Cultural differences

This past weekend I travelled to a new section of Busan to check out the Gupo Market. Gupo is one of the most well known outdoor markets in Busan and has everything from clothing to live fish. You can literally buy everything you need to survive and thrive at the markets and then some. I not only went to peruse the market but also to try out my new camera. I bought a DLSR camera a few weeks back and am now addicted to it's versatility and the phenomenal images it produces. I have found that the markets are a great place to find interesting subjects to shoot (photograph). There was one feature of the Gupo Market that I was unaware of before going but was just a matter of time before I stumbled upon it. I'm sure some of you have heard the rumors that some if not most Asian countries eat dog. I had also heard this before I came here but hadn't really thought about it much until I rounded a corner at the market and came upon one of the saddest, most horrifying sites I have ever witnessed. There was an entire street lined with cages full of dogs and butcher shop windows displaying freshly butchered dog carcasses. After the shock of what I was looking at wore off, I immediately began to get angry at the cruelty I was witnessing. Then I remembered where I was and that this is a part of the Korean culture, albeit a small part that most Koreans don't support. I walked a few hundred feet up the road looking in the eyes of the caged dogs who knew nothing of their fate and for a split second contemplated playing the hero and springing them from their impending doom. I only spent about 5 minutes in that area and that was more than enough. Before I left I whipped out my camera to take a few pictures but was promptly surrounded by a few of the shop owners who were yelling at me in Korean and gesturing with their arms crossed like an X. I am no idiot and knew they didn't want some foreign animal rights activist photographing how they made a living. I did manage to take a few pictures and if you have gotten a good enough mental image from this blog then please don't scroll down any further.

Volleyball!

For weeks my co-workers have been bugging me to join their volleyball team. They meet every Wednesday in the gym at 3pm and play. Unfortunately, since I teach one of my advanced adult classes at that time I haven't been able to participate. Fast forward to this past Wednesday. We are all having lunch and our PE teacher once again asks me if I can play volleyball that day. He proceeded to tell me that today wasn't a practice, but that we were travelling to another elementary school to play against the teachers there. I told him if he could convince my teachers (students) to agree to postpone our class and convince our principal to allow me to participate that I would definitely play. Ten minutes later he was in my office and told me to go change and get ready to go play. We drove to Gudeok Elementary which is 10 minutes from our school to meet the other teachers. I had no idea which of our teachers would be participating and I was fairly shocked at the group I saw. It included our vice principal, who is in his 60's, a Korean Language teacher who is 57 and 7 others who are 40 or younger. The women played their match first. Our team got beat pretty badly. Then it was on to the men's match. I was told I would be playing up at the net to take advantage of my height. The very first play I went up and blocked one of their spike attempts and won the point. My team and the women teachers who were watching went wild and were chanting my name. From that point on I got set up for a spike almost every time and usually converted. I was amazed at how seriously everyone took the match and thankfully we won handily. The next day at school my celebrity status was at an all time high since word of my volleyball skills spread around. Even my principal was delighted by my ability and I hope this helps my cause to get out from under my teacher outing ban. I also learned that every summer my city holds a big teacher volleyball tournament and it's supposedly a big deal. I was told that I was their only hope at winning the tournament and the other school's principals would be scouting me during the rest of our tune up matches. Talk about pressure to perform.

I had one of our female teachers take pictures of our match.

The men's and women's team. Those aren't peace signs the ladies are holding up. Korean's do that in every picture and it supposedly means victory but I really have no idea.

Weekend Trip to Gyeongju

Before reading: Keep in mind that if you want to view all of my pictures, you need to click on the link to the right of this post called "Photobucket."

On Friday, my friend Brian and I headed 2 hours north of Busan to the city of Gyeongju. I have been in Busan for a month and half and had yet to leave the city so we decided it was about time to see what else Korea had to offer. Gyeongju was the capital of the ancient Kingdom of Silla. The Silla Kingdom arose around 57 B.C. and lasted until around 935 A.D. It was the longest sustaining dynasty in Asian history and a lot of the archaeological sites still remain today.

The hostel where we stayed was interesting to say the least.

We got up Saturday morning and took a bus 45 minutes to the Bulguksa Temple. Bulguksa was constructed under King Gyeongdeok in 751 A.D. In 1592 the wooden structures of the temple were burned by Japanese invaders but were rebuilt in 1604. In 1995, Bulguksa was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List (there are 878 sites with this distinction around the world). Bulguksa was the third Buddhist Temple I have visited in Korea and was by far the most impressive. The only downside to visiting it on a Saturday in April is the thousands of other people that are viewing it with you.

There was an art class being conducted at the temple. There were around 20 kids drawing different sections of the temple and they all wanted me to see their drawings and to practice their English.

After the temple we loaded onto another bus and headed to the Seokguram Grotto. Seokguram is a hermitage and is considered part of the Bulguksa Temple. Seokguram Grotto was built between 742-774 A.D. and houses one of the best Buddhist sculptures in the world. The grotto sits about 800 meters above sea level and provides a great view of the Sea of Japan. Since the grotto is so highly visited it can only be viewed from behind glass and photographs are not allowed. While I was viewing the grotto, a group of Buddhist monks came in and started chanting and bowing in unison. Most of them, including the women had shaved heads so I fit right in. It was a unbelievable experience standing in one of the most sacred Buddhist shrines listening to the monks.

View of the grotto from the path below.

The stone Buddha inside the grotto. I got this picture from the Internet since I was not able to take any.

We also visited the Gyeongju National Museum on Saturday which is considered the best history museum in Korea. Most of the exhibits featured artifacts that were unearthed from the Silla Kingdom days. It was your typical museum and after seeing about 400 clay pots we were ready to call it a day.

On Sunday we headed to the city's center to check out the royal tomb complex, Chomseongdae and Anapji Pond. The tomb complex consists of around 20 something giant mounds of earth that house a King of the silla period as well as his entire family and their royal belongings. Some of these tombs have been excavated and comprise most of the artifacts that we saw in the museum.

Chomseongdae is the oldest surviving astronomical observatory in Asia and is one of the oldest scientific installations in the world. It was built around 632 A.D. and is still in pretty good condition. The site of it won't wow you by any means but it's amazing to think that this little structure has survived so many years.

Our final stop on the marathon history tour tour was to Anapji Pond. Anapji is a man made pond that is in the center of the palace complex of ancient Silla. It was constructed in 674 by King Munmu.

All in all it was a great weekend and definitely nice to escape the city and learn a little about Korean history. On an unrelated note, I can now read and write Korean. I am working now on extended my vocabulary so that I can understand what I am reading. I have become pretty proficient at everyday expressions and can get around fairly easily using a few key phrases I have picked up over the past few weeks.

Spring in Busan

Although it's still pretty cold, spring has finally began to show itself around here. Yesterday, the teachers went to the cherry blossom festival, and since I mentioned that I was not allowed to attend, I decided to find my own cherry trees. While the Koreans celebrate the cherry blossoms blooming each year, they were brought over by the Japanese during their attempted take over of Korea in the early 20th century. Needless to say there are still a lot of older Koreans who are not particularly fond of the Japanese. Koreans call those days the Japanese Imperial Period or 일제 강점기 in Korean. It translates into Japanese "forced occupation." The cherry blossom is the national flower of Japan and is called "sakura". The pictures below are of a street aptly named, "cherry blossom road" but in Hangul (Korean). The street is in my neighborhood and is a short walk from my apartment. Enjoy!

Under the weather

I begin every class by asking how the students are feeling that day. They always answer with the same conditioned response "I'm fine" and then ask me how I am feeling. Today I decided to switch it up a bit and said to them, "I'm feeling a little under the weather today." As soon as I said that my students started looking out the window and one kid actually said "it's sunny." I then realized that this 4th grade class had been studying the phrase, "How's the weather" for the past few days and since I only see each class once a week I was not aware of this fact. Needless to say they were confused and my co-teacher had to explain to them that I was sick and feeling under the weather is just an expression. It was just the comic relief I needed to start the day.

When Koreans get sick they go directly to the "hospital" which is what they call the doctor's office. They don't waste time seeing if their illness will worsen. I have been sick with cold like symptoms for a few days now. Given the cost of healthcare in the US, most people don't run over to their local doctors office every time they get a cold. Thankfully Korea is different in that regard. I have heard many reports that state that Korea has one of, if not the best heath care systems in the world. During lunch today, in between sniffles, my co-teachers and our PE teacher were hounding me to visit the "hospital." I explained to them that we Americans don't often visit the doctor unless we are severely ill. The PE teacher insisted that I visit his friend who is a doctor to get some medication so finally I agreed. I had visited the same doctor once before when I got food poisoning. He called his friend to let him know that I would be stopping by sometime after 2pm. Once I arrived, the ladies at the front desk immediately ushered me into the doctor's office, not a check-up room, but his actual office. There were about 3 people in the waiting room when I arrived and I know there is only one doctor at this particular location. The doctor asked me to sit down and describe my symptoms so I did. When I finished he gave me a once over, checked my temp, looked at my throat and diagnosed me with "the common cold." No surprise there. He wrote me a prescription and I went back to the front desk to pay for my visit. The ladies and I stared at each other for a minute, so I pulled out my wallet and pointed to the cash. One of them pipped up and said, no, no, free, free. The language barrier kept me from questioning the free doctors visit so I headed for the pharmacy. Once there I handed the man behind the counter my prescription and he began to fill it. I was given 9 little baggies filled with various sized pills and some liquid chest decongestant. The prescription cost me 3,300 won, which is equivalent to a little over $2 in the states. It took a total of 15 minutes to visit a doctor and get the prescription filled and I only spent 2 bucks in the process. I guess knowing the right people, no matter where you are is never a bad thing.

The baggies of pills I was given at the pharmacy.