Graduation Day!

It is hard to believe that it has already been a week since entering Korea. The time has gone unbelievably fast and yet I got to do sooo much. Granted I was in lecture for roughly nine hours a day I got to meet some amazing people from all around the world. I will miss them but especially my cool Canadian roommate. We will still hang out but it will be weird not hearing the parade of Irish and U.K. people parading down the halls to the elevator to hit up the pubs. It will be nice to not live out of a suitcase though. I have a lot to catch you up on and I have a feeling I will not have any internet for a while so I really need to make this count. Here we go... Flash back two days.

Here is me and my group (1/8) of all of the teachers that were here this week in front of a giant steel pipe. We are standing there because the organization thought it would be interesting for us to see POSCO which is the South Korean steel mill. Here is the only picture I can get of it since photos inside were not allowed.

It was much more impressive size wise inside but I can tell you I have never been more bored in my life. We drove 2 HOURS to get there and we got off the bus for a total of 10 minutes! That is right POSCO was a bus tour. So a total of five hours on a bus with very cranky (mostly hungover) teachers. The tour guide we had for POSCO only spoke Korean as well. We had a translator but many things got lost in translation. For example, when explaining what was used to make the steel our translator Jin said that steel is made of three parts iron, carbon and cooking oil. I think she meant chromium. But that is ok she was really cute when explaining that she was still "new at English" and was "trying her best". Super cute Koreans.

           After a nice two hour sleep headed back from the excitement that was steel making I woke up to that sight. We are not at the bay at in Busan. This is the East Sea or the Sea of Japan. It was just an unbelievable sight especially when two hours before you were surrounded by metal. We were there to eat lunch at a hotel that set up our meal for us. They fed 200 of us that day as the other 200 were now on their way to the steel factory...poor kids. Here is a look of the dining situation.

          I finished eating and it was time to go see a theatrical performance. The show was called Jump. Not too much of a plot but it is ultimately a martial arts comedy show. The things that they did in this show were unbelievable. Such as:

and:

oh yeah AND!

             Jump was an amazing show. It was super funny and charming in its style. It really summed up the culture really well in this show. Here are some more kicks...

OUCH!!!

           So we got back to the dorms and it was time to go out for some serious South Korean experiences (Noribong) Karaoke!!! Now in South Korea and most of the Eastern cultures Karaoke is done in a private room with your friends while drinks are served to you. The great part was that all of the t.v.'s are in Korean and we can't figure out how to turn the darn machine on. Finally the guy came in and showed us how to work. Back in the desert if you looked at the very back of the Karaoke book you can find the foreign music. Those pages are now reserved for the basic English Karaoke songs... We started off with some Journey and then worked are way through the classics. After each song the machine gives you a grade of your performance. Everyone was at a solid A all night. Good job people from all over the world. Here are some pics of what you might see when going to a noribong.

           A day went by and there was nothing productive and we presented our final lesson plans. It was now time for graduation! Here is a picture of the closing ceremonies with a lot of really interesting speakers. The Korean people are very humble in regards to invitations. They really appreciate the fact that we are there. I really appreciate that I am here too. I miss all of you guys at home but look at all of these new friends I made in a week.

               I just finished packing to go to my new home in  Daegu (Taegu) and will give you some updates as soon as I can. I have no idea where I will be living, how many classes I will be teaching or whether or not I will be eaten alive by a bunch of kids that probably wont understand what I am saying. But one thing I do know is that I wanted an adventure and I am getting it. I hope to talk to you all soon but who knows when I will have internet next. Kamsahamnida for reading. Peace out!

Brave New World... Or Brave New 5000 year old World.

 Time for another update about your favorite South Korean teacher Scotty D! Two days ago marked the beginning of a very hectic couple of days which leads to Nari bong (Karaoke) tonight. I would like to talk to you about something that I learned on my first day here that I just plum forgot to post...showers. I want you to go into your bathroom, grab your shower door or curtain and give it a big hug and kiss. There are no showers at Korea. Let me give you some more detail. It is actually just a hose linked to the seat with a shower head on the top. Here is a picture.

Here is the aftermath:

              Not really the best picture but trust me the bathroom is now useless for the rest of the day unless you have no pants on (very awkward for my roommate). Also you cant leave any form of anything. I forgot to take the toilet paper out one day and I had a very nice array of spit wads...good times.
             So on to my first day of Orientation (bum bum bum). The first day was just filled with medical exams and introductions. I was in the first group at 7:00 am. People were just now feeling the Jetlag so it was kind of like a "dawn of the dead" movie. They had us form lines and we were not aloud to eat after 9 pm the day before so everyone was starving! I did meet some new friends because of our dual moans and groans about how early it was and the fact that there was no food in our bellies. I got to the shot lady and she kindly asked me to sit down, I did so. She reached for my right hand and told me what she was going to do in Korean. It translated to me "get ready for some pain!!!", so I did. The needle went in and I looked to the wall at my side. It took longer than the other teachers so I was wondering what was going on. I looked uneasy. She rightfully asked if I was ok? I replied "yeah, I just really hate shots". Without skipping a beat she pulled out the shot and said "give me your other arm". In shock I replied "you are kidding right?". I don't think she understood what I meant there. This time I had to look at the other teachers in line all with a face of that poor kid and I hope I don't get that nurse. Here is a picture of the cattle call they called medical exams.

             I then went to breakfast had my daily dose of Kimchi and a very interesting box of milk with soy beans on the cover. The best way I could describe it is that it is like Almond milk. I really looked awkward and quite touristy taking a picture of this one. By the way, it is very difficult to check the nutritional facts when you don't know what the numbers are in Korean.

             We then went back to the lecture halls for some Introductions of staff and some important information of the week. Overly, it was very boring but they did throw some really amazing videos in them. I will upload them now and hopefully they play on this blog. If not I will load them onto youtube and put links. These are really beautiful performances. The resolution on the second one came out really nice. I am not sure why my camera didn't take all of them that good considering I just turned it on pause and then record again. Oh well...enjoy. 

                     After this very long process, we went to our first round of lectures and spent a lot of time repeating the sane thing over and over and over again. The things that they tell you are Korean kids are very shy and when you speak to them (as a foreigner) they will not make eye contact and start blushing like crazy. Another thing is that I have to learn a new wave. If you wave like an American they will get really offended because that is how they wave for dogs to come. You have to wave with your palm down and have the direction towards your stomach. Imagine you just touched something really hot. 

              Finally the night has come and it was time to hit the town. Keep in mind there are three hundred and fifty teacher in this small little area right now so Busan was just bum rushed. We mostly broke up in little groups divided by countries. The British and Irish did their own things. The South Africans did their own thing. The Australians, you guessed it...Did their own thing. The Canadians however joined any group that seemed nice. Here is a picture of us outside our first bar which was located on the fourth floor of a complex...no elevators. I can't even imagine having to re-stock the bar every week.

(P.S. This is only like 1/4th of our group)

This picture is for the boys:

             Everywhere!!! Simply put, these are EVERYWHERE!!!

                We walked around and the city is so lit up. It was like walking around New York except the drivers drive on the side walks sometimes.

           If you turn your head just slightly you can see how high up the businesses go. Sometimes all the way up to the 11th floor!  In the middle of this sign you can see the only English Acronym. That is right kids...PC BONG! This is a place where people (pre teen boys) go to play World of Warcraft and Starcraft. I didn't go inside yet but I was told they are sometimes depressing. Apparently there has been a Starcraft related death last week or month and a teenager died because he played so long and forgot to eat and drink. A Brave New World Indeed... Here is some familiarity though: 

         But I don't need that Americanized food. I am going to be strong and not partake in any Western food for a while...

          Come on sue me I had a long night. Especially when we realized that we can drink on the streets. Here is a picture of us in front of a family mart (7-11) partaking in some SO-JU  in little dixie cups we had just boughten. SO-JU is like a watered down vodka that has different flavors. I think we had rubbing alcohol flavor...yum. Well I am a little behind on my days and I am sorry but I will catch up I promise. The time is going by really fast and I can't believe I go to my new home in three days. Well until the next post, this is Scott saying GUMBAE!!! (CHEERS).

             

 Alright so after a very long week of saying goodbyes and partying a little hard I just arrived to Busan, South Korea and have been saying many hellos while parting to hard. I left LAX at 12:30 am on Wednesday and arrived at Incheon airport in Seoul at around 7:00 am FRIDAY! I don't think I will ever get used to that. The plane arrived twenty minutes late but it didn't lose any of my luggage which I think is quite possibly a first. I got off the plane and walked myself over to customs where the guy in the immigration office gave me kind of a dirty look. I originally thought because I was American but I think it might have been this B.A. scar on my face. He was scared for his family and his fellow South Korean Citizens citizens.



              Like I said earlier my plane arrived a bit late which put a damper on my relaxation plans. Instead I had to run to the baggage claim, go to the currency exchange, buy my cross country bus ticket and get to the bus terminal in fifty minutes. It was a photo finish but I made it. South Korea is a beautiful country but with all of the snow that poured this week I could not take any pictures outside the bus for some scenery, I will try again later. So like I was saying I made it to the bus and got on in a knick of time. The bus was practically empty except for the back (where I decided to sit). I sat and all of a sudden a couple came on and the woman wanted to sit towards the back. The man looked at me and spent the next minute reprimanding the woman and they sat more in the middle of the bus (B.A. scar in action again.) Here is a picture of the Seoul bus station from my window.
               I arrived in Busan and regretted packing so much immediately. I could not find a taxi right away and it was killer trying to move these pieces of luggage around. I did meet my first friend though. His name is Mark and he is from a small town in Canada. He is also teaching in Daegu and we have a lot in common. We finally found the taxis and had to split up because I packed to damn much. We arrived to the dorms and headed towards registration. The South Korean girls working the registration seemed really excited to see us, as if they were waiting just for us :). We walked over and they took our information and asked us if we knew eachother. We both said "not until like thirty minutes ago" but they still asked if we wanted to be roommates. We were both very happy with this. The view from our room kind of reminds me of "Inception", how about you?

               After a fourteen hour flight and five hour bus ride I decided that I needed a beer. Mark agreed. We walked down the street and noticed that all of the signs were in Korean. We had no idea where to go and stopped at the first English sign that we saw which was "Chicken and Beer". The place didn't have any windows and was an upstairs restaurant. Everything about it made me think "don't do it" but we went up the stair anyways. We got to the top of the stairs and a dog started barking at us. A woman came to the door, picked up the dog and smiled. I asked "do you have beer?" and she replied in Korean. I wanted to leave this situation right aways so I nodded at whatever she said, smiled and walked down the stairs. Mark was pleased at what just went down.

               Right next door was a restaurant which was all in Korean so Mark and I decided to go in and try our luck. The waiter came over and didn't speak a word of English. I asked for two beers and he smiled. I assumed he knew what that was. He pointed at something on the menu and was like "three orders?" I replied "No only two beers". Mark then realized that he was asking if we wanted some food. We had no idea what they had to offer and he said the "pig was really good". We said ok and the pig was brought to us. But the pig was not cooked and wayyyy too much. It was just raw pieces of Bacon. The waiter turned on a skillet in front of us and walked away. We looked at him and he brought back eight trays full of different vegetables and goodies. We were still confused how we should start.

               Finally the waiter got that we were confused and showed us that we were cooking everything ourselves. It ended up being quite and experience cooking the vegetables, pork and rice. We were having so much fun that we didn't realize that we ended up eating all of the pork and sucking down three beers each. We already decided that we were going to hit up Seoul at the end of orientation since we have a few days free. We tried to ask the waiter and the cook what we just experienced and he had no idea what we meant so we left with a gumsahamnida (thank you) and left. We also left a nice tip and the waiters came out side to see us off. Awesome! I just got the internet and know that there will be many more adventures but I wanted to let you all know that I made it safely and am already causing trouble.

1 week until D- Day!!!

1. Ok so here is the thing. I am not a writer. I was always told to write but was also told that I was mediocre at it. I am creating this blog so that I can keep in contact with my friends at home and keep you all up to date on my adventures. If somehow you found this blog in an attempt to find a 26 year old hottie on the eastern hemisphere, how's it going? My name is Scott. One day I was serving a table of high schoolers at a local restaurant in the Coachella Valley and thought to myself, there has to be something else I can do while California fixes itself. A couple of hours online and I was hired to teach English in South Korea. I will be completely honest, my emotions have been changing by the hour as soon as I signed that contract. Right now I am nervous. Nervous that I might be missing out on opportunities in America. Nervous that I made to spontaneous of a decision. Nervous that I didn't dvr Glee tonight! But that is why I am here. I am here to share my thoughts with all of you and hopefully you can experience this unbelievable opportunity with me. I will post videos and pictures of this remarkable land and in return I will feel that I am not giving up on all of the amazing people I have at home. So I leave exactly a week from now and fly non stop to Seoul from Los Angeles. I am just praying they have good in flight movies. I spend a week in Busan at the National University for orientation. The orientation timeline goes from 9:00 am until 10: 00 pm everyday for 9 days!!! by the way 9:00 am until 10:00 pm American time is roughly 2: 00 am- 3:00 pm the day before. That is right when it is Thursday in America it is Friday in South Korea. I hope that I can meet some amazing people to help with the monotony of an orientation week that just sounds awful to me. Well I am about to go to bed. 1 week until the start of an amazing journey! It is so Amazing that I will add a picture of me freaking out. 

P.S. My friend Wes just informed me that this picture might be the "least gay picture" I have ever taken...YAY FOR ME.   

(You can imagine me jumping in the air during that last line if you wish)