Mother's Day and Memories of Korea

Jeju, March 2008

In February/March 2008, Viking Man went to Jeju-do, Korea on business and I joined him later in a last minute decision. It was a beautiful and unique trip and a fitting way to say goodbye to Korea (see the original post). Ever since, we have regretted not buying ourselves a souvenir dolharubang, a mushroom-like statue made from the porous volcanic rock of the island.

This Mother's Day, Viking Man announced a cryptic present he said I would never be able to guess. When two large crates showed up in the carport last week, I was still stumped. I have to admit that I was pretty stunned to see a giant dolharubang when we hacked open the first crate! Six years and three countries later, we have our Jeju souvenirs.

The packing slip declared each crate to be 400 kg. With one stacked on the other, it looked like a good chance that we now had a pair of decorative crates for the carport. Even my handy Viking had to think this one through for a couple of days. Today, he was finally able to execute 'Plan D', in which he rented a chain hoist, pried a board out of the carport ceiling, manipulated a couple of straps around the statue, then lifted it like it was nothing. The bottom crate followed easily. A quick jaunt on the dolly, and they are now guarding our house and garden.

Thanks to our friend Ho in Korea for arranging the shipment, and happy Mother's Day to me.

Jeju-do, Korea, February 28 - March 3

My last day of school--graduation day--was February 28. I showed up to discover that all of my kids had decided not to attend. Very disappointed and slightly bitter, I went to the graduation anyway. After school I went to my sewing class, and when I got home from that, Morten called from Jeju Island to say the weather was really nice, so why not book a flight ticket for the 29th to join him for the weekend? I checked into it, but the only tickets before the weekend was over left in an hour and a half on the night of the 28th. Being that Gimpo Airport itself was nearly an hour away, this seemed nearly impossible, not to mention the fact that I had begun to feel quite feverish. However, also feeling that this would be my last chance to see Jeju before leaving Korea, I literally threw a pile of laundry and toiletries into a suitcase, ran out the door, and crept through rush-hour traffic in a taxi to Gimpo. In a panic, I bought a ticket and started running for the gate only to realize I had nearly fifteen minutes to spare (!) which meant time to buy some much needed juice. Morten picked me up in Jeju, and we ended up having a great weekend touring beautiful Jeju-do in spite of my fever and lack of appetite.

International Ski Festival, Yongpyeong Resort Korea, February 15-17

For the second year in a row, we attended Korea's International Ski Festival. Since my school graduation last year prevented me from actually doing any snowboarding, I was excited to be involved in the full weekend of activities this year.

We arrived Friday night to prepare for a day on the slopes Saturday. When we were picking up our lift passes and banquet tickets, I met the Korean girlfriend of another Danish guy, and she told me she had signed up for the women's snowboard race. I thought that was pretty cool and asked her how many women had signed up. To protect my own image, I will not disclose exactly how many participants there actually were, but there were few enough to get me to consider entering the race myself in spite of a two year snowboaring hiatus. She finally convinced me to sign up, and I was issued a bib and race instructions.

Morten and I managed one gondola run before I had to go to the race start point. Though I had issues (to put it mildly) with the second gate due to extreme ice, I completed the rest of the course in good form.

The award ceremony took place at the Saturday night banquet. The Korean girl came in second, and I finished third. We had both decided to race for Denmark to boost their representation, and even though their only placers were American and Korean, they were very excited to have been recognized in the Alpine events. I did not realize, however, that I would be given a certificate on which I was declared as being from Denmark, and I apologize to any of my American family or friends who are offended by this lack of home-country patriotism--it was not a deliberate snub.

Gangwha Island, January 27th, Korea

I almost forgot about this day we went for a little drive out to Gangwha Island on the northwest coast of Korea. We started with some good BBQ then drove until we couldn't drive anymore. Being so close to North Korea, razor wire seemed to grow like vines along fences and roadways, and the road along the northern coast was heavily guarded and accessible by permit only, much to our disappointment. At one point we pulled to the side of the road to take some pictures. A motorcycle officer approached and slowed as if to speak to me through the passenger window. I pretended I didn't see him, so he caught Morten's attention. 'Are you American?' he asked. 'No,' Morten replied as he always does, and like the proudest Dane in the world, 'I'm from DENMARK!' Turns out the cop had actually worked in Denmark as an engineer for Siemens. He invited us down to his little police station for coffee and told us to come again for a tour. I shall end here as the power just went out.

Everland, February 6th, Lunar New Year

As Morten would probably rather watch paint dry than go to an amusement park, I knew my only chance of going to Everland during the Lunar holiday was a 'pretty please' and batting eyes. I think it was the angelic smile I finished with that swayed him. So anyway, on a sunny, freezing cold February day, we drove out to Korea's idea (rip-off?) of Disneyland for some childish fun. I had a grand old time, and Morten had a grand old time watching me act like a five year old on a sugar high.

Tessa's Englishland Christmas Concert, December 20th

I spent nearly two months preparing for the Christmas concert with my kids. After trying a variety of songs, we decided on 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas', Frank Sinatra's 'Jingle Bells', 'Silent Night' with handbells, and then I had them all ask 'What is Christmas?' and they each gave a one word answer individually. Tessa was going to make them wear elf hats and shoes, but I kindly asked if they could just wear slacks and dresses. I should have known that my mothers would compare notes on clothing but was still shocked to see my little boys show up in matching tuxedos and the girls in matching dresses. They were unbelievably cute--way cuter than in elf hats. The 'Silent Night' handbells were the highlight of the Kangaroo Class performance. Even Philip, who stood mute and petrified through the rest of the songs, rang his bell to the delight of the crowd. They all did a great job.

Gawip Wind Farm, November 24th

Here are some pictures from another trip to Gawip Wind Farm.

Fall photos from Tessa's Englishland

On October 1st, I started a new job, teaching kindergarten at Tessa's Englishland. I have six darling little Korean five year olds, and we've had alot of fun over the last two months. I teach with six other foreign teachers, all Canadian.

I think our first event was Philip's birthday. Philip turned Korean age five, but I suspect he's only 3 1/2 or four. He still has that little baby face and is infamous for falling asleep regularly in class. He passed through his birthday with the blank and emotionless expression of one who just doesn't quite get it yet.

For the mini olympics, all seven kindergartens were mixed up into six teams and given to a teacher to lead. We each chose a country to represent. I chose to be the Denmark Vikings, and we also had Canada, Australia, Macedonia, Switzerland, and Fiji. Team Denmark won three of the five events. Go Vikings!

Next came Halloween. I knew that all the teachers were going to dress up, but not wanting to spend money on an elaborate costume, I put off thinking of something until the last minute. The night before Halloween, I gave Morten puppy eyes and asked him if he could make some butterfly wings for me. With his wings, I managed to pull off a pretty great costume, and for a good price too! Each teacher had to prepare a craft or game to execute with each class. I chose to make slime (which was really just playdough). I had a gas hotplate and all the ingredients laid out, and each kid got to measure and stir in one part of the dough. Then I gave each kid an individual portion in a plastic bag, and they got to squish in their choice of color. It was pretty fun, but after doing it seven times, I was ready to be done.

For pictures of all these events, please click here and browse through the sub albums.

Yeongduk Windfarm, July 24

For some reason, I can't get photobucket to post my album, so hopefully this link will work.

Just before we left for Denmark, Morten and I went to check on one of the windfarms on the southeast coast. While we were in the office, a couple of technicians were getting ready to go up in one of the turbines, and Morten asked me if I wanted to go with them. Of course I did! I got harnessed up and made the 80 meter ladder climb. At the top of the turbine, I climbed out of the shaft and down into the nose where I could see out into the blades. It was a very cool experience.

Mud Festival, July 15th

This year's mud festival experience was quite different from last year's (which you can read about in the archived posts). We just went down to Daecheon Beach for the day and enjoyed the sun and water (first sea swim of the year)and mud. The only down side was the five hour return drive which should only have taken 2 or 2 1/2 hours.

Gawip Wind Farm, Anmok Beach, July 12th

Since I wasn't doing much, I went with Morten on a day trip to visit the wind farm near Gangneung. It was an extremely foggy day, but while Morten was working in the substation, I took the car out for a drive through the turbines. Even though the long views were quite obscured, I still got some interesting pictures. Then before we headed back to Seoul, we took a drive to our favorite beach from last summer. It was windy and grey, but it was good to visit.

Incheon Beaches, July 8th

One day after driving our friend Jeppe out to Incheon Airport, we kept driving to the edge of the island in our continuing quest for a decent beach within reasonable proximity on the west coast. We at least found sand this time, but we preferred to take pictures and watch the locals swim rather than sample the water ourselves.

Wolmido, June 2nd

As the spring turned to summer, we started craving the lovely beaches we knew from the east coast, but the closest sand beaches to Seoul are at least several hours away. We settled for Wolmido in Incheon, and while we were disappointed not to find a real beach, we still managed to have some fun.

Pending pictures

I have alot of pictures to post from our morning kinder graduation festival, and they will be coming soon! Maybe it's just that I'm their teacher, but I think they're pretty darn cute. But until I get around to doing that, here's a picture from the drive Morten and I took around Odaesan National Park on Sunday afternoon.

New Year's Eve, Seoul

I kicked off the New Year and a week of vacation with Aniva and some of her friends in Seoul. After dinner we went to a tropically themed place which boasted heated sand floors and basket chairs hanging from the ceiling. When our feet started getting a little too toasty, we tried another club, but it was very crowded and had 'no vibe'. As it was nearing midnight and we didn't want to be wandering the streets for the countdown, we gave up on trying to find a place that wasn't bursting at the seams and shoved our way into a very happening little club just off the Itaewon strip. I survived the champagne hose-down at the count of midnight, the loud pulsating music, and the shoulder to shoulder crush of people, but I did not leave the club without a severe case of sensory-overload. Morten and I said our goodbyes within the midnight hour to spend the first moments of 2007 in a slightly less chaotic--though far from peaceful--environment. A very strange mix of Koreans, American military personnel, English teachers, businessmen and other various foreigners filled the streets to send 2006 to the history books. Before we called it a night, Morten bought me some flowers from the roving flower lady. I think it's the strangest New Year's Eve I've ever had.

Christmas Weekend, Seoul, December 23rd-25th

Though I spent my Christmas without family and decorations, it did not pass without friends and holiday cheer.

Saturday:

Morten and I headed out early in the afternoon to do some shopping. Our first stop was Hanam Supermarket, a small grocery good for foreign foods. Next stop was the tool market to get a present for a friend of Morten's. E-Mart was next, and I'm pretty sure at least a third of Seoul was there with us. In typical Margie style, I hadn't decided on my Christmas Eve menu yet, requiring me to finalize it while we were shopping, and while I did get everything I needed, I also got a nice headache to go with my groceries. I nearly had a meltdown after we had already paid when I remembered I had wanted to find a game of UNO. Morten took one look at me and sent me to the car with the bags while he ran up a level to look for the game (he came back with LOBO 77). With the dirty work under our belts, we made for Itaewon to check on a suit Morten's having tailored, and I got measured for some shirts of my own at the same time. By that time we were ready for some refreshment, and what could be better when out with a Dane than Danish hotdogs at Steff Houlberg. I couldn't resist a picture of my Danish hotdog, and I took a picture of my food too! After a little more browsing around Itaewon (hooray for cheap street socks!), we headed home to finish the evening with presents for each other. Morten got me decorative glass candle holders with white tapers, and I gave him a couple of framed prints from digital pictures he'd taken of fall foliage.

Sunday:















During the lazy afternoon, I decided to try making sugar cookies with no recipe and a tempermental oven. They weren't that great, but they weren't horrible either--Morten kept snagging them as he was getting ready for his Christmas Eve dinner. He left around 3:30, and I started preparing my own dinner. I had chips, salsa, sour cream, Danish cheese (of course), dill pickles, and olives for snacks, all things not readily available in Gangneung. I made salad with feta cheese, mashed potatoes, and salmon for the main course. Liz called around 5:30 saying she didn't know where she was. Well, I said, how did you get there? 'I don't know.' Where were you before? 'I don't know.' Are you near the subway? 'I don't know.' Can you find something you recognize? 'I don't know.' Um, well, good luck... Finally I got enough information to help her and continued with dinner prep. She showed up at 6:30 in a very bad way, chiding me for not warning her about the hills. I apologized and got her some water, but in my defense, my directions said the phrase 'up the hill' at least three times. After her pulse went down, we had a nice time eating snacks and watching Mythbusters while we waited for Aniva to arrive. We first met Aniva, who lives near Seoul, through our now departed Australian friend Judy (not dead, just not in Korea), and we've hung out with her several times (see October, Chuseok). She's exuberant, extremely blunt, and tells a great story. She showed up just before eight and joined in the snacking. Around 9:30, I threw the salmon in a pan, the girls set out tableware and the sidedishes, and we sat down for Christmas Eve dinner. The fish was delicious. After dinner, we broke out a pack of cards and played several games. We even played several rounds of LOBO 77 with the help of English instructions printed from the internet. The girls said goodnight in the early hours of Christmas morning.

Monday:

I just happen to be talking to Morten as I'm writing this, and I have asked him to dictate to me some thoughts about Monday. Here is what he says: "Long walk. Crowded Seoul. Actually, real crowded Seoul." Ah, the simplicity of the male mind... Now here's my version. It was a beautiful and cloudless though slightly hazy day. We bundled up in the afternoon for a Christmas Day walk and found extremely mild weather. I had to doff my scarf and gloves as we walked up some trails on Namsan mountain. We walked all the way to Seoul Tower, found alot of other people on the same Christmas Day date, then took our time on the long staircase down the other side of the mountain, sharing a bag of popcorn on the way, and eventually wound up in Myeongdong, which I think is considered part of downtown. I couldn't believe the number of people out shopping, packing the streets shoulder to shoulder. It was unlike anything I've ever experienced on Christmas. We jostled and shoved our way around for awhile then popped into Lotte World to take a look at something we'd seen in the Armani store the previous weekend. After going around and around on six different levels several times each, we gave up trying to find it, thinking that either the store had been moved, we were crazy for thinking it was there in the first place, or we had been sucked into some sort of Lotte World black hole shopping vortex. It was dark by the time we exited, and the whole place was lit with thousands of lights and beautiful decorations. Traffic was at a standstill so the subway looked pretty inviting, and fifteen minutes later, we were back in Itaewon, trudging on weary feet up, up, up the hill. We whipped together some great leftovers for dinner, and then I was back on the subway and then on the bus and on my way back to Gangneung, having had a lovely first Christmas in Korea.

Trails at Namsan

Lookout with Seoul Tower in the background
Downtown Seoul
Crowded streets of MyeongdongLotte World SupermarketOutside Lotte WorldHana Bank, covered entirely with green fringeEuropean Christmas TownThe amazingly clean Seoul subwayStill smiling after a long day

Afternoon drive, November 12th

Yesterday afternoon turned out to be a perfect afternoon for a drive down the coast. Morten and I headed south down Highway 7 to Haslla Art World and Jeongdongjin where I had taken my kinder kids a couple of weeks ago. The seaview was spectacular in the crisp, clear fall air. In Jeongdongjin we frowned, shrugged at each other, then took pictures of the ship-hotel on the hill.

Chiaksan National Park, October 28th

In front of the templeThe temple sound system--say what?Man in pink scarf and jacket poses for his picture

Haslla Art World, October 25th

Today we took our morning kinder kids on a field trip. We piled them all on a train and headed south along the coast to Jeongdongjin. It was a beautiful day--in great contrast to Monday and Tuesday--and the sea was gloriously white and frothy. We took some pictures at the famous beachside Jeongdongjin Station, then hopped into our vans which had met us and drove to Haslla Art World, an indoor and outdoor art center in the mountains that rise out of the sea. We had lunch on an outdoor balcony then toured the outdoor center on foot. I hope to go back as we didn't get to explore over half of what was there.

Brian, Lisa and Peter

Jinny, Sally, Alice and AbigailJohn and RayPenny and the seaPlatform at JeongdongjinIn front of Jeongdongjin StationHiking through the art parkGiant sundial and relaxation pavillionSculpturesMy kiddosPeter the tank