Ride on the Swine Train

Today was the first official day of training where we actually got into the "meat and potatoes," if you will, of the material. It's a lot to take in at once. We have to do a lot of mock teaching and lessons tomorrow. Normally I would be a bit nervous about presenting due to my tendency to break out in hives when faced with a nerve-wracking situation. Anyone who witnessed my breakdown when having to ask a formal date a few years back knows the situation, and it is not pretty. However, with my handy-dandy H1N1 mask, most of my face will be covered!

So chic, I know. It's actually not even embarrassing to wear because it is extremely common to wear the mask. Koreans are particularly concerned about being around westerners because there was an outbreak within Chungdahm--the company I work for. Before Chungdahm, there had been only 3 known cases of swine flu in South Korea. One girl working for Chungdahm contracted the virus in the US, came here, and basically presented the epidemic to the country. Still, there have only been about 45 reported cases of SI. I have noticed a number of Koreans covering their mouths while passing us. Since we are germ-infested freaks, Chungdahm has set a protocol for us to follow including avoiding the stairs, and only taking the elevator that fits 4 people at a time. Rationale? No idea. Since there is about 60 of us training at once, you can imagine how long it takes us to get to the 4th floor. Another Swine avoidance technique is to break us trainees up into small groups in different rooms. Therefore, if someone contracted H1N1, theoretically only those 5 or 6 people in the room would have to be quarantined along with the sick person. The fact that many of us are staying in the same hotel, though, sort of defeats the purpose. Can you say paranoia?

Four people/ride=inefficiency. The elevator is smart too. Once a fifth person comes in, it beeps and refuses to go up!

Egg Roll

I forgot to bring my camera around with me yesterday, so if you're more of a visual person, skip this post. No pics, sorry! Anyway, yesterday I met a few other guys in my program to go around with. One of the guys is a Korean adoptee and apparently came to Korea this summer for a Korean adoption program. While he was here in August, he befriended some locals, one of which, Joon, took us around a bit. We went to the Han river during the day and then to dinner at a local place. We sat upstairs, where we were instructed to take off our shoes, put them in garbage bags, and sit on small pillows. The ceiling could not have been higher than 6 feet and the loft setup actually made it reminiscent of bunk beds, in my opinion. The walls were full of marker writing, some Korean, some English, some Chinese. I obviously jumped right on that... "Chi-town represent" what? embarrassing....
Joon ordered the food for us. The first course was something that is translated literally as "egg roll." However, it was much like a long--about 3 feet, in fact--omelette filled with cheese and kimchi. (Jackie, you would like the half that was just cheese!) They brought it out on a wooden washboard, which was quite interesting. I had my first taste of Soju which is a Korean rice-based whiskey, an alcohol drank throughout the country and often--almost every meal. It tastes like watered down vodka, really. Joon taught us a variety of drinking games that they commonly play when out for a meal which took us a while to figure out. The customary way to take a shot is to pour the glass over your head after you drink the shot to show that you finished it. I followed suit and ended up with some wet hair. Today was the first day of training and the medical exam. We have to wear surgical masks the entire time during training, it's painful. The paranoia about swine flu is rampant. Apparently training is supposed to be pretty intense, so I may not have too many updates within the next week. I'll try and snap a picture of all of us with our masks...pretty cute. The trainer said that the masks are "cool because we look like superheroes." I'm not sure what super hero wears that kind of mask.

I've Got Seoul

After a crunchy 14-hour plane flight, I have finally arrived in Seoul. Although I was quite miserable in my coach seat fit for a 12-year old, and vying to be one of the lucky few in the premium/first class, it could have been worse. A personal TV screen was attached to each seat with a wide range of movies, TV shows, and special programming. Needless to say, I watched 4 movies, and at least 3 episodes of House. A young woman sitting a seat away from me was from Seoul and had been in Chicago for business. We struck up a conversation for a while, and as we were landing, she gave me her business card and told me to call her if I ever wanted her to show me around. She also offered to help me find my bus to the City Air Terminal. How refreshing!
I was a bit worried about actually getting to the hotel. However, the signs in the airport and, well, basically everywhere, are all in English. Additionally, the people here are more than willing to help. I didn't even have to ask, only to look confused, when a number of people asked where I was going, and directed me toward where I needed to be.
My roommate arrived at the hotel soon after I did, and we attempted to fight off the jet lag to stay up until 9...wooo party animals, I know. The next morning we ate an "American style" breakfast downstairs in the bar, which was a strange atmosphere to be in at 8 in the morning. The selection consisted of some sort of mixed rice, eggs, hot dogs, and frosted flakes. The only milk available was whole milk.
My roommate and two guys we met in our program then decided to venture out on the streets of Seoul. It is an attractive city that, on the main streets, looks like any other big city.




Keeping in mind, also, that our hotel is not in Central Seoul, which is apparently where the real bright and shining lights of the city are. I am in no place at this time to brave the subway system...there are barely even street signs. I will definitely need someone to advise me, if not full on hold my hand through that.

The exceptions to the rules of this being a somewhat average city are:
1) motorcycles and vespas can drive on the side walks
2) Cars park on the sidewalks as well (although I am not sure if it is legal as there are many cement stumps throughout the sidewalks seemingly to stop cars from driving on them
3) Ambulances and Police cars drive with the traffic, even when their lights are on...no one stops.
4) The shopping is organized on the streets by theme. In other words, one block will be full of various coffee shops, the next furniture stores, the next clothing, and so on. Seems like it would be nice for consumer choice, although I don't know how the companies withstand all that competition.
5) The side streets are a whole new world, narrow and crowded with more mom and pop shops, and food and street vendors. I snapped some pictures of the streets we walked down






We stopped for lunch at a Korean barbeque on one of the side streets. Thankfully, one of the guys we were with spoke Korean. We left the talking/ordering up to him. The server gave us an assortment of side dishes called "bonchon" along with raw beef or pork that is meant to be grilled yourself in a small pit in the center of the table. Check out this spread, delicious!

Korean bbq is choice; full of flavor, spice and variety.

We had grand plans to go out to a karaoke bar later that night, but by the time 7:00 pm rolled around, everyone pretty much had hit a brick wall. A long day of walking combined with jet lag equals an early night in.