Very Danger!

Hello there again friends, family and assorted loved ones!

It has been a bit since I've written, sorry about that! I've realized that mass e-mails can be somewhat annoying/impersonal. So, in the coming days, i will (against what I told myself, and others, before leaving the US) put together a blog which you can check up on if you please. If, however, you'd like to keep getting these large e-mails, let me know; and I will send you my blog entries via e-mail! It will be easy, so don't worry about it if that's what you'd like :). let's seee, let's seeee (alex racking her brain about the last week and half). Oh, I figured out the laundry thing! The machine is not a washer/dryer combo (no surprise)my drunk friend just thought that when the machine spun around (aka the spin cycle) that it was kind of drying the clothes for you...hmmmm, i'm glad my mom taught me how to do laundry when i was in middle school (thanks mom!). I transcribed all of the little symbols for my co-teacher to translate and it turns out that it is rather simple. Again, learning Korean would be pretty sweet.

I have this whole week off for the Korean Thanksgiving Holiday. It's called Chuseok and falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar (which was last Sunday, Sep. 14). Families gather and make traditional food together, namely these little rice dumplings called songpyeon that are steamed on pine needles. They are filled with hazlenut or sweet bean paste, and they are pretty damn tasty. I bought some at the store and "steamed" them on my stove (they made wonderful hiking food for the "very danger" hike we did on Monday). The family then does some ceremonies in remembrance of their ancestors and eats for many hours. Some of the schools in the area only had school off on Monday but others have the whole week off. It seems that there is no real governing system for when schools are in session or not...I guess my school is kinda out in the boonies, so maybe families have to travel further to get to there hometowns. I dunno, nobody tells me anything..i just go with the flow.

Apparently, over the last four days (tues-fri) I was supposed to be doing "self-studying" as they call it. This, however, is difficult when one doesn't have internet...sooo, i've been studying the korean peninsula through a hike up a mountain, a stay in the country, a short jaunt in Seoul, and perusings of tourist map of korea. I have also spent countless hours trying to figure out the public transportation system and listening to English songs (deciding which song to teach next). Furthermore, I explored the intricacies of Korean cuisine. I did crack open my books and brainstorm for a bit too. I hope the BSing skills i acquired getting my BA help in providing a sufficient report of my "work" over break.

Side note: google is creepy, and right now there are adds for washer dryer combos on my sidebar. they are enticing...

Last week was pretty uneventful at school. I had to go the nearby town of Suwon to get my Alien Registration Card. it took a lot of waiting in a really hot room, so I decided to play on the playground outside of the office--I think I looked like the crazy American girl. I got some nice looks while on the swings. It's nice to be able to play the foreigner card whenever i want. when I got back to school for the rest of the week classes went rather smoothly. We played some new games that went over really well, the dancing as punishment routine really works. I can't tell if it's a good or a bad thing, but my celebrity status is dying a little bit (I think it's good, it was getting a bit much). I do have a following of boys that will do anything for me still, and there are several girls that give me gifts every once in a while (there nametags seem to be the most common present). The throng of boys who seem to love me are also my hackysack partners. They don't really understand the game, but they're getting better! they have years of soccer to help them out. My favorite hacky bud is the little dude named Amy...he is super uncoordinated and just flails limbs around in hopes of hitting the hacky sack.

On Friday, my friend peter, the huge dude Rob and I went to Seoul, we were planning on staying the weekend, but our plans were foiled by lack of korean language skills and too much soju. Seoul is alright, I think, but I need to go there during the day, and more sober. i don't do that well in large cities (Seoul boasts 10 million people plus in the city, 23 million including the surrounding area; it is the world's 2nd largest metropolitan area after Tokyo). We went to Hongdae, the college district and bar hopped a bit. We were planning on sleeping in a jimjjilbang (a public bath house--they give you a pair of pjs and let you find a place to sleep on a large warm rock). But we ended up walking in circles and taking the bus home at 7am. it was really rough, i'm never drinking that much cheap korean beer (it's AWFUL--like beast and natty ice mixed together) and soju ever again. Suffice to say, i spent all of Saturday on my sleeping mat, feeling very ill...and tired.

The rest of the weekend went more my style, I spent Sunday in Yeoju. It was pretty dead on account of the holiday, so i just kinda bummerd around the city. Since this area is famous for its ceramics, i went to a few places that were open, and picked up a plate and a mug. I admired a cheesy little frog that was by the cash register and the clerk gave it to me as a chuseok present! the people here are so nice. Monday was my best day in Korea yet! a couple of madisonites and I went to Chiaksan National park and hiked up the highest peak there: Birobong (bong means peak in korean). It was another one of those hilarious moments in Korea. We, all being relatively fit people thought it would be a piece of cake to do an 8 km trek, but oh no, in Korea, hiking means a cross between stair climbing and all out free climbing practically straight up. We were sweating sooo badly, and these little Koreans were passing us left and right without even a glisten on their little happy faces. Their outfits are great--either maxed out in mountaineering gear (walking poles, top o the line boots, hats, jackets, gloves, tall socks, etc.etc.) or wearing clothes you'd imagine someone to wear in the city for a nice afternoon on the town. There were old people and little pipsqueaks alike...I think we passed only one couple who appeared to be in their eighties, otherwise we were schooled by these people. We also saw one woman hiking barefoot! it was crazy...Oh, and none of them carried anything with them, not even water! We all consumed almost two liters each throughout the trek and ate lunch at the peak. I don't know how they do it, crazy Koreans. it is Friday now (four days later) and we are all still sore from that adventure--I guess that's what we get for being lazy Americans :). We also should have taken the science teacher's advice at my school when he said the hike was "very danger" haha. Annnd, over the last few days, being sore and all, i just hung out in Sangpoom (a little country town where my friend teaches) and read a bit, tried to get the next weekend in order. I'm leaving for Seorunsan Provincial park for a Climbing rendezvous of other foreign climbers from around Korea. It should be pretty awesome! i'm excited to network with the climbing community.

Damn, i almost forgot, I spent a good chunk of time researching dogs (the eating type) in Korea...cause i DO NOT want to accidentally eat any...I am adventurous in my eating, but i really really really do not want to eat man's best friend. So, I have figured out how to read all of the dishes that contain dog, and i have spotted some of the dog restaurants in my town (a couple of my friends live across the street from a pet store called "Dog Friend" and there is a dog restaurant right next to it!). The practice of farming and eating dogs is supposed to be illegal here, but that has been largely ignored, and many of the older people still eat it--supposedly it's good for men's stamina. Most of the younger people stay away from it too though.

So, thanks again for being wonderful people! I miss you all and hope you are doing well! I cannot wait to get my phone and internet, the blog should be pretty fun/ny. The hilarity of all of this should die off soon, but i can keep my fingers crossed can't i?

Peace and love, Alex