photos, finally

so i realize that it has been quite some time since i last uploaded some photos. as a result, there are 38475602 to choose from because i am such an addict.this is me with a korean soldier at the dmz (demilitarized zone, aka border with north korea) as you can see, the d in dmz is pretty much a misnomer. its one of the most heavily fortified areas in the world.

that concrete block running between the two buildings is the actual border between north and south korea. here, you can see north korean soldiers lining up right at the border to take pictures of themselves with us in the background taking pictures of them. hard to believe that these are the "bad guys". they looked like little boys playing dress up in their fathers' uniforms.

this photo is one of my very favorite korean meals, tacalbie (obviously i cant spell) its cooked right in the middle of your table. this dish is chicken, cabbage, potatos and a kind of rice noodle thing all mixed with a delicious spicy sauce. mmm.
soccer fans go wild after a goal is scored by my beloved daejeon citizens. they won this game, making them like the second worst team in the league. its a really good time.

korean countryside out the bus window on our way to the beach.

the beach at sunset. we got so sunburned the next day that my students made fun of my red face all week. and i couldnt say anything about it because i didnt have a voice. still dont, actually.

fireworks on the beach at night. everyone was lighting them off, it was almost alarming to see roman candles in the hands of 5 year olds. but nobody died, so i guess it was ok. it was a holiday and all.

et fone home

new phone and new number:

010-4401-0415


yay

surreal

i swear to god i just heard chumbawumba's "i get knocked down" blaring from somewhere in the distance. at one pm. on a saturday. in korea.

other things i could have done with the time i spent waiting around for nothing this morning

1. played nine holes of golf
2. slept an entire rem cycle, eaten breakfast, and ironed my clothes
3. watched four episodes of sex and the city and made a sandwich
4. played a full soccer game and gotten ice cream afterwards
5. taken the slow train to seoul
6. played a full game of risk
7. prepared for both of the classes i have left to teach this week
8. called my parents, sisters, and four or five other people
9. gotten my hair cut at aveda
10. gotten a hair cut, manicure, and pedicure at any other salon
11. read 8 chapters in my book
12. listened to my current playlist twice
13. cooked a small turkey
14. made 43 bags of microwave popcorn

congestion

i woke up this morning and it was saturday. glorious, beautiful, cloudy saturday where i can wake up at noon and not feel guilty that ive slept half my day away. saturday, where i can see the weekend stretch out before me like a billowing cloud of lazyness and...who am i kidding? i dont need a saturday to feel this way. it comes with the territory.
actually, this tuesday is chusok, the korean thanksgiving. korean families make the pilgrimage to the home of the eldest family member and give thanks for the "harvest". these days they just hang out with family. many of my students seem pretty underwhelmed about it, but this may be because the middle schoolers face intense exams from their public schools right when they return. regardless, the streets are packed with honking frustrated fathers with backseats full of kids who need to go to the bathroom. likewise, the markets are packed with the traditional gifts of chusok. and when i say "traditional gifts of chusok" what i really mean is spam gift sets. honest to god, there exists such a thing, and there are people waiting right now at my local homever food store to gift-wrap it for me. i almost bought one to mail to my parents, but then i realized something: SPAM IS DISGUSTING. so i didnt.
at my work we only get two holidays off during the year, and this just so happens to be one of them. by some small miracle my bosses gave us monday off as well, most likely because they knew no students were going to come to school. unfortunately, this decision was made a bit late, and there are no planes, trains, or buses to anywhere. seriously. daejeon it is.
it would have been nice to travel, but, as it stands, a delicate case of korean whooping cough or perhaps consumption has taken residence in my chest. so rather than do anything exciting, im snuggled up in my bed for the afternoon (have a pillowcase now!) with a steaming bowl of spicy ramen noodles, some tea from my new tea set (the bosses know that spam is gross), and an edward norton movie. and yes mom, im taking my vitamins.

ubication

my address at work, it is easier to send your letters, packages and sweet sweet love there than my apt.

ali olsen
c/o cdi daejeon
sky bldg 2F, Thangbangdong, Suh-gu
Daejeon Gwangyeok-si Korea 302-859

a dentist's paradise

i have been putting off posting pictures of my trip to busan last weekend largely because posting pictures takes so long. however, in the interest of putting off preparing for the upper-level class i teach tomorrow, i have suddenly found the time to upload these images. its incredible how that works out, no? anyway, we went to busan over labor day weekend to celebrate the birthday of my friend liz. please note that labor day does not exist in korea. perhaps it would be better to say that i went so that i could avoid being cognisant of michigan's heartbreaking loss in a throw-away game. regardless of the reason, we went to the beach town to celebrate by swimming with the sharks in the large aquarium they have there. yes, i said it. we went to swim with sharks.

big ones.

but we didnt just hop into the tank, no, we went laden with full scuba gear, breathing with artificial lungs. when i put on my wet suit, i felt like i was transformed into a ninja. i was still trying to think of my superhero name when i discovered how complex scuba diving can seem. throughout the entire training process, i was fixated on not killing myself. breathe in, breathe out. use your mouth to breathe. dont go down too quickly. breathe. equalize early and often. breathe. dont hold your breath or your lungs might explode. breathe. it was a lot of pressure to put my own life in my hands in this manner. ok, i admit, the tank was only 15 feet deep at the deepest point. there was no real way that i was going to drown. but breathing in this unnatural way was intimidating.

i spent so much of my energy worrying about the ways could mess up and accumulate undue pressure in my sinuses that it was not until i was sitting in the bottom of the shark tank that i actually realized that there were SHARKS. IN THIS TANK. not just baby sharks, but HUGE GRANDDADDY SHARKS. and not, as i had imagined, just a few sharks. there were no less than 30 sharks swimming amongst the tuna, stingrays, eels, and me.

i have got to tell you, sharks are scary s.o.b.s that need some braces in a major way. they swim by you casually, flexing their theoretical muscles by opening and closing their jaws. they own the tank, and they know it. what the hell was i doing there?



despite all of this, the experience was exhilarating. we went on to check out our tiny sliver of busan, which was decidedly less than i would have liked because we were there when korea was still trying to make everyone miserable by raining every single day for 5 weeks. thanks for that, by the way.

anyway, it was awesome to see the ocean, even if i couldnt get in it. and i didnt get eaten by sharks. all in all, a successful weekend.

walk like an egyptian, or american, or wagook

i am exhausted from recounting the events that came to pass this weekend. i appreciate the concern of good friends, but much of it is difficult to admit even the first time. suffice it to say that it was a paradigm shift from the role that i typically play amongst my friends. add that to the stress of a situation i had neither responsibility for nor control over, and you might understand how i have been quite a distorted mess of heartburn and insomnia.

at this point i think that everything will be ok. at least, that is what everyone keeps telling us.

i can not begin to describe how unnerving it is to have your fate decided right in front of you in a language you can not understand. i have had to rely almost entirely on body language, something that here in korea is often deceptive or counterintuitive. i increasingly discover how handicapped i am by my lack of language skills. however, another great asset has been the support of my bosses and a good korean friend who defended us despite racist allegations against her.

i know that this weekend has been tough. this kind of stuff happens. it happens everywhere. it happens to anyone. i harbor no hostility for korea or its people.

regardless, life is good and i am fine. i love my job and my life here. sometimes a difficult series of events results in something positive. i think i have now paid my dues to the karma gods, so i am anxiously waiting for my positive energy.

multiple identities

it seems that my nocturnal wanderings have once again left me wide awake in the wee hours of the morning. it is, i concede, not the most ideal of bed-times; at the same time it is quite close to unavoidable. when one works until 1030 or 11 at night, one needs some time to release the pressures of being a three hour comedy show for surly 14 year olds.

i never thought that i would teach. for a long time it was one of the possibilities furthest from my consciousness. i must admit that the idea both frightened and repulsed me. who is a bigger cynic than a middle schooler, and what does one do when filled with and entire room of their hostility or, better put, apathy?

i suppose the realist in me never thought that i would so willingly act the fool. after just 8 days of teaching, i have begun to jump at any chance to connect to my very own rotating collection of statues. often this acting includes dancing across the room, yelling quite loudly, leaping on furniture, distorting my face, contorting my body, or doing just about anything to get people to pay attention to me. it has been an interesting experience, because i have never so distinctly sought the spotlight.

my first days of teaching have provided me with humility without egotism. i wonder how many teachers have left days spent with me and my peers craving the cool frothy taste of the beer of freedom. how many of them have struggled to lure me into the magic that is "the five regional divisions of the united states" or something equally painful, while at the same time making it seem as though they have no personal life, and, therefore, no personal problems. im not there yet, although im sure that i will be at some point in the next year. i hope to have their strength.

i guess i would like to express my sincere gratitude for any of the teachers (parents included) i have ever driven to insanity, if only for a moment. cheese, i know, but there are times i wouldnt wish this on anyone.

but there are the times i wish could last. lets go with that.

another view

i came across this video on one of the sites that i frequent, coolhunting.com. it does provide some really interesting views of seoul, although i think it portrays it a bit too...hmm, whats the word...i guess "third world" for lack of a better term. the seoul i know is more populated with business suits and high heels than what is shown here. i think the guy that mentions that one can hardly see the traditions in the street has hit the nail on the head. of course, there are traditions, they are everywhere, but not in the way one would expect when coming at it from the common perception of an asian culture. i dont know, check it out. let me know what you think.