Happy Chusoek!

09.17-24.2010
So, I'm trying to fast-forward as much as possible, without forgetting any of the big festivities...
Chusoek is the Harvest Festival/Thanksgiving/Memorial of ancestors, so it's just sort of a big deal in S. Korea. In my pre-Chusoek festivities, I got pizza from the NEW neighborhood pizza joint, a whole Hawaiian pizza for 7,000won.


I did have to work for about half of the week for Chusoek, I know some schools allowed their English teachers for the whole week off, but I really didn't mind it too much, I just had to be there, since no classes were in session, it was my prep time.
During my holiday I went to a burger joint with Micheal in Suwon station, to prove to that my recruiter was incorrect, she sent me an email, recommending to me to go grocery shopping before Chusoek, since no restaurants would be open...
I had a chicken sandwich and Mountain Dew, a real treat for me.
Also, my school did generously give me a Chusoek gift, a year supply (for me) of laver.
Yay! I think its something I'll be sending home...

During the holiday, I did visit the Korean War Museum. It had a lot of interesting things to see. Here's a few photos:





After the war museum, we stopped off at Itaewon, a very popular area for foreigners in Seoul. In Yongsan-gu, off line 6, its a great place to find stuff you miss from back home, designers, food, clothes, English bookstores, etc... We had a nice dinner in an Irish pub. And we checked out the foreigners' market for those hard to find food items.
I had a nice time, made some new friends, and had a few drinks...

Typhoon

09.02.2010

I was released from the hospital on 8/31/10. Yay. Clean bill of health! On Wednesday I returned to work, as per usual, but everyone was anticipating the approaching typhoon. Needless to say, I was excited. My first typhoon! I’m actually going to experience what my BS Senior Research Paper was all about! Seriously, I can still be a weather nerd.


I was told that Typhoon Kompasu would make landfall early on Thursday morning. It was actually one of the few typhoons to reach the Seoul city limits. In open water, it reached a category 3 rating, but as we all know as soon as it made landfall the intensity and strength decreased. It was rated as a category 1 typhoon when it went through the Gyeonggi Province. I actually woke up in the middle of the night/early morning from the sounds of the strong winds and moderate rainfall. It was a fast moving typhoon, by morning, my daily walk to school was just rain with strong gusts of wind. To my surprise Typhoon Kompasu actually followed much of the DMZ as it went on land. Even a typhoon knows where the country borders are, lol. Unfortunately, there was extensive damage in both countries. My experienced entailed a lot of rain, high winds, and a ‘short’ power outage at work. Luckily, I still had everything working at my apartment. At school, the power didn’t come on until 11 am. So, I spent most of my morning drawing a ‘Thank you’ card for Aunt Yang Young-Rae.


It was a terrible example of my ability to blend colors with crayons. :/ Oils are much more forgiving! Anyways, there was extensive damage in Gyeonggi province. I have attached some links showing how much it affected not only Seoul, but the nation as well. http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2925479
These photos are a small example of the damage around my school and home.




Currently, there is a Korean cabbage shortage, because of the poor weather this summer and the typhoons. This is a major news story in Korea. The president has allowed an 'emergency cabbage' situation, in which Chinese cabbage will be imported without any extra customs fees. http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?bicode=040000&biid=2010092871018

Getting Better-ish

8.30.2010

Woke up with a visit from the doctor, he said that I am improving enough, so I can finally eat. I ate real food at lunch! So happy! I ate while watching ‘Drop Dead Diva’ for two episodes and then the Aunt came to visit with her husband. She helped me eat, as my energy was still very low. They told me if I could keep the food down okay, I had a good chance to leave the hospital tomorrow evening. So, I tried my best to keep eating and taking my medicine regularly. I fell asleep and woke up for my dinner. I wasn’t as hungry as before, but I tried to eat enough to make a difference in my strength. Also, I got a roommate, an elderly woman; she is very frail. I got a visit from the work friends; they looked very worried when they saw me. Jen brought me some beautiful flowers, too kind. Later in the evening I got a visit from Michael as well. Thankfully, I was feeling better.

Illness Continued

08.29.2010

Slept a lot, at least through most of the night with period visits from the nurses changing my liquid drips and taking my blood pressure and pulse. In the morning I was awaken and given instructions to pee in a cup, yay, great way to start my morning. My fever has significantly decreased due to the four pills and the ‘syrup’ I take when instructed by a nurse. I get that medication every 3-4 hours. I am not a fan of the syrup, but I take it anyways, yuck! Once again, I haven’t eaten anything today, liquids only. I slept a bit and read more of my book “The Swan Thieves.” In the late morning I got a phone call from Jen, she was a bit concerned about my health and told me she would visit on Monday. Later in the afternoon Phill’s Aunt, her husband, and the grandfather came to visit. They were very kind; I don’t think I can say that enough. We talked about my future wedding with Phill; I showed them pictures of the reception venue on my laptop, including some Halloween pictures of Coffee and Ooyoo. Then the aunt told me to rest. In which, I fell asleep and they had left by the time I woke up for my next visit from another nurse. I stayed up cleaning up the trash on my lappy, creating more space. I desperately need to move a lot of files on my external soon; I’ve been putting it off for waaaay too long. I’ll have to do it once I’m released. The aunt and uncle visited me again late in the evening. I told them that I am feeling much better since yesterday, but I’m not well yet. Plus, I told them that I was hungry to eat real food. Then they smiled and said it was likely tomorrow, if I keep improving. They left and I watched a good chunk of season 5 of The Office. I stayed up until nearly 1am. I noticed my fluid bag was empty and my blood was starting to come up my IV. I called the nurse’s station on the phone; in my half English/half Korean I explained I needed a new bag. After I received a blood pressure check, a new bag, and an IV switch to my right hand I went straight to bed. It was a long day.

Definitely Sick

08.28.2010

I spent a good portion of my evening going to the bathroom, waking up every 1.5 hours. I took my temperature orally at 8am, 103.1°F/39.5°C. Not good. I also had a splitting headache now too. I wrote down my symptoms and drank a lot of water. I talked to Phill on Skype, he was really worried. He told his father and his father called the Aunt. I felt bad that everyone was caring so much for me. I didn’t think it was too serious, but I could be wrong. I went back to bed and the Aunt came at 11am. She and So-young looked so worried when they saw my state. I said thank you to them for taking care of me. They took me to the Osan Seoul General Hospital (SGH) and a doctor checked me. He recommended to me that I get three x-rays, a stool sample, blood work, and a shot. He said it was a good chance I would be admitted to the hospital today. ☹ After all my tests, I was diagnosed with the inflammation of intestines, it was confirmed I would be admitted to the hospital for a week. For the next 2-3 days I wouldn’t eat, but warm water was okay. I went back to my apartment and gathered my things with the help of the Aunt, Young-Rae, and So-Young. The Uncle, Mr. Huh, patiently waited for us in the van. And I went back to the hospital. I was admitted in a two patient room with no roommate (room 311) and I changed into the hospital clothes. The doctor came in and told me (in English) that I wouldn’t eat until my condition improved, he told me to get a lot of rest. Also, I would be getting tablets and syrup for medication; I should take the tablets first and the syrup after an hour after I had taken the tablets. A nurse hooked me up to an IV. I slept after Young-Rae and her family left. They were very very kind to me. Without them, this situation would be far worse.

Feeling Under the Weather

08.27.2010

Woke up with extreme pain in lower back and abs. Glad it was Friday and I was looking forward to getting a lot of rest on the weekend. Last day of summer All Day class at 1pm. During the morning I got my lesson plan together and worksheets for the day. I watched half of Post Grad, that film reminded me of my situation after I graduated from college. I was filled with so much hope to start my career right away, then realizing I didn’t have the credentials and I moved back home. So, I understood the frustration of the main character, at least what I’ve seen so far. Since, I taught the All Day class at 1 pm I missed lunch with the other teachers, but they got me an egg salad sandwich and milk from Paris Baguette. I am not a fan of eggs, like at all, but it was purchased specifically just for me, from Jen. So, I ate half of it and I drank all the milk. It made my stomach hurt further. ☹ I watched the second half of Post Grad and I felt the ending was odd, too much of a happy ending. She got the job, the guy, and her family. I still didn’t feel well. I finished prepping for the first week of second semester. At 5 o’clock, I left for dinner with the school staff and teachers. It wasn’t an optional dinner for me. I ate seafood/sushi and I felt a little better, but I could tell a fever was starting to form. I think everyone could tell I was acting different. I got home late and talked to Phill on Gmail briefly. I told him about the day’s activities and I gave him a quick list of my symptoms. I went to bed, hoping by morning I would be feeling better. I took two ibuprofen for good measure.

Meeting Old Friends

08.22.2010

The plan was to wake up really early and believe it or not, I got up early (for the weekend) at 6:20am. I talked with my parents over Skype until 8am and then chatted with Phill on Skype. My time was limited for Sunday catch-up conversation time. I had to leave for Seoul by 9am, at least leave my apt by then. I really enjoy the lazy Sundays, but today I had to keep busy. I took line 1 to line 3 to Gyeongbokgung station with a transfer at Jongno 3(sam)-ga station, about an hour and a half subway ride. I felt proud of myself to be able to transfer lines on my own for the first time. I know I need to work on my traveling skills set; it can become more confusing traveling alone. So, I’m making little goals possible with my ‘baby-steps’ mindset. My cell phone also was low on batteries, so I only turned it on when I reached my destination to meet Lucas. We agreed to meet each other at 11am at the Gyeongbokgung station. Thankfully, the rain was short-lived today. Lucas and Yena Yoo actually saw me first as I was looking at the subway/local area map as I was getting to know the area, a little. I even arrived a little early (about 10 minutes early). They both work at a Hagwon, so Sundays are their only day off during the week. The pay can be better at a Hagwon, but teaching English at public schools gives you more job security and 2 days off a week. I’m glad to be working at my elementary public school. We first went to the Gyeongbokgung Palace (exit #5 from Gyeongbokgung station), the “Palace Greatly Blessed by Heaven.”(It cost twice as much as Hwaseong, at 3,000 won.) It was constructed in 1394 by King Taejo and it was much bigger and better than the country palace at Hwaseong/Suwon. In 2009, the Gyeongbokgung Palace underwent a large reconstruction project as it’s estimated that about 40 percent of the structures were restored to its former glory before the Japanese occupy. We were first greeted by a ‘changing of the guards’ ceremony.





It was very entertaining to watch. There were many foreigners at the palace, checking out the historical site. Outside the main gate of Gwanghwamun, there is the Gwanghwamun Square similar to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., but not as long. Driving around the Square seemed to be dangerous, as many drivers had to wait for pedestrians.



I digress, inside the palace walls there were a lot of buildings to see, originally there were 330 buildings on site before the Japanese occupation, but still today we didn’t see them all. (Sorry.) One of the first buildings we visited was Geunjeongjeon Hall, the throne hall where the king formally greeted foreign envoys and granted audiences to his officials.





It was there that we met up with an English tour guide and joined the tour group.

Then we moved on to the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion, during the Joseon Dynasty it was used for important state banquets. It’s an artificial island surrounded by a rectangular man-made lake. An impressive sight, never the less.





Unfortunately, it is also not open to the public, so I could only marvel at it from a distance. Then we went into the Naejeon area (Inner Court) and saw the Gangyeongjeon (the King’s quarters) and the Gyotaejeon (the Queen’s quarters). The garden behind the Queen’s quarters hid the chimneys to heat the building, quite impressive.





After that the tour was over, so we headed to the Hyangwonjeong Pavilion, absolutely beautiful.



Unfortunately, the Chwihyanggyo Bridge leading to the Hyangwonjeong Pavilion was destroyed during the Korean War and it was the longest bridge constructed only of wood. When it was reconstructed it was moved from the north side of the island to the south side and fortified with other materials. After we finished visiting the Gyeongbokgung Palace, it was time for lunch. We went back to the Gyeongbokgung station and went to exit #2 to To Sok Chon Sam Gye Tang.

It’s a restaurant famous in Seoul, by both the locals and the foreign, for their ginseng chicken soup, Samgyetang. The line for the restaurant extended beyond their doors and started to wrap around the building. It was definitely a hot spot, even at lunchtime. We only waited in line for 10-15 minutes, too bad it was so hot and humid. It was by far the most delicious meal I’ve ever eaten in South Korea.

I hope to visit again before I leave! Yum. Expensive at 13,000 won a person, but totally worth it, even though the service was average, after all they are always busy! The food is too good to pass up, really. Just writing about it is making me hungry for it! After the delicious lunch we went walking by the Cheonggyecheon River.

It is about 6 km long and it is entirely man-made, as originally the river flowed in the opposite direction! It was part of a massive urban renewal project as the stream was covered up with concrete since 1958 and in 1976 it became an elevated highway. In 2003 the restoration project went underway and it was reopened again in 2005. I love it, the project was a success, it is a great example of how the city is so environmentally friendly. Plus, it was a hot day and walking by the stream made the area so much cooler, reducing the heat-island effect. I wished I lived near the River, so that everyday I could walk by it. It is so beautiful and it was a great way to end my day in Seoul.