slums, islamic center, and kebabs

As I write this there is an epic storm hovering over our section of the city. The rain and wind are forcing their way into our apartment, the thunder is shaking our building. Crazy! Yesterday was about as humid of a day as I've ever experience, there was a thick fog over the city, limiting visibility and ensuring our skin to be a little sticky at all times. Josh and I decided to get on the first bus that came to our stop, could be one of about thirty! Our plan: to ride it for a while and get off whenever we felt like it and explore a new part of the city. We rode for about thirty minutes and our random bus took us across the Han river and turned west, this is when we disembarked.

we stopped to buy some sponges from this guy

Seoul is a rich city. In our neighborhood it is not uncommon to see Ferraris and Porsches and Lamborghini’s every day, maybe driven by an eighteen year old kid even! Seoul is a massive city as well, a city of twenty million people, so there must be a lot of working class people to keep it running, those who do the dirty work of the city. Our random bus, number 421 to be exact, took us to where these people live. The slums. It was wow.... so different than what we are used to seeing and also the most impoverished looking neighborhood we've explored in Seoul thus far.

taking a nap I think...

this was a fresh fire, still smoking

the neighborhood was deserted it seemed! Not a soul in sight, we would imagine it to be an abandoned neighborhood if it weren't for the sounds coming from the open windows and the sight of laundry hung out to dry. Some homes were fully collapsed on one side and still inhabited. The roads winding through were far too small for any motorized vehicles. There was almost an eerie feel to some areas. We traversed the hills, taking stairways and alleys, sometimes hitting a dead end, until we came upon a more populated area. We found ourselves in the Middle Eastern district. A beautiful huge mosque was on top of a hill in the distance, and street signs were beginning to have arabic on them. We headed up towards the mosque and ran into an Islamic center and lots of foreign food stores and many Arab vendors. We stopped to chat with one man, who said that we could go in and tour the mosque and Islamic center, but I was too hot to put on the required clothing, so we said thanks and kept meandering through the area. We stopped for lamb kebabs from a little shop, run by some Turkish guys, it was so good and cheap.   

rain for the seoul....

The rainy season is in full effect here in Seoul, and it is no joke! I mean I thought that I, of all people, born and raised in the rainy Pacific Northwest, would be used to rainy seasons. Well this is different, it is some other breed of rain, it’s Asian rain, aka: torrential downpours all day. Imagine that heavy spring rain that happens in Portland for about one hour in the afternoon and it’s insane to even go outside during that time, well it’s like that here, only for the whole day, hours on end of rivers in the street, and awnings and umbrellas offering little to no shelter. The temperature is a little cooler- that is nice. In fact, I welcome the rain and actually like it, I always have! I like to have the windows open and listen to the gutters overflowing causing the water to haphazardly splat into puddles below. There is something comforting about that wet white noise.

Seoul is a crowded city....  too crowded. My walk to work is a constant competition for sidewalk space, meaning that there are too many people walking in the same place at the same time that you have to be aggressive to make it through. It is rather annoying, especially at 8am, a time I’m still not used to. So imagine these overpopulated sidewalks and crosswalks, add the dumping rain, now every single person has an umbrella! Open like armor, securing their 2.5-foot perimeter. Get too close and they will just stab you with one of their umbrella spikes, shamelessly and without looking back. At first I was shocked! Old men, sweet looking ladies, teenagers and businessmen alike all combatively running into others with their umbrella spikes! Sometimes one will catch on another persons causing resistance, and eventually getting through the snarl, but often causing damage. This is crazy! I never really used umbrellas until I moved here, now it is necessary, and now I must learn these forceful ways to operate my umbrella on the crowded streets. I’m picking it up quickly, but I will admit that I already scouted out a new route to work, so as to avoid the masses if possible.

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There was a lovely break from the rain on Sunday; the day they said there would be a typhoon of all days! I took advantage of the temporary rainless weather to take a walk, surprise surprise…. The sky was gray, making my neighborhood have a very serious look- all those skyscrapers reflecting the dark clouds, the streets wet and dark. So here is what I saw, on one gray afternoon, when the lighting seemed perfect the temperature a nice relief and my camera in hand! All these photos are from my immediate neighborhood, I was too lazy to walk very far! So enjoy....

my view, the sight that inspired the walk...

this is my street, just as you exit our building, heading east

the gangnam subway station has been under construction for months, they are putting in a bunch of new vendors and shops, the first few opened last weekend, amidst the ongoing renovation

tv screens everywhere!

i see this sign every day

i'm actually teaching

So I write on here all about my travels and life in Seoul and what I do in my free time, so it could seem to some that I don't even teach! Well, it is true.... for some reason I was given authority over several hundred middle school students. I get to subject them to an hour a week of my awesome teaching skills...

I teach first grade and third grade, which is for middle school age, so I don't know exactly how that translates to schools in the US, and I don't actually know how old they are.... I think my first graders are 13 (??) and my third graders are already little adults, so maybe 15 or 16 (??).

I have a much better time with the little ones. They don't fully understand at that age how to be manipulative and disrespectful... they still look up to their teachers a little bit. But those third graders... whew... I better be on their good side or they let me know. Class is so much more about keeping all 35 of them under control and keeping their attention fully focused than it is about hammering home grammar and vocabulary. Being super strict is essential in this line of work, which took me a couple months to really learn, but I have it down now.

I teach 22 classes per week, each about 45 minutes in length. I spend the rest of my hours planning lessons and copying worksheets, making powerpoint presentations, watching lots of boring videos on youtube to find that perfect one to show class, and well... some personal interneting as well.  Communication is at an all time low in this country so I usually keep my headphones in and work in solitude.

The first few weeks were so new, full of nervousness and insecurity as a teacher. Now it's easy. I am used to it, I am familiar with the students, and I know how to get through to them, so I don't stress too much anymore. This week I am testing my first graders with a one on one speaking test, they are so cute! And so damn nervous that I almost feel guilty for having them do this...

I love 4:30 in the afternoon like I have never loved it before, in fact it used to be the time I went to work, for so many years, and now I am off.... I leave school each afternoon with a skip in my step, and a good beat on my ipod. Leaving is freedom again for a half a day! And how I love that freedom. Josh and I have settled into a really nice routine with our evenings, which involves cooking and playing chess or go-stop (a rad korean card game), watching movies or reading, and to bed so early! This job is not done easily hung over or tired, unlike all those years slinging wings and drinks (I think it was easier hung over?).....

Aren't my students so cute?

Love, n

highlights of Seoul

Summer is here, in full swing and it is HOT! And it is only going to get hotter, and more humid. For the first time in my life I have air conditioning and I am glad for that. We live on the third and top floor of our apartment building and, well that will be nice in the winter, but it's already like an oven in there. So to try and beat the heat the other day we rented bicycles and headed to the river. At Jamsil station, between exits 1 and 2 there is a shop that rents bicycles for free for the whole day! It was super easy, and somewhat conveniently easy to get to from our neighborhood. So we got our rickety cruisers, both too small for us, and dangerously made our way through Seoul traffic before reaching the amazing bike path that lines either side of the enormous Han river.

  

the path was far removed from the traffic of the city as we rode about six kilometers on one side, and under maybe eight bridges before crossing the river and heading back along the other side. There were lots of other cyclists and fishermen posted up in the shade under most of the bridges. Some kids were beating the heat by playing in a huge water fountain and we even found a rose garden in full bloom. It felt like a slice of Portland when I spotted a bum under the bridge. We stopped frequently to cool off in some shade or to have our simple lunch of kimbap and ramen at a mini mart. We saw some cool things along the way so I'll give you a glimpse into our sights, and I'll add a few other photos from our daily adventures around Seoul. 

a floating buddhist temple

Namsan tower and the Iteawon neighborhood, from across the river.

this is the Ttukseom bridge and overpass. This is massive! As with, well... most things in this city. I think that the combination of the huge loop and the odd building, with the apartment high rises in the back it looks like something out of a science fiction movie.

this is one of the main temples in Seoul, takes a few weeks ago when we were out walking around in the northern part of the city. 

taken at the war museum, we went on a random monday off and they were closed but we were able to roam around the grounds, free of many other people. There were scores of aircraft carriers and tanks and statues created to remember the many wars that Korea has been in over it's history. 

In the Hongdae neighborhood. This is some street art that Josh captured at an old abandoned home. They are doing some crazy demolition along a few blocks to make a new and fancy subway station. This too will soon be gone. 

Also in the Hongdae neighborhood, a bright window into a cafe..

  

(above) this is in our neighborhood, we often use this subway station, and the street is one of the busiest in Seoul. Traffic is so crazy on this road. The buildings that line the street have cool design, ahh... the concrete jungle! 

this is my new shirt that I got for about four bucks on the side of the street. I read it and I just had to get it, because it makes NO SENSE! This kind of messed up english is found everywhere.
It reads: "on a nice holyday 'divas CUTE' 'when I happened is everything ok' LOOKED elevator looks nearly killed me. getting sociated." 

This is from our trip to the east coast a few weeks ago, not sure what it is, or why it sits in solitude on the beautiful beach, but it caught my eye none the less!

a beautiful sunset over the lake. I love these mirror shots!