Ballin' It Up In Seoul - Day 2

We awoke and headed to the breakfast buffet. This was perhaps the first time since we've been in Korea that we saw an American-style breakfast. The fact that it was all-you-can-eat somewhat excused the rather runny eggs.

You may recall from my Incredibly Cheap Korean Joke that Brenda was interested in seeing a park. So we headed to Namsan Park, right in the center of Seoul. It's on a hill so exiting the subway involved taking the longest escalator I've ever seen. After a good deal of hiking we walked past the National Theater and the famous Seoul Tower. I couldn't believe that the Tower even counted as a landmark . . . it seriously looks like something out of the Soviet Bloc. The park as a whole was lovely and it was nice to have a place to hike right in the middle of such a large city.

Our main plan that night was to see a show and we had some time to kill. We headed to Itaewon, the foreigner district, to eat some Mexican food. We went to a different restaurant this time and had better luck. There may ACTUALLY have even been a Mexican guy working there! At this point, we decided to head to City Hall as we wanted to check it out and the theater was in the area. However, this was the day after former president Roh committed suicide, so the City Hall area was insane. The theater actually was right next to the line of mourners.

Or so we thought. We were there to see the Cookin' Nanta show, which is sort of like Stomp! in a kitchen. It's mostly non-verbal so it's accessible for foreigners. We stood by what looked like the theater - complete with Nanta advertisements - for about 45 minutes. We were baffled because there was absolutely no activity inside, but when we called them they assured us that the performance had not been cancelled. After a while we figured we must be in the wrong place and scrambled around the area trying to find the REAL theater. We got there with minutes to spare. It all worked out as we got front-row seats and it was lots of fun. Also, I'm in love with the Nanta Girl.

We decided to call it an evening and went back to our lovely hotel. There, I watched Newcastle United get relegated, making it pretty much the best weekend ever.

Pictures below (again):

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2429144&id=10712264&l=b79a8e7f32

I Continue to Rub Off on My Kids

Student: Teacher! I know "important" in Korean! It's -----------.

Coolest Girl Ever: So what?!

My thoughts exactly.

Ballin' It Up In Seoul - Day 1

For our 3-year anniversary last month, Brenda purchased us a weekend in a luxurious hotel in Seoul, the Sheraton Grande Walkerhill. Friday after work we headed for the KTX and rolled into the capital around midnight. We caught a cab to Walkerhill, which is a lovely elevated area on the east side of the city overlooking the Han River. We were greeted by a man in a sweet Abraham Lincoln-style top hat, so we knew it would be good.

As it was about 1AM by the time we got there, our only meal option was room service. We settled on a deli sandwich, which may have been the highlight of the trip. It was on tasty bread loaded with turkey and peppered ham, thick slices of Swiss cheese, and the first fully ripe tomato I've seen in Korea. It was so good we took a picture of it (included in the gallery below).

We woke up feeling refreshed, if bloated, and relaxed a bit before heading to one of the hotel's many restaurants. After a breakfast/lunch of pasta we took the advice of the multi-lingual concierge and hopped on the subway to the National Museum. This building was impressive. In three hours there we only covered the first of three floors. As a lover of language I found the exhibit devoted to the development of Korean script (hangul or 한글) particularly interesting. The grounds of the museum were also beautiful, with a large reflecting pool and a traditional garden.

Taking in so much culture builds up a powerful appetite, so we decided to head home and grab our anniversary dinner at the hotel's Italian eatery. We knew we had chosen the right place when we saw our favored beverage, Gewürztraminer, on the wine list. I also ate lamb for the first time. Be forewarned: if you go to Korea and order your meat "rare," it will still be bleeding. I enjoyed it though and Brenda's stuffed chicken was also excellent.

Next, we decided to hit up the hotel casino. As mentioned before, only foreigners are allowed to gamble in Korea but once again they didn't check our passports - lucky because Brenda forgot hers. I didn't fare too well, losing a few bucks on the slots and 10,000 won on roulette. Brenda did much better, winning about 50,000 won on the slots. Korean slot machines are still coin-based rather than ticket-based so we got to hear the satisfying *clink* of hundreds of coins.

We wanted an after-gambling drink so we decided to head to the roof-top bar. Once we saw the drink menu however (20,000 won for a Guinness!) we opted for the cheaper Moroccan-themed bar near the lobby. The 7,000 won martini was much more pleasing for my wallet, and they had Britney Spears on the TV to Brenda's delight. Then, a jazz combo came onto the stage, further improving my evening. However, we were virtually chased out when the worst singer I've ever heard joined the band. We decided to call it a night.

Pictures below. Pages 1 and 2 are from Day 1. Story TBC.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2429144&id=10712264&l=b79a8e7f32

The Anti-Reuben

Yesterday we had a half day so we went for dinner at the aforementioned heavenly burger place. This time I noticed an intriguing item on the menu: a Reuben sandwich. Obviously it's been many years since I've had one of those and Brenda and I were very interested. However, we were also skeptical. What do Koreans know about an American deli sandwich? Since we had heard that the proprietors take regular trips to the United States to develop new menu items, we decided to take the risk. Big mistake.

A more accurate title for the sandwich would be "anti-Reuben sandwich." Nothing about this sandwich corresponded to a Reuben. The bread was not rye bread. The meat was apparently some sort of ham, not corned beef. The cheese was processed "American" cheese, not Swiss. It was topped with coleslaw, not sauerkraut. The dressing MAY have been thousand island, but I have my doubts. The only accurate element of the sandwich was the (lightly) toasted bread.

Don't get me wrong, it was still better than most Korean food, and at 2,500 won (about $2) it was quite cheap. But it's hard to enjoy a meal when you order a Reuben sandwich and receive a LIE!

Jeju Island - Day 2

After that exciting Fan Death interlude, let's continue.

We woke up on Sunday and, after drinking the worst coffee in human history, walked south to the largest waterfall on the island with fellow soccer fans Lon and Lisa. En route we saw a little park with a number of Japanese statues which seemed odd given the troubled history between the two countries, but unfortunately we couldn't find an English explanation. We did get some great views of the water though and the waterfall itself was rather impressive.

We then decided to head to the Chocolate Museum, as Jeju is famous for its chocolate. However, I apparently misjudged the location of the museum, as it was about 30 minutes away by taxi (a $40 round trip fare). Mercifully the cab driver waited for us while we were in the museum. I have no idea how we'd have found another taxi out there. The museum itself was strange, with a kitschy assortment of old chocolate-making utensils, Christmas decorations, and McDonald's Happy Meal toys (inexplicably). On the plus side they did have a history of chocolate in English, admission included a free cup of coffee and a bon-bon, and the gift shop was predictably delightful. Brenda still hasn't brought herself to finish off the box of chocolate.

At that point, it was time to head to the main event: the Jeju United vs. Daejeon Citizen game. The 42,000 seat stadium was built for the 2002 World Cup, but given that the island itself only has about 500,000 residents, it's something of a White Elephant. Only a couple of thousand people were at the game, less than a dozen of them Daejeon supporters. We arrived about 10 minutes late, and at that point it was impossible to get to the visitors section, so we had to holler abuse from the Jeju section. The game finished 1-0 to Jeju, after Daejeon had a perfectly good goal disallowed for offside. On the plus side, Jeju's mascots, based on the famous Jeju oranges, were perhaps the most adorable thing I've ever seen.

We met up with a number of foreigners who support Jeju and headed back to Gecko's for dinner. After that we met up again with Kate and James, who had been off touring a smaller island to the north all day. We managed to find a decent bar, but they kept the door open ensuring infestation by mosquitos. Lisa led in confirmed kills with at least a dozen. We had to be up by 7:00 for our flight, so we called it an early night.

On Monday morning we "enjoyed" a free breakfast at the hotel. Korean breakfast is pretty much the same thing as Korean lunch and dinner. I'm sorry, but rice and kimchi does not a breakfast make. We then hopped on the airport shuttle and caught our flight in time for the work day.

Pictures from day 1 and 2 below:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2426987&id=10712264&l=c5aec6849b

Fan Death - Yes, Some People Believe This Bulls***

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fan_death

Jeju Island - Day 1

Just to the south of the Korean Peninsula is a small island, Jeju. This is probably the most popular tourist destination for Koreans. Considering this, and the fact that Daejeon Citizen had an away game there, we decided to fly there for a weekend vacation a few weeks ago.

Now, we teach until 10pm so that ruled out the possibility of flying out on a Friday. Instead, I booked tickets for myself and Brenda, Lon, Lisa, James Nelson, and Kate at 7:40am on Saturday morning. Of course, this meant waking up at 5am. Yikes. We did manage get a van to pick us up at 6am for the trip to Cheongju airport, just north of Daejeon. A quick 40 minute flight via 737 and we arrived in Jeju International Airport.

If you look at a map, Jeju doesn't look very big, but it took an hour to get to the south side of the island, where we were staying. Our hotel had a kind of creepy appeal to it. It wasn't unclean by any means, but it looked like it had barely been touched since about 1981. It seemed virtually deserted, which probably contributed to the $40 a night price tag. We hopped into a cab and headed towards the beach. Our cohorts went exploring, but Brenda and I were too afraid of getting sand in our shoes, so we headed to the Teddy Bear Museum. Here, they use teddy bears to recreate a number of historical events, from the destruction of the Berlin Wall to the Thrilla in Manila. I'm still trying to decide if Teddy Bear Gandhi was offensive or adorable.

Next, we headed to a casino. Only foreigners are allowed to gamble in South Korea, which is a clever way of raising money without financially devastating a section of your population. Perhaps as a result, the casino was almost empty, despite the fact that it was very nice. The games were somewhat curious though. Slots were a reasonable 500 won ($0.50) and the minimum roulette wager was only 2,500 won. But if you wanted to play blackjack, you'd have to shell out 50,000 won ($50!) a hand. Needless to say, we didn't stick around long. Instead we headed for a restaurant called Gecko's, which served pretty much the best damned food I've had in Korea. The fact that it was American food didn't hurt.

Next, at Kate's suggestion, we all headed to a Buddhist Temple to witness a 7PM service. However, we accidentally participated in the service, which involved an incredible amount of kneeling, bowing, then standing up again. Even the elderly monks seemed to have no problem with this, but our knees were aching. After the longest hour of my life, we left the temple to find that a downpour had begun. As you might have guessed, not too many taxis drive by the temple. Luckily, we found some friendly (and inebriated) residents who invited Kate and James into their home and helped us call a cab. Naturally, we returned to Gecko's to dry off and drink away our joint pain. Thank God we found one of the few places in Korea that serves Jaeger Bombs!

I'll describe Day 2 soon. In the mean time, enjoy these photos of the Teddy Bear Museum:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2427035&id=10712264&l=93eca308d8

Yelling "Fire Extinguisher!" In A Crowded Classroom

In the middle of my first class today I heard a commotion outside. I peeked out the door and saw what appeared to be a cloud of chalk dust and a number of children running around, while my fellow teacher looked on with a grim expression. Luckily, our classrooms all have CCTV for training purposes, so we were able to watch the replay. A student was supposed to be writing an answer on the board, but instead this gem of a pupil decided to play with the fire extinguisher, with predictable results.

Heaven

Today we ate lunch at a place that serves giant bacon cheeseburgers, fries, pancakes, french toast, and omlettes. In addition, they played James Brown and Maroon 5 on the radio. So, this is the best place ever.

Wow.

One of my 3rd-graders knew what a "gerund" is. I don't think I knew that word until I was in 8th grade. And that was in America.

An Incredibly Cheap Korean Joke

At the National Museum gift shop in Seoul:

Me: What do you want to do tomorrow?

Brenda: I want to see a park.

Me: There are probably 14 Parks in this room.

Ba-dum-*ching*