Thursday, October 6, 2011
Virgin Mary
The story of the Maegoe virgin. The virgin Mary is apparently much more respected in Korea than one would think.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Celebrations and, of course, libations
So right now we just celebrated something. I am not quite sure what it was, but it was either a birthday for a superior, or an anniversary of his attaining the position. I am guessing it is the birthday of a superior. We sang a song "Chugae chukah hamnida" but what I am used to hearing is "Saengil chukah hamnida" which is why I am guessing this is the very polite version of that. We had a light breadish cake, like something similar to pound cake, and tea. Over here they drink barley tea. At least I think that is what it is. It's hard to translate what kind of tea this is, and everytime I ask they just look at me funny. I wasn't a big tea drinker back home, but it definitely tastes different from that, not even sure how to describe it. Parmenides, a pre-Socratic philosopher, said you can describe things by describing what they aren't, well this tea is not regular tea, and it's not green tea, and its not white tea, and its not ginseng tea. I dunno, it tastes distinctly like this drink I have had over here called "17" but of course that is made up of 17 different herbs, so who knows which one it really is. There is a link to it here. I dunno, it kind of gives me a headache, which makes me suspect it has a lot of caffeine in it. I am not a big caffeine drinker, so I have three half cups of coffee sitting here by me that people keep bringing me out of kindness. Rawr.
Friday night was a good night. I got Phillipa, Steve and Graham to come out to have a few beers. We started off at a chicken place in Janghowon called Hoo la la's. If you walk outside you can see a Tous Les Jours that is right on the main road (that's not so much for my blog readers as it is for anyone who googles "Janghowon Hoo la la's" and wants to know that it is right near a bus terminal in Janghowon and that it is off of Route 3.) It is actually delicious, because it is one of the few chicken places here where they don't fry EVERYTHING. That being said I am a monster, and I find myself eating a ridiculous amount of food over here. I think it is the amount of walking, mixed with the fact that I am usually eating meals that consist of no carbs, so I simply don't feel as full. It was a night filled with good conversation, as Phillipa, the South African who lives out in the country and speaks Korean well, seems to be rather interesting. Since I have been here, there have only been two people that have engaged me in a religious discussion where I didn't feel like I was being patronized, and she has been one of them. The other was at the teachers meeting, and he genuinely wanted me to talk about why Catholics do not take the first fifteen chapters of Genesis literally. It was one of those times where you realize like halfway in that you could pretty much say anything and people would believe you, but I give him credit for being totally interested in what I was saying, and asking thoughtful questions himself. Phillipa wanted to know what it was like to be a World Religions major and have to teach just Catholicism. Call me vain but it was good to have an intellectual conversation. Me and Bill Storey used to have those all the time, but they have been much less frequent in a country where I can't talk for more than three sentences without having to draw a picture on the board. Steve was good for conversation also. Being of Vietnamese ancestry he gets stared at a lot less than this giant white guy with a beard, but that doesn't mean he doesn't feel the culture gap. He was talking about how he is getting the sixth month blues, which I guess I get to look forward to, and how he is trying to battle them. Luckily he seems fun enough that he might want to hang out a bunch, and already he is planning a party at his place this weekend. I unfortunately cannot attend because I have a prior engagement going to see Roni Size, a prominent techno artist at the "global gathering" concert in Seoul. Armed with my smart phone and all my apps I actually know exactly where I am going, and even how to get there. I feel like a completely different person than I was one month ago, but that's to be expected. Often times in my life have I felt like this. Sometimes for good reasons, and sometimes not so good reasons.
This weekend was supposed to be spent with my vice principal at his house eating dinner, but for some reason we didn't get the communication right. I thought I was supposed to meet him at the volleyball place by the elementary school at 10:00 AM but no one ever showed up. By 10:40 something I left. It was kind of frustrating because this was the last long weekend of the year. I would have liked to have used it to follow my friends to Jeju, or to make it out to Busan. Instead I chilled in my apartment watching crappy American action movies and eating fried chicken and ramen. :( I did however decide one night that I would not be in my apartment all day, and struck out on my own. I went to the church next to my school, which coincidentally is called Maegoe Catholic Church, and walked around it a bit. Pictures and videos forthcoming. I walked the trail that they had for the stations of the cross, and eventually was rewarded with what I was looking for, the famous statue of the Virgin Mary. Here is a link dealing more in depth with the church, but as far as the pictures go, I do have, and will have better ones posted. Also, Stew, it seems that this church is under Maryknoll control, so do me a favor and put in a good word ;) The site that I just linked to was about four years old and it looks like they have changed the cross since then. The one on top of the hill now is much more impressive. Quite literally, it is the biggest Jesus I have ever seen. It can be seen from almost anywhere in Gamgok. It was kind of a taxing little hike for me being so out of practice, but nothing I couldn't do. Steep grade, short distance, that has never been a problem for me. From the top of the hill I watched the sunset, and tried to make it back down before A) getting tooooootally frickin lost, and B) before dark, which after a sunset approaches pretty darn fast. I hadn't eaten yet, so I made sure to stop by a restaurant, where I then spent twenty minutes deciphering the menu with my phone so I could order something delicious to eat. Yes, it came with kimchi. Yes, kimchi is still delicious to me. Yes, I do feel ok. No, this is not the kimchi talking, although I did have a big helping at lunch. Even the super fine English teacher said "Oh! You really like kimchi!" and I flashed back to those old Milk commercials from the 80's.
Now because you have been so patient, and even sat through Mascot, I provide some loudly dressed provocatively dancing young pop singers. Seriously, I really do think it's the kimchi.
Friday night was a good night. I got Phillipa, Steve and Graham to come out to have a few beers. We started off at a chicken place in Janghowon called Hoo la la's. If you walk outside you can see a Tous Les Jours that is right on the main road (that's not so much for my blog readers as it is for anyone who googles "Janghowon Hoo la la's" and wants to know that it is right near a bus terminal in Janghowon and that it is off of Route 3.) It is actually delicious, because it is one of the few chicken places here where they don't fry EVERYTHING. That being said I am a monster, and I find myself eating a ridiculous amount of food over here. I think it is the amount of walking, mixed with the fact that I am usually eating meals that consist of no carbs, so I simply don't feel as full. It was a night filled with good conversation, as Phillipa, the South African who lives out in the country and speaks Korean well, seems to be rather interesting. Since I have been here, there have only been two people that have engaged me in a religious discussion where I didn't feel like I was being patronized, and she has been one of them. The other was at the teachers meeting, and he genuinely wanted me to talk about why Catholics do not take the first fifteen chapters of Genesis literally. It was one of those times where you realize like halfway in that you could pretty much say anything and people would believe you, but I give him credit for being totally interested in what I was saying, and asking thoughtful questions himself. Phillipa wanted to know what it was like to be a World Religions major and have to teach just Catholicism. Call me vain but it was good to have an intellectual conversation. Me and Bill Storey used to have those all the time, but they have been much less frequent in a country where I can't talk for more than three sentences without having to draw a picture on the board. Steve was good for conversation also. Being of Vietnamese ancestry he gets stared at a lot less than this giant white guy with a beard, but that doesn't mean he doesn't feel the culture gap. He was talking about how he is getting the sixth month blues, which I guess I get to look forward to, and how he is trying to battle them. Luckily he seems fun enough that he might want to hang out a bunch, and already he is planning a party at his place this weekend. I unfortunately cannot attend because I have a prior engagement going to see Roni Size, a prominent techno artist at the "global gathering" concert in Seoul. Armed with my smart phone and all my apps I actually know exactly where I am going, and even how to get there. I feel like a completely different person than I was one month ago, but that's to be expected. Often times in my life have I felt like this. Sometimes for good reasons, and sometimes not so good reasons.
This weekend was supposed to be spent with my vice principal at his house eating dinner, but for some reason we didn't get the communication right. I thought I was supposed to meet him at the volleyball place by the elementary school at 10:00 AM but no one ever showed up. By 10:40 something I left. It was kind of frustrating because this was the last long weekend of the year. I would have liked to have used it to follow my friends to Jeju, or to make it out to Busan. Instead I chilled in my apartment watching crappy American action movies and eating fried chicken and ramen. :( I did however decide one night that I would not be in my apartment all day, and struck out on my own. I went to the church next to my school, which coincidentally is called Maegoe Catholic Church, and walked around it a bit. Pictures and videos forthcoming. I walked the trail that they had for the stations of the cross, and eventually was rewarded with what I was looking for, the famous statue of the Virgin Mary. Here is a link dealing more in depth with the church, but as far as the pictures go, I do have, and will have better ones posted. Also, Stew, it seems that this church is under Maryknoll control, so do me a favor and put in a good word ;) The site that I just linked to was about four years old and it looks like they have changed the cross since then. The one on top of the hill now is much more impressive. Quite literally, it is the biggest Jesus I have ever seen. It can be seen from almost anywhere in Gamgok. It was kind of a taxing little hike for me being so out of practice, but nothing I couldn't do. Steep grade, short distance, that has never been a problem for me. From the top of the hill I watched the sunset, and tried to make it back down before A) getting tooooootally frickin lost, and B) before dark, which after a sunset approaches pretty darn fast. I hadn't eaten yet, so I made sure to stop by a restaurant, where I then spent twenty minutes deciphering the menu with my phone so I could order something delicious to eat. Yes, it came with kimchi. Yes, kimchi is still delicious to me. Yes, I do feel ok. No, this is not the kimchi talking, although I did have a big helping at lunch. Even the super fine English teacher said "Oh! You really like kimchi!" and I flashed back to those old Milk commercials from the 80's.
Now because you have been so patient, and even sat through Mascot, I provide some loudly dressed provocatively dancing young pop singers. Seriously, I really do think it's the kimchi.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Peach photos!
There is a bunch of photos that you are about to see. For some reason it loaded them backwards, so if you really want the feel for the way my day at the peach festival went, you should go backwards from the bottom of the blog up. I even commented on them that way, so it makes more sense if that happens. In the next blog I will try to upload the videos. |
| Annyeong haseyo koyangiga! |
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| The infamous Nate on the scooter shot. |
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| Mascotu. Everything in Korean that is from English ends in a vowel for some reason. It's just the rules of Konglish. |
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| Just some Korean military watching a girl group. NBD. |
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| One of the many stands where a person cut up free peaches and people came to eat them. You can see the prices for a box of peaches in the back. Not too bad for a giant peach that James could probably live inside. |
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| Bindaetok. A Korean fried dough, filled with vegetables, served with soy sauce. Toooootally delicious. |
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| Peach Makgeoli that is served in a small bowl. Notice how it came with kimchi. |
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| A week later and I can still taste it. |
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| It wouldn't be a Korean festival without arm wrestling. |
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| I wanted to take a picture of a camouflage bulldozer, but I can't seem to see where the bulldozer went. |
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| Stats for the Badass Bulldozer. |
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| Breakdown of the Surface to Air Missile launcher. |
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| Stats for the K-21 |
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| Some stats for the larger tank, the K1A1 |
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| The human tank. |
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| The larger tank. |
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| The smaller tank. |
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| Right after this Nate tried to take a picture of the inside. The guy took his camera to erase the photo, but with how serious things are these days I can't say I blame him. |
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| Nate wearing the helmet. |
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| Adorable kid wearing a helmet in front of the SAM. |
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| South Korean Surface to Air Missle laucher. |
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| The infamous ride of death. Video forthcoming. |
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| Typical way to discipline the highschoolers. I bet that kid doesn't fall asleep in class again. |
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| Soccer field in front of Gamgok chun hawkyo (Gamgok elementary school) |
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| Gamgok Elementary School and the mountain with the illuminated cross. |
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| My apartment, notice how my beard is bigger than the car, that's no illusion. |
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