It's about that time . . . and this time I'm posting from Hanoi, Viet Nam!!!!
It's a beautiful and balmy 18 degrees here. I just arrived yesterday and I've already been ALL OVER the city. Last night I saw Hoan Kiem Lake and the neighborhood surrounding my hostel, and then met some crazy Canadians who also happen to be teaching in Korea, and we went out for tofu, green tea, and beer- a proper welcome to the country. Today I got up early (about 9 a.m., but I was the first out of 12 in my room up!) and rented a bike. Holy sweet Moses, I should be locked up for suicidal tendencies. There are NO road rules here. None. And bikes just ride in the middle of the road with the taxis, cars, and 230592387 motorbikes. Half a day later, I am still alive, although I won't lie, there were a few close calls. But damn, I never knew I had it in me :P Rest assured, there will be pictures forthcoming . . .
Tonight I am leaving on a jet plane . . . nah, just kidding . . . on a train, for Lao Cai, up in the far Northwest by the Chinese border. After arriving in Lao Cai, we are going to set out for a few days of hiking in the Sa Pa region. Should be pretty awesome, although I'm getting word that its colder than Hanoi . . . substanially colder. I hope I don't freeze :( I'm a beast! I'm a survivor! I'm going trekking in Northern Viet Nam! Rawk On.
On a totally separate note, I'm really glad things are cheap here (and they are WAY cheap- I had tofu, veggies, rice, green tea, and a few beers last night for dinner . . . all for less than $3). I'm going to bring home a shit-ton of goodies. Mostly for me. Mostly hippie-style clothing. Perhaps some war propoganda to go along with my NoKo posters. Love it :P
Till next time . . .
Dana <3
Friday, December 26, 2008
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Hello fall!
I suppose its that time already. Blog update! Time seems to travel at warp speed here, I lose track of the days/weeks easily. In any event, here's a short run-down of new things:
-Went to the Pusan International Film Festival (http://www.piff.org/) this weekend with three friends. It was amazing :P Pusan is in the far southeastern corner of Korea, by Japan (check out this: http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact2003/maps/ks-map.gif). I got to swim in the East China Sea and saw 6 films at the film festival. I doubt they will get wide releases, but if you have a chance to see either, I *highly* recommend Captain Abu Raed and Johnny Mad Dog . . .
-I'm growing my hair out. I presently resemble a Beatle . . . or Dorothy Hammill.
-I made what will hopefully be *final* decisions about this winter's travels- Trip 1: December 25th-January 4th . . . JAPAN! Likely Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo, spending New Year's Eve in Tokyo. Trip 2: January 24th-February 2st . . . VIETNAM and LAOS! Likely flying into Hanoi, travelling overland to Vientiane, and flying out of Laos. That being said, I still don't have any tickets booked, so who knows . . .
-I joined a gym and beat a teenage boy in a weightlifting competition. Yay muscles!
-I had my first of three open classes last week. An open class is where the principal, board members, and other teachers come watch your class. Its kind of a big deal here . . . and according to my coteacher, I passed with flying colors. They love me!! I have another next week and another two weeks later. Easy, but wayyy too much paperwork (especially for people who can't read English!). Anywho . . .
-I've started writing for a travel blog/e-zone. Nothin' fancy, just travel articles and advice. Check it out at http://www.travmonkey.com/. My first article was published last week, and I should have another coming soon . . .
Well, that's certainly not all the new happenings, but it's all I have time for now . . .
Wait, before I forget. See new pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/83719566@N00/collections/
. . . and if I wasn't so technically-incompetent, you'd be able to see videos as well. Someday.
Till next time . . .
Much love,
Dana
-Went to the Pusan International Film Festival (http://www.piff.org/) this weekend with three friends. It was amazing :P Pusan is in the far southeastern corner of Korea, by Japan (check out this: http://www.umsl.edu/services/govdocs/wofact2003/maps/ks-map.gif). I got to swim in the East China Sea and saw 6 films at the film festival. I doubt they will get wide releases, but if you have a chance to see either, I *highly* recommend Captain Abu Raed and Johnny Mad Dog . . .
-I'm growing my hair out. I presently resemble a Beatle . . . or Dorothy Hammill.
-I made what will hopefully be *final* decisions about this winter's travels- Trip 1: December 25th-January 4th . . . JAPAN! Likely Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo, spending New Year's Eve in Tokyo. Trip 2: January 24th-February 2st . . . VIETNAM and LAOS! Likely flying into Hanoi, travelling overland to Vientiane, and flying out of Laos. That being said, I still don't have any tickets booked, so who knows . . .
-I joined a gym and beat a teenage boy in a weightlifting competition. Yay muscles!
-I had my first of three open classes last week. An open class is where the principal, board members, and other teachers come watch your class. Its kind of a big deal here . . . and according to my coteacher, I passed with flying colors. They love me!! I have another next week and another two weeks later. Easy, but wayyy too much paperwork (especially for people who can't read English!). Anywho . . .
-I've started writing for a travel blog/e-zone. Nothin' fancy, just travel articles and advice. Check it out at http://www.travmonkey.com/. My first article was published last week, and I should have another coming soon . . .
Well, that's certainly not all the new happenings, but it's all I have time for now . . .
Wait, before I forget. See new pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/83719566@N00/collections/
. . . and if I wasn't so technically-incompetent, you'd be able to see videos as well. Someday.
Till next time . . .
Much love,
Dana
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Yep, its September . . .
First, thank you to all of you that sent me Birthday wishes. They were much appreciated :) and this "thank you" is past due.
Goodness, its been nearly two months? And a busy two months at that . . .
Some of what's happened since I last posted . . .
1) Started and finished summer camp
2) Went to North Korea
3) Moved (just across town)
4) Went to China
5) Started fall semester
6) And some other stuff . . .
1) Summer camp was only relatively painful. In reality, it was over before I knew it and the kids did not eat me alive, despite doing the camp sans co-teacher. Young-shin left me to fend for myself while she was in Japan . . .
2) Yes, I went to North Korea. Yes, it was amazing. I'm having a really hard time explaining my experience to people. The thing is, I was only there for 12 hours. 12 hours! And it was surreal. Under-development in a way that I have never seen or experienced. Much of it was staged, but I get the feeling such is life in NoKo. The whole place is just . . . eerie. Not that I have any right to sum it up in a single word. Its a complicated place.
3) My landlord decided to be a bastard and raise my rent. Well, not exactly my "rent" . . . Koreans have a system where you pay an outrageous deposit (and I do mean outrageous!), and then don't pay rent. My deposit at the old apartment was raised from $30,000 USD to $35,000 USD (did I mention OUTRAGEOUS?!) . . . so my school could no longer afford it. This led to a week-long apartment hunt. I was warned that my new place would probably be smaller and not as nice . . . and here I am, sitting in an apartment twice the size of my old one, and twice as nice. Small blessings.
4) I just got back from 10 days in China last Sunday. Everything went a little bit wrong that trip, but I still had an amazing time. Didn't make it to the Great Wall, and actually spent some time in a Beijing hospital . . . and half the week hacking up my lungs. Ah, smog. Things were CRAZY thanks to the Olympics, but it also played a part in me meeting some really cool cats. Among these included: Mark the overly-flamboyant ticket scalper from San Fran, Julia the Ukrainian Ph.D. student and Beijing resident, Masey the ambitious and opinionated Chinese college student, and Sergei and Sergei- the Siberian dumpling connoisseurs.
Hands-down my favorite thing about travelling- the people you meet.
5) Started fall semester on Monday. I have 36 teaching hours/week this semester. Its crazy and my head hurts just thinking about it. Oh, but the kids love me and I love them . . . I'll get through it . . .
Short interlude for an announcement, before I forget:
New PICTURES! Go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/83719566@N00/collections/
New ADDRESS! (Letters only, packages still go to the school) Here:
Dana Van De Walker
833-8, 306 ho
Top-dong, Kweonseon-gu
Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do
SOUTH KOREA 441-440
What's coming up . . .
September is going to be pretty low-key, thank goodness. July and August were a bit crazy for me, so I'm actually quite looking forward to the down time. I just did laundry today for the first time in a month. And clean laundry is a good thing. Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) is coming up at the end of this week, and I have a few days off of work. I think I may just go down south (if I can find bus/train tickets!) and be a beach bum . . .
October is still in the planning process, but I know for certain that I will be going to the Busan International Film Festival the first weekend in October. Its supposedly the largest film fest in Asia, so I'm psyched. Ever since Sundance (and before, in truth), I've been really into the whole foreign film scene . . . I'm diggin' it.
Beyond October, things get a little cloudy. But of course, as always, I'm already starting to plan my next big adventures. Right now, its looking like I will be going to Japan around Christmas and Istanbul/Turkey around Lunar New Year (end of January). But who knows? It is only September after all . . .
Well, I'm off to set up my webcam before my dad harasses me about it *again* (yeah, I know, its my own fault). Till next time . . .
Peace out,
Dana
Goodness, its been nearly two months? And a busy two months at that . . .
Some of what's happened since I last posted . . .
1) Started and finished summer camp
2) Went to North Korea
3) Moved (just across town)
4) Went to China
5) Started fall semester
6) And some other stuff . . .
1) Summer camp was only relatively painful. In reality, it was over before I knew it and the kids did not eat me alive, despite doing the camp sans co-teacher. Young-shin left me to fend for myself while she was in Japan . . .
2) Yes, I went to North Korea. Yes, it was amazing. I'm having a really hard time explaining my experience to people. The thing is, I was only there for 12 hours. 12 hours! And it was surreal. Under-development in a way that I have never seen or experienced. Much of it was staged, but I get the feeling such is life in NoKo. The whole place is just . . . eerie. Not that I have any right to sum it up in a single word. Its a complicated place.
3) My landlord decided to be a bastard and raise my rent. Well, not exactly my "rent" . . . Koreans have a system where you pay an outrageous deposit (and I do mean outrageous!), and then don't pay rent. My deposit at the old apartment was raised from $30,000 USD to $35,000 USD (did I mention OUTRAGEOUS?!) . . . so my school could no longer afford it. This led to a week-long apartment hunt. I was warned that my new place would probably be smaller and not as nice . . . and here I am, sitting in an apartment twice the size of my old one, and twice as nice. Small blessings.
4) I just got back from 10 days in China last Sunday. Everything went a little bit wrong that trip, but I still had an amazing time. Didn't make it to the Great Wall, and actually spent some time in a Beijing hospital . . . and half the week hacking up my lungs. Ah, smog. Things were CRAZY thanks to the Olympics, but it also played a part in me meeting some really cool cats. Among these included: Mark the overly-flamboyant ticket scalper from San Fran, Julia the Ukrainian Ph.D. student and Beijing resident, Masey the ambitious and opinionated Chinese college student, and Sergei and Sergei- the Siberian dumpling connoisseurs.
Hands-down my favorite thing about travelling- the people you meet.
5) Started fall semester on Monday. I have 36 teaching hours/week this semester. Its crazy and my head hurts just thinking about it. Oh, but the kids love me and I love them . . . I'll get through it . . .
Short interlude for an announcement, before I forget:
New PICTURES! Go here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/83719566@N00/collections/
New ADDRESS! (Letters only, packages still go to the school) Here:
Dana Van De Walker
833-8, 306 ho
Top-dong, Kweonseon-gu
Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do
SOUTH KOREA 441-440
What's coming up . . .
September is going to be pretty low-key, thank goodness. July and August were a bit crazy for me, so I'm actually quite looking forward to the down time. I just did laundry today for the first time in a month. And clean laundry is a good thing. Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) is coming up at the end of this week, and I have a few days off of work. I think I may just go down south (if I can find bus/train tickets!) and be a beach bum . . .
October is still in the planning process, but I know for certain that I will be going to the Busan International Film Festival the first weekend in October. Its supposedly the largest film fest in Asia, so I'm psyched. Ever since Sundance (and before, in truth), I've been really into the whole foreign film scene . . . I'm diggin' it.
Beyond October, things get a little cloudy. But of course, as always, I'm already starting to plan my next big adventures. Right now, its looking like I will be going to Japan around Christmas and Istanbul/Turkey around Lunar New Year (end of January). But who knows? It is only September after all . . .
Well, I'm off to set up my webcam before my dad harasses me about it *again* (yeah, I know, its my own fault). Till next time . . .
Peace out,
Dana
Monday, July 14, 2008
Yes! Two posts in one month!
Let me say this- I love my job, but at the end of the semester, the kids become little blood-sucking, sun-deprived mongrels. I can't say I blame them. After all, it's July and we're still in school. They only get 5 weeks off for summer vacation, and most of them will attend the school's summer camp for 3-4 weeks of that "vacation." Sucks to be a Korean kid.
Meanwhile, as the kids are dreading summer camp, I'm busy preparing for summer camp. I see each grade for one week, 4 hours a day, which means the first week I get to/have to see 3rd graders for 4 hours a day. Ay yay yay. Anyhow, I finally decided on themes, and not a moment too soon. Here they are . . . 3rd grade's theme will be "Dr. Seuss." We are going to learn about rhyming, numbers, colors, animals, etc. through the use of 5 different Dr. Seuss books. The camp will include activities such as "What would you do if you heard a who?" and "How to make green eggs and ham." 4th grade's theme is "Oh the places you'll go!" (yeah, I'm stuck on Dr. Seuss). We're going to learn about geography, climate, food, animals, etc. by studying a different part of the world each day. The final project will be a poster and short presentation by each student about a country. 5th grade's theme is "Outdoor adventure and survival." We are going to learn about adventure sports and environmental issues, do a few nature projects, go on a hike, read outdoor survival stories, and learn the related English . . . And finally, 6th grade's theme is "All about me." We will learn about people, relationships, timelines, personal history, etc. The midway project will be a family tree; the final project will be a poster autobiography and presentation. What do ya think? Would YOU want to attend my summer camp? :P
On a non-work-related note . . . I go to North Korea in less than two weeks. I finally got all my paperwork in and have been granted special permission to visit (no visa), pending the issue of a stamp at the border. Those of you not living under a rock probably heard that there was a tourist shot by a North Korean soldier recently. Apparently it was a South Korean tourist, in a different city, who wandered away from where she was supposed to be. A lot of trips have been suspended as a result, but thankfully not mine!
This weekend should also be interesting, though in a vastly different way. I'm going to the Boryeong Mud Festival! Woohoo! Mud! Do you think I could call it cultural assimilation if I threw in some soju? Okay, not so much . . .
Between work, yoga, and the usual weekend shenanigans, I've been keeping pretty busy. But in any case, I'm always up for Skyping or IM-ing (MSN messenger) if anyone's interested.
Till next time . . .
Much love,
Dana
Meanwhile, as the kids are dreading summer camp, I'm busy preparing for summer camp. I see each grade for one week, 4 hours a day, which means the first week I get to/have to see 3rd graders for 4 hours a day. Ay yay yay. Anyhow, I finally decided on themes, and not a moment too soon. Here they are . . . 3rd grade's theme will be "Dr. Seuss." We are going to learn about rhyming, numbers, colors, animals, etc. through the use of 5 different Dr. Seuss books. The camp will include activities such as "What would you do if you heard a who?" and "How to make green eggs and ham." 4th grade's theme is "Oh the places you'll go!" (yeah, I'm stuck on Dr. Seuss). We're going to learn about geography, climate, food, animals, etc. by studying a different part of the world each day. The final project will be a poster and short presentation by each student about a country. 5th grade's theme is "Outdoor adventure and survival." We are going to learn about adventure sports and environmental issues, do a few nature projects, go on a hike, read outdoor survival stories, and learn the related English . . . And finally, 6th grade's theme is "All about me." We will learn about people, relationships, timelines, personal history, etc. The midway project will be a family tree; the final project will be a poster autobiography and presentation. What do ya think? Would YOU want to attend my summer camp? :P
On a non-work-related note . . . I go to North Korea in less than two weeks. I finally got all my paperwork in and have been granted special permission to visit (no visa), pending the issue of a stamp at the border. Those of you not living under a rock probably heard that there was a tourist shot by a North Korean soldier recently. Apparently it was a South Korean tourist, in a different city, who wandered away from where she was supposed to be. A lot of trips have been suspended as a result, but thankfully not mine!
This weekend should also be interesting, though in a vastly different way. I'm going to the Boryeong Mud Festival! Woohoo! Mud! Do you think I could call it cultural assimilation if I threw in some soju? Okay, not so much . . .
Between work, yoga, and the usual weekend shenanigans, I've been keeping pretty busy. But in any case, I'm always up for Skyping or IM-ing (MSN messenger) if anyone's interested.
Till next time . . .
Much love,
Dana
Sunday, July 6, 2008
Someone turn on the AC! and the English subtitles!
Good evening from Suwon, SoKo! Jesus, is it already July? Yes, actually the outta-control humidity here tells me that it is indeed July. *wipes sweat from brow*
Things have been busy around these parts as usual. Let's see, what has happened since last updated? My co-teacher had her baby (welcome to the world Ha Eun!) and went on maternity leave, sticking me with a new 5th and 6th grade co-teacher who I am still warming up to. I went on a tour to the DMZ, and actually saw the city in North Korea that I will be visiting at the end of the month (Kaesong). The DMZ itself was rather surreal but not nearly as tense as people make it out to be. Then again, this is coming from the girl who was tear-gased in Palestine. In short, danger is relative. I don't find North Korea particularly threatening. I also had a few too many nights out in Hongdae, Korea's self-proclaimed party district. If there's anything Korea does well, its nightlife. Don't plan on calling it a night before 6 a.m. In fact, no night out is complete without the following: drinking copious amounts of soju and/or bad Korean beer, dancing on a table and/or bar, visiting a noraebang (karaoke room), being propositioned by a "juicy girl" (Korean prostitute), eating dapoki (rice dumplings in spicy tomato sauce- the ultimate late-night snack), and finally drinking coffee to sober up enough to navigate the subway home. It makes you feel like Korea has a very youthful vibe . . .
On a somewhat related note (okay not really), I've been receiving amazing praise recently for my teaching. I found out a few days ago that a few foreign teachers that have been struggling are going to visit my advanced class this Thursday (at the request of their co-teachers) . . . Apparently Young-shin has been bragging about me to the Korean teachers at other schools! Haha . . . also, unrelated to my teaching . . . I had a meeting with my principal on Friday and was informed that the principal of another school (who I swear I don't remember meeting) said that I was "the most beautiful foreign teacher in all of Gyeonggi-do" . . . and my principal said that she agrees :P I love the ego boost! She also ask if I had a boyfriend and assured me (totally umprompted on my behalf!!) that she would find me a nice Korean boy. Fabulous . . .
Aside from that, life is not terribly exciting . . . oh hell, what I am talking about? That IS exciting :D I'm still trying to learn Korean, but I seem to have platformed somewhere along the way. I really need to make an attempt to learn Hangul (Korean script), but I'm lacking the motivation (and the time). At the moment, I'd rather use my time to develop my yoga practice, which I am going to start up again this week . . . starting tomorrow I'll be doing hatha and vinyasa three times a week at a place called Su Yoga downtown. I'm super-excited.
Till next time . . .
Anyonghi kaseyo,
Dana
Things have been busy around these parts as usual. Let's see, what has happened since last updated? My co-teacher had her baby (welcome to the world Ha Eun!) and went on maternity leave, sticking me with a new 5th and 6th grade co-teacher who I am still warming up to. I went on a tour to the DMZ, and actually saw the city in North Korea that I will be visiting at the end of the month (Kaesong). The DMZ itself was rather surreal but not nearly as tense as people make it out to be. Then again, this is coming from the girl who was tear-gased in Palestine. In short, danger is relative. I don't find North Korea particularly threatening. I also had a few too many nights out in Hongdae, Korea's self-proclaimed party district. If there's anything Korea does well, its nightlife. Don't plan on calling it a night before 6 a.m. In fact, no night out is complete without the following: drinking copious amounts of soju and/or bad Korean beer, dancing on a table and/or bar, visiting a noraebang (karaoke room), being propositioned by a "juicy girl" (Korean prostitute), eating dapoki (rice dumplings in spicy tomato sauce- the ultimate late-night snack), and finally drinking coffee to sober up enough to navigate the subway home. It makes you feel like Korea has a very youthful vibe . . .
On a somewhat related note (okay not really), I've been receiving amazing praise recently for my teaching. I found out a few days ago that a few foreign teachers that have been struggling are going to visit my advanced class this Thursday (at the request of their co-teachers) . . . Apparently Young-shin has been bragging about me to the Korean teachers at other schools! Haha . . . also, unrelated to my teaching . . . I had a meeting with my principal on Friday and was informed that the principal of another school (who I swear I don't remember meeting) said that I was "the most beautiful foreign teacher in all of Gyeonggi-do" . . . and my principal said that she agrees :P I love the ego boost! She also ask if I had a boyfriend and assured me (totally umprompted on my behalf!!) that she would find me a nice Korean boy. Fabulous . . .
Aside from that, life is not terribly exciting . . . oh hell, what I am talking about? That IS exciting :D I'm still trying to learn Korean, but I seem to have platformed somewhere along the way. I really need to make an attempt to learn Hangul (Korean script), but I'm lacking the motivation (and the time). At the moment, I'd rather use my time to develop my yoga practice, which I am going to start up again this week . . . starting tomorrow I'll be doing hatha and vinyasa three times a week at a place called Su Yoga downtown. I'm super-excited.
Till next time . . .
Anyonghi kaseyo,
Dana
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Mul gurido ssal, sugo hashosoyo
Well, it appears I've done a horrible job of updating my blog, as expected. Being in Korea has somehow screwed with my grasp of time . . . not that it was a particularly important part of my life before.
Let's see, how can I sum up the past month? I walked a lot, consumed my fair share of Cass and bulgogi, started speaking decent Korean (I actually had an ENTIRE convseration with someone in Korean yesterday!), saw a few mad cow demonstrations, met a couple more groovy foreigners, came up with some awesome lesson plans . . . oh yeah, and I got sick. All of the foreigners I meet here are perpetually sick, and it appears that I can now add my name to the list. Its quite concerning actually. A lot of the blame falls on what is known here as "yellow dust" (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_dust). Basically it is dust carried to Korea and other parts of Asia from the Mongolian desert. People blame everything on the dust- asthma, colds, headaches, allergies, fatigue, toncilitus, . . . you name it (I should interject here that I have suffered all of the aforementioned ailments in the past two weeks alone). A side note on the last one, toncilitus . . . isn't there a limited number of times you can have tonsilitus before the doc recommends that you have your tonsils removed? Because I *swear* I've had tonsilitus twice a year since I was in high school. But I digress . . .
People are sick. Koreans too, but foreigners more so. And it makes me wonder how large of a role pollution plays in the matter. The province where I live- Gyeonggi-do (and Seoul too for that matter)- is horribly polluted. The smog here surpasses anything I've seen before. . . and the kicker is that the Koreans won't acknowledge it. Admittedly, its hard to decipher how much is from Korea and how much is from China. But regardless, its a BIG problem. And "yellow dust" is a handy little excuse. I could totally go on a rant about the ignorance and naivete of Koreans (the cows aren't crazy, THE KOREANS ARE CRAZY!!), but as I could do the same of Americans, I'll keep my mouth shut . . . for now at least.
In the mean time, check out my Flickr site again. Its http://www.flickr.com/photos/83719566@N00/collections/. I've added a TON of new pictures, including a lot of old ones from Palestine, Utah, etc. There's even a picture of my lovely shaved head . . .
Oh, did you not know about that? :P
Cheers,
Dana
Let's see, how can I sum up the past month? I walked a lot, consumed my fair share of Cass and bulgogi, started speaking decent Korean (I actually had an ENTIRE convseration with someone in Korean yesterday!), saw a few mad cow demonstrations, met a couple more groovy foreigners, came up with some awesome lesson plans . . . oh yeah, and I got sick. All of the foreigners I meet here are perpetually sick, and it appears that I can now add my name to the list. Its quite concerning actually. A lot of the blame falls on what is known here as "yellow dust" (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_dust). Basically it is dust carried to Korea and other parts of Asia from the Mongolian desert. People blame everything on the dust- asthma, colds, headaches, allergies, fatigue, toncilitus, . . . you name it (I should interject here that I have suffered all of the aforementioned ailments in the past two weeks alone). A side note on the last one, toncilitus . . . isn't there a limited number of times you can have tonsilitus before the doc recommends that you have your tonsils removed? Because I *swear* I've had tonsilitus twice a year since I was in high school. But I digress . . .
People are sick. Koreans too, but foreigners more so. And it makes me wonder how large of a role pollution plays in the matter. The province where I live- Gyeonggi-do (and Seoul too for that matter)- is horribly polluted. The smog here surpasses anything I've seen before. . . and the kicker is that the Koreans won't acknowledge it. Admittedly, its hard to decipher how much is from Korea and how much is from China. But regardless, its a BIG problem. And "yellow dust" is a handy little excuse. I could totally go on a rant about the ignorance and naivete of Koreans (the cows aren't crazy, THE KOREANS ARE CRAZY!!), but as I could do the same of Americans, I'll keep my mouth shut . . . for now at least.
In the mean time, check out my Flickr site again. Its http://www.flickr.com/photos/83719566@N00/collections/. I've added a TON of new pictures, including a lot of old ones from Palestine, Utah, etc. There's even a picture of my lovely shaved head . . .
Oh, did you not know about that? :P
Cheers,
Dana
Thursday, May 8, 2008
A crazy weekend and another on its way . . .
It feels like the weekend just ended, and here it is- Thursday night and I'm packing my bag for this weekend's misadventures . . .
I have vacation days right and left during the month of May due to fabulous holidays like Children's Day and Buddha's Birthday. Last weekend was a five-day weekend, and this time around its a three-day weekend. Naturally, I used this free time to bounce around as much as humanly possible. There are tons of new pictures on my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/83719566@N00/. But anyhow, here's a quick recap . . .
Thursday- Went into Seoul and got lost. Surprise, surprise. But I like getting lost. It shows you another side of the city, and corners that you probably wouldn't have found on your own. I ended up at Gyeongbukgong Palace and Anguk, an artsy neighborhood in downtown Seoul. The palace was interesting, but overrun with schoolchildren. But I can say that I've been, and I took some beautiful pictures. Anguk was really much more my style, if a little overpriced. It strangely reminds me of San Diego's Little Italy, only much much different. There are a million and one little hole-in-the-wall art galleries that I want to check out, as well as museums galore. But a girl can only do so much in a day.
Friday- Went to the Korean Folk Village in Yongin with my co-teacher, Young-shin. Its basically a Korean version of Conner Praire, if you're familiar. Nevertheless, it was good fun and gave Young-shin and I some bonding time. She really is amazing. I really lucked out in getting such a fabulous co-teacher. We hang out a good deal outside of school as well. I think we don't have *that* much in common, but we seem to compliment each other nicely.
Saturday- SHOPPING DAY! Pretty much the entire day was spent at Dongdaemun Market in Seoul. Its basically an entire neighborhood that is transformed into an outdoor market on a daily basis. And you can find ANYTHING. Sneakers to sushi, its there. I ended up getting two skirts, three shirts, three pairs of earrings, one headband, a purse, a wallet, and miscellaneous food . . . and for about $25 US. A little flea-market-retail-therapy never hurt anyone :) And I'm looking more and more like a Korean girl everyday, now that I'm sporting their styles . . .
Sunday- Okay, the weekend was a blast, but Sunday takes the cake. I met up with a few friends to go to the Lotus Lantern Festival in Jonggak in celebration of Buddha's birthday. On a side note- I LOVE having friends here, and these girls are AMAZING. Seriously, I see good fun in my future. Courtney, Rachel, Jaimi, and Christine hail from the U.S., while Jen and Helen hail from the U.K. After the lantern festival, we ended up in a bar in the Dongguk neighborhood and met a bunch of Korean university students that are English majors. Five hours of dancing later, we hit up a noraebang (that's Korean for karaoke bar) and sang to our hearts content. I don't know if I'll being going to a noraebang again soon though, because I suck. Big time. Karaoke is not my forte, in case you couldn't have guessed. Anyhow, after a few hours of singing debauchery, we went to a 24-hour restaurant and feasted on egg rolls (which are something totally different here in Korea- its basically a gigantic omelet rolled up like an enchilada and smothered in sweet tomato sauce). I didn't get home till 8 a.m. . . which was okay because Monday was a holiday . . .
Three days of teaching later (I'll have to post more about my teaching experience at a later date, this post is getting a little long), and I'm packing my bag to go to on a road trip tomorrow. The girls that I hung out with on Sunday invited me to go to Incheon, a beach/island city west of Seoul. There are rumors floating about of beach camping and eating live octopus in the plans. Should be good fun . . . but don't expect to see any pictures of me eating octopus . . .
Till next time . . .
Anyong ki haseyo,
Dana
I have vacation days right and left during the month of May due to fabulous holidays like Children's Day and Buddha's Birthday. Last weekend was a five-day weekend, and this time around its a three-day weekend. Naturally, I used this free time to bounce around as much as humanly possible. There are tons of new pictures on my Flickr site: http://www.flickr.com/photos/83719566@N00/. But anyhow, here's a quick recap . . .
Thursday- Went into Seoul and got lost. Surprise, surprise. But I like getting lost. It shows you another side of the city, and corners that you probably wouldn't have found on your own. I ended up at Gyeongbukgong Palace and Anguk, an artsy neighborhood in downtown Seoul. The palace was interesting, but overrun with schoolchildren. But I can say that I've been, and I took some beautiful pictures. Anguk was really much more my style, if a little overpriced. It strangely reminds me of San Diego's Little Italy, only much much different. There are a million and one little hole-in-the-wall art galleries that I want to check out, as well as museums galore. But a girl can only do so much in a day.
Friday- Went to the Korean Folk Village in Yongin with my co-teacher, Young-shin. Its basically a Korean version of Conner Praire, if you're familiar. Nevertheless, it was good fun and gave Young-shin and I some bonding time. She really is amazing. I really lucked out in getting such a fabulous co-teacher. We hang out a good deal outside of school as well. I think we don't have *that* much in common, but we seem to compliment each other nicely.
Saturday- SHOPPING DAY! Pretty much the entire day was spent at Dongdaemun Market in Seoul. Its basically an entire neighborhood that is transformed into an outdoor market on a daily basis. And you can find ANYTHING. Sneakers to sushi, its there. I ended up getting two skirts, three shirts, three pairs of earrings, one headband, a purse, a wallet, and miscellaneous food . . . and for about $25 US. A little flea-market-retail-therapy never hurt anyone :) And I'm looking more and more like a Korean girl everyday, now that I'm sporting their styles . . .
Sunday- Okay, the weekend was a blast, but Sunday takes the cake. I met up with a few friends to go to the Lotus Lantern Festival in Jonggak in celebration of Buddha's birthday. On a side note- I LOVE having friends here, and these girls are AMAZING. Seriously, I see good fun in my future. Courtney, Rachel, Jaimi, and Christine hail from the U.S., while Jen and Helen hail from the U.K. After the lantern festival, we ended up in a bar in the Dongguk neighborhood and met a bunch of Korean university students that are English majors. Five hours of dancing later, we hit up a noraebang (that's Korean for karaoke bar) and sang to our hearts content. I don't know if I'll being going to a noraebang again soon though, because I suck. Big time. Karaoke is not my forte, in case you couldn't have guessed. Anyhow, after a few hours of singing debauchery, we went to a 24-hour restaurant and feasted on egg rolls (which are something totally different here in Korea- its basically a gigantic omelet rolled up like an enchilada and smothered in sweet tomato sauce). I didn't get home till 8 a.m. . . which was okay because Monday was a holiday . . .
Three days of teaching later (I'll have to post more about my teaching experience at a later date, this post is getting a little long), and I'm packing my bag to go to on a road trip tomorrow. The girls that I hung out with on Sunday invited me to go to Incheon, a beach/island city west of Seoul. There are rumors floating about of beach camping and eating live octopus in the plans. Should be good fun . . . but don't expect to see any pictures of me eating octopus . . .
Till next time . . .
Anyong ki haseyo,
Dana
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Two weeks already?!
Hello hello! I figured it was about time for some pictures. Of course, I couldn't figure out how to get them onto my blog, so I'll just provide the Flickr link.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/83719566@N00/
This weekend is Buddha's Birthday (a national holiday here) so I have today (Thursday) through Monday off of work. Woohoo!!! As expected, I have a full weekend planned- Palace touring today in Seoul, seeing the Folk Village tomorrow with Young-Shin, *hopefully* going to the DMZ on Saturday, and seeing the Lotus Lantern parade on Sunday with a few friends . . .
So I'm sure I'll have plenty to gab about on Monday. I'll update more then!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/83719566@N00/
This weekend is Buddha's Birthday (a national holiday here) so I have today (Thursday) through Monday off of work. Woohoo!!! As expected, I have a full weekend planned- Palace touring today in Seoul, seeing the Folk Village tomorrow with Young-Shin, *hopefully* going to the DMZ on Saturday, and seeing the Lotus Lantern parade on Sunday with a few friends . . .
So I'm sure I'll have plenty to gab about on Monday. I'll update more then!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Addresses
I forgot to throw my address into the last post. It is:
Dana Van De Walker
203 ho 22-32 Tae Myeong Bil
Top-dong
Kweonseon-gu
Suwon-si
Gyeonggi-do
South Korea
441-440
For packages or anything larger than your standard letter, you can use my school address. It is:
Dana Van De Walker
Chil-bo School
Gumgok-dong
Kweonseon-gu
Suwon-si
Gyeonggi-do
South Korea
441-841
Peace out,
Dana
Dana Van De Walker
203 ho 22-32 Tae Myeong Bil
Top-dong
Kweonseon-gu
Suwon-si
Gyeonggi-do
South Korea
441-440
For packages or anything larger than your standard letter, you can use my school address. It is:
Dana Van De Walker
Chil-bo School
Gumgok-dong
Kweonseon-gu
Suwon-si
Gyeonggi-do
South Korea
441-841
Peace out,
Dana
Where in the world is Dana Jo?
Well, if you are reading this, you probably already know that I am in South Korea (!!!). I'm living in Suwon, a city about 20 km south of Seoul, and will be here for at least a year teaching English as a Foreign Language.
I decided to start a blog specifically for family and friends, as I've been told wayyy too many times in the past that I don't keep y'all up t0 date on my adventures. So, I am going to make a whole-hearted attempt to update this blog at least once a week, hopefully with photos in tow. I hope you all enjoy!
Back to business . . . I've already been here for about 4 days, but I feel like I haven't even had a chance to breathe. In addition to wicked jet-lag, there is just so much to do before my first official day of teaching on Friday. I went to the school yesterday to meet all the teachers (my co-teacher Young-shin met me at the airport- she is adorable and AMAZING) and observe a few classes. I'm nervous about teaching, but also really excited. My experiences with teaching in the past have made me want to continue in the field, but I've never really known how to go about it . . .
Anyhow, on top of preparing for Friday, I am busy exploring my new home base. My apartment is adorable (tiny, but adorable nonetheless) and about a 30 minute walk from my school (the bus also goes there, but I have get to brave the Suwon bus system). I will try to upload a few photos of the apartment in the next few days.
Yesterday I went into Seoul and meandered the morning/afternoon away. I think the biggest surprise to me thus far about Korea is the total and complete lack of English. Yes, I knew what I was getting into, and hence the need for my job/me, but I'm not sure I realized the severity of the situation. When I've lived abroad in the past, most everyone knew at least basic English. In India, they learn it from kindergarten, so anyone who has had at least a few years of schooling knows it. In Palestine, and specifically Bethlehem with tourism rife (I like that word- "rife"- it implies something of a communicable disease), people have to know it. But here, no one knows English. Aside, of course, from the schoolboys that run in front of me, scream "HELLO!", and run away . . . Even my Korean co-teacher, whose job it is to teach English, can barely put together a sentence.
I suppose its time I learn Korean . . .
Anyong hi kaseyo,
Dana
I decided to start a blog specifically for family and friends, as I've been told wayyy too many times in the past that I don't keep y'all up t0 date on my adventures. So, I am going to make a whole-hearted attempt to update this blog at least once a week, hopefully with photos in tow. I hope you all enjoy!
Back to business . . . I've already been here for about 4 days, but I feel like I haven't even had a chance to breathe. In addition to wicked jet-lag, there is just so much to do before my first official day of teaching on Friday. I went to the school yesterday to meet all the teachers (my co-teacher Young-shin met me at the airport- she is adorable and AMAZING) and observe a few classes. I'm nervous about teaching, but also really excited. My experiences with teaching in the past have made me want to continue in the field, but I've never really known how to go about it . . .
Anyhow, on top of preparing for Friday, I am busy exploring my new home base. My apartment is adorable (tiny, but adorable nonetheless) and about a 30 minute walk from my school (the bus also goes there, but I have get to brave the Suwon bus system). I will try to upload a few photos of the apartment in the next few days.
Yesterday I went into Seoul and meandered the morning/afternoon away. I think the biggest surprise to me thus far about Korea is the total and complete lack of English. Yes, I knew what I was getting into, and hence the need for my job/me, but I'm not sure I realized the severity of the situation. When I've lived abroad in the past, most everyone knew at least basic English. In India, they learn it from kindergarten, so anyone who has had at least a few years of schooling knows it. In Palestine, and specifically Bethlehem with tourism rife (I like that word- "rife"- it implies something of a communicable disease), people have to know it. But here, no one knows English. Aside, of course, from the schoolboys that run in front of me, scream "HELLO!", and run away . . . Even my Korean co-teacher, whose job it is to teach English, can barely put together a sentence.
I suppose its time I learn Korean . . .
Anyong hi kaseyo,
Dana
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