Taiwan Flowers

This will be mostly photos of flowers from Taiwan.  Flower from Korea another post.

This one may not be easily found in the taxonomy.  It is a "Heather Rose"

Taiwan

     In August, I took a trip to Taiwan.  I was able to stay with my friend Elaine.  Every time Elaine tries to remind me about how long we have been friends, I tell her just to say it has been a long time and let it go.  Otherwise we have to remember how old we are getting!
     The flight to Taiwan was very good.  I cleaned my apartment before I left and found I had a rotten egg!  (Lourens and Ulandi, the South African teachers, found a rotten egg the other day.  They said they had asked their mother how they would know if an egg was rotten and their mothers said, "You will know."  My mother told me that too some time ago.)  Yes, if it is rotten, "You WILL know!"
     When I got checked in at the airline, I was very hungry and needed to get some food.  I went to one of the fast food chains here Lotteria.  A very nice man let me sit down at his table to eat.  He was so kind and I didn't have to eat standing up.
     I got to Taiwan very late at night.  Elaine and her mother picked me up from the airport.  I slept well and in on the first day there, Elaine's mom took me on her motorbike to a restaurant where we ate beef noodles.  Then we went to the National museum.  I found the museum very interesting. Elaine's mom made sure we went on a tour with an English speaking tour guide.  He was very funny and informative.  He was so knowledgeable about his subject that he Got through the brass and some of the jade and that was all that he had time for.  Two of the most famous exhibits are 1. A jade carved cabbage and 2. a stone that looks like a piece of pork.  I found it fascinating that two most famous exhibits were of food!
     When we went to the gift shop, I found a pretty scarf.  I asked the sales man for it.  He said,"It is not silk."  I said that it was fine, I just thought it was pretty.  He said,"It's not silk.  It is cheaper, but it is polyester.  It isn't silk."  I said that was ok, but he reminded me, "It's not silk."  Finally I realized I couldn't buy the scarf.  He just was not going to let me leave with something he considered inferior in spite of how pretty it was.  Oh, well, I didn't get the "not silk" scarf after all.
     The architecture is very interesting in Taiwan.  It is a blend of Asian and western architecture.  I am more accustomed to the Seoul area of Korea where most of the buildings are modern.  They have been built since the Korean war and in a western style.  In Taiwan though, there is a very big mix of styles to the buildings.

Taipei 101 (famous building)

Back street in Taipei

Food at night market

     Elaine, her mom, and sister took me to the night market in Taipei.  It is very famous and I got to see and smell so many things.  I saw quite a few strange things to eat there.  Elaine and her sister let me taste some beef rib stew, stinky tofu, iced milk tea, several different buns, some cake like desserts and more.  I did not try the duck tongues, various organs, or other such delicacies.  I did get a cotton candy shaped like a duck.  Elaine's nephews got one shaped like a minion.  Some places the market smelled of waffles, other places of spices, or even clothing, then there were places that smelled of a mixture of a sewer and a butcher shop.  It was quite overwhelming.

Duck Cotton Candy and Elaine's nephew

     On Saturday, we went to a market in the morning.  I bought some passion fruit, some dragon fruit, and some pineapple.  Elaine's sister bought some mangoes.     Elaine's mom cut up the fruit for us at home.  I was enjoying the delicious sweetness, but Elaine's nephews preferred the squid their grandmother gave them.

Fruit at market

Dragon fruit and passion fruit

The boys preferred squid

     We went shopping in some of the more expensive mall areas in Taipei.  The malls were fascinating.  The stores have an entire floor that is a food court, but it is nothing like the food courts in the US.  Also when you buy food there, they put it on actual dishes, not disposable paper.  Some of the food is made by chefs.  I got to see and taste so many things there.  It is nice to have a friend who knows so well what you like.  I also got to see how some of the soup dumplings that I love are made.  I watched the people preparing them.  My mother would be very good at making them.



We went to a Costco.  I was amazed at how many US brands there are.  In Korea I can't find so many things.  I was tempted to buy so many things.  Elaine was amazed at me, but I tried to explain, "These cheese flavored chips are not sweet!  No sugar on everything!  Look real toothpaste!  Macaroni and Cheese!  Actual Macaroni and Cheese!"  She just didn't understand.  Also, the culture even in Costco is so different.  People line up in looooong lines for samples.  They get testy if someone tries to cut in.  When we got food at Costco, Elaine's mom and nephews staked out a table until the occupants left so we could claim a spot to sit.  The carts next to the tables were three deep.  So different than I am used to.    
     We went to the Taipei zoo.  We rode a cable car to the top of a hill where the entrance to the zoo is located.  Then we walked down the mountain through the zoo to the exit. The flowers in Taiwan are beautiful.  I enjoyed not just the animals, but the flowers.  I think they thought I was odd taking photos of the flowers.
     We ate at an all you can eat hot pot for the evening meal.  The waiters brought us beef, seafood and more.  They thought I disliked the spicy half of the hot pot.  I like spicy food, but I don't like coagulated blood and organs much that were simmering in the spicy half.  The all you could eat included desserts.  I had panna cotta, and Hagan Daz ice cream, as well as fruits.

Pastries in Department store

Dessert stall with only cream puffs. (This photo is for Tom)

    Elaine's mom took me on a walk through their neighborhood.  They live in a very nice neighborhood and there is a wall that has plants growing on it.   It is similar to the "living wall" on the Carver Farm in Jefferson City.  I guess when there is so much city, they try to incorporate plants as much as possible.

Wall of ferns

     I enjoyed my time in Taiwan and was sad not to spend more time with Elaine.  It was just not enough.  The summer vacation, however was very short, not even an entire work week off, just from Thursday then back to work on Wednesday.

Escalator at the Taipei airport.  (Shortest in world?  This photo is for Juanita.)

Wall of plants in Taipei airport.

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Catch up

     Well,  the last month has been very eventful to say the least!  I met some other foreigners here near my apartment.  They work as English teachers at other schools.  So many of them I would never have gotten to know in the US as we do not hang out in the same circles.  It is so interesting how you can meet people.
      One of the people I met was a guy named Jefferson from Colorado.  He was working in a school that was very difficult to say the least.  His working conditions were very stressful.  He was one of only three teachers that spoke English at his school.  One of the other two teachers got tuberculosis.  Then there was Jeff and one other English teacher for all of the students.  Jeff got sick and ended up in the hospital.  He got sick with other symptoms and returned to the hospital.  The doctors never had a definitive diagnosis.  He was in the hospital for two weeks without anyone who spoke English and the administrators of his school were pressuring him to return to work.  When he got out of the hospital, he was restricted to his home and school by the school administrators.  He never fully recovered from his illness and eventually he decided to leave.  He left the beginning of September.
     Our school too has been going through some changes.  One of the afternoon teachers left the beginning of September and we got a new teacher.  The other foreign teacher in the afternoon finished his contract and left last week.  We have another new afternoon teacher.  The two other foreign teachers from South Africa that work in the mornings on my schedule are going to leave this Friday.  They needed to return home before their contract was finished.  I am so sad to see them go.  Now I will be the only foreign teacher at the school that will not leave within a month and a half period.  The entire dynamic of the school will change.
     We also got new students in most of my classes this past month.  I had to get their books, schedules, speeches,  etc.  They have to get used to me and I need to get used to them.  It is a challenge.  Every time I think things will settle down, they just get a bit more chaotic.
     In the morning classes, we had a field trip, to a dinosaur museum.  The students loved it.  We had a Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) celebration and break.  (I spent almost the entire break sleeping and catching up on cleaning and laundry.)  A speech competition that the mothers attended, and two days of taking photos.  This may not sound like a lot, but believe me, it was sooooooooo busy.  I tried very hard to not be stressed out.  Every time I thought that I understood the schedule and what was expected of me, it changed at the last minute, literally the last minute.
      Today I just want to cry.  Please pray for me.

A School Day

I walk about 5 minutes to school in the morning depending on the traffic lights.  My school is on the 8th floor of a building with 10 floors of offices and 2 basement floors of parking.  I arrive around 9 am.  I greet which ever teacher is present and go to my classroom.

In class, i set out 4 baskets and turn on the lights and computer.  I then go to the teachers' room and get my books and papers ready.  I also change my shoes into my indoor shoes.  I am often one of the first in and so say hello to everyone as they arrive.

At around 9:30 the teachers (me included) make our way to the classrooms as the students begin to arrive.  The students put their homework and letters from/to mom in the baskets.  They put their lunch kit and backpacks in cubby holes.  They hang up their jackets umbrellas or whatever and change into their indoor shoes.


At around 9:45 we line up and walk to a common room where the class 'helper' for the day asks each student, "What do you want?"  The response is supposed to be:
1. "May I go to the bathroom?"
2. "May I drink some water please?"
3. "I don't need anything."
Even though we have been doing this for months now, the response sometimes is:
1. "May I drink some bathroom please?"
2. "May I mumble mumble mumble?"
3. "I don't know anything!"  (this one is sometimes true!)
The proper response from the 'helper' is, "Yes you may." or "Line up please."  This ritual is repeated for all 6 preschool classes every 40 minutes throughout the morning.

My second class in line

Here is where the days get exciting.  We then have class...........no no no, On Monday's it is etiquette class, unless the gym teacher has a Wednesday conflict or Stacy teacher has a conflict or someone forgot or........Then etiquette class is Wednesday, Tuesday or not at all.  Maybe we have something else change the schedule......  Anyway you get the picture.......  The schedule changes  CONSTANTLY and at the drop of a hat.

If it is my class, we return to the classroom where we have circle time.  There is a space at the back of the classroom where shoes are not permitted.  We sit and talk about the date, weather and we may read a story or use flash cards.  (My class also used to water our seedlings.  In science they planted seeds in pots one week.  My classroom is the only one where the plants survived.  I think I was the only teacher who actually watered them.  We actually had to re pot them at one point.)

My Homeroom class in April.  Notice no shoes on this part of the floor.

After circle time, the children put on their shoes and return to their seats.  I then proceed to teach them phonics, some math concepts etc.  At 10:30 another class period begins. At 11:10 we have snack.  The snacks may be a red bean filled bun, fruit, a cup of juice or even grape tomatoes.  Sometimes we have yogurt or soybean milk for snack.  (By the way the saying "Knowledge is knowing that tomatoes are a fruit.  Wisdom is knowing not to put them in a fruit salad." Was not invented in Korea.  Here they put tomatoes in the fruit salad!)

Besides my homeroom class, I have a second preschool class I teach for 1 or 2 periods a day.  (It all depends on what else is going on.)  Lunch starts at 12:40 but we are to get the children prepared, hands washed, lunch kits opened, etc. at 12:35.  I eat lunch with my homeroom every other week. The students bring lunch trays and utensils (chopsticks and a spoon) to school every day.  Their mom washes the kits at night.  We serve the food prepared by the cook.  The food is usually rice, some sort of soup, a meat, a vegetable and kimchi.  A variation of that is served everyday.  I used to have the students come to me, but now I take the food to them.  (Too many times of having them sneeze in the food.)



After lunch the students brush their teeth at a long sink located in the hallway.  We have to check their toothbrush to be sure they cleaned all of the toothpaste off.  Then they play while I put their homework, notes to and from mom, DOE (daily oral expression) into their folders.  They put their lunch kit, and folder and any thing else into their backpack and place it on the back of their chairs.  On Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, an afternoon teacher teaches them art, science, or a kind of math for 40 minutes while I get to do preparation for afternoon classes or for the next day.  On Wednesday and Friday, the homeroom class is still mine.....(I hate Wednesdays and Fridays......they are soooooo long and sooooo much to do and NO time to do anything!!!!)  OK, rant over.



At 2:30 I take the class to the gym where they sit in lines watching a movie waiting for their bus.  At about 2:45 when most of the buses have left, we teachers are dismissed.  I have until 3 pm to prepare for afternoon classes.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, I teach afternoon classes until 6:10 pm.  On Tuesday and Thursday I teach until 4:20.  I then leave ASAP or stay until I get everything done.  I have had to stay until the school closes at 8 pm before. Then I was tired, grumpy and HUNGRY!  Afternoon classes are varied and filled with their own challenges.  Always something or someone to watch for or think about.

Well these are my "typical" school days.  We also have field trips about once a month, a singing contest in July, a speech contest in September, birthday parties once a month, market day, ice cream day, treasure hunt, and various other changes to the schedule.  I guess it is good they spring things on us last minute or we would be overwhelmed thinking about everything all at once.  I feel sorry for these children because they have school year round.  We had our summer break and it was only 4 days off school.  It was only 6 days including the weekend so not even one whole week!  Isn't it sad!

Short catch up

     It has been a very busy month.  In May, there are the holidays of Children's day (this one is a national holiday), parents day and teacher's day.  Yes more on the last later....  I got lots of stuff!  We also had our monthly field trip, birthday party and my class won best class of the month.  We also have had tests, student reviews, schedules to make, late arriving books, and many changes in plans to take into account.

     I have had another cold, a pulled muscle in my neck and a sore back.  Anyway, it has been quite a month here in Paju.  I have photos and more posts to put up as well as the anticipation of visiting a farm on our next field trip, yea!  Irene, (one of the teachers in charge) jokingly asked another of the teachers if he could milk a cow.  He hasn't but I hopefully will at least get a chance to see how they do it here.

     Thank you all so much for your continued prayers!  I really appreciate them.  I'll post more later.

Some Strange Snacks

I know that I comment on the food here several times but I am not finished with what I find fascinating.

When I first came to Korea and stayed in the hotel, there was corn tea in the hotel fridge.  I was told it was very good.  I tried it, but I think it is an acquired taste and is one I choose not to acquire any time soon.  Well, I also found there are corn popsicles.  The melon popsicles seem more normal but corn?  One of the other teachers told me he tried a sweet potato ice cream substance.  I asked him if it was good.  He said, "It tasted just like sweet potatoes.  I guess if you really like sweet potatoes you would really enjoy this."

Corn and melon popsicles

Another strange thing is the tendency to combine garlic with sweet.  I really cannot get used to this tendency.  And, OK, I know it is fashionable to combine several types of flavors, but why must there be sweet with everything savory?  Why can't we separate the two just sometimes?  

The fast food burger joint is interesting here too.  They have beef (well it pretends to be beef I am not sure what it really is but it isn't like US beef), chicken and shrimp burgers.  The shrimp burgers are ground shrimp like ground beef is.  They serve french fries, crab cakes, cheese sticks and squid rings on the side!  They even have burgers with hash-browns on the burgers. Even when going into a burger joint, you can't get the same food here as in the US.    

The pizzas here have much sweeter sauce than is usual in the US.  There is a good pizza here that is a gorgonzola cheese pizza, but they like to add mayonnaise to the top of it.  They also serve sweet potato pizza along with others.

When I go to somewhere to eat I just cannot have any expectation as to how it should taste.  OH for a bowl of macaroni and cheese!

A Korean BBQ

I went to a Korean BBQ restaurant that one of the teachers from school recommended.  The waitress spoke in English which was a real plus.  She seated me at a table that has a gas grill in the center.  This is used to cook the food.  Generally several people would eat together but I went alone.  The food that I ordered was for two people as they don't prepare this for one.  Needless to say I could not even begin to finish all the food that was brought.

I ordered the pork.  They brought meat from around the rib area and either fat or some other type of substance.  I tried one small piece but didn't enjoy it much and avoided the rest.  One piece of the fat "jumped" off of the grill!

I was given many side dishes.  The macaroni salad was rather sweet but it was pleasant as I tried to use it to cool my palate after I took a nibble from the end of a hot pepper. (just to be sure it was really hot) (come on, you know you would have too!)  The stone bowl had egg.  When they brought it to my table the bowl looked like soup boiling.  After the substance cooled down, it turned out to be egg which had an omelet like texture and was very well scrambled.  There were two types of kimchi a jellied substance that was very spicy, a sauce, raw garlic, raw onions in a vinegar sauce, pickled vegetables and lettuce to wrap up the meat (and raw hot peppers).  I think that was everything. Anyway, it was very good, but would have been better with someone to share it with.

I enjoyed talking to the waitress, but only got to chat with her for a few minutes.  I will try to talk to her some other time.  By the by, that restaurant is beside an antique store.  The antiques look just like the ones in the US.  Most of them look European.  I don't quite understand it.  Maybe more on it later.

They cut the meat with scissors.  One of the Americans who has been here for years says he only uses scissors in the kitchen now as they are more handy than knives.  The fat is on the top left part of the grill.

These are part of the side dishes served with the meat.

This is the eggs after they cooled.

Cherry Blossoms

Hello and happy spring to all!  I have been thinking of spring the past two weeks.  Here in Korea there are several famous cherry blossom festivals.  The Koreans feel the Japanese take too much credit for their cherry blossoms when the festivals and trees are more beautiful in Korea.  I didn't go to the more famous festivals as they are in the southern part of the country and I haven't figured out the train and bus systems yet.  I didn't think a weekend when there could be more than a million people visiting the same area would be a good time to try to find my way alone.

The trees here and the fascination with the cherry blossoms reminded me of the poem by A. E. Houseman:
                                                       Loveliest of Trees
         

LOVELIEST of trees, the cherry now
Is hung with bloom along the bough,
And stands about the woodland ride
Wearing white for Eastertide.
Now, of my threescore years and ten,	5
Twenty will not come again,
And take from seventy springs a score,
It only leaves me fifty more.
And since to look at things in bloom
Fifty springs are little room,	10
About the woodlands I will go
To see the cherry hung with snow.

While I agree that "fifty springs are little room to look at things in bloom", I don't think I have to do it with 2 million others.  Here are some of the photos of cherry trees and other flowers and flowering trees that I have found mean spring has come to Korea!

Cherry trees at night down the street near my apartment.

A lovely view between the buildings

I saw these and knew spring is here!

Nice photo if I do say so and this is right across from my apartment house.

Mother Heather

There is something that I don't understand.  The Koreans in my neighborhood seem to think I am the other teachers' mother.

When I first came to work, the students at the school and the man at the convenience store thought I was the mother of the teacher I replaced.  We told them, that no, I wasn't her mother.  The English speaking teachers know we don't even look alike.  Also, Cassie was from Canada and I am from the US.  That isn't too far apart I guess, but I would have had to be very young when she was born.

Last week I stopped to eat at a Chinese restaurant very near my apartment.  The waiters kept asking me something.  I tried to use my Google translate, but it didn't make any sense.  Then a cook who could speak English came out and said they wanted to know where my daughter was.  They had seen me walking with Ulandi, the girl from South Africa and assumed she was my daughter.  I said she wasn't my daughter, just a friend.  They apologized profusely and I said there was no need.  I said I was from the US and she is from Africa.  ( I was trying to say that we are from opposite sides of the world so relationship would be distant at best.)  The waiter said, "I sorry!  I sorry!  I love you!"  It made me laugh.

I guess all non Asians look alike to some Koreans.  They can't tell when there is no resemblance between us at all.

I told the story at work to see if I do look like Ulandi or Cassie's mother but the Korean teachers there thought there was no resemblance either.  Now, one of the teachers has taken to teasing me by calling me mother.  She giggles every time.

Gardening Makes Friends

Here is a post for all the gardeners out there!

I have been longing for the green to come back into the landscape.  (I have never seen the Korean landscape in green, but I trust it does get green.  There has to be some reason for all of the hoop houses here!)

I found a small flower shop across the street from where I work.  I have been in a number of times already (Lots considering I have only been in country for a month).  I got gifts for several people there and several "gifts" for myself.  I have some mint I bought from a truck in Seoul, rosemary and a flowering succulent I got at the neighborhood florist.  They help to make my apartment more cheerful.

My houseplants

Today I took some garbage outside.  The garbage is split into separate parts.  The glass, plastic, metal and paper that can be recycled is put into a recycling area in my building.  The food portions that can be composted, are put into little yellow bags and all other trash is put in blue trash bags.  The yellow and blue bags are just put in the corner of a dirt area that should become a garden when things turn green here.  There doesn't seem to be dedicated places to put the trash and in some places, it is just on the sidewalk.  I guess the garbage collectors just travel the streets and pick it up where it is deposited.

Anyway, I was taking garbage out and I saw a little old lady working with some "soil".  I put on other shoes and returned to help her.  She was putting what I think is manure into some bags.  I tried to help her but she told me (OK, she spoke Korean but with her gestures and a few words I knew I could make out what she was saying) that I shouldn't help because I was in a skirt and it would get dirty.  I tried to let her know it was OK, but she kept pushing me away.  I did help a bit, but only a bit.  Then I decided to try to see if she wanted some cuttings of my mint or rosemary plant.  I took a coffee cup with water and the plants outside to her.  I cut some mint and put it in water.  She let me know she already had rosemary and didn't need any.  She chattered away at me and I caught almost none of it!  Then she was worried about returning my coffee cup.  I tried to let her know she could get it to me when ever I saw her but she seemed concerned so I invited her into my apartment.  She came in and was fascinated with my plants and thought the fake flowers in my kitty litter dehumidifier were very pretty.  She told me how to care for my plants, (I understood about 2 words out of 100) and I showed her my book of vegetable diseases.  She looked through it thoroughly.  I offered her tea, but she wouldn't accept as she was going to get back to the garden. I hope she returns sometime to visit with me again.

I found it amusing and interesting that even though she can't speak English and I can't speak Korean, we both speak gardening and can enjoy the same things.

An English Speaking Church

I went to Seoul last weekend to find an English Speaking Church.  The web says there is an Anabaptist group in South Korea but I couldn't find where they meet for church.  Also, it seems they moved their location and I couldn't find that either.  I ended up finding an English speaking Baptist church.

I found the location of the church and it turned out to be within spitting distance from Phillies where I went for the orientation the previous weekend!  How's that for great!

The church is made up of more than just Baptists.  They accept people from many denominations there.  Some became members and others associate members (so they didn't have to formally become Baptists).  They also have people from all over the world at the church.  The scripture was read to us in Chinese.  I met some Anglicans, a man from Brazil who is a missionary to East Timor, several Americans, a girl originally from Korea but who had lived in LA, Singapore, Hong Kong and (Thailand I think).  There were people from several other countries as well.

The pastor went over the values of the church and the first one is "It's all about Jesus".  As long as people believe in Jesus as the son of God and as God, they will find themselves at home in the church.  It was very interesting.  I intend return to this church.  I don't know if I can go every weekend until I find a bit of a cheaper way to get there as the cost of the taxis, subway, and then lunch adds up.

It was interesting though as several of the English teachers from my school went to Seoul for St. Patrick's day and to drink green beer.  I went to find a church!  I said something about the nice people I met there and one of the teachers from South Africa said, "I am sure they were nice, they were at church!"  I asked how often she had been to church and she said she had only been two or three times. I am glad she got a good impression of church going people!

Apartment Woes and Other Troubles

One of the problems I have had is that my apartment blew a circuit breaker.  I had my computer and internet on the circuit that quit on me and I had to get a different extension cord to  use for my computer.  Also, one morning when I went to take a shower, I had no hot water.  It turned out someone in the building (not me!  I promise!) did something that made the entire building loose our heating. No heating meant no hot water!  What a horrible shower time!

One of  my partner Korean teachers for the preschool classes got into a car accident last weekend.  She ended up in the hospital with no major injuries or broken bones though.  She was gone all week which meant much more work for everyone and a very stressful week too when we had to make lesson plans.  This is my first time making lesson plans so it took sooooooooo long to do them.  Also, having substitute teachers for my homeroom class is HORRIBLE!  The substitutes are too "nice" to the students and the children walk all over them.  Then the children test the boundaries again with me! It is like having a "first day of class" all over every day!  AUGHHHHHH!

Another of my partner Korean teachers broke her phone.  Her daughter is in day care and she needs a phone.  I lent her my phone so I didn't keep up with emails at all.  She returned it to me for the weekend, but I promised to lend it to her again on Monday if she needs it.  Also, she got sick on Thursday and I ended up having a class of 15 for two periods that day. I made it through which is a minor miracle.

I got sick on the second week of school.  I almost lost my voice. That is very unusual for me and very unfortunate for a teacher!  It turns out over half of the English teachers at the orientation in Seoul also had problems with illnesses and loosing their voices.  There is something about coming here and the climate, viruses, or maybe just stress that makes nearly all of us get sick.

My apartment is very muggy.  I would like to get a dehumidifier, but the only one I found at the local Emart costs $450 and is way too large to fit comfortably in my apartment.  In looking up alternatives, I decided to try cat litter to see if it will help take some of the moisture from the air.  I put it into flower pots and put fake flowers in it.  Yes, I even decorate kitty litter!  A little old Korean lady I will tell about in my gardening blog really liked them.  She thought they were so pretty!

My Kitty Litter containers

I found a locksmith, but he didn't have the right type of key to make a copy for me.  I have a small dread that one day my landlady is going to ask for my key back.  I did get the neighbor man who helped me when I was locked out a gift set of juices.  I heard that they probably prefer alcohol, but I don't know him enough to know if that is true or not and I wouldn't get alcohol as a gift anyway.  When I gave it to him he was in pajamas.  I hope it wasn't at an inconvenient time for him.  Maybe my trying to be polite backfired!  Ah, well I guess he knows I had good intentions.

I found the post office but it wasn't open when I went.  That was OK even though I would like to buy stamps.  The problem is that I need to understand how the address system works so that I can send and receive mail.  Packages need to be sent to work so someone is there to receive them while letters can be sent to my house (if I can figure out which is my mailbox).  The girl who was in this apartment before me never even used the mail here.

I went to Emart as I mentioned above in trying to find a dehumidifier, and I wanted to buy Q tips and toilet paper.  The cotton swabs they have here are for makeup removal.  When I asked the girl about what to use for cleaning out your ear she showed me a sharp stick they use.  I decided not to try my luck.  I tried to buy toilet paper and the employee started to put a second set of 30 rolls in my cart telling me they were 2 for 1 price. (It is something like one plus one here and I don't fully understand the sales yet.)  I thanked her but said I only wanted one.  She insisted so I didn't buy that brand.  I don't know how to explain that in an apartment the size of mine, I can't fit 60 rolls of toilet paper!!!!  I would just waste it as it would get wet, dirty, something.  I don't even have enough room under my bed for that much toilet paper!

OK, enough of the petty problems for one blog.  On to better things.

A Visit to Seoul

First, I am sorry to all who follow my blog when it is sporadic.  I have had computer troubles, illness etc.  So please be patient with me.  I will endeavor to post more regularly.

On the weekend of the 12th and 13th, I went to Seoul for an orientation weekend with CIEE, the group I used to find a job in Korea.  There were almost 20 other teachers from the US and Canada who had arrived in Korea at about the same time I did.  We were all meeting with representatives from CIEE.  We were given a tour of Seoul and talked about the Korean culture, food, how to be effective as teachers, what was expected of us, and more.

I took the subway to the center of Seoul.  The subway here is unlike any I have used before.  It is very clean and all of the passengers seem to know the proper etiquette.  There are several seats in the front of the car that are for disabled, mothers with children, or elderly people.  These seats are kept free at all times even when the car is full (except for rude foreigners who don't understand).  There are another 2 to 4 seats that are designated for pregnant women.  These seats can be used until an expecting mother arrives and then are expected to be vacated.  If a seat is empty it is catch as catch can.  I gave up my seat to an older woman once.  When another seat was vacated, she tried to get me to sit in it.  I told her no, it was ok, but she moved to the other seat so I would take my original seat.  She was very kind.  The subway was confusing when it was explained to me by my school administrator, but after I realized how it worked, it was not nearly so daunting!

The CIEE group met at a hotel and traveled to an American pub/restaurant called Phillies to meet.  There were people from many places in the US and even one from the town in PA I was born in!  He knows my relatives there.  There were several from NY, NY.  They seemed more different from me than the Koreans I have met here.  Isn't it strange that I can see similarities between myself and others when we have to understand only the most basic of communications but when we can communicate better I start to see just how different we are.  Some of the teachers seemed nice and others made me see why we are "ugly Americans".  Maybe ugly is too strong and it should be ignorant Americans.  I guess I thought if they traveled here they would have some idea of the culture or just how to be polite!  Also, there were several of the teachers who are vegetarian.  I find it a bit odd to travel to this country of meat lovers when you are a vegetarian.

We went to see one of the palaces.  It is in front of the Blue House which is Korea's version of the US's White House where the Korean President lives.  The palace has been rebuilt as it was almost totally destroyed during WWII and the subsequent Japanese occupation.  I took some photos, but I would like to return when there is green and leaves on the trees!  I realize I don't appreciate buildings without gardens or trees to go with them.

The palace building with the throne room.

Throne Room of the Palace

You can get in free if you wear the native dress.  Our group photobombed this group of Koreans who were only too happy to cooperate.

The Blue House where the Korean President lives.

They are trying to save the trees.  Each is individually wrapped and propped up.

We found the area of Seoul where all of the foreigners hang out.  I found a bookshop with used books in English!  I also found a large bookshop that sells new books and has a decent English part.  It is much busier than any Barns and Noble I have been in except around Christmas time!

I also found a Starbucks and was able to buy some real coffee beans so I can brew my own at home. One of the things here is when you order a drink at a restaurant, it is not very large, and you can't get refills.  If you want more, you just buy a second soda.  Also, there are not very many restaurants that serve diet soda.  Apparently the frequency of diabetes is rather high here due to the fact that they put sugar in almost EVERYTHING.  Even the chips that are cheese chips are sweet!

We stayed in a hotel that is called The Hotel The Designers.  Every room is different, designed by a different designer.  The room I stayed in had a fancy toilet that sprayed water at you.  It also had a bathtub the size of a child's swimming pool.  What a luxury!  It was the only bath I have had since being in Korea!  The breakfast was interesting though, it was a mix of breakfast and lunch type items.  No, it wasn't supposed to be brunch.  You could eat nachos or pasta salad with your eggs.   Oh yes, and no meal is complete without pickles!

A bathtub fit for a queen, but the tub and sink are in the room with the beds.

Pasta salad and pickles for breakfast anyone?