Jimjilbang

Jimjilbang = large public bathhouse and sauna in Korea.
Let me tell you, this was an experience.  I will probably go again, the long hot shower is nice even though you are showering with 25-40 other naked women.
First you get a towel the size of a hand towel.  That's not going to cover anything on my body, I couldn't even use it to wrap my hair.  Then you are given a key to put your shoes away and then clothes away in another separate location.  You can pay an extra won for a shirt/short combo set if you want to go to the 'common' area.  I didn't go to the common area but there both men and women will sleep on the floor on top of mats.  A lot of people go to the Jimjilbang after going out so they can sleep/pass out.  Before you get to that area though you take your clothes off and walk through an area where other naked women are sitting on the floor eating, some women are selling items (clothes, purses, etc.) and then others are sitting at vanities doing there hair and makeup.  Once parading through this area feeling 100% uncomfortable, you walk through doors to the sauna/bathhouse.  There were 6 total mineral spring baths - 4 hot and 2 cold.  I took a shower (rinsed off) and then got into one of the hot baths.  Keep in mind, everyone is naked & there are 6 stand-up shower areas and then 20 sit-down shower areas.  The women sit on these little plastic stools and literally take a shower.  There is common bars of soap at each of the shower stalls.  This entire room is open.  But I didn't even tell you the best part; there were gigantic penis fountains.  Oh yes, you read correctly. Penis shaped fountains.  I'd say there were 3 feet tall and spraying water out of them and some even would spray the water really fast in 4 intervals.  I was giggling to myself but didn't want anyone to think I was laughing at them.  Oh, there was another room off to the one side where women would lay on a table and be scrubbed down by another woman.  I believe the scrubber was an employee though, it wasn't like it was your friend bathing you (although not uncommon to see one women washing down another standing next to her.)  But the in the table area when I say washing you, I mean actually giving you a bath.  Everywhere.  Scrubbing your lady parts too.  Odd.  Very very odd.
So I soaked in the hot spring for about 20 minutes and then took a shower (would have been nice to have my shampoo, conditioner, soap & lotion with me.)  I dried off as best as I could with the hand towel and got out of there.
Will I do it again?  Probably.  Do I wish I could take pictures of these fountains?  Absolutely.
This was a truly bizarre experience but wanted to take part in Korean culture, however bizarre I believed it to be.

Photos & Videos from week 1

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=290089&id=716544795&l=cd39579ab8


You can search on YouTube for SKJAMIE25 - I have about 4 videos posted (they are already on facebook) but I couldn't figure out how to embed them into this post!

First week in the big city.

I think it's going to be difficult to keep up with this blog as I first anticipated I would.  So please check Facebook often if you are wondering what I'm up to.  For those that don't have Facebook, I will try to keep you "in the know" as much as I can!
My flight was very long...  I remember thinking after 7 hours that I couldn't possibly make it 7 more.  There was an older Korean lady next to me who WAS able to sleep but would use me as a prop up.  I, politely, would nudge her in the other direction.  Lucky for me I was on the outside seat so I could get up frequently to move around and stretch.  I was concerned about the possibility of the blood clot coming back, reforming, whichever so I didn't want to sleep.  I watched 6 movies in total by the time it was over.  I kept thinking I'd fall asleep while watching them but wasn't able to.  When we finally landed I had been up for 24 hours and was feeling very giddy so I think that helped with the nerves because I wasn't nervous - at all...  Leave it to me to fly around to the other side of the world and arrive in such a state that I'm like - Korea, I'm heerrreee!
I waited for my bags (the ones marked "heavy") for 30 minutes.  I kept thinking, that's about right - they lost my luggage.  I finally got them, piled them onto a cart and stood in line for customs.  It took another 30 mins or so and then I went through the gate and looked for my name.  I wish I had my camera out because the sign said "Jamie Davi"  I just assumed it was me and raised my hand waving at no one in particular.  Then David arrived.   David was his English name AND he spoke some English.  Win win for me.
The airport was about 45 minutes outside of Seoul so it was a bit of a drive to my apartment/school.  It was so weird that it was never dark outside for 26 hours.  I left in daylight and arrived in daylight.  I just remember the first store I recognized was Dunkin Donuts and this made me happy.  I was thinking, there isn't even a Dunkin in Erie yet I fly ALL THE WAY TO KOREA and there is one on every corner.
David drove me to my school and we met May, the supervisor, and she took me to my apartment.  My apartment leaves little to the imagination.  It's one tiny room, it's smells of sewer or just dead something and was filthy dirty with nothing in it.  The teacher before me must not be a very tidy person. I found hair, dirt & fingernail clippings EVERYWHERE.  Eck.  Gross.  We didn't stay around very long, I went with May & Devon to grab a bite to eat.  We had Vietnamese for dinner.  Lol - all the way to Korea and I eat Vietnamese.  After that, Devon was nice enough to take me to try and find a pillow.  Unfortunately, we didn't find one so when I got home I just used my neck pillow and a rolled up towel.  The bedding was disgusting so I just put my sheets on the bed and slept in some long underwear and sweatpants.  I finally got a comforter then next day.
The first couple days here were, well, different.  They just put me right into the classes and were like - ok, teach.  I'm still struggling with this and probably will be for some time.  There is one printer in the teachers room and 6 teachers trying to use it.  I can't seem to connect to the wifi with my ipad so I have to wait my turn to get online to look up some teaching tools.  I'm sure after a few weeks I will get the hang of it but it just baffles my mind that we are teaching children and we have little to no experience in doing so.  That's just crazy to me.
**  I'm picking up where I left off a few days later.  So I met with some teachers last night and they gave me some great advice - stop stressing, play with the kids and don't worry about how unorganized the school is.  It doesn't matter, as long as the parent's are happy, the school will be happy.  That advice actually helped.  I know it's still going to be a little stressful but I will just get to know the kids and try to keep them happy :)  There are a few pistols though; Arthur in my Boston class (they have named all the classrooms after Ivy league schools in the US) is a real snot.  I am constantly yelling at him everyday.  He just looks at me or ignores me.  Then I have another one, Sean, in my MIT class.  Sean is about 4 years old.  He wasn't listening to me the other day so I put him in a chair and pulled it up to the wall away from the table.  Sean's response - Weeeeeeeeeee.  I guess it was a fun game to be pulled around in the chair.  I couldn't help but laugh!  So the kids will keep me entertained and hopefully I will make them happy :)  I can't believe how different it is in the states (although never teaching before I don't really know how I am making these comparisons) to handle the children - we are actually encouraged to pick them up, hug them and hold them.  Could you imagine doing that in Erie?  I can't.
As far as the food is concerned, I look forward to the western food on the weekends.  It's ok, some spicy - some bland but none of it is satisfying at this point.  I had to break down the other day and get Dominos pizza.    That was an experience - the menu was interesting.  Some of my pizza choices were as follows: roast beef, potato, shrimp, swiss fondue & bulgogi (Bulgogi is a Korean dish that usually consists of marinated barbecued beef, although chicken or pork may also be used.) I opted for pepperoni.  I knew I wasn't going to be able to eat the next day (had to get a physical for my alien registration card and had to fast for it) so I thought I'd better eat more than what I have been eating.  Our school serves lunch and we eat with the kids.  It usually consists of rice, kimchi, some type of meat patty (compressed squid, spam, etc...  lol - I don't really know what it is) and some sprouts and then soup.  It's ok, I need some soy sauce to put on the rice and we have discovered the honey mustard trick.  You just pour honey mustard on everything and it becomes edible.  There is a bar that my co-teachers have been going to on Tuesdays for wings so that is something to look forward to each week.  I bought a cup of raman noodles at the MiniStop up the road from my apartment tonight for dinner because they were only ₩1,000 (I'm running out of money) but they are super spicy hot.  I stopped eating them 30 mins ago and my lips are still tingling.  I'm sure it's going to take a little time but I will get used to it.  I kind of don't have a choice, lol!
I wanted to tell you guys about the hospital here.  It amazes me that the technology here has surpassed America (by leaps and bounds - even though my apartment is a little older, the hallway lights are by motion sensor - makes sense right?) however, the hospital was horrible.  I just can't believe how dirty it was.  The floors looked like the original floors from when the hospital was built (maybe 70 years ago?  I don't know, I'm guessing) and the walls were yellowed.  I had to give a urine sample and there was only one sink in the two stalled bathroom but there was a cleaning bucket in the sink so I had to move the bucket in order to wash my hands.  I just kept thinking - my mother would be horrified if she saw this...  I mean, I am fine - I made it but I hope nothing goes tragically wrong while I'm here.
Anyway, that's a little quick narrative of the last week.  I'm exhausted right now and going to call it a day.
Please just keep tabs on me through FB and I will try to updated this as often as I can :)

How to do I know I'm at the right terminal?

Well, look around for a sea of black hair. I know I'm on the right flight for sure now as I sit and wait for the other passengers to join me in the waiting area. Lol, it just struck me as funny.
Slight delay at the Erie airport again. Part heavy plane (kind of feel partly responsible for that one)and part fog. Arrived in Detroit with no problem. Saying my 2nd goodbyes quickly and getting ready to call Verizon to suspend my phone. Trying to give myself a good 30 minutes for that because I've recently learned they are an incompetent cellular service and I expect I'll have to go over the whole 'I'm leaving the country for work' issue with them one last time. Anyway, everything seems to be on track with no issues :)
I will let everyone know when I arrive in Seoul via email/facebook if I can.
Bonus - I found that I may have wifi on the plane so that will make the trip easier!
Some interesting information: there are no street names or house numbers clearly marked in South Korea. Yeah, so this should make it very interesting right?

Read this http://www.teachkoreanz.com/living/address.htm

In Korea addresses seems to exist in name only. Over most of Korea, there are almost no signs labeling of street names, in fact, most streets do not have names at all. Nor do houses have numbers on the outside, though every house does in fact have an official number. Unfortunately, even these 'secret numbers' mean little - numbers are assigned to houses when they are built, so house No 27 could be next to house No 324, and so on.

Even Koreans find it close to impossible to locate an address. Pity the poor postal workers who must actually track down these buildings! On the other hand, the system (or lack of a system) provides a form of job security for letter carriers - no-one dares to fire them since only they can interpret the otherwise meaningless addresses which appear on envelopes.

How about that. Life is going to be really interesting for the next 72 hours :)

Trying to learn Te Korean language will be a must. So I will start out slow: 안녕히 계세요.
That is goodbye. And that looks to be extremely complicated as well. Yikes :/

"Your flight will be delayed for approximately 15-30 minutes..."

What they really meant to say was "We don't know what we are doing here at the Erie International Airport.  Please be patient while we attempt to locate our heads out of our behinds.  We aren't 'understaffed' per se, but we only have 5 flights a day so we don't really require a full team of flight associates to help you out.  WE don't really know what is going on or why your flight is delayed OR how long it will be delayed for.  Please be patient in our tiny little airport that has no Cinnabon, Starbucks or Einstein Bagel..."

It's 5am - Where is Jamie?  She is waiting patiently at the Erie Airport with her sweet looking compression stockings and her knee brace (it was too big for her suitcase so she opted to wear it under her awesome velvet track suit) while she awaits her new adventure.
It's 6a - She should be boarding her plane.  Instead she was advised of a 15-30 minute delay.
7a?  Still sitting down with her over-packed carry on & "laptop" bag & purse, waiting on some info about her delayed flight.
8a?  She's hungry but there is only 1 vending machine and Doritos just don't feel appropriate at the given time.
9a?  Still waiting to board her flight that was supposed to take off at 6a.  The 'starter' just won't catch so they can't start the plane.  However, an announcement was made that in the event the plane was able to be started, they needed us to board ASAP so they could hurry up and take off without the plane stalling.  That sounds really promising, not to mention SAFE.  
10a?  Standing in line since 9a to find out if we are going to make the connecting flight to Korea.  An announcement was made that an announcement would be made.  Great.  Thanks for letting us know.
1015a?  The announcement: We canceled the flight to Detroit, they can't get the plane started and could perhaps find us a cab, or bus, or make another travel arrangement for us. 
So where do I go from here?  Well, I stand in line at the Delta kiosk for another hour or so until Doug picks me up with tea & a bagel (slight mini-meltdown via phone whilst calling to say 'pick me up') and we take my extremely heavy luggage back home.  While standing in line to make alternative travel arrangements, I was given a phone number to call because they said "this will be much quicker than waiting here."  I called, the first thing the recording told me was that it would be a 26-37 minute wait.  So we went to breakfast and I called when I got home.  Let me just make this quick and tell you how the flight story ends.  New flight information:  Leaving on MONDAY now (same time) and taking a DIRECT FLIGHT TO KOREA rather than a detour to Tokyo.  Plus - no more temporary housing!  I go right to my apartment so I can unload my 1000lb bags and layout all of my wrinkled up clothing.
All in all, I think it ended up working out in my favor.  I get to stay an extra day and a half in Erie, no temporary housing and I didn't die in a plane that won't stay running!

9 more days!

9 more days... Seriously?

Ok, clothes are on the bed waiting to be packed. And then un-packed, re-evaluated and re-packed again. I'm in fear that I'm really waiting until the last possible moment to get everything done. And I suppose that's ok because it's in true Jamie fashion to wait.

I received my travel itinerary a little while back. It's going to be an interesting 24 hours. First I am set to leave Erie Int'l for Detroit, MI at 6a on Saturday morning. Then I get to sit in the Detroit airport for about 5.5 hours. From there I make the 13 hour flight to Tokyo - sounds great if you are able to sleep for some of the trip. However, since my blood clot incident earlier last year I am unable to "sleep" for longer than an hour or so due to having to get up and walk around. So that's fantastic. I will have a short layover in Tokyo and then will make the final 3 hour leg to Seoul. Total flying time is something like 18 hours or so but ends up being a full 24 hour day with the layover. I asked my recruiter who was picking me up from the airport, because at that time it's going to be 11p at night, I'm going to be exhausted and driven through the dark streets of Seoul with no idea where I'm going, etc. She tells me "David". David? Is this English speaking David OR English name David who speaks little English? :) OMG I can't even wait!!!

(Side note: When I finally arrive in my temporary housing on Sunday night, it will actually be Sunday morning for everyone else. Seoul is 14 hours ahead of the EST. I'd say around 1030a, think of me. Chances are I'm going to be sitting in my little 'room' looking at my suitcases, completely exhausted and thinking to myself "WTF did I just do...")

Found out that I'm going to be put up in some "temporary" housing when I first get into Seoul. :) I'm not quite sure what that exactly means. It's going to be awesome, I can just feel it!

This is going to be such an adventure, I can't even stand it...

9 more days...

Official date of departure is February 1st, 2011.

He we are, on another little adventure. Only this time I'm heading to Seoul, South Korea for an entire year. A YEAR. What?

When twenty ten left me reeling from some major life changing events, I decided 'what better way to cope than to travel!' So he we are, preparing for a Gap Year abroad to teach English as a Second Language.

So loyal family and friends - be ready, much more to come: Remember the ordeal I had packing for 6 months? The slight language barrier in the UK not to mention the rest of Europe? It's going to be interesting!