Ghosts, Ghouls and a Trip to Taean
Trip Start
Aug 30, 2005
1
18
49
Trip End
Aug 29, 2006
Taean,
Korea Rep.
Monday, October 31, 2005
1) Hallowen Party at Taean - A EFL teacher gathering to celebrate the largely ignored holiday that is Halloween in a remote part of the country.
2) Jingiban - a public bath house and sauna facility (AKA Dream Sauna)
3) Nuribang with Yeonso Teachers - The Vice Master was 3-sheets to the wind on a Wednesday night, obviously a sucker for punishment I assume as the next day wasn't gonna be pleasant. (Quick Reminder: Nuribang = Singing room)
4) Welcome to Sabigol - A field trip put on but Yeonso Middle School for the second grade (AKA 8th grade) class
5) Dinner in Daejeon - Unfortunately there is no entry here as this event was cancelled to a persistent stomach ache.
Now this list is in no particular order, as I am feeling particularly lazy at this moment.
Nuribang on Wednesday. What else need I say? Only the crazy Koreans would think of boozing it up on a weeknight on a regular basis. Most of the teachers were pitching back and forth like they were on a ship in the middle of a storm. As a side note I am becoming a decent singer... although I may just think that, as I haven't actually counted the numbers of drinks I had before I come to this conclusion each night. So I may not be a reliable source. Please tell Grandma B that I sing a mean Frank Sinatra - that should please here to no end.
The jingiban is in the correct place on the list. It was Thursday, before the school trip. One of the teacher approached me and asked if I wanted to try the public bath. Ah, that dread word - public. Backed into a corner, with no method of escape I agreed. It was like Darth Vader controlling my thoughts - public - I collapsed before it like a house of cards in a high wind. It was rather relaxing if not for the the blatant staring. Perhaps though I should back up and explain this is a full-nudity bath - men only unfortunately. So you can understand why a large, red haired, pale white body might attract attention in a homogenous black-n-tan environment. It is also worth mentioning that there is a very specific routine to the bathing process, which I unknowingly violated on several occasions and was promptly corrected. Also I fell off a treadmill that speed up unexpectedly, it did flash something in Korean though before I shot off the back of it at 20KM/hr.
Welcome to Dongmakgol is a very popular movie, so this title (Welcome to Sabigol) was suggested by the Social teacher running the trip. Gol is village in korean. It was basically a replicate trip of the Cultural Experience I did after my teacher training. Tombs, museums, man-made lakes, etc very nice. Then we ate lunch. Koreans cook/buy the lunch prior to the trip and then serve it up for the others. Well, I have made this mistake twice now and I say never again. The rest of the afternoon and next day I suffered from what I believe was a food-borne intoxication - a fast movie 24 hour, flu type illness. I believe I had been exposed before, therefore had some immunity as I only recieve a severe stomach ache. So that day waxed with bitter memories of a lesson learned... twice.
Due to this I was unable to meet for dinner in Daejeon that evening with a friend we trained with in September. He is getting married soon so I was looking to find a date that I could crash his wedding on. Gonna try and reschedule. Then I will watch Wedding Crashers for useful pointers.
The trip to Taean was a nightmarish 4+ hours, which is ironically fitting considering it was for a Halloween party. Sadly once I got home and realized I could have accomplished it by alternate route in 3 hours or so. Though to be truthful, it wasn't helped by the fact I got on the wrong bus in Daejeon - buses don't run the same in Korea as in Canada, catching the same bus number back from where you came is a grave mistake. I finally got to the bus station though. The Express Bus ride to Taean was 3 hours and I still suffered from the stomach ache in part, and from a quick lunch at MacDonald's - so the ride was not pleasant. However the party was a blast and it was good to see the group for the second reunion of the year. We got lost in the cab - no one spoke Korean and we were drunk (this actually seemed to aid us!). We got to the bar and were the rowdy crowd. Then the Nuribang (2 times in one week, yikes, I'm gonna be a regular Ella Fitzgerald). Then passout. Breakfast. Stomach ache returns (another Star Wars-esque encounter). Another torturous bus ride. More Macdonald (am I stupid? yes). 50,000 Won shopping spree on western grocery items (peanut butter, mustard, soups, REAL CHESSE!). Home by 10 PM in time to passout... again.
Monday, tired but happy I got up. Teacher told me in the car ride to school that I basically don't know how to teach elementary kids English. No shit Sherlock! The kids seem to enjoy most of my lessons though =D More worksheets she says; they don't need them they get enough in Korean-taught English and it doesn't help the students' speaking. Ironic that one who can speak so little English tells me I can't teach it. But it bummed me out nonetheless. Sometimes the public system is a battle in Korea "Oh, that's too hard!!" - its the freakin Alphabet Song!
Jeremy signing out.
