Long overdue post--Hong Kong and maybe a gym?

Ok, two months in Taiwan now, six months abroad. What's new? Last week I finally got an ARC (alien resident card), which allowed me to buy a new phone (and contract) this week. Hopefully a driver's license is in the pipe, we shall see when I get down to the Taiwanese "DMV."

I went to Hong Kong last weekend. Spectacular! I'm beginning to think that one of the most omnipresent and entirely unnoticed features of our lives is the terrain in which we live in. So many years in Santa Barbara kind of made me think that most places looked like Santa Barbara (with different plants, and amounts of snow, and other things that are on top of the earth). Korea's landscape, it's hills, were once, very poetically, described as green waves out on open ocean. Rising and falling in a constant size and rhythm. On my first bus ride in Taiwan from the airport down to Taichung I noticed that the land has sheer mountains rising up in the east; very large and with their own weather patterns. A long valley running below them, and then some hills that remind me of Santa Barbara's "Coastal Range" before gently descending down to the beach. Anyway, back to Hong Kong: Hong Kong is a series of very small to large islands, but unlike Korea's geological erosion, or Taiwan's fault line, Hong Kong looks like it was made by volcanoes. The islands, the rocks rise up out of the sea and then fall back down, even on the map, no line or pattern was apparent to me. I couchsurfed while I was there. A very nice gentleman named Patrick (小龍) hosted me. He had gotten back from a year long stint in Europe (mostly Ireland) 1 week before. I meet maybe 1-2 more people from Hong Kong while I was there--small sample size, anyway one of the most remarkable things I observed was happiness, even while their Special Administrative Region is in the midst of a struggle/fight for freedoms and significant self-rule, the people I met showed constant optimism, and a certain appreciation or respect for all facets life. I didn't see that as much in Korea, and don't feel it as strongly in Taiwan. Interesting. Stayed up until 1 on Sunday night/Monday morning, Left for the airport at 4:30 got back at ~1:00 and opted to just go straight to work. Finally got home that day at ~7:00 and slept gloriously. I have run out of space on Photobucket, all new pictures are going to Flikr here. One day I will transfer all of my pictures to flikr, but that might take a few hours. New link here: I won't have any long weekends until January's Chinese New Year, so it's local travel and money saving time now.

A funny tangent: one of my coworkers said I look like a Taiwanese singer, his name is 蕭敬騰. I disagree, but maybe it's as close as I'll ever get to a Taiwanese guy. Google Image his name if you're curious.

I went to a MMA gym last night, watched their "relaxed/technique-day Wednesday" workout, felt kinda random but enjoyed it, was invited back tonight to their "regular/intense workout." Did some punching, blocks, entrances, take-downs, chokes, and breaks--almost felt right at home. I didn't ask my partner how long he has been practicing, but I learned before the class that one guy has been working out for 1-2 months, and another (12-year old) guy has been working out for ~3 months. I'm grateful the attitude is to go fairly slow, especially nearing tap-outs. I think I'll check it out again on either Saturday or Tuesday; still don't know how much are dues, that will likely make it or break it.

And now off to bed for me, good morning or afternoon to you!

Old pictures: http://s635.photobucket.com/user/dcpetit/library/Taiwan
New pictures: www.flickr.com/dcpetit

Taipei and more acclimatization

I was thinking about this blog the other day. It now has several, slightly comical, vestigial elements from before moving again. "Morning Calm" is an interpretation of "韓" which is the first part of 韓國 or Korea (國 means "country/nation"). "백달예" is a Korean name that I have used on this blog. These aren't very accurate or relevant anymore. I will change them, but don't really know what I should name this blog anymore. It's allowing me to ask some new questions: Why am I traveling, what would I like to get out of these experiences, and perhaps, what was I taking for granted when I was in the states. If I want to live abroad for many years in the future, what should I do while I'm back in the states. Anyway, fun questions. I'll think of a good title soon enough, suggestions are welcome. 

Last weekend I went to Taipei for mid-autumn festival 中秋節. I saw and stayed with two very good old friends from college. Pictures will be on photobucket tonight. I am very fond of subways now (especially above-ground ones), I think I'll advocate for them wherever I live in the future. 

Miss you all lots!

Two Weeks in Taiwan （臺灣）

Just before I went outside today around noon, I checked the thermometer: 33 ºC. Which I was actually curious enough to convert: 91½ ºF. The humidity is kinda high, but it's alright, most places have A/C and I've actually gotten used to it a little. The trick is now, when I've just gotten home, it's almost 9:30pm, and I check the same thermometer, which reads 32 ºC... So hot, all day.

Thoughts before, during, and after an end

I started this post a long time ago, saved it, and then haven't come back to it until now...

My job is good. They have given me 0 training, absolutely none. Which is weird, but I've picked it up well enough. When I don't do something they want me to, the boss's wife (because the boss doesn't know English) tells me the problem... and if I'm really lucky, an idea of how I might be able to fix it. Her English is so-so, but enough for me to take action. I typically work from 2:30-8:30 or 3:20-9:20, but the last two weeks I've been getting done occasionally at 7:40, which is great because I can go to a 8:00 workout! 

Teaching is going good. My friends and fellow English teachers (though at different schools) have told me to relax, you're not going to make any kid fluent in a year. Have low expectations for them, and always do what you enjoy doing. With that advice, I sneak in some Korean studying in the middle of my English classes: "Ju-Yang, what's the difference between this pattern in English and... How do you say it in Korean?" or a pair of kids will be chatting in class, I'll listen for 5 seconds and then, like a tape recorder, say what I just heard back to them. They are startled and nonplussed, and then I ask "what does that mean, I don't understand." They are usually just talking about video games though.

When I am not teaching, I like to travel (but that's really only ever done on weekends). During the week days, I work out, at two kendo schools. And of course, I like to cook :-)   I also enjoy trying to chat with people, which has been very tricky thus far here... mostly because in the city I live, there are no colleges and almost everyone in korea goes to college, so nearly all of the 20-30 years old's have moved to a larger city to get a degree; many stay there because the big city is flashy. I'm in the country-side so there isn't much that attracts the recent grads back. There's a huge language barrier to making good friends, but that's to be expected. 

One interesting thing I've noticed is, there are moments where I'll be doing nothing, like eating, walking to work, reading a book, listening to music, sitting in a chair, waiting for the train/bus to arrive, etc. and I'll be a little bored. My favorite part of being here is that when those moments happen, I always remember, "right now, I'm a little bored, IN KOREA!!! With all kinds of crazy, weird, odd, foreign things EVERYWHERE!" It's pretty cool to have that double-take and think, "oh yeah, really life is dynamic."

The American community is rather small (2 girls and 1 guy), but the international community also has an Englishman, 2 South Africans, a New Zealander, a brand new Puerto Rican, and even a Spaniard. Lockie and Greg an Englishman and South African have become my new best friends.

Dusting off the old blog

It's been a while since my last post. This one will be a short one, but a long and very interesting one is coming (probably ~Sunday this weekend). Must return to work now, but check out the pictures of Donghwasa and Gatbawi to see some nearby travels (sub-folders in the Korea folder: http://s635.photobucket.com/user/dcpetit/library/Korea)

Workin' out and mini excursions

Phew! This entry is long overdue. The foreigners are fluctuating, which I am told is a constant process. One left a few weeks ago, another leaves tomorrow, and two more are leaving in June or July. One of the replacements arrived on Friday, now I'm no longer the new guy!

Looking everywhere for a studio that works out after I get off work, I discovered only one (that I could make it two for 3 almost-1-hour workouts a week), which happened to have no adults, and many rambunctious kids. Giving up on that idea I started looking for places that offered classes earlier in the day. The Gumdo (Kendo) school teacher near my house offered to give me individual lessons if I committed to working out every day for an hour, I said yes and then checked out another studio I hadn't ever seen or talked to someone at. The teacher there works with two students who, like me, teach at a hagwan from 3-10 or so. Curious (and rather board in the mornings) I've signed up for that one too. It's also a Gumdo school, but practices a traditional Korean style, which, in my biased opinion, is very fancy, colorful and showy. Anyway, we'll see how it goes.

I've made it up to Daegu and down to Busan almost every weekend in May, both are fun places to visit and have a much more lively atmosphere than Miryang. It seems like there are two cliques in the foreigner community here, guys and girls. I have been warmly welcomed to the beer and chicken nights with my English, South African, and sometime Spanish and New Zealand friends, but find the stories that the girls from South Africa and America tell to be a little more funny or interesting. This is probably another thing that I'll wait for a bit and see how it goes.

The English guy, Lockie, is getting married in October, so at the last chicken and beer night, talks of an epic bachelor party started. A long weekend in Shanghai might come to fruition sometime in September.

Friday is Korean Memorial Day so I'll get a long weekend. Still not sure what everyone's plans are, but it'll be fun no matter!

2+ weeks :-)

I'm getting a bit more settled, it's nice. I still don't have an "alien registration card," so getting things like a bank account are still on hold. My boss and his wife drove me to Busan to get a medical exam to immigrate. It was the most quick and informal medical exam I've had. Relatively unhygienic too (at least compared to times I've had blood and urine taken in the states). They then took me out to brunch to a nice buffet style restaurant. I have to go again soon for more paperwork I think at the regional immigration office.

Last weekend was fun, I made it out to Busan with Greg. We met up with a bunch of people for a birthday and surprise engagement party, it was extremely cute. Busan has two famous beaches which I was able to go to. The water is cold but rather clear and the sand to wonderful.

Buddha's birthday was earlier week and during my day off I played basketball with 성훈 Song-hun, my best friend here, and a few middle school students from the haguan. While playing we could sometimes hear singing (chanting?) coming from 옝남루 Yeongnamnu, Song-hun said it was monks singing for Buddha's birthday so after the game (and lunch), I walked over to see what was going on. I got there too late for the monks, but it was really quite amazing. There is much to see up on the hill around Yeongmannu too, most of the signs are in Korean but 2 or 3 explain when and what each thing was built for.

Last night was Song-hun's friend's birthday party. 3 of the 4 people present were also there at my first night out (Adam's goodbye party with his Korean friends), and I felt wonderful because instead of understanding ~1% of what they were saying (hello and English loan words) and the questions they asked me, I was up to ~10%. "Inch by inch, it's a cinch."

I am now taking too many pictures for my phone/computer so they are all going up on photobucket. I'll probably post the best ones on this blog but the whole story can be seen at: http://s635.photobucket.com/user/dcpetit/library/Korea (slideshow option: http://s635.photobucket.com/user/dcpetit/slideshow/Korea)

Yeongnamnu (1 of 4 buildings), "宮 ? 天"

Fortress Above Yeongnamnu, "令"

10 days in

Life here seems to be rather simple, Miryang is a small town, there are a bunch of restaurants but I haven't found else. I've noted three martial arts schools, but I know two of them workout from ~8-9 daily and since I get off work everyday at 8:30 or 9:30 neither work well for my schedule. I'll put on my to do list check out these places during the day but I'm not too optimistic.

Eating has been an adventure here. If I go to a restaurant I don't know any words for anything except "soup" and "rice," so what comes out is always a surprise. I had this bowl of octopus tentacles last week and I think I had breaded tripe two nights ago (not sure). I've been hoping that I'll get a vegetarian meal one of these days, but it doesn't seem popular here.

Tomorrow should be fun, I'm finally going to get a phone (in theory), and I'll be taking a medical exam to get my alien resident card. I've taken the train 3 or 4 times now and I truly love the landscape: winding valleys, bridges of all different sizes, going over rivers, steep green slopes rolling by and by. Someone said the weather like New York (or probably somewhere a bit warmer) so I'll get all four season here: hot soon, then red, then barren, then green again!

First weekend in Korea

Adam left :-(  Now I'm the only English teacher at my school. Friday night was really mellow, I think I was tired after work. Saturday morning my bosses and their kid drove me to Adam's (now unoccupied) apartment where I was able to pick up some of his old things (little water heater, floor desk, plant, cheesecake, kitchen supplies, trash can, throw rug, vacuum cleaner). Got back, unpacked (still haven't washed all of the plates and utensils), then went to meet up with another expat who is leaving in ~6 weeks to buy a blender and electric heater from her. She and some other expats in Miryang were planning to go to Daegu that night and she invited me to go with them. I said sure, went home, unpacked more, and a few hour later zipped down to the train station to get up to Daegu. There were about 15 maybe 20 people there from the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand all having a wonderful time. Caught a late train back to Miryang and have spent much of Sunday relaxing, cleaning, and organizing all of the new stuff I acquired.

I am enjoying life here and missing everyone back home, it's an odd feeling.

Finally some pictures! Authentic Korean food:
Bibimbab for lunch

 Korean BBQ for dinner

Life underway

Exchanged some money and went to Top Mart this morning. Finally have some food in the fridge, nail clippers, and a trash can now. Adam was out today so I taught my first classes, we're still on some weird testing week, so the kids and I played games (scrabble, hangman, verb-go-fish, etc.) through most of it. After class went to check out the place down the street, turns out its a kendo (Japanese), kδmdo (Korean) class. Had a huge language barrier with the teacher, thankfully he had a translator on his cell phone. Watched their 1 hour workout and was asked to come back tomorrow. I left my phone at home, so still no pictures but they will be here soon. The weekend is just around the corner, and I am planning on visiting a nation-famous site this weekend, definetely taking pictures here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeongnamnu_(Miryang)

Early considerations

Alright Thursday morning, Adam's second to last day. He's become a good friend despite that I met him just this week, I'll be sad to see him go. I spent the last of the Korean money I exchanged at the airport yesterday, so this morning I'm living off the bread rolls that my boss gave me (with water, milk, and soda) as a welcome package. Hopefully we'll stop in at the bank when he gets here at 11.

Thankfully I got to borrow a new friend's power adapter so my laptop and cell phone are now charging for the first time. I'll take some pictures with my phone today, post them when I can. I'll also be getting Adam's phone when we takes off.

Two nights in a row now I've walked from my apartment to the semi-main road and on the way heard thumps and kiais coming from the second floor of the place 2 or 3 buildings down. Hoon said that it's a taekwondo place, I'll have to check it out after work tonight. He also said there a few hapkido schools in town, most costing ~100,000 won ($100) per month.

If you type in "Sammun-dong, Miryang-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea" into a map site you will see the neighborhood I live in. I am still not sure which street is mine on the map, but I like it :-)

First post in Korea!

11:30 and I am tired. I will go to sleep, but let me start this first.

I got in yesterday morning, spent the whole day sleeping and then got to know some new friends last night. Today I observed Adam, the guy I will be replacing, at work and then met some more friends after work. So far so good, just need a few things to live comfortably still, and sleep. Goodnight.