San Francisco > Seoul > Seattle

Ever since I left my dad's house to attend community college in Humboldt County (Eureka, CA), it feels like I have been a nomad. I think it's a symptom of my age, where we don't settle in one place. But this allows one to explore and see the world as they move around. That is why as I find myself packing things up and heading to Seattle, I know I'll be ready for what's ahead.

I also find it somewhat iconic to be going from one big city to the next. In San Francisco I worked at an insurance company that was right in front of the Pyramid building, and a block from Chinatown. 

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Living in San Francisco, for the most part, was where I gained my city feet and learned how to survive in the urban environment. Having come from Eureka, a town of probably just a thousand people set against the deep redwood forests, living in the city was certainly new. When I decided to come to Korea I wondered if I was prepared for Seoul life, a city of millions. 

I left the triangular tower and came to Seoul with it's iconic Namsan Tower set in the center of everything. 

(my photo)

What really can prepare you to live in a city of millions of people? Everywhere you go, whenever you go is crowded or never really empty. Life flows on the streets so abundantly here that the buzz only dies down on certain holidays. But this doesn't mean it's a bad thing. It just means this is a city that beats and constantly spins to it's own rhythm due to the number of people and it's culture. I've often felt when visiting back home in my dad's small town an eerie feeling of the lack of people around. Seoul is a vibrant city with so much going on that you hardly need to dig deep to find meaningful experiences. 

Leaving Seoul behind is a hard decision as it is a city that has truly grown on to me. I have felt like I fit in here after so many years. But it's time to look forward and onward, and this time the place of interest is Seattle.

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I have never been to Seattle, and in fact it will be the Northwestern most point in America that I will end up in. People tell me it's a fun and great city to live in and I believe them. From what I've read the place is buzzing with good food, live music and an eclectic scene of artists and creative people. 

Already I've found museums and parks that I want to explore, and with Canada right up top I might take an adventure there too. Since I'll be a student they have plenty of cozy cafes to warm up in with my laptop or books. And libraries!! Yes, Korea has libraries but you know..wasn't the same. 

It's going to be a new place to discover and I hope to get involved in the community and get to know what makes Seattle buzz. 

Anyway, just wanted to share this interesting set of facts about my life. Winter is here in Korea and I have to keep warm thoughts as the temperatures drop down. So here is looking ahead to the future and appreciating where I have been in the past. Cheers!

Yeoju Ceramic Festival

It was time, I finally felt like I needed to get out of Seoul. After looking around the Korea.net site for a fun place to visit I decided upon the Yeoju Ceramic Festival. A place of historic value and one that honors its tradition, and meant to "promote the excellence"of Korea's craft in ceramics, I assumed it would be a fun festival. You'll see that I wasn't proven wrong.

I took a bus from the Dong Seoul Bus Terminal near the Gangbyeon station. It wasn't too difficult to figure this out, just walk up to the ticket booth ask or point to where you want to go and buy your ticket. Mine cost all of 5,000 Won. The ticket says what platform to find your bus and what time it is leaving. My advice, get to your bus ten minutes before hand as they are very punctual on leaving on time.

The bus ride was the nostalgic part of the trip, as I recalled the times I spent in my ex's car looking out the window. However, I enjoyed my solo trip in the bus as I took in the mountain scenery.

Located in Gyeonngi-do it is nearby Wonju and Icheon, so it really isn't too far away. The bus ride was about two hours.

I arrived at the festival early enough to enjoy the sites before the larger crowds came in. Festival goers included a lot of family's, as this was indeed set up for kids. Plus the previous day was Children's day, so I'm sure kids were still buzzing from that. Although being around kids on my day off is not always welcomed, I managed to enjoy myself anyways.

The festival was set up that near the parking lot was a huge stage for auctions and performances. Then you enter the festival arena where buildings housed ceramics and other wares for sale. In the middle of the avenue area were tents set up with traditional foods and trinkets for sale. Alongside this was a hallway where craftsmen and women sold their works.

There were plenty of crafty and oddball things to do if you had kids. At one point I saw people fishing for cups from a pool area. I think the deal was that if you get 4 cups you then get a "real" better cup to take home.

Alongside this area was a place where kids could practice making a pot. Of course they had a potter helping them (who did most the work), but I could tell these kiddos were getting into it.

Another fun thing you could do is buy a cup, plate or slab to paint and take home. It cost just 5,000 Won, and I did it myself, which I will show you later.

The area where artists were selling their work was fun to walk through. There were definitely a variety of wares for sale and a lot of it very well made.

I especially liked the texture on the following works..

Outside this area was a place to get some lunch and had a pig roasting, which was quite amusing.

Even the bathrooms were set up to look like a big kiln...

Nearby this area were some gardens that had a large sculpture. This looked like a good spot for people to picnic at or have a restful moment.

The rest of my trip I went towards the temple site, and will show you the details in another post. For now I'll finish up my trip to the festival.

After lunch I headed back into the festival and found myself painting a cup. I enjoyed sitting down and getting into this. I decided to just paint my name on the cup, as this seemed appropriate.

The rest of my time was spent waiting for my cup to be finished, they baked it in an oven to let the paint seal in. So I wandered around and found some people making tteok, and enjoyed some crafts for sale.

All together, the Yeoju Ceramic Festival was a good time and I enjoyed seeing the various crafts and activities.

The festival is still going on till May 13th, so if you want to you can still get out there!

How to:
- Take a bus headed towards Yeoju Bus terminal from the Dong Seoul Bus Terminal. Ride time is about 70 minutes.
- From the Yeoju Bus terminal head to the biggest bus stop. Now this was a problem for me. I stood at one bus stop and didn't see a bus that headed my way. So I asked around, and people told me to go across the street. Then there was no info there, so I asked. Person at this bus stop told me to go over to the other bus stop. I took a taxi! However, busses do go to the festival area so you can try to figure it out more than I did! haha

Returning home is easy as you buy a ticket back to Seoul and take the ride back.

Hope you get out of Seoul sometime (if you live here) haha.

Last Few Days of Camp Finally

There are just three more days of camp and thank goodness! Although, tiring and often mind-boggling strange, the camp has been going pretty well. I have learned what the low-levels need and how better to pace myself for them. They take time to process the English and I try to give it to them in a slow yet understandable manner. But mostly they want to learn through games, crafts and activities. I guess that is true for all first-graders.

Camp, as mentioned earlier, wasn't planned very well even though the planning committee did do hard work. I want to step up for winter camp and plan some new stuff for them, but am trying to lay-low so not to seem like a pushy person.

With camp nearing it's end that means next week I will have my time off and go to Jeju. I am excited but also a bit worried, because it will be hot down there and most of the food you can find is seafood. I really hope to get to a supermarket my first day and stock up my pension with things to make for breakfast. Really though, I am trying to tell myself to just go there and relax. Don't worry about whether you get out and see everything or find the most delicious meal on the island. Mostly, I am looking forward to swimming and seeing several sunsets. Really, I don't know if I want to ride around the island everyday to go see something, when I could be at a nearby beach. Plus there are several sights to see in my area of the island.

I know that after vacation the next semester starts and I am already mentally preparing myself. I want to get through it without any hiccups. I know there will be times when I am approached by my Korean homeroom teachers and that I really need to give a nice face to it all. Last week, I approached the person who hired at me at the school (he is also the head-coordinator) about my position. After the kids went home I went up to his classroom. I basically introduced that I don't talk to him much and would like to say "Hi." I got around to asking him how I am doing at the school and got good feedback. He told me he hears that I work hard and that is good. But then he asked me, "How do you feel about the Korean teachers?" I went blank for a little bit and then smiled and said how I enjoy them and like working with them. I also talked about how for next camp I would like to contribute. He was enthusiastic to hear this. I basically just wanted to make sure he knew that I liked the school and my position. I know most of what he hears about me comes from third parties so I wanted to make sure he heard my side. Hopefully, this will help plant a seed for the future when he is considering my renewal.

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, especially how I have grown since my first time in Korea. Sometimes I look back on my first summer here and can't believe it all. I certainly felt so scared and alienated at that time. I am glad to be where I am here in Korea and hope to grow more on this peninsula.

KoreanCupid: A Guide for the Ladies on how to Date Online in Korea

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Maybe, you have seen the above picture with a young Korean woman in it and the words "Korean Cupid".  After looking at it a few times you might have wondered, what it is like to use an online dating service in Korea. So your curiosity finally peaks and you head over to the site and end up in this world that you might think is just like any other dating site, except it is not.

 Before I get into my guide, let me first tell you that I met JH through this particular site, and just about two years ago. It was after my break up with my first Korean boyfriend (BK), and I didn't want to believe that I could never love a Kboy again. However, I am not the person to walk up to strangers on the street or go to bars/clubs and hit it up with guys there. I needed a place to go to where I could connect with a Korean man but on a certain level. That is why this guide today will reflect an actual user's experience and give you some insight into the site and trying to meet Korean men.

Another last stop before I get into the guide, and that is my discretionary statement. This guide is for ladies interested in Korean men. It might help you if you are of a different sex and looking for women, or whatever, but mostly this is for women looking specifically for Korean men. Yes, there are non-Korean men on the site but I never bothered to get involved with that. 

With that said, I want to state that this is not from the perspective of someone who is obsessed with sex, is interested in drinking and one night stands or is just looking to hook up with a Korean for the thrill of it. I did my search, two years ago, to look for someone to start a serious relationship with. Therefore, my perspective will reflect these (I guess) conservative views.

Let's move on~!!

The Guide To Using Korean Cupid for the Ladies Looking for the Korean Man's Heart:

1. Setting Up Your Profile:

 Yes I am using my own profile there, which is still visible on the site (although I don't use it anymore). Obviously, when you start off on the site you make your profile. This includes all the typical stuff with the most important showing up first. Here are my basic tips:

• Put up pretty pictures of yourself that are flattering. Unless you want him to see you as a drunk, then show yourself partying in the bar. Otherwise give the guys decent pictures to look at. Also have a variety up there as this seems to be a big feature of the site.
• Be honest in your descriptions. Just don't lie off the bat that you are skinny but are really not, or don't mind if a guy smokes, but you really do. 
• Make a simple and useful headline. Not too long as that can be tiring.
• In the "seeking" section, briefly but accurately state what you are looking for.

2. Browsing Men's Profiles

• The Search: Be specific or else you will get more results than you can handle. Shoot for people who have been recently active. Look within your age range, unless you really don't care. 
• The Results: As you can see it will vary who shows up. Since a picture says it all, I mostly see this first and then look at the details. What has always been really strange is most Korean folks are seeking females age "18 - 80." Something tells me they really aren't going to date an 18 year old or an 80 year old either. This already tells you something about their ability to use the site or how sincere they are in making their profile. It could also just mean they were lazy. Sift through the results and see if any catch your eye. Click on their profile and dig into whether they are interesting enough to send a message or set up for a private chat. 

3. Looking at their Profiles: 

• The most important aspect, I found, is not all the information they fill out or their pictures but what they put as a description of who they are looking for. If they can write two sentences and do it well in English than you can tell they are using the site for more than just peeping. The following examples show how some give you good and bad signs.

 

 4. Communication and the Private Chat

This is by far the most important and critical part of using the site. If you list yourself as "single" and "available" you will get a lot of profile views, email and chat requests. A chat request works by that a pop up window comes up with a chime asking you to join in. Once opened you can find out who is trying to talk to you via a link to their profile. The following are some warnings and good advice when chatting with Korean men on this site.

• Most Chat requests are from guys who want sex only. How do I know? Because I cut the bullshit and got straight to the point with a lot of them and told them I wasn't looking for one night stands. Usually things start off nice in a chat and then the guy suddenly starts asking questions like, "What is your bra size?" "Do you like sex?" And from there you can tell that he is just on the site for the thrill of it. When I revealed that I wasn't trying to hook up with guys just for sex, a lot of them got upset. They even would tell me that they thought foreign women don't mind one night stands and I was acting "strange" to them. Gee I wonder where they got those ideas (Hollywood!).
• Weed them out to find Mr. Niceguy. Of course, you really can't tell if he is good or bad by just a quick chat but as shown above you do want to be straight up honest at first. Otherwise, you could end up meeting a guy with different intentions. So have a method lined up for how you will chat to them. If things get strange or perverted back out. If things are civil and sound good stay in the chat.
• Move on to your real email and messenger (skype) contacts: What you really want to do is start communicating with these guys outside of KoreanCupid. Once you are comfortable enough and truly feel you can trust them then send out your details. CAUTION: Don't give any personal information (like this) out unless you are 10000% percent sure they won't end up digitally stalking you. My advice: if they ask for this kind of stuff in just the first chat than they are really desperate. Wait after a week or so to know they are worthy. 

5. Picking a Guy to Actually Date

• This category is to show that there are generally three types of Korean men on the site. 
• One: In it for the sex and thrill of being with a foreigner. (As mentioned above). If this is what you want to cater too than go ahead. But remember you might be promoting a stereotype here of foreign women as easy. 
• Two: Looking for a language partner. This kind of guy can fit into them all, but some of them mostly just want a language buddy. Keep in mind you might not really learn Korean and instead speak English the whole time. If you are looking to help a guy out with his English than go ahead, you never know as it could blossom into love.
• Three: Looking for a loving and lasting relationship or just something beyond the first date. This was the kind of guy I was looking for and managed to weed out the rest. I am still with him so as you can see it definitely lasted beyond the first date.

6. The Meet Up:

• These are going to be obvious. Pick a public place and one that you are familiar with or if you pick one new to you review how to get there and back (exit strategy). 
• If meeting someone new for the first time makes you super nervous, ask to meet first with your friend.
• Let a close friend know you are going on this semi-blind date so that there is someone out there in world caring about you. 

Conclusion: 

I doubt I mentioned everything but I hope this guide shows you what it is like from a women's perspective on the experience to be had when using KoreanCupid. Depending on your goals the site can provide you with many different types of love or lust matches. 

Once out the door and actually meeting a guy it is up to you. Dating a Korean guy in theory is no different from dating a guy from America or South Africa, since they are all men.  But of course, Korean men carry their social treasures and burdens with them that as time passes you get to know and discover. 

Maybe someday I will make a guide to dating a Korean man, but I think I need to gather more evidence from other women, to truly show what it is like. Till then there is this guide.

Finally, it is spring and so love is in the air anyways. What better way to enjoy the beauty and warmth of this season than discovering Korea with someone you met on KoreanCupid. Just do it all with caution and don't get yourself too head-over-heels. 

Grasping Time

Today was better as I somehow managed to feel like I was caught up. Reality is I still have a lot of planning to do and basic stuff to get done. I have been realizing lately what it will take to teach the first grade and that I am going to learn a lot of techniques.

Monday the school is going to do a "walk through" around to each classroom to check on our decorations. So we have been pressured in to making two posters for the blank sections of our room. I managed to finish both of mine today, and will have to stay late tomorrow to mount them. Getting this done was really satisfying.

I am getting the house ready for Tom and making sure he will have enough space to roam and play. Already I have a nice (huge) litter box for him and a piece of cat furniture is on its way.

There have been moments during the past few weeks that I have felt homesick. Mostly I feel a huge appreciation for home. However, slowly I can feel my life in Korea taking it's shape once again.

All right, I am going to go rest with Hulu.

Back on Korean Soil

My flight back was pretty good and I have to say Singapore Airlines is up there with Korean Air as my favorite. There was one slight issue during the flight, that was my cough. I couldn't help but do it while on the flight and apparantly the woman sitting in front of me did not find it amusing. Yet she alerted me of this towards the end of the flight. She asked me if it was contagious and I gave her an honest answer that I didn't know, since I didn't visit a doctor. Well, she didn't like that and expressed this quite forwardly. I didn't know what to say to her accept I was sorry.
JH picked me up from the airport and I have been staying at his house ever since. I will move in to my new place tomorrow around 4pm, and I am very excited. From what I gather it will be kind of spacious and in a good neighborhood.

In the meantime, I am visited a doctor. He said that the cough probably will take a while to go away but take the meds he recommends and if it persists to come back for x-rays.

Staying at JH's house is interesting because for one it is the size of a shoebox. His mom is staying at her boyfriend's house just to accomadate me. Yes I know how nice this is of her and should think of a way to genuinly thank her. (BTW if there are spelling errors it's because I am using my bf's computer and the spell check doesn't seem to be working.) His sister lives in his house too and she has been sweet with me here. Even helped me clean some of my sweaters and hang them up to dry.

Coming back to Korea after a 3 month stay at home, was long enough for me to feel like I hadn't been here in a while. Although I feel like I am having that "first time here" culture shock it is being blanketed by "oh yea...Korea is like that" feelings. I did miss Korea and all its greatness and pitfalls, though.

I am looking forward to starting the new job, but feeling nervous for the start of the semester with first graders. I know I just need to be myself and take things as they come along. But I am going to be really busy with moving in, unpacking and getting ready for work real soon. Actually I want to get busy with all this as I like to organize and prepare myself for stuff. Also I would like to get to the point where things are settled down so that I can start seeking out a Korean study group along with everything else I want to do.

:) Glad to be back.

Our Precious Homes

This post was inspired by Jennipal's writing on her lamentations of being married and living back in Canada. It made me understand more what I have already come to realize, and that is that our hometowns are precious. This is something I thought of when I experienced "reverse culture shock" the first few weeks being back home.

I came to realize that there is so much which has to go right and be put together to make this tiny dot on the map function. Out here there is still a lot of nature, but that is something you expect from a small town in the mountains. The population is low and this makes for less crowded lines at the supermarket, more open space and generally a friendly community. But the "preciousness" of which I am talking about is really hard to describe. It's that feeling of knowing you are home and at the same time feeling like you can never take it with you. This is because what I call home is a living place that is growing and deconstructing all at the same time. I could take with me pictures or postcards but I can never take the town and it's people.

Living in South Korea I know this feeling very well, because although every little micro city has supermarkets, roads, sidewalks and basically everything that is modern it isn't the same place as what I call home. What I call home exists because the people who do what they do in it make it exist.

Now I hope I haven't blabbered on here too much, and that you are starting to see my point. Jennipal was talking about how her town is boring and she yearns to get out there. But she is just at the beginning of starting a life in Canada with her husband and so can't really pack it all up for a year in a different country.

My suggestion to Jennipal was to treat her surroundings like she would if she were abroad. Figure out what makes Regina unique. I let her know that she could explore her surroundings just in the same way as if she were abroad, because there are people out there who know nothing about it. Just like I know nothing about what the supermarkets or street stalls are like in some place in India, I don't know what they are like in Regina, Canada.

I too can relate to Jennipal, however and feel that without being in a new place and culture there is nothing really to report on. Who wants to know what I bought at the supermarket, which I went to by car and there was no one along the way who pointed at me and said, "foreigner!"

So my advice to anybody who has replanted themselves back in their home country from years of travel or living abroad is this. Take that same energy and use it as a way to delve into your surroundings and get to know the people and places in your local area. Explore your area with the same passion as you would explore a backstreet in Phuket, Thailand. And if you find it all to be too generic and full of strip malls, well reflect on that and see if you can find some local run-down shack selling canned pickles. You never know!

Made Tofu Jorim

Being home has many great benefits, one of which is being able to go out and get any western food and ingredients that I want. However, after living in Korea for 2.5 years I have grown accustom to their food and taste. I miss a great jjang soup or pajeon, and so have been having a craving lately for something Korean. Unfortunately, my Dad's small town only has Japanese, Chinese and Thai as their Asian choices. To get that "Korean taste" I would either need to drive an hour and a half to the nearest metropolitan town (Sacramento) or make it at home. I did just that and figured I would try a savory tofu dish that I enjoy quite often.

It is called "Tofu Jorim" and I found the recipe from "My Korean Diet." Finding the ingredients for this recipe wasn't too difficult. Most of the hard-to-find ones would be sesame oil and gochugaru. I thought about using cayenne powder as a substitute for Korean red pepper powder, but had a feeling it wouldn't come out right. Thankfully, as I was in one store today I found Annie Chun's Gochujang sauce. Sure it is a really commercial version of the real thing, but out here it was the best I could do.

First I made the sauce using the listed ingredients while adding several "squirts" of Annie's sauce. Then I sliced up the tofu and fried them till golden brown. After frying, you take them out of the pan and then pour in the sauce for it to heat up. Return the tofu to the pan and add sauce on top, while cooking more for a while. What you get is a great tasty-tofu dinner!

I complimented it with cooked rice and a packet of seaweed I found at a local health-foods store. Ta-da! Korean at home.

Post-Work Blues Cure

Trust me, I am enjoying that I don't have a job to go to till next March. But it seems there are still some frustrations from last year that I am getting over. Yesterday morning I awoke from an anxious dream where I was arguing with my old coteachers. When I woke up I was furious, but then looked around me and realized that was all over. However, as I am still waiting to make sure my previous school deposits all the money they owe me into my account, I can't help but still feel connected.

Thank fully I participated in a life-drawing group yesterday, which helped me get relief from these post-work blues. My step-mom is also an artist and she takes part in a local group that meets for life drawing. I grabbed my sketchbook and supplies and went along with her.

It was a small studio with a model and local folks. I was introduced and talked about my life over in Korea. But really I enjoyed the sketching time, where I got lost in my drawing. It really was therapeutic and helped clear my mind.

At break times I enjoyed looking around the gallery space.

It was great to see my sketch develop and have that old "studio" drawing experience back.

It's still raining here and will likely continue till next Saturday. This activity was just one of the ways I am keeping myself busy and I guess also helping me cope with the mental left-overs of last year.