#found this absolute GEM collecting dust in my notes app

[arrowheadedbitch]

Dionysus: would you like some wine, it has mushrooms

Athena: Why would i-

Dionysus: Oh! I'm sorry it has ✨️fungi✨️

[until-the-there-is-back-again]

Home grown alligator, see you later: A year in South Korea

I still can’t believe that I’ve been here for a year. I can remember riding a bus in Cambodia next to a girl who was telling me about her experiences teaching in South Korea. When I told her I didn’t see myself ever staying in South Korea more than a year, she replied, “I thought so too, but suddenly I had been there for three years. Korea time is a real thing.” And yeah, she was right. I thought after a year I would be done with South Korea, thinking it would be lots of time to see and do many different things. But I am not even close. And even after having decided to extend my contract, I know I’m still not going to see and do it all.

Teaching is a hard, long process, and when the weekend rolls along, I am really only interested in sleeping and catching up on reading. But the sun has been shining more and the air has been (mostly) good, so I have been feeling a bit more adventurous.

The city where I’m living isn’t far from Seoul, so it’s easy to hop on the subway and explore for a few hours. The first place I ever visited in Seoul was Hongdae, which is considered the young, hip district. There is a university nearby, so many of the students who need to fulfill performance credits can be found singing, dancing and even doing magic shows on the streets. There is a long street full of shops, bars and restaurants. It is entertaining enough to just walk along and try to see everything. Hongdae Station is a big subway station too, so most often trips to Seoul involve a pass through Hongdae. 

[Hongdae, Seoul, South Korea]

Another area of Seoul I like is Itaweon. Itaweon is the foreigner district of Seoul, mostly due to the presence of a US military base, and it elicits a mixed response from people; some like it, while others have a hatred of it that burns like the fires of hell (that is a direct quote from an Itaweon-hater). But for me, Itaweon is home to two of my favourite things: books and poutine. There are two great bookstores, Itaweon Foreign Bookstore and WhatTheBook. To the dismay of my future self who will have to again pack my life into two suitcases, I have added more books to my collection. And located between the two bookstores is a little poutine shop called Oh!Poutine. Going to one bookstore, then stopping for a bite to eat before heading to the other bookstore makes for a pretty enjoyable afternoon.

Another personal favourite is the Cheonggyecheon stream. This is a 10 km long artificial stream in downtown Seoul. During the celebrations for Buddha’s birthday in May, the stream was strung with glowing lanterns. Recently, in the weeks before an upcoming election, it was covered by posters of the various candidates. Every time I’ve seen the stream, its something new. People stroll along it or sit and soak their feet in the water. There is art work handing in an alcove under one of the bridges, and there is a small waterfall where the stream begins.

Seoul has something for everyone. And between the shopping, all the neat cafes, and different events and festivals, I don’t know if it would be possible to get tired of the city. Early in April, a group of us went to Yeuido to take in the cherry blossoms. In the Yeuido park, there is a long street lined with cherry trees that are 30 to 40 years old. The day wasn’t the best weather wise, but the flowers were gorgeous in a soft, gentle way. We wandered along the streets, watched a bit of the performances and just took in the day.

To me, that day was a real marker of the end of winter. Ever since, I have noticed the beautiful greens of the trees, the vibrant colours of the flowers. It didn’t seem gradual, like it always did at home. It was grey and then all at once, the country woke up.

One challenge in South Korea is the air quality. In recent years, the air pollution here has gotten worse. More and more people are donning face masks and there are apps that alert you to poor air quality. At the time of writing this, the air quality index here is 105 (which is unhealthy for sensitive groups) and the AQI in my hometown is 40 (well within the good range). I’ve never had to think about if the air I was breathing was clean or not and it took me a while to realize just how much the air can affect you. I’m actually just getting over a sinus infection that the doctor related to the yellow dust in the air. I’ve never been opposed to rain per se, but now I look forward to rainy days with an almost religious zeal, since it means the air the following day or two will be good.

Other than the air, there isn’t much to perturb me here in South Korea. Even the language barrier isn’t too much of an issue. I have been trying (and failing) to study the language. I can say hello, goodbye, thank you, yes and no. But most Korean’s don’t really expect foreigners to speak or understand Korean. Most people here have at least the basics of English (at least as much Korean as I have) and with pictures and gestures, it’s usually possible to express your meaning. In restaurants and markets, pointing and throwing up your fingers gets the job done. The subways, buses and taxis are straight forward (with the use of apps) and even then most of the transit signs have English on them. Even going to the doctor and the dentist has proven to be relatively easy. It definitely helps that my Korean coworkers are absolute gems who are willing to help me by writing out notes in Korean and translating messages or mail.

I’ve had some pretty neat experiences this past year. I went to the Olympics in February, walked around the Royal Palace, explored Seoul with a best friend, tried deep fried milk, drank coffee at a flower cafe, filled up on street food, watched a lantern parade in honour of Buddha’s birthday, drank rice wine (makgeolli) at an all-you-can-drink restaurant and gone to a Korean wedding. And the area where I’m living is considered a relatively new city, so it is growing as more and more businesses are opening. I think it would take me many years to just try all the cafes in this area. There are three movie theatres, two giant grocery stores, a spa, karaoke rooms, bars, a canal and a big park that surrounds a lake.

(Photo on the bottom left is my face as I almost dropped all of the fried milk onto the street. In hindsight, I should have just let it fall. Fried milk is... not good.) 

Simply put, South Korea is proving to be a pretty charming place to spend almost two years of my life.