Trips: Busan

Been a little slow updating this blog. This was in November.
I took a trip to Busan with one of my language exchange partners. Busan is on the east coast of Korea and is quite a bit larger than Daegu.

Rode the KTX Korea's high speed rail. Great way to travel. An hour to Busan and a really comfortable ride. Smooth and quiet. You'd hardly know you were on a train.

Visited the aquarium. Pretty impressive.

Disapointing Weekend

I was hoping to do a couple things this weekend. Saturday I was supposed to get together with one of my language exchange partners but she stood me up. Today I was supposed to take a trip up to the mountains to view the fall foliage but it was canceled. Unfortunately nobody told me so I didn't find out until I called my ride to ask what happened. So I've ended up just sitting around my apartment :(

Gave an exam in one of my classes last week and students generally bombed. I suspect it's mostly lack of English proficiency that's at fault. I have been a bit disappointed in my students skills in that area. They're weaker than I expected. Best not have any more essay type questions.

Chicken

Been a fairly quiet week. Went out to dinner  Sunday. Had a chicken galbi with fried rice that was really spicy. Even the Koreans thought so. Still, I managed to eat it though it actually numbed my lips a bit.
Also ate at the faculty staff cafeteria a couple times. It's a bit of an adventure because I never know what they'll be serving. Had squid one day and bibimbap the next. Both reasonably tasty.

Cooked microwave roast chicken tonight. Really small chicken -- 500 grams. Note the fork to the left of the plate. The brown color comes from rubbing with a mixture of oyster and soy sauce. Came out quite well.

A trip to the countryside

A Korean acquaintance invited me to visit the place where he grew up. This particular house is over 400 years old and is the ancestral home of his family. It is undergoing renovation. The second picture is of the family crypt.


It was good to get out of the city and to see the Korean countryside. The fields are fairly small because the country is so mountainous. They were in the middle of harvesting rice. As in many countries the rural population in Korea is declining. It's difficult to make much money farming.

Ondol

It is getting a bit chilly here so I decided to make sure the heat works. Korean's generally heat with an underfloor hot water system called an Ondol. This is mine. There are no less than six valves: main inlet and outlet valves and four "zones." There is only one thermostat, in the living room, so the zones are basically heat or no heat. They are not labeled so it is a matter of turning them off or on and seeing which floors get warm. I just tested it to make sure it worked (it's not really cold yet in the apartment).
From what I've seen most apartments have their own boilers for the Ondol and domestic hot water. Mine does not. I'm guessing there's one for the building somewhere.
I did experience Ondol heating when I interviewed for the job in March. Quite pleasant -- beats the heck out of the forced air heat pump system I had back in the states for comfort at least.

Keeping busy but out of trouble ...

I've mostly been too busy to update. Mostly work but some fun as well.
Went out to dinner Friday last with K.E., a colleague from work. We'd planned to meet up with some other international faculty but couldn't find any. Fried chicken and beer. I actually walked all the way home -- just because. It's quite a ways.
Saturday I was supposed to meet up with one of my other language exchange partners but she was ill.

Joined the English language study group Sunday afternoon. Chatted for awhile and then had dinner at the Holy Grille, an international restaurant in downtown Daegu. We were a bit disappointed in the food which all the Koreans found too oily.



Monday K.E., his wife A., and daughter attended an organ concert with me.  Pretty spectacular. The photo is of Adams Chapel at Keimyung and that is a pretty serious instrument. One of the music teachers was retiring. She actually welcomed me to the concert but I didn't realize who she was at first. Very gracious lady and a very moving event.

Adams Chapel is actually up a pretty serious hill. I walked there and back after the reception. Quite a view.

Finally, in other exciting news, I cooked a chicken in the microwave. Since I don't have a conventional oven (they're rare in Korea) the only way to "roast" a chicken is in the microwave. Turned out edible though a little bland (need to get more spices and such). Had it with some steamed vegetables (also made in the microwave) and salad.

I'm so domestic

It may come as a surprise to those who think they know me but I am quite capable of performing domestic tasks. I generally manage to cook (for some values of cooking) and keep the place, and myself, reasonably

clean. 

Yesterday I cooked a chicken. The chicken was 500 grams, just a bit over a pound. I was thinking as I did it "Wow, Korean chickens are really small" but, on reflection, realized that what we get in the US are  giant mutant overfed monstrosities. Not fancy cooking I just cut it up (and yes I still have all my fingers) browned it with some onions and added cream soup (from a mix). But I also made my own salad dressing (oil, vinegar, some brown sugar and mustard). Just call me Betty Crocker.
In other minor triumphs a found a source for whole wheat bread. Quite tasty actually. And I managed to toast some in the frying pan -- toasters are for sissies (actually I'd like a toaster oven but they don't seem to have immigrated here). I also managed to iron some shirts without burning them, myself, or the building.

Chuseok

It's Chuseok this weekend. Chuseok Visit Korea site (although they don't have the current date. It's a lunar festival and they forgot to update the page.). I of course can't do any of those things. Best I could do is call my mom (I'm much better about calling my mother these days -- mostly because I know she worries about me). So I'm sitting in my apartment feeling a bit lonely. Was just listening to Simon and Garfunkel, "Homeward Bound" -- I wish I were. But as Thomas Wolfe writes: You Can't Go Home Again. Other than that I'm doing fine..

More good food

Got together with a new language exchange partner. Dinner at a traditional Korean restaurant (i.e. I sat on the floor). That's Pork Galbi (돼지갈비) in the center on the built in grill. Typical array of side dishes.

Readers will probably think I weigh 300 pounds but in fact I think I've lost weight since I came to Korea. Most of the dishes are probably pretty low in calories and eating with chopsticks, particularly unfamiliar metal ones, really slows me down.

Not a bad day

Happens it's my birthday. Made it through another year.

While I didn't really party hearty I did get together with some folk. My new language exchange partner invited me to meet with her and her English study group. A bit of an adventure finding the place but I met her at the 중앙파출소 Jungang Pachulso or Central Police Station (which caused some concern when I mentioned to someone else that was where I was going). Just some friendly conversation and coffee with some interesting people.

In the evening  my other language exchange partner and her friend helped me shop for some things. I picked out a microwave oven, a sort of toaster oven (they don't have toaster ovens in Korea like they do in the US), and an iron. Didn't buy them because it was raining and we wanted to get some dinner. We went to a traditional Korean porridge restaurant because I'm still babying my stomach a bit. All the food on my tray cost 8,000 won, about $7.

All in all not a bad way to spend my birthday.

One month gone.

One month plus. Hard to believe. I lost some time by being sick but it still seems time flies.

Finally got around to going out for drinks with several of my colleagues. Had some grilled food (yes that's a charcoal grill) and possibly too much beer and later some fermented rice wine. Quite tasty.

Not generally much of a drinker but I'm not a sworn teetotaler either. I'll probably feel this in the morning :). And I'm making some friends at least.

Things go well enough. I'm reasonably healthy again (knock wood). Students seem OK (I only have four) and one is actually quite promising. Gradually getting on top of my classes. I've managed to cope with the university bureaucracy so far (haven't p.o.'d the higher ups at least).

Not really knowing the language is a barrier, of course but I get by. Smile and say "Hello" (안녕하세요), "thank you" (감사합니디) smile, nod, and write things down in a little notebook. Need to sort out the food (red pepper paste is not a staple for me) and find a few more things.

Getting around

This is the first time in over thirty years that I have not had a car and have relied on public transportation.
My first mode of transportation is is by foot. I'll spare you a picture of my legs. I walk a lot more here than I did in the States and my legs and feet were a bit sore for awhile until I adapted. There are a large number of small shops and restaurants within easy walking distance.
Taxis are plentiful, easy to flag down and relatively inexpensive. Base fare is 2200 Won (under $2 and from the university to my place it's about $3600, just shy of $3) Taxi drivers can usually (not always) find their way to where I want to go.
Taking the bus is the most convenient way to get to work. Walk a couple blocks and wait at the bus stop.  Bus fare is under a dollar. Bus rides are not exactly smooth. Buses weave their way through traffic as if they were sports cars. One of these days I expect I'll end up on my butt on the floor. I do have to watch carefully for my exit as the announcements are in Korean and a bit difficult to hear in any case.

Daegu has two subway lines -- I'm near line two. Probably the best choice for going downtown or across town. Fare is also under a dollar. A taxi downtown is about 15,000 won and I end up breathing exhaust fumes. That's bad for my allergies. The downside of taking the subway is the distance between stations and the stairs. The trains themselves are quite nice. Well maintained and a smooth ride.
The subway is also good for visiting the HomePlus department store. It's only one stop away from my apartment and actually has its own exit.

Shopping

One of the things that I've found interesting here in Korea is the number of small shops and street vendors. Walking out from my apartment there's a little corner shop where I frequently buy small items and heading up the street there's a bakery, dry cleaners, hair place, butchershop, another hair place, and home HomePlus Express (small chain store) and a bunch of little restaurants and take out places. This is a somewhat busier street near my place.

There are also many fruit and vegetable stands. Some are just a few bins of fruit or vegetables others, like this one, are larger.

All this helps make for a busy and bustling street life something one does not see much of in the United States where most small stores have moved to malls of one form or another. This may be because the US is oriented towards the automobile and Korea is still oriented towards pedestrians and public transportation.

So, I've been sick

I've had a stomach bug for the past week and a half. One of the things that happens when one moves to a new place I guess. I think I'm gradually recovering and will be glad when I can actually eat non-bland food. Not fun.

No, I don't know what I ate or drank that caused it. Yes, I did see a doctor, when I went in for my employment physical (you will be pleased to know that I do not have HIV, VD, or Hepatitus A). My eyes were not great (problems with allergies). I'm actually slightly color blind (they must do more thorough tests -- that's never turned up before). Something or another was somewhat elevated but the doctor suggested it was because of my ongoing stomach issues.

Why am I here?

Why am I living in South Korea now? A fairly obvious question to which I have a menu of answers:

• I work here. In academia one moves where the work is.
• It's my midlife crisis. Everyone knows the pattern. A person becomes discontent with their job and life and goes somewhere else. New job, new wheels, new love life. Well, I have the job. My new wheels are Bus 527 and it's kin (they have chauffeurs), and as for new love life -- a gentleman does not discuss such matters.
  
• Why now? I really was not happy where I was and given that the Young Person is off in college and living her own life when I decided to go job hunting I decided to broaden my horizons just a bit.
• Why South Korea? It was one of several options. The universities there are trying to diversify, I probably won't get kidnapped and beheaded, I'm generally comfortable enough with Asians. I do have a Korean friend which is more than I can say for the UAE or Hong Kong. And, did I mention, they offered me a job
  
• Karma. It's hard to explain but I feel there is something a bit strange about this whole Korea thing.
  

Introduction

I'm not sure how successful this will be. I'm a notoriously slow writer (which is a bad thing for an academic) and it's difficult for me to come up with ideas.

But Sensei said she'd be interested in reading it so I shall give it a try.

I teach computing -- variously Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Information Technology. I've taught in several different universities over the (many) years and am currently teaching in Daegu, South Korea (more on that later). Just your regular academic workhorse. Not particularly famous or distinguished. I enjoy teaching, at least on good days. Like most jobs it involves a certain amount of drudgery and some discomfort (dealing with what we call "academic irregularities" especially).

Yes, I am a strange person. Many academics are. According to my latest psychological profile I could win a gold medal for weirdness.

That will do for a start. More later.