Cruisin' Around On My Own Two Feet
Chuck Berry may not quite agree with that title, but hey!
Last weekend was Children's Day in Korea. A day to celebrate all the youth. And why not? We have Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day, (and even Parents' Day here), Teachers' Day, Singles' Day, Couples' Day, and a whole slew of other celebrations, why not one for the kids? I had the Friday off, so I decided I'd go down to Busan and check out the parts of the city that my boyfriend would probably prefer not to be dragged to. I woke up in the morning, got my things together, and headed to the train station. Seoul was an absolute ghost town. No cars around, no people either, and no businesses open. It wasn't until I arrived at Seoul station that I learned where all 12 million people in this city were! It was rockin'! I waited til the train ride down to go through my Moon Handbook and really discovered that everything that interested me would probably interest him, too. So I did what most girls would do: shop. I also did something most girls would not do: not buy anything. I went to Texas Street/Russian Road, the "foreigner" section right across from Busan Station. (Pictures already sent). I thought it left a lot to be desired as far as shopping goes. There were a few boutiques, but really just a lot of restaurants. So I decided to take the advice of the woman who sat next to me on the train and was a native of the city and head to Nampo-Dong 2 subway stops away. This area was right along the water, very cute and clean. I enjoyed the scenery, if nothing else. I even had a random group of Indonesians ask to take a picture with me. I walked around and checked out what all this destination had to offer. Shopping was actually great, though comparable to America. I'm opposed to paying American prices when I'm in the hub of textile manufacturing, but I can still look! And such was the end of my getting out of the box in Busan!
Later that weekend, we decided to try a new restaurant. Sorrento was the name, and it said it had steak, pasta, wine, and a few other things, but we were sold after the first three items. It seemed a bit up-scale, and the prices on the menu certainly were, but the funny part was that it was a total doll house. The restaurant was cloaked in pink, green, blue, and whatever other colors remind you of childhood dreams of walking through a Barbie Dreamhouse. There were big pillows, lace and curtains and plants all over the place and the lighting was fluorescent while the tables were large and had guests sitting somewhat further apart than normal. We were somewhat bewildered, but the food was very good (and we got a lot of it!) so all-in-all, feeling like Gulliver in Brobdingnag was time well spent.
This past weekend we decided to do one more thing out of the "Seoul's Best 100" book that we've been interested in: The Han River Pleasure Cruise. For $15 each for an hour and a half, and with a band if you take the last ride, you ride down the river and just look at the scenery. One of my favorite parts of Korea thus far has been the Han River. It's really beautiful at night when you drive along it and see the lights of the bridges, the city, and those lining the water. So I don't know what I was expecting, but I unfortunately felt like the ride was pretty anticlimactic. The band sounded pretty good, but for some silly reason, part of me was expecting live music to be in my own native language! Duh! There were young children, old people, couples, and friends. We met two guys in the Army (one from Texas and the other from New Jersey) so that was cool. We decided to sit outside even though it was a bit chilly. We propped our feet up on the railings, much to the chagrin of passers-by who realized they'd have to figure out how to ask the whities to move. So we thought it would be funny if we told them in Korean that it was 1,000Won (about a dollar) to get past the toll bridge of our legs. It was only funny to us the first time, but we did it twice more and our audience laughed pretty hard. I got a few good pictures of the National Assembly Building and the Twin Towers and a few bridges, too!
Well, my test is done! At least part of it, and at least for now. I registered for it in March, changed that up a bit in May, and then went to take the test this past Wednesday. I'd visited the building where I would be taking the exam over the weekend-- just to be like a college freshman or something-- so that I could feel comfortable with it and know where I needed to go. You know, test frazzles don't really help your score! So over the weekend they told me that the 2nd floor was closed but would be open on Wednesday. When I arrived Wednesday morning there was a sign telling examinees where to go by the letter of their last name. I was both surprised and somewhat amused to see, at the bottom of every single one of these signs, my ID # and "OLIVIA REED - 2nd FLOOR" in big bold letters. I guess that's what happens when you're the only foreigner!
My vacation is booked. Bangkok and Sydney. Though I'm not sure what I'll visit in either place, I'm definitely looking forward to it. I'll be gone for about 9 days and have been waiting to do my research on what I want to visit because of this test. Now that that's over, I'm taking suggestions and checking out a lot of Google! Anyone have a recommendation?
This week has been that ever-busy one we have toward the end of each term. The kids already took their level-up tests, I wrote 52 report cards, and now it's time to meet with the parents. I've always been concerned about what to tell the parents of the poorer performing students. How do you say, "Your child is a slacker" in a nice way to someone who doesn't like the way you make checks? (My parents were the ones who always took my teacher's word over mine. Not that there were many occurrences, but I was certainly never one of the ones who was without fault in my parents' eyes just because I was their offspring!) But what I've learned is that the parents of the children who aren't doing so well don't show up. What that tells me is that the ones who really care, who really invest in their child's education, who really want to know what they're learning and doing-- those are the parents who show up, those are the kids who are doing well. It makes sense!
Copyright 2006 Olivia R. Reed
Last weekend was Children's Day in Korea. A day to celebrate all the youth. And why not? We have Mothers' Day, Fathers' Day, (and even Parents' Day here), Teachers' Day, Singles' Day, Couples' Day, and a whole slew of other celebrations, why not one for the kids? I had the Friday off, so I decided I'd go down to Busan and check out the parts of the city that my boyfriend would probably prefer not to be dragged to. I woke up in the morning, got my things together, and headed to the train station. Seoul was an absolute ghost town. No cars around, no people either, and no businesses open. It wasn't until I arrived at Seoul station that I learned where all 12 million people in this city were! It was rockin'! I waited til the train ride down to go through my Moon Handbook and really discovered that everything that interested me would probably interest him, too. So I did what most girls would do: shop. I also did something most girls would not do: not buy anything. I went to Texas Street/Russian Road, the "foreigner" section right across from Busan Station. (Pictures already sent). I thought it left a lot to be desired as far as shopping goes. There were a few boutiques, but really just a lot of restaurants. So I decided to take the advice of the woman who sat next to me on the train and was a native of the city and head to Nampo-Dong 2 subway stops away. This area was right along the water, very cute and clean. I enjoyed the scenery, if nothing else. I even had a random group of Indonesians ask to take a picture with me. I walked around and checked out what all this destination had to offer. Shopping was actually great, though comparable to America. I'm opposed to paying American prices when I'm in the hub of textile manufacturing, but I can still look! And such was the end of my getting out of the box in Busan!
Later that weekend, we decided to try a new restaurant. Sorrento was the name, and it said it had steak, pasta, wine, and a few other things, but we were sold after the first three items. It seemed a bit up-scale, and the prices on the menu certainly were, but the funny part was that it was a total doll house. The restaurant was cloaked in pink, green, blue, and whatever other colors remind you of childhood dreams of walking through a Barbie Dreamhouse. There were big pillows, lace and curtains and plants all over the place and the lighting was fluorescent while the tables were large and had guests sitting somewhat further apart than normal. We were somewhat bewildered, but the food was very good (and we got a lot of it!) so all-in-all, feeling like Gulliver in Brobdingnag was time well spent.
This past weekend we decided to do one more thing out of the "Seoul's Best 100" book that we've been interested in: The Han River Pleasure Cruise. For $15 each for an hour and a half, and with a band if you take the last ride, you ride down the river and just look at the scenery. One of my favorite parts of Korea thus far has been the Han River. It's really beautiful at night when you drive along it and see the lights of the bridges, the city, and those lining the water. So I don't know what I was expecting, but I unfortunately felt like the ride was pretty anticlimactic. The band sounded pretty good, but for some silly reason, part of me was expecting live music to be in my own native language! Duh! There were young children, old people, couples, and friends. We met two guys in the Army (one from Texas and the other from New Jersey) so that was cool. We decided to sit outside even though it was a bit chilly. We propped our feet up on the railings, much to the chagrin of passers-by who realized they'd have to figure out how to ask the whities to move. So we thought it would be funny if we told them in Korean that it was 1,000Won (about a dollar) to get past the toll bridge of our legs. It was only funny to us the first time, but we did it twice more and our audience laughed pretty hard. I got a few good pictures of the National Assembly Building and the Twin Towers and a few bridges, too!
Well, my test is done! At least part of it, and at least for now. I registered for it in March, changed that up a bit in May, and then went to take the test this past Wednesday. I'd visited the building where I would be taking the exam over the weekend-- just to be like a college freshman or something-- so that I could feel comfortable with it and know where I needed to go. You know, test frazzles don't really help your score! So over the weekend they told me that the 2nd floor was closed but would be open on Wednesday. When I arrived Wednesday morning there was a sign telling examinees where to go by the letter of their last name. I was both surprised and somewhat amused to see, at the bottom of every single one of these signs, my ID # and "OLIVIA REED - 2nd FLOOR" in big bold letters. I guess that's what happens when you're the only foreigner!
My vacation is booked. Bangkok and Sydney. Though I'm not sure what I'll visit in either place, I'm definitely looking forward to it. I'll be gone for about 9 days and have been waiting to do my research on what I want to visit because of this test. Now that that's over, I'm taking suggestions and checking out a lot of Google! Anyone have a recommendation?
This week has been that ever-busy one we have toward the end of each term. The kids already took their level-up tests, I wrote 52 report cards, and now it's time to meet with the parents. I've always been concerned about what to tell the parents of the poorer performing students. How do you say, "Your child is a slacker" in a nice way to someone who doesn't like the way you make checks? (My parents were the ones who always took my teacher's word over mine. Not that there were many occurrences, but I was certainly never one of the ones who was without fault in my parents' eyes just because I was their offspring!) But what I've learned is that the parents of the children who aren't doing so well don't show up. What that tells me is that the ones who really care, who really invest in their child's education, who really want to know what they're learning and doing-- those are the parents who show up, those are the kids who are doing well. It makes sense!
Copyright 2006 Olivia R. Reed
posted by LSULiv | 2:30 PM
1 Comments:
Yeah, we did it at night. Some of the bridges were pretty and I'd like to be able to get pictures from the underside...
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