gumi and a national game

it all started with an email about playing rugby out of town, then attending a game between the national teams of korea and japan..korea and japan were playing as part of the asian5nations ongoing tournament, which will add a couple teams to the world cup, which takes place next year..an event was made of it, with itineraries and an overnight planned..
we all (girls and guys) met at the hamilton hotel at 0615 that saturday, which wasn't an easy time for anyone..surprisingly, people were talkative, and in good moods..(usually at that hour of the day no one wants to talk)..the bus ride was about 3.5 hours, including the requisite stop at a rest stop after 2 hours or so..as i've probably mentioned before, korean rest stops are NOTHING like rest stops in the rest of the world..this one had a rather large statue at one end, a memorial of some kind..i wanted potatoes, but ended up getting ice cream..go figure..
we arrived in gumi, and realized it wouldn't be all that easy to get to the pitch..we walked under a bridge, followed a path, then crossed a small river, climbed up the bank on the opposite side, and walked for another 200m or so..the pitch itself wasn't great at all..there were weeds everywhere..and, as we found out later, the boundaries weren't clearly marked, which was frustrating..
it had been indicated to the girls that there would be another girls team there for us to play, but that wasn't the case at all...as usual, we had to play ourselves..the guys got started with their game, and we watched for a little while, until starting our own warmups..it wasn't made clear to the girls exactly when we would play, so several ladies asked several of the men, but they didn't have an answer for us..howeva, as soon as they were done with their game, they started yelling at us to get started..that was frustrating, since they had just told us they didn't know when we'd be playing..ugh..during our entire game the boys kept yelling to keep going, to stop wasting time, etc..since many of the girls are new, and don't really know what happens during a game, it's hard to keep play continuous..our ref wasn't moving quickly either, but he thought he was helping us..anywho, we finished, were practically run off the field, then we attempted to clean ourselves up without the help of a bathroom..after the second guys game was finished, they changed, and the whole group of people headed back to the bus (through the creek and everything).. some of the girls had gone to find a sauna in order to take a shower before getting back on the bus, so they missed the first bus to leave..
the buses then took us to gyeongsan, a bit over an hour away..there was a stop along the way at the smallest minimart ever, so people could grab food and beer and other assorted items..i think we cleaned out the place of beer and drinks in general, and sadly, there wasn't much food..everyone was counting on lunch food there, so it was definitely a disappointment..
we arrived in gyeongsan and made our way to the pitch..LOTS of foreigners..far more foreigners than koreans...nearly all the fans were on one side of the pitch, there were steps, but nothing great in terms of seating...surprising for a national level game...we squeezed ourselves into a space that really wasn't big enough for all of us...the game had already started, but oh well...some of the girls sat on the grass, not too far from the boundaries of the pitch..go figure, after not too long, they were told to move, though i'm not sure of the reason...at halftime we (the girls) walked across the pitch to the other side, and sat down in an area of completely empty steps...(big, concrete steps)...not surprisingly, we were asked to move after not too long..this time, we were annoyed..we were told that this was the official area of the KRU, or something like that..it would've been fine and dandy to tell us that at the beginning of the match, but it was the middle of the second half..who was going to move there that late and need all that space? i don't know who said it, but someone said that we were the official korean women's team, so we were allowed to stay..finally..
japan wiped the floor with korea during the game..it was totally expected, the only question was exactly how bad the final score would be..72-13 i think? the koreans looked very unfit, and their basic skills like passing were terrible..whereas japan was fit, and passed really well..some of the korean guys were huge, and sortof lumbered around, the japanese team was all fast..that being said, a significant portion of the japanese team isn't actually from japan..there were a lot of kiwis on the team..they get paid to go live in japan and play for the japanese national team for 2 or 3 years..i don't know how i feel about non locals playing for a national team, it seems to defeat the purpose of a national team???
i took a cab with mary, janine and rochelle to the train station in daegu and we took the ktx (bullet train) back to seoul..i was signed up for a half marathon the next day, and the other three all had reasons to get back to seoul that night..the rest of the guys and girls got back on the bus and went back to gumi..there, they went out to a bar called waegook cook, and most of them got even drunker than they already were..there were some amusing stories the next day:)

seoul vol.4, iss 5

last week started out well, i got a letter and a care package on monday...the letter from IN, the care package from TN..included in the care package were boxes of velveeta shells and cheese, which is one of my favourite foods..kraft dinner is good, but not as good as velveeta..i realize velveeta isn't healthy..but it's sooooooooo good..for 4 nights out of five last week, a box of velveeta was my dinner..i know i know, eating a full box in one sitting isn't particularly good for you, but it was soooo worth it..there is just something comforting about that yellow yumminess...
by the end of last week, i couldn't wait for the weekend...the kids were driving me crazy...one of the more troublesome kids had been relatively good for a couple weeks, but last week not so much, especially the last couple days...it didn't help that on friday we didn't have a field trip, or anything else..according to the weather people, it was going to be cold last friday, so on wednesday, the school decided to switch friday and monday...so i got to teach friday...the first time teaching five full days in a week in foreva...it made me realize how lucky i am to be at this school, as i don't normally have to do that...by the end of friday i was completely worn down, and very very ready to shoo the kids out the door, and leave a couple hours later myself..i still love the kids, but every now and again i can't wait for them to leave..

the weekend was rugby based...yay...saturday, the second 15 of the survivors played..it was their first official game as the second squad, they're calling themselves the killer Bs..an expat team from cheonju (about three hours away?) came up to play..the Bs smashed them, 27-7..it's great that the survivors have so many guys coming out that they have two squads..a bunch of the girls came out to support, as did friends and significant others of the guys..it was the first time i've ever watched any of the survivors play, and i loved it..i was able to see some of the stuff we've been doing in practice happen in a game, and a lot of it made a whole lot more sense..i could see rucking, and passing, and side outs, and scrums..everything..i also saw a broken nose, yuck..lots of blood..i'm not sure why, (nor is anyone else i talked to) but the koreans have been filling in the pitch with sand..grass won't grow anymore, which sucks..the whole field is going to turn into dirt, and none of us can figure out why they would want that to happen..obviously the pitch is going to get torn up over the summer, but you'd think they'd fill it in with dirt, not sand!!! it's not good for a ruck or scrum, no one can get any traction!! ugh..
after the game a few of the girls went to indigos, which seems to be a go to place after rugby..yummy food, and there is always good conversation..from there, mel and i went walking up to itaewon, as both of us wanted to go to the bookstore..i was looking for the next book to read for my book club, but i didn't find it..mel found the book she needed for her book club..in the middle of looking around she handed me a book w/out saying a word..something about "how to kick your sugar addiction"...perfect for me, lol...but i didn't buy it..instead i bought a book about steroids and baseball, and one about the korean war..both of us could've easily spent more time in there, i can spend hours and hours browsing in bookstores..after the bookstore we went to a foreign foods market, as mel needed supplies for dinner..i ended up getting bhindi masala..according to the package, its the most popular brand of ready to eat food in india..which made me laugh, cause they don't really do "ready to eat" in india..either you go to a restaurant (not many people do that) or you make it at home..bhindi is okra, which i love the way it's done in india..i bought a box, just to see what it's like..(a week later and i still haven't gotten around to eating it, oops)..
from there, i went home, and didn't do anything the rest of the evening..
sunday morning i was planning to go to church, then rugby practice (which was switched because of the guy's game on saturday)..but i didn't get up in time to get to church..instead i arrived at rugby practice 15 minutes early, because the subway connections worked just right...there is one line that only runs every fifteen minutes, and it seems that you just miss it, or just make it..
anywho...practice ended up being awesome, even though it didn't start out that way..to begin with, there were only 4 people there when practice was officially supposed to start at 1130..we started warmups at 1145, when there were 6 people there..by 1215 we had a few more..showing up that late makes me wonder why people even bother..we ended up having some good drills and spent the last 20 minutes playing 7s..for the first time ever, i actually felt like i knew what i was doing most of the time!!! YAHOO!! i even got lucky with a breakaway and scored!! YAHOOOOOOOOOOO..it felt good..

after practice several girls went to indigos again, but i went to childrens grand park..
one of my coworkers had told me there were lots of cherry blossoms there, and i wanted a few pictures..not surprisingly, there were also a LOT of people..TONS..oh well, that's korea..she was right, there were a lot of cherry blossoms, they're soooo pretty..the weather was nice, so i ended up sitting under a tree reading for a while as well..home afterward:)..afterward i went to coffee bean for a chai and a cake...coffee bean is my all time favourite coffee chain, i would be happy to go there every day..unfortunately it's also pretty much the most expensive coffee chain in korea..go figure..grocery shopping ended a good weekend:)

seoul vol. 4, iss 4

last weekend was another good weekend..i love my weekends..school isn't bad either, especially because i really only teach 4 days a week..since fridays are special days, it's kinda like having a four day work week, with a guaranteed funday each week..when we go on field trips, i'm never sure why i have to go, since they're always in korean, and i do absolutely nothing, but hey, i'm not teaching, yet still getting paid..the korean teachers get the kids on and off the buses, keep the kids corralled, sheppard them around, etc..i get massively motion sick everytime i set foot on a bus, unfortunately, it usually takes a while to get anywhere in this city..i do a lot of deep breathing and closing my eyes when we're on buses..last friday we went to a theatre where the kids saw a puppet show..cute..i had my eyes closed most of the time, trying to get the nausea from the bus ride to go away..afterward, each class had it's picture taken with the puppeteers and their puppets..i posed with wisteria class, which is considered my homeroom class, even though i teach all the classes in the school for at least an hour each week..

saturday weather wasn't as nice as what we had during the week (and why would it be, since i didn't have to work??!!) but it wasn't raining, and that made it good weather..i went to touch and contact practices again..our first touch tournament is in a couple weeks, or at least it's supposed to be..i'm really nervous, i don't want to let anyone down..during contact practice the original plan was to split into forwards and backs after warming up with basic drills, but our coach had food poisoning, so she wasn't at practice, and a chick who has been acting as assistant ran everything..even though we're all ready to learn more specific position skills, we're even more ready for real contact..we all want to learn to tackle properly, and really get to hit..even though we didnt get to do that, practice was still fun..again, we had good numbers, and that makes it that much more fun..exec folks also talked up the tour to shanghai, which i won't be joining..i'd like to, but right now i can't afford it..the visa for china for americans is ridiculously expensive, ugh..WAY more than other nationalities..instead, i've signed myself up for two half marathons that weekend, which ought to be interesting..(painful too, probably)..everyone decided on a tour theme, and i can't wait to see pictures and hear stories when they come back..after practice, over half the girls went to indigo's, a restaurant in an area where a lot of foreigners live..it has yummy sandwiches and breakfasts..
when i got home i ended up almost falling asleep..luckily, cheryl texted me about going for dinner at a galbi place..i wasn't particularly hungry, but i knew i needed to get up and move at least a little..galbi is one of my favourite korean meals..pieces of meat (usually pork, but it can also be beef or chicken) you put on a grill in the middle of your table..when the meat is cooked you put it in a lettuce leaf, add some spicy paste and other side dishes, fold the lettuce leaf around everything, and eat the whole thing as one bite..the lady who runs the place we went remembers us, and each time we go we get something for free...sometimes it's an extra soup, sometimes it's a drink..it's nice..a large amount of food, all very healthy, and really really good..(as long as you aren't vegetarian)..cheryl went out that night, i went to bed..(which is normal:)
i meant to go to church the next morning, and even got up and took a shower to get ready..but when i got out of the shower, i couldn't be bothered to get dressed, then get on the subway..so i stayed home, and did fun chores like laundry and cleaning..i know it sounds lame, but it's been really nice to settle into a domestic routine..even though i've lived here before, i hadn't done so much cooking for myself, and i hadn't been very regular about cleaning..
sunday afternoon i went to a birthday party..i met mary through rugby, and her flat has access to a rooftop..so she invited a bunch of people and had a barbie..as often happens at these things, there was too much food, but that's not a bad thing..i brought fruit, everyone needs some of that, right? it was a really calm party..mary has a bunch of stools, so most of us were sitting down chatting most of the party..not a lot of moving around..natalie is determined to set me up, i don't see that happening..instead, i find it amusing..
after 4 hours or so, i left..a quick (30 minute) subway ride home, i picked up ice cream along the way..cheryl and i had arranged a date with ice cream/other not so healthy food and bad reality tv..the last season of the hills starts later this month, so we figure we have some catching up to do..hee hee..it might be called a reality show, but in no way is it really the lives of these people..parts of their lives sure, edited into a story line that isn't really accurate..but it's entertaining, and i suppose that's why it's been so successfull for the last 5 years or so..but since lauren conrad left the show, it's gone downhill..it's fun to make fun of the "actors" especially since at least one of them thinks they actually have talent..
and so ends another fun weekend..i know it doesn't sound like much, but it's my life and i love it..

the end of march/beginning of april

it's funny how your mood can change when a kid who normally drives you crazy is really good for a class or two...toward the end of last week, and the first part of this week, the kid i've mentioned earlier has behaved much better...he's still not good, nor will he ever be, but he's been a whole lot better...
it's hard to believe it's already april, which means i've been teaching again for over a month...time flies here..my opinions of different classes and different students have changed numerous times during that month..
last friday we had the monthly birthday party..every kid in the school who has a birthday in april (all 5 of them) got a bit of attention..you could tell some kids really DON"T like being the center of attention, while others absolutely love it..it's funny..i don't have much to do on birthday party days, so i use the time to catch up on paperwork, and do other class prep work..lunches on birthday party days aren't all that great..kimbap (lots of varieties,) and strawberries, cap cay, and a few other items...and cake of course..the cake always looks good, but the taste is never as good as the aesthetic appeal..argh..
the weekend was great..to start with, the weather was awesome..well, it was sunny anywho, and we haven't had much of that lately..still pretty chilly (most everyone thinks it should be a whole lot warmer by now) but definitely sunny, and that makes all the difference in the world..saturday morning i went to touch rugby practice, and contact rugby practice..i'm getting better at touch in a number of ways..better at defending, better at seeing the places i can run, and getting a little faster..(though when i quick guy is chasing me, it doesn't really matter..and i still have no real skill at changing direction)..there were more girls out for touch, which was nice to see..for touch we don't really do drills, it's just a couple hours of game play..love it..that's the best way to learn, even if i'm not always sure of what i should do..contact practice was good too..22 girls came out, which is a good crowd..hopefully they all continue to come out, as many are completely new to the sport..the bigger our numbers, the more fun everyone has..we did some drills, some specific game situations, and more..one poor girl got whacked in the face with a ball, and everyone saw/heard it..you could hear all of us breath in, it was that sort of silent shock..she recovered well though, and hopefully didn't end up with a bruise..all of us are keen to tackle and go full on contact, which should happen soon..coach said we'll be splitting into backs and forwards next week, which means more running for me..i think that's good?
after practice i headed north in the city heading to a buddhist temple, called jogyesa..(sa means temple, so it's jogye temple)..before entering the temple area, i saw a statue of min yeong-hwan..he was also known by his pen name of gyejeong..he was a patriot during the early years of the japanese colonial period, in the early 20th century..he was a member of several underground organizations all geared toward throwing off the powerful japanese, and after his death was decorated with several high honors..(none of which can i remember the names)..

according to the literature, jogyesa is the head temple of the jogye order of buddhism, which is apparently pretty popular in korea..there are thousands of temples that are part of this order throughout the country..unlike other temples, this wasn't such a large complex..just a main temple with three large gold buddhas inside..a 7 leveled stupa in the courtyard..i don't remember what it's for..a drum tower of sorts, and a couple other buildings i didn't know..an information center for foreigners, which was really good for once..LOTS of pamphlets, and people who speak good english, and plenty of smiling..YAY!! i want to do a temple stay while i'm here, and one of the pamphlets i picked up listed a number of temples where it's possible to do that..hopefully it works out at some point..i'd like to see how things are different compared to the mediation retreat i did in thailand..i wandered into the main temple (taking off my shoes outside and going in through the side door, as the front door is only for the monks) and meditated for half an hour..there were lots of people in there, and a monk chanting the whole time..unlike in thailand where the monks are always chanting in pali (the language of the buddha) the monks here chant in korean..and they use a pa system, which i didn't really like..it wasn't nearly as peaceful..but still, half an hour of meditation left me feeling relaxed..
from jogyesa i walked to jongmyo, which is a royal shrine..before entering the area, i saw a statue, which of course made me wonder..the sign told me it was there to honor lee, sang-jae, who was also known by his pen name of wolnam..he is called a patriot, and lived during the time of japanese colonization, during the first half of the 20th century..he died as a martyr, for his work in promoting korean independence..
jongmyo is where most of the kings (and queens? i don't know) from the joseon dynasty are enshrined..according to the main plaque at the beginning, jongmyo is the supreme shrine of the state where the tablets of the royal ancestors are enshrined and memorial services are performed for deceased kings and queens..it was built (the whole thing was founded with just 7 spirit chambers in 1395) four years after the dynasty was founded, even before the first main palace (gyeongbukgong) of seoul was built..(though the location of the palace had been designated)..according to confucian philosophy, the shrine was built on the east side of the royal palace...building started just after seoul (hanyang back then) was designated as the capital of the new dynasty..(is it me, or is it crazy to designate the location of the new capital, then the location of the palace, then the location of the shrine, but start with the building of the shrine before anything else?)...
in one of the first buildings you see when you walk into the area, there is also a tiny shrine to a king from the guryeo dynasty there, and the plaque says it's unknown why it's there..king gongmin and his wife (who was a princess from mongolia, are known for leading the independence of the guryeo dynasty from the yuan in china..in these buildings and it's courtyard are a couple exhibits of things used during those times for visits to the shrine..the rooms which now hold the exhibits were originally storage rooms for all the stuff needed for an official visit to the shrine..incense, paper and other offerings..there is a little pavilion near these rooms, which was originally used by the kings for rests while they were visiting the shrine..apparently the visits were pretty long, if rests were needed!! i wonder what an official visit entailed??
after the resting area, a tourist comes to a set of three buildings, called jaegung..these buildings are where the king and crown prince made their preparations for an official visit..(why did they need a separate building for resting when they already had a building in which to prepare themselves for the visit?)..one building for the king, one building for the prince, and one building as a bath house..before an official visit, the king and crown prince stayed in jaegung in order to purify their minds and bodies..
i should mention that the path in between all these sets of buildings is trifurcated..i took that word from the plaque..it means the path is three fold..the middle was only for the king, and the sides for the prince/queen..
after the kings and queens died, a three year period of mouring started at the palaces..after the mourning period was over, the memorial tablets were moved to the shrine..there are two shrine halls..the first is jeongjeon, the main hall..there are 19 spirit chambers, which house a total of 49 tablets..jeongjeon is for the kings who did something outstanding or particularly virtuous..

the secondary shrine hall is yeongnyoengjeon, where there are 16 spirit chambers and 34 tablets..in yeongnyoengjeon are the tablets of king taejo's ancestors, going back 4 generations...apparently some of them were designated king after they died..i have no idea why..there were two kings deposed from the throne during the dynasty, and their tablets are not kept in jongmyo..the plaque didn't say where those tablets are kept, or whether they're kept at all for that matter...
jongmyo shrine was added to the UNESCO world heritage list in 1995..
after leaving the shrine, i walked through a small park area filled with men playing traditional games..no women to be seen, they were all probably at home..i watched for a little while; one of the games i understood, one of them not so much..none of the men i watched even noticed i was there, they were all focused on their games and looked down the entire time..
by the time i got home saturday evening, i was exhausted, and my feet were TIRED..
the next morning i got up and went to church..i actually like going to an early service most of the time..since it was easter, there were actually quite a few people at the service..after the service was a potluck, yay!! a nice chance to talk to people, which i don't normally get to do..
after church i went to the seoul museum of art..it was the last day of an exhibition of work by andy warhol..he was a pop artist who died not too long ago..he's best known for his portraits of people well known in pop culture, though he did other work as well..people also know of his work with ordinary objects, like campbell's soup cans..

most of his portraits used colours that wouldn't seem normal, and he often did the same portrait on more than one colour..there were a lot of very bright colours throughout the exhibition..what i didn't know until i went to the exhibit was his work with stuff related to death..i didn't particularly enjoy that part of the exhibit..i don't enjoy thinking about death, and even less enjoy seeing art that is in any way related to death..there were a lot of people at the exhibit, and the area in which they were selling souvenirs was packed..i thought the line was long when i first got there, but when i walked out of the museum, it was a whole lot longer..i wonder how many of the pop culture portraits koreans recognized before reading the names..and after reading the names, did they know who they were?
i don't think i'd ever spent any time in the area around the art museum, so i wandered around for a while after leaving the exhibit..i even found the zero spot marker..i don't know if that's the proper name, (it's probably not) but it's the spot from which all distances to/from seoul are measured..at one point it was probably the middle of the city, but i doubt it is now..
after arriving home, i grabbed a book and made my way to a nearby coffee bean..it's my favourite coffee chain in the country..unfortunately, it's also one of the most expensive..they have the best chai latte ever..and they have an amazing snack called chocolate mousse cake..sooooooo good...so good it's worth 18 weight watchers points!! i love it, even though i shouldn't..hee hee..it was nice to relax there for a little while..it was my first visit to a coffee bean since returning to seoul, i'm amazed that i held out that long!! after coffee bean i went grocery shopping, cleaned up my flat, and eventually went to bed..

a weekend

last weekend i didn't do anything...i left my flat exactly twice, both times to go get ice cream from a shop in my own building...a whole lot of nothing...i still don't know exactly why, but last weekend i just couldn't be bothered to do anything..it happens every now and again..
this weekend was different..i wasn't super busy, but i wasn't so immobile either..i went to contact rugby practice saturday morning..there were only 10 of us there (including the coach, and a korean girl who showed up about an hour late) because of hong kong 7s (the longest running rugby tournament in asia, i think) and cold weather..i'm sure there were other reasons as well..anywho..since there were only 10 of us, we weren't able to do as much as the coach had hoped..it's really hard to work on scrums when you don't have enough people..we ended up playing touch for a little while, on a very much shortened (both length and width) pitch, to force us to work on passing..sometime in the middle of touch, we noticed a whole lot of people taking pictures of us..we continued playing for a bit, then decided to take pictures of them taking pictures of us..as we learned later, it was a photography club that had come to take pictures of us..i wonder what kind of photos they ended up with..
the rest of saturday i didn't do much..i could've, but there wasnt any reason to do so..making it to rugby practice meant this weekend was already better than last weekend..hee hee...
sunday morning i went to church..there is an advantage to having a really early service, and that is that it's over earlier..the weather today was absolutely beautiful..sunny, with blue skies..a perfect day..

after the service, i took the subway to the tombs at uireung..they are the tombs of king gyeongjong and his second queen, queen seonui..he was the 20th king of the joseon dynasty..the long and short of it is that they both died, childless..he was only on the throne for 4 years, and she was only 25 when she died!! these tombs are different in that instead of being next to each other, one is behind the other..apparently this is the feng shui way of arranging tombs.. either way, the mountain was still behind everything..it was disappointing for me to realize that i couldn't really get up and see the tombs..there were ropes around the bottom of the hill, clearly saying "don't go here"...i wanted to get up and see how everything was arranged, but that wasn't an option...it didn't stop me from thinking about ducking under the ropes, as there weren't too many people there, and at one point no one could've seen me if i had ducked under the ropes and climbed up the little hill..but i didn't..i saw a tree which i thought would give me a better view, so i tried climbing it..but climbing a tree in high heels wasn't my forte..i ended up kicking off one of my shoes and making it up the tree.. sadly, i didn't end up with the view i wanted, so i had to go back down without breaking anything..i made it, but just barely..since i didn't get to really see the tombs, the best part of the outing was when two kids came up to me and gave me little snacks..i should've gotten a picture with them, but i wasn't thinking..
as i was leaving the tombs, i realized how badly my feet hurt..OUCH..i guess i can wear high heels for a little while, but not an entire day...ooops...by the time i got back on the subway i was taking really small steps, and trying to figure out the fastest way back to my flat, so i could get there and change shoes..i FINALLY got home, and it was heaven to take off the heels..i still think it's stupid to see korean women hiking in high heels, but now i have a different view of their level of coordination in that they're able to do it in the first place!! plus, when i took off the shoes, i realized i had scraped up my legs and feet a bit while climbing the tree at the tombs...oops...hee hee...i'm sure my legs will feel good as ever tomorrow..ending up with bumps and bruises seems to be the norm for my weekends:)
the rest of the day involved grocery shopping, and a trip to my favourite coffee shop, coffee bean..they have the best chai lattes on the planet, and a chocolate mousse cake to die for..a perfect ending to a weekend:)

settling in

i've continued to be massively in love with my flat, if such a thing is possible...looking out the ceiling to floor length window over the city is amazing...considering the city never completely sleeps, it's really relaxing just to look out and watch...i get to watch the weather, something i've never been able to do before...this isn't always a good thing, as it also means i can see all the smog, and the yellow dust...(we've just entered yellow dust season)...i can see (and usually hear) storms (rain anywho) coming in...and the snow too..
i've been getting to know my neighborhood a bit better...i've found two ice cream stores, a couple theaters, plenty of stalls with street food, lots of convenience stores, and more..there is a starbucks (and at least 4 other coffee chains i've found so far) pretty much next door, several banks, lots of little fuit/veggie stands, etc..
i've adjusted to my "new" school as well..it's been open since 2002, and has been kept in good shape, it doesn't look at all grungy..korean kindergardens differ from american kindergardens in that they are basically little schools..the kids have homework starting as early as two years old!! they're learning to write, both english and korean from 2-3 yrs old...they're doing simple math from 4 yrs old or so..this school is different from my other schools (in addition to not being english immersion) in that they don't encourage me to give very much homework...hardly any at all, actually..this has been a challenge for me because some of the kids could really use the practice at things like forming their letters properly..some of the kids write really well, and some still write letters backward, in all sizes, and not necessarily on a line..at my other two schools, i taught kids who were in their second year of english immersion kindergarten, so they already knew how to write properly..here i've got kids who don't know the sounds each letter makes..i've got kids who think the vowels only make one sound..sometimes i feel like i'm starting all over from scratch..i've got some kids who are so used to not knowing what's going on that they don't even try when we have assignments in class..as soon as i finish giving instructions, they just look at me and say "teacher help".. even though i know they can complete it, they don't even try..one kid in particular starts looking at other student's pages before i finish giving directions..he doesn't yet understand that cheating is not okay..when he says teacher help, he just wants the teacher to tell him the answer, he doesn't want to try at all..it can be really frustrating..on the other hand, some of the kids have been extremely rewarding to teach..one girl is pretty much fluent (her speaking is sometimes a little halting, but her sentences are almost always perfectly constructed) so when she speaks up it's fun..i had two students who started out not recognizing their own (english) written names, but now they can answer some questions, and they understand basic directions..the first day with my 2 yr olds, one of the classes was dead silent, and just stared at me..the other class cried..the first class is still pretty quiet, but they've started to follow me in some of the hand motions, and i've actually heard their voices a few times..(not many, but still, it's progress)..the second class is now all smiles, they sing along with me, and they do the motions..they're almost always a joy..and they have a LONG attention span, it's great..i wonder if i had that kind of attention span when i was that little? probably not..lol..i've got one kid who has a behavioural disorder..i don't know what it is, but he has one..out of all the kids at this school, he's the only one who actually has a behavioural problem..he understands everything i say, and can talk to me about anything..howeva, when i tell him not to do something (which happens at least 10 times in a half hour class) he immediately does it again..i know he understands what i'm telling him, he's very deliberate in doing exactly the opposite of what i tell him to do..he antagonizes the other students in the class, and is rarely quiet..most days i feel as though very little is accomplished in that class because i spend most of the time trying to get the other kids to ignore him and focus on their own work..he is remarkably effective at holding up an entire class..he's been at this school over a year, and no teacher has been able to control him..he's so bad most of the time that even when he's good it doesn't come close to making up for the awfulness..thank goodness i don't have that class all the time! overall, my good/rewarding students FAR outweigh the students who drive me crazy..
this time i feel like i'm learning a little more korean..not a lot, but definitely more than i have previously..part of it is because my school isn't all english, so i hear a whole lot more korean during the day..i think another part of it is because i'm much more comfortable with the language..when i first came here in 2005 it was all new and strange sounding, but now i recognize the sounds and flow, and occasionally even know what's being said!! i practice my reading on the street and when watching tv all the time..(but i still don't read fast enough for that)
i joined the gym, which is a couple blocks down from my building..it's open until midnight during the week, which is super convenient..when i'm busy directly after school i can go to the gym later and not have to worry about rushing..next on my list of things to find in the neighborhood is a jim jil bang, (a sauna)..
i've also gotten back into rugby..i still don't know what i'm doing most of the time, but i'm not a total newbie anymore..i've been able to gain some fitness at the gym (and going out running) so i'm not gasping for breath quite so much..i want to tour with the team, but don't know if i'll be able to afford it..a weekend tour ends up being more expensive than it seems like it should be..i found a web site with a calendar of a bunch of races in korea, and the links to the web sites for those races..i've already entered two half marathons, and i plan to enter many more..a marathon sometime during this year..with all the races i found listed, i could run almost every weekend!! i'd end up with a great collection of race t-shirts and whatnot..i don't go for training runs nearly as much as i should, but i love weekend races..
tomorrow is a theme day at my school..this month the theme is spring picnic..the kids will sing a couple songs, have a "lesson" and play some spring related games..all in all, it's fun..really high energy, but fun..the korean teachers at the school put a lot of effort and time into the decorations..

it's supposed to be the land of the morning calm...

it took 14 hours to fly from atlanta, GA to incheon, south korea...the flight left atlanta late, but still landed earlier than scheduled in incheon..i wonder how often that happens? getting through immigration/customs took almost no time at all, and i quickly found the person who was waiting for me..i had thought it was someone from the school, but it wasn't...it was a taxi they had hired, so there was no conversation to be had..at all..over an hour (an hour and a half?) of total silence...i don't know why, but he turned down the radio, and even turned WAY down the sound on the gps..awkward much? i'm glad i know the city a bit, i was able to watch the signs on the highways and know where we were..the driver took me to a motel where they seemed to know what to do..again, it was fortunate that i've spent time here previously..the taxi driver was somehow able to contact the teacher i was replacing, so she arranged a time to come over later that evening..we ended up chatting for an hour, then she had to go help a friend pack..(i arrived at the time of year when there is a lot of turnover, as the school year starts 1 March)..we also arranged when and where to meet the next morning..
soooo, the next morning i got ready and was waiting at our arranged meeting point, not particularly enjoying the rain..ugh..typical winter weather here, gray skies and chilly..ugh..
getting to school took less than 10 minutes..it's really nice to live so much closer to my school than i did when i last lived in seoul..at my first school, 4 years ago, i could walk to school in 12 minutes..at my second school it took me 35 minutes to walk and take the subway to work..not fun..anywho, my new school is close, YAY!! my first day of work was actually the second to last day of the school year..(it was originally intended that i get to seoul earlier than i did, but all sorts of things were crazy, and the whole process took far longer than expected)..the way the schedule of this school works, thursday is the last regular day of the week..fridays are always "special days"..that means anything from birthday parties to field trips to theme days to just about anything else..so i only had one normal day to observe and figure out how the school works on a regular day..i followed sara to her classes, met some of the kids, and figure out which students i'd have in my own classes..the way the schedule works out, it's basically two hours of teaching, lunch, two hours of teaching, snack, then another hour..i don't eat lunch with the kids, though i do eat the same food..it's korean food, which i like, and is healthy..woo hoo:)..the day went well, there wasn't much to it..
the next day was my frist field trip..we went to the soma art museum, which is in Olympic Park..which just happens to be about a 5 minute drive down the street from the school..(which, i found out a week later, is only a 12 minute run from where i live)..i'm assuming this museum is one that changes it's exhibit every so often, because that day the entire museum was all about robots..from some of the first robots, to popular robots, to contemporary robots, etc..it was fun, and i think the kids liked it..on fridays lunch is longer, as is the afternoon snack..the whole day is much more relaxed..another easy day..after the day ended, sara helped me bring my boxes (i had shipped my things to korea the day before i left bloomington)..
the next day i got up early and went to touch rugby..i had gotten the email not too long after arriving saying that touch was starting up for the new season..touch is much more informal than contact, i'm not sure there is an official coach..it's also often mixed with the guys who play touch..basically, a touch game is started, and people sub in and go out for a couple hours..it's a game with a LOT of running, and i quickly realized i am WAY out of shape..sure, i can run a long way, but i can't do it fast..i was sucking air, badly..(not to mention the AWFUL quality of seoul air)..motivation to get in shape!!
i went home and attempted to sleep..after running around for a couple hours, i was knackered..of course, it didn't happen..so far i hadn't slept through the night, i kept waking up really really really early in the morning, after going to bed at a reasonable hour..waking up at 0300, and staying awake until 2300, then doing it all over again..i kept thinking my body would crash, but it never did..i just slowly slept later and later each morning, and after a week and a half finally slept all the way through the night..that evening (a saturday) i met up with sara and a couple other teachers at a brazilian all you can eat steak restaurant..sara wanted to eat there, and since it was her last weekend, she had every right to do whateva she wanted..i've been to this place before, and i love it..i'm not usually big on all you can eat places, but all you can eat steak is AWESOME..brazilian steak to boot..(sorry if you're vegetarian)..i definitely ate my money's worth..soooooo good..needless to say, by the end of the meal (pretty much non stop eating on my part) i was done eating meat..there were side dishes on the table, but none of us ate large portions of those, why fill up on those when we could eat steak?
sunday was a day of rest..i took the subway to a few areas i used to love, just to see how they've changed..

monday was a holiday..one of korea's two celebrated independence days..since sara was leaving that day, i got to move from the motel into the flat..while still a studio flat, it's soooooooooooo much nicer than anything i've lived in previously..it's on the 12th floor, and i have a view over a good portion of the city..beautiful..or at least as beautiful as any view can be in seoul..it's way bigger than my previous flat, i love it..there is enough storage, room for my bed, a laundry rack, a bookshelf, a small table and two chairs, as well as a small couch..and the bathroom is super nice!! there is a wall between the shower and the rest of the bathroom..to most of you this doesn't sound like anything out of the norm, but here most showers just come out of the wall, and everything in the bathroom gets wet when you take a shower..the building is connected by elevator to the subway station, i don't even have to go outside..across the street is a large grocery store, and the gym is just down the street..a huge department store is also across the street, as is a coldstone creamery..what more could a girl want? life in this flat is going to be good:)

visiting the states

arriving in the states took a couple days..i first flew from munich to london's gatwick airport..spent the night there, then flew from gatwick to charlotte, NC..then from there to washington DC..my flight leaving charlotte was late, but that didn't matter since no one was meeting me in DC..after finally arriving at national airport i took the metro to union station, which is the central station in the city..then i spent the night..needless to say, i didn't sleep well, especially considering i was woken every hour or so by security people checking to see that i had a train ticket..(i understand why they do that, but it would've been really nice to get some sleep!)..i'm getting way too used to spending the night in public transportation areas...lol...
the next morning my train left on time for newport news, VA...the train arrived slightly earlier than it was supposed to, but krista was already there waiting for me..she brought fiona with her, fiona was 7 weeks old!!! sooooo cute, and so small!!! i know i've seen babies that young, but i don't think i'd ever held one, or spent more than a couple minutes with one..fiona is a perfect baby..well, almost perfect..she had no problem accepting me, a total stranger..she doesn't mind being naked when it comes to diaper changing time, she likes baths, the dog doesn't usually bother her, etc..

spending the week with krista and her husband rob was great..previously i hadn't spent much time with rob, it was really good to get a chance to know him..and i hadn't had much time with krista in years..while i was there i also started playing a lot on web pages, looking for job adverts for korea..
my next visit was to another high school friend..i've known don since my last year of high school, we've been through a lot..days hanging out with him and his dog gypsy were fun..he has found a number of great restaurants, yay:)..he was kind enough to drive me all the way up to indiana as each of us were going to spend the holidays in bloomington..it's an 11 hour drive, and gypsy rode on my lap most of the time..she's a happy dog, full of energy, and always willing to give you kisses..(even if you don't want them, lol)..
we arrived in bloomington the evening of 21 december, my first time in my hometown in about a year and a half..i ended up with the house to myself for a few days, as well as having a car to run around doing a few errands..i spent christmas eve and christmas day with mom, awesome to hang out with her again..during the time i was in bloomington we had several opportunities for real quality time, which we both appreciated..new years was quiet for me, which is generally the way i prefer it..i was asleep by 2130, woken up at 2230 by a phone call, then back to sleep by 2300..the next morning i woke up, and bobs your uncle, 2010 had arrived..just before the new year i had interviewed with several schools in korea, received offers from all of them, and accepted one of the offers..since then, i'd been working on what has turned out to be a really long visa process..i got myself fingerprinted, and sent the prints into the indiana state police..somehow, it took them two weeks to get back to me and tell me that i had to do it again, as they hadn't been able to read my prints..ugh..anywho, i finally got things all figured out, and have been sending paperwork every which where, just waiting for each step to be completed..it's more complicated and time consuming this time around..
among the people i got to see while in town were several adults who mean the world to me..(i'll always think of them as "adults" and somehow different from me, even though i know i'm one of them now!)...my old swim coach, (along with her ridiculously hot husband...don't worry, this is a joke that's been going on for yeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaars).. two old bosses, one of whom now lives on 12 acres connecting to a state park, so we hiked for a few hours...one of the chicks i saw in germany..a guy with whom i went to primary school..i didn't get close to seeing everyone i should've, and i was disappointed when i didn't hear back from the girl who had been my best friend in high school..(despite a couple emails and a couple phone calls)...i got to go to indiana university mens and womens basketball games, all of which i loved..i grew up going to those games, and, like all hoosier fans, miss the days when we were really good..so much tradition, so much school pride..anyone who has ever been to an IU game knows what i'm talking about.. ...one of the best games was the day i got to see my old flattie from uni, i hadn't seen her since uni..she has since married, so it was great to finally meet her husband..that day i also got to see my friend scott, i knew him when we both lived in germany..his brother lives in indianapolis, and that weekend his family all got together in indiana, they came down to bloomington to see the game..(he didn't even know it was an IU basketball game, he referred to it as "some sporting event" which made me laugh..i love him anywho)..
one weekend i got to spend with my friend (from uni) kelley, and her boyfriend jon..i hadn't met him previously, but it was easy to see how happy they are together, and that made me happy for her..she hates the town in which they live, and i don't blame her..he's super super smart, so as soon as he finishes school, they plan to move somewhere much cooler..we had tons to catch up on, and i got to meet their new dog..
another fantastic aspect to being in bloomington for a little while was the chance for quality time with my sister..when we were growing up, we didn't get along particularly well..we both recall hitting, slapping, pulling hair, kicking, yelling, crying, etc..since i moved out for uni, we've become close, we've become real friends..i treasure her..one day while we were at a local bakery, having hot chocolate and yummy desserts, the guy working there asked if we were sisters..then he asked if hana was older!!! i don't think that's ever happened..both of us are often told we look younger than we are, but hana is almost always assumed to be quite young..he thought she was 25, people usually guess 21 or so..so how old did he think i am? (we never found out, but the whole episode is still a source of humour:)...since hana and i are rarely in the same place, we don't often get chances to spend time together..
i left bloomington 5 february, and spent the night in a hotel in indianapolis, as a major snowstorm was coming through and no one was sure what the morning would bring..my flight out of indy was over an hour late, due to how long de-icing and whateva else took, which meant i missed the connection in atlanta by just 10 minutes..so i got to hang out for 6 hours..ugh..grandma picked me up when i finally landed in california..the last time i saw grandma in california was 2001, which seems like yonks ago..this visit was fantastic..absolutely fantastic..i got to meet a number of her friends, most of whom are aging more than gracefully.. one of her friends is 95 and still works full time!! grandma and i went to a couple beaches, enjoyed quiet reading time, ate good food, watched the super bowl, watched the bachelor (thanks hana and ann!) and talked about family and travels..all over her house she has family photos, it was neat to see what all of us looked like while growing up..i can't wait to go back and visit her again:)
my next visit was to a friend in clarksville, TN..thankfully, this time my flights were fine, i was on time..he picked me up at the airport in nashville (TN, not IN) and before going back to clarksville we walked through downtown nashville..as many of you know, nashville is known for country music, and on the main downtown street there are lots of country bars..there is a lot going on in nashville, and tons of stuff in the area..i would probably really enjoy living in that area..(though i'm not so sure about how conservative the area is)..i got to meet some of erik's friends and his sister, and had a lot of fun..a great visit, though because it was generally cold we didn't get outside nearly as much as either of us would've liked..i want to go back..i was supposed to leave on an early flight out of nashville on a friday morning, so we got up really early and drove to nashville, only to get there and find out that my flights had been cancelled..due to a forecasted snowstorm, delta had decided to be proactive and cancel a bunch of flights in and out of atlanta..nevermind that there wasn't actually any snow yet..i was supposed to arrive in augusta at 1030, it didn't even start snowing until 1500, there was no need for cancelling me!..so we drove back to clarksville, i checked my email, and found that i had been rebooked for the next day, same times..the extra day in clarksville meant i got to go to a work dinner with erik..it ended up being really long, considerably longer than either of us had expected..the guy being honored was a good speaker, but he did go on and on..(and on and on and on and on)..anywho, the next morning when i woke up, i had another email..yet again, delta had rebooked me..but instead of just going the next day at the same time, they had rebooked me during the afternoon and evening of the next day..that wasn't really acceptable..erik, being the totally awesome guy that he is, volunteered to drive me part of the way, if don would meet up..so that's what we did..drive..thanks to both of them for driving so much for me..
my last days in the states (during this visit anywho) were in augusta, just hanging out with don..finding good restaurants, catching up on this blog, laughing at his ridiculously cute dog, etc..cleaning too! believe it or not, i was a bit of a domestic goddess:)..most nights we stayed in and cooked, which was fun..while home in bloomington i learned a few good salads from my sister, and don's pretty good with meat..i gave serious consideration to dognapping gypsy, but her cage wouldn't fit into my pack..

back to the fatherland part 2

as all of you know, (or should know) i lived in garmisch, germany for nearly three years after i graduated from uni..host of the 1936 winter olympics, garmisch is also part of the munich candidacy for the 2018 winter olympics..town residents have mixed feelings about possibly hosting the ski events of the 2018 olympics..my last visit in 2007 was only 2 nights, not nearly long enough..this time, i was grateful for more days..i took the train from the munich airport, arriving on a BEAUTIFUL clear night..the moon was bright, the snow on the surrounding mountains was glowing..nights like those make me wonder why i ever left..garmisch is an incredibly beautiful town, in the middle of the alps..
my friends jamie and helmut hosted me, they are fantastic people..jamie originally moved there about a month after i first moved there, helmut is originally from garmisch..i was thrilled to be able to spend some time with both of them, they're amazing..before arriving in garmisch i had hoped to do a couple hikes, but after seeing the snow on the mountains, i knew that wouldn't be happening..darnit..
i got to see my cousin bryn a couple times, he works there now..he even has one of the same bosses i did when i worked there! go figure that i end up seeing so many family members while not in the states!..i got to see friends like ron and rhue, who have lives so very different from when i lived there..their lives may be different, but they're clearly so happy, yay!! i got to see my friend bo, who has recently received his italian citizenship, something he's been working toward for years and years..he's a cook, totally awesome..i got to see jill, who recently left afrc, YAHOOOOOO!!!! the company never treated her nearly as well as they should have...not long after she left, her old boss started trying to make nice, as he realized how awesome she is..go figure..
i happened to be in germany during krumpus, my absolutely favorite fest..it takes place in berchtesgaden, 5 + 6 december each year..berchtesgaden is probably best known as being the home of the eagle's nest, hitler's safety spot in bayern..another gorgeous mountain town..the basic premise of the fest is that the krumpus are monsters who come out of the mountains to make the evil leave you..young men (ages 16-28, unmarried) from berchtesgaden dress up at monsters or haystacks with ginormous cowbells on their backs..they move around the town in packs the nights of krumpus..they carry whips, and when the mood strikes them, whip the evil out of anyone near..this isn't a well known fest, but anyone who has ever been has loved it..it's not even well known in germany, mostly only in bayern..
i went to the fest with jenn and donna and yvonne...i know jenn and donna from when i lived in garmisch previously, my recent trip through asia was with donna's sister layna..yvonne was a new friend, but we got along just fine..jenn and yvonne and donna (i think?) are training for the rome marathon, i'm excited for them..when we first arrived in berchtesgaden, we weren't able to get to our hotel because the krumpus parade was winding it's way through the town..howeva, a few minutes later the parade was over, and we were able to check in..while we were out walking through town after getting dinner we ran into other folks who live in garmisch, and i was identified as "bryn's cousin"..shouldn't he be my cousin? hee hee..back in the hotel we bundled up (it was COLD that night) and made our way out again..this year's fest wasn't as fun as in the past, but i still loved it..the packs of krumpus came through the town with their whips, we tried to avoid being whipped..those whips sting!!the girls were drinking gluhwein, i wish i had been able to join in..there were gluhwein stands in several places, they sold sausages and other stuff as well..that stuff sounds really good when you're freezing, even if you're not hungry..jenn and donna brought wine out with them, so they wouldn't have to spend so much during the evening..(this is a german fest, OF COURSE there is drinking involved:)..yvonne and i ended up calling it a night earlier than jenn and donna, and made our way back to the hotel..i know i was so sound asleep when jenn and donna came back that i was completely unaware when they came home..(yeah yeah yeah, i know that's nothing out of the norm)..the next morning we got up and got our fill of the breakfast that was included with our room..needless to say, we (at least me) ate too much, but isn't that the fun of a breakfast buffet? a fast drive, and we were back in garmisch...
my last night in town, i went to dinner with helmut and jamie at their every other monday stammtisch (sp?)..a local restaurant, totally bayerisch..jill, bo, and bo's flatmates cj and cj's wife..cj is originally from calgary, his accent totally reminds me of another calgary friend..eerie how identical they sound..anywho..
the next day i had lunch with cousin bryn and cousin tyra..tyra was making her way back to the states from a semester studying in athens..her way back to the states was as complicated as my way back to my hometown each time i return..not too long after lunch i hopped on the train and made my way back to the munich airport, saying goodbye to one of my favourite places on the planet..

moldova

from warsaw i started the long trip to get to moldova..it's a LOT cheaper to fly to bucharest (the capital of romania) and take a bus or train to chisenau (the capital of moldova) than it is to fly directly to chisenau..(pronounced kishenau)..so i flew into bucharest, then took a bus into the city, to the main train station..i knew there was an overnight bus to chisenau, but finding out where to get that bus wasn't all that easy..i ended up asking at several different information counters, and using a lot of charades..i ended up taking the metro to a certain stop, then hopping on a bus..all the while i was soooo thankful to complete strangers who helped me find my way..the bus dropped me off at a bus "station" where i was able to find the bus i needed..then, because the bus didn't leave for hours, i had to wait..and wait and wait and wait..but i couldn't wait inside the station, as it was being used as a polling station..late november in romania isn't warm!..i was able to spend the last three hours or so waiting on the bus itself..
my overnight bus arrived in chisenau around 0700, at the central bus station..i had an address, but getting a taxi driver who understood wasn't so easy..
i went to moldova to visit my friend natanya, a teacher i knew in korea..she had recently begun teaching at an international school in chisenau, teaching kindergardeners..one of the first things i learned upon arrival is that moldova isn't the same place as moldavia..(i had previously used the names interchangeably)...moldova is the easternmost (and poorest) country in europe..moldavia is the easternmost province in romania..the two countries have a complicated history, and in many ways are just one country..in moldova itself there are two breakaway republics, they essentially function as independent countries..transdniestr has it's own police force, currency and stamps, but isn't recognized at all internationally..it's not an easy border to cross, natanya and i didn't go there at all..the other breakaway republic is a little more recognized and is basically an autonomous area (gaugaza i think it's called?) in moldova..current borders of moldova were only determined when communism fell, in 1989 i think..
since natanya teaches at an international school, she has a great flat..it's far nicer than the average moldovan..though chisenau itself is FAR better off than the rest of the country..the average moldovan makes approximately $200/month..there are lots of russians in chisenau, they're the ones with any real money in moldova..chisenau itself is pretty much bilingual, russian and moldovan..(moldovan as a language is basically a dialect of romanian)..natanya is paid in cash dollars every month, which she then converts at any of the huge number of currency exchange booths all over the city..the exchange rate varies regularly, being paid in dollars means natanya has a steady income..
the day i arrived, natanya had to go to work, so i hung out in the flat during the day..i mostly slept, and let my family know that i had arrived..when natanya came home, we walked through a nearby park (more about that later) and hopped on a tram to a HUGE market..there are several markets in chisenau, i think this was one of the biggest..tons of vegetables, lots of them pickled..lots of fruits..when i say lots i mean great quantities, not great variety..stands and stands and stands of fruits and veggies..bread too..we wound our way through, and then she took me into a dairy building..WOW..cheese and cheese and cheese...butter and butter and butter...and CHOCOLATE BUTTER!!! i had never heard of such a thing but it was fantastic..it looks like a big block of mud, but it's actually fantastic..after the market we walked into the grocery store part of department store #1..in communist days, that's how many stores were named, just by number..this department store is where only the rich folks shop..there are a number of foreign items available, all at high cost of course..for dinner than night natanya cooked me mamaliga (sp?) a typical moldovan meal..different from anything i'd had previously..
one of the days in chisenau i got to go to natanya's school to show the kids a few of the pictures i've taken over the past couple years of traveling..the kids were great fun, some asking some really entertaining questions..some of them talking just because they wanted to talk..lol, kids..the next couple days natanya had to go to work during the days, so i was rather lazy, and walked around the city just a little..i again walked through the park she had showed me, it's only a few blocks from her flat..there are busts upon busts of moldovans, poets i think..at the entrance to the park is a statue of stefan cel mare, one of the few true moldovan heroes..i saw the national church as well, it's beautiful..the national religion is orthodox christian, which uses a different calendar from the christianity we know in the western world..there are no chairs/pews in an orthodox church..the inside of an orthodox church is wonderfully colourful, with lots of gold too..i don't know how worship happens, but i think it goes more than just an hour a week..
during my stay in chisenau i made several repeat trips to the market, as i got hooked on the chocolate butter, and i loved the cheese:)
on thanksgiving thursday natanya hosted a thanksgiving dinner for her coworkers and a few other random guests..it was a potluck dinner of sorts, and go figure, there was only one traditional thanksgiving food on the table..pumpkin pie from scratch, which natanya made...it was fabulous...other foods included chicken prepared in several different ways, apple pie/turnover, several salads, etc..natanya's flat is so awesome that there was plenty of room for all of us to eat, enjoy good conversation, etc..the last guest to show up arrived after many of us had actually finished eating..
pan, the last guest, is a peace corps volunteer...she was late to dinner because she was just coming back from a trip to istanbul..she stayed the night in chisenau because it was too late to take public transport back to the village in which she is living..the next day, pan and i hung out waiting for natanya to come back from work..she works at an international school, which normally works on an american calendar, but her particular school doesn't..so she didn't get thursday and friday off, like most americans do..anywho, after she came home, the three of us rented a car, and started driving to the village where pan lives..it took about four hours to get there, and believe me, the roads in moldova leave something to be desired..remnants of communism i suppose, when roads weren't always kept in great condition because regular people didn't travel around much..the signage on the roads was also awful..you have to know where you're going, cause you'll miss the turnoffs if you don't..thankfully, even though she usually takes the bus, pan knew exactly where we were going..she also knew the rough patches of road, which was helpful..it was sooooooo foggy, at times we couldn't see more than a couple meters in front of the car..if pan hadn't known the roads, and where we needed to turn off, we never would've made it..as we turned off the main highway toward her village we realized exactly how harsh/big some of the potholes in moldova can be..especially when they come out of the fog as a total surprise..we arrived at her house pretty late, but her house mother was still home..pereskova..pereskova's sister was visiting, which was awesome..pereskova loves to talk, and the fact that natanya and i didn't really understand didn't bother her in the least..pan was able to translate and we were offered more food than we could handle..nearly all food is cooked/baked in the soba (i think that's the name?) which is basically an oven in a wall..a wood heated oven..the soba also functions as the household heater..pereskova's bedroom is on one side, pan's bedroom is on the other side..pereskova is what most of you would imagine as a typical russian babushka..scarf over the head and everything..she's 74 or so, (or is it 84?) maybe older..she isn't certain..her older sister is old enough that she actually speaks, understands and reads some russian from her early schooling, in addition to moldovan..both natanya and i had brought sleeping bags with us, and when pereskova saw how we intended to sleep, she insisted on having us sleep on and under really think blankety quilty sort of things..i slept next to the soba, and between that and my sleeping bag i was toasty, despite the freezing temperatures outside..before going to bed pan showed us the outhouse (there is no running water in the house) and the rest of the house..pereskova makes her own wine, she has a vineyard in the yard of the house, pan and natanya both like the wine..apparently people in the village do as well, they stop in at buy it by the glass..in the morning the three of us got up and pan gave us a tour of the village, such that it is..some of the houses are quite colourful, green, blue, purple and yellow..we also saw the graveyard, which was also quite colourful..blue crosses everywhere!! lots of plastic flowers and pictures on the graves too..
around noon the three of us started driving to cahul..cahul is the biggest town in the area, population 60,000 or so..one of the peace corps volunteers lives in cahul, and she wanted to throw a thanksgiving dinner for all the volunteers in the area..before going to the dinner, pan showed us around the town market..every sort of winter clothing was available, most of it used..because it wasn't exactly warm, everyone was bundled up..my feet were so cold, even though i was wearing two pairs of socks..lunch was at a pizza place, most of the volunteers in the area eat there when they are in cahul..anywho, we dropped pan off at the volunteer's flat, then started making our way back to chisenau..when we arrived back in chisenau, we went straight to a grocery store, as natanya wasnted to take advantage of the car to stock up on heavier groceries..hee hee..
since the next day was still the weekend (sunday) we elected to take another day trip..this time to a more northern city..(town)..(cahul is in the far south of moldova)..soroca is in the northeast of the country..it used to be a fortress town, and the fortress still stands..it's small, but pretty nifty..we climbed all over it, looking out over the town from the top..soroca is a town where a number of really well off roma live..they've got some really nice houses, which we wanted to see, but didn't find..we found another small market and walked through that but saw nothing of interest..driving back to chisenau didn't take very long, we returned the car after filling the petrol tank..
the next day, while natanya was at work, i walked around town a bit again and picked up a few items at the market to take with me on the bus..i walked to the bus station with my stuff in the evening, and hopped on a bus back to bucharest..from the main train station i took the bus back to the airport, and started on the first of three flights to my next destination..
a couple notes about moldova..as i mentioned earlier, it's the poorest country in europe..it won't be admitted to the EU anytime in the foreseeable future..back in the days of the USSR, moldova was the vineyard of the country..there are supposed to be several good wines, i wish i had been able to try them..the mindset of the country hasn't changed much since communism fell..customer service hasn't improved beyond what it was during communism...that is, effort isn't always made to get you to buy what they're selling..there is an incredible amount of corruption in the government, i don't think most moldovans think the government has any real interest in the people..the corruption also spreads to the police..twice on our way back to chisenau from our short trips we were pulled over by police, though we knew we hadn't done anything wrong..we figured out the police simply wanted a bribe, but they weren't able to communicate that, so we pretended ignorance, and were let go..i enjoyed moldova, but it certainly doesn't have much tourist infrastructure..the lonely planet section on moldova isn't long, and only covers 5 or 6 towns..i have a feeling most of the information comes from peace corps volunteers..