Lunar New Year - Seoul Getaway

For Lunar New Year we got five days off and decided to head to Seoul. We booked our hostel in the Jong-no area called Fortune Hostel. It was great! Very convenient and close to the subway station. Only one train from the bus station.

We kept hearing about how it would be really busy to travel on this day but our trip was really smooth. We got there in 3.5 hours and no big traffic jams. After getting to the hostel, we decided to head out the Itaewon to grab dinner. We originally wanted to eat at a Thai restaurant but changed our minds and headed to Boiling Crab instead. BEST decision! It was delicious! 

After dinner we went to Tony's Bar for their stand-up comedy night. It was also very good. We'll definitely go back there the next time we're in Seoul. 

The next day (Thursday) we went to Gyeonbokgung Palace. It was a 20-minute walk from our hostel. Being as it's LNY, we got free entrance to the palace and there was also a festival going on as well. Too bad, the tour wasn't going on so that's another place I want to read up on or go again. I bought some treats at the various food tents. Next we went to find the dim sum restaurant Mong Jung Heon. It was nice and super fancy. The dishes were very expensive. The shrimp dumplings were delicious but the pork dumplings did not taste homemade at all. It looked and tasted like the ones I could buy at T&T in Vancouver.

Afterwards we headed to Seoul Grand Park Children's Zoo. It has been a long time since I was at a zoo and this one was pretty cool. During this holiday, it seems half of Seoul was empty and it's been remarked on by some comedians the night before. It was great because that meant we could sit down on the subway and the lines were not long to all the attractions, including the zoo. The zoo was huge! In fact, the whole park was huge! We spent at least two to three hours and there was a whole avian area we skipped (due to the avian flu warnings). We went back to the hostel to rest a bit before heading out for dinner.  We were going for Thai food (again, tried) but it was closed so we ended up across the street at an Irish Bar. Neil had some bangers and mash and I had fish and chips. It was okay.

On Friday, we visited the Seodaemun Prison and learned quite a bit about the Korean/Japan war/colonization. It reminded me a bit of the Alcatraz but less scary. It was definitely more educational. Next we went to the Coex Aquarium in the Coex Mall. Before the aquarium, we had some pho in the mall. The mall was beautiful! There's so much to see and it's just very pretty. The last time we were there, the renovations wasn't complete so we didn't see how beautiful it was. The ticket for the aquarium was pricey but we went anyways. It was interesting. There was a section where there were fish tanks in every day items like a fridge and a washing machine.

After the aquarium, we saw another Chinese restaurant so we went there to try their dim sum. It seems like this was another fancy restaurant too. The pork dumplings were much much better but the spring rolls were super tiny and meh. 

On Saturday, we had booked a DMZ-tour and the guide came to pick us up at our hotel at 7am. There were five other people in the tour with us. I really liked the tour, the guide was very thorough and gave a lot of explanation and history. She really took care of us. We took a van ride to a city near the DMZ (de-militarized zone) called Paju to meet up with other tourists with their own tour guides (mostly Chinese and western) to travel on a bus to the Third Tunnel. As this is not a UN tour, we couldn't go into the actual DMZ. That tour needs to be booked months in advance and cost slightly more. We did enter the DMZ through the third tunnel which went under this area. We gained a lot insightful information about South and North Korea. This tour was worth it and I would go on the UN tour to see more of the DMZ. 

After getting dropped off in Hongdae (after a gingseng store tour...) we went to find this sushi place my co-worker Rami told us about. The thing about Seoul is that there are tons of little and side streets that don't have names so it's a real challenge finidng anything! We walked around the area for at least 20 minutes before we finally found it! At one point I was going to give up but it was definitely worth it. We finally had salmon sashimi and it was sooooo good! We also got some "service" (=free) items such as a shrimp sashimi (I ate both and they were so sweet!) and a seared salmon.

That night after resting at our hostel, we headed to Itaewon again to do a bit of foreign grocery shopping. We also finally had some Thai food. It was a super pretty place (all purple!). The food was good but it wasn't excellent. It's too bad. We also dropped by a place called Ben's Cookies and bought half a dozen. We had them for dessert back at our hostel. It was delicious! One cookie was really filling.

By Sunday, we decided to do a little bit of shopping and then head home. However, we didn't find anything we wanted and just took the bus home. It was a very productive trip and there's only a few things we still have to do (i.e. rainbow bridge, fish market, etc.) Until next time Seoul!

Third Apartment Video Tour

This is a video tour we did shortly after we moved into our third apartment.

Moving Day

We were told at the end of December that we would have to move at the end of January. We did not expect that at all. Our concerns were mostly what this new place would look like, what furniture and things are provided, how are we going to move our stuff? The last time we moved, we only moved our very few possessions and our suitcases. Now we have an apartment full of stuff and we did not want to buy any new stuff. We only have six months left on our contract. So we were full of concerns and questions, but everything turned out great! 

We got to see the new apartment before moving in and took some pictures.

The school hired a moving company for us and helped us settle our bills. The weekend before our move, the movers dropped off some boxes and crates. We were not really told how the process is. I had inklings from reading and watching blogs online but we were never really told explicitly. From my research, the movers would come in and help you back up your stuff, move it, clean your new place and unpack your stuff. In case our movers aren't going to do that, Neil and I decided to pack everything in those boxes and crates ourselves. Well, Neil did most of the packing, I did my stuff and the kitchen. hehe

Then on Friday morning, the gas people came to turn off our gas so we had no heat or hot water! We made sure to wake up super early to shower before he came. Luckily we did. That night, we had no heat so we both wore a lot of clothes to bed. At 6:00am Saturday morning, our alarm clock went off. We decided to Neil would go to the new apartment early to do some cleaning and move some stuff out of the way to make room for our furniture. I would stay at our old apartment to direct the movers what to take and what not to take. Our old apartment had a lot of accumulated furniture and most of it was not used, like those unused icons on your desktop. Since we won't have any translators I had to stay to make sure they only took things we wanted.

Neil left around 6:30am and I packed up the rest of our stuff and waited for the movers to arrive. They were right on time! A man and woman duo came in and noticed all our stuff was packed. I guess we weren't suppose to pack it ourselves oops! I tried to communicate to them what needed to be moved and were staying. I'm glad I stayed because there were some things I had to tell them twice to take or not to take. A lot of hand gestures were used haha. They were super nice! The woman repacked some of our stuff so the crates would stack on top of each other. Another man came in to help. We all kind of waited around for the crane to set up. I was very fascinated! 

This crane is pretty awesome. Rather than having to carry things out of the apartment, down the elevator and into the truck, this was all done via the balcony. Now I understand why apartments here have so many big windows and balconies. The first man brought a metal plate with a hook that hangs on to the balcony and outside. A crane is parked below the balcony and the neck extends all the way to the top. (We're on the 19th floor of a 20-floor apartment) The man would direct the crane until it's at the right height and location and then the crane's neck tilts so that leans against the metal plate. I believe there is some magnet there because it really steadies the crane's neck. There is a platform that moves up and down this crane's neck where all the crates, boxes and furniture go. It moves quick and steadily up and down so nothing falls off. So the movers job is to move our stuff onto this platform and it will be lowered down to where somebody will to move it into truck. This really decreases the amount of heavy lifting! After the crane was set up, it took less than an hour to empty our apartment and into the truck!

At one point, the woman asked if I was Vietnamese but I told her I was from Canada. She also said I'm like a kid cause I'm small size. I'm small even for Asian standards. *sighs*.

We were told that we should get some coffee for the movers. They were really nice and gave me a ride from the old apartment to the new one so I asked Neil to pick up some coffees when I arrived. He did a wonderful job and swept and cleaned the floors so we didn't have to do it later. There was a bit of a lull as we waited for the crane to be set up again but once it was and the boxes and furniture moved in, we all got busy. I didn't have to lift a finger and they moved everything to where I directed. They helped up unpack as well. The woman even helped put everything into the cupboards! And once they were done they disappeared. I didn't even know when they left. I would've loved to thank them again. 

I have packed and moved four times in the last two years and this was by far the best experience! If only all moves were this great then I wouldn't mind at all. But still the packing is still a nightmare so I'll take that back. :-P

Oh the new apartment is great! We'll be having a video up really soon!  

Second Apartment Tour (no video)

We moved into our second apartment in September. We had every intention to do a video tour but unfortunately we got too busy and never had the chance before we were told we're moving. So here's a post about our second apartment with pictures and the floor plan. 

This is a 3-bedroom apartment on the 19th floor in a very residential area. We are 15 minutes walk away from the subway station and 2 stops from our school. It takes us about 30 minutes each day to travel to work.

This is an older apartment and we had keys instead of the electronic locks. Once you go in, you're in the entrance/foyer area. It's an open plan and you can see the living room on your immediate left. On the right hand side is a door for one of the bedrooms. We changed it into a dining room because the dining table took up too much space in the living room. We hardly use this room and it's super drafty because of the enclosed balcony. We use the big closet in this room to store our winter coats, suitcases, and miscellaneous things. We put the desk in the enclosed balcony because it's where it fits. 

Further down from the living room and to the right is the kitchen area. We originally had a mini fridge so we bought a second full-size fridge instead. this cost us about 100,000 won ($100) and included delivery! This place came equipped with a microwave, a rice cooker, a blender and a french press! There were also lots of utensils and kitchen stuff left over from previous owners. So we didn't have to spend anything on that. The only things I spent money on were our pots and pans, which I prefer to get my own.  The sink is quite large and there's even a sanitizer/dryer above the sink! We only used it at the beginning because of its novelty. Most of our dishes were left in the drying rack instead. The stove only had two elements and it's detachable. 

The sliding doors lead out to another enclosed balcony space. This is where the washing machine is and the broken mini fridge. We also store our cleaning supplies, recyclables and garbage. 

There is a large bookcase that we used as our pantry for our canned/packaged/dry goods, teas and our toaster. In the bottom cupboards are my baking ingredients and supplies. On the right side of the shelves is second bedroom: the guest room. There is a big closet in there that we use to store our extra blankets and linens. We inherited three single mattress pads which we've stacked. When we have guests, we'll take them apart and it just barely fits (can't fully open the door). There's also some night stands in there for extra storage. The walls had Disney Princess decos that we've covered with a map. 

On the left side of the shelf is a door that leads to the toilet. Unlike many Korean apartments, we were blessed with an actual tub! It's great for baths and because of this, the room tend not to be too wet. 

Next to the toilet is the master bedroom. It is considerably larger than the other two bedrooms. It comfortably accommodates a double bed, a set of drawers, a large closet, and a vanity table and area. Korean beds are known to be hard but luckily the previous resident sold us their foam mattress which made the bed a million times better! (Thank you Carly!) I was super happy to have an area where I can set up my make up and get ready. This room has large windows that open out to another enclosed balcony.

The entrance to this balcony space is through the living room. It is a very good size which we use to hang our laundry because there is no dryer.

This apartment is very nice and roomy so that Neil and I don't have to bump into each other all the time. We've had many good times here watching netflix and hosting wii dance parties!

Korean Classes

Back in September, Neil and I started taking Korean classes on Wednesday and Friday mornings (10-12p). At first we thought we could handle it but we were in way over our heads!

After doing two hours of class and then to teach a full day of classes (5 to 7 classes with only 5 minute breaks in between), we were completely exhausted! Let alone try to do our homework. After about two months, we called it quits. Especially since we just started teaching and there was sooooo much we have yet to learn. 

Alas, we still wanted to continue learning Korean so we decided to enroll in classes again. This time we're only taking classes on Saturday so we still have our weekdays to concentrate on work. Although work is getting a bit easier, we rather not make ourselves too busy.

In our new class, there's an American couple, a Thai girl and a Nepalese guy. They all seem really nice and some are a bit further ahead than others. The first two classes felt like a bit of review so that's really good, not to be behind right out of the gates. I can see how this class would be very intense if you only take it once a week because it covers two chapters a week. So I'm very glad this is our second time around. 

We are definitely committed to finishing this and who knows, maybe move up to the next level :) 

Intensive Classes

So in Korea, there are two major semester. One starts in the fall and other in the spring. The fall semester starts in September and spring in March. From January to February, hagwons have a period call Intensives. It's basically when the students no longer have public school and parents enrol their kids into more classes at their hagwons to increase their ability. Since a lot of these students already come on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, they signed up for more classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This time, we had a lot of the younger students that signed up for Phonic classes. 

Normally the Korean teachers teach phonics so it's the first time for all the foreign teachers. And only foreign teachers have these extra classes. Since I already had four classes on Tue/Thu, I only got one extra class so I have five classes in total. Neil on the other hand had three classes, he got an extra four classes so he has seven classes in total. Poor guy. 

In my Master Phonics class, half the students are in my regular classes so it's not a surprise for them to see me. Teaching phonics is interesting because I hardly remember taking phonics when I was a kid. And making those sounds is silly outside of class and at the beginning some of the older students felt embarrassed when I make tell me what sound "A" makes. And sometimes I forget what that letter is suppose to sound like too! I'm glad the students participate and seem genuinely interested in it. 

Neil has seemed to let himself go during these intensive classes. He's developed a game where he gives a word like "crazy" and the students have to act crazy for a few seconds and then he'll shout "serious!" and they can't laugh, move, or say anything otherwise they don't earn their points. All the while, he desperately tries to make them laugh by doing chicken dances and going through his Jim Carey repertoire along with impressions of asian stereotypes (i.e Five dolla!). There's an instance where kids slam their faces in their books to hide from him. He's usually exhausted on these days however he has a lot of fun. Some of my students that he teaches have started calling him "Nail-teacher". In fact, one of his students in the writing class wrote about him: 

  

Jeonju Day Trip

After a brief trip to Jeonju with Neil's parents in November, I really wanted to come back! Since we have a few days off for the new year, we made a point to go back there for their fresh bibimbap. I googled to find any place that's super famous and Gogung came up and that was it. After arriving in Jeonju, we hailed a cab to bring us to the restaurant. Probably waited a few minutes before we were seated. 

I chose the normal metal bowl and Neil got the stone bowl one. The colours were amazing and so vibrant. I love that it doesn't need to have onions in it and it's still okay. I love the texture of the dish that there's crunchy and soft in the same bite. Neil really enjoyed his dish. He liked that it wasn't spicy like most Korean food are. 

Bibimbap in Jeonju - CHECK!

Next we went back to the Hanok Village and walked around to get some snacks. I got some deep fried squid. I had hoped that since it's a Friday that it won't be busy but it was still super packed. After getting my snack, I was too full for anything else so we decided to walk around. I saw PNB and it was not packed like the other one! They're suppose to be famous for their chocolate pies. Neil wasn't interested but I got one chocolate and one white to see what it's all about. It was quite large so it was very fulling. I actually didn't try it until I got home since I was already full. It's pretty good but I would not line up for an hour for it. 

When we got back to the bus terminal, we found out the next bus to Gwangju isn't until 7:20pm and it was currently 5:00pm. We got approached by a taxi driver who offered to take us to Gwangju for 50,000 won if he can find two more people. In the end he could only find one more person and asked us to pay for 70,000 and we can leave right away. In the end we took that offer because we'll get back home quicker and we'll be more comfortable if it's just the two of us in the back. The driver was nice and it took us only an hour to get back compared to an hour and a half. He also dropped us off a lot closer to our home than the bus would have. It cost us a lot more to take this taxi but in the end it's worth it.