Hiking Mt. Palgongsan!

Hi everyone!

Last weekend, Fluke, Jackie (our friend from Canada) and I hiked one of the most popular mountains in Daegu--Mt. Palgongsan! The trip went like this...

We packed snacks (fried chicken, awesome trail mix, and garlic baguette chips from E-Mart), water bottles, and layers of clothing in our too-large-to-hike backpacks. We met Jackie downtown at Banwaldong station to switch subway lines. We traveled northeast on the red subway line for a bit. Then rode on an overly crowded bus filled with hikers for 40 minutes. I think everyone in the bus besides us were 40-60 years old...and everyone had major hiking gear! Total traveling timeto get to the mountain: 1.5 hrs.

We got maps and looked at the huge map of the mountain, but we couldn't figure out exactly what we were looking at or which direction we should hike. We figured we would just follow the sign that said "To summit." Plus most people seemed to hike in that direction.

When I say hike--I mean real, serious hiking! Yes, there were some dirt trails, but mostly we just climbed rocks. There was even a really steep part where we had to pull ourselves up with a knotted rope! It was awesome. Kinda scary and kinda difficult--but totally awesome! After hiking for what seemed like forever, we reached what appeared to be the peak with a restaurant (in picture above) and "cable car" or gondola down the mountain!! We ate lunch, treated ourselves to delicious Drumstick ice creams, and Fluke asked the owner where we were on the map...we hadn't even climbed over a mile yet!!! Even though the climb was steep, we hadn't traveled much horizontal distance! Looking past the restaurant we saw the peak that lie ahead. Without further ado, we continued on our hike!

In the picture you can see the tallest peak that we climbed in the background. We took this picture before we left the restaurant area.

When we reached our peak, we could see the highest peak of Mt. Palgongsan. We decided that it could wait for another trip. It was such an amazing day filled with beautiful views (cliche but totally true!) so we knew we would return. Plus, our friend Daryle was sick and couldn't join us last weekend. The pictures below show us on the second tallest peak! The tallest peak is about 3,900 feet tall so we weren't quite that high, but we were still really up there!

A taste of home in Daegu

Who says you can't get a good burger in Korea? Me and Jenn finally found this burger place that we've been hearing about for a while, and we took some pictures! GORILLA BURGER. Just...thinking about it makes me hungry again. The prices are about the same for a burger in California if you went to say a Red Robin, Cheesecake Factory, or Claim Jumper. And it was just as good! Me and Jenn were wandering around downtown for a good long time. Before I get into what we got, I thought I'd share what we've been doing the last couple weeks. First off, hello! Or as I would say to my class, Good morning/afternoon/whats up dudes? Ha, just kidding. I wouldn't mind saying that last one, but I gotta keep it professional you know? I know its been a while since we've updated, but man, we have been busy. School is, well, like work! It is a full time job! After six all-boy classes a day (45 students each class), my throat is shot (boys are loud!), and I just want to eat dinner and sleep. Sorry for being lazy, but we will try to update more often in the future! I do like my school though, and they have been good to me so far. Did I mention some of the perks? My own desk, my own computer (with very, very fast internet!), my own filing drawer, bookshelf, and nice monitor! Will try to get a picture of it later on. 


But moving on to the good stuff. Gorilla burger. Me and Jenn walked in, and we instantly noticed the bottles of ketchup on every table...real ketchup. Like, Heinz ketchup. And I know. You're like, really Fluke, Heinz? YES. Heinz ketchup. It's impossible to find here. Korean ketchup tastes pretty similar to ours, but I'd say its a tad bit sweeter. So we were stoked to find some normal American ketchup. The decor was pretty awesome, take a look at it here...
Those are just random people by the way. Anyways, we got in, took a look at the menu and ordered some delicious sounding burgers. My burger was called the "Oasis Burger." Burger with a fried egg, bacon, hash browns, onions, lettuce and tomato. Awesome. Jenn got the mushroom burger. Not as awesome sounding. But just as delicious. Hers came with cheddar, onions, lettuce, tomato, and yup, mushrooms. We were so hungry and enjoyed it so much that we didn't even get a chance to taste each others burgers. What? I can't believe that happened now that I think about it. Usually we do try each others food, just to see what it tastes like. Weird. But yeah, pretty cool menu, they have a burger here where the buns are Krispy Kreme donuts (Yup, there are Krispy Kremes here too!) and I definitely want to try that next time. So without further ado, here are some pictures of our burgers! Oh, and we also got some onion rings...with Ranch dressing!
         It is so hard to find Ranch dressing here, and its been an a

 awful thing, yet at the same time very good because we all know that Ranch can be a little unhealthy. Especially the way I used it, which was never as actual salad dressing, but more as a dipping sauce. For everything. Pizza crust, hamburgers, tacos (hey, don't knock it till you tried it), rice (ewwww, just kidding), sandwiches, steak, french fries, curly fries, waffle fries, anything with potatoes, onion rings, and more! So yeah, I'm actually glad that there is no ranch now that I think about it. It's probably gonna help me lose weight! Which I have done. Sweet! 


Well, thats about it for this update. I wanted to write about our hiking trip up Mt. Palgongsan, but I think I'll leave that for Jenn. I'll just say that it was very beautiful, and it was probably one of the most fun things I have ever done in the outdoors. 

This Friday we get our very first paycheck!!! Me and Jenn have a wishlist saved up, and its actually not that cool sounding. Just some basic things like a rice cooker, coffee pot, and some kitchen utensils. I do want to go out to dinner somewhere and celebrate. Which we will do with some friends this weekend. Also planning on watching the movie Sucker Punch! Made by the guy that did the movies 300 and Watchmen. So excited! OH, and I forgot to mention...I finally got a cell phone. And it is...I can't even...I've never had a smartphone before. And now I do. And oh dear, I've made my laptop useless. My phone does everything!!! I can check email, surf the web, go on facebook, update Blogger (but won't, because writing all this on a phone would probably take me about 3 months), play games, and more! I don't want to become one of this peeps that are always looking at their phones, but dang it, its so....COOL. Haha. But yeah, seriously. I love my phone. It's a Google Nexus One for anyone who wants to look it up. And I pay 55 a month for unlimited internet, 300 texts, 300 minutes. Which doesn't sound like much, but I've downloaded some apps that let you use free texts, and incoming texts/calls don't count as minutes or texts so it all balances out. Whatever! I get rent paid for anyways! Haha. Love you and miss you all, peace!

On top of Mt. Palgongsan!!! (3 hour hike!)

Adventures of Blowfish

Hi everyone!
Friday was my first dinner out with the teachers and administration from my school. My main Co-Teacher informed Sam (the English teacher from England) and me that we would be dining on......... blowfish! There were about 40-50 of us and we had a banquet room at a restaurant specializing in blowfish.


Here is how the meal went...
           The table contained multiple side dishes (of course), Hite (beer), Soju (Korean liquer), Cider (7-Up), and an orange soda like Fanta. The first course was blowfish skin and cabbage in a spicy, red sauce. I thought I was eating blowfish for multiple bites, but then I realized I was only eating the cabbage when I took an actual bite of the chewy, curly-shaped seafood-tasting thing.
            The second course was fried blowfish! It tasted like a fish-and-chips kind of thing. It was pretty good. I think I just liked the fried batter, but hey, it's been awhile since I've had fried foods. Also on the plate was fried onion rings (probably one of the best onion rings I've ever had...I just wished I had some ketchup), and fried sweet potato. That was really good too.
            The third course was a really spicy blowfish and bean sprouts dish. I only ate the bean sprouts. The huge blowfish chunks were a little too intimidating for me.
            The fourth course was blowfish soup--blowfish, bean sprouts and garlic. The broth was very fishy, so I just ate/sipped the parts with garlic pieces. The soup was served with white rice. Soup and rice are always at the end of a meal. I guess it's a digestive thing?
            After dinner, the principal sang a song for everyone! Her voice was actually really good! Totally surprised me. Apparently after dinners everyone sings. At this particular dinner, the evening ended when the principal finished her song. Next time, everyone will be singing! I don't even want to think about how embarrassing that will be. Maybe I will be exempt because I don't know any Korean songs??? Doubt it!
            I wish I had photos to post to show you each dish, but I didn't have my camera :(


Anyway, I ate blowfish in two of the four courses and tried each one. Would I order blowfish again? Probably not. Did I enjoy the experience? Absolutely! I wonder what the meal at my next teacher dinner outing will consist of...


love and miss you all!
Jenn

Downtown Daegu!

My Birthday Cake!

Okay, so I tried to get a short video of downtown just to show everyone how crowded it was! I don't know if you guys will be able to tell, it is a really bad quality video...sorry! My ipod touch is not quite the best video taker. Next time we will use Jenn's flip! Anyways, Jenn and I have really been enjoying Daegu. So far, we have been exploring the massive downtown. There are so many people, and so many places to eat at! Downtown you can go to Burger King, McDonalds, the Holy Grill (Great Mexican place), Travelers Bar (Supposedly really good burgers), and traditional Korean restaurants. We have tried the Holy Grill and loved it, but we have also been sticking to Korean food, because it is cheaper and just as good. Oh, and if you can see all the people in the video...this is during the afternoon. When it isn't busy!  This weekend was really fun. Jenn surprised me with a birthday dinner with some of our friends (and fellow teachers) and took me to see World Invasion. In IMAX. For 8 dollars! Cheap! I do need to mention one more thing about the theaters. Assigned seating is something that the US should adopt. I mean...it is so nice to be able to buy your ticket 2-3 hours before the movie, pick your seat, and then not have to show up early to get good seats. Oh and World Invasion was actually Battle Los Angeles, and it was in English with Korean subtitles. Very rarely do American movies get dubbed over with Korean actors, and it usually only happens with cartoons. But yes, it was nice to go to the theaters and get a little reminder of home. Well thats about it for now, just wanted to do a quick update. And so far, Jenn and I are fine. The earthquake has not affected Korea at all at the moment, and the winds are blowing toward the Pacific so we are safe for the moment. We are definitely keeping track of the situation though, and if anything dangerous were to develop, we would know very very soon. 

Birthday Dinner!

Shopping area near our schools

Middle School Madness, and my new Bike!

Hullo there! It seems like it has been a while since I last updated, but here I go. First, I do want to mention that it was my birthday yesterday, and that I wanted to thank you all for the happy birthday wishes! My Korean co-workers took me out to a really nice dinner, and bought me a pretty yummy chocolate cake. It was really thoughtful of them and they are awesome. We went to Korean BBQ, which I have gone to back in Irvine, but in Korea, it is even better. Grilled our own pork, and had some good side dishes (free as well!). Anyways, I'm sure you're wondering who that is on the right there. Well, I'd like to introduce you all to: El Relampago ROJO aka RED LIGHTNING. That's right, thats my baby. 120,000 Won (120 bucks) and I bought myself a new bike. I could've saved that money for food and whatnot, but me and Jenn went to Costco the other day with some friends, and 100 bucks split between us bought us enough food till our first payday. Don't worry though! We are not going to be living paycheck to paycheck. We just don't get our first payday until March 25th, and our program warned us to be prepared so we bought more than enough cash to last us till then. My bike was so worth it. Cut my commute to Jenn to 15 min's (from 45 mins) and my commute to school to 10 (from 20 mins). 

Anyways...enough about that! I'm gonna talk about my school now! On the right there is a not so great picture of it. I would've liked to take a front pic of it, but there is a soccer field in front of the school, and it was filled with students playing. Well...what to say about Middle school. Lets just put this out there, it's going to be a lot tougher than Elementary. I've already had to deal with some surly teenagers, but so far, the good is outweighing the bad. My first week has been...eye opening? My school is huge. And I am in charge of teaching 7th,8th, and 9th grade. And there are 3 levels in each grade: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. I teach 7th grade Basic and Advanced English, 8th grade English (Both), and 9th Grade Basic and Advanced. Thats 6 different levels that I have to lesson plan for. And those classes are even more divided up by student classrooms. So what does it all mean? It means that without thinking about it, I can easily say that I teach English to more than 500 students. Most students only see me once a week. So it is going to be tough, but I've really enjoyed teaching the students about myself, and California. Some things that I've noticed about Korean middle schools? I've made a list!
1. It's normal to see students with their faces to the wall, or heads to the floor in the teacher's office. Apparently they are being punished, and since Korean students get 10 minutes between classes, that is kind of a bummer to miss out on that free time. But it happens A LOT.
2. I find myself looking around every corner before I go through. Korean students sprint through corners, and usually I am forewarned by the pitter patter of what seem like millions of feet, but it never hurts to check.
3. Korean people count age differently. They count age even when you're in the womb. So that means that when you are born, you are already 1 year old. What does that mean? It means that most Korean Middle school students are actually 1 year, or 2 years younger than an American Middle school student. So I have gotten used to seeing kids that look like they could be in elementary school.
4. Korean students are SHY! Some are quite good at English, but I will have to work on getting them more comfortable with speaking.
5. Korean students are NOT shy outside of the classroom. I've already been cornered by a bunch of school girls yelling Teacher! Where are you from? Hello! Teacher Handsome! (What can I say, I'm a hit).
6. Korean schools have so much money! Every teacher has their own desk and computer. And we get free school supplies. And we have this English World classroom that is packed with board games, audio cds, DVDs (Harry Potter, Disney movies), and more really great English learning resources.
7. Korean teachers are really nice. Especially the women ones. I don't think I will ever lose weight if they keep up their endless supply of snack giving. Jenn's been bringing home a snack from her co-teacher everyday, and today, I just brought back a big ziploc bag filled with cake.
8. Koreans are into instant coffee. No coffee machines! Just hot water and instant coffee packets. And apparently my co-worker from South Africa is used to it as well. I'm not...I could do with a nicely brewed cup of Folgers right now.
9. There is another English teacher at my school! Same program as me and Jenn. Her name is Elizabeth, and she is from South Africa. We get along great, and her husband is teaching at a nearby middle school. I plan on taking some kick boxing classes with her husband, while Jenn is going to take some dance classes with Elizabeth. Did I mention that they are from South Africa? And that they are awesome? It is nice to be able to learn about the Korean school system with a fellow foreigner!
10. Speaking of the Korean school system, they are a fan of last minute schedule changes, test days, random days, and who knows what. So I could come to school expecting to have 6 classes, and then realized that they're all canceled. Which is actually kinda cool. But on the flipside, you can come to school expecting to teach 2 classes, and then find out that you're teaching 8. So I figure the good and bad will all even itself out by the end of the year.


Thats it for now. Bye! Oh, and the food is wonderful! Something new everyday...so far :)

First Week of School

Hi everyone!

Well, after a few days of "deskwarming," I started teaching today! I had 4 classes of 5th graders in the morning. Already I can tell that there is a range of English comprehension levels in the class. When some students were repeating me, asking questions, and responding to my powerpoint about myself, other students were sitting and looking with somewhat blank faces. I think they all enjoyed the pictures (Kika was a hit!), but a lot of what I said went over their heads. My co-teacher told me to slow down. I tried so hard to speak slowly!! Even so, I need to speak much slower and use more simple sentences. That is my goal for the next set of classes tomorrow. I'm really pleased with student behavior so far! I only had to give my "teacher stare" a couple times. Thank goodness it worked--I don't think these particular boys were expecting me to notice their inappropriate behavior! Having my Co-Teacher start the class helped as well.

The picture is of my English classroom (no-I did not decorate it this way).

Some more info on the school...

It's a relatively large elementary school with grades 1-6. There are 6 5th grade classes so to estimate...about 1080 students in the school. There is an "English Zone" with 3 classrooms designated as the English classrooms. I am lucky because I get to stay in my English classroom and the students come to me. English teachers in other grades have to go to each homeroom to teach. With only 5-10mins between classes, they do a lot of moving!

Every day, we eat the cafeteria lunch. Some days the meal is really good (bibimbop today!!!) and other days, I mostly eat rice, kimchi, and fruit. Overall, the best part about lunch is eating with the other English teachers and talking/learning from each other. Sam, the other Native English teacher at the school, is from England, so we learn about each other's culture as the Korean teachers learn about it too. Yesterday, we had an entire conversation about different words, pronounciations, and spellings of words depending if it is American English or British English. It's fascinating, but also frustrating when you are trying to learn it!

One more thing...I LOVE INDOOR SHOES!!!!!!! The shoes you wear to school, you leave outside the classroom in a cubby and then you wear "indoor shoes." These are basically just nice black slip-on wedge shoes. Anyway, they are super comfortable. My toes get cold, but at least my feet don't hurt all day! These shoes you wear all around the school. When you go home, the indoor shoes go in the cubby and you put your outdoor shoes back on!

That's all for now...

Love and miss you all!

Jenn

Daegu Digs

Hey guys, check out these video walkthroughs of our apartments!


Korean Fun Fact (At least to our eyes) of the day!: I don't think Koreans ever dress bad. They always look their best. Seriously. Me and Jenn spent about 2 hours looking for anybody in sweatpants, or just anyone in general who looked like a bum. Nobody. We probably spotted like 3 people, and even then they still had nice coats. So it is a little frustrating when you want to just relax and wear your comfy clothes, cause if you do, people will just look at you weird!