Get Your Taean

4-11-2010
Day 35 of 365: I finally got out of Ansan for the first time last weekend, and it only took me a month to do so. I took a day trip with some church friends to the west coast county of Taean. It was nice to change up my weekend routine, and Korea does have some nice scenery once you get far enough away from the city. Much of the countryside that we drove through on the way there is farmland. It was difficult to tell what crops were being grown because the winter has barely ended, so they haven't come in yet (yes, Korea grows other things besides rice). There are several beaches in this area, occupied by merchants selling various kinds of food and jewelry among other things. The highlight was Kkotji beach, where this picture was taken. These two rock formations are known as Grandmother (Halmi) and Grandfather (Harabi). During the day, the tide pulls away, opening a beach path to these natural landmarks. Come noon, you better clear out or else you'll end up stranded on a deserted island...until tomorrow. In addition, the ever fluxuating tide also leaves behind many ocean dwelling creatures on shore. You can find hermit crabs carving paths in the sand, sea anemones attached to jagged rocks, and star fish just waiting for someone to throw them back in the water. The beaches in this area aren't necessarily the kind that would be ideal for surfing or to bring a towel and lay out for hours with a book, but for those who enjoy beautiful ocean scenery and have a curiosity for marine life, this is a nice place to check out.

So the other week when I had caught my cold (blog entry - Code Breaker), I slept pretty much the whole weekend. I woke up at 8pm on Sunday night feeling much better, but also wide awake. Not knowing what else to do, I went down and took a walk through my backyard of city streets and neon lights looking for anything that might interest me. That's when I wound up catching Solomon Kane at a mall about 2 miles from my house. The movie started at 10pm, which means it didn't end until midnight. I had heard in general about how safe Korea was, but I put it to a moderate test that night. Upon exiting the mall, I hit the street reminding myself that I was probably bigger, and faster if need be, than most anyone I would encounter. It was kind of exciting to feel like I was in danger; my spider-sense tingling at the hint of any threat. However, it was actually very peaceful. There's a lot of hustle and bustle during the day in the heart of the city, but at night it's very calm. I enjoyed the wide open avenues without traffic and the sidewalks void of obstacles. The only downside was that many of the bright lights that grab my attention and pull me in like human-sized bug zappers were shut off for the night, but there were still enough for me to enjoy my trek home. Thinking back, with my black leather jacket and hood pulled low, I was probably the most intimidating mug on the streets, and I didn't even have my boots on.

The first week of extra classes is finished. I survived. It wasn't so difficult as much as it just made me more tired at the end of each day. I'll adjust. I discovered a way to cheat in the extra class for the students: just bring candy and they'll do whatever I say. It could get expensive in the long run, so I'll have to find out how real teachers do it without bribery. The extra classes for the teachers are not so bad either. I don't need to bribe them with anything; they just want to talk to me and practice conversation for the most part. I give them 'assignments' to make it feel more official. This week's assignment was: What's your favorite American movie? Write a couple of paragraphs and we'll talk about it next week. They're totally into it.

Oh, and last thing, I got kidnapped by one of my 4th grade classes last week...yeah. After the bell rang, I left the classroom to get a drink of water when each of my hands was grabbed by a little girl, followed by a mob of kids pushing me from behind. They pulled and pushed me to their home classroom and, once inside, were all holding on to me to the point where it was actually difficult for me to move. I thought it would be funny once we got inside and their teacher saw what they were doing, but there was no teacher! It was total 4th grader chaos. The teacher never arrived the whole time I was in there, and I was almost made late for my next class before wrestling free. I ran back to my room and they followed me all the way there. It was super weird, but...cute at the same time? I better bring a bottle with me from now on. No more drinks of water between classes for me.