Myongdogi issoyo?
There are adventures that are fun and there are adventures that are not so fun. Yesterday I had a couple of adventures that were not so fun. My subway ride to register at the immigration office was straightforward enough, but but I got lost on the 10-minute walk from the station to the office. And then after leaving the office I got lost on the way back to the station. It was embarassing because I normally have great sense of direction, and I usually retrace my steps very well. The rainy season has ended and it's nice that the sun is finally out, but now it's incredibly humid and wandering aimlessly on a humid afternoon does not make me happy. Fortunately I had a map (in Korean, of course) and a couple of people helped me out. I'm having lots of practice stopping people and asking them for help in Korean. My other adventure took place when I set out to find an adaptor for my 120-volt electric shaver so I could cut my hair. I like my head shaved and I usually cut it myself every two to three weeks. I spent at least two hours attempting to find someplace to buy it. I had to take the subway to Kongsam, which apparently is the electronics mecca of Seoul. The subway transfer from line #2 (my line) to line #5 was a little complicated and I almost got lost again. And I did a lot of walking. Which I normally don't mind, but I was getting a little tired and I really wanted to be able to shave my head early in the day and spend the afternoon studying Korean and getting ready to teach on Wednesday. It was getting later and later (and very crowded on the subway) and this part of town was a little bit different demographically, which meant more people staring at me than usual, which was a little amusing but not so good since at this point I was kind of cranky.
When I finally got the adaptor home, I anxiously entered the bathroom and plugged everything in, anticipating the gentle buzz of my shaver. Unfortunately, the adaptor almost blew up my shaver. It didn't buzz gently. It roared. If I put that thing on top of my head, it might have taken off my scalp. And so I had to figure out a plan B, since I have to cut my hair sometime over the next year that I'll be living here. After some more suggestions from some of the teachers, I decided to just buy a new shaver at a nearby department store. I went to the store and came out with a rinky-dink, bluish lavender, girly-looking shaver that I bought for 49,000 won (about $50 U.S.) and guess what? It works. After shaving my head I was a little bit happier. Last night it got cool and I ate chicken on a stick again across the street at YooSoo's food stand. That made me really happy.
In New York I had a collection of about 300 to 350 music CDs. No, I'm not planning to buy an iPod, so please don't ask me. When planning to move to South Korea I had to figure out how to narrow it down. I ended up buying a 200-sleeve CD wallet from Staples, and then taking almost 200 CDs out of their jewel cases and putting them in. Of course, it was difficult narrowing them down and now that I'm here on the other side of the world I can't stop thinking about the ones I wish I'd brought.
I finally got in touch with JeaDo this morning and we're going to hang out later today. Tonight I may check out the weekly meeting at Helping Hands Korea, a Western-founded nonprofit that helps North Korean refugees. Once I get my work schedule, I don't think I'm going to have my evenings free for a while. It's been cool to have enough time to get over my jet lag. I spoke to one teacher who found himself in a classroom the same day he got off the plane a few years ago, not an uncommon occurrence in some schools. I'll be glad to begin work as all of this anticipation is making me a little crazy.
There are adventures that are fun and there are adventures that are not so fun. Yesterday I had a couple of adventures that were not so fun. My subway ride to register at the immigration office was straightforward enough, but but I got lost on the 10-minute walk from the station to the office. And then after leaving the office I got lost on the way back to the station. It was embarassing because I normally have great sense of direction, and I usually retrace my steps very well. The rainy season has ended and it's nice that the sun is finally out, but now it's incredibly humid and wandering aimlessly on a humid afternoon does not make me happy. Fortunately I had a map (in Korean, of course) and a couple of people helped me out. I'm having lots of practice stopping people and asking them for help in Korean. My other adventure took place when I set out to find an adaptor for my 120-volt electric shaver so I could cut my hair. I like my head shaved and I usually cut it myself every two to three weeks. I spent at least two hours attempting to find someplace to buy it. I had to take the subway to Kongsam, which apparently is the electronics mecca of Seoul. The subway transfer from line #2 (my line) to line #5 was a little complicated and I almost got lost again. And I did a lot of walking. Which I normally don't mind, but I was getting a little tired and I really wanted to be able to shave my head early in the day and spend the afternoon studying Korean and getting ready to teach on Wednesday. It was getting later and later (and very crowded on the subway) and this part of town was a little bit different demographically, which meant more people staring at me than usual, which was a little amusing but not so good since at this point I was kind of cranky.
When I finally got the adaptor home, I anxiously entered the bathroom and plugged everything in, anticipating the gentle buzz of my shaver. Unfortunately, the adaptor almost blew up my shaver. It didn't buzz gently. It roared. If I put that thing on top of my head, it might have taken off my scalp. And so I had to figure out a plan B, since I have to cut my hair sometime over the next year that I'll be living here. After some more suggestions from some of the teachers, I decided to just buy a new shaver at a nearby department store. I went to the store and came out with a rinky-dink, bluish lavender, girly-looking shaver that I bought for 49,000 won (about $50 U.S.) and guess what? It works. After shaving my head I was a little bit happier. Last night it got cool and I ate chicken on a stick again across the street at YooSoo's food stand. That made me really happy.
In New York I had a collection of about 300 to 350 music CDs. No, I'm not planning to buy an iPod, so please don't ask me. When planning to move to South Korea I had to figure out how to narrow it down. I ended up buying a 200-sleeve CD wallet from Staples, and then taking almost 200 CDs out of their jewel cases and putting them in. Of course, it was difficult narrowing them down and now that I'm here on the other side of the world I can't stop thinking about the ones I wish I'd brought.
I finally got in touch with JeaDo this morning and we're going to hang out later today. Tonight I may check out the weekly meeting at Helping Hands Korea, a Western-founded nonprofit that helps North Korean refugees. Once I get my work schedule, I don't think I'm going to have my evenings free for a while. It's been cool to have enough time to get over my jet lag. I spoke to one teacher who found himself in a classroom the same day he got off the plane a few years ago, not an uncommon occurrence in some schools. I'll be glad to begin work as all of this anticipation is making me a little crazy.
posted by Marc Hogi at
10:29 AM
1 Comments:
I got your email. I will try to get over to your blog often and check out your Korean adventures. I can only imagine the cool gadgets that must be circulating around everywhere over there being we import so many electronics that are made and/or designed there. I think Jerry Mills is on blogspot too(there are so many blog type sites these days--it is hard to remember who is where), so maybe I can remember to check both of your blogs while I am on here. God Bless! Don't scalp yourself!
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