a 45 min ride on the fanciest bus I've ever ridden on, we arrived at the Keumsan Temple.

This temple was founded around AD 599 as the main temple for the practice of Maitreya Buddhism. The temple complex is set up as a series of terraces with archways or gates that one must pass through to reach the next terrace. Apparently, there is a demon that will smite evil doers in one of the archways. Luckily, I passed through unscathed. Each building was a unique work of art with incredibly intricate hand carved and painted embellishments. Inside some of the shrines, Buddhist monks were chanting and burning incense. I felt so intrusive standing there with my camera, wearing my EPIK shirt while these serene, devout little men practiced their religion. However, I'm really glad I was able to experience the beauty of the place. And even with tourists swarming all over it, it remained majestic and peaceful.

After exploring the temple complex, we re boarded the bus and drove to the Hanok village on the outskirts of Jeonju. This is a cluster of old buildings that are now used by craftsmen to produce pottery, do wood working, fan making and many other traditional crafts.

We were given a mini lesson on the traditional Jeonju art of fan making, using paper made there in the Hanok Village. These fans were the most welcomed souvenirs we could have received considering the 98 degree weather. It was a very full day that thoroughly wore me out. I was finally able to sleep straight through the night and only woke up to my alarm. Goodbye, jet lag!

Orientation

After a VERY long day of flying and busing, I arrived at Jeonju University. We are staying in a dormitory and my room is on the 14th floor with a fantastic view. My roommate is a girl named Laura, who hails from Texas and we get along really well. So far we have been able to take it easy, only having to report for our opening ceremony and a medical exam. The opening ceremony featured Drum Dancers, the University's Taekwondo team, and Fan Dancers. It was all so vibrant and fascinating. The medical exam was less enjoyable. We had to undergo blood and urine tests as well as a chest a X-ray and the typical height/weight, blood pressure, sight and hearing tests, etc. We'll get the results back in a few days and if we don't pass, our contracts will be void and we have to find our own way home. Let's hope they think I'm healthy!
I have met a lot of people here, most of them American and Canadian, but some from England, South Africa, Ireland and Australia. Everyone is really nice and friendly.We have been sorted into groups based on the areas we will be teaching in. There are about 40 people who will be in my town and those are just from the EPIK program. I am feeling much less anxious about having a social life now! We have already discussed having weekly dinners and traveling around the country together. I went out with my roomie and some people from her group last night and tried Soju, the Korean form of Sake. Soju is the first word I was able to read point-blank in the Hangul script! It would be.
Today is our first full day of lectures about teaching methods and Korean 101. It will be an 11 hour day, but we'll be rewarded tomorrow with a field day, which I am really looking forward to. I'll post a bunch of pictures from that! I'm off to breakfast and class now. Ciao!