Vocabulary

Last night while eating delicious dongas, Andy asked Ashley and I what we liked most about teaching now that we've been here a few weeks. I thought about it and realized that I love explaining vocabulary to the students. I throw out as many synonyms as possible and then see them make the connections. At times it can be quite challenging to think of another word or phrase that will convey the same meaning. Other times it's fun to get creative. For instance, to explain what a flat tire was yesterday, I pretended to be driving and then went "whoosh" and threw down my right shoulder. They instantly understood and we all had a laugh. I'm typically able to interact with fewer students at a time while doing this as it's often when I'm walking around to different groups doing exercises. This allows our interaction to be more personal and (hopefully) meaningful. I really love it when they ask questions.

Here's a picture of me with some of the English majors at the Kosin festival the other day. They were selling food as a fundraiser. I'm abut to eat what is essentially a fish hotdog (compressed and processed fish) with ketchup and mustard on top.

My Side of the Mountain/Sunday Relaxation

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, so as any good Palmer would do, I decided to climb the mountain and get my General Revelation on. I took it a bit slower than last time, and it paid off as I was able make it to the top with only two brief rests. The soothing music of Iron & Wine also may have helped. Who knew Trapeze Swinger and Carousel could be such great hiking songs?

The first ascent. Pretty much the first 10 minutes continues at about this steepness. I even included a Korean woman in the shot for perspective, although I'm not sure it still doesn't capture it.
Looking East, a shot of the mouth of the harbor from the first stretch of relatively level trail.
"This trail looks good enough." The mountain is a very popular climb among Koreans so there's lots of different trails. This of course does not mean that they are well maintained trails. Loose rocks and slippery leaves are a norm. At least they put rope at steeper parts of the trail.
I took a wrong turn and I found what I think were a bunch of Buddhist graves. There used to be a Buddhist temple up on the mountain until Kosin basically forced them to leave.
A view at the top looking Southwest (other side of the mountain). There were about 50 ships anchored out there.
The south tip of Yeongdo. Taejondae (the park where I went two weekends ago) is around the farthest hill.
Kosin, Sweet Kosin. Most of the buildings in the immediate foreground belong to the university.
The view from the summit was amazing. It was a fairly clear day and you could see a lot of Busan (besides what is hidden by the mountains) and the ocean. God's handiwork was on full display. After scrambling down the mountain, often not by choice as much as necessity, I found a rare patch of grass in front of one of the dorms. I promptly threw off my shoes and walked around barefoot, enjoying the cool grass between my toes. Grass is hard to find around here as often every bit of land is developed or forest. I then laid down and watched the clouds and the wind blowing the turning leaves. Then off to the Edlin's for English Fellowship which was as encouraging, challenging, and edifying as always. What a relaxing and refreshing Sunday!

Official

Some guys came and put this name plaque a couple days ago. Well, if there were any doubts before, hopefully this dispels them. I'm officially a professor of English Language and Literature at Kosin University. Don't believe me? Just take a look at my name plaque on the office door and tell me that doesn't look official. The smooth blue background and Korean characters exude professionalism. The lighter blue and white patterned left border also help in this regard. Hmm, professor at 22? I think I can live with that, although it does set the bar kind of high...

Baseball

Most people know that I love baseball. This works greatly in my favor in Korea where baseball is also very popular. So on Friday afternoon I practiced and then played a game with some of the English Department guys. At the last minute they decided that I should play first base, a position that I have rarely (if ever) played. Andy said that they might have decided I was the best so they put me there. I did impress them in the outfield during practice, so I had been hoping to play out there. Anyways, the game was a lot of fun, although we lost.

The team. Most of them are juniors, but they're almost all older than me. The guy two over from me is my assistant Tupenny (gray t-shirt). He got his name from combining Tupac and 50-Cent...classic.
Manning first base. We play on a dirt field that they also use for soccer, parking, and other events.
On Saturday, Andy and I met up with Sarah who came down from Seoul with some friends. The main event of the day was going to a Lotte Giants game here in Busan. Lotte is a food company (I think) who owns the team I guess. Anyways, it was quite the experience. The fans get quite rowdy and there are lots of chants and songs at these games. Some players get their own songs! There is a Mexican who plays on the team and he has his own chant, "Gar-ci-a! Gar-ci-a! Garcia! Garcia! Garcia!" accompanied by fist pumps and lots of newspaper pom pom waving. In the eighth inning they pass out orange trash bags to encourage you to take your trash with you (you can bring in stuff to eat and drink). So you put air in the bag, twist it shut and put it on your head, anchoring down the bag by putting the handles around you ears. Somewhat like a rally cap, but you do it for every game. Also, the crowd yells at the players (both their team and the opponent) in unison if they do something they don't like (make an error, attempt a pickoff, etc.). A bit different than an American baseball game, although those can get lively as well.

Andy and I
Sarah showing off her fashion. A lot of girls also make the bags into bows.
The crowd (and sunset).
This was one of their songs, although it was fairly tame compared to some of their other ones or when the Giants started scoring. We were also on the third base side, which apparently wasn't as exciting as the first base side which is where all the hardcore fans were. Anyone recognize the tune?

Numbers!

112- The number of stairs I have to climb every morning to get to my office (plus two inclines).

302- My apartment number.

3- The number times in a row which I ate "jungshik" (sp?) as my meal earlier this week. No complaints (kind of like eating bread, cheese, apples and chocolate 3 times a day in Europe).

9- My apartment building.

550 - The number of won it takes to get a Pepsi out of the vending machine downstairs.

708-The number of the bus we took to go off the island last weekend.

2- About the number of American dollars that a full meal at lunch costs. Love it!

4- Time I'm supposed to go help Andy move. I should probably go...

This might seem odd to be included in my blog on teaching in Korea, but I just was thinking about this subject. These thoughts aren't meant as a full fledged argument as that could take days and would be much, much, more complex.

While these pleas are good and all, how about going beyond a plea and cutting some aid to show that the U.S. is serious about this issue. In the 2003 agreements Israel said they would stop settlement building. Yet seemingly nothing has changed on this front in the years following. How about we cut back a little of our budget and put some pressure on them at the same time. The settlements are one of the main obstacles in any type of peace process, yet for the most part they are still expanding. Even when Israel does make settlers move, there are Israelis who refuse to leave. What is the United States prepared to do about this part of the Middle East peace process? Clearly Israel holds the power in this situation, so they need to make the first move.

UPDATE as of Sept. 7

Pictures!

Before I forget or get lazy, I figure it's a good idea to post some pictures from the last few days. This first picture was taken from my apartment on the first day of classes (Monday).

My first Korean meal at a traditional Korean restaurant. The cup in the foreground is bamboo. I have no idea what most of the food was, but it was delicious.

My first kimchi experience. I actually liked it.

Another view from Monday morning. The islets in the lower left corner are famous as representing Busan.

A view from campus today.

Today I played baseball with some students while still in my dress clothes and took my first trip to Top Mart (blue building all the way to the right in the last picture). After getting directions from Andy, Ashley and I heading down the mountain on a steep road which we had driven up in a taxi earlier and marveled that the car had actually made it. Now we realized that the trip back up (with groceries!) was going to be an adventure. Both of us had backpacks, but as this was our first trip we needed many different items. The trip back up was quite the event. Andy had warned us to wear clothes we could sweat in, and he was right! As usual I tried to keep my normal fast walking pace, which does not bode well on hikes uphill which I keep forgetting. We finally made it after a few rests and a Korean man helping carry one of my bags for one of the last steep parts. I would've taken pictures of the road but it curves a bit and I was a bit preoccupied with trying to breathe.

First Days in Korea

I've decided to share some interesting Korean cultural things I've noticed or been told in the last few days. The first meal I had in Korea was with the Dean of International Cooperation. He remarked that Koreans ate fast and didn't care if they made noise while eating like Americans did. I told him that some Americans ate fast and mentioned my brothers. Another thing that has gotten some getting used to is the absence of both papertowels and blow dryers in the bathrooms at Kosin. I saw them in the airport, but not on campus here. I really don't like my hands being wet. One of my favorites has been the waving with both hands instead of the standard Western one handed wave. Also, apparently students will also ask if you've had lunch, which is the equivalent of "how are you?" I haven't run into that yet, but someone did ask if I had eaten breakfast, which I guess was the same thing.

This week I can't teach because of government regulations on swine flu. All incoming foreign teachers have to avoid the classroom for a week after they arrive. Technically we're not supposed to leave our apartments, but that isn't happening. In the meantime I've been trying to prepare for classes and trying to get my chopstick skills down. In Korea they use stainless steel chopsticks, which are more difficult to use than wood ones. I'm also hoping to learn the Korean alphabet and maybe some phrases. There's some official things to do as well such as getting my Alien Registration Card which is key for many other things such as getting a cell phone.

The scenery is beautiful here. I'll try posting some pictures soon.