There's a Kimchi crisis... I think the world just stopped spinning

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http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130371965

Gongju or BUST!

Saturday afternoon, my friend Lissette, her friend Dale (from New Zealand) and I intended to meet up with our friends Missy and Clint Shaw to explore a "World Festival". I was under the impression that the festival was taking place at the Expo Park here in Daejeon. We arrived to find Expo Park nearly deserted, so I called Missy to get the coordinates. She informed us that it was actually taking place in a town called Gongju, 20 minutes outside of town. Since we don't know the area well and are unfamiliar with the buses, we decided to take a taxi there. 40 minutes and 60,000 won later, the taxi driver dropped us off at a Baekje Cultural Village. There were World Festival signs all around, so we bought tickets and headed in. The complex was really cool, featuring a museum that told the story of the area and the Baekje dynasty, a real palace and several villages showing the living conditions at different times in the area's history. Missy and Clint were with a larger group of co-workers, so it was difficult to coordinate with them. No worries, we had lunch and sipped on some Makoli in a little restaurant in one of the model villages. We climbed up to a cupola atop a hill that provided sweeping views of the gorgeous landscape and palace complex. After goofing off in the villages for a few hours, we heard an announcement that the cultural center would be closing soon. We still had yet to see our other friends.






A text from Missy informed us that they were planning to attend a performance at Gongsanseong Fortress at 7:30pm. "Where is this place?", we wondered. After wandering around bewildered for awhile, we encountered some friendly looking paramedics who were hanging out beside their ambulance. I showed them the text message and asked if they knew where it was. "About 45 km from here in Gongju," they said. We thought we were already in Gonju. "Can we take a bus there?" we asked. After conferring amongst themselves for a bit, one of them opened the back doors of the ambulance and motioned us to get in. So there we were, in the back of a Korean ambulance riding from Who-Knew-Where to somewhere else we were unsure of. But hey, the sunset was gorgeous and it was really fun to wave out the window at other people on the highway and see the looks on their faces. The ambulance pulled up in front of a bus station and when the EMTs came to let us out, they had their camera ready and wanted to take a picture with us! We took one with one of our cameras too, of course. Then, one of them walked us inside, took us to the ticket counter, ordered our tickets for us and showed us which platform to use. I really can't believe how nice and obliging these people were.








Approaching the town, we saw the fortress Missy spoke of. We were finally in the right place. After disembarking from the bus, we made our way to the festival grounds and across a bridge covered with intricate phosphorescent archways and paper lanterns that changed colors. It was absolutely beautiful. Upon seeing the multitude of people and the labyrinthine design of the fortress, we gave up on finding Missy and Clint and settled down in an outdoor cafe to feast upon a heaping plate of Sangyupsal (bbq pork).




Then we made our way up the battlements of the fortress and found ourselves in a lantern garden. There, we met a Buddhist monk and the man who designed all the lantern statues. These two escorted us through the garden, explaining the symbolism and creative process behind each lantern. The garden culminated in and arbor with hundreds of small lanterns hanging from it. From the lanterns hung strips of paper. The monk explained that these were people's prayers and wishes. They took us to a table and gave us strips of paper to inscribe our own wishes on. We watched as our strips were hung on lanterns and began blowing in the breeze, our wishes being released to the world.





The drop off that battlement was pretty steep.






The Ride of Death


 From the top of the battlements, we could see a floating bridge that appeared to have life-sized figures of mounted warriors on it. We asked how to get down to it and were informed that it was closed after sunset. Thus, we gave it up and began the treacherous descent down the battlements. Back on the other side of the river, we found some carnival rides. We decided to ride one of those centripetal force, spinning saucer rides. What looked benign turned out to be one of the most terrifying rides I have ever been on. The operator turned the saucer so that we were at the top and began to jolt the ride so much that, at one point, I was actually dangling form the railing completely off my seat, screaming bloody murder. In the background we could hear the man cackling into the microphone saying something about America and being scared. Mission accomplished, buddy.

After that, we needed some more Soju to soothe our aching bodies. In our cups, we had a long discussion about New Zealand and American history, imperialism, slavery, and Darfur. To cheer ourselves up, we decided to try accessing the forbidden floating bridge from that side of the shore. We walked down the bank only to discover that the final 15 feet of the bridge were actually a separate barge/raft that had been detached and was tethered out. My rebellious side was in rare form, so I started tugging on the line, guiding the raft toward us so we could float across to the bridge. Dale and Lissette ventured out onto the raft while I held it steady, only to find that it still wasn't quite long enough. We talked of jumping and swimming, but the distant sound of sirens brought us back to reality so we aborted to mission. We stood on the shore looking wistfully at the warriors. It would have been great to see them up close, but swimming inebriated in dark waters wouldn't have been a good choice.

We headed back toward the bus station where we had seen some cheap Love Motels earlier. Alas there was no room at the inn. At any of the three motels we went to actually. By now it was 2 am and we were very tired. We hailed a cab and headed to a Jinjilbang (a public bathhouse where, for 6,000 you can spend the night). So at 3am I found myself sleeping in large cotton pajamas on a mat on the floor in a room with my friends and 30 unfamiliar Koreans. I was out like a light.

The next morning we had coffee, wafflles and gelatto for breakfast before heading to the bus station. Smelling of BO and river water, we returned to Daejeon. We never did find Missy and Clint and I'm sore and very tired, but I wouldn't trade a moment of it. I'm sticking with my "just say yes" policy.

 

The Sweetest Thing

Every day around 4:40pm while I'm waiting for my bus, a man comes out of one of the nearby apartment buildings. He stands on the curb until a yellow van from "St. Mary's Academy" rolls up. Out of the van scampers a tiny little girl carrying a pink backpack that is almost as large as she is. She leaps into his arms and they embrace as if they haven't seen each other in weeks. Then, though she is perfectly capable of walking, he carries her home. My eyes water a little bit every time.

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!