How was Seoul? eh... wait a minute... again?

So I went to Seoul.

Again.

Hey it is a big city. A huge city. There is a lot to do and see there. I got a book, a visual tourist atlas of Korea that told me so, and I have to admit it was right.

But I am a head of myself. I went to Seoul with a plan. I was going to get some stuff. I even made a list: Computer RAM, USB port, TKD Book, Guitar Pickup, and Korean Dictionary. Then I was going to go to the Juggling shop for the Juggling club meeting.

Well, so here is how it went. James, Beth, two of my co-teachers Abby their daughter and I got on the train at 7:13ish am. After about thirty minutes James and I hung out in the Snack car, and got on the internet just for the fun of it. We talked for most of the trip, and Beth and Abby joined us and Abby got to play arcade tetris for the first time, and for a three year old she wasn't half bad.

In Seoul James and I got off a stop before our usual stop there and went to Krispy Kreme Doughnuts. The doughnuts were the first fresh ones I have ever had at a Krispy Kreme, and I have now learned that the hype around them is quite justified. After a couple of doughnuts each
and getting a dozen more for later, we took the Subway to Yongsan station where Beth and Abby were. We got train tickets home, and then visted a booth in the Electronics mart that James knew for the RAM, and USB port. I got the port (I just got a "old" desktop from the school last week and I am fixing it up just a bit) but ofcourse I forgot to write down what kind of ram it takes, so James is going to get it for me on Wednesday when he goes to Seoul to do something or another. We also visited the Book store at Yongson station and I found that Visual Atlas I mentioned earlier.

From there we parted company, and I got on the Subway on a quest for a foreign music store I heard about near Itaewon, where the American army base is. I found it, but it was closed. So I walked back to the main street of Itaewon, and went to the Foreigners Used Book store and picked up a TaeKwonDo book, and a English to Korean dictionary. Then I walked some more, and ran into James, Beth, and Abby. We walked some more together, but we all had things to do so they went to a watch shop, and I went on the Subway on a quest for American Pizza.

The best I could manage was Pizza Hut. A very nice Pizza Hut at Seoul Station that James had told me about. So I had a good nine inch American style Pepperoni Pizza sans corn.

While I was waiting for my Pizza, I took a look at the Atlas, which has a very large illustrated section on Seoul. I found some cool festivals... and a Flea Market. If you have known me at all he last few years, you know I am a sucker for Flea Markets, and the book said there was a Huge flea market (sometimes called "The Goblin Market" how cool is that?) in a soccer stadium. So I resolved that if I had anytime after juggling, I would check this place out.

But first things first, I took the train down to Sadang Station where the Juggling shop was. I went there, and found out that the meeting of the club was a maybe today, but stay and see. So I did and had a wonderful time talking to the owner So Sang Man or "George" and his wife, the lady who had broke her foot mountain unicycling. I also got to meet their one year old daughter. One other kid did show up for the juggling club, but didn't stay too long. I learned some basic Diablo, which is the yoyo thing controlled by a string attached to two sticks. George also showed me how to juggle four balls in preparation for juggling five balls. All in all it was a great time, and I promised to help him with the English on the English version of the website, which actually isn't that bad. Both of them speak English fairly well.

So after a couple of hours and a couple of new friends later, I left the Juggling shop, and went on my third quest for the day which was to find this flea market. I had about three hours to kill before the train back to Sapgyo left. To get to this market was a straight shot on the blue line... eleven stops which is as many stops as I have ever done at one time.

When I got there, I immediately found the market. It started in the subway station and then spilled onto the street, and then went on, and on and on and on and on and on. I never did find the "flea market" I think it was closed. But it didn't matter. There were stalls, everywhere. In plazas, on the sidewalks, in the tunnels that go under the street, in tunnels that I have no idea what their origional purpose was. They were in buildings, and under them, and they just went on and on, selling all kinds of stuff, but at the part I explored it was mostly clothes of all descriptions. I also found a pet section and a book section. I even found two shops selling bags and bags of buttons. I barely explored it. For two hours of straight wandering I probably only saw a fifth of it if that much. It was overwhelming. And that was with half the places closing up because of night and drizzle. It brought to mind every vast fair, bazzar and out door market I have ever read about. I always suspected those authors of using some literary license, when they described such places... how wrong I was. I did buy a couple of umbrellas (one real one and a tiny red panda one for clowning) and a bottle of Yellow Tail Shiraz. If you have never been to such a place, you really should sometime. I am going back to Seoul next week for the juggling club, and I have resolved to explore that place further, this time in the morning, and hopefully when it is not drizzling. Maybe I will find a instrument section.

I left the market about an hour before my train was do to go, and headed back to Yongsan Station. I got some Baskin Robin's for dinner (I tried some chicken on a stick from one of the stalls at the market, but it needed some sauce which it didn't have since I didn't know how to say "sauce please but not the kid that makes ones head explode") and waited for my train. On the train I slept.

Until one of my students tapped me on the head to say hi. The one in the picture standing on her desk in a earlier blog actually. She was really excited to see me on the train, and she gave me some crackers and a ginsing mint hard candy. She had been in Seoul that day with her Mom. When we reached Sapgyo station about thirty minutes later, it was raining so I gave her mom my umbrella so she could pull up her car, and she gave me a ride back to my apartment.

And that is a full account of my day in Seoul. I know it lacked elves, dragons, pirates, or ninjas, or even insidious mob bosses. I wasn't knocked out of the way in a chase scene at the market. Heck, I never even got to "The Goblin Market." But it was pretty neat anyways.

How was Seoul? Eh... seoul seoul...

Not really, Seoul was great! I finally found the juggling shop! I had apperantly walked by it twice. Once a few weeks ago, and once this time. But I knew it had to be there, so the third time I walked up the hill from the Subway exit I was slow and careful and sure enough I found it! So I invested in a set of juggling clubs. They are the bowling pin looking things that you juggle. It is said that if you can juggle balls, and clubs, you can juggle any kind of object you can lift and throw. I say invest by the way, because 1) I am a clown, and one of the things clowns do is juggle 2) I am going to join the juggling club (as in group) which meets at the shop in the warm months on Saturdays at 3pm and then goes somewhere and juggles (starting next week coincidentally) 3) I am going to teach my students how to juggle between classes. I am going to buy cheap ankle socks, and beans and make bean bags for them to juggle with... and maybe just maybe, I might get some more clubs, and we can try juggling and passing them before I leave here.

I also wish to mention that the girl who sold me the clubs had a broken foot from mountain unicycling. How cool is that?

In other news, I found another used bookstore, and bought some more books to read. Yay for books!

I also wandered around on the subway some, and ended up at the Deoksugung Royal Palace where the King who invented (or caused to be invented) Hangul, the Korean writing, ruled from. It was really cool. The placed screamed kung-fu movie. I promise to have pictures up of it soon.

I haven't posted for how long?

A WEEK?!

Man I feel like I am really falling down on the job here!

The week has been good. I am still adjusting to teaching. I am honestly something of a push over right now, and I am trying to figure out my teaching balance.

I have decided that every Saturday I am going to go somewhere and see something. This Saturday I am going to Seoul to find some more books, and probably take the tourist public bus tour. Which takes you in a loop from the train station past most of the big tourist places in Seoul.

Tonight I slightly pulled a muscle in Taekwondo. Was from attempting a really cool flying reverse turning kick? No! I was indoor soccer... again. However, I did score two points so yay for me!

Also Tuesday we actually put on a chest pads and practiced kicking each other. That was fun. Unfortunetly I wasn't paired with one of my English students.

Also I finally made the spaghetti right! MMMMMmmmm.... It is great, but there is too much for me and Mike. I have to give some away.

Also (third also is a charm right?) I had a good first day in the Church Praise band last Sunday. My guitar was un-miked but everyone complemented me on my playing anyways. Half the battle of playing guitar and people actually enjoying it is looking like you are having the greatest time in the world (which is easy for me since I am.)

What am I doing here again? oh yeah...

This is my first class, the Backpack starter class. All four of them drawing the classroom.


This is one of my students standing on her desk getting a new perspective of the world while reciting "Captain my Captain" by Walt Whitman.

Okay, that is a lie. I have forgotten why she was on the desk, but I know she hasn't heard of Whitman... yet.
This is the legendary "hot dog man" in his truck making "hot dogs" (they are actually hot dogs, with cabbage and ground pork in the bun too!) and chicken on a stick, and fishy tofu on a stick. He is parked by the back of out apartment, and you can see out apartment from here, but I am not sure which one it is. I tried the chicken kebab and it was gooooooodddd....

Teaching Huzzah!

So I have had two days of classes so far and they have been good. Tomorrow we start the kindergarten again, and that will be fun. I will have some more pictures up soon too.

Tonight I took myself to a fried chicken place in town to celebrate starting school again, and a particularly good day in Taekwondo. For thirteen thousand won you get a whole fried chicken cut up into bits, some kind of diced veggie, radish I think, and a Pepsi. The fried chicken is as good as I ever have had. So I ate about a third of it, and took the rest home for Mike who will probably polish it off in one or two sittings.

Mike and I started up Korean language lessons today with Elder Kwon. We started to learn the Korean alphabet. All I have to say is that this is going to be a interesting experience. Half the letter we have no equivalent, and there must be four or five variations of the "o" sound.

Also on a side note, I am finally starting to get the hang of the Open G tuning on the guitar.

Weak end...

So it has been a quiet weekend here. Mike, my roommate went to Japan to get his visa fixed up and that went well except he came back with a weird rash all over his face. We have no idea why. Su Mein, who works in the school office called her father who is a surgeon and he recommended some medicines and rest which Mike did.

I sat around the house all weekend for the most part. I went into town some to get food, and hung out with Beth and James. Today the English teachers sans Mike, sang in front of the church. I actually didn't know the song, but I had the words in front of me, and can manage stage fright so it was fun.


This is my apartment building. My apartment is on the other side of it seven stories up. Everyone here in Korea lives in an apartment, either in a building like this, or over their shop. Unless maybe if they have a farm.