Scattered Thoughts on Our Last Day in Korea

Posted on February 27, 2012 by

We are currently in Seoul at the Pencil Hostel in Hongdae (great hostel by the way, definitely my favourite one that we’ve stayed in) counting down the hours until we’re back in Canada. We’re down to just a few hours left here in Korea. I’m sure you can imagine it is extremely difficult to put your entire life into 2 large bags. That was our task though and we completed it. It really is amazing how a year can speed by and at the same time drag endlessly on. Yesterday was bittersweet, it was our last day in Cheongju before heading home but unfortunately I lost my camera in an aggravating taxi mishap. At least I had most of the pictures already on the computer, so not all is lost.

My wonderful co-teacher Sang Min. She was so great and always took care of me.

On Friday night we both went out to our respective school’s year end farewell dinners. There were many tears, hugs, empty soju bottles and speeches, as well as some horrific singing at the end. It was a a great way to say goodbye and see all of the people that have been a huge part of my life this year. I have made some great friends at the school and I was really treated with kindness and patience. My principal and vice principal had some very kind words for me and wished me all the best. My principal would not say goodbye to me, instead he compared our lives to running water and something else very profound. It was a very nice sentiment and would have been even nicer had I fully understood it. It was  tough to say goodbye to all of my fellow English teachers, they have helped me so much this year and have never asked for anything in return.

This guy likes to party. No matter what is happening, "Korean tradition!!" On this night that referred to one teacher falling down drunk and another one dancing on the table.

This was my second stint in Korea and I feel so much better about this one than I did about the first one. I had a great time in 2000 when I was here but this time I had a completely different perspective, set of priorities and goals. We were able to see so much of this country, I think we actually managed to check off everything on our list (which is amazing, you should have seen the list). There were struggles and successes, frustration and elation but most of all there was discovery of new things, as well as discovery of self.

My friend Dong Yul, he was awesome. His English was really good and he was always there for me. Great guy.

South Korea is an intriguing country, it just tries so hard. There are 50 million people here in this tiny country. Just to add some perspective to that, in 2008 there were 462 people per square km in South Korea vs 3 per square km in Canada. It is crowded here. Having a huge population and a tiny territory leads to a lot of things, mostly competition and a severe lack of personal space. South Korea has, I believe, the 13th largest economy in the world which is amazing when you look at its size and the fact that they produce next to no natural resources. There is a very competitive spirit that drives this country, you can see it in all aspects of life, but I experienced it in the schools. These kids are putting in 12 hours a day, minimum. They arrive at school around 7:45 and leave after 5pm. After that they attend academies for Math, Science, English and more. Many of them don’t arrive back at home until after 10pm and then they study some more. At first glance this appears ridiculous, and it is, but you need to understand the intense pressure that is placed on the individuals that live here. Guess what country leads the world in suicide… it’s Lithuania (huh???) but Korea is #2 and not by much. Education has become so important in this country because it is seen as a means to succeed. That being said, it is really difficult watching some of these students who can barely keep their eyes open because they’ve been pulling 80 hour study weeks. I’m really happy that I was able to grow up somewhere that valued socialization and activities other than studying. I think that it makes for more fully rounded individuals but I’m obviously biased.

Some of my favourite students at our Winter English Camp.

Now as for the personal space issue, it isn’t that South Koreans don’t respect personal space, it is that they have absolutely no concept of personal space. It is extremely frustrating to walk down the sidewalk that is 15 feet wide and have the only other person in sight brush by you. Bryannie and I are convinced that they have some 6th sense that allows them to step in front of you without looking. For example when trying to pass someone from behind on the street they instinctively start weaving in and out like its Nascar. I don’t mean to generalize here, not all (but at least 95%…).

There is a new Super Hero in town... Toilet Man!!

I loved teaching. I really, really liked it. There are crappy days of course but overall I found the experience really rewarding. Bryannie mentioned this in her last post as well, I can’t help but wonder how much better it will be when I can properly communicate with the students. My principal told me that I was the best foreign teacher that he’s ever met. I appreciate that a lot, however it is hard to believe when he never actually stepped foot into one of my lessons. I’ll take the compliment though.

My Vice Principal is beside me. After 3 sojus, "You, good teacher. NO! BEST teacher!"

My lasting impression of Korea will be a mixed bag. There are some atrocious smells here, I’m not sure that my nostrils will ever be the same. We’ve met some amazing people who have opened up their homes and lives for us. I really hope that I can keep in touch with many of them. There is really too much to mention in one post but I will echo Bryannie’s sentiments that the negative things will fade away much easier than the positive ones. I am very happy with our year here and I will remember it fondly.

Sometimes you're so cool that birds just land on your hand on top of a mountain.

-Craig

Posted in Our Year in Korea | Tagged , | 1 Comment

Bryannie’s Incomplete Review of Korea

Posted on February 23, 2012 by

So, as we’re so close to the end now, I’ve started thinking forward to all the inevitable (and fluent!) conversations we’re going to have in which people will ask about our experience in Korea, however quickly. Obviously my first and shortest answer will be, “It was great.” Beyond that, I’m having trouble summarizing my thoughts even in my own head. Often this is because my thoughts/mood/attitude change by the minute depending on a complex set of factors like my stomach contents, the natural light level, the quality of social interactions that day, and the number of times on the way to work I caught myself staring at a pile of kimchi-soju puke. But overall, of course, I think my second, slightly less short answer will be, “It was a positive growing experience.”

What in the fun of about?

I’ve had countless moments this year where I’ve realized that my idea of how I am and the reality are nowhere close to being the same. I want to think of myself as someone who loves to travel, who has always wanted to live “abroad” for a significant amount of time, and who has the ability to be culturally sensitive and get the most out of every experience. Turns out it’s really uncomfortable to do all of those things. There is a vast difference between a vacation and a job in a foreign country. There is also a vast difference between being academically culturally sensitive, where you carefully unpack your assumptions and biases and respect the differences, and living in a different culture where the things you unconsciously believe to be common courtesy and a logical mindset are completely different. I’ve been comparing the experience of teaching in Korea to a serving job: it can be incredibly stressful and difficult, but anybody can do it. I remind myself that there are thousands of people doing the same thing I am, some better, and some worse.

Jill, I almost bought this for you.

I’ve found that pet peeves and small annoyances loom larger in my mind here, and it’s often harder than it is at home to take a step back and look at the big picture. For example, searching desperately for coffee in the morning and realizing that most coffee shops (and businesses) open at 11am and close at midnight. Big picture: despite the very pushy voice in my head saying otherwise, caffeine is not a necessity, and isn’t it nice that the coffee shop staff gets to sleep in? I remember family dinners where we’d bring up complaints from our day, and our parents would listen and then respond with, “Can you think of three positive things from today?” So, in the spirit of family dinner conversations, a (completely biased) summary of my Korean experience:

  1. School

Luckily, the EPIK program placed me in an elementary school, despite my naïve request for a high school. I am SO glad that it worked out that way, because the age-related cuteness of the kids was a saving grace on many many days. The staff made up for finding me completely puzzling by offering me food whenever it was available, and returning my constant bows and annyeong-haseyo’s.

Learning to make kimbap.

I found it incredibly frustrating sometimes to have such an impermeable communication barrier between me and literally everyone else (but two) at the school. I feel like I really missed out on developing real relationships with the kids because I couldn’t communicate with them much beyond “How are you?” which they almost invariably saw as a test. I also feel that if I had been able to communicate with my co-workers, they would have been much less uneasy around me. Often when I entered a room without a “babysitter” or made eye contact with someone at a staff social event, it was abundantly clear that they became really uncomfortable. To be perfectly honest, that’s on me. I’m the one who knowingly entered another culture without knowing the language, and the onus is on me to attempt communication. I think I failed at that overall; on a positive note, I think my non-verbal communication and body-language-reading skills have improved considerably! However, I have no proof, as the conversations I imagined everyone around me to be having were impossible to verify.

Out for staff lunch. Everybody chilling comfortably on the floor while I silently writhe in pain.

Positive Thoughts: I think the impression that most people on staff have of me is a mute, smiley, awkwardly-polite person. And who doesn’t like that girl?

2. Kids

In the classroom, the kids were overall very well-behaved. There were several kids who clearly had ADD (in my very unprofessional opinion), and others that I’m pretty sure really hated me (and the rest of the world — only in Grade 6), but the rest were pretty great. Luckily, my co-teachers were on the ball with classroom management, so I really didn’t have to deal with that much.  There is near-constant pressure on them from the time school starts until the time they get home after after-school classes and private academy classes, so their lives aren’t at all like what I remember experiencing in elementary school. I couldn’t help feeling a little bad for them, knowing what their next few years were likely to look like: tests, tests, important tests, and more tests.

Performing "Chicken Little".

Outside of school is where the kids were simultaneously the cutest and most annoying. The kids I know would come up to me with huge smiles and shy waves and say hello, and sometimes they would even answer my “How are you?” before running away. The kids I didn’t know (from other schools) found something about me completely hilarious. If they screamed hello to me from across the street, and I answered, their response would be shrieking laughter. I got sick of this quickly. What were they expecting? Does no one teach “stranger danger” here? How is it okay to break normal social rules just because you see a foreigner? The less forgiving side of me often took over on these occasions and I started to mostly ignore the screaming hellos if I didn’t know the person — unless they were polite and/or super cute.

Cute Gr. 3s on Sports Day.

Positive Thoughts: I’m pretty sure that small Korean kids are the cutest kids in the world. And… I’m also pretty sure that being upset because someone says hi to you is not a fair or valid response. Korean kids = friendlier than this Canadian.

3. Daily Life

As mentioned above, the communication barrier was often difficult to deal with. However, learning to read Korean made a huge difference, as did learning basic phrases to get around, order things, ask and answer very basic questions, and tell people how little Korean you speak. I eventually felt pretty comfortable getting everyday things done. What made me uncomfortable on a daily basis, up to and including this last week here, was the constant staring. I just can’t get used to it. I am a human being (despite having an Alien Registration Card), and my face just can’t be that interesting. It’s impossible! And yet. I really feel like I’ve developed a lot of empathy for people living in a foreign culture. Obviously the experience is different for everyone, but I have a newfound respect for people who do it in much harder circumstances that I have.

I hear ya.

Positive Thoughts: If all else fails, there is always the foreigner card, which you can play when you don’t understand. It is the positive side of looking like you don’t belong. People were usually happy to try and help me understand, which I really appreciated.

4. Exploring

One thing that many people wanted to make sure we understood about Korea was that it has four seasons. We’ve mentioned this in previous posts. It does. Spring and Fall were beautiful and comfortable, and Summer and Winter were different versions of terrible. Luckily though, we managed to see a lot of Korea while the weather was nice, which allowed us to hibernate more when it was a trial to leave the comfort of our tiny, air-conditioned and heated apartment. I felt like we really took advantage of our fair-weather weekends in order to see as much as possible.

It's really freaking cold in the morning.

We’ve posted pretty consistently about all of our travels within Korea, so I probably don’t need to go into that. The #1 thing I am most impressed with on the subject of exploring Korea is the ease of transportation. There are subways, trains, buses, and affordable taxis going just about everywhere. And the best part of all, every SINGLE bus we ever took left the minute it was scheduled to. Literally on the minute. Incredible.

Positive Thoughts: See above.

Summary

So yes, it has been a great year. I think I’ve grown as a person, even just because I’m more aware than ever of my faults and idiosyncrasies. Craig and I didn’t kill each other despite living in the same 300 square feet for an entire year and unloading all of our frustrations on each other. In fact, I think we like each other more than before. I think that’s a huge win.

Eating Dakkalbi at our favourite place.

I’m grateful for the friends we’ve made here, both waygooks and Koreans, and for the challenges, even though they were tough at the time. I’m even okay with our location, Cheongju, which doesn’t have much going for it as a city, but which makes up for its “country-city” status by being right in the middle of Korea, making it easy to get everywhere else.

Out for one of our last BBQs.

Highlights:

- the kindness and patience of both of my co-teachers

- the cuteness of my students

- the friendliness and generosity of people like Dr. Park

- dolsot bibimbap

- hiking: clean air, lots of green, random people sharing food

- the strange compliments

- the high a successful interaction with a Korean gives me

- cheap and effective transportation

- the experience of every day being simultaneously run-of-the-mill and completely different

Quiznos Ad: Hot OR soft. How to choose?

Things I Am Most Looking Forward to Next Week:

- seeing friends and family

- engaging in small talk with a cashier

- no one staring at me (unless there’s a good reason, like yelling at someone across the street)

- cheese, salmon, wine, avocados, tap water

- the natural beauty of British Columbia (I know that’s cheesy, but it’s SO beautiful)

- understanding the traffic rules and walking unmolested by motorbikes on the sidewalk

- a different kind of independence and anonymity

Difficult choices.

So yes, this year was a great experience and I’m glad that we did it and that we’re going home. I think my thoughts will change as the frustrating memories fade and the good moments brighten.

- Bryannie


Posted in Our Year in Korea | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Gifts from Cool Messenger

Posted on February 17, 2012 by

So, on all the school computers we have a program called Cool Messenger that everyone uses to keep in touch and send out meeting reminders etc. Obviously this is all in Korean, so for the first little while I ignored (or tried to) the messages that popped up on my screen multiple times a day. However, constantly having no idea what was going on is really frustrating, especially when you’re trying not to hassle the two people who you depend on as your sole communicative link to the “outside” world. Enter Google translate. It must be good for something, but translating Korean to English is not that thing. Either way, here are some of my favourite results: 

“Attachment data support our school’s life Donna children of teachers should take advantage of individuals with training materials.
We all have hopes and dreams now, let’s wake up the odds.
Praise and encouragement for having me as a young kid, sour, their hopes and dreams for jeonhayeo promote kidney health and education, please. Thank you.”

I want to know how to wake up the odds for my hopes and dreams!

 ”To promote business enter your party please feel free to stand in the need to start thinking.”

I keep reading this over and over because it almost makes sense.

 ”Please note to let you know incase.
I fell off the test. That’s kind of embarrassing ignorance.”

That is super embarrassing.

“The weather today started laughing again woojungchunghaeseo you needed three days and adults gathered in a fashion story that will be sent. Once again, a little bittersweet to think that the story is the story of yimyeonseo.
Wish you a happy day …”

Such poetry! Laughing weather and bittersweet stories.

“1. Explosives not to play the map issued by
   – Prefer gunpowder play with lighters
   – Gunpowder play in the playground yesterday to find a student to the office just send us the wind”

If there are kids in the playground playing with gunpowder, I am out of here.

  “Seoreundol mentor teachers’ health and happiness of the occasion to pray for. Teacher wearing a flower on the chest are pleasing appearance, with little qualitative who enjoyed being prepared like a gift — Ah expect you’re old school.”

I suspect I might be too old school to wear a flower on my chest.

“Can ask anything you need.
1. Never come on campus to avoid a puppy, please Maps children (playground shit about elsewhere that day).”

But, why would you avoid a puppy?

“Thank you. Wooyukgwak last year after an accident last Saturday in cartons by the unsavory incident occurred and to prevent accidents or be forced from today haknyeonban in milk and letting children write down all the people to eat until lunch time, then you really sudotga wooyutong Please send it to. Is to determine the exact number of wooyubingwak. His teachers eat nutritious milk each class students, please send a list to the office. Every day gyosihu map please just interested. We apologize for heavy word. So, once writing to send the cold. One moment … laughing bosigil“

Unsavory incident… children write down all the people to eat… those ARE heavy words.

 “Sixth graders have trouble.
Rainy weather will continue, but poor
Wednesday happy to work day, please.”

A skewed haiku.

“Map of snails in flower beds so please magazines.
Classes ended early on the map tomorrow, thank you.”

More poetry.

“Reaches the end of the summer’s on. The occasion of heat cheoseo
She’ll break her leg slowly without any further ado mosquito’s do not have a lot of me.
ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ ㅋ
South of teachers remaining vacation time recharging your second semester in the mind and body”

After all that, someone is definitely in need of some recharging.

“And the rain of the summer to come very much asleep or three come to a single melon also the only one I never take a knife and slit the yellow ripe melons are going. Two little small, old pumpkins harvested today hanjuyeon Take good care of yourself you needed your’ve childbirth teacher.
In the afternoon, take a moment to find where is, please. And leggings are growing well in the Chinese cabbage and radish.”

And I already thought it was a strange garden, being in the parking lot and all.

“Today a lot of dust and snacks are eaten in the library.
Come to the library”

No.

“Hello
Fortunately, the weather is nice today ^ ^
Shooting is scheduled to shoot employees at nine.
Sign headed toward finishing your wisteria flowers please the west ^ ^
I’ll see you shortly.”

And… I will be gone by 8:55.

 ”Every day in school so tricky is this? Is asking a lot,
Manager (Zhang, sense) that this sermon Lots
The children are so ridiculous to hear well he hits an accident,
Studying it is not asking not getting good grades,
It seems to be annoying.
Do you still live life as a teacher seems to be more frustrating.
As you read posts naesigo Force Attachment fellow teachers and sometimes
Or what (?), Please work your way to satisfy his relief. Have in mind byeongyinapnida live.
All these things just all go home Oh crap hasimyeonseo
Discard in the trash kkimeopyi gasigil sigo …”

I don’t really know what this means, but I think it’s a cry for help.

“He missed the whole woodstock phase cantilever tomorrow. Teachers will love.”

I , too, missed the woodstock phase.

“Harassment against faculty members: Have a prostitution prevention training.
Scholarship schedule and unintentionally overlap
The place has been relocated.”

Yes, it would be bad news to overlap the prostitution prevention with the scholarship schedule.

“Is administration.
Monday the weather’s getting cold now heated to Cream and sugar.
When entering the heating radiators and goods around and shit on the floor if the fire hazard, because minutes of each staff member during the heating around deulkkeseoneun today and cleaned the floor and the garbage or by making us your goods, do not stack anything on top of radiator I hope.”

Too many good parts. Yes, I will pick up the shit on the floor immediately.

* * *

Sometimes the “translations” were actually useful and I got the gist of the message; for example, the ones that said, “the meeting is at 4:00″ were pretty easy to understand (and therefore, to avoid being pulled into a meeting conducted entirely in Korean). Usually, though, Google translate just facilitated my alarm.

I have been moved to another classroom so they can turn mine into a functional English classroom, and my new computer doesn’t have Cool Messenger. I have to say I miss the constant reminders that there are other people in the school, and that I am not some Rapunzel stuck in the room on the far end of the top floor.

- Bryannie

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Vacation in Thailand III: Ko Phangan and Ko Tao

Posted on February 16, 2012 by

From Ko Samui we took a ferry to Ko Phangan. We had booked accomodation at Milky Bay, which was outside of the “Full Moon Party” area of the island on a much quieter stretch of beach. Our stay there turned out very well! That area is definitely more set up for enjoying the resort instead of exploring the surrounding area, and it was nice to have a different kind of vacation experience. They also had a pool beside the beach, which was nice for me because I could go for a dip in a controlled environment where I was sure that a rogue wave wouldn’t come looking for my stitches. We were at Milky Bay for three days, and we ate, read, swam, napped on the beach, and played pool, ping pong, and crib. We also got to enjoy staying in a little cabin-bungalow that was really cute and comfortable.

The fancy cabins at Milky Bay.

On our second day in Ko Phangan we decided to go for a hike/walk to find a local waterfall. It was super hot and involved a lot of walking on the side of the road and a little bit of dodging large bulls.

Navigating.

We finally made it to the waterfall though, and discovered a large sign and a small stream trickling over some rocks. Craig has terrible luck with waterfalls!Evidence:

1. 10 years ago when he was in Korea, he went exploring and attempted to visit a “famous” waterfall. At the end of the hike, he arrived and found out the waterfall had been “turned off” for the season.

2. During our hike in Gyeryonsan, we found a sign with a picture of a beautiful waterfall, but when we got there, it was a small stream that looked nothing like the picture. Yet another waterfall had been turned off.

3. Phaeng Noi waterfall on Ko Phangan should not be called a waterfall. Maybe a stream.

Phaeng Noi waterfall, you are a disappointment.

For the record, I do understand the concept of “dry season”, but I would like to point out that in Canada our waterfalls are “on” year round. And I’m not sure that a hike in rainy season, when the waterfalls would be much more impressive, would be a positive experience.

We enjoyed our little hike though, and it was nice to get off the resort for some exploration. We also went down to Had Rin, the Full Moon Party beach one night. We wandered around, had some dinner, had a drink on the beach, and then decided that either there was no party that night, or it starts way too late for us. Oh well! The last morning of our stay, we went to a walk-in clinic, and I got my stitches out. The guy who took off my bandages was NOT as gentle with my hair as Craig had been, but otherwise it was uneventful, and I was very excited to hear that the next day I could go swimming and get my head wet!

Craig off frolicing in the ocean.

From Ko Phangan we hopped on another ferry to Ko Tao. We were originally supposed to take a scuba diving certificate class there, but we were excited with the consolation prize of snorkelling, as Ko Tao is supposed to be amazing for both. The ferry we got on was completely overloaded, which is apparently pretty common for Thailand. We were annoyed, but not too concerned that there was absolutely no room inside the ferry for us, and we got some stools on the outside deck. However, about 20 minutes into the 3 hour ferry, we hit a storm. At first, it was just “oh well, I guess we’ll get wet”, but soon it was too intense to stay where we were, and we huddled by the doorway in a slightly drier position and white-knuckled a railing while we went through the storm. Because of the huge waves, there were people screaming when we tilted, and periodically one of the dry “insiders” would come outside to puke over the railing beside us. It was pretty stressful.

Ferry to Ko Tao...and then, we see the storm.

But. We got there! Luckily we had accomodation booked, so we didn’t have to deal with the throng of screaming taxi drivers, and we made it safely into our room to wait out the storm a bit. We went for dinner, grabbed some snacks, and retired to our room. The room was quite nice, which was perfect because we ended up spending three days almost 100% inside it, sick. On the day were were scheduled to start our journey back up to Bangkok to fly back to Korea, we were feeling a bit better, and went for a walk to see what we’d missed in Ko Tao. It’s beautiful! The beaches look great, there are lots of places to stay and restaurants, but it doesn’t feel too busy (like Ko Samui), and wasn’t as dirty as some of the other places we’ve seen. It was really disappointing that we weren’t able to enjoy it properly. It’s on my list of places I’d love to visit again.

The beach on Ko Tao. Sigh.

From there we started our looong trip back to Korea. A ferry from Ko Tao to Chumpon, bus to the train station, overnight train to Bangkok, one night in a hotel, flight to Kuala Lumphur, flight from Kuala Lumphur to Seoul, subway to a hostel for the night, bus to Cheongju, cab home. We left Ko Tao Thursday morning and arrived home on Sunday afternoon. As much as I love vacation, it’s so nice to walk in the door and know that in the near future you (and your belongings) will be clean and comfortable.

On our way back to Korea, with our no-longer-quite-as-wintery skin.

And that’s that! On Monday, school started and we are (temporarily) back in the swing of things.

- Bryannie

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Vacation in Thailand II: Chiang Mai and Koh Samui (aka Bryannie gets concussed)

Posted on February 15, 2012 by

Chiang Mai was the turning point of our trip. We arrived in Chiang Mai, happy to be out of Bangkok and excited to start exploring. We hadn’t booked accommodation for Chiang Mai but we knew that we wanted to stay in the Old City and had looked into a few recommended guest houses. Our first choice was Siri Guesthouse and we managed to find it with no difficulty whatsoever, something new for Bryannie and I. We met the owner, Jim, and someone had just left as we arrived so he had a room for us. It was only 300 Baht ($10 Canadian) per night and it was clean, central and ideal for our purposes.

One of many temples, offerings, statues and sacred places in Chiang Mai.

We arrived on a Sunday and as it turns out the Sunday Walking Street happens every Sunday, very aptly named I’d say. We went to check it out and it was very impressive, blocks upon blocks upon blocks of street vendors, musicians, performers and more. The street was absolutely packed with people and the atmosphere was great. It takes up the entire main road of the Old City which is completely boxed in by a moat and a huge brick wall. We ended up buying a couple of trinkets but mainly it was just a great experience to wander up and down the street. Bryannie had booked a cooking class for us the next day so we had dinner and retired early.

A small part of the wall that surrounds the old city.

In the morning we were picked up by Sawat of the Chiang Mai Thai Farm Cooking School. We picked up another 8 people and we headed out to the Farm. We met a lovely pair of French cousins and had a great chat with them on the way there. Our first stop was to a local market to pick up some ingredients that were not readily available at the Farm. Sawat explained a great deal of things about Thai cooking, Buddhism, happiness and other various and completely random facts. We finally arrived at the cooking school, donned our amazing hats and aprons, and proceeded on to a tour of the farm. We were able to taste all of the fresh herbs and vegetables that grew on the farm. Everything was organic and Sawat continued to impart wisdom throughout the day.

Sawat teaching us all about different kinds of rices and the beauty of life.

Finally we began to cook; earlier in the day we had all chosen our specific menus and we got to chopping up our ingredients and breaking them down with the mortar and pestle. When we had achieved a satisfactory curry paste we moved on to the cooking area. Bryannie hadn’t been feeling very well and mentioned again that she was feeling a little nauseous. Well, about ten minutes later I looked over to see Bry falling backwards and in the process smacking the back of her head on the wall of the kitchen. I rushed over to help and her eyes were open but there was no one there, she was definitely unconscious for at least a few seconds. It was quite scary. I thought that she had just taken a fall and was ok, but she had fainted and when she rose there was a decent sized puddle of blood on the floor of the kitchen. Bryannie was extremely confused as to why I was so concerned and standing over her. One of the people from the school took us directly to the hospital and Bryannie saw a doctor who proceeded to give her 5 stitches in the back of her head. He diagnosed her with a concussion as well. She’s completely ok now, but it was really unsettling and shook both of us. They had to shave a large portion of her head in order to clean the wound and get the stitches in there, so Bry now has a patch a little smaller than a hockey puck on the back of her head.

Bryannie looking perfectly healthy minutes before taking a tumble.

We got back to our guest house and settled in for the rest of the day. I was quite worried about her and we weren’t sure about the severity of the concussion. Fortunately Bry didn’t experience much more nausea or vomiting or any of the other dangerous symptoms that the doctor told us to watch out for. We still have no idea what caused her to faint, she was well hydrated, we had eaten, plenty of sleep. It is a mystery.

Our next plan was to go to Ko Tao and take Scuba Diving lessons but unfortunately with the stitches Bryannie wasn’t able to go underwater, so we had to cancel. That being said, we still had a couple of days in Chiang Mai and we began to formulate a plan for the rest of the vacation. The next morning Bryannie was feeling a little bit better so we left the guest house to do some exploring. Within about 5 minutes of leaving Bryannie was pooped on by a bird. Now, some will say that getting crapped on by a bird is good luck, but I must respectfully disagree. We put that behind us and were able to really enjoy the rest of our time in Chiang Mai. The weather was amazing, Bryannie didn’t experience any real issues with her injury and Chiang Mai itself is a really fascinating place with some amazing temples, great restaurants and a lot to see.

The famous Sunday Walking Street Market

We left Chiang Mai a little banged up but very happy with our stay. Next up we flew South to Koh Samui. We had booked a hotel in Samui in the Chaweng beach area, which was the main tourist area. The hotel turned out to be a nightmare, as it was under construction and our “everything new” room looked like a bomb had exploded in it. We were not too happy so we found another place to stay and settled in. We were only there for 2 days which was plenty of time. We were able to spend a little time on the beach, and I got to play in the ocean as Bry stared longingly at the waves. We also checked out one of the “lady boy” shows. I was a little reluctant at first but I figured, why not? The show was free as long as you bought a drink so we headed in. The show was actually really well done. It was all dancing and lip syncing with elaborate costumes. Some of these men were really, really pretty women as it turns out and I ended up really enjoying the show. The only downside was that the drinks were $10 each, which was a little bit disappointing. One of the “ladies” took special interest in me and sat on my lap and really flirted with me. I put on my best “I’m not uncomfortable with this” face, which Bryannie saw through in about 2 seconds. All in all it was a lot of fun.

A sizzling rendition of a Whitney Houston song (R.I.P). I believe it was I'm Every Woman.

While we were in Samui we found Bryannie’s dream resort. It was called Library and the entire place was book themed. The restaurant was called Pages and I believe each room was a chapter or something like that. We actually enquired about a room for two nights and they told us it would be 13,500 baht per night, which was just under $500. We did not stay there. Next up, Ko Phangan!

- Craig

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Vacation in Thailand I: Bangkok

Posted on February 14, 2012 by

We have just finished our first week back to school after our winter vacation in Thailand. Craig is actually completely finished teaching now, and I have one more week. And by teaching, I mean showing the short, “Pigeon Impossible” and playing a Spongebob review game. The school calendar is very strange this time of year, with the kids coming back from a month of holidays for a week or two, and then the school year is over… and the new school year starts one week later! I don’t understand the logic, but I’m guessing it’s one of those, “It’s always been done this way” things. Also, we land in Canada in 14 days, so I don’t feel the same sense of rage at the different type of logic at work here.

Anyways, it was so great to get away and feel some warmth, but now that we’re back the minuses feel more… minusy. We were in Thailand for 15 days and visited Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ko Samui, Ko Phangan, and Ko Tao. It was my second time in Thailand, the first being in 2007 when I went for a month with Kacie, and Craig’s first time. We thought that was pretty fair because our trip to Indonesia in the summer was the second time for Craig. See? Life can be fair.

A parking lot shrine in Bangkok.

We started our trip in Bangkok, where we spent two days and nights exploring, mostly in the Silom area and Chinatown. It was very busy, very hot, and very hard to find an honest tuk-tuk driver. On our first day after wandering around and unsuccessfully trying to get to both the Grand Palace and on a ferry across the river, we ended up hanging out in Lumphini Park, which was wonderful. It’s fairly big, with a walking track and a lake, and it was perfect as a break from the traffic fumes. Instead of the demonic squirrels of Vancouver, the grazing rabbits of Victoria, or the nearly complete absence of any wildlife in Korea, Lumphini Park has big lizards that just chill everywhere. No one else seemed to concerned about the risk of lizard attack, so we weren’t either.

Holy crap, that's a huge lizard.

The next day we attempted for the second time to get to the Grand Palace; this time our tuk-tuk driver got tired of us saying no to stopping at all his friends’ businesses, and dropped us off in the middle of Chinatown and said the Grand Palace was just around the corner. Being gullible, we believed him until he drove off with his payment and we realized we were in the Chinese market during Chinese New Year, and nowhere near to where we thought we were. Luckily, it was a great place to be! We found some temples and then wandered through the overflowing alleyways of the market and enjoyed the experience of calmly “touristing” as everyone else seemed to be frantically trying to get to whatever the opposite side of the market was. We counted that one as a win after we finished cursing the tuk-tuk driver in English, mildly offensive French, and very limited Korean.

Navigating the alleys in Chinatown.

Next was an overnight train to Chiang Mai. We were lucky to change our tickets and get spots on the sleeper train with aircon and bunks instead of bus-style seats. Definitely a plus, as it took 14 hours to get there. It was surprisingly comfortable though — if only you could take a train everywhere. We made friends with the two Chinese ladies who shared our booth, and arrived in the morning in Chiang Mai without being completely exhausted. Not too bad.

Lounging in comfort.

Craig will be posting about Chiang Mai and Ko Samui!

- Bryannie

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Adventures in Exercise

Posted on January 12, 2012 by

The last few weeks have been great. I finished my two-week Winter Camp on the 6th, and Craig will finish tomorrow, the 13th (which is also his birthday!). I was pretty unhappy about starting camp on Boxing Day, but now that it’s finished and I’m pretty much done teaching for the year, things are feeling pretty good. I’m lucky enough to not have to deskwarm this break, so my days are overflowing with free time. At first I felt a bit lost, but now I’ve realized that this is pretty much my dream job – I’m getting paid to read, organize, and exercise.

Speaking of… as I mentioned in my last post, we joined a gym the week before Christmas and it has been yet another interesting Korean experience. A few times a week on my walk home I walk past a man wearing American flag hammer pants. I usually think, “Wow, what a brave/strange/freezing man that is, wearing his pajamas outside”, or some variation of that. But when we stepped into one of the neighbourhood gyms, he was there! Working! He’s not a crazy man who wears pajamas outside, he’s a gym owner who is just dressing to match the theme of his gym: the early 80s. He’s also a very nice guy, and happily mimed the important details of gym membership for us.

The decor in our new gym.

It’s a fairly small space, but we have yet to see more than seven people there at a time, so it’s not a problem. It’s also unheated, which keeps you motivated to keep moving and keep your temperature up. There’s nothing like seeing your breath while doing indoor situps. I’ve had a few close calls with falling off the treadmill; I fell once many many years ago and my pride has barely recovered. There are buff (North) American-looking people all over the posters, most of them wearing skimpy highcut leotards (the girls) and awesome crewcuts (the guys).

The fat shaker.

There is also a wall of 1970s workout equipment. There are four fat-shaker machines, one seated roller massager, and one standing vibration machine. I have to admit that the standing vibration machine is a little newer, but it sure fits with the theme. These are some of the most-used pieces of equipment. We worked up the courage to try the fat-shakers this week… they felt a little like the electrical-current physio treatment, and a lot like they shouldn’t be used in public. So far, we haven’t noticed any physical changes. Maybe next week we’ll try the massager.

The massage roller. We've seen people in all the poses shown on the ad.

One lady, who we’re pretty sure works there, has been commenting daily in Korean on how red my face goes (very), how much I sweat (a lot) and that I run on the treadmill (I do). I don’t have the vocabulary to say much more than yes, thank you, and okay, and she’s never said a word of English to me, so that’s about as far as it goes. Earlier this week she decided that I was not lifting weights properly, which I can’t really argue with as I have no idea what I’m doing. She replaced the ones I was using, grabbed some 1kg weights and pushed and prodded me into the right position. She was quite aggressive, and was loudly telling me exactly what I should and should not be doing. I dutifully did what she showed me while she poked my stomach and legs to make sure I was flexing. When I was grabbing my jacket to leave she walked up to Craig and told him all kinds of things about my back. We have no idea.

So, now I’m a little scared of her. She never smiles and is quite a stern exerciser, and I see her watching me a lot while I’m there. I’m not super comfortable in the gym to begin with, and Eagle Eye Exercise Lady is not helping, although I’m sure that is her intention. She tells the ladies in the change room all about me when I come in, but I have no idea what they’re saying and they definitely aren’t talking to me. Today I gave up and left not long after we finished on the treadmill. I’ll just do some yoga at home instead. The podcast videos are much less intimidating.

Craig has had a much more successful time at the gym. I think he looks like he knows what he’s doing more than I do. He’s made aquaintance-friends with a  cute older man named “Yu” who greeted us in perfect English on our first day. He’s super polite and speaks English completely naturally, which is amazing. He said he used to be a pilot and now he lives near us and comes to the gym for two hours every evening. The fact that we engaged in polite small talk in a public place with a stranger was incredible. I know that sounds funny, but it’s really unusual and refreshing.

As I was looking for pictures of the gym equipment, I stumbled on this blog, which I found completely hilarious and reminded me a lot of us living in our tiny Korean apartment. We also have a tiny fridge! We also shiver! The only thing is we can’t communicate with our landlord :)

Seven days until Thailand!

- Bryannie

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