Happy Halloween from my Kindergartners!
Sending "trick or treat" wishes to all (and especially the little Grouch!),
-Bets
PS - A few additional photos have trickled into the Photo feed. Check out our Halloween costumes and more!
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Happy Halloween
Sending "trick or treat" wishes to all (and especially the little Grouch!),
-Bets
PS - A few additional photos have trickled into the Photo feed. Check out our Halloween costumes and more!
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Introducing, Rugby
This past weekend I had what might be the best moment yet since coming to South Korea. As you know, I have quite a few expat friends here. However, what you may not have realized is that many of these folks are South Africans and New Zealanders ("kiwis"). Upon first meeting these folks at orientation I noticed something right away: the steady stream of rugby trash talking.
Being a newcomer to rugby this was a bit over my head. But then, two weeks ago I watched my first game at a friend's house. It was just playing in the background, but I found myself getting sucked in. Imagine American Football without padding and without all the pauses to reset plays, remark the 10 yard line, and penalize players. Rugby is essentially fast playing football with very basic rules for keeping the ball in play:
1) Players can kick or run the ball forward
2) Players can only pass backward to teammates
3) When in a dog pile, players must work together to get the ball passed back to restart the forward motion
4) Repeat!
Now imagine my delight being in the thick of Rugby warfare (i.e. The 2011 Rugby World Cup) this past weekend. The finals placed New Zealand's All Blacks against Frances's Blues. So, what could we do, but go to Seoul and watch it with other Kiwi loving Expats! And that's just what we did. We grabbed a high top at Scrooges Pub three hours before the match started to ensure that we had seats. And my (oh my) did the pub fill...going to the restroom was death defying!
The final was remarkably low scoring, however we were not a quiet crowd. Chanting for our teams and jeering at our rivals kept everyone's adrenaline up. I was hooked from the very start by New Zealand's opening Haka...
...all the way to those last seconds.
Go All Blacks!
-Bets
Being a newcomer to rugby this was a bit over my head. But then, two weeks ago I watched my first game at a friend's house. It was just playing in the background, but I found myself getting sucked in. Imagine American Football without padding and without all the pauses to reset plays, remark the 10 yard line, and penalize players. Rugby is essentially fast playing football with very basic rules for keeping the ball in play:
1) Players can kick or run the ball forward
2) Players can only pass backward to teammates
3) When in a dog pile, players must work together to get the ball passed back to restart the forward motion
4) Repeat!
Now imagine my delight being in the thick of Rugby warfare (i.e. The 2011 Rugby World Cup) this past weekend. The finals placed New Zealand's All Blacks against Frances's Blues. So, what could we do, but go to Seoul and watch it with other Kiwi loving Expats! And that's just what we did. We grabbed a high top at Scrooges Pub three hours before the match started to ensure that we had seats. And my (oh my) did the pub fill...going to the restroom was death defying!
The final was remarkably low scoring, however we were not a quiet crowd. Chanting for our teams and jeering at our rivals kept everyone's adrenaline up. I was hooked from the very start by New Zealand's opening Haka...
...all the way to those last seconds.
Go All Blacks!
-Bets
Friday, October 21, 2011
Banking in a Foreign Country
I'm sorry to have kept you out of the Korean loop for so long. I'm sure you were on pins and needles waiting to hear all about my exploits. The weekends have been nothing but wonderful including rooftop card games, epic ferry trips (norebang included), shopping in Seoul (I finally found a thrift store!), birthday parties in Seosan, and "brunchee." I'd like to take a turn in the direction of this blog and start to introduce you to the day to day experiences of being an expat in Korea.
Challenge #1: Banking!
It has taken me nearly two months to get banking squared a way. After receiving my ARC, I opted to open an account with the local branch, Nong Hyup. If you say Nong Hyup anywhere in Korea, everyone seems to know exactly what you are talking about, so "local" is a loose term in this case.
My first experience at the bank was fine. My co-teacher said, "There is a girl at the bank who speaks pretty good English, so you shouldn't have a problem." So I went to conquer this beast. I went to the only Nong Hyup I knew of in town and set up my account. Unfortunately, the girl was not there so I worked with a kind, however nervous, teller who utilized his handy-dandy phrase book. We seemed to be getting everything figured out alright. I even mustered my Konglish, "car-duh," to get a debit card. Little did I know that this would only be the beginning of something much bigger.
Zoom ahead two weeks when I received my first month's pay (via direct deposit) and I needed to do some online banking. I already knew I had to jump numerous hoops to set this program up, but I was more than willing to work with Nong Hyup to get it ready to go. So, during my lunch break I went to the small Nong Hyup chain in my school's town. I got many stares and frightened giggles from the tellers, but luckily there was one man on staff, Sean, who spoke great English. He told me he usually does Commercial Investments, but that I was the exception to his daily work.
So, Sean got me set up. He noted that I wasn't "in their system" so he made copies. I wrote out my full name in the tiny space allotted for it (Elizabeth is a ridiculous name for Korean forms...). I signed my name in the tinier space still. I thought that would be the end of it, but then I tried to send money home online...and nothing.
I went back to Sean where he did banker-y things and discovered that the first teller who set up my account made an error in the string of numbers needed for my account. He fixed it and then said, "It should work now, but text me if there is a problem." So I tried banking online at home, and still nothing.
I text Sean, and after a bit of research on his end, he told me I had to go to the main branch in Taean to get things fixed (Wait, there is another NH bank in Taean? It's closer to my house? The English speaking girl works here?). Sean said I was to meet a man (his superior) who would be able to help me and get things sorted. So, after convincing my VP to let me leave early, I went to Taean. With my bill payments looming, I was ready to be done with this. Again, I was told I wasn't "in their system" so more copies were made and more papers were signed. After explaining I wanted to remit payment to the States, I was directed to a woman who was to help me with the paperwork in person (skipping the online component). However, she told me that she could not help me because she had too much work to do and didn't have time (customer service much?). Distressed and a bit pissed, I went home to try sending money online.
Nothing.
I text Sean.
We set a time to meet - late Thursday evening.
I returned to Sean's bank on Thursday evening where I was told that the person in Taean made a mistake and they were very sorry. One of the primary mistakes being setting up a brand new account (the person who set up my account didn't give me access to international remittance). So Sean set forth to fix the multiple mistakes incurred in my bank accounts short life. He explained that because of all of these mistakes Sean was able to talk big wigs into accessing the banking network outside regular hours (sneaky!). So, we drank tea, filled out forms, opened a new account, closed an account, and sent money home! All was wonderful.
As I had this lovely window to get things done, I asked Sean about an international debit card. He said it wouldn't be a problem, but he wouldn't be able to process it 'til tomorrow. I thought that would be fine. So I signed up for one and Sean said he would drop it by my school the next day.
I got the card as expected and went to take money out at the ATM.
Nothing.
I text Sean (panicked/livid).
I started to take this personally.
Sean felt awful, but said he couldn't help with anything until Monday when the bank opened.
I went back to the bank on Monday. It turned out that the person who created the card made a mistake. He forgot to link my account to the card, so I was simply holding a piece of cheap plastic all weekend. I was told that this mistake occurs maybe once or twice a year. Sean was furious with his coworker because so many bad things had happened to me. From my view, it seemed that a bit of K-Drama had erupted in the Nong Hyup.
Sean said sadly, "I'm sorry. You are very unlucky," and handed me a coffee as he fixed the final problem.
Indeed, I am,
-Bets
Challenge #1: Banking!
It has taken me nearly two months to get banking squared a way. After receiving my ARC, I opted to open an account with the local branch, Nong Hyup. If you say Nong Hyup anywhere in Korea, everyone seems to know exactly what you are talking about, so "local" is a loose term in this case.
My first experience at the bank was fine. My co-teacher said, "There is a girl at the bank who speaks pretty good English, so you shouldn't have a problem." So I went to conquer this beast. I went to the only Nong Hyup I knew of in town and set up my account. Unfortunately, the girl was not there so I worked with a kind, however nervous, teller who utilized his handy-dandy phrase book. We seemed to be getting everything figured out alright. I even mustered my Konglish, "car-duh," to get a debit card. Little did I know that this would only be the beginning of something much bigger.
Zoom ahead two weeks when I received my first month's pay (via direct deposit) and I needed to do some online banking. I already knew I had to jump numerous hoops to set this program up, but I was more than willing to work with Nong Hyup to get it ready to go. So, during my lunch break I went to the small Nong Hyup chain in my school's town. I got many stares and frightened giggles from the tellers, but luckily there was one man on staff, Sean, who spoke great English. He told me he usually does Commercial Investments, but that I was the exception to his daily work.
So, Sean got me set up. He noted that I wasn't "in their system" so he made copies. I wrote out my full name in the tiny space allotted for it (Elizabeth is a ridiculous name for Korean forms...). I signed my name in the tinier space still. I thought that would be the end of it, but then I tried to send money home online...and nothing.
I went back to Sean where he did banker-y things and discovered that the first teller who set up my account made an error in the string of numbers needed for my account. He fixed it and then said, "It should work now, but text me if there is a problem." So I tried banking online at home, and still nothing.
I text Sean, and after a bit of research on his end, he told me I had to go to the main branch in Taean to get things fixed (Wait, there is another NH bank in Taean? It's closer to my house? The English speaking girl works here?). Sean said I was to meet a man (his superior) who would be able to help me and get things sorted. So, after convincing my VP to let me leave early, I went to Taean. With my bill payments looming, I was ready to be done with this. Again, I was told I wasn't "in their system" so more copies were made and more papers were signed. After explaining I wanted to remit payment to the States, I was directed to a woman who was to help me with the paperwork in person (skipping the online component). However, she told me that she could not help me because she had too much work to do and didn't have time (customer service much?). Distressed and a bit pissed, I went home to try sending money online.
Nothing.
I text Sean.
We set a time to meet - late Thursday evening.
I returned to Sean's bank on Thursday evening where I was told that the person in Taean made a mistake and they were very sorry. One of the primary mistakes being setting up a brand new account (the person who set up my account didn't give me access to international remittance). So Sean set forth to fix the multiple mistakes incurred in my bank accounts short life. He explained that because of all of these mistakes Sean was able to talk big wigs into accessing the banking network outside regular hours (sneaky!). So, we drank tea, filled out forms, opened a new account, closed an account, and sent money home! All was wonderful.
As I had this lovely window to get things done, I asked Sean about an international debit card. He said it wouldn't be a problem, but he wouldn't be able to process it 'til tomorrow. I thought that would be fine. So I signed up for one and Sean said he would drop it by my school the next day.
I got the card as expected and went to take money out at the ATM.
Nothing.
I text Sean (panicked/livid).
I started to take this personally.
Sean felt awful, but said he couldn't help with anything until Monday when the bank opened.
I went back to the bank on Monday. It turned out that the person who created the card made a mistake. He forgot to link my account to the card, so I was simply holding a piece of cheap plastic all weekend. I was told that this mistake occurs maybe once or twice a year. Sean was furious with his coworker because so many bad things had happened to me. From my view, it seemed that a bit of K-Drama had erupted in the Nong Hyup.
Sean said sadly, "I'm sorry. You are very unlucky," and handed me a coffee as he fixed the final problem.
Indeed, I am,
-Bets
Monday, October 10, 2011
Photos + Video
New photos from October have already been posted - and it's only the ninth! Check it out under the Photos tab. Plus, I just added video to the new Videos tab. See quick sights on the East and West Coast of South Korea.
Happy Sunday,
-Bets
Happy Sunday,
-Bets
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Hiked and then Hiked Some More
So it's been awhile since my last post, and I do apologize for that. Let me catch you up to speed as best I can. The last two weeks have been a blur of activity and further settling into my surroundings. And as luck would have it, I (ME!) showed a few new folks around Taean. Guess who isn't the new kid anymore?
The weekend of September 24th, my friends from Taean, and a few from orientation, went to Seoul for our first big city adventure (comparable to Muppets Take Manhattan, but fewer Broadway numbers). After learning that Seoul actually has two syllables at a rousing "futbol" match during the Expat Festival, we all went out for Indian food and drinks with new New Zealand company. I got my first taste of the foreigner mecca/neighborhood, Itaewon, and also remembered what it's like not to be stared at on a regular basis. The night was a generally good time with lots of rejoicing over the birth of my good friend, George...who later got lost after wandering away from the group in a drunken stupor...classy.
The following day was much lower key with a fine group of people. Myself, Shufan, Margeaux, Brandon, Alistair, and Jane went to Hongdae for coffee, shopping, and pizza. I managed to acquire a few new pieces to add to my suitcase wardrobe which continues to thrill me to no end! However, I'm still in need of shoes, sweaters, and socks...Never the less, the weekend was a good time, and my first experience with express busing was a genuine treat.
Zooming right along, the following week a new "waygook" came to live in Taean. It's funny to take the role of pseudo-ambassador after only living in a place for a month, but that's just what Brandon and I did. It's really nice to see a community of people open up so quickly to new folks and also continue to assist each other through the whole process of daily living. I don't know where I'd be without all my fellow Taeanites. They are darn good people.
So this past weekend may mark a dark spot on my time in Korea. To sum it up, I'd describe it as "interesting." Sparing the many details, I'll just use lists to recount my misadventure to Seoraksan. If you want more info, feel free to leave a question or comment using the speech bubble at the top of the post.
Top 5
1) Hiking Seoraksan in the Fall
2) Enjoying the west coast white sandy beach
3) Sleeping in a queen-sized bed of my very own
4) Eating Thai food in Pyeongtaek (and getting to take leftovers home!)
5) Meeting new friends in Gongju
Bottom 5
1) Hitting a guard rail going down a one way (you guessed it) the wrong way
2) Being manipulated by hotel managers who think foreigners have money
3) Sitting in the middle of a small backseat between two guys until 4am
4) Realizing at 4am that we will not find a hotel room within a 50 mile radius
5) Opting out of hiking to the top of Seoraksan (grueling pace)
Needless to say, the trip ended (eventually) and I made my way back to Taean Sunday night. And, to my surprise, another new waygook was in town and up for some frivolity. So that's just what we did. I managed to order some things for our table and even made some new Korean friends. It's really amazing what a bottle of soju can spur in this country. I don't like the stuff much, but I love to share it with Koreans because they are "a hoot" (my Minnesota roots are showing).
This post could go on...I haven't even told you about my weekdays (Staff hike to Mondae Beach, drinking with the VP, Middle School field day, the delights of internet banking, and the headaches of Kindergarten lesson planning). But, let's rest it here and we'll see where we pick up next (there may even be pictures!).
Feelin' Minnesota,
-Bets
The weekend of September 24th, my friends from Taean, and a few from orientation, went to Seoul for our first big city adventure (comparable to Muppets Take Manhattan, but fewer Broadway numbers). After learning that Seoul actually has two syllables at a rousing "futbol" match during the Expat Festival, we all went out for Indian food and drinks with new New Zealand company. I got my first taste of the foreigner mecca/neighborhood, Itaewon, and also remembered what it's like not to be stared at on a regular basis. The night was a generally good time with lots of rejoicing over the birth of my good friend, George...who later got lost after wandering away from the group in a drunken stupor...classy.
The following day was much lower key with a fine group of people. Myself, Shufan, Margeaux, Brandon, Alistair, and Jane went to Hongdae for coffee, shopping, and pizza. I managed to acquire a few new pieces to add to my suitcase wardrobe which continues to thrill me to no end! However, I'm still in need of shoes, sweaters, and socks...Never the less, the weekend was a good time, and my first experience with express busing was a genuine treat.
Zooming right along, the following week a new "waygook" came to live in Taean. It's funny to take the role of pseudo-ambassador after only living in a place for a month, but that's just what Brandon and I did. It's really nice to see a community of people open up so quickly to new folks and also continue to assist each other through the whole process of daily living. I don't know where I'd be without all my fellow Taeanites. They are darn good people.
So this past weekend may mark a dark spot on my time in Korea. To sum it up, I'd describe it as "interesting." Sparing the many details, I'll just use lists to recount my misadventure to Seoraksan. If you want more info, feel free to leave a question or comment using the speech bubble at the top of the post.
Top 5
1) Hiking Seoraksan in the Fall
2) Enjoying the west coast white sandy beach
3) Sleeping in a queen-sized bed of my very own
4) Eating Thai food in Pyeongtaek (and getting to take leftovers home!)
5) Meeting new friends in Gongju
Bottom 5
1) Hitting a guard rail going down a one way (you guessed it) the wrong way
2) Being manipulated by hotel managers who think foreigners have money
3) Sitting in the middle of a small backseat between two guys until 4am
4) Realizing at 4am that we will not find a hotel room within a 50 mile radius
5) Opting out of hiking to the top of Seoraksan (grueling pace)
Needless to say, the trip ended (eventually) and I made my way back to Taean Sunday night. And, to my surprise, another new waygook was in town and up for some frivolity. So that's just what we did. I managed to order some things for our table and even made some new Korean friends. It's really amazing what a bottle of soju can spur in this country. I don't like the stuff much, but I love to share it with Koreans because they are "a hoot" (my Minnesota roots are showing).
This post could go on...I haven't even told you about my weekdays (Staff hike to Mondae Beach, drinking with the VP, Middle School field day, the delights of internet banking, and the headaches of Kindergarten lesson planning). But, let's rest it here and we'll see where we pick up next (there may even be pictures!).
Feelin' Minnesota,
-Bets
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