Sunday promenade

Since my mom only had one full weekend during her visit, I wanted to make the most of those days. During the week we managed to see a lot but when we went into the city I had to scurry back early for work. So Sunday we opted to spend the day somewhere that had lots to see and would be relaxing as well:

The Zoo! Well, technically it's called Seoul Grand Park and the whole area includes the zoo, a botanical garden, an amusement park called SeoulLand, and the Seoul Museum of Modern Art. Brianna and I had come here the weekend before to see a flower festival but by the time we arrived the zoo was closing so we hit up the Museum of Modern Art instead.

I was psyched to come back for the zoo though because it turns out it's a wonderful zoo. Tons of animals and what appear to be pretty good facilities and even though it was a beautiful Sunday the crowds weren't overwhelming. The park is really easy to get to since it has it's own stop on the subway (line 4) and when you go out exit 2 you just walk straight ahead, you can't miss it.

Walking up to the entrance of the park my mom got to experience what, in my probably not singular opinion, is the absolute worst smell in Korea: BUNDAEGI. Basically bundaegi is a snack of silkworm pupae that's cooked in these huge metal bowls in some sort of broth. I've seen bundaegi served at restaurants but when it's are just a spoonful of it on a plate it doesn't bother me much. I won't eat it because I'm not interested but I don't run away from the table screaming either. When it's cooking in those giant steaming hot pots though with that smell literally wafting after you for a mile? It's enough to warrant a gas mask. People who have eaten them say they don't taste as bad as they smell but I honestly don't know how anyone can get past the smell to buy a cup of it.

So anyway as you're walking up to the entrance of the park you pass a lady with a little stand set up, selling things like veggies and fruits and bleh, bundaegi. All the steam coming off the pot sends that smell your way so you have to hurry past her to get out of reach to breathe some non-bundaegi stinking air. Except then there's another bundaegi lady with a big old pot of it, yelling for you to come buy some. You run by her only to see another bundaegi seller is coming up and you'll have to go by her too. I swear it's like a bundaegi gauntlet. There must be at least six or seven ladies serving up big pots of bundaegi along the pathway that leads to Seoul Grand Park. Besides the horrible smell, I can't even fathom how these women make any sort of profit with that kind of competition. I'd have taken a picture of how ridiculous it is but honestly, as soon as I smell that smell I hightail it out of there.

After surviving the walk to the park, we purchased our tickets, which included a ride on the tram up to the zoo, zoo admission, and a ride on the cable car (₩8,000). It was a really nice day. We were there for maybe six hours, grabbed a few snacks from the convenience store in between, and grabbed pizzas on the way home. I tend to go even crazier with pictures when I'm at the zoo, so I'll narrow it down as best as I can.

Fennec Fox.

Korean Magpie, or ggachee (까치).

In the Ape Jungle area there is an actual chimpanzee nursery and it is the cutest thing ever. These ladies were rocking two baby chimps in a crib. One of them was bigger and they took it out to hold it but the other was just a newbie and it was clinging to a stuffed animal. Too too cute. 

The Botanical Gardens.

Um, pretty sure they hired the same designer who gave us the Bible Expo....

This picture is crummy quality but this frog is the best! Look at his little elbow propped up on the edge of the pond. He looks like such a gangster frog, like he's about to call a meeting regarding a hit on somebody. I hope it was about one of the snakes next door, they're gross. 

When we came by the tiger area it was feeding time. It was the weirdest thing because there was an announcer going on and on and of course we didn't understand a word of it and then out of nowhere someone would chuck a whole raw chicken over the wall from above and it would land on the sand with a SPLAT! and then the tigers would come running for it.

Otters! I could watch them swim all day.

Okay so the dolphin show was hilarious. Clearly it's aimed at kids so the storyline for the seal portion was ridiculous but cute. I was pretty impressed at the tricks they were doing and the trainers seemed to really enjoy their jobs. Mostly I enjoyed my mom's reaction to the snack sellers though. Instead of something like cotton candy, it's not uncommon here at some sort of show for someone to walk around selling steamed corn on a stick. And to be honest that's probably the best way to get corn in Korea. They put it on pizza (I always ask for it without) but all they have at the store is canned corn which is just as awful as it is in the US. Stick corn it is then!

We skipped the birds because birds are boring but their aviary was impressive! It reminded me of the pterodactyl cage from Jurassic Park 3. 

It is a truth universally acknowledged that there is no place that Korean girls will not show up to in heels. Apparently they even wear them to the beach. Also it's not at all unusual to see their boyfriends carrying/wearing their purses for them. I was pleased to capture both of these facts on camera.

Playground area with elephant slide and climber.

Taking the chair lift back down from the zoo.

Unfortunately it was a really hazy day so my pictures couldn't really capture how nice the surrounding area is. I read the next day though that it was the year's worst yellow dust storm so that sort of explains it:

Asian Dust (also yellow dust, yellow sand, yellow wind or China dust storms) is a seasonal meteorological phenomenon which affects much of East Asia sporadically during the springtime months. The dust originates in the deserts of Mongolia, northern China and Kazakhstan where high-speed surface winds and intense dust storms kick up dense clouds of fine, dry soil particles. These clouds are then carried eastward by prevailing winds and pass over China, North and South Korea, and Japan, as well as parts of the Russian Far East. Sometimes, the airborne particulates are carried much further, in significant concentrations which affect air quality as far east as the United States.

I was pretty happy that it worked out to be such a nice zoo day. Usually the animals are all passed out or hiding out in cooler areas inside but they were all out and about that day. And active too. We saw a bear taking a huge poop right in front of the spectator area, a male lion randomly start humping a female who was not interested at all, some monkeys wrestling, tigers eating lunch, tortoises actually attempting movement, and lots of other things. I hate when people go to zoos and bang on the glass or something to get an animal's attention but obviously it is more interesting when they're doing something besides just sleeping.

And now I'm off to bed since I'll be waking up at 5:30am tomorrow for a weekend trip to the number one place on my "Things to do in Korea List"! More on that when I get back :)

Trivia of the Day: The Ho-Am Prize is a Korean annual award awarded to "domestic/abroad ethnic Korean who have made outstanding contributions to the development of science and culture and enhancement of the welfare of mankind," often referred to as the Korean equivalent of the Nobel Prize. Awarded since 1991, it is funded by Samsung and named after their former chairman, Lee Byung-chull (Ho-Am is his pen name which means "filling up a space with clear water as lakes do, and being unshakable as a large rock").
The award consists of a 6 oz gold medal, a laureate diploma, and 200 million Korean won (approximately $200,000 US dollars). The prize is currently awarded in five fields: Science, Engineering, Medicine, the Arts, and Community Service.

Non-adventurey

I realized that most of my posts on here are basically just a round-up of pictures and stories from things I did over the weekend. Saw a temple here, went to a museum there, got stared down on the train by a two-year-old boy who was also pointing his plastic cross-bow at my face and alternating arms so I wouldn't think I was safe, etc. You know, that sort of thing. Though I enjoy sharing the more interesting ways that I spend my time, it probably doesn't really paint an accurate picture of my life here.

Most nights, like tonight, I get back from work, put on my pjs, eat dinner, and just hang out for a few hours. When I wake up in the morning it's lather, rinse, repeat, except with putting on clothes for work and having lunch. Sure, there are nights when I get dinner with coworkers or we go out for drinks and there are mornings when I'm much more productive, hitting up Costco for deli turkey and provolone cheese (oh my god I miss deli meats and good cheese so much) or hiking the mountain or going shopping somewhere. But even on those days it's a pretty regular routine. Yeah I'm in Korea but I'm probably doing the same sorts of the things someone would be doing at home- just living their life. That's not to say I'm not loving it here and having a ball, just that I don't usually write about my regular routine and what's happening in the day-to-day.

I'm just a day or two shy of my 6-months-in-Korea mark. It's pretty amazing to me, how the time has gone. And I'm feeling pretty proud of myself for having made it this far. I didn't really think I would ever be the type to cut and run but you never know until you're knee deep in it, right? Half-way through though and I'm feeling good.

So we're in the middle of week 12 at work right now. Next week is our last of the term and once again there are some kids I'll be sad to see move on to other teachers and some kids who I will be soundly shoving out the door. Like the kid who sleeps during class and is all attitude when he's awake or the one who signs his vocab tests "God of Brian" instead of just Brian. He's so weird. I'll miss my angel class though with my student who loves Friends and writes her homework sentences about "Rachel" and "Chandler" and my elementary Memory class with the kid who had the biggest smile on his face when I told him his word for Pictionary was "Voldemort".

Next week then means summer term schedules come out and I can't wait to see what I'm teaching. I had to observe one of the higher level classes recently (well, one class above the highest level I teach now) so I'm expecting that's either because I'll be teaching something higher next term or in the future. That's a good sign as far as how I'm performing at work goes but mostly I just want to know when my two breaks off during the week will be! Girl has her priorities.

Just this past weekend my boyfriend booked his flight to Korea and will be coming in late June to stay for a month! To say I'm excited would be an understatement. I have a week off from work at the end of June so we're going to Vietnam. We finally decided this morning after bouncing between a couple different countries and as the planning process begins I'm getting pretty excited for it. I spent this evening searching for flights and hostels and trains and things to do and think it will shape up to be a great trip.

This morning I finally got around to setting up wire transfers at my bank so I can send money home. I probably should have taken care of it a while ago but it hasn't really been necessary yet. I've decided to go ahead and purchase a DSLR though, not in small part because my point-in-shoot is essentially dead, and want to order it from home through my account in the US. Anyway, the whole process at the bank was pretty easy. I went in with all my bank info- account and routing numbers, address, etc. and the teller spoke enough English (plus the form was in Korean/English) for me to explain what I wanted to do. Now, each time I want to send money home I can take care of it from an ATM which is nice and convenient. Okay so that isn't particular exciting news to anyone except me but I'm still new enough to managing real grownup-y type things in a foreign country that I feel good after taking care of something like this.

In an attempt to get myself on a better sleep schedule and be awake early enough to chat with my 5am riser back home before he's in bed, I've instituted an "Up before 11" rule for myself each morning. That probably sounds pitiful to most but for us night owls hitting the hay at 4 or 5, 11am is still prime sleep time. So far I'm adhering to it and was actually awake by 9:45 this morning. Incoherent, groggy, and not sure why the guy who drives a truck with speakers blaring "Would you like to buy some lovely bananas?" wasn't driving down my street waking me up like always yet until I remembered he shows up around noon... but still, I was awake. This will take some getting used to.

Trivia of the Day;  Thundersticks, sometimes known as cheerstix, bangers or bambams, are long, narrow plastic balloons that are used as promotional noise makers. The noise is created when two thundersticks are struck together. They are most often used at sporting events, political rallies and concerts. Thundersticks were first created in the Republic of Korea, and thundersticks gained popularity in the United States when used by fans of the Anaheim Angels during the 2002 World Series. Today thundersticks are used by fans of many sports teams in order to show their support.

Haha this trivia is for you Mom, since I know how much you hate Thundersticks and mentioned their use at the Wyverns game you saw here. At least you can now say you experienced Thundersticks in their original habitat!

Catching up

The night my mom finally landed in Korea there was an insane thunderstorm that basically boomed right over my apartment building. It started raining early that night and was still going when we woke up on Saturday morning. But I stuck to our plan for the day anyway because it was just the right amount of things to do for a Saturday. We headed out about mid-morning for Jongno, an area of Seoul packed with lots of history and culture. Our first stop was Gyeongbokgung Palace, a spot I hadn't visited yet and was itching to see.

Gyeongbokgung, also known as Gyeongbokgung Palace or Gyeongbok Palace, is a royal palace located in northern Seoul, South Korea. First constructed in 1394 and reconstructed in 1867, it was the main and largest palace of the Five Grand Palaces built by the Joseon Dynasty. The name of the palace, Gyeongbokgung, translates in English as "Palace of Shining Happiness."Nearly destroyed by the Japanese government in the early 20th century, the palace complex is slowly being restored to its original form prior the destruction. As of 2009, roughly 40 percent of the original number of palace buildings still stand or are being reconstructed.

We lucked out because the rain actually stopped long enough for us to get to the subway and tour the palace.

From a distance we thought these guys were fake, then we saw this dude lift his arm to scratch his nose. They were rocking some funny fake beards though. And I love the uniforms.

Some crazy ceiling action going on. I tried zooming in for a better shot but to no avail. Yet another reason to spring for a new camera...

Zodiac statues. 

After wandering around the palace we went to the National Folk Museum of Korea, which is located inside the palace grounds.

 I like to think that this is a hat Dumbledore would wear.

Best hat box I have ever seen.

The museum wasn't huge but had some interesting things to see. We also caught a musical performance that mostly consisted of a flute, drums, and a gayageum, which Grandma Wiki helpfully explains is a "traditional Korean zither-like string instrument, with 12 strings". Some of the songs were really pretty but between my mom having just traveled for a few days and me getting no sleep because of the thunderstorm, there was some serious dozing going on in our seats. We decided that it was a compliment to the musicians, however, that their music was so soothing it could lull the audience to sleep. Yep, let's just go with that.

When we left the museum the rain was coming down again which ended up putting a real damper on what I had planned for the next part of the day. Gyeongbokgung is right around the corner from Insadong, which is basically this main street with lots of little alleys branching off it. The draw of Insadong though is that it offers a lot of traditional Korean culture. It's definitely popular for tourists but I think for good reason. There are art galleries, tea shops, antique stores, funky stores with handcrafted items, porcelain shops, etc. Sure there are also stores where you can buy typical souvenirs like magnets or pens or whatnot shaped like hanboks or fans but it's a nice mix.

It was a crappy day for Insadong though. On a sunny, blue afternoon? Yes. On a rainy, miserable one? Not so much. We only popped into a few stores and I didn't take any pictures because of the weather but here are some shots from my first trip there so you can get an idea.

After Insadong we went to Itaewon for dinner since mom opted for western food and that was close by. We went to Gecko's which is mostly a bar but serves up some really good food; I love their meatball subs. So we had dinner and a few drinks there then headed back to hang out and get some rest before getting up early again on Sunday. 

And when my computer starts behaving again and letting me upload more pictures here there will be more to come from her trip!

Trivia of the Day: Yi Sun-sin (April 28, 1545 – December 16, 1598, Korean: 이순신) was a Korean naval commander noted for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty. His title of Samdo Sugun Tongjesa (Hangul : 삼도수군통제사), literally meaning "Naval Commander of the Three Provinces" was to remain as the title of the commander of the operating arm of the Korean navy until 1896. Yi is also known for his innovative use of the turtle ship. He is reputed to be one of the few admirals to have been victorious in every naval battle (of at least 23) which he commanded. Yi was killed by a single bullet in the Battle of Noryang on December 16, 1598. And while he died, he said "Do not let my death be known" (lest the friendly forces lose morale/the enemy gain morale). The royal court eventually bestowed various honors upon him, including a posthumous title of Chungmugong (충무공, Duke of Loyalty and Warfare), an enrollment as a Seonmu Ildeung Gongsin (선무일등공신, First-class military order of merit during the reign of Seonjo), and two posthumous offices, Yeonguijeong (영의정, Prime Minister), and the Deokpung Buwongun (덕풍부원군, The Prince of the Court from Deokpung). Yi remains a venerated hero among Koreans today.

Happy Mom's Day

It's Parent's Day here in South Korea today but Mother's Day back home. So Happy Mom's Day to all you ladies out there who raise us kids right and love us no matter what. And especially Happy Mother's Day to my own mom who supported me when I told her I wanted to move across the world and who came to spend some time with me here (something that after six months away from home I really really needed). Hope you enjoyed your day and your trip mom! 

I snapped this at the top of the mountain, the one by my apartment, that we climbed last week. It was pretty hot and bright up there (note the squinting) but we were feeling pretty good after that hike. I'm happy we got this shot together, awkward angle and all :)

And then there was one

I just got back from dropping my mom off at Incheon airport for her flight home. We had a really great week together and I'm sad to see her go. After that debacle last week everything went smoothly at the airport today. The people at Asiana were super nice and even made sure that when she lands in SFO she'll have enough time between then and her flight on to Boston. Ahem, note to American Airlines that if they had taken the extra minute to do this when she'd checked in at Boston last week that they could have caught the mistake and put her on an earlier flight to JFK, of which there were many. Just saying.

I have lots of pictures and things to put up from her trip here but since we kept pretty busy during the week there wasn't too much time to post them along the way. Plus I don't want to talk about all her adventures before she can share them with people back home herself. Besides, she will tell the story of the fridge in the bathroom at 3:30am much better than me.

After successfully hosting one visitor I'm already itching to do it again. My boyfriend will be here in less than two months (:D) and an awesome friend is considering a trip for the fall. So if you're looking to get out of the country for a bit, come visit me! I miss everyone from home and once you get past the plane ticket price Korea is cheap, I promise!

Trivia of the Day: Ciné de Chef is a combined luxury movie theatre and gourmet restaurant, located in Apgujeong, southern Seoul. It is operated by CJ CGV, South Korea's largest multiplex movie theatre chain, and opened on 3 May 2007, drawing over 2000 viewers in its first few months. The theatre seats just thirty people in deluxe chairs costing ₩8 million each ($8,000), and is equipped with 11.1 channel speakers which surround the entire theatre, including the floor and ceiling. In the restaurant, Le Cordon Bleu-certified chefs serve modern Asian cuisine. Other services provided by Ciné de Chef include valet parking, a private elevator, an escort service and English-speaking staff. Tickets cost in the region of ₩60,000–100,000 ($60-100).

In which a non-departure is detailed

Let's reminisce a little, shall we?

Remember that time that you were living in a foreign country and your mom decided to come visit you and you were both crazy excited and then her flight from Boston to New York was delayed for an hour and a half and so she missed her connecting flight to Korea and no one at the airport was helping her book a new flight and her cell phone was dying and she couldn't get to her luggage because the counter was already closed and everyone was freaking out?

Yeah. GOOD TIMES.

Basically the past 24 hours have been a nightmare. My mom has had her visit planned for a few weeks and was supposed to arrive in Incheon this afternoon around 4pm on a direct flight from JFK in New York. She left for Logan in Boston nice and early on Wednesday morning but then her flight on American Airlines to JFK was seriously delayed and so she ended up missing her connecting flight. 

From there everything sort of fell apart. She was at the American Airlines counter for an hour but they ended up saying that because there wasn't a two hour window between the landing and take-off of her two flights, that essentially it wasn't their fault so it shouldn't fall on them to deal with it. She booked through AAA and since there weren't any red flags regarding the time between her flights when she booked them, it didn't seem like an issue. Since I wasn't actually there I can't speak for what the customer service was actually like at the American Airlines counter but I don't care too much to hear about an airline that won't work to help out a stranded passenger. Since all the flights directly to Korea were done for the day she was pretty much stuck and obviously upset about it. 

In the meantime, my dad and I were talking over Skype while he was trying to help her figure things out. One big problem was that her luggage was with Asiana Air, the carrier for her second flight, and their counter was already closed for the day so there was no way she could get to it. When I finally went to bed at 6:30am she was still at the airport deciding where to spend the night, my dad was on the phone with American Airlines to verify the whereabouts of her baggage, and her best shot at a flight out was to get on standby for the same flight on Asiana leaving the following day, Thursday, and just hope she wouldn't get bumped until the Friday departure. Basically all my fears regarding my own flight to Korea came true for my poor mom. Like I said, nightmare.

So I finally went to bed and a little before 11am this morning my phone suddenly rang. By some weird twist of fate, my co-worker Jim, who just so happens to have an obsessive passion for the airline industry, decided to randomly call me and ask how my mom's take off went. I told him what was happening and he immediately told me to come over. By the time I got there he was explaining that Asiana was completely booked into the following week and so we started looking for alternatives for her. Long story short, we ended up spending five hours on the phone with everyone from AAA to American Airlines to Asiana to my mom (thank you Skype credit!), who at this point was spending the night in a dumpy love motel by the airport (not even in Korea yet and she's already covered one Korean experience).

It wasn't a pleasant five hours and a lot of times the people we talked to were no help. AAA told us to wait and then hung up on us and the folks we spoke to at American Airlines were pretty nice but useless. We asked if they had my mom's luggage and they swore up and down that yes, it was at the American Airlines counter which we learned later was a complete lie. One of them, I don't even remember who, re-booked her but the flight was ridiculous. She would have had to fly from JFK to LAX, spend the night there, then fly from LAX to Narita in Tokyo, and then go from Narita to Incheon. Her arrival would be 9:15pm on Saturday night. That was not even an option in my opinion. We considered just totally booking her a brand new flight on another airline but couldn't get anyone to give us a refund. AAA told us it was American Airline's problem, American claimed it was up to Asiana, and Asiana said to talk to AAA. Might as well have been a damn Marx Brother's movie it was so absurd. 

We tease Jim a lot when he starts talking about airlines but after what he managed to pull off today I promise I won't ever make fun of his Korean Air phone charm and matching fridge magnets. I was pretty useless and had no idea what to say to anyone but he just kept calling and pushing. Around 1pm he got on the phone with Asiana, explained the situation, and asked if there was any way they could get my mom on their Thursday afternoon direct flight to Incheon. They said they would call back within the hour so it was a waiting game. I got ready for work then went down to Jim's and around 2:45 we called Asiana again and they said to give them ten more minutes. I was pacing, I swear. We also had to leave for work by 3:15 so I was stressing. If they said no to the flight, I was about to just charge $1600 to my credit card to get her here in one piece by Friday. We could fight for a partial refund later. 

Jim must be some kind of magician because Asiana called back and said that they had a seat for her on their Thursday plane flying directly to Incheon at 1pm. This flight had been fully booked and I was so sure we were screwed and then voilà, there they were confirming that my mom had a seat on essentially the exact same flight she was supposed to take, only a day later. I kept waiting for the catch. Asiana told us that she'd have to hit up the American Airlines ticketing counter to have them reissue her ticket and then after that she would be all set.

By now we were cutting it close for work so I didn't have time to call my mom on Skype to let her know about all this. We literally ran around our neighborhood into convenience stores looking for international calling cards so I could call her from work. When we got there, Jim called American just to double check it all on their end and then we called my mom and filled her in. By then it was almost 3am her time and since the ticketing counter opens early she got there by 4am to take care of things. I called her when I got out of work at 7:30pm and she said everything went smoothly and that she was just waiting now for Asiana to open up at 9:30am. Turns out Asiana did have her luggage which made everything that much more convenient.

Then my dad emailed me to say that my mom has her Asiana boarding flight in hand. She departs at 1pm so I'm waiting up just to watch that little online plane tracker actually take off and then I think I can rest easy. I know I'm saying I was pretty stressed out but I know it's nothing compared to how my mom felt. This is her first time flying internationally and I'm bummed for her that it started out badly. How frustrating to be stuck without help and without luggage. I'm hoping today though that she can just press the rewind button and put yesterday behind her. She has 14 hours ahead of her on one of the, if not the, best airlines in the world. When I kept bugging Jim about whether or not Asiana would call back he assured me they would. He made the point that if you want to retain your five star status that you can't just brush people off or tell them to deal with their own problems. I already liked Asiana from my own flight here and now I appreciate their service so much more. If you're flying to Asia and you can find a reasonably priced deal, fly with them, they're great.

So anyway that's the scoop, especially for those of you family/friends who may be reading who knew my mom was coming out to visit. She'll get here, just a day later than intended. She even agreed that it's one of those stories you can pull out later but in the moment it's awful and frustrating and exhausting. I just can't wait for her to be here so she can relax and we can have an awesome week together. I'm really excited about this visit and I'm excited for her to see Korea.

Oh air travel. Where's a pair of seven-league boots when you need them?