Good byes

Our “good bye” meals and events have been going on for a couple of weeks.  It’s such a blessing to have developed some very special relationships over the last year.  The Bakers’ dinner was the first one, and since then Michael and I had dinner with Professor Kim and his wife and Professor Nam .  They picked our  favorite food  – the spicy soup with pig back bones.  Professor Nam then hosted us at his family’s coffee shop.  The business was originally run by their daughter, but she got married and had a baby and now Prof. Nam’s wife is busy there while they are trying to sell it.  The wife kept sending out desserts!  Michael was really enjoying it (and he had already ordered a smoothie for his drink).  We had sweet toasted bread (hard to describe), waffles with whipped cream, chocolate brownie, and a couple of kinds of soft serve ice cream with various toppings.  Prof. Nam has a great sense of humor and was keeping Michael laughing.  Prof. Kim’s wife headed to Seattle June 15, and he went there in early July after spending some time in China.  I also had a chance to take the two professors out for a final lunch.  We had duck bulgogi. 

We also were hosted for dinner at a nice buffet by Professor Kim Yoon-Tae and his wife.  I wasn’t sure how well the communication would be, but their English was good enough to get us through the night and for some good laughs.  They had us up to their apartment after dinner (restaurant is in same building).  I recently met an Ulsan undergraduate student who is a graduate student at AU.  We met him and his girlfriend and had a good dinner of grilled meat wrapped in lettuce.  Michael and I hope to see the student in Auburn.  We also met with a Vietnamese Korean language classmate of mine and her cousin, a math professor who lives in the same building.

After the service on our last day at church, we were asked to come to the front for prayer.   I said a few words of thanks, and then several people gathered around us with many speaking a prayer.  Michael and I both had tears in our eyes.  A lovely surprised was that many people had written a message in a book for us.  Young Mi organized it and included pictures of the boys from the sleepover.  I am so glad we had a church family in Ulsan this year, and it was a good experience to see a different style of worship – we are one body in Jesus Christ no matter the music, etc.!!

A very special evening was our final dinner with my English practice students.   We had dinner at one of our favorite Western restaurants (Michael picked).  They brought a cake and also gave me a nice bag (from a hiking outfitter; they know I hike regularly).  They had also written me individual “good bye” notes.  They have made me feel so special, and they are fond of Michael.  One gal, Hyo Jin, had not met him yet, and she was so sweet.  She sat by him at dinner and basically said she is very shy but wants to talk to him.  They came up with the idea of bowling afterwards, which was a lot of fun and also a lot of laughs.  I hugged each one of them when the night ended.

Michael’s last hurrah at school was a water park for the day and then a hot dog cookout at the school grounds.  Parents were invited to the cook out, so it was our final chance to say thanks and good-bye to teachers and friends.   Most of Michael’s friends have Facebook accounts, so I have told him he can keep up with them using it – but not wasting too much time on it!

Our final dinner is with Professor Jang and his wife on Monday night, July 9.  He will give us a ride to the KTX station Tuesday so we can stay overnight in Busan.  Our flight from there is at 7:15 Wed. morning – an hour to Seoul and then 15 hours or so to Atlanta.   So, good bye from Korea!!  See you in the States soon.

Japan

We left for Japan the day after Michael got out of school.  It’s a two hour flight to Tokyo, but it is still time consuming to get there as we start with a short walk, then taxi, then bus to airport, then wait for flight, then high speed train into the city, then connect to loop train that goes around city … and finally a taxi from the station since I knew Michael was worn out and getting tired of pulling the suitcase.   Once checked in, we took the subway to the Tokyo Tower.  The city goes on and on and on!!

We got a good night sleep and then started Saturday at fish market.  It’s a wholesaler market, so there’s not really much to see, but we followed the tour book recommendation and had sushi at a small on-site restaurant.  There were several choices.  We stood in line for about 20 minutes and then were ushered into a place with about 10 stools.  The sushi was delicious.  Michael likes tuna the best.  Next we walked to a lovely garden/park.  From there we could take a 40 minute boat ride up a river that has many bridges.  The ride ends at Asakusa, a neighborhood with a well-known temple and also a lot of little stalls with souvenirs and local sweets.  We had some street food too.  Next was a subway to Akihabara, the electronics area.  Michael found a several-floor game place that had a car driving simulation.  He drove several times.  Next up was Ginza,the fancy shopping district.  We ate some good food from department store basement – so many choices!  Then we went to Harajuku, the teenager area with some interestingly-dressed girls.  Each neighborhood has its own vibe/feel, which I wanted Michael to experience.   We finished the evening looking at the night lights of Tokyo in a municipal building that has an observation are on the 45^th floor.  Our hotel was in Shinjuku, a very busy area at night.

After the long day Saturday, we basically went to one area Sunday, Uedo, which has a large park including a zoo.  We spent a couple hours at the zoo and also walking around the park and nearby neighborhood.  We found a place for more car simulation, so Michael spent some time doing that. 

Monday we headed south to the Hakone area, gateway to Mt. Fuji.  We used our rail passes for the first time to go by high speed train.  The weather was too cloudy to see Mt. Fuji, but we enjoyed a cable car ride up part of a mountain and then a rope way ride.  After a 30 minute boat ride, we were able to take a nice walk through some very old and tall cedar trees.  This whole mountain area was bigger than I expected and not crowded at all.  There were pockets here and there with some hotels, lodges, etc.  Lots of places were closed (probably because of Monday), but I was still a little surprised it was so quiet on a summer day.  After our walk, we grabbed some food at Seven Eleven.  Convenience stores in Japan have a lot of deli-like items.  Michael had spaghetti; they pop it in the microwave oven.  We then headed by bus to our hotel.  The Fujiya Hotel was a gem on the trip.  I found it online and got a foreigner special - $133 for the night, the age of the hotel.   The room was large and ceilings maybe 20 feet.  There are hot springs in the area, and the hotel had onsite spa.  It felt good after walking so much during the day.  There was a hotel museum with interesting facts about it being used by the Allied forces after WWII.  Helen Keller and John Lennon had both stayed there.  There was a nice garden area.  Michael used the indoor swimming pool and was given a free rental suit to wear.  It must be very hard to keep up the place.  We had a nice and relaxing morning and lingered over the buffet breakfast before heading by high speed train to Kyoto.

Kyoto is a favorite tourist spot in Japan, and it was easy to see why.  There are lots of shrines (Shinto) and temples (Buddhist), which now are like big green spaces.  It is very easy to get around because the city is on a N-S and E-W grid and lots of English.  There are shopping areas and the Gion area is the main area in the country that has geishas and geisha trainees, maikos.  I took a walking tour that told a lot and showed places like the “tea houses” where the private parties occur and the “dorms” where the maiko live.  We walked through a good food market and ate raw fish on a stick and some other items.  The city is fairly flat, so it was ideal for biking.  Lots of locals ride bikes for transporation, and there are bike parking areas all over.  Michael and I rented bikes for two days.  We got around to some of the sites and rode by the river.  Our favorite was to get on some side streets – they all go one way because they are fairly narrow.  People’s homes are on these streets, and there are small businesses too.  Japan is very clean, and these streets were spotless.  We joked that we were “looking for some atmosphere.”  There were many bakeries, several using the French word, boulangerie.   We went to the Kyoto Tower too.

We took a day trip to Hiroshima.  Typical one day tours to the city go to two places including the Peace Museum and Peace Park area.  The building that remains standing, A Bomb Dome, is a stark reminder of the 1945 bombing.  The whole area is a real tribute to peace, and there are several features that are very moving.  The mayor writes a letter anytime a nuclear test is conducted, and copies of all these letters are displayed.  Some of the pictures in the museum are gruesome, especially burns people suffered.   The second place is Miyajima, a lovely nearby island accessed by a ferry.  There are a shrine and temple here, both with some interesting features.  We had arranged a guide for the day, and she added a lot of information and details.  Plus, we didn’t have to figure out transportation once!  We ate the local food, okonomiyaki, which had a thin pancake, lots of cooked cabbage and other veggies, very flat fried egg, and a dark sauce.  I had local oysters added to mine.  The guide said it doesn’t look good but tastes good, and she was right.  There were also lots of Japanese maple-leaf shaped baked goods with a  variety of fillings.  I like the sweet red beans, but Michael preferred cream or chocolate.

The weather was cloudy and fairly cool during the whole trip.  Chance of rain was about 80% everyday, but we were very fortunate that there wasn’t actually a lot of rain.  A few times it poured for 15 minutes or so, but we were inside or could take cover.  It was a lot easier to bike and walk around without the sun being out.  We arrived back to a sunny day in Korea.  

My favorite summer time thing to eat lately is patbingsu – shaved ice with sweet red beans.  There are lots of variations, but I like some fruit added.   Most have some sweetened condensed milk, which mixes with the ice.  It turns out the dessert is very popular in Japan as well, and there are just as many variations.

Michael's latest activities

Michael has had several fun and sometimes challenging activities lately.  HFS attended a Sports Day in Busan where four schools competed in track and field events.  I don’t think the kids knew exactly what they were getting into, and they hadn’t done any specific training.  Michael threw a shot put, ran 100, 200, and 800 meters, a leg of a relay, and hurdled.   He was entered in the 400 meter but told me he had to stop because his head hurt.  I told him that was very smart.  Sometimes I would say “you shouldn’t quit,” but it was also fairly warm and HFS managed not to have a water supply right away.  He was exhausted when he got home, BUT they were all thrilled HFS won the meet.

Last week was International Week at school.  The first two days were learning more about Korea, and I think the favorite part was making bibimbap.  The vegetable chopping is the main work involved.  They also made masks.  Wednesday was “home country” day with the kids working in teams to make a poster and individually to decorate a large, flat cut out paper doll.  Michael was assigned to the U.S. team based on his passport, but he made a Polynesian boy (maybe from Hawaii?).   It was very cute.  He cut and paste pictures of fabric from the internet and also put cut out flip flops on the feet.  The shirt and shorts did not match but were certainly colorful.  Thursday they worked in teams and made a poster about a random country assigned to them.  Friday was a sports competition with them split among four teams.  They had international food (with parents invited) to end the day.

Saturday he spent the day and overnight with a Korean family from church.  Michael is between the ages of Jerry and John (English names; we don’t know their Korean names).  We met them at 10:00 and then parted ways.  (I took the train to a nearby small city for a hike at a mountain that is known for Buddhist relics.)  They did archery in the morning and then had lunch at the family’s home.  The afternoon was bike riding and badminton by the river.  The boys walked from their home for pork cutlets for dinner.  Back at home, they played some board games including Monopoly, where in the Korean version the properties are cities.  Michael told me one of the boys was like me: he bought everything he landed on.   Then they watched a movie … and picked up a pizza nearby to eat while viewing.  I guess growing boys like to eat.   (The tall apartment buildings and high population density make for a convenient lifestyle with restaurants, grocery, etc. within walking distance.  It’s one thing about Korea I will miss.)  They slept on pads on the floor – to bed at 1:00 a.m. and up about 10:00 a.m.  Church doesn’t start until noon, so they had plenty of time to get ready.  Michael made scrambled eggs for them for breakfast.  They also had a rice dish.  Michael said it’s the best sleepover he has had here and called it “his kind.”  I think all the activities during the day were a bonus, but he really liked the board games.  He and I were both glad he slept so late; sometimes he is up very early at sleepovers.

This week Michael will leave for school Wednesday and not return home until Friday evening.  The upper grades are going on a “residential.”  They will stay in a small dorm-like facility in a place that is like a state park.  The teachers have lots of outdoor events and activities planned.  The kids are all very excited.  (I will go to Busan for overnight Wednesday and do a couple of things still on my list.)   The last day of school is June 28 – a water park all day and then cookout at the school grounds when they return.  (We leave June 29 for Japan trip.)  I don’t know how the teachers get the kids to focus on the regular days that are in these last couple of weeks.

Michael has really thrived here in so many ways.  He is so independent with taking taxi on his own sometimes and stopping downtown for something on shopping list.  We had a dinner last week at the Bakers’ apartment at the foreigner compound  – 10 of us.  Ralph said a few things about all the friends gathered around the table, and he and Ros were especially kind to compliment Michael for what a help he has been to me with getting back and forth to school on his own and also our bus and train traveling adventures.   The dinner was fun and international: South African hosts and guests from England, Canada, US,  Philipines, and Iran.  I don’t cook here, but I took BR ice cream cake, which all of us like.

Student friends

I am so thankful to have said “sure” when some students approached me in the fall about meeting for English speaking practice.  They have become friends.  It’s ironic I thought I was saying yes to helping them, but I feel completely like I have been on the receiving end of the relationship.  At a recent meeting, we played the Korean version of Clue.  It was very funny because they spoke in English (as is intended when we meet), but I had to keep reminding them “in Korean” for weapons, rooms, etc. because I could read these words but didn’t know what they were.  How likely is it that my Korean language class was going to teach me “Mrs. Green in the conservatory with poison?!” 

As the semester comes to a close, they have made sure I have tried different kinds of Korean food.  We were out recently for a variety of gimbap.  Gimbap is a common snack and lunch item, and lots of people make it for a picnic, for example.  It contains rice and other items rolled in seaweed sheet (like Japanese California rolls).  I’ve had 참치(tuna) inside, but a sliced pork cutlet was new.  We ate octopus (cooked a certain way; that makes 3 ways I have eaten it …. luckily none raw yet), and today we had cold noodles, very popular in the summer.    The dish has crushed ice and it’s sort of tomato flavored liquid.  There was a slice of pork and a slice of hard boiled egg on top.  It’s kind of plain, really.  Hwi Rang made a comment about wearing a white shirt but then having to be concerned with a stain … and right then Hyo Jin noticed the stain I had managed to get on my white shirt!!  One interesting thing is that when I told someone I had cold noodles for lunch, they asked “at the restaurant next to McDonald’s?”  Yes, that was the place.  Most Korean restaurants are highly specialized, so you really have to decide what kind of food you want to eat and then choose a place that serves it.

Perhaps the most fun of all has been Baskin Robbins “size up” day.  On any month with a 31^st, one pays for a certain size and then gets the next biggest size.  (It took me a minute when they told me about the 31^st … get it, BR 31 flavors?!)  They wondered if I wanted to get individual servings, but I said, “No… let’s have it Korean style.”  So six of us split a half gallon … it sat in the middle of the table and we all dug in with our spoons.  They each selected a flavor (the employee weighs it), so there was a good mix.  It is fun to look around the room and see people sharing large sizes.  We’ll have to adjust at home and not eat from serving bowls and plates, unless it’s just Michael and me!

They are starting finals, so our plan is to meet for dinner next Thursday when all of them are finished. 

Yeosu Expo Part 1

The Yeosu Expo 2012 is being held under the World Expo umbrella organization.  Yeosu is a city and the name of a peninsula area in southern Korea and west of Ulsan.   The theme is “Living Ocean and Coast.”  Michael and I left on a Wed. morning and came back late Sat. night.  I wrote an article for FLiK, the foreigner compound magazine, which I copied to "Part 2" of blog.  But some other details are that we took two intercity buses as part of getting near Yeosu for about 3 ¼ hours of bus time.  We stayed at Namhae island, accessible by bridges.  Namhae is beautiful: mountainous, rural (many rice fields) and not crowded.  We took a couple of taxis for sightseeing Wednesday.  Our first stop was the Garlic Museum (a main agricultural product).  We were the only ones there, not even staff (it was a national holiday), so we called a taxi (luckily the hotel gave us a taxi business card) and just said “Garlic Museum” in Korean.  Then we went to a well-known spot with a walk way to rocks by the sea and terraced farming.  It’s common to see this area in picture highlights of Korea.  Finally, we went to dinner at the Hilton resort.  The pockets of houses, restaurants, etc. are so spread out that even though we could read our map and figure out the restaurant guide, it seemed like a risk to head somewhere not knowing for sure if it was still open, etc.  The Hilton is near the place we stayed, the Namhae Sports Park Hotel.  The sports park hotel has large grounds and soccer and baseball fields and seems to house teams for spring training and might hold a soccer camp, but it’s not clear either of these has happened recently.  This place was memorable!  I booked there with the help of a Korean because it had the benefit that we could walk to the ferry terminal where we could go back and forth to the Expo.  But we think we were the only ones there the first night.  It was clean, and the people working were very kind.  The second night 3 tour buses of Koreans going to the Expo stayed there (but the place was still very quiet).  There was a menu downstairs that said there was Korean breakfast, but there was never any sign of life except for the tour bus people eating a buffet.  So, we ate all three meals at the expo!

The ferry terminal people and the men working on the ferry were very nice, especially to Michael.  The terminal seems to have been spiffed up for the expo.  Our plan had been to be at the expo TH and FRI, but there were still a couple things we wanted to do.  So we went back SAT for the morning.  Michael had seen 6 of the 7 Korean business pavilions; how could we leave without #7?!  We had split up on Friday, and he concentrated on those pavilions while I spent most of my time at the international pavilions.  At the FRI evening concert, Michael bought me a pad to sit on.  It took a minute for us to understand, but the elderly couple near us asked how much it cost and then gave Michael the money to go buy two for them.  They were very gracious and the woman offered us a treat she had in her bag, but we passed when we saw it looked like dried octopus.  So, finally we are heading out of the expo SAT on the 12:50 ferry.  But there was an engine problem so we just sat there about 90 minutes.  There were not many people leaving that time of day, but one guy spoke English well and translated any updates.  I said, “Koreans ought to be very good at fixing a broken ship.”  And so were off to Namhae and then to the bus station and then to Masan, where we transferred buses.  We had heard of a supposedly great Mexican restaurant in Masan, so we went by taxi to the drop off spot.  Then at a convenience store in our broken Korean we asked the location.  In true gracious Korean style, the person walked us through a couple side streets right to it.  It turned out to be about the worst Mexican we have ever had, but we didn’t care that much.  It’s all part of the adventure.  We got in a taxi to head back to the bus station, and as is common in Korea, there are two bus stations in town.  We thought we communicated which one by including in Korean that “we go to Ulsan.”  We could tell we were going the wrong way.  So a couple more times we said “we go to Ulsan.”  Finally, the driver had us write it down: 울산.  “Ahh, Ulsan,” he said, and then we got going to the right terminal.   We had put our bags in a locker (good experience for Michael to figure that out) and for some reason I had the idea that a bus was leaving at 8:00 (no good reason), and we had lost time with the mixed up taxi.  So right about 8:00 we bought our tickets and thought the ticket seller was indicating to hurry to make the bus.  We got outside and there was no bus.  I went inside and asked “Ulsan. What time?”  8:30 (all in Korean – we are pretty good with numbers for time and money.)  So I went back out and told Michael.  We laughed, and I said “Let’s go get an ice cream.”  We were glad to get home after a really great time at the Expo.

Yeosu Expo Part 2

What are the odds you and your family would be living away from your home country and within several hours of a World Expo venue?  Were you in Shanghai in 2010?  Are you going to Belgium in 2017?  No?  Then consider taking advantage of the good fortune of being in Korea and head to Yeosu Expo 2012.  Michael and I spent a few days there and had a fantastic time.  The setting near the water is beautiful, and the size and layout of the site make for ease of finding places and getting around.  Things to do and see revolve around the theme, “The Living Ocean and Coast,” that the Expo is an international event, and that the host city is in Korea.

There are eight or so pavilions dedicated to the ocean theme and include theme, climate and environment, robot, and marine-related pavilions.   Can you picture yourself in the future in a module type home in the sea?  Do you know all the potential uses of algae and seaweed?  The pavilions are set up so that a fairly large group enters at one time and then “the show” gets underway.  Average time inside is 15 to 20 minutes.  There is also a kids’ pavilion to help keep younger children engaged and busy.

Yeosu is a world expo.  Nearly 100 countries are represented in the four-part International Pavilion.  It is interesting to observe both the information and scenes highlighted by each country and also the various approaches to set up and display.  Some use high-tech movies; some show traditional art; some use many words, and some use few words.  The international pavilions are a good place to find a snack or meal.  Several countries have restaurants that are visible and separate from the viewing are of the pavilion (e.g., Germany and Romania).  Other countries have food available, but it’s not so visible (e.g., Peru and Australia).  We liked the Singapore curry. 

Cultural shows are scheduled throughout the day.  Each country has a national day during the expo.  The country delegation is welcomed at 10:00 in Expo Hall, and a cultural performance starts about 10:20.  We saw dancers from Bangladesh and a Democratic Republic of Congo fashion show.  It is worth the time and effort to see Expo Hall.  It is likely to serve Yeosu well in the future as a performance center.  There is a “today’s cultural events” schedule for each day, available online or at an on-site information center. 

The floating stage in front of the “Big O” is the largest outdoor performance venue.  We saw “Ocean Blast Fever,” a Broadway show that combined elements of marching band, dance, and drums.  The big shows like this one appear to be scheduled for about a week.  There is a regular 2:00 “Blooming Ocean” show with music and water features.  We were mesmerized by the water shooting up so high.  Each evening ends with “The Big O Show,” a crowd pleaser with lights, water, and fire.  We were surprised by how quickly seats filled up for the bigger shows; arriving early and saving seats for your group is recommended.

Korea is highlighted at the expo in many ways.  Korea has its own pavilion that includes an overhead dome … consider lying down for the best view!  The local governments’ pavilion is an easy walk-through.   The International Organizations’ Pavilion has a ship-building area and also a World Expo history area.  Michael’s favorite part of the Expo was the Korean Business pavilions (Hyundai, SK, etc.), all separate structures but in the same area.  He saw all seven of them and rated them all as at least good and a couple as awesome.

We recommend planning transportation to the entrance gates.  There is a large bus area and also a gate that is practically at the KTX exit.  If driving your own car, check ahead of time for parking information, etc.  Getting to the site at opening time is very helpful for seeing the most popular pavilions without spending too much time waiting in line.  The Expo website is very useful, and there is always someone at FLiK to help make a hotel reservation or give other advice.

By the end of our time at Yeosu we observed, “There is something for everyone!”  Oh … and amid all the fun, you and your family just might learn something.  After a few pavilions Michael said, “I don’t think people realize how important the ocean is or how we need to take care of it.”  That’s exactly what the Expo planners had in mind!

Day Trips

We have gotten pretty good at getting ourselves around the area.  We recently took the slow train to the Busan International Motor Show.  The country side and then good views of the sea were so pretty.  It only took 50 minutes, which is probably faster than by car.  There is saying here about there never being traffic jams with trains and subways.  I was open to however long Michael wanted to stay, which turned out to be 2 ½ hours or so.  There was lots of fairly loud music and very pretty young ladies modeling with the cars.  Our favorite part turned out to be the buses.  There were some glitzy interiors, and the driver’s console looked like a fancy car.  I headed to Busan on my own a week or so later and went to the Sand Festival at Haeundae Beach (Michael was at a sleepover).  Shortly after the festival, the million (well, it looks like a million) umbrellas go up for the summer.  There are a LOT of festivals in Korea.  Every weekend seems to bring an opportunity to celebrate something.

An even more adventurous trip was to Pohang.  We have been joking about seeing the “Hands of Harmony,” two large statues of hands facing each other; one is in the sea.  We took the intercity bus to Pohang (1 ½ hours), then a local bus from the bus station (30 minutes) to the outskirts of town and then another bus (20 minutes).  We said it’s a good thing we think ½ the fun is getting there.  Pohang is home to one of the world’s largest steel factories, and it is huge and not so pretty.  But I told Michael some place has to have it or the rest of us couldn’t drive cars or fly in airplanes.  The grounds where the hands are was quite nice.  There is a lighthouse museum and also a building with an observation deck.  We weren’t there a long time before we headed back.  The mid-point bus stop is in the midst of a small harbor and the street has at least 10 crab restaurants.  They all basically have the same menu and a large plastic crab above the entrance.  Michael was a bit leery (we have seen some pretty funky seafood at fish markets), but then a door opened to one place and it was full of people.  I said, “Come on.  I guarantee you will like crab.  It’s like shrimp; everyone likes it.”  I was right!!  (I don’t guarantee often, but so far I have always been correct J).  The people were so nice to us too … showing us that I was using the tool the wrong way, for example.  The rice is served mixed with various crab innards and served in the crab’s back shell.  It was a great meal and experience.