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Location: Skype
Okay, for anyone who is interested I just started using Skype and it's great. So if you're on Skype feel free to call me. My name is patmce. Talk to you soon!
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Location: Korean Bagel
That's right I skipped out on reporting about the election. In case anyone was wondering candidate number 2, the favorite won. He's a former Hyundai exec and is apparently already under some kind of criminal investigation. In other news..
This week the new drama teacher and my companion in arms for this year showed up. His name is Christopher. We taught some new classes this week. Mainly book club where we are reading different books with 2nd grade students in the morning. In the afternoon we're teaching them "Tomorrow" and helping them write a show of their own. On Thursday the school had a Christmas show for all the parents and now the kids are on break. One of the classes performed a version of the Christmas Carol that was very good. Chris and I performed a version of the "The Nigh Before Christmas". I sang and played the guitar while Chris did an interpretive dance. After the performances the teachers were invited to go out to eat at the Outback Steakhouse. Funny, I think this time last year I was at a an Outback in Montgomery, Alabama. The service was about the same...
Chris and I have been walking and taking the subway around town. Yesterday we went to the 63 building which is the largest building in Seoul. I have a picture or two in the photo album. Then we took the subway to the theatre district. Or at least that was the idea... We got off a stop early and much to our surprise and delight we ended up in the clothing/shopping district of Seoul. Everything was 5 or 10 dollars. Can't wait until I get paid! It was Saturday and the Saturday before Christmas so it was extremely busy, people were bustling along the streets and there was much street food to be sampled. My favorite so far are these cinnamon and sugar filled pancakes. Earlier in the week I made a chicken soup with some of the gigantic carrots I bought from a lady on the street. 3 for a dollar! For the carrots, not the lady.
Today I need to read and prepare for week two of the book club. I'm not sick any more and all in all it was the calmest week since I've arrived.
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Location: Peter and the Wolf
No new pictures to post this week. Unfortunately my usual weekend photo session was canceled on account of my sickness. I don't know if it was the kids coughing all over me and then giving me hugs to simultaneously share the love and the disease or if it's because I'm in a foreign country but I was sick most of the weekend. Luckily a hearty Japanese fish soup cured most of my ailments. Oh, and rest, lots of rest. Right now I'm doing my first load of laundry here in Seoul. The washer is in the apartment of the new teacher that's coming in tonight. So I've got to finish washing and clean up the bathroom. Why? Because the washing machine is attached to the sink in the bathroom and then all the water empties into a drain in the floor there. I think that the hoses were still dirty when I tried my first load because all of my clothes came out dirtier than when I put them in! Of course all the controls on the machine are in Korean. So maybe I pressed the "make my clothes filthy" button instead of wash.
Earlier this week I purchased the Korean equivalent of a Metro-Card and showed Paul how to get around on the subway. On Friday we went to Itaewon which is basically the Foreigner's area of Seoul. We ate Turkish kebabs from a real Turk and then watched Elf. Which in Korean is "El-Pu". Then it snowed at the end to prove that Seoul truly embodies the Christmas spirit. It was fun meeting some new people and hanging out with everyone. There were two Germans, 3 Koreans and 4 Americans in a group. Paul and I left Itaewon just as things were getting rowdy. Beer bottles smashing and club music pounding.
Other new developments: I now have a guitar, there should be a reliable internet connection set up tomorrow and by the end of the week maybe even a phone. Also, Wednesday is a day off for me. Why? Because it's Election Day! I'll have special election coverage talking about all 12 candidates. Or some variation thereof. Oh! And I'm officially an Alien. Thanks Korea!
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Location: A Bowl of Rice, Rice Baby!
This was my first week teaching in Seoul. Everyday it seemed like the classes where going to be different. Monday was Drama with 5 year olds, then 7 year olds. Earlier in the day story telling. Then story telling was canceled. And in the afternoon my class consisted of only 2 seven year olds. During all this schedule shifting there was still a curriculum that needed to be developed. Every class was about finding out what worked for the students and what didn't. Group activities are best for the 5 year olds and the children that are a little bit older can start to improvise. My 2 person Drama Troupe performed the Princess and the Pea. Everybody LOVES the accordion. Well... almost everybody, there are a few children who think it is probably sent from the devil. Maybe those kids have been creating all those accordion hate websites... By the end of the week though another big shifted happened. The yoga teacher split Seoul and left her students hanging in Downward facing Dog. The school director quickly recruited me to take over. He even made some kind of appreciation video for me, which I'll post if he ever gives me a copy. This is the point in which I invite anyone pedagogically interested to engage on a debate about whether or not Yoga is even an appropriate "skill" to teach young children, let alone adults. That's right, I'm going against the grain and saying yoga (typically) is not a good idea. But back to Seoul and away from inciting comments.
The work out plan is to run along part of the Han River ever other day. The North Shore is about 5 minutes away from the elevator. It's a really gorgeous view in the morning. Maybe I'll bring my camera tomorrow and take some pictures of the sunrise for everyone. Speaking of pictures... I added a few more to the slideshow. If I walk north, away from the river and underneath the subway station and I come up very close to some kind of government park. I think it might be part of a US military base.... or maybe not... hmm... that's where the picture of the hand and the man and the birds are from. I also managed to make it to I-park all by myself!
Saturday afternoon was spent at the Dragon Spa! $10 and you get up to 12 hours in this place. Saunas, hot tubs, pools, restaurants, movie theatre, sleeping rooms the works! I loved it. I'm definitely going back at least once a month. Maybe once a week! Depending on how this yoga thing goes. Today I went to the electronics market and figured out how to get there on the subway. It's only about one stop from where I live. I bought a pair of headphones and they sound great. Other than that I've been reading the Korea Herald which has a lot of postings for language/friend exchange. Where you exchange a friend of yours for the Korean Language. Err.... I mean you exchange your language and friendship for someone else's. Sounds like a plan!
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Location: My Apartment In Seoul!
OKay! First of all I've set up a slide show on the page that I'll continue to update with pictures. You should be able to just click on the photo if you want to see a larger version. If the slideshow doesn't work for you try this link: Photo Album
After arriving here at Inchon International Airport I spent some time looking around for whoever it was that was going to pick me up. Owen said either he would or someone from the school. So I didn't know who to expect. All I knew was that none of the people waiting with signs had my name on it! Instead of panicking I went to the currency exchange area and got some won! It was bout 930won to 1 dollar. Then I walked back to see if anyone new had shown up. Nope. Maybe a phone would be a good idea. There was a prepaid phone area, but that seemed like too much. After all, I just needed to make 1 phone call. Looking around I saw some public phones, but it looked like they only accepted coins, which I didn't have. Maybe a phone card would do the trick. Wouldn't you know it! The phone card machine was broken down. Hmm.... so I walked back again. Every time I walked back and forth there were cab drivers asking people if they needed a ride. I kept running into the same one. Finally he let me use his cell phone. Soon after that Lee, the co-founder at Starters (the school I'm teaching at) showed up. Lee is a very friendly man and we talked about the city as we drove into it. Seoul is about an 1hr and half drive from Inchon. As we approached Seoul traffic really began to pick up. Lee said it was too bad though, probably because it was only Wednesday. As we were bringing up my bags there was another Caucasian guy in the stair well. He was Paul! Another new teacher, he had arrived the day before. He was very tired from the jet lag so he retired for the evening. As Lee was showing me my apartment, which is like a penthouse/studio, his wife and daughter showed up with Owen. They had all gone shopping and brought some essentials like: Frosted Flakes, Milk, a cutting board and knife, toothpaste, soap, some shower slippers (I think...) air fresheners and a small metal pot.
After that we went out to eat. Downstairs from the apartment is a fried chicken restaurant. So we had fried chicken and beer and some fried potatoes too. A delicious first meal! As we were talking it came up that Mrs. Lee has an accordion. AH! All that time spent on "Patrick McElwee's Fun Time Happy Hour Half Hour Comedy Hour Super Crazy Accordion" Time is about to pay off, I thought! And sure enough, Mrs. Lee asked me to teach her to play the accordion for about the equivalent of my over time compensation. Owen also thought this was wonderful and asked me if I could incorporate it into my classes. SURE!
The next day Lee said that I should come to his apartment around 11am for breakfast and then I'd go to Starters for my first day. Our apartment buildings are set up like 3 identical towers built right next to each other. When I went out to go to Lee's apartment I couldn't quite remember which one was his. So I think I rang a couple of wrong door bells. Finally, I found it though and instead of breakfast we just walked straight to the school! On the way there were mother walking with there babies and I noticed how clean everything was. At school I read to a class and met some of the children, and ate lunch in one of the classes. The school is delightful! Also, Mrs. Lee took me and Paul to set up a bank account. Turns out Daniel was right, though. I do need a power adapter for my computer to work in the outlets here. After work Paul took me to a store right in one of the alleys near the apartments. I bought to adapters for about a dollar. We were hungry and went to a restaurant near by. Turns out it was a Chinese restaurant! Paul and I were pretty much hopeless trying to figure out what the menu said. A woman in the restaurant turned out to be the owner's sister and a travel agent and an English speaker. She helped us order some excellent dim sum.
After dinner I was ready to drop. 4 O'clock in the afternoon still felt like midnight to me at that point. Just as I was about to fall asleep Lee showed up and invited me and Paul to dinner. Well, I'm never one to refuse a meal. We had a great meal in Lee's apartment with his wife and daughter. All the traditional foods, bulgogi, kimchee and rice, with some fried fish too! And a soup made from kimchee. Delicious! I almost fell asleep at dinner though because I was so tired. Mrs. Lee noticed and laughingly said that she "released" me.
Next day at school I went to 4 classes ranging from children that were only 36 months old to about 7. I brought the accordion with me and sang and made up stories for them. Last night we went to the Hilton for an amazing buffet. There's now a TV and a refrigerator in the apartment and later today Owen and Paul and I are going to go grocery shopping I think on Sunday we're going to get a tour of some of the city too!
Location: San Francisco
I've made it to San Francisco. I think I slept the whole way here. Or maybe I woke up somewhere around Las Vegas. All I know for sure is that I almost unintentionally exited the airport trying to find the International Terminal. So I had to go through security for a second time! Thank goodness I have about 4 hours to kill. And the security check point was surprisingly fast. I was in and out of a gigantic line in about 15 minutes. Not bad. But still 3 hours and 45 minutes to go... In the check point one of the security guards mentioned that the international gate access point is located behind some discretely placed pillars. Naturally. So after refastening my belt and otherwise suiting up after the speedy safety exodus I stood in line for he International Terminal Shuttle. There's basically a secret door that you're led through to let you on the super secret shuttle that takes you to the even more super secure and secret elevator that you can take to the very special privileged (and secret) terminal area. And thankfully my gate exists and so does my flight! Some day I'll have internet access and I can post this until then...
Location: Somewhere over the Pacific... I think
Flying Internationally is awesome! I think I've already been fed twice and I just received another glass of water. Watched some of the Transformers, took a nap. Had some pot roast, whice was really quite delicious and one of the largest ice cream sandwiches I've ever had. Singapore Airlines is great. The check in guys at SFO switched my seat so I could have a row all to my self. They said it was a very light flight. And they're right! I think that maybe half of the coach rows are filled. That's three seats to a row and maybe 15 of the 45 rows or so have an occupant.
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Location: ABQ International Airport
OKay! So far so good. My flight leaves for San Francisco in about half an hour. Daniel drove me to the Airport this morning after a whopping 3 hours of sleep. I think I have everything I need. *Gulp* I'm impressed with the free internet at the Airport right now. Still dark and cold. Had my last New Mexican meal for a while at Los Cuates last night. Thanks Mom and Brendan! Delicious. Talked with Owen last night and he said someone will definitely be in Seoul when I arrive tomorrow. Gee, I hope my bags are there. Guess, I'm still in groggy travel mode.
We'll, see how the internet is in San Fran...
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