Well it turned out to be a bit of an adventure. Actually, we kind of got lost, too. No one knew where we were going, really, but we had one of the runners (the best one, actually) plug in the address into the GPS (which was a Korean-language GPS). I had Rachael watch the GPS and call out the turns to me. Well, it only gave notice of one turn at a time, and then took a little while to display the next one. If the exit you take has a choice right away between one direction and the other on the expressway, that doesn't work unless you're watching the picture of the roadway as well as the direction arrows.
The other thing that caused problems was the fact that the guys didn't trust the GPS, and started to second-guess it. Rachael got distracted by them, and failed to give me adequate notice for a turn I needed to make. On the Korean expressway system, the exits are few and far between. Basically, if you get on an expressway, it means you're going some distance, whether you want to or not. There are toll plazas at the interchanges between expressways and surface streets/regional highways. That cost us some time, and a few thousand won in unnecessary tolls.
However, we still got there within the time parameters that Rachael thought would be OK. Then we found out that her assumptions had been incorrect, and the race the guys were supposed to run in had already started. We decided to run the course and time the guys on our own. Uriel, the star runner, was pretty frustrated, because this wasn't the first time he had missed a race like that. It looks like maybe Rachael needs to allow more time for getting lost and recovering, and for other unexpected events, than she has been allowing.
At any rate, we ran the race. I actually chased the slowest runners all the way around the course, which was a hilly 5K race. (I was wearing blue jeans and hiking boots.) In fact, I sometimes had to yell at them not to walk, but to keep running, and rest later. I think I would have liked to be working with Rachael in coaching the team, but I haven't had much time for that, and anyway, the season is pretty much over for now. Too bad they didn't get more races. Some of these guys need to learn the way of the warrior. Tae Kwon Do doesn't appear to be teaching them enough of that.
After the race, we went out for dinner, paid for by the athletic budget, of course. That was another challenge, trying to find a place for dinner in a city we didn't know. However, we eventually found a Kim's Club, which turned out to be a grocery store that has a food court attached. Next challenge: find a parking space! The first four levels down were full, but the attendant on the fifth floor waved us on. The lot was really tight, as they all are in Korea, and the spaces were all squared, no angled spots. (Angled spaces take more space, something that's at a premium everywhere in Korea.) I tried for a couple of spaces, but there wasn't really enough maneuvering room to get the van into them safely. Then I saw a corner space open up, and I went for it.
Another driver, a woman, also wanted the same space, and came at it from the opposite direction. (Note: I'm not sexist. Women drive differently in Korea, as discussed in a previous post.) I got halfway into the space, and then I just sat and waited for her to move out of my way. I figured my car was bigger than hers, and more beat up, so she wouldn't be too aggressive. Also, I figured she was in more of a hurry than I was, and would quickly tire of waiting for me to to move, and go find another space. She honked at me, and I honked back and motioned for her to move on. Soon, a parking attendant came over (there were a few on that level), and spoke to her in Korean. Evidently the attendant sided with me, and helped the woman find another parking space.
In Kim's Club (which had plenty of signs in English, surprisingly enough), I learned how to order food at a Korean food court. There was a display of fake food, which represented the dishes available for order. Beneath each dish of plastic food, was a tag showing the name (in Korean) and price of the real food item. The idea was to choose the item you wanted, and go to the cashier and tell her, and pay for it, of course. This was another challenge in reading Hangul. Fortunately, Rachael knew some of the names, and once she said it, I was able to read it better. I chose a hot variant of bibenbap, which is a rice bowl with veggies and other things. (The word "pap" or "bap", spelled 밥 in Korean, means "cooked rice".)
After I paid for it, she gave me two receipts, one with the price to give to Rachael for reimbursement, and the other with an order number, which she helpfully pointed out. I was directed to look at a board with several rows of numbers. Apparently, each row represented one counter in the food court. Every time an order was ready at a counter, that order number would flash on the board, and an electronic bell would chime. The number would also flash on a smaller board at the individual counter. Different types of food were prepared at different counters, of course.
Eventually, my number flashed, and I went to pick up my order. It was served in a cast-iron bowl, so hot the rice on the bottom was sizzling. It cost 4,900 won, and was very good. I've never had such a good meal for less than 5 bucks before. I honestly enjoyed it more than some meals that were twice the price.
After dinner, we did some shopping, with an agreement to meet back there at a certain time. (I actually told them an hour later than I intended to, so we had some time to kill, but that's the way it went.) I took one of the boys who is bilingual, and I tried to get a prepaid cell phone, which is apparently the only kind I can get as long as I don't have a foreigner ID card. No dice. Apparently prepaid cell phones are only sold where many foreigners can be found, in places like airports, and near Osan AFB, and in Itaewon-dong, the international district of Seoul. So, that was frustrating. However, I also looked for a few things for the kitchen, and bought a decent cutting board that I can wash and sanitize properly.
On the way home, we didn't make a single wrong move. (We did have some people honk at us, but I kind of expect that in Korea.) We had learned how to use the GPS successfully. I also positioned it so I could see it as well as Rachael. I did succeed in getting the guys back before 11:00, which was my goal, so they could get a decent amount of sleep before having to get up for church. Then, of course, I took Rachael back to the apartments. Not the date I would have chosen to take her on, but a fun experience none the less, and also valuable for getting a little bit better acquainted.
The next day, I got a request from some of you, via my mother, for ideas for care packages. So, I'll post the list here for those who are interested. (Note: Sending packages to Korea is expensive, and I understand this. So, I don't expect a lot. Please don't feel obligated in any way.)
Care Package Ideas
When people think of care packages, they usually think of food. Now, I can buy food here, but there are certain things that I have trouble finding. Instant oatmeal is very good, and I haven't seen it even in the black market. Instant cocoa packets are also good. I've seen chocolate powder in places, but I'm not good a mixing hot chocolate from that, so hot chocolate packets would be nice.
I don't need candy, but some filling snacks would be really nice. I've only seen Snickers in the black market, and I haven't seen Balance Bars anywhere, so those would be good, as would Power Bars. Some unsalted trail mix (without walnuts) would also be good, as I haven't seen that anywhere.
I really want to bake a pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving, and baking things are hard to find here. I can get fresh pumpkin, and I'm pretty sure I can prepare it for baking. I also think I can get evaporated milk, although that will be harder. I have some cinnamon, and I know where to find more. I've also seen ground cloves somewhere, maybe the black market, so I think I can find those. I haven't seen any ground ginger, so I'd love to get a small amount of that for baking. I'll have to make a piecrust from scratch, so if anyone has a recipe for piecrust that a pioneer (think Little House on the Prairie) could follow, I'd appreciate it. On that subject, I haven't seen a proper-shaped piepan anywhere, not even at the cookware store in Pyeongtaek near Osan AFB, so if someone is willing to send one or two deep-dish piepans, I will be forever in your debt. Other baking items like baking soda and vanilla extract would be good too. I was able to get some stuff that claims to be baking soda, but the way it's labeled makes me wonder if it's the same stuff I'm used to. Same with the vanilla. I also need some measuring cups for dry ingredients, and measuring spoons for teaspoon and tablespoon measurements. Again, I couldn't find them, even in the cooking store in Pyeongtaek.
That's about it for food. As for other things, it is starting to get colder here. In fact, I understand the old name for this area meant "cold snowy valley". (I have already ordered a long cashmere coat from a good tailor in Pyeongtaek.) So, all you knitters out there in my fan club, I would really love some hand-knitted wool socks and a scarf or two. (You can get my sock measurements from my mom.) If anyone is more ambitious, a knitted wool vest in a versatile color like black or grey, that can be worn with a shirt and tie, would be very nice. Keep in mind that my job requires me to look like a professional, not a ski bum.
If you've read the above post, you're probably wondering why I don't get some paper maps. Apparently, Koreans rely on GPS devices despite their shortcomings, and don't really use paper maps, so no one knows where to find them without ordering some kind of atlas. So, some paper road maps would be really nice, even if they're labeled in Korean. Some of the expressway system in Chungcheongbuk Province (Chungcheongbuk-do, Korean 충청북도) and southern Gyeonggi Province (Gyeonggi-do, Korean 경기도) would be really nice. Also, of the area around Osan AFB. If AAA can provide a road map of Eumseong County (Eumseong-gun, Korean 음성군) in Chungcheongbuk Province, that would be very nice to receive as well.
Thanks to everyone who was asking about this. I do love receiving packages. However, your prayers are even more valuable, so I'll move on to the next section.
Prayer Requests
First, praise God for my continued good health, and the continued growth of relationships with my colleagues and students. On the whole, I've really enjoyed my time in Korea to date.
Also, praise God for allowing me to develop a taste for Korean food. I'm really starting to like kimchi, and cucumber soup, and even edible seaweed. That definitely makes it easier to live here.
As for requests and petitions, please pray for the health of the students and staff. On Monday (the 12th of October), we started seeing an unusual number of kids running fevers. Many were sent to the nurse's office, and several went back after school to be taken to the hospital to check for H1N1 virus. That apparently resulted in a visit from local representatives of the Ministry of Health, who administered temperature checks to all students, faculty and staff on Wednesday night. Fully one-third of the students were found to have an elevated temperature, and as a result, the school decided to have an immediate, week-long fall vacation. Students were sent home on chartered buses on Thursday, and their parents were called to pick them up at the stations. Please pray that everyone made it home safely.
Please pray that this will allow the sick students to get better, and keep them from infecting everyone. (This also gives the custodial staff a chance to sanitize the dormitories.) Some of the teachers were showing symptoms as well, and one tested positive (assumed) for H1N1 at the hospital, so those people stayed home from the teacher in-service/fellowship day that was held on Friday. Please pray that everyone would return to school healthy next Monday, and that there will not be any more outbreaks.
Since the Fall Festival was canceled as part of this vacation, we only lost four days of instruction time instead of seven. Praise God for helping me replan my lessons for the rest of the semester, to make up for the lost days. I have tried not to overburden the students with too much work. Please pray that this revised plan would work, and allow the students to keep up with the pace. Also, praise God for helping me finish grading all the chapter tests before I left for my vacation, and please pray that I would be able to finish all the homework grading and lesson planning I have to do this week.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading, thanks to those of you who are sending care packages, and thanks most of all for praying for my colleagues and I. May the blessings of God be with you all.
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