My First Getaway

This weekend marked the first time I got out of Gyeonggi province and away from Seoul into another area of the country.  It was so awesome to break the typical routine and see a new part of Korea.  Even if it left me exhausted beyond anything I've felt in a loooong time.

Friday night, I booked it to to Seoul as soon as work let out, and got to Janghanpyeong just in time to meet Jen at her subway stop.  She was there to pick up her parents, who are visiting from Florida, and I managed to beat them by 5 minutes, so the timing was perfect.  The four of us and Jen's three roommates and one co-worker went out for a Korean BBQ dinner to celebrate Jen's 28th birthday, followed by a night at a local norebang.  I only had the opportunity to sing a few songs before I had to leave to catch my 11.30 bus to Seoraksan (or, in English, Mount Seorak... "san" means mountain in Korean).

Seoraksan is often touted as the most beautiful place in Korea and I was excited for a day of hiking there.  I had signed up with a group of people from Meetup.com who were all going together.  Little did any of us know what was in store for us.  First of all, I was under the incredibly mistaken impression that we were starting our hike at 5 AM.  WRONG!!!  After getting only about one hour of (terrible, fitful) sleep on the bus, we arrived at Seoraksan at 2.00.  Everyone piled off the bus to change into hiking gear and off we went at 2.30 IN THE MORNING.  Flashlights in hand, heading straight up a mountain in pitch dark.  And I mean straight up.  We didn't reach the summit of Seoraksan's highest peak, Daecheongbong (at 5,600 feet) until 8.30 AM, with the first three out of six hours spent climbing with only artificial light to guide us.

Korean Pride (Dae Han Min Guk!)

Reading all the World Cup and SF Pride-related messages on Facebook today, I realized that I never wrote about my experience in Seoul almost two weeks ago.  The memories won't be as fresh but I may as well write about it now!

So I headed down to Seoul on a Friday night, as per usual, and crashed at Jen's apartment.  The big deal that weekend (and it was a BIG DEAL) was Korea's first game in the World Cup, versus Greece.  It was taking place at 8 PM Korean time on Saturday night and, by all accounts, was set to be an experience not to be missed.  But a much much smaller deal, at least for the vast majority of Koreans, was the Seoul Pride 'festival' and 'parade,' also set for Saturday.  Two big reasons for me to head to Seoul, and two giant reminders of the differences between here and home.

So... Dog Meat

Tonight was my second hwe-shik, the evening when all the teachers from the high school go out together for dinner and drinks.  On the menu this go-round?  Boshintang.  Otherwise known as... dog soup.

I really didn't think this opportunity/dilemma would ever actually present itself to me, let alone in my first 2 months in Korea.  But there it was anyway.  I had to make a decision: to eat or not to eat?  It turns out that the current status of eating dog meat in Korea isn't so clear-cut at all.  If I understand correctly (which I may not), the sale of dog meat has technically been illegal in South Korea since 1984, but outside of Seoul the law is very weakly enforced.  It has long been a tradition in Korea that at the beginning of summer, when the weather starts to get hot, people partake in a meal of dog soup.  It's considered to be very healthy and the heat of the soup is meant to balance the impending heat of summer, basically helping you start off the season in good health.  Or so the cultural tradition goes.

What I Know For Sure

One of the things that sucks most about becoming an adult:  the only thing you know for sure is that you don't know anything for sure.  I have always been an obsesser over some vague nebulous time called "the future" (what future? 6 months from now? 1 year? 5? 10? 30?) and I drive myself crazy extrapolating and number-crunching and estimating and assuming and guessing and it's all just really a big waste of mental time and energy in the end because guess what?  WE DON'T KNOW ANYTHING!!!  It's the curse and, I suppose, maybe, the blessing of being human, that we can't see the future.  So we need to try and live as fully in the present moment as possible or we just end up really unhappy.  I wish I could say that I'm better at this than I really am.  I am working on it.  I have a feeling I'll always be working on it.  Bleeeehhh.

One other thing I know for sure (Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself):  Teaching English is not a job I am meant to spend my life doing.  I know it's not good to wish life away by wanting it to go faster, but I cannot wait until the next 10 months are over with so I can do something different.  This is just not the job for me.  At least I know that much.

Breathing

We take for granted the value of fresh air and the importance of breathing until the lack of the former makes the latter so damn difficult.  I am developing the worst cough and having such a hard time breathing thanks to the absurdly damp and heavy air in my shithole of a house.  I would open the windows to let fresh air in if it weren't for the subsequent mosquito and insect invasion (yes, even with screens on the windows... apparently they're just for show). 

On top of the humidity and thick air that lingers in the house, I am beginning to suspect there is mold in the walls.  The Chinese teacher, who shares the house with me, has had a horrific cough for weeks now that won't go away and now I'm developing the same thing.  Upon returning to the house after going to Seoul for the weekend, I noticed a funky smell that permeated the house and I have definitely had some difficulties breathing properly when watching TV at night and when waking up in the morning.  Last night and this morning, I've been congested, sneezing, coughing, watery eyes, etc etc... I know that the school won't do anything about it, so I am not sure what to do.  I will talk to my co-teacher today, as well as the coordinator for the GEPIK program that hired me, to see what my options are.  The house definitely feels very unhealthy.  I did not sign up for this crap.