Just Another Weekend?

Derek was on vacation this entire week, and I did 17 shows in 7 days this week (3 on Sat/Sun, 2 on Wed/Thurs, 1 on Fri, then 3 Sat/Sun), all the while having to go over choreography (which should be a curse word) and lyrics for my show opening March 5th. All this caused me to get sick (runny nose, sore throat, body aches) as well.

I was very glad to reach the weekend.

I made pancakes (or as they're called in Korea, hot cakes) this past week. They turned out pretty well. The first 2 I made weren't as perfect as this one:

Yesterday was the 6th snowfall I've seen since being here. We got about 5 inches of the lightest, softest, fluffiest snow I've ever seen. It started at around 1 p.m., and continued all night.

You may recall a previous blog (dated December 15, titled What A Day) that entailed a trip to a local orphanage/group home about 35 minutes from English Village. I had intended to go back once a month with a group of my coworkers, but we didn't get it planned for January. But several people, including myself, kept asking "When are we going back?!" and so another trip was planned. We went last night.

Thirteen of us split 3 cabs to Geumchon Station (about 15 minutes away) where we caught the 13 bus to the orphanage.

1st Trip to the Orphanage/Group Home (notice the construction on the left side of the picture)--
2nd Trip to the Orphanage/Group Home (notice the completed building on the left)--
We arrived at the orphanage at about 6:20, as the kids were finishing dinner. Our plan was simply to hang out with the kids and play games with them. We had ordered pizza for them as well...I guess just as a snack.

The first game we played was Duck, Duck, Goose. I'm not sure if the kids have ever played the game before; but even if they did, I'm sure it was called something else. However, they caught on quickly.

Kids watching Duck, Duck, Goose--One of the teachers that came with us, Ulrich (from South Africa) had a great idea for a game. He said he previously played it in Taiwan, where he used to teach. It's some Sumo-like game. The kids wear boards on their back (in this case, it was the top to the pizza boxes) with a number on it. They stomp their feet like the Sumo wrestlers do, then they have to hop on one foot while trying to see the number on their opponents boxtop. It made for some very hilarious scenes.

A kid preparing to play the Sumo game--I think he won (the kid on the floor is fine)--Kids watching the Sumo game--Tonya and I being crazy (I have no idea what we were doing)--
We played Red Light, Green Light with the kids, and although they didn't really get the concept of Red vs. Green; we simply did the Super Mario Brothers ghost thing--when we turn our backs to the kids, they move forward; when we turn to face them, they have to freeze. If they are caught moving, they are out. The winner is the person who reaches the front without ever being caught moving. It was a really fun game.

You can some kids in motion while others are freezing--Click the link below for a 30-second video of the game:
Red Light, Green Light

After we were finished playing games, we sat down in groups of 8 to eat pizza. I was force fed a piece by one of the girls in our group. You see, the pizza was ultimately for them--not us--AND the pizza had corn, onions, olives, and who knows what else on it. But I ate it...and only gagged one time.

These are pictures from my pizza group--She's the one who force fed me a piece of pizza--The kids LOVE pictures. Not just you taking pictures of them (and they all want to see their pictures after you take them), but the kids can't get enough of taking our cameras and taking pictures of everything. My camera was out of my hand 1/3 of the time.

Here's some pictures of some of the guys I hung out with--
We got ready to leave around 9 p.m. The kids have to sleep and all.

Right before we left, we took a group picture (I'd adopt them all if I could)--
Then I took some pictures with some of the people that couldn't stop clinging to me--
She's one of the girls who I sang with last time; and she's the one who fed me the pizza--
This is my friend, the girl previously known as "The Girl in Pink" (I'd adopt her if I could)--When we got outside, it was still snowing. As we were figuring out how to get home (cab, bus, van), I snapped a few shots on the side of the building. The street lamp was the only illumination.

The street lamp--I can't believe how amazing snowflakes are! They really are unique. I did some blue-ification of this picture.
I didn't do anything to this picture--this is exactly how it turned out. I love it--
We have made plans to return each month to be with the kids. They enjoy it so much...but probably not as much as we do. I know for me personally, this is most rewarding thing I could ever do in my life. My trip to Baton Rouge in 2006 started a certain mindset about working with youth, specifically "less fortunate" youth.

It's weird that I had to come all the way to Korea to visit my first orphanage/group home. I just never even thought of it while I was in America. I definitely intend to do get involved in something like this when I return to the motherland.

"Go outside and play!"

After my last blog, I knew that if I wanted to go somewhere, I'd have to literally kick myself out of the house and lock the door; just like mom used to do when she wanted us kids to play outside.

So, yesterday, I did that. I forced myself to get up and go. The weather promised another lovely day, in the high 30's.

I took the 11:30 free shuttle to Ilsan, got on the subway, and started making my way to Seoul. As I have been reading about the Great Gates of Seoul, I wanted to visit the main ones that I could. I found a good subway route that could take me to both the North (Sukjeongmun) and the East (Dongdaemun) gates; the only other existent Main gates (remember the West one was torn down in 1915) I hadn't yet seen.

I got off the subway at the Gyeongbokgung (say that 5 times fast) stop. This is where I believed the North Gate was located. I followed the signs to the Gyeongbokgung (say that 5 times fast) Palace. Lots of the subway tunnels are interesting for various reasons. But the tunnel on the way to the palace was especially cool. There was a little gate in the subway tunnel, with an accompanying sign (see below):

Pictures from the tunnel--
A picture in the tunnel showing a great view of the palace grounds (that's Mt. Bugak in the background)--**Oh, and just in case you didn't know, you can click on any of the pictures in these blogs and the pictures will expand to their original size; making it much easier for you to see things and read signs.

The light at the end of the tunnel--
The Palace is right by a museum, and when you first come above ground out of the subway, you're right next to the museum, and can't really see the Palace, because there are construction walls all around. You have to follow the walkway around a few corners and then you're suddenly at the entrance of this grand palace and many guards wearing colorful outfits.

Well, I saw the main entrance for the palace, but I could also a side entrance. At the side entrance, there was a group of guards lining up. It seemed to me that they were getting organized for some sort of show.

Side entrance; guards assembling, putting on hats, grabbing large swords--
Sure enough, I think I happened upon the Gate Guard Change Ceremony. I'm guessing it was about 1 p.m. when I arrived there, and apparently every hour there is a Ceremony. As I made my way towards the front entrance to the Palace, music started to play, and an announcement in several languages began. Click the link below to see a 30-second video I took of the beginning of the ceremony:

Guard Ceremony

Pictures of the Ceremony and the Palace:
Guards marching towards the Main Entrance--
Guards marching away, they turn around and came back--Okay, so I didn't come to this Palace to see the Ceremony, but it was definitely neat to see. I came to see the North Gate; which I couldn't immediately locate from where I was standing. So I went back through the subway tunnel to exit onto a different part of the street so I could see the gate from there.

I had to stop and ask some policemen who were walking by if I was in the right place. I pointed to a place on the map in my book, and then pointed to the big structure I saw in front of me; basically asking if I was in the right spot. They said yes.

Here's what I saw--
You can sort of see an outline of the gate-like structure in the weird artwork there. One of the policemen said that the gate was under construction--something about fixing the doors--and that's why it was covered up by this weird barn structure.

Here's what the gate normally looks like (not my picture) when not covered by a giant hangar--
Looks like a pretty nice gate, right? And I'm sure it is. And though it is located in the northern part of Seoul, and though it is great, and though it is a gate...it is not the Great North Gate.

I was wrong. After spending a great deal of time looking on the internet today, the actual North Gate is apparently somewhere up on Mt. Bugak (say that fiv--nevermind), the mountain that marked the original northern border of Seoul; where some of the fortress wall still exists.

For some reason, I am completely unable to find out exactly where the North Gate is...though I know the general vicinity it's in. Try typing "Sukjeongmun" into Google. It'll give you some info, but won't help you locate it on a map. There's no mapquest for Korea.

So, I saw some neat things, but not the Great North Gate of Seoul. I'll try again next week.

So I headed back to the subway to head for the Great East Gate (Dongdaemun). I knew exactly where it was. I walked by the Dongdaemun Stadium and outdoor marketplace to get to the gate.

Outside Dongdaemun Stadium--
On the way to the Gate, I passed over the famous Cheonggye Stream. I'm sure you've heard of it. Okay, maybe not. In 2005, the city finished removing an expressway that was covering up this old stream. Because Seoul is in a valley of sorts, for centuries, all the rain water from the city automatically drained to this stream. Well, in the name of urban development, this stream was uncovered and now has a beautiful walkway that goes through more than half the city. I've seen it various times, but never knew what it was. Decorative bridges have been built along the span of the stream. Cheonggye means clear and clean. Cheonggye Stream is a "Clear Clean" stream through the city.

Cheonggye Stream--
The East Gate is smack in the middle of the road. I mean, considering that its portal was once a main entrance into the city, it makes sense that there are now roads all around it.

Dongdaemun (Great East Gate, previously named Heunginjimun)--
As I approached the East Gate, I wondered if there would be a police presence, due to the recent fire at the other gate. I was right. This police officer was parked in the median just to the east of the gate itself.

There was another officer standing in the median on the south side of the gate, blowing his whistle to keep traffic moving. I noticed several Koreans taking pictures of the gate. I wonder if this fire has made them more conscious of the rich history these gates provide, and they've taken a greater interest. I know it's done that for me...and I'm not Korean.

After taking my pictures, I headed back to the subway station to continue my self-guided (misguided?) tour of Seoul. There were no other gates to see. I'll have to see the other existing gates another day.

I got back on the subway and headed for COEX Mall, a popular underground mall. My book says it's "Seoul's top entertainment and retail zone with a maze of shops and food courts, a department store, luxury hotels, a popular cinema multiplex" and more. There's even an aquarium there with 40,000 fish and a kimchi museum. It's the only museum dedicated to pickled cabbage and its health benefits. Just the thought of going to this museum makes me feel a bit...sick.

Well, at this point I still hadn't had lunch, and kimchi aside, I was hungry. As I entered the underground mall, which is indeed a maze, I prayed that there would be a Burger King or McDonalds nearby...or any other establishment that I knew my palate could handle. What I saw next can only be described as a mirage of water in a desert. Out of the corner of my left eye...I saw three colors. Green, white, and red. Italy's flag. I saw the letters "...rro". Were my eyes deceiving me? Could this be a Sbarro restaurant--famous in American mall food courts? Would I be saved by the presence of their famous pepperoni and sausage pizza? I ran, not walked, down this hallway. It was not a dream! It was not my mind playing mean, dirty tricks on me! It was indeed a Sbarro Italian Eatery!! There before me laid familiar foods! I may have yelled out, "Praise the Lord!", I can't really remember--I was in shock.

Sbarro--
I was so excited, I forgot where I was. I took a deep breath in. Released it. Then I grabbed a tray and calmly pointed to the piece of pizza I desired. Just like at home, they had the stuffed Pepperoni and Sausage pizza, which I love. I got a garlic bread stick and a large Coke--a meal fit for a King...a fat, lazy King.

My meal--
It was everything I hoped it would be. Delicious.

The food court, my new friend--
After feeding my face (that's for you Grandpa), I started to walk around the mall, just to see what was there. Signs were in English, and for the most part, I know my way around a mall. But this mall was quite different. It didn't have an open feeling, the ceilings were very low and dark colored. I felt a bit trapped. I went into a huge bookstore that my travel book recommended. I'm sure there was an English section in there somewhere, but my brain couldn't handle finding it. I'm sure the trans-fat in my lunch was doing it's duty and slowing me down. As I was getting ready to leave the bookstore (which is called Bandi & Luni's--not sure if that's Korean for Barnes & Noble...), I noticed a reading room of sorts. I was astounded at what I saw.

The reading area--
I count no less than 36 people in that picture that are sitting down reading books--not magazines--books!! It was so quiet...I didn't know what to do. So I started singing "Phantom of the Opera" really loud and then ran away. (No, I didn't do anything of the sort)

I made my way out of the bookstore and walked around for a little while longer. I found a CD store and did some shopping in there. They have lots and lots of imported CD's, including soundtracks. It was very exciting for me. A little slice of my American experience.

By this point it was around 5:00 p.m., and I knew I should start heading back towards home. It would take at least an hour to get back to Ilsan, where I would need to catch the free shuttle back home.

It was a crowded ride home--
When I got back to Ilsan, it was just about 6:30. I couldn't remember if the shuttle was at 6:30 or 7. I waited at the stop until 6:35, and when the shuttle didn't show up, I knew it was 7. That's when I visited a little cafe right by the stop. I've been in there before to buy water, and once I had a piece of cheesecake. Well, a sign out front had a picture of a 3 layered cake, with a pricetag of 2,500Won. It looked good, and I thought it would be a nice (by nice, I mean horribly fattening) completion of my daily food intake.

I went inside and pointed to the piece I wanted.

The piece I wanted--
The nice person behind the counter took it out of the glass case for me and took the glass cover off of it. I asked, "What kind of cake is it?" I suppose that question is usually best asked before ordering the cake, but everything in Korea is backwards...and frankly, I just forgot to ask. He paused for a moment, gathering his English words, then said, "Sweet potato." I thought I must have misheard him. "Sweet potato...CAKE?" "Yes." "Really? Sweet potato CAKE?" I mean, I've heard of sweet potato pie, and sweet potatoes...but never sweet potato CAKE. I asked, "Does it taste good?" He said, "Taste is good."

Perhaps some of you have heard of this kind of cake, and have even tried it before. Well, I hadn't. I love regular potatoes, but the thought of having them in CAKE form doesn't really appeal to me...and though this slice looked delicious, I didn't know what to think about having sweet potatoes in cake form. But what the heck--you only live once, right!?

I bought it. I took a bite. It was...delicious. I can't remember if I've eaten sweet potatoes, so I don't really know what they taste like, but the cake was very good.

I ate it all...eventually--

It was a good day. I'm glad I kicked myself out of the house and locked the door...just the way Mom used to do.

Slump

I'm sure you're thinking, "Why hasn't Jason written more in his blog? What's his problem?" I know the world is asking themselves these questions (and by the world, I mean, all 7 of you who read this).

You're right, I haven't written in my blog of late. I assure you it is not because I haven't been doing anything.

For some reason, I have been positively (well, negatively I suppose) lazy for the past month or so. I believe it is partly the cold weather's fault. I simply have no desire to get out of my warm bed and go anywhere. Each and every time I leave this room, I have to wrap myself up like a mummy to survive in the "elements".

What makes it worse is the internal temperature of the different rooms I work in throughout the village. For some inexplicable reason (and it's only inexplicable because they will not give us answers), the administration is on a "save electricity/heat" kick. Now, usually I am all for saving electricity, etc. I hate wasting anything...just ask my brother and sister to recount the "Pool Water/College" story for you.

But the administration has gone overboard. The rooms we work in should be a reasonably comfortable temperature--that is to say, at no point should we be able to see our breath in the room. They will not allow us to go into a room early and turn on the heat, nor will they allow us to keep the heat on in between shows (when we leave and come back). Of course we can have the heat on when we're in the room, but before we leave, we have to turn it off.

One of my coworkers has a thermometer on his backpack. Yesterday, in the library, where we do the game show ("Snowy Mountain Challenge"), it was 7 degrees Celsius/44.6 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature was taken AFTER the first game show, AFTER the heat had been on for approximately 45 minutes. That's not okay.

Snowy Mountain Challenge pictures:
The Board outside showing game times--
The Game Board--
The Challenge Wheel--
Some of the Challenges from the Challenge Wheel--
A Wider View--
The Snowman (he's part of the Final Challenge)--
The Reward--

This whole heat fiasco started about 2 1/2 months ago, just after I arrived. Several of my coworkers were complaining about the high price they were paying for heat in their apartments. At that time, I wasn't even living in an actual apartment yet, so I wasn't having to pay for heat (thankfully). Apparently, sometime during the summer, there was some discrepancy with the billing process for the heat/air conditioner, so the administration simply stopped billing anyone until the situation was resolved. But as winter approached, and just before I arrived, they started charging for utilities again.

One of my coworkers, Derek, has been charged over $200/month for using his heat (maybe 2 hours every day, that's all). My parents could correct me if I'm wrong--but I don't think our air conditioning bills during the Arizona summers were quite that steep, nor were our heating bills during the Pennsylvania winters that steep.

Adding to that problem is the fact that we cannot get a straight answer from the administration regarding WHY it costs so much. Some people say it's because we're paying company prices, others say it's because that's just the cost of gas here. Either way, people are avoiding using their heat at all, and consequently freezing. Even if you have a large space heater (costing as much as $100), the insulation in our apartments is abysmal. While the walls are perfectly solid--they're concrete--the windows/sliding doors provide absolutely no protection. The cold air permeates the entire room. As I've mentioned before, if I get up from the desk, where I am surrounded by my 3 heaters, I can immediately feel the temperature difference.

On a different but similar note, Derek, the same guy who has been charged over $200 for his heat, recently arrived at his apartment to find all the power was out. Thinking nothing of it, he went to the electrical box in the hallway to check if there was simply a short. I should mention, he lives next door to where the President of English Village lived. The President just resigned a few weeks ago; not in a negative way, but to take some government position. Obviously, because the President was leaving, he moved out of his apartment. Well, they turned the electricity in his apartment off. Derek saw that the power to 201 (the President's apartment) was turned off. Derek lives in 202. But the power to 202 was not shut off. Only the power to 201. Derek flipped 201's switch. He then had power in his apartment.

This means that Derek and the President of English Village were on the same circuit. The circuits were clearly mislabeled. But this potentially means that Derek could have been charged for ALL the President's electricity. Could that have happened to his heat? Could that be happening to the rest of us? Yet again, we could receive no helpful answers to these problems.

Instead, within the past few weeks, administration has not responded to those problems, but created more. If we do not turn off the heat/lights/computers, etc., in the rooms when we leave them (each and every time, even if we're returning within 30 minutes), we receive a warning, which could lead to being docked a day's pay or losing a vacation day.

It's mind-numbing...and not just because my brain is cold.

All that is to say that I am cold, and have been for some time, and it is not helping motivate me to do much of anything.

I also think my diet is having something to do with my overall energy level. Mom/Grandma--I'm not just eating junk food, okay! But Candy, one of my coworkers, mentioned that if your body does not get enough protein, you tend to desire sugar. She told me this as I was eating a whole bag of Skittles (which cost 600Won at our little corner store here). I don't think I'm getting enough protein.

Since she told me that, I've tried to eat more. Eggs, peanut butter, chicken. But all but the peanut butter require some sort of work to make. Eggs don't cook themselves, and neither does chicken. I shouldn't have to remind you that I'm feeling particularly lazy of late. When I get home, the last thing I want to do is get the hot plate out, crack some eggs, and stand over them for even 5 minutes while they cook. I want to sit down by my 3 heaters and do nothing. It's an awful cycle.

The only thing that gets me to go to the gym is the fact that I paid 50,000Won for a membership (oh yeah, they raised the price from 40,000 to 50 this year), and I don't want to waste my money. I shouldn't have to remind you that I don't like wasting things.

Yes, I'm feeling lazy and all that, but I'm obviously still doing my job, and I am enjoying it (besides the inclement cold in most all the rooms).

In addition to continuing to work on my script for the summer season (which is about Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and a new adventure for the both of them), I'm also rehearsing for the upcoming show, "School Days", which opens March 5. Regular rehearsals are perfectly fine, but now we're getting into dance rehearsals. I cannot explain to you the extreme distaste I have for dancing. And this is worse than "regular" dancing. This is a show that takes place in the 1950's. Need I say more? Today we learned about "lifts", which I thought was simply how to lift a girl up. Oh no, it's not. This is that flipping the girl over your back, tossing her from one side to one side type stuff. If I had wanted to do this type of stuff, I would have auditioned to be in "Hairspray". I hate it. Sorry, but they picked the wrong guy to do fancy 50's tosses and flips. Can't I just sing a song or tell a joke or something--at least stick with something I'm more comfortable with?? I'm not in college anymore--I'm not here to "learn" a new skill.

Obviously I'm not saying I'm opposed to learning stuff here. I'm in South Korea for crying out loud--everything about being here is learning something new!

In other news:

For those of you who don't know, this past Sunday a man set fire to the oldest wooden structure in Korea; destroying it. It was Namdaemun Gate (which is actually redundant, because Namdaemun means "Great South Gate"), the original southern entrance into Seoul. It was 600 years old.

Namdaemun Gate circa 1900--
It may come as no surprise that years and years ago there was a wall around Seoul, with 9 gates into the city. Only 4 of those were major or "Great" gates.

Sukcheongmun--North; though by name it is “Great North Gate,” it has never been a major gate into or out of the city, because it's so close to the mountains to the north of Seoul, it still exists, though you must have an appointment to visit it (which I intend to do)
Namdaemun--South; was one of the two main commerce entrances in or out of the city
Dongdaemun--East; was one of the two main commerce entrances in or out of the city, still standing
Seodaemun--West; was torn down in 1915 as part of an urban renewal plan under the colonial government

A few of other smaller ones still exist. They all look similar. Apparently even Bosingak, the pavilion with the bell I was at for New Year's, was a gate into the city.

For more information on the gates, you can access this webpage: http://www.rjkoehler.com/2008/02/13/the-gates-of-seoul/

I thought all of the old wall would have been destroyed or dismantled by now, but apparently, much of it still stands. I look forward to seeing some of it. Up to this point, the only "Great" gate I've seen was Namdaemun, the one that burned down. I consider myself very fortunate to have seen it before it was destroyed.

My first shot of Namdaemun, riding the bus into Seoul the first time--
Namdaemun in the distance as I'm waiting for the bus to go back home--What it looks like now (not my picture)--
Often times, after the various activities with the kids, the parents/teachers want us to take pictures with the kids. This is always fun. Instead of saying "CHEESE" when they take pictures, they say "KIMCHI", like the pickled cabbage they love so dearly. I just think that's funny, though I don't think they intend it to be funny.

Tonight, despite my utter laziness, I cooked some chicken nuggets for dinner. I'm running out of other options...I need to go to the store again. Unfortunately, they stopped the free shuttle that took us to E-Mart to grocery shop, so our options are even more limited than before.

When I was cooking these chicken nuggets, I noticed something rather disturbing. MOST of the nuggets have interesting shapes. A heart, a bell, a star, a spade, a diamond...and a DOG!? A DOG SHAPED NUGGET. Is this some kind of sick Korean joke? Like I'm not already afraid of the food here--they have to make a puppy shaped chicken nugget!! I can't read the package--what if I'm eating dog nuggets and not chicken!? How do I know? Well, I ate them all, and they tasted perfectly fine. I turned the lights off and ate by the light of the 3 heaters while I watched an episode of "Quantum Leap", the old time travel show from the early 90's.

The nuggets in question (notice 1 diamond, 2 stars, and a DOG!)--

If you're keeping track at home, I've drank 23 cans of Dr. Pepper so far. I think that's pretty good, considering I love the stuff...though it does cost 1,000Won to buy ONE single can. There are supposedly 23 flavors in Dr. Pepper...and the number 23 (not just a Jim Carrey movie) is supposed to be a big deal.

Just doing what I can to keep you informed, updated, and entertained.

Until later--