Today is the last day of the first week of school, and I haven’t done anything. Sure I planned a couple of lessons for next week, but I am tremendously bored at work. I am not allowed to teach till Monday because they fear all of us Native English Teachers have H1N1. The worst part is the school went on vacation on Wednesday, so there have only been two people in my office. One of them is the math teacher who has her PhD in Statistics. She is brilliant, she gave her dissertation in English in Finland, but her English language skills have fallen in the past years. I’ve also been chatting with So Yong, one of the English teachers from Korea, but she is in her own office. The result is a good 20 hours spent on Facebook and the rest starting my self study of Korean. This has gone on decently, I can now read the numbers, which hasn’t been that helpful, but I need to expand on my own methodology for learning the language. There are free Korean lessons offered by various institutions here, and the one that looks the most intensive doesn’t start until October. I am going to study hard so I can hopefully skip the first four weeks of learning the hangul alphabet, and then I can hopefully take all the courses that are offered. They have three hour lessons three times a week . . . that is a lot of language learning. What a wonderful place to be!
The students in my school love me. Well, it isn’t as deep as that. This is very superficial love, as they have never had a boy Native English teacher before. They run around and scream, and then they will come into the office and ask if I have a girlfriend. When I tell them I’m single, they scream, run off and shout ‘you are handsome’. Quite the ego boost, but I hope they stop screaming once I have the opportunity to give them lessons. I will be teaching all the first and second graders, a total of 700 students, so unfortunately I get to see each class only once a week. I’m still trying to see if I can get some after school work, because I have to stay in the office till four anyways. As for now, however, I just have my 8 – 4 job.
This leaves a lot of room for leisure. I had a little stir-fry party at my place on Tuesday and a good number of people showed up. All of us English teachers have bonded fairly well, and we all brought vegetables, fried them up and enjoyed. I screwed up the noodles, but I think my friends forgave me. My place can hold about 20 people if they sit on the floor, which is excellent for dinner parties. With my first paycheck I want to buy some flatware and stemware so I can host better events. Of course, first I have to buy a phone, maybe a computer, and pay off some of my credit card debt. Hopefully my paycheck can last the month!
The one thing I have to quit is coffee. I love an iced Americano in the morning, but unfortunately they are around 3,500 won, which is only three bucks, but that is the same price for a meal. The problem is you can’t really buy good coffee at convenience stores or at the grocery store. I’ve ended up drinking those pre-mixed packets that include cream and sugar. Not my cup of tea (well, coffee).
Wednesday I went to the immigration office and applied for my Alien Registration Card. This will let me get a cell phone and a driver’s liscence. The process, however, took all day and I never made it to school. Some of these little things in Korea can be annoying, but, I guess, understandable. By the time I got home it was night, so I went grocery shopping and I found a bigger grocery store. At first I was afraid that I would not have any nice groceries in the neighborhood because nobody seemed to know where a big 슈퍼 (shu-p’o) could be. However, I finally found a place with a large sized produce section and a decent dried goods section. It feels great to fill up my cupboards! I’m going to try to eat in Monday thru Thursday, and only go out to eat on the weekend. So far, this has worked out. Then again, this is only the first week, so I cannot be sure this pattern will stick.
Thursday was another boring day in the office without work, but I decided to walk back to my home instead of using the metro. I went south first, which was right, but then went west instead of east. I ended up walking an hour in the wrong direction before I realized my mistake. Instead of walking two hours to get back home I jumped on the train and headed back. I will try to walk home again today. After a quick potato salad meal, and the shock of finding out ‘prepared mustard’ was practically 100% horseradish, I headed over to Itaewon, the foreign district, to meet my friends. Once again, I decided to walk because I want to get to know this city. It only took about an hour, which is nice, because Itaewon is going to be a common destination. We went to trivia last night and Laura (a Canadian) and I did really well because of our geekiness in terms of Marvel Comics, but then poorly because our inability to remember the Bond films’ names. After trivia, Sam and I decided to walk home to Gangnam, which was the third hour of walking. However, I think it is better to over-walk now and get used to it then just poop out early on in the game. The best part of the walk is crossing the bridge over the river Han. It is BEAUTIFUL! I need to take my camera out so I can share the wonderful sights of Seoul.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Monday, August 31, 2009
Settling in Seoul
You think that during my first day of class I would not have time to sit down and write this letter, but fortunately, I do. I am in the middle of a second round of quarantine. Although my contract has started and I do have to go to school, I am not allowed to teach any lessons until next week. This is to ensure that I do not infect my 700 students. That’s right, I have to teach 700 students! This is the first and second grade at my middle school, which is in the nice neighborhood of Seochu-gu. But I am getting ahead of myself.
Orientation was a mixture of fun and boredom. Since we were in quarantine, we were not allowed to leave campus. Of course, this also meant that we were forced to network, and before I knew it I had a solid group of both people from Thailand as well as new students. The rooms were nice, and the beds were comfortable. The classes were very useful at times and gave us resources toward becoming better teachers. We enjoyed watching some amazing tae-kwon-do fighters, drinking coffee every morning as an escape from the dorm, watching The Hangover in a lecture room, and looking out over the city we could not enter from the roof of our building. My favorite part was after the tae-kwon-do, when a group of us went to see the school’s production of The Sound of Music. It was put on by the English society, so we expected it to be just a showing of the musical. Instead we were treated to a live performance of the play in English, with the Korean actors laughing at themselves throughout. We only made it to the last ten minutes, but it was still a great experience. Afterward, they asked if there were any native speakers and when we responded in the positive they apologized profusely for their ‘poor’ English, even though they did a great job. They ended up giving us towels for coming… really random, but really awesome. I also enjoyed the one Korean lesson I went to. I really need to start working on this language. :-D
Of course, there were various negatives of the orientation as well. Some of the lectures were entirely dull, people asked some of the worst questions I’ve ever heard in my life (such as should I go to the doctor if I’m really sick, or still go to school), the food got a little boring after a while, and the organization was a little off. Nonetheless, in its entirety I would have to say that I learned valuable things and am excited to start teaching next week.
On Saturday morning, we packed up our bags, had a wonderfully catered farewell meal (with raw mussels, great seafood, wonderful Korean food… why couldn’t all of the meals been like this?), said our goodbyes, and headed to our respective districts. I somehow got the luck of the draw. When they announced I was in Seochu-gu Friday evening, I was a little awestruck. It was right near one of the major downtown areas and would be a wonderful place to live. Some of my friends were quite a distance, but with the metro, it really wasn’t that big of a deal. When my co-teacher picked me up on Saturday and brought me to my apartment, however, I was ecstatic. Somehow I landed in Gangnam-gu, on the south side of the river Han right in the most bustling younger crowd area. I would say it is comparable to having an apartment in Time Square. Sure, it isn’t too big, but who cares? I have the world right at my feet. Of course, this is a little dangerous in terms of economizing, but I think I’ll be able to figure it out. I was worried about coffee when I first arrived in Asia, but now I have 15 coffee places in a five minute radius. Yum.
My co-teacher brought me to the school Saturday afternoon and I was pleasantly surprised. I have my own desk, and get to use the English room for all my classes. This must be the nicest room in the school, with computers, a good sound system, English books everywhere, and a newly renovated interior. The only problem is I can’t teach a lesson until Monday the 7th. Until then, I am stuck at my desk writing lesson plans and surfing the internet. I get paid though, so I can’t really complain. Saturday night all the kids of SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education) met in Itaewon, which is the foreigner district of Seoul. It was a fun way to celebrate getting out of quarantine and seeing more of the city.
I spent Sunday getting settled in my apartment and buying things for my room. There is a very peculiar trash system here, which makes a lot of sense but will take some time getting used to. I was able to buy food and cook dinner for the first time in a month, which was fantastic. Even though my spaghetti Bolognese tasted REALLY Korean. I think I will have to get used to that.
Orientation was a mixture of fun and boredom. Since we were in quarantine, we were not allowed to leave campus. Of course, this also meant that we were forced to network, and before I knew it I had a solid group of both people from Thailand as well as new students. The rooms were nice, and the beds were comfortable. The classes were very useful at times and gave us resources toward becoming better teachers. We enjoyed watching some amazing tae-kwon-do fighters, drinking coffee every morning as an escape from the dorm, watching The Hangover in a lecture room, and looking out over the city we could not enter from the roof of our building. My favorite part was after the tae-kwon-do, when a group of us went to see the school’s production of The Sound of Music. It was put on by the English society, so we expected it to be just a showing of the musical. Instead we were treated to a live performance of the play in English, with the Korean actors laughing at themselves throughout. We only made it to the last ten minutes, but it was still a great experience. Afterward, they asked if there were any native speakers and when we responded in the positive they apologized profusely for their ‘poor’ English, even though they did a great job. They ended up giving us towels for coming… really random, but really awesome. I also enjoyed the one Korean lesson I went to. I really need to start working on this language. :-D
Of course, there were various negatives of the orientation as well. Some of the lectures were entirely dull, people asked some of the worst questions I’ve ever heard in my life (such as should I go to the doctor if I’m really sick, or still go to school), the food got a little boring after a while, and the organization was a little off. Nonetheless, in its entirety I would have to say that I learned valuable things and am excited to start teaching next week.
On Saturday morning, we packed up our bags, had a wonderfully catered farewell meal (with raw mussels, great seafood, wonderful Korean food… why couldn’t all of the meals been like this?), said our goodbyes, and headed to our respective districts. I somehow got the luck of the draw. When they announced I was in Seochu-gu Friday evening, I was a little awestruck. It was right near one of the major downtown areas and would be a wonderful place to live. Some of my friends were quite a distance, but with the metro, it really wasn’t that big of a deal. When my co-teacher picked me up on Saturday and brought me to my apartment, however, I was ecstatic. Somehow I landed in Gangnam-gu, on the south side of the river Han right in the most bustling younger crowd area. I would say it is comparable to having an apartment in Time Square. Sure, it isn’t too big, but who cares? I have the world right at my feet. Of course, this is a little dangerous in terms of economizing, but I think I’ll be able to figure it out. I was worried about coffee when I first arrived in Asia, but now I have 15 coffee places in a five minute radius. Yum.
My co-teacher brought me to the school Saturday afternoon and I was pleasantly surprised. I have my own desk, and get to use the English room for all my classes. This must be the nicest room in the school, with computers, a good sound system, English books everywhere, and a newly renovated interior. The only problem is I can’t teach a lesson until Monday the 7th. Until then, I am stuck at my desk writing lesson plans and surfing the internet. I get paid though, so I can’t really complain. Saturday night all the kids of SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education) met in Itaewon, which is the foreigner district of Seoul. It was a fun way to celebrate getting out of quarantine and seeing more of the city.
I spent Sunday getting settled in my apartment and buying things for my room. There is a very peculiar trash system here, which makes a lot of sense but will take some time getting used to. I was able to buy food and cook dinner for the first time in a month, which was fantastic. Even though my spaghetti Bolognese tasted REALLY Korean. I think I will have to get used to that.
Monday, August 24, 2009
SMOE Orientation
Today we started our orientation for SMOE (Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education). We started off with breakfast, which was typical Korean food. Like in Thailand, they tend not to eat very ‘breakfasty’ things for breakfast. We had gimchi (fermented cabbage), rice, some salady stuff but they were also kind enough to serve us some cereal. I think it was the first cereal I have had since I got here, and it was great. After breakfast we had no real obligations until lunch, so a group of us went to get some coffee, and it was also some of the best coffee I have had in Asia. I think these trends will continue throughout my stay, as South Korea is definitely a lot more developed than Thailand. This is quite startling when you put it in perspective of how destroyed Korea had been after the Korean War. After coffee and a long discussion with some new people, we had lunch, which was pretty much indistinguishable from breakfast. Finally, it was time to actually start the program.
The opening ceremony included a three-person group playing on kyotos (stringed instruments similar to harps). Although they played one song that sounded traditional, the other three songs were Pachelbel’s Cannon, Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Let it Be. All the songs reminded me of sitting at the piano in Minnesota, whether practicing the Cannon for Sarah’s friend’s wedding, playing Moon River with Anna singing along, or surrounding the piano at Christmas singing Let it Be. Of course, it was all played with a completely different ‘Asian’ sound. What I found most fascinating were the little twangs the musicians produced on the instrument that gave it an almost southern sound. The performance was followed with a video for the SMOE program, that really highlighted the strengths of public schools in Seoul. I’m a little skeptical, as it may have been a piece of propaganda. The schools looked too good to be true. I’ll let you know what mine actually looks like.
I also found out today that I am going to have middle school students. I’m excited, because little kids just don’t have enough experience to, in my opinion, make language learning fun. Middle schoolers should have the capacity to directly participate and enjoy my lessons. There were three lectures following the opening; one about the Korean school system in general (presented by a very funny woman with a self-deprecating style of humor), another about Korean history (presented by a dry yet humorous high-school history professor), and the third about the city of Seoul. All were useful to some degree. My favorite part, however, was how they would criticize policies or the government in between lines, saying things like ‘don’t say I said this, but…’. It is obvious that they want some further level of democratization and openness, even though this country appears decently democratic. We were taught the nitty-gritty things as well (such as insurance and health insurance) and it ended up a good day.
After dinner we decided to go to an optional class on culture and etiquette. It was incredibly boring, and most of us left half through. There were some interesting points, such as accepting things with both hands and making sure you don’t address other teachers with their first names, but he kept emphasizing certain mundane things that made the lecture far from exciting. The teacher was very nice, but he also kept insisting we do not know too much, or they will expect too much. Apparently, we should just appear somewhat conscious of Korean etiquette.
Still waiting on my placement and my address, which is a little frustrating. As soon as I know, though, I’ll let you know.
The opening ceremony included a three-person group playing on kyotos (stringed instruments similar to harps). Although they played one song that sounded traditional, the other three songs were Pachelbel’s Cannon, Moon River from Breakfast at Tiffany’s, and Let it Be. All the songs reminded me of sitting at the piano in Minnesota, whether practicing the Cannon for Sarah’s friend’s wedding, playing Moon River with Anna singing along, or surrounding the piano at Christmas singing Let it Be. Of course, it was all played with a completely different ‘Asian’ sound. What I found most fascinating were the little twangs the musicians produced on the instrument that gave it an almost southern sound. The performance was followed with a video for the SMOE program, that really highlighted the strengths of public schools in Seoul. I’m a little skeptical, as it may have been a piece of propaganda. The schools looked too good to be true. I’ll let you know what mine actually looks like.
I also found out today that I am going to have middle school students. I’m excited, because little kids just don’t have enough experience to, in my opinion, make language learning fun. Middle schoolers should have the capacity to directly participate and enjoy my lessons. There were three lectures following the opening; one about the Korean school system in general (presented by a very funny woman with a self-deprecating style of humor), another about Korean history (presented by a dry yet humorous high-school history professor), and the third about the city of Seoul. All were useful to some degree. My favorite part, however, was how they would criticize policies or the government in between lines, saying things like ‘don’t say I said this, but…’. It is obvious that they want some further level of democratization and openness, even though this country appears decently democratic. We were taught the nitty-gritty things as well (such as insurance and health insurance) and it ended up a good day.
After dinner we decided to go to an optional class on culture and etiquette. It was incredibly boring, and most of us left half through. There were some interesting points, such as accepting things with both hands and making sure you don’t address other teachers with their first names, but he kept emphasizing certain mundane things that made the lecture far from exciting. The teacher was very nice, but he also kept insisting we do not know too much, or they will expect too much. Apparently, we should just appear somewhat conscious of Korean etiquette.
Still waiting on my placement and my address, which is a little frustrating. As soon as I know, though, I’ll let you know.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
In Korea
Friday was another day of walking, starting out with a half bus ride to the Korean Embassy. Unfortunately, I got a little scared and thought the bus was going the wrong way and jumped off only to realize that I was, in fact, on the right bus. Mai pen rai. Instead, I walked the second half of the trip and enjoyed looking around at the city for my last day in Thailand. I was able to walk under the super highway, which gave me shade and a glimpse of the side streets. After picking up my visa, which I still cannot believe worked out, I went over to the department store Robinson for a quick lunch of rice with spicy sauce. I’m going to miss Thai food. The walk back was pleasant as well, and ended with a visit to the Dairy Queen in Tesco for the smallest and most delicious blizzard of my life. In total, I probably walked some 12 miles to pick up my visa, but it made the entire move to Korea possible.
Friday night I was keeping my life very quiet, just some reading, when I got a message on Facebook that Nick, Andy, and Chloe were on the same road as I to spend the night before their flights in the morning. Having spent a rather large amount of time by myself, I ran from my room to find them, grab dinner, and enjoy our last night in Thailand. The next morning I woke up, headed to the airport after lunch, and said goodbye to Andy, who was doing a different program in Korea.
Nothing interesting happened at the airport till check-in. I was nervous that my baggage was going to go over allowance. Although it was fine from the states across the Pacific, I was worried different requirements would exist from Thailand to South Korea. They did. Resigned to pay the two hundred dollars to get my extra baggage to SK, I took out my wallet to get my credit card. Unfortunately, the first thing I noticed that my debit card was missing. Immediately I was in panic. I tried to pay with my credit card, but it didn’t go through. I felt like I was going to throw up and asked if there was anything I could do. My luggage weighed 44 kilos, which was 24 kilos too much. Luckily, the guy was nice enough to let me bring 32 kilos, but I had to somehow get rid of 12 kilos. I dug through all my luggage in the airport, throwing things away (such as my GRE test book, which made me really sad, a couple of pairs of shoes, and other random books and things). If it could be any worse, everyone at the airport just stared at me. In my moment of embarrassment, I wasn’t even allowed any semblance of privacy. When I did finally get it down to 32 kilos, the guy actually let me put in 2 more kilos in the form of my sandals and tennis shoes, and let me go. In my haste, I dropped my CD player, and a young Thai woman picked it up as well as the batteries, handed it to me, and called me crazy. I have never felt so angry, upset, and stupid as a traveler in a foreign country.
Soon, however, I was on the plane and on my way to Beijing. Although it was the red eye, I didn’t get much sleep. In Beijing, they were carefully screening for H1N1, but I feel completely healthy and went right on through. On the second leg, I was sitting to a nice guy from Katerinabad (or something like that), Russia, who actually helped me through all the processes in getting my stuff figured out in Korea, since he has worked here for seven years! At the airport, I met up with Korvia (my recruiter) and after a two hour wait, they brought us to Soowon which is in the GyeongGi province that surrounds Seoul. For five days we will be at this center within the university here, where they will teach us as well as give us medical exams. Orientation starts tomorrow, but I already have had the fortune to meet up with my friends from the ATI program and meet some new individuals. This program, however, has 300 participants, so I do not know if any lasting friendships can stem out of the short week in Soowon. In short, I’m safe in Korea and waiting for my placement and my school.
Friday night I was keeping my life very quiet, just some reading, when I got a message on Facebook that Nick, Andy, and Chloe were on the same road as I to spend the night before their flights in the morning. Having spent a rather large amount of time by myself, I ran from my room to find them, grab dinner, and enjoy our last night in Thailand. The next morning I woke up, headed to the airport after lunch, and said goodbye to Andy, who was doing a different program in Korea.
Nothing interesting happened at the airport till check-in. I was nervous that my baggage was going to go over allowance. Although it was fine from the states across the Pacific, I was worried different requirements would exist from Thailand to South Korea. They did. Resigned to pay the two hundred dollars to get my extra baggage to SK, I took out my wallet to get my credit card. Unfortunately, the first thing I noticed that my debit card was missing. Immediately I was in panic. I tried to pay with my credit card, but it didn’t go through. I felt like I was going to throw up and asked if there was anything I could do. My luggage weighed 44 kilos, which was 24 kilos too much. Luckily, the guy was nice enough to let me bring 32 kilos, but I had to somehow get rid of 12 kilos. I dug through all my luggage in the airport, throwing things away (such as my GRE test book, which made me really sad, a couple of pairs of shoes, and other random books and things). If it could be any worse, everyone at the airport just stared at me. In my moment of embarrassment, I wasn’t even allowed any semblance of privacy. When I did finally get it down to 32 kilos, the guy actually let me put in 2 more kilos in the form of my sandals and tennis shoes, and let me go. In my haste, I dropped my CD player, and a young Thai woman picked it up as well as the batteries, handed it to me, and called me crazy. I have never felt so angry, upset, and stupid as a traveler in a foreign country.
Soon, however, I was on the plane and on my way to Beijing. Although it was the red eye, I didn’t get much sleep. In Beijing, they were carefully screening for H1N1, but I feel completely healthy and went right on through. On the second leg, I was sitting to a nice guy from Katerinabad (or something like that), Russia, who actually helped me through all the processes in getting my stuff figured out in Korea, since he has worked here for seven years! At the airport, I met up with Korvia (my recruiter) and after a two hour wait, they brought us to Soowon which is in the GyeongGi province that surrounds Seoul. For five days we will be at this center within the university here, where they will teach us as well as give us medical exams. Orientation starts tomorrow, but I already have had the fortune to meet up with my friends from the ATI program and meet some new individuals. This program, however, has 300 participants, so I do not know if any lasting friendships can stem out of the short week in Soowon. In short, I’m safe in Korea and waiting for my placement and my school.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
The First Law of Robotics May Have Made My Computer Fix Itself
I am not sure how this happened.... but apparently my computer fixed itself. It was completely dead, as in it wouldn’t even start well in safe mode, but then I opened it today because my CD player stopped working and I was a little frustrated and bored. And it worked. We will see how long it lasts, but for now, I am really excited.
Today in general made me a lot happier about Bangkok. I just went on a random stroll, bought some nice pad thai, and saw the Monument to Democracy. I think in general monuments to democracy tend to be very gross in appearance, and this was no exception. I also found some wats (temples) in this city which adds to its intrigue. And then, I found Tesco! I saw one when I was flying into Chiang Mai, but never went to the one there. I used to go to Tesco all the time in Prague- it is this pseudo-department store with a grocery; it is akin to a Super Target. The ones here are called Tesco: Lotus, which also made me very excited. Furthermore, there is a Dairy Queen, and I might have to stop there tomorrow night.
The best part, however, was when I all of a sudden found this peaceful and quiet little area by the river that runs through the city.
I just sat there with my novel and read for about an hour, enjoying the respite from the turmoil of the city. Every once in a while passenger boats that acted like buses would come by, but for the most part I was alone. Afterward, I decided to head back to the hostel because all of this sweating makes you TIRED, but on my way home I decided to try a new way. Mom told me not to get lost on this trip, but I guess I didn’t listen. I got decently lost for a bit, especially because all the roads have these pictures of the queen, and it is easy to get turned around. Well, after walking in some circles, I saw a school get out that I thought was close to my road. These six Thai girls came up to me and asked if they could get my photo for a research project; I wasn’t sure if I believed their motive, but I let them snap a picture. Now I’m just back here in the hotel, about to go out for dinner, and happy with a computer again. Plus this hostel has wi-fi!
Today in general made me a lot happier about Bangkok. I just went on a random stroll, bought some nice pad thai, and saw the Monument to Democracy. I think in general monuments to democracy tend to be very gross in appearance, and this was no exception. I also found some wats (temples) in this city which adds to its intrigue. And then, I found Tesco! I saw one when I was flying into Chiang Mai, but never went to the one there. I used to go to Tesco all the time in Prague- it is this pseudo-department store with a grocery; it is akin to a Super Target. The ones here are called Tesco: Lotus, which also made me very excited. Furthermore, there is a Dairy Queen, and I might have to stop there tomorrow night.
The best part, however, was when I all of a sudden found this peaceful and quiet little area by the river that runs through the city.
I just sat there with my novel and read for about an hour, enjoying the respite from the turmoil of the city. Every once in a while passenger boats that acted like buses would come by, but for the most part I was alone. Afterward, I decided to head back to the hostel because all of this sweating makes you TIRED, but on my way home I decided to try a new way. Mom told me not to get lost on this trip, but I guess I didn’t listen. I got decently lost for a bit, especially because all the roads have these pictures of the queen, and it is easy to get turned around. Well, after walking in some circles, I saw a school get out that I thought was close to my road. These six Thai girls came up to me and asked if they could get my photo for a research project; I wasn’t sure if I believed their motive, but I let them snap a picture. Now I’m just back here in the hotel, about to go out for dinner, and happy with a computer again. Plus this hostel has wi-fi!
Ready for Seoul...
The bus drive to Bangkok was uneventful to say the least. The only interesting part was a movie they played, a french mockery of spy films called Double Zero, and the decor in the bus, which was very 80s with bright greens and blues. Landen once told me that the Thais were on a permanent acid trip in regards to their color scheme, and I would have to agree. My first room in Bangkok had a pastel-pink color that nobody in their right mind would choose for a hotel room. I arrived close to Khao Sarn Road (sp?) which is the hostel district in Bangkok. It was 5 am and people were still up... this was a little unnerving. I went to the room, slept for two hours and headed out to the Korean Embassy. It took about twenty minutes to get my taxi driver to figure out where the embassy was; he had to call a couple of other drivers and stop at a hotel. However, he was nice and I got to the embassy on time to drop off my stuff. Unfortunately, I forgot a passport size photo of me and had to go to a department store to get one made before I could finish the application. By the time I left the embassy it was 2:30 pm, even though I got there around 9 am. Lunch was the only truly bad meal I had in my entire Thai experience: rice with two curries. One of the curries was green and tasted like moldy squash and the other was red and the chicken had no meat, just gristle and bone. The rice was good though!
I decided to walk home from the embassy even though it must have been around 14 km. I thought that it couldn't be that bad, I had walked nine miles before. Of course, I hadn't figured in the heat, or the fact that I wasn't exactly sure where Khao Sarn road was. Nonetheless, it was a great way to see parts of the city, but solely parts because this city is gigantic. Two hours into the walk, I saw a huge crowd of people crowding around the Arts and Cultural Center. Apparently, the queen was making a visit! Because the Thais are obsessed with the queen, I thought it would be cool to stick around and wait for her to come. And wait, and wait. Although I got there around 4:30, she didn't make an appearance until 6:30. I was getting quite tired by this time, but fortunately a spider was nearby and I was able to watch it build an entire web. No joke, it was one of the coolest things I saw. At 5:30, a group of some 50 women marched out all in the same outfit and sat down in Thai style in the plaza.
Of course, I thought that soon the queen would come, but it wasn't until 6:20 that they started to dance. It was that creepy finger dance, but maybe I'm getting used to it. Ten minutes later, and there was the queen! Unfortunately, I was standing opposite the red carpet and couldn't see her face, but I think I captured a picture of the back of her head. The security was pretty insistent that we kept a good distance from the queen, and at her arrival it was the first time in Bangkok I saw completely empty streets. After she entered the building, the crowd completely scattered and I finished my walk home. By this time, Andie was worried I had been kidnapped, but luckily I am still alive. Her plane was at three in the morning, but we still chatted for a little bit, grabbed a bite to eat, griped about money issues, watched youtube videos, found me a hotel for the next two nights and then finally went to bed.
I've been pretty sore all day from my long walk, but started out the day in high hopes. I only have two more nights here in Thailand and then it is off to work! Bangkok is not the city I expected. While Chiang Mai is really cultural, beautiful, decently calm, and, yet, still has a lot to do, Bangkok is just too much. It is a gigantic city with a gigantic population. And there isn't any sort of 'downtown' area with a cluster of skyscrapers. Instead, the huge buildings are just dropped casually across the entire metropolis. The entire walk yesterday was just one part of the city, yet it all unfolded in the same way with clusters of store fronts and apartments broken up by the huge buildings. The metro system also is not aesthetic. In fact, it looks almost communist, being constructed of cement and suspended above the city. The city is a bit ugly. Nice aspects exist, of course, but it is just too much. The next two days are going to be more for me to relax than revel, which I don't think is a very Bangkokish thing to do.
I decided to walk home from the embassy even though it must have been around 14 km. I thought that it couldn't be that bad, I had walked nine miles before. Of course, I hadn't figured in the heat, or the fact that I wasn't exactly sure where Khao Sarn road was. Nonetheless, it was a great way to see parts of the city, but solely parts because this city is gigantic. Two hours into the walk, I saw a huge crowd of people crowding around the Arts and Cultural Center. Apparently, the queen was making a visit! Because the Thais are obsessed with the queen, I thought it would be cool to stick around and wait for her to come. And wait, and wait. Although I got there around 4:30, she didn't make an appearance until 6:30. I was getting quite tired by this time, but fortunately a spider was nearby and I was able to watch it build an entire web. No joke, it was one of the coolest things I saw. At 5:30, a group of some 50 women marched out all in the same outfit and sat down in Thai style in the plaza.
I've been pretty sore all day from my long walk, but started out the day in high hopes. I only have two more nights here in Thailand and then it is off to work! Bangkok is not the city I expected. While Chiang Mai is really cultural, beautiful, decently calm, and, yet, still has a lot to do, Bangkok is just too much. It is a gigantic city with a gigantic population. And there isn't any sort of 'downtown' area with a cluster of skyscrapers. Instead, the huge buildings are just dropped casually across the entire metropolis. The entire walk yesterday was just one part of the city, yet it all unfolded in the same way with clusters of store fronts and apartments broken up by the huge buildings. The metro system also is not aesthetic. In fact, it looks almost communist, being constructed of cement and suspended above the city. The city is a bit ugly. Nice aspects exist, of course, but it is just too much. The next two days are going to be more for me to relax than revel, which I don't think is a very Bangkokish thing to do.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Thank goodness...
My notice of appointment arrived today. Which means I can go to Bangkok and get my visa. If it would have arrived any later, I would have had to do something drastic. It takes three days to get the visa, and arriving tomorrow, Wednesday, means my visa will be ready on Friday. I fly out on Sunday morning. Someone must have been praying for this all to work out within such a tiny time frame. As for my life currently? I guess I have been meeting some cool people at the hostel; Mariana from Spain who just went on a long trek and a nice Israeli named Mosheko which is short for Moses apparently. I love Israelis, but whenever I ask about whether or not they have gone to the occupied territories it is usually a no... which makes me wonder how they can have any solid political opinion of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. Not like I should either of course, being not directly involved and never seeing that part of the world. One day maybe...Besides that I have been reading and mostly sitting around thinking about what I would have done if the NOA wouldn't have come. I amused myself making up scenarios of crying at the Embassy so they could expedite the process of getting a visa. Luckily, I won't have to cry at the Embassy... although I still might need to cry at baggage claim so they don't charge me tons for my luggage. But I really must go, my bus leaves in an hour for Bangkok. Wish me luck!
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