Our teacher's association took the second half of the day off to climb one of the more famous mountains in the area. Everyone was very impressed with my fancy new North Face shoes...people like name brands, here. My hiking partners were Grace and Seon-shim. Seon is the special-ed teacher and a friend at the school. She and I are hiking novices and took lot's of pictures, so Grace must've been frustrated, but she chose us so it's her own fault. It took about 2 hours to get to the top, which is marked by the national flag "Tae Guk Gi". We actually had to slow down a bit when we caught up to the principal's group, as it's bad form to pass him. His group turned back before the top so only a few of us went all the way. At the top I saw at least two wild kittens who must get fed by a constant stream of hikers. I took pictures of the view, but it was pretty misty, so they're not worth posting.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Gwanak Mountain
At the Zoo.
These are pictures from a visit to the zoo with Grace's family. This was just before Chuseok, before Amy and Naomi got here. Animals are animals, so I'll only include a few that were especially interesting: a cloned wolf, a gorilla that stuck out his tongue at me (and only me for some reason) when I waved at him, and a gorilla and orangutan baby who were wrestling in the nursery.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Bedbugs. At least we're pretty sure
Poor kid is really getting the worst of it. Readers may have heard via facebook that we think we have bedbugs. And that they are in Naomi's room/bed. She's certainly gotten the worst of the bites. 20 on her face alone at last count. We went to a great pediatrician at the recommendation of my neighbor, but the doctor couldn't confirm that it was bedbugs. Most Koreans will say, 'We used to have bedbugs, but it's not a problem any more.' We beg to differ.
We can't really throw away the bed, because it belongs to Joe's school. And anyway, they might well have spread beyond the bed. We've been letting Naomi bunk in with us, and that seems to have slowed the biting, but we'll see. the bites are not really serious - like mosquito bites - but it's pretty darn itchy and it's hard to stop Naomi from scratching till they bleed.
Today I will go to a pharmacy with a piece of paper with Korea writing on in, which I believe has the name of a spray insecticide. I'm not optimistic. I've heard that the only way you can really get rid of them is an exterminator. Updates to follow.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Preschool Update
Here's Naomi with her very adorable preschool backpack, in which she carries a lunch tray in a bag, and spoon, fork and chopsticks in a little container, and a little book in which the teacher records what she did that day (in decent English). All of the above were provided by her school, Saimdang Baby House. They are awesome. And btw, day four was pretty good.
Friday, October 15, 2010
'Hiking'
Hiking is a very very popular activity here. I think Joe's said something about that. Anyang is surrounded by mountains and you see a lot of Northface gear walking around. People on the train with walking sticks and visors and water bottles. So this weekend we took our turn on a short hike that Joe's done before. The start of the train is just behind his school. We didn't make it very far with Naomi in tow, but it was a fun outing.
Below are some shots of the rest area where we turned back. Really it was just the 'base camp' and going any further would have meant either putting up with a lot more whining or carrying a very heavy kid up a steep hill. So we hung out there. Naomi played with the water tap - shaped like a dragon's head - with red cups for drinking. Naomi and her new friend just played in the water. Then we played on the exercise equipment, which is commonly found in parks in Seoul. There were pull-up bars, sit-up benches, twisty-turny things, eliptical machines and, of course, hula hoops.
Then after we went hiking, we saw Joe's Co-worker dance in a YWAM event, wandered around in a neighboring town, where we bought Naomi some new shoes and some Pororo chopsticks. I almost forgot a bag in the train bathroom and barely made it back in time for the train after sprinting to get it. And we had a delicious girll-it-yourself beef dinner (with beer, which we really felt we needed after a long day) complete with many many side dishes (Kimchi is only one) - one of the brilliant things about Korean meals.
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Anyang and public art
One of the things that struck me almost immediately about this city is that there is art everywhere. Not all of it is particularly quality, but some of it really is. And artists - particularly sculptors - are being kept in business by this city and, I expect, the business owners. There are probably and average of two - three large stone and/or metal sculptures within every block of street-front. Plazas and parks boast many many sculptures, installations, fountains and exhibits. I love the sculpture park in Seattle, but Anyang's central park, without being specifically a sculpture park, has at least as many scultpure (although not quite as big, maybe) Below are only a few examples from walking around the neighborhood and park this afternoon.
Some sculptures are afforded appropriate space to appreciate and view them. Those above are in more open areas. The two immediately above are in the Pyeongchon station plaza near our house. The top one was in another plaza/pedestrian walk-way. I thought it looked like bones at a joint - elbow, maybe?
Other public art is squeezed into corners, set in front of buildings in the middle of the sidewalk, and (as in the top example) even in front of the 7-11. The bottom is one of my favorites and falls along the walk from our apartment to the grocery store and coffee shop. Naomi calls 'Mama' (because, she says, she has boobs).
Above several sculptures from the Anyang Central Park. Yes, the top one is a dung beetle! I like the bottom one, because families and children are clearly very important to this city and (I assume) this country.
Finally, below is an installation of 'birds', also in the Central Park. All made of sticks in the ground. Behind it is Acro Tower...it's famous I guess. And it has a Starbucks in it, although I haven't been there because I prefer to frequent by local coffee shop "The Annie's Coffee and Discoveries." Kind of a curious name, but Annie is very nice and the coffee is good.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Daycare for Naomi
Today is Naomi's third day at her daycare. Day one: ok, seemed to have a good time. Day two, tears in the morning, but willingly participation by the time we got there. Day three: tears, clingy-ness, lots of 'I don't want to's and a broken-hearted mama leaving a crying Naomi in the arms of her very kind and caring teacher. I think she feels very lonely because she doesn't understand anyone and they don't understand her. I feel her pain and I would feel pretty resentful toward mom and dad for making me go if I was her. But I know (I hope?) that she will come around as she gets more comfortable with the people and the place. Still hard, though.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
News from Amy
Hey folks. So I'll be adding to Joe's blog too as pertains to what Naomi and I are up to, or what we're up to as a family. Joe and Naomi just went out to play catch in the park after a long day riding the train to the Grace and Peace Mennonite Church.
I noticed that Joe mentioned in one sentence that we arrived. Indeed we've now been here one week. Naomi and I spent the first part of the week being tired and irritable, but still venturing out to the park, the mega-mart down the street, the coffee shop etc. (I was surprised and pleased to learn that people drink as much coffee here as in Seattle.) Anyang, where we live, is a city populated by high-rise apartment buildings and lots and lots and lots of people in a small area. Many of the people who live in the buildings around us, at least, are also families with small children. There are play areas everywhere, and a large beautiful park only blocks away with fountains, walking paths and a wonderful playground. Naomi seems to have no trouble getting right in there and playing in the sand with other children, in spite of the language barrier. And hanging out in the park while she plays has given me one or two opportunities to talk with other moms.
Naomi is very popular. People love children in Korea, and even more so a cute little blond girl. When we're on the train, especially, people will touch her hair, pat her cheek, ask her age, play peekaboo. Naomi is not that interested in interacting with adults, but will readily approach other children to play or say 'anyeonghasayo' (hell0).
This is good, because next week she's starting preschool. Joe's very helpful co-worker called around to find preschools and daycares that are close to us and we visited two on Friday. We were won over by a small preschool where the translator for our visit was a third-grader (her English was awesome!) and where Naomi immediately found dolls and toys to play with. We both like the idea of her having play-mates and being immersed in Korean (maybe she'll be able to be my translator) and I like the idea of having time every day to work on Korean myself, run errands, work on my sabbatical project and (hopefully) spend some time at the Korea Anabaptist Center.
Today at church both Joe and I were warmly invited to come visit KAC, and I'm very much looking forward to doing so. In fact, I may have my first quilting project, as my friend Jae, who is the director of their peace institute, invited me to make a KAC quilted banner. I'm thinking it might be an appropriate contribution of North American Anabaptist/Mennonite culture to this place.
I've been trying to remember to carry my camera everywhere...hasn't happened yet at all. I'll try to do better, (although I'm not eager to look like a tourist) so watch for pictures. I'll also be blogging at pastoramy.blogspot.com.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
06 October 2010
I've been a bit busy and/or away from the internet for extended periods of time, so here is a quick update.
Jay invited me to Chuseok dinner with her family on the 22nd. Chuseok is the Korean Thanksgiving. She worried that her family would be too shy or unable to speak to me, but they were very welcoming. Her grandfather brought out some old photo albums with pictures of him as a child in school, as a soldier, as a teacher. They were really wonderful to look at - Jay said that she hadn't even seen them before then. I spent most of the time with her grandfather and uncles who spoke English quite well. We drank North Korean whiskey (one shot was enough for me) and played a traditional game called Yut Nori. I'm fairly sure that her grandfather is a cheater.
Last week I went to a three day teacher orientation (a month after I've started). It was pretty helpful, but I didn't feel much of a connection to most of the people there. For many, the teaching programs here are merely an excuse to extend their college partying. It was really good to get back to Anyang; when I returned, I finally received my alien card which allows me to buy a cell phone and internet. I've also begun joining the Baduk Club after the instructor invited me. I get a real feeling of accomplishment when I beat a 10-year-old at a board game. So far, I have two wins and a tie. Amy and Naomi arrived on Saturday and are slowly getting acquainted with the city and culture.