End of the First Week

Big day yesterday as we ventured to downtown Seoul. It's about a 40 minute subway ride. Griffin figured out the subway system and it is quite user friendly. English translation is on all the signs. The busses are also accessible and always have stops at the subway stations, so it is easy to go from one to another. We got on a sightseeing double decker tour bus thinking we would see all the sights in an hour and a half ride. Turns out in that amount of time we didn't go more than a couple of miles! Traffic is congested with tour busses, local busses, taxi and cars. Unlike China there are no hay trucks, vegetable carts, bicycles, mopeds or tuk-tuks, but all the same it is mighty busy. There were plenty of stops to get off and visit a palace or historical sight or cultural center, but mostly it was shopping. Tons of street stores with entire areas devoted to lighting fixtures or wall paper or electronics or plumbing or material. It just never ended!  We went to one of the biggest markets, Namnedueng. There were over 600 stalls of socks, shoes, luggage, camera lenses, sunglasses, etc. etc. it was really overwhelming especially with throngs of people everywhere. We ate some great pineapple on a stick, some fried dough and just walked around stunned by the sheer numbers of people and stores. We learned we could see a lot more on a bus going on the outskirts of town so we cruised around the city that way.

Next we hopped a cab to go to the N Seoul Tower. Kind of like the space needle but multiply its size and patronage by 50. It is on a mountain, so after we took a cab, we had to take a shuttle up to the base of the entrance then walk up a steep hill to reach the ticket office. Despite the thousands of tourists visiting, the whole system was very efficient. Everything moves along at a reasonable pace and there is a/c and WiFi in most places. The observatory gave 360 views of the huge metropolis of Seoul and the surrounding districts and the Han River. It is so dense with buildings, but the scattered parks and surrounding mountains offer some lush scenic views. Next we bussed through the Itewan district where the military is located. This is where you will find lots of international food choices and you guessed it, tons more shopping and drinking outlets!

Finally we take the subway home and eat at my favorite local American restaurant, The Lemon Tree Cafe. We had a beer ($8 for Heineken) and pizza and organic salad and fettuccini. This place is expensive, but good. Griff had his daily McDonalds earlier, but insists it is fraudulent because they do not offer a value menu!  He says it costs the same price in the States and pretty much tastes the same. We ate at your basic Mom and Pop, whole in the wall Korean spot for lunch yesterday and it was great. Steamed dumplings, bowl of ramen, pork cutlet with gravy, clay pot of veggies with rice and egg and the usual accompaniments of pickled radish, miso soup, and cabbage cost about $15 for three of us.  

Fortunately we had a nice cool day to walk around. Everyone carries an umbrella during this monsoon time because at any minute it can pour rain. It doesn't usually last too long during the day, but gets quite humid before it lets loose. We didn't know if the constant overcast skies were due to pollution or just low clouds, but we did see a clear blue sky yesterday and it was lovely.

I keep wondering where the other American tourists are and I'm still shaking my head. We have been to many of the popular tourist areas and other than seeing the military guys on the streets in the Itewan area, I can count the Americans we've seen on one hand. We've seen a few Europeans, but the tourists are mostly Koreans and other Asians. We have actually been helped by two young Koreans who noticed we needed assistance with directions and it turns out they both attended the UW! One guy even showed us his Washington State Drivers License! They both spoke perfect English and were super nice. I wish one of them could be my guide-on-retainer as the language barrier does make things difficult. But, that's to be expected and we are learning new things through trial and error! 

I checked the Craigslist here for stuff and met a gorgeous young guy from Virginia. He's been here 6 years with a publishing company and just took the Foreign Service exam. He was moving back to the States, but hopes to be assigned to an embassy here shortly. He gave us lots of good advice and let us raid his house for ten bucks. So I got more cookware, a rug, a lamp and a bottle of some traditional booze that's as strong as rocket fuel!

Tomorrow the six new teachers will get a tour of the school. My principal just returned from his summer vacation in the Northwest (he's from Oregon) and he called to make sure we have everything we need. They treat us really well. My tooth was bonded by a fantastic dentist in a beautiful skyrise with the highest tech offices/equipment I have ever seen. Two gorgeous assistants worked with him. It seemed like he was the dentist to the stars! When we tell the locals we are working for Korea International School they say, "Oh, number one school!"  We met a guy who teaches English at one of the many tutoring schools and he says we get treated much better than they do and get paid a lot more. 

The theme of the Korean culture appears to be sameness. Remember reading Lois Lowry's, The Giver? It reminds me of that a bit. Cars being the same three colors, clothing very similar styles and colors, same few hairstyles, and behavior very predictable. It looks kind of futuristic on the subway. It is very quiet with each person on their wireless device with earphones or reading. We have seen very few children of any age and not too many really elderly people. This is a place for the young and hard working. If the boss goes into work on the weekend, so does everyone else. If the boss wants to go out to dinner /drinking into the wee hours, so does everyone else. Students study in subways and in coffee houses. There must be at  least three coffee cafés on every block.  There are more Starbucks here in one district than all of Everett. It is crazy. There are four or five chains of coffee places and tons of local coffee shops.  No decaf here. In addition to all the mochas and lattes the menus offer snow ice, smoothies, ice cream and pastries. Donuts signs abound. On the corner of our street is a gal with a cart who has three waffle makers and folds the hot crispy waffles over three scoops of ice cream!! She's busy all night. In China it is rare to find dairy in any form, but pizza and yogurt and milk products are popular here. I don't know how these folks stay slim (only about 1 in 50 is overweight); it must be the walking and stairs. The fashion is interesting. It is quite a bit more effeminate for men. Pedal pushers are common and skinny pants the norm. Women wear short shorts, but no buttocks or stomach ever see the sun. Many gals wear pantyhose with shorts and it just makes me cringe and itch looking at them on a hot, humid day! Women dress conservatively compared to the States. No cleavage or provocative blouses, but it is popular to carry a brand name handbag or brand name anything. 

Young people live with their parents until they marry which is why the streets are full of socializing twenty-somethings. The average family only has 1.5 kids, so they are tightly connected to all their relatives. It is very expensive to rent a place; need at least 10k for a deposit. To buy a place it will take 100k to start, so they don't move out and marry until their late twenties. You don't see much PDA, but like in a China girls hold hands in friendship while strolling the streets. There is great affection with parents and children and it is so nice to see. Since we live in a privileged area of town, the focus is on studying and climbing the ladder to success. 

It's Griff's last night here before he leaves tomorrow afternoon. I will miss his company and humor. He is the most effortless traveler going with the flow and never forcing anything to happen. Everybody loves the Griff and my heart will have an aching empty space right in the middle until I get to see him again. I'm planning on taking him to Lotte World tonight. It's a shopping center/ amusement park/ restaurant mecca all in one. I guess it is something to see. Then we will do a river cruise. Or not. We'll just see how the day goes, who we meet, and what the weather has in store. 

Hope all is well back home. I used to watch the local news for a few minutes or listen to NPR in the morning, but no more. We have cable here, but it's mostly Korean shows featuring QVC like channels, fashion shows, K-pop, soap operas and everything Korean. We get the History channel, but the shows all seem to be Pawn Stars, Swamp something  and war stuff. Of all the American channels to choose from, they had to go with Tru TV which is a lot like Cops and Jackass combined. The Euro and Aussie news come in English and Bloomberg stock is available. I look at the Seattle Times online if I remember, but I haven't really clued in to the latest world problems. From watching the global news it seems to be the same thing everywhere. Today Griff will hook my Apple TV device up to the TV so I can stream stuff through my computer. The internet has lightening speed here everywhere we go, so that is awesome!

Okay, that's all I got for now.

On Saturday, July 26, 2014, Beeston, Jeffrey K <Jeffrey.K.Beeston@boeing.com> wrote:

25 Best Things To Do in Seoul, South Korea
Living in South Korea: A Day in the life
South Korea Documentary 1

First Days

July 21, 2014

I  thought I was getting a sign that I made the wrong decision moving to Korea shortly after we got to Seatac when half of my front tooth broke off as I was taping copies of the long Korean address on nine luggage tags. Alone while Griff was parking, I needed tape and the agent gave me some commercial packaging tape, no scissors available, and I stupidly, hurriedly, used my front tooth as a knife.  Also, three of my bags were overweight so I was charged an extra $300. I wasn't going to be able to smile without embarrassment when I arrived in my new country. I was tired and anxious after only a few hours sleep and suddenly, for the first time, I had doubts and I had to hold back the tears.

Is there a such thing as a totally pleasant 11 hour fight? Oh yes there is when you fly with Korean Air!  We will have no obnoxious intercom interruptions or monotonous instructions. All is done through the screen with personal remote directly in front of each seat. Blanket, socks, eye mask, pillow, wine ( poured out of regular bottles), hot towels, slippers, toothbrush, two full meals and a snack anyone? Your choice of movies, TV, news, games ( I watched The Grand Budapest Hotel and loved it! The movie Her on the other hand was a total snoozer.) One of the darling young flight attendants told me my son was, "So handsome, just like celebrity."! It just gets better when you arrive at the best airport in the world. Golf, spa, museum, hotel, you can do it all here. We were met by our greeters who immediately took charge of our luggage and sat us down so we could have a quick meal at Kraze Burger before we headed to the apartment. We arrive at my cute little apartment on the fourth floor of a five story building where four guys schlep my suitcases up four flights, thank you! I love my place. They have set me up with a phone, cable, internet a few groceries, towels, bathroom kit and cleaning supplies. Clear operating instructions to the washing machine, a/c, hot water were just part of the big welcome packet given to me. Also include we're guide books, preloaded subway/bus/taxi card, phone card,  $600 US cash and 600 Korean won. Then we were left on our own. A phone call just minutes later was to tell me an appointment was made with a dentist. This was followed by an email attachment of a full bio page of my dentist who graduated from Tufts. Aaahhh, maybe I did make the right choice.

After a good night's sleep Griff and I ventured out. Our neighborhood is stocked with cafés, coffee shops, retail stores and 7 Elevens. Anything we need/ want is at our fingertips and so far the prices seem reasonable. We walked for a couple of hours snacking here and there shocked by the many choices of American restaurants. Dominos, Dunkin Donuts, Subway, McD, etc. they are all here and within steps. But way better than that are the zillion other food choices, many with English translation or pictures to point to. We decide to hop a cab (all clean, nice, easy, cheap price) to go to Emarket, one of the big consumer retail outlets. I quickly realize I packet way too much stuff and could have bought most everything here! The grocery section is fantastic! Like Costco, samples are given out in each section. We are fascinated by the availability of everything and like everything else in Korea it is super clean, neat, organized and efficient. After having such limited choices for shopping on the island and nothing I could walk to, this is my consumer paradise!

We did not see any other Americans or foreigners while out and about and nobody stared at us or approached us. People were friendly when we asked for directions, although most people do not speak English well. We posed as hotel guests at the Intercontinental Hotel to get info from the concierge who understood/ spoke perfect English.  I can see a big billboard from my deck that reads: I Love English and we see English speaking schools on every other street, so the English speakers must all be in school during the day I'm guessing.  It's fairly quiet during the day on the streets as everyone is working or in school. The young people in cafés are studying while eating and of course they are tethered to their smart phones. We are located about 30 minutes from Seoul, but this is a bustling district in the afternoon/evening. Cars everywhere, people on the streets and filling the restaurants. The temperature is in the 80s, but no more humid than Hawaii and much more comfortable than China this time of year. Skies have been overcast and it is the end of monsoon season. Heavy rains caused flooding and mudslides in many parts of the country recently, but the last rains should occur shortly.  I hear fall is lovely here.

Another new teacher arrived and we got together for dinner. She had just finished college in Pennsylvania  Since most schools only have one music teacher, and nothing interesting had opened up in her town in PA she took a chance at a job fair and found herself teaching in the Middle East a few weeks later.  She took a two-year job in Saudi Arabia and really enjoyed her time there then, as with me, Korea International School perused all the resumes on file with the two international agencies and thought she would be a good fit for them. She is super nice, positive, up for any experience and easy to get along with. I'll be working directly with her as my students will see her regularly. Her main instrument is the trumpet but she also plays piano and violin.She learned to make her own wine and sangria there, so she'll have no trouble with the active drinking culture here!

Couple of side notes. Recycling is not only a big deal here, it is mandatory. I received two pages of instructions on the proper disposal of all types of garbage. It's nice to know that throughout the country the policy is enforced by fines if the reuse of natural resources and elimination of garbage is not carefully followed. This is a great model for the world.
Traffic is similar to Seattle, but the interesting thing is that there are only three colors of cars here: white, gray and black. I believe the color reflects stays and there are no old cars. Parking is on the sidewalks, so you've got to be very careful if you plan on walking and texting at the same time!

It is easy to transition to a country that is so clean, well-organized, welcomes tourism and  is very safe. I definitely feel like I am in another country, but it is quite Western, super high tech and interesting in so many ways.  I'm sure for many days I will be waking up at four in the morning ready for the next adventure. Griffin is here for five more days so we have lots of exploring to do. He loves it so far and is taking heaps of pictures.
I am using my iPhone to text with the app Kakao Talk. There is no fee. Sign up to communicate that way if you want.

All is good in this part of the world.

Gaylen
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