eel fishing!

The following post was taken from an email I sent to my friends, so I figured it was still good, interesting, blog-worthy info, so I am posting here. And then I added more at the end of more recent things... It may be repetetive, but oh well. Also, sorry for the lazy grammar errors and random korean symbols...still getting used to this keyboard.



The fashion is crazy here, its so crazy.and its soooooo cheap...tons of cool stands on teh sreets and little shops selling the long shirts and just cool shirts and skirts for usually about 5 or 6 thousand won...(about $5 or 6)..sometimes 3 and sometiems 10. long tshirts are super popular here, with completely random designs or words (usually in english, ive seen french and german too) on them, usually with incorrect grammar or just completely random words strung in a line as if to be a sentence. long and really baggy is also in, so that some girls where their shirts to their knees with skninny jeans, looks really cute. yesterday mong and i went to a big shoping spot, hap-seong dong, which is under the streets...like a little mall, but all self owned stores. that means you can bargain:) i got a really cute pair or sandles there last week. and yesterday we went on a mission to find a cool pair of jeans. first we went to an outdoor market...same little self owned shops but outdoors and just a couiple blocks from the apartment, also near the huge fish market. i think i probably tried on 7 pairs there and then at hapseong dong i tried on another 8 till a pair fit. the korean girls who are sellin are so kind---they always offered a size or 2 smaller but they failed to see that im not korean and i hip/buttless...so i always ended up havng to call ㅡㅐㅜㅎ (oops) mong and tlell him to get another. another thing i have noticed is that most korean women wear heals, as i mentioned earlier. i dont know how they do it. especially since a lot of the sidewalks are not even concrete and are kinda like cobblestone but asian style cobblestone i guess. there are a lot of side venders ...who often come out at nighttime to sell their stuff near the bars and night life place. they sell random things from hair clips to belts and sunglasses, to melons and dried fish. especiialy when you get near the fish market, where there arent actually many bars, ㄷ people still sell fish till at least midnight, as thats when we walked home tonite and they were still open. 소

The fish market in masan (and pretty much all fish/veggie/fruit martkets) is made of of wooden boards, boxes, and hanging plastic tarps and sheets, with each vendor a little section, with haphazardous roofs. u walk by and every one of them says something, mong said they say fresh cheap fish fresh cheap, you want to sample? some of the ones that dont have a section under the roofs just plop down on the corner with a little cart and ever so few vegetables so perfectly arranged around them selling them on the street, its so cool. You can tell they probably grow these veggies in their own garden because tey might have 25 tomatoes, 10 cucumbers, a couple bowls of moutain rasberries (one of the best fruits i have ever tasted, soooo good), 20 carrots, and maybe a few onions or some garlic. AND everything is covered in dirt, with some roots and leaves still attached. Other venders with larger amounts of them probably buy from somewhere, becasue they are cleaner and often have little ties around bundles of veggies.

most koreans over 20 and under 10 dont speak english, or if they cabn, it is one of these words: hi, nice to meet you, hello, i love you, you like soju?(soju is korean alcohol), korea, you like?, no, yes, welcome. thats about it. the little kids are the cutest because they start learning english at either 7 or 13 (about) and so the ones that know it will randomly see me and yell ou HI or "NICe toh meet youh" (kroean accent there) and then run away snickering. or they will just see me walking by and just say hi and then pretend they know no more. i have only seen about 20 nonasians, so i guess blond hair and blyue eyes is kinda an anomaly. The other day we were walking down a street and a group of girls, probably 15 or so, were sitting in the window of a restaurant and one looked at me, turne and told her friends, then they all peared out the window, saw me look up and turned their heads, then i looked up and waved and they all looked surprised and happy and started giggling. or if i speak somethig in korean, bow, or show some kinf of korean respect (like when u drink something, [mostly just with alcohol, but if u want to show a lot of respect, with regular drinks too] with people older than u, u have to turn your head when you drink it or when theyre pouring it, u must hold the cup in two hands, same if u are pouring).

They dont use shower curtains so the floor gets wet tbut there is a drain built it. The water just gets everywhere but its the norm. They do makeup and hair and everything else in a bedroom--the bathroom is a watery place, in all homes ive visited. Although i almost slipped and knocked myself out about 6 times already. Almost all *regular* toilets have built in douche systems...ive yet to give it a shot---ive never done a douche and im a little frightened. There are about 10 buttons on the side but i have no idea what they all mean...maybe temperature, stream or spray, mist or blast?? a regular toilet is one u sit on. most public toilets are built into the ground like in italy, so u have to squat. the actual stalls are way more dirty but theya re more hygenic i spose cause i dotn touch anything. oh, and they also ahve a lack of toilet paper in bathromos, but an abundance EVERYWHEer else. they use TP for everything...in somr restaurants they have rolls hanging on the walls for people to use for anythign since they dont give napkins. just use tp.ㅠㅅ but inthe bathroom, there is only TP abuot 30% of the time because i guess they expect people to bring their own. or, there is one dispenser in front of te bathroom door and you take what u need beforehand. in office buildings the people just take their own in there.

In most restaurants you sit on the ground. There is almost always floor sitting option, except in bars or western and/or western-eatern restuarants (they call these fusion restaurants---we went to an italian korean fusion place and the spaghetti sauce consistency was that of sweet and sour sauce, as if it were made with corn starch (weird) and it was super spicy...go figure haha). Lots of food is cooked right on the table. All korean restaurants (80% of rest.'s are korean food, of course) have built in gas burners on every table...so one 4 person table has one burner, if it is longer there is another burner. if the burner isnt being used they put a cover over it.

Yesterday we went to an elementary school and Mong and I spoke to 2 5th grade classes. Just like on the streets, they were excited to see me. The entire hall was only 5th grade classes---there were 9 of them, with 35 students each. WOW. the hall has windows to the classrooms, but there is no glass, just open (because its really humid, to ventilate) and they keep the hall doors open. As we walked by, the kids started calling out hi and hello and nice to meet you and one random kid followed me down the hall asking me if i knew of some korean boxer haha. I felt like a celebrity! they get so excited if you wave or smile at them! Also, all students have to wear little rubber slippers at school so they dont scratch the wood floor, so they change into their slippers when they get to school...the boys where blue and the girls pink.

Last saturday night we went eel fishing. Mong and I and his friends, and our friend from redding who is studying in another city in korea, Joe, came down for the weekend so he came too. We drove to teh other side of the bay, and basically you fish off the street. I was surprised people caught any because there were cars parked front to back along the water on the side of the street for about one or two miles. So there was one person fishing at least every 50 feet or less. then they just plop down between cars and have a picnic. All koreans have portable gas burners (super cool) so most families or groups of people there had a burner and were cooking something in it. we made korean style ramen noodles and fished. You dont need a lisence and we fished with worms. you just cast and let it sit and then after 5 or ten minutes, pull it in, or drag slow if u want. On one reel-in I snagged an eel, and 2 starfish. Maybe thats why they are all plastered to the ground dry and dead--starfish eats the worm and sticks itself to the line and the hook and then it gets reeled in. We kept 5 or so eels then when we got back mong's dad looked at them and put them in the compost. they were too small ...not worth it I spose. oh well...now we know what size we need for nezt time. okee,....my hands hurt, im going to sleep....

Yes, I have posted pictures.

Ok here are the pictures and small commentaries to go with them: 1. King crabs at the fish market in Masan (right outside the apartment). 2. Me with octopus legs sticking to my face...yes I ate a few, but I couln't eat an entire leg, only the small pieces. 3. Mong, Hwayon, myself, and Mong's parents friends son who is going to a language school in the fall in SF at a restauarnt owned by Daewoo--the car company, it was on the 18th floor. 4. Pig feet for sale at the market. 5. Larger octupi--I dont think people eat these raw because they are too big to chew, some o their suction cups are the size of grapes so that could be dangerous. When they are cooked though they turn white and purple. 6. Small octupi, these are are ones we eat raw and squirming. They are squishy and slimy. 7. Downtown Masan at night. 8. Mong and hisbest friend Jong-won at a sum-gyup sal restaurant...they cook thick pieces of bacon and then it's eaten with a variety of things like salad leaves, different hot sauces, kimchis, garlic, onions, and other stuff. They put it on the gril on the table and then we ciook it, it;s super tasty. 9. Jong-won's sisters daughter and I...she and her brother were super cute, she asked me to sign her planner and he told me all the english words he knew, about 10. Then I asked if he liked cookies and he said "gookie??" and I said, yes, cookies! And he ran away to rummage through a bunch of books and board games, and came back with this box filled with cards with flags on them. And he said "gookie! gookie!" Mong then informed me that gookie means flag. 10. Kyungnam, near Kyungnam University---all the people on the other side of the street are students walking to school. 11. Kyungnam University, the prettiest universtity campus I've ever seen. It reminded me of Humboldt because there are a LOT of trees and plants and very green, but there were all these cool old asian style staircases and some of the buildings were very traditional looking. 12. Mong and I eating with his aunt (she is taking the picture) at a restaurant. Most restaurants you sit on the floor on little mats. Some of them have tables and chairs, but usually if they do they also have floor seeting also. 13. Apartments in CHangwon, the city next to Masan. Most apartments are clustered like this. 14. A lady selling her varieties of fish, eel, octupi, clams and such at the market in CHangwon. She was in the process of chopping their heads off, and a few escapes and were squirming around on the ground. 15. Veggies for sale at the market. 16. Changwon Plaza. 17. A public toilet--most are like this. About half the restaurants have regular toilets, and nice department stores do, but most toilets in town are like this. Oftentimes there is also no toilet paper, or you have to ask for it at the front desk or smoething. Although everywhere else in Korea there is an abundance of TP--in cars, hanging from the wall in lower-scale restaurants, on office desks, they use it for EVERYTHING.

pictures

I will try to post pictures this weekend...we had some internet issues and havent been home much but I will try in the near future.

seafood and long tshirts

Hi, sorry it's taken me so long. We have been pretty nonstop and I only use the computer for a few minutes here and there to check my email and see if my grades have been posted, which they havent'...they should be up tomorrow. Hmm well today we all (mong's family and I) went hiking at this mountain behind Masan. We didn't go very long because after a bit it gets super steep and Hwayon can't walk that long. Mong and I went ahead about a kilometer and it was all uphill steps. If we had went the entire way to the top, there is a Budhist temple there. There was a smaller one part way up where we took some pictures. After we went to a little hole in the wall restaurant (most are like that)and ate Chappaghetti---I think its a mix of Italian and Korean food. spaghetti noodles with a korean sauce made of beans and onions.

Korean women (and most men too) are very very concerned about this skin. I noticed this in the Swiss alps with the Japanese women too. They cover every single piece of skin with something. Long sleeves, long pants, or capris with tall socks, gloves, a bandana around the neck or the collar popped up, a hat or more commonly, a huge visor (lots of them were visors with a polarized piece of plastic as the visor part that goes down at an angle so you cna look through it), and then they wear this little face masks. I thought the mask was for allergies but Mong informed me that they are also for the sun. Even in town when we are just walking around, many women use umbrellas (which are all decorated with bows and lace becayse theyre for the sun not the rain)to protect from the sun. No wonder they all look so darn young.

Most public toilets are built into the ground as I said before. Koreans drive fast and crazy, and in one 10 minute car ride I probably hear a horn about 20 times (ironically as I typed this, I heard a car outside honk). They arent scared to use it. They also drive through very narrow allies that in the states would hardly be one way but here they are any-way. For example, the fish market which is about 10 blocks long and probably 5 wide, right outside Mongs apartment building. Koreans also dress very nice. Perhaps being in the city makes a difference, but if you are anywhere besides selling fish in the market, women usually wear heals and look very professional/stylish. Men wear nice slacks and collared shirts. Young people are also very into fashion. The thing here for young girls is to wear long tshirts, with random designs or screen prints on them. The best part is, they are super duper cheap, like 3,000 to 10,000 won each, which is around 3 to 10$. The jeans and pretty much all clothing that isnt brand name is super cheap. You could find some jeans that look like a really expensive brand and they woukld cost 10 or 15$ off the street. At the farmers market they sell lots of clothing as welll. socks and bras are also very cheap. Koreans are also very very respecting people. When you meet someone, you always bow your head and also when you say goodbye. Also, if you are drinking alcohol and someone pours it for you, you must hold the glass in 2 hands and they pour it with 2 hands and when you drink you have to turn your head to the side. Mongs best friend Jongwon came over the firs tnight here and mong and jongwon and mongs dad were drinking beer, and I kept wondering why when Jongwon took a drink he turned his head around and covered the beer with his other hand.

Oh, this was fun. The other day we went to Mongs aunts office to meet some of the kids we will help for English. After we were waiting for her because she was taking us to dinner. Her office was in a 10 or so story building with offices, day cares, tae kwon do gyms, stores, and restarants. On either side of her office there were gyms. We were waiting in the hall and then a bunch of little kids ran by and one little girl looked at me as she was running and said with a huge grin, "hello!!" we went up the the window(the gyms walls to the hall were just huge windows) and watched them. They hadnt yet started practicing because their instructor wasnt there and they were just running around hitting eachother and such. I waved at the little girl and some of the little kids (probably ages 7 to 10 or so) and then they are ran to the windo, clinging to it, like I was some kind of alien. It reminded me of the little turtles in Finding Nemo when Nemo's dad was telling the story and Dory was making the baby turtles get all excited. Then a couple of them popped their heads out the door and I said, "Anyung!" which is hello, and then they all gasped--one of them turned around and yelled something to the others, which mong then translated for me "She speaks Korean!!!!!" Then I became reallly exciting. The little girl that said hello came up so me very timidly and shook my hand, then a couple others followed in suit. it was so cute!!! They were adorable!

Walking through the fish market has been very interesting. i probably took one hundred pictures---there is quite a wide variety of fish and shell fish, lots of octupi and squid of many sizes. Oh, many eels too, which are fun to watch, especially when someone buys eel, becasue then the person selling it, usually women, take an eel, stab a nail through its head and pound it onto a stump or a cutting board propped ontop of something, then fillet it within a few seconds, or they just sell a headless eel. But before anyone buys something, 80% or more of the fish and other creatures are alive, swimming in aquariums or sitting in bowls. I ate octupus last night too. Mong's dad bought it and then brought it back. They were alive and then he insided out the head and pulled something out, chopped of the legs, which then proceeded to squirm even more thatn before. Most of the legs we cut up in luttle pieces, but I tried one squirming leg. Usually people cut them up because otherwise if you dont chew it enogh the suction cups could cling to your throat and suffocate you. Anyway, I took a small leg, started to chew it and it promtly sucked itself to the inside of my mouth, and then just hung there. i chewed and chewed and chewed for a minute or two. For some reason though I just couldn't swallow because I started to gag and sorta throw it up. Well, we are going soon, I'll post pics next time. BYE!

2nd day here

OKee dokee, so I have been here 2 days officially. I don't have pcitures because I haven't uploaded them and I am going to wait a few days...I need to take more. So we got up yesterday and had breakfast: mong told me koreans usually (ok, i just ga ve up on grammar, the keybpard is slightly different and i keep pressing the button that changes from korean to english) eat normal koeran food for breakfast like rice, kimchi, peppers, fish, and other dinner-type dishes. They bought me "toast" which, just like in germany, it is pre-slices white bread that is specifically for toasted, but they call it toast before its toasted. I told mong I'll eat Korean breakfast too, but until the corn flakes and toast are gone, I'll eat that.ㅠㅕㅅ, ㅠ But morea than wiling to try! (thatㄴㅇㄹㄴㅇㄹ what an accident). After that we went to the rehab h0spital where Mong's sister (Hwayon) is staying for her spinal cord injury. When we got there a lot of the patients were in teh physical therapy room with the pads and bars, and stairs and such. She is definitely much further a long than many people--some she said had been there for a few years. One man had fallen from a crane thing (the little box the people stand in when they fix telephone poles) when moveing furniture to an apartment from teh 7th floor--and although he c0uldnt yet, he was acutally learning to walk again with braces and a walker. It was pretty amazing. Most of the people were injured from car accidents. After that we went to Lotte, which is a massive department store: like macys, walmart, best buy, and safeway all in one. Hwayon was getting a swimsuit because she swims mon-fri now for therapy. They went back to the hospital but Mong and I stayed and wandered around. We then wandered a couple blocks away to Changwon's downtown and tried on $10 glasses frames ...made FOR prescription glasses. That sure beats the $200+ frames I was selling at Lenscrafters! CRazy! We stopped randomly at a street food stand and mong bought me tradtional street food: ground boiled fish on a stick, 30 cents each. Tasted interesting...not sure if I liked it so much though.ㅜ \\ They had pieces of tempura also for the same price. COol. ㅉㄷWe went back to the hospital but Hwayon was at the dentist and then we went there and that was one really nice dentist office.It was on the 7th floor or so, and the dental rooms poked out of the building and had windows on 2 sides. They had free coffee from a swiss espresso machine, and tea and mints, and a cpu with internet if you were bored. Then we came back here (oh I forgot, we ate at Lotte and I had something called bulgogi with rice and starch noodles--also tried the cooked octupus with red pepper sauce, it was tasty---the live octopus is set for sunday), and mongs best friend, Jongwon, came over and we all just sat in here and mong's mom made kimchi soup, which was spicy but really good. Oh, and it rained all day, but it wasnt cold, just humid.

Some things I've noticed: KOrean's, like Germans and Finns, also drive fast and make me slightly sickly...but I will get used to it. There are lots of random clusters of huge apartment buildings--near seoul there is a bit of countryside but then you will see in the distance about 5-20 5 block long 15 story buildings, all symmetricaly lined up and inside the cluster its like a tiny downtown--a market and other stores, and lots of neon lights. All Koreans use umbrellas, ALL of them. The only person I saw yesterday without one was a Buddist monk bowing on the side of the road. Ok, I gotta go shower, bathroom is free--we are going to meet Mong's aunt today. BYE!