Birthday

On my actual birthday, I worked and ended up with no dinner plans because everyone was working or lived to far away, so I did nothing.

On Saturday, I invited some friends to dinner. Only four people could make it for dinner, but it was the perfect size party for me. I took them to a Brazilian BBQ place where they bring unlimited beef, chicken, lamb, ham, and grilled pineapple to the table on extra long skewers. Dinner was wonderful. Afterwards, we went drinking and a few other people showed up.

On Sunday, my mom invited me over for dinner. She made a variety of Korean foods. My Korean grandmother and aunt from Atlanta happen to be making a visit, so they were also there. It was almost 1 year ago that I met them for a brief 3 day trip to Atlanta, so grandma was very happy to see me again. My mom gave me money for my birthday since she didn't know what I wanted as a gift.

Teaching

I don't know how often I will continue blogging. Yeah, it has been awhile. Yes, I have time to write, but not too interesting when I have to teach writing this semester. After a day of teaching, I don't feel all that enthusiastic to write.

So far, teaching is going well. I have 5 classes of writing and one speaking class. Students are students no matter where in the world you are. They will have the best, usually worst excuses, for why something was late or why they couldn't make it to class. The university setting is a lot better environment for teaching than at my previous job. Students want to or have to study here, where as the old job students went for prestige/status, company requirements/parents, etc.

I am working out, but haven't shown a lot of change. Weight is still about the same, maybe a few kilograms lost. Clothing fits a little better, but only significant change is in neck size. I will continue working out, but I hope to lose weight quicker in the summer, which seems to be easier for me than in the winter.

Another birthday is coming up, so starting to feel older (31, or 32 Korean age). Since I share a birthday with my mom and twin brother, I am used to buying gifts for someone else on my birthday. However, the birthday boy/girl in Korea buys dinner for his/her friends, so I will spending a "pretty penny" two weeks from now.

Cousin's son/KTX

Last week, I decided on a day trip to visit my cousin's wife (Yuna) and son (Hanmin) in Daejeon, which is about 90 miles away. Since I hadn't rode it yet, I bought a ticket for the KTX (a high speed train) that has a top speed of about 180 MPH. It is similar to TGV in France. Recently, Korea has built it's own KTX, but initially purchased trains from TGV. The KTX is more expensive, but it is the fastest and also comfortable way to travel. It only takes 50 minutes to Daejeon when a bus would take at least 90 minutes. A one-way ticket was 20,000 Won ($13 dollars approx.).

My cousin is actually in New York City studying at a university, but his wife and son live in Daejeon, her hometown. I wrote about their wedding last summer, which was the last time that I saw them. Hanmin (son) has grown a lot and is speaking a lot more. He knows that I am "Daniel samchon 삼촌", which means Uncle Daniel. In Korea, everyone is called older brother/ sister/ uncle/ aunt even if they aren't "officially" related due to Confucius hierarchy and respecting elders.
I didn't take many photos and he isn't very patient when someone wants to take a photo. Since it is still winter, we went to an indoor playground, so he could play while Yuna and I talked. Even though there many things to do, he was more interested in the toy display at the playground. But, he was very happy when I gave him a toy car from "Cars", the movie.

Surprisingly, while I was in Daejeon, it started snowing. It was also snowing in Seoul, but there have been only a few days where it is has snowed this year.

Next week:

I will start my new job at SKKU, so maybe I will some interesting stories about what my students do in class or in their writing.

Laptop PC/Health

Well, my laptop hard drive died for the 2nd time. This time it wasn't good. Data is supposedly irretrievable. So, I lost a bunch of data since I didn't back-up my HD lately. Oops. Once again, it will be expensive to replace, but cheaper than buying a new one. Still waiting to get it back and reload my data and programs, so not exactly sure how much I lost. Fortunately, I am not in school or doing any serious business work on it. I probably only lost some photos.

As for my health, I have been trying to be healthier by working out and watching my diet. So far, I have been working out for 3 months and in January, I have been working out 5 or 6 days a week. But, I have been stuck at a plateau, aka the same weight I was when I started working out. So, the scales are getting any relief.

Last week, I managed to sprain my ankle, which is quite normal. I don't know exactly how it happened, by my knee started hurting. Being a stubborn and afraid of Korean doctors, I have delayed visiting one until today. I got the address from a Korean colleague. I arrive and as usual, I get the oh-no, he can't speak Korean look. I managed to tell them what hurts.

I wait a few minutes and then see the doctor. He doesn't speak much English either, but he asks some questions and does a posture and knee check. Next, I wait to get an x-ray taken. The x-ray tech had some fun trying to get me into the right spots for the x-rays of my knee and spine. She seemed to take more x-rays than usual. The x-rays are digital so probably not that big of a deal.

After that, I go the doctor again. He says nothing is wrong with my knee, but many problems with my spine. The cervical part has no curve, the thoracic area is irregular and the lumbar/sacral doesn't have big enough gaps. Basically, I think that my back is totally screwed up. After telling me that, he gets me on a chiropractic table and cracks my neck and back. Then, he has an assistant come in to do more stuff. I think he studies some Chinese medicine because he has better luck speaking in Mandarin to me than in English or Korean. My Mandarin is really rusty and bad, but I managed to understand some of the things he said. He had me raise my knee and extend my leg, while he poked his hands into my stomach in different spots. I am not exactly sure what it was supposed to do, but it was pretty painful.

Then, the doctor came back and curled me up in a ball on my side and tried to do something, but it seemed like it only stretched me out of shape. Again, I go back to the assistant for more chiropractic stuff.

Next, I was told that I will need to take some medicine, do some physical therapy, and get a shot in the a$$. So, I went into another room and a nurse told me to lower my pants a little so she can give me a shot. YEP, my first shot in my bum (Korea still likes to give shots in the hip/buttock area).

Finally, I get sent to the physically therapy room. First, they have me put a hot pack on my knee and back. Next, they do some electro-stimulation therapy. Last, they do some air-compression sock-type thing to relax my lower leg muscles.

At the end, all of this cost me 62,000 Won (approx. $40) and took about 2 hours. Medicine is cheap compared to the US, where I would guess my day's treatment would be hundreds of dollars.

When I was finished, I went to a pharmacy to get my medicine. It was pills for 2 days to be taken 3 times a day. The pills were 1,800 Won ($1.20).

I will go back tomorrow for re-check. Results to be determined.

Hopefully, my health will improve and I can start losing some weight. For now, I just live with bad allergies, back, shoulder, ankle, knee, and hip pain on my left side. My right side seems to have far less problems.


Oh, a month or so ago, I got my 2nd wisdom tooth pulled. Unfortunately this time, I had to schedule it before work. I go to the dentist, she pulls it, but this time it wasn't so simple. She said that this one was more difficult and took some bone out. Unlike last time, she gives me a prescription for some pills. I go to work and take the medication, but it wasn't much fun when my mouth hurts and it is my job to speak to my students. I survived, but still unsure if I really want to go back to get the other 2 removed, which will be worse since they are on the bottom.

New Year/New Job/New ???

Another year has passed and according to Korean age, I am 32, so I am feeling a little old.

My contract ended at my last job and was not renewed for a couple reasons, so I was searching for a job while finishing my contract in December. Luckily, one of my old colleagues from my job in 2007 called me to say that a position was opening up at his university. So, he arranged for me to interview with the director of the Language Institute. I interviewed and got the job, so I will begin March 1st with a one year contract.

SungKyunKwan University (SKKU --http://www.skku.edu/eng/) is located in the northern part of Seoul and I live in the southern part. Fortunately, I live right next to the subway line that also is the closest to SKKU, so it will be about 30+ min on subway and 5 min shuttle bus to my school. Yeah, 5 minute shuttle bus ride doesn't seem far, so why not walk. Well, SKKU is located on top of a big hill and my building happens to be conveniently located at the top. So, I will stick to using the gym in the basement of my apartment that I already paid for instead of sweating at the office. (aside: I have been working out for 3 months with no change)

The guaranteed salary is better than my old job and I don't have to work as much. Universities jobs are considered the best. I will be teaching a freshman writing course for the first semester. I will have 15 hours/week of classroom time with some prep work, but lots of marking since it's a writing class. I might get an extra class for the fall semester, which would mean more money.

Korea is opposite of US system, spring is 1st semester and fall is 2nd semester. They also have a 5-week intensive course during the summer/winter breaks, which are paid extra on top of our normal salary. As for vacation, I will get a two week vacation around the end of June, three week vacation end of August, two week vacation around Christmas and three weeks end of February.

Not much else new in my life.

What was I thinking?

Well, since there was a fire at my workplace, I had Thursday and Friday off.

For the couple of years, I have been wondering if I should get my wisdom teeth removed. They are a little cramped in my mouth, which has truly been a "money pit" for my parents. My teeth are crooked and have plenty of cavities, even after decades, not years, of braces and my mom trying to keep my teeth healthy.

On Friday, I was bored, so what do I decide to do. I thought, "why not go see my friend's dentist, make an appointment and see if the dentist can fill the cavity or pull my tooth in the future?" More on the "future" part later. It is a wisdom tooth that has a cavity, so the option of pulling isn't too absurd.

My friend gave me a business card of her dentist because I said I needed some work done. She said that the dentist could speak English and was a good dentist that she had seen since she was a young girl. So, that was enough for me to check her out (yes, the dentist is female). It took me a while to find the dental office since Korean addresses are vague. They only give the neighborhood and building name. I ended up walking past the office and having to stop by a local realtor. Even though the realtor didn't speak any English he was able to point to a very detailed map where the building was and where I was at the time.

Once I got to the dental office, I ran into the dreaded receptionist who can't speak any English. I try to use as much Korean as I know and ask to see the dentist who is supposed to speak English. After a little bit the dentist comes out and talks with me. Luckily, the office wasn't too busy. I talked to her and told her I had a cavity that might need fixing, but I didn't bring my x-ray that my American mom took before I left for Korea. (Aside: My American mom is a dental hygienist.)

It is Korea, but they do have very modern dental equipment. So, the dentist suggested I take an x-ray. They took a panoramic x-ray of my mouth and before I knew it she was having me sit in a exam chair. She told me that I had two cavities and that I should get them pulled out. Dumb me, says "ok", I guess we can take one out, but she saw fear in my eyes, so she didn't push to take out more than one. I don't know why, but I was more afraid for this situation than any time in my whole life of seeing a dentist or orthodontist. And yes, I have spent HOURS in a dentists/orthodontists chair.

The "future" ended up being "right now." Getting the anesthetic was probably the worst. I was a little surprised because it didn't actually make my cheek or lip numb, only the top of my mouth, so I was a little worried that she missed the nerve. But, she started working on getting my tooth out and I didn't really feel to much, except her trying to pry out the tooth with the tool levered against the side of my mouth.

After the procedure, the ladies at the front desk tried to give me some precautionary advice. They said "no smoke, no drink alcohol, and no sauna." Those three things maxed out the two ladies English vocabulary. They gave me the bill which was about $10 for x-ray and $70 for tooth pulling, but I got a discount due to telling them my friend is a client, so I only paid $50.

All in all, from beginning to end, it probably took less than 30 minutes in the dental office, but I am not sure if I want to go back and get the three other ones pulled like the dentist recommended. I have already lost enough teeth due to orthodontics if they pull three more, I will have only 24 left of the maximum 32.

My new apt

Hello everyone,

I just got internet service at my apartment, so I have been delaying on updating my blog.

I moved about a month ago to an "officetel" (read: really small studio apt). My apartment is approximately 8 평(280 sq. ft./26 sq. meters). It is clean and it is in a very convenient location. I am on the 5th floor of a 14 story building. Floors 1-4 and the basement are retail with convenience store, restaurants, coffee shops, hair salon, dry cleaner, and workout center. It's expensive, but I will join this month. The main reason for it being expensive is that it has a swimming pool, practice golf (hit into nets, and maybe a simulator), and squash courts

For those of you who know Seoul, I am located next to Sadang Station, so I have easy access to the Line #2 (green), Line #4 (light blue?) and a lot of buses. I am located only 4 stops from my office near Gangnam Station, so it takes about 15-20 minutes depending on if I have to wait for a subway and how slow I walk. Also, I only live about a 10 minute bus ride from my mom's apartment.

Here are a few pictures of my place.



The entrance is small, but has a small closet for shoes and clothes. On the right, is the bathroom. It is quite nice. I like the shower because it has a regular shower head or flexible shower head, but they can't be used simultaneously. It also has four other nozzles that spray towards the body from the wall that can be used simultaneously with one of the shower heads.

Also, in the first picture, where there are grocery bags, there is a deep closet that I have a rolling clothes rack. The grocery bags are actually holding my recyclables. We have to sort out paper, plastic, glass, and cans. Also, all food waste needs to be collected separately and put into special yellow trash bags. The white bag on the floor is for anything that isn't recyclable.




Here are pictures of my main living space. I have a super single twin bed, futon?? (it came with the apartment), some more cupboards, and air-conditioning. Even though summer is almost over, it is one thing that I missed when I was living with my biological mother. She has a huge, expensive place, but no air-conditioning. The little door behind my bed goes out to the AC unit, so it is noisy from traffic noise since it isn't very insulated. One of the few problems.

You have probably already noticed. I don't have a TV yet. I am hoping to get one in the future, so I can watch TV, but I also have a Nintendo Wii that isn't being used. I won it at a fundraiser for an adoptee organization. At least with the Wii, I can use it as an excuse to say that I am pseudo-exercising when playing Wii sports.




Last but not least, is my kitchen. Hehe, it only takes up a small wall. Underneath my stove, isn't a circular oven. It's my washing machine :). It is very handy to have so I can wash clothes whenever I want. Some apartments have shared washing machines like the States, but my apartment is a little more expensive, so it is included. Very few homes have dryers and most Koreans think that it is a waste of electricity and is hard on clothes. Dishwashers don't seem to be used that often even if homes have them. Right now, I only have a 2 stove gas range, toaster, and hot water pot. Maybe in the future, I will buy an oven or microwave. Ovens are usually quite small compared to American ovens. To the right of my kitchen sink is the refrigerator (big door) and my freezer below it.

It's now much, but enough for now. For now, my Korean mom is being a traditional parent. She is helping with some of the cost of living on my own, partially, because she knows I spent most of my savings in SF and also since it is too difficult for me to live with her.





Here is a picture of my workplace. The reason that I posted this picture is because the building had a fire. I am not exactly sure how much of the building suffered damage, but I don't have to work today.

Pagoda Academy is also the place that I worked at last year. Last year, I was mainly on the 3rd/4th floor teaching Business English in a classroom setting. Now, I am on the 10th floor at Direct English, a separate division of Pagoda Academy. I teach English on a one-to-one setting.

Job/apartment

I'm working a lot from mid-July to mid-August, so probably not too much blogging. I will work approximately 55-60 hours a week.

Also, sometime in the next 6 weeks, I will move into my own apartment. My mom will help support some of the cost since Korean apartment rental system is different. It usually requires a deposit of 3,000-10,000 dollars plus a monthly fee. Most Koreans will put down a larger deposit so they don't have to pay a monthly fee. But, those deposits are any where from 40,000 to 100,000+ dollars. Yeah, ridiculous amount to deposit, but that deposit is returned after you move.

More later...

Cousin's Wedding

On Saturday, my cousin, 준, married 유나. It was held at one of the YMCA's in Seoul. They are equipped to host a couple weddings at one time. Here are a few pics.




Pre-wedding pictures

My Aunt and Uncle

My cousin and his son

Post-wedding pictures

After the wedding, they take all of the parents, family, extended family, and friends pictures.

On Sunday, I went to church and then had lunch with my aunt, 준, 유나, and 한민.

job/cousin

Yeah, yeah, I haven't posted in a while, but it doesn't sound like I'm doing much if I say that I meet friends for dinner/go to get a drink somewhere. I have been working part-time, but also looking for more permanent work.

In the last 5 days, I have had two interviews and one informal one for different jobs such as recruiter, English consultant, and one-on-one English teacher. The last one is with division of Pagoda, my old company, so interview was informal. The other two, I don't know how good my chances are. Obviously, a job is a main concern, but speaking Korean seems to be a forced second concern.

People don't realize that I can speak some basic necessary things to get around the city and to order at restaurants. With this, I am able to do enough, so I don't have total hardship. But, it would be nice to communicate more since I will need it in the future. Unfortunately, I am feeling that people are trying to shove it down my mouth, so it doesn't seem to enjoyable or interesting to study. Hopefully, I will find a greater interest and take more initiative, but for now I will keep looking for a job and be happy with what I have.

I met my cousin today. She has been one of my main communication lines with my mother. She just recently returned from a study abroad to UK, so it was nice to see her again. Also, she had a message from my mom and asked if I had any questions. She knows that it is very difficult for both of us, but hopes that we can have a chance to improve the relationship even with communication problems.

Medicine/other

Yesterday, I met a friend and her boyfriend. She is a half Korean/American. She grew up in Korea during her elem/middle school years, so her Korean is pretty fluent. She had mentioned that she bought allergy medication at the pharmacy in Korea. I asked her if she could help me get some. She said that she takes Zyrtec and that it is available over the counter. We checked a few pharmacies before we found one that had Allegra-D, which is the one that I previously took and like. She found out that Allegra-D and Zyrtec are available OTC, but regular Allegra without a decongestant is only available by prescription. I purchased a month's worth of Allegra-D, but since it's OTC, there is no insurance coverage. A month's supply cost about $50, but if it helps my allergies than it will be well worth it, especially since I don't have to see a doctor to get it.

I worked out again. Yeah, yeah, my workouts are spread out and not too often. My allergies haven't been treating me great, so that hasn't helped. I going with the slowly, but surely route and hope that I can get into a more regular schedule of exercise. I need to lose a lot of weight, but it isn't going to come off over night. I am writing these updates so hopefully, it will keep me motivated.

Just recently I was reminded that when people quit asking, "what you are doing?" or "why are you doing that?" or "have you found a job?", it isn't because they want to make your life difficult, it's because they still care about your life (kinda like when athletic coaches work you hard because you haven't reached your potential). In the last couple of years, this has happened to me a lot, maybe, because I have chosen a very unique career path that isn't normal and I have received a lot of questions. I am starting to realize I should appreciate all of the people that care, but it has been very difficult to let all of those people know that I love them and appreciate their love, generosity, and friendship, even when my life has lots of obstacles that I have encountered or made for myself. One of these days, my life will move from Search/Nomad Mode (job, home, relationship) to normal life mode, but for now, I am just trying to be "happy" with what I am doing.

Gas prices still going up? Currently, prices are probably just under $8/gallon, which make me happy that I take public transportation everywhere.

Korean office adventures

This week, I visited a few different places; Immigration, Shinhan Bank, and health insurance.

Immigration:
I think I did almost everything wrong when going to Immigration to get my address changed for my Korean ID card. FYI: Seoul Immigration office is over one hour away by subway. First, I didn't bring my passport with me, so I didn't have any of that information. Luckily, I remembered my passport number, but I wouldn't have been able to give F-4 visa number or expiration of passport. Next walking from the subway station, I begin to think that I might need have passport-size photos. I just hoped that I wouldn't need them. Also, I live in Gyeonggi-Do, so it is technically outside of Seoul city limits. When I was leaving I saw a sign showing the jurisdiction area of Seoul Immigration and my area was still in the jurisdiction of this office. Overall, the lady working spoke a little English, so it wasn't too bad. At least, I had my old ID card and new address written down. All they did was print my new address on my old ID card.

I have two bank accounts in Korea that I kept open after leaving Korea. The first account was the one I needed for direct deposit of my paycheck. The second one, I opened because I could get a debit card. For foreigners, it is easy to get an ATM card, but debit cards are not allowed with certain banks. When I first came I deposited money in my 2nd account. I decided that I should get deposit some money in my 1st account to get an update on transactions and balance. When I got my bank book back, I was really surprised that there was an extra $1480 in my account from a Pagoda deposit. Later, I learned that Pagoda gave me my tax return. If I was still in SF, I wouldn't have know that it was there. Let's just say that I happy that with having some extra money.

Since I left Korea, I have had adventures with health insurance. Eventually, I signed up for CA health insurance, but there was a lot paperwork and difficulty finding affordable insurance. Also, canceling CA insurance is a big hassle. Yesterday, I looked on the Korean health care website. I was able to find the nearest location to where I live. I wasn't exactly sure where it was because Korean addresses don't really use a numbering system with street names. They use a suburb, suburb subdivision, and building name system. I knew that it was close to my house because the same names were in its address as my address. I eventually found the office. Fortunately, this time I had all of the correct paperwork. I brought my ID card, passport, and old insurance card. The two ladies at the office were able speak a little Konglish, so I was able to get signed up. At least the Korean system doesn't have a long detailed form to fill out. All I had to do was sign up without any medical history information.

How many of you are paying $4.00/gallon at the pump? Well, if you were in Korea you would pay a lot more. I can't read the different types of gas offered at the gas stations, but prices range from $6.00 to $7.85. I would guess unleaded gas would be closer to the high number. Some vehicles use CNG or LPG as alternate fuels. Korea is a small country, but lots of people drive and Seoul is like any other metropolitan area with lots of place spread out. Also, many couples use a car as their personal space for dating, which could be expensive if they drive around much.

cousin/various

On Sunday, I went to my uncle's church again. After church, I met my cousin. He is my uncle's younger son. He lives in Brooklyn and goes to Pratt, which is an art institute. He has a couple years left. Also, he is married with a son. He is home for the summer break. His older brother also lives in Brooklyn.

Tuesday, workout #2

I attempted to run/walk again. I wasn't feeling so good on Monday. I seemed to have some chest congestion/cold that wasn't so good. I definitely had a little difficulty breathing while running. Air pollution isn't as bad in the area I live, but seems to effect my breathing. Or, it could be all of the tree/grass pollens affecting my allergies.

Cell phone

When I first got here, my mom helped me buy a mobile phone with service. In Korea, getting mobile phone service is more challenging than in US. Usually, having a Korean national sign up for you or have business phone is the easiest way without going pre-paid route.

My phone is a new model with a lot of features. Yes, it was expensive, but most phones in Korea are more expensive because most phones get no subsidization from cell providers. My mom paid for it, but I hope to pay for it after I get a job. I could pay for it now, but it isn't the Korean culture way for child to pay for something if parent wants to pay. It is little more acceptable after child gets jobs.

If you can tell by the pic, the whole face is a touch screen. There are only 7 actual buttons on front and side. Some of the nice features that my phone has include Kor-Eng dictionary, subway map, 3Mp camera, video calls, DMB TV service, and some more. Video calls are a little weird because it seems strange to see the person calling in live time with no delay on video feed.

Random

Workout #1

In the last 12 months, I have gained weight. My body is starting to feel, especially my back. Today, I attempted to start an exercise routine. My walk/jog was pretty short since I felt pretty sluggish without exercising for awhile. Hopefully, I can keep a regular routine.

In Korea:

It seems that people are starting to worry about AI, bird flu. I have gone out to eat with some Koreans and they request that we go to places that don't have chicken. I'm not scared, I already went to eat Samgyetang, which is a chicken soup. It is a soup with a small chicken stuffed with rice, also having ginger and type of nut.

Here is a picture of how Koreans move in and out of apartments or offices. They use a elevator attached to the back end of a truck that raises and lowers the platform to the window. I am not exactly sure how high they go, but I have seen them used on 10+ story buildings.

Work:

Next week, I will start working at Pagoda again. To answer your question, nope. I will be working in a non-teaching position. Part of my job last year was working for the TOEIC R&D team. I wrote and edited TOEIC material that they use to make practice books. I will work part-time and will still search for a business job.

Church/ordinary stuff

On Sunday, I went to church with my mom. We went to a different church than I had previously been with her to in the past. It was a huge Presbyterian church with six services on Sunday. We sat in the balcony. The first few rows of the balcony are for foreigners because they have headphones for translation during the service. The church offers translation in Japanese, Thai, English, Russian, and maybe another couple languages. During the beginning of service, my mom and aunt pointed down to the choir. I saw that my uncle is part of the large choir.

This week, I haven't visiting old colleagues and friends. Also, I have been looking for jobs, which seems like it is my permanent job.

Living with my mom is definitely an adjustment and probably more so for my mom. My room is adequate, but sleeping on a small mat is a big change. It isn't that thick, so it seems like I am sleeping on the floor. Some of my joints are a lot of discomfort these days, but it probably has more to do with my weight gain than sleeping on the floor. Hopefully, I will get used to the new bed.

First week

My flight to Seoul was definitely an adventure. I got to the airport and checked my bags, but they weighed them all and said I was overweight on both checked bags and carry-on. So, I had to buy a box and pay for an extra piece of luggage. I practically emptied my carry-on to get it under the weight limit.

Once I arrived, my mom came to airport to pick me up. She lives just south of Seoul city limits in a new apartment. It has 2 smallish bedrooms, living room, kitchen, 2 bathrooms, a den, and a couple enclosed balcony areas. The apartment is part of a large complex. It has about 10 buildings with 2-6 apts. per floor with 10-15 floors.

On Thursday, I visited my old job. As usual, there was some teachers that I still knew, but a lot of knew foreign teachers. Turnover is reoccurring because 90% of teachers only stay for the one year contract. As for the Korean teachers and employees, there is less turnover. Everyone did ask me if I was going to return as a teacher, but I haven't decided that yet. I will search for non-teaching jobs first, but may resort to teaching if I need a job.

Even though my mom lives outside of Seoul, transportation is very good. I live about 5 blocks from the subway and two blocks from a major bus stop. The bus stop is really nice because it has many different buses and it also displays exactly when to expect a bus. This feature is nice because you know how long of a wait is and you know when you have to start waving for your bus. If you don't wave at the bus, sometimes the bus won't stop unless someone is getting off the bus.

When I was in San Francisco a few bus stops had the bus time feature, but it was disappointing most times. Buses in San Francisco are notorious for being late or not running all scheduled times. Also, people cheat the system and don't pay in SF, but in Korea, everyone is orderly when they get on and off the bus. Also the payment system is easier in Korea because you can buy an electronic prepaid pass that can be used for transfers. SF has an unlimited monthly pass that is convenient, but expensive if you don't ride every day. Korean system is pay what you need and rides are cheap, about a dollar.

I am not sure how much different is living with American mom or Korean mom. Saturday morning, my mom gave me a multi-drawer storage bin and communicated that I need to finish unpacking and get my room cleaned. Both of my moms keep a very clean home, so that won't be much a change.

Even though my mom has retired from teaching, she has a pretty busy schedule and I haven't spent too much time with her. I am not exactly sure of her schedule, but I know that she goes to exercise and takes an English class. It's nice that she is taking English lessons, so we can communicate, but I should be working on my Korean to make it easier for her. Also, I will need it for socializing and possibly work, so I will attempt to study more.

I'm Back

Well, I am officially back in Korea. My blog will continue, but not sure exactly how exciting it will be to read about my adventures. I am living with my biological mother and I am searching for a job. I will do a better job of searching for a business type job, but may end up teaching English again. Hopefully, I will post more pictures this time, so I don't have to write as much.

Sunday with mom and cousins

On Sunday, I met my mom and two cousins. Previously, I had met one cousin, but today her younger sister came along. I met them at a subway station. I was looking around for them, but they were sitting in my mom's car. She drives a Hyundai and she is a pretty good driver.

First, we went to Changdeokgung Palace with a Secret Garden. It is a Palace in the middle of the city. It is one of the few preserved palaces in Korea. It is over 100 acres in area. They require following a tour guide when visiting, partly to get understanding of the history and probably for better care of the area. It has many beautiful buildings and the back half is a wonderful tree-lined area with a couple ponds.

Afterwards, we drove to my mother's house. Sundays happen to be the day for demonstrations in the downtown area. Traffic was terrible even though it was Sunday. My mother lives just outside of Seoul, but it is similar to living in a suburb of Seoul. Her place is new because she just moved into her place in July.

The apartment is 2 bedrooms, den, living room, kitchen, and some other balcony type areas. She has well furnished house. She lives alone and seems to live comfortably. She doesn't have a computer, but is considering because of email and keeping contact with her relatives in Atlanta, GA.

For dinner, my mom bought a couple ducks with Korean side dishes. Since she thought I would be hungry, she had my cousins and I eat before my mom's oldest brother and wife came. It was quite delicious and didn't have to strong of a game flavor.

After awhile, my mom's oldest brother and wife came. He also is in education. He is a principal of a high school in Seoul, so he has a very good job. My uncle can speak a little English, but his wife can't really say anything. Also, I figured out that my mom can say a few things in English and she understand somethings that I say.

Once it was late enough, my mom called Atlanta where her 2nd older brother lives with his wife, my grandmother, and son. I was given the phone and talked to all of them. It was very interesting talking to my grandmother. She has lived in the US since she was about 65 years old and now she is about 85. She still struggles saying things in English and she was a little disappointed that she couldn't say more. I probably should have been able to say more in Korean, but my Korean is so, so, so poor. It was nice to know that I have relatives in Atlanta, New York City, and somewhere in NJ.

As usual, I received a few more gifts. For gifts, I received a scarf, cake, and chocolates. Oh, my cousins and I were all given 20 dollars from my uncle. So, my cousins and I were happy to have some "pocket money" (Konglish).

My mom asked me a few questions. Also, I asked a few questions, but I didn't really have any good questions. I did find out that David was born about 9:30pm and I was born about 9:45pm with a natural delivery. My cousins thought it was a little bit of a strange question since it isn't that much difference in time. At the end of the night, my mother home. My mother is so happy to seem, but I feel so bad when I have to leave. Before I leave for SF, I will spend a night or two at my mother's house.

Jejudo/Udo trip

Last weekend, I asked my father if wanted to go to Jejudo. Jejudo is a small island off of the southern coast of Korea. It is kinda like the Hawai'i of Korea. It is also the place that my father was born and where a few relatives live.

After the short 50 min flight, I met my father's cousin. He was our personal chauffeur; he also is a taxi driver. We drove to Seongsan (volcanic cone). We hiked up Seongsan to get a good view of the east side of Jeju. My father enjoys hiking, but doesn't really inform me to wear proper shoes. I guess I should realize this by now. He would go up at a quick pace, but his cousin and I enjoyed a few breaks on the way up. It isn't that high, but still quite a few stairs to climb.

After Seongsan, we took a ferry to Udo, an even smaller island. On the ride over, we could see ladies in the ocean who dive for various shellfish. They wear wetsuits, but use no breathing devices. They have been trained to hold their breath for long amounts of time. I am not sure how deep they dive, but they are a long swim from shore. The only thing they have with them is a big floatation balloon.

First, we went to the coral sand beach. The beach is snow white. On the beach, there was one of the divers selling her shellfish, so we ate some raw "unknown" shellfish. Afterwards, we drove around the small island. We stopped at this very small house. I was exactly sure where we were until my father's cousin said, "amoni", which means mother. This is when I met my father's aunt. She was a cute old lady. I presume she lives alone on the island. She served various raw shellfish, not exactly sure what it all is. She showed me some pictures she had hanging on the wall of my relatives. We ate, took a couple photos, and before we left she hands me an envelope. Yep, I received 100,000 Won ($108).

In the afternoon we visited gravesites of different relatives. On Udo, we visited what would be my father's great, great grandparents and great grandparents. Back on Jejudo, we went to my father's grandmother's and grandfather's graves. It was your typical sightseeing, but I guess my father wanted to do the traditional Korean thing and for me to know where my Korean family is.

On the second day, we visited Jeongbang Waterfall. It is a small waterfall on the south side of Jejudo, but it is right on the coast. Yep, there were more stairs, but beautiful area. Next, we visited Seogwipo World Cup Stadium (cap. 50,000) and wasted some time at the Agricultural Expo. It was quite boring because everything was in Korean, but my father was trying to explain things. He has a lot of difficulty with English, so it wasn't too enjoyable.

After an hour or so, his other cousin came by. He is the older brother of taxi driver cousin. We went to a nice restaurant. I met the older cousins' wife, daughter, and two grandkids. They didn't speak any English, so I just focused on eating and letting my father talk to them.

Two weeks ago, I met some more relatives. My great uncle's daughter, husband (dentist), and two sons (4 and 6 years old) came from Busan area to meet for dinner with me and great uncle's son. They have on other daughter, but she is young, so they didn't bring her. We went for dinner in Gangnam area. They live near Busan and I am guessing that they flew up to Seoul for the day to meet me. It was interesting to meet another relative and her family.

Meeting Korean Mom and ...

On Thursday, November 1st, 2007, I met my biological mother. SWS, adoption agency, arranged for us to meet at their office with a translator. It was all so fast. I didn't find out until noon the day before that SWS had been able to contact my mother. So, they emailed me and I suggested a time ASAP.

I arrived at SWS early because that is how like to set it up. As I was waiting, In Heiryung, translator, told me that my mom was on her way, but was stuck in traffic. Also, she mentioned that I would be meeting her younger sister, her husband, and daughter. So instead of just my mom, I would be meeting aunt, uncle, and cousin. Ah, I was getting quite nervous.

Not much longer, they arrived. I had no idea what to expect. My mother came over to me, hugged me, and was crying. I don't know how to say it, but it was a relief to finally meet her. I was in shock and my emotions didn't really know what to feel. It is an experience that is so unique. Sometimes, it seems like this person is totally a stranger, but you look at them and think, "I look like her."

My mother is an elementary school teacher. She lives about 25 minutes away from me on the subway, so actually pretty close. She lives alone. She comes from a family with 4 children. She was the third child. She has two older brothers and a younger sister. The second son lives in Atlanta. The oldest sons' children attend universities in NY. One of the brothers is also a teacher. Their mother wanted them to be teachers since they were a somewhat poor family and teaching is a very good job in Korea.

On this meeting, I met my mom's younger sister. She is a middle school teacher and is married to a high school teacher. They have two daughters, who attend university. The one I met, Ye-Seul goes to Yonsei University (one of the three prestigious universities of Korea) for interior design. She can speak pretty good English. She did study English for a semester or so in Atlanta. To further her studies, she is planning to go attend a school in the UK next year for six months. The younger one had an exam, so she was unable to attend.

She always thought about us and if she would be able to see us again. In the past, relationships between her and my father were not good. I didn't ask any of the difficult situations of the past, but she wondered why "adoption" was decided, when she would have liked to try taking care of us. I don't know all of the answers to the questions or when I will ever be able to know what story is correct. She said she had lots to say, but since she can't speak English, it is difficult for her to say either because of language or translator.

After chatting at SWS, we went to a nice restaurant. We had Korean food because I suggested it to the translator before they arrived. The translator picked a very nice restaurant that had private dining rooms. It was a little expensive, but nice to have a conversation without any distractions. They asked more questions about David, my twin, and American family. They were happy to see that both us were well educated and seemingly successful.

Health was also a concern. My mom asked about my leg and to see if I needed surgery since she knew that I had a bad left leg as a child. She also wondered if I would be tall and skinny like my father. She said that I looked very similar to one of her nephews. I guess one of her nephews is a little (ok, a lot) bigger also.

They asked a lot of questions. It was a little difficult to answer the questions about my father. I didn't really know what to say because I didn't know if she would still be upset. Afterwards, she said that she wasn't upset anymore at my father and asked how he felt about her. I haven't asked him, so I didn't know what to say. I talked to the translator and she said translating most of it would be ok.

Even though, I am planning to leave Korea soon, I am thankful that I have had this opportunity. I will try to spend as much time as possible with my mother and father. This weekend, I will go to Jejudo with my father and I already have plans to meet my mother next weekend.