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..