2002-10-26 - 1:07 p.m.

October 21, 2002

(02:20) Had an interesting evening, talking to an engineer from Ulsan who works at the big shipyard. He opened the conversation by saying, "This ship is both pitching and rolling." When I said I was from Maine, he said, "Bath Iron Works! I've never been there, but they have a high reputation." We talked about ships, Hangul (the Corean language and writing), the technology of preserving food, global politics, and all sorts of things.

He told me the difference between "dong"(with a "light d," the direction East, also a village or neighbourhood, depending on the force with which you say it) and "tong" (the general term for containers) and "ddong" (with a "hard d," is a very impolite word for "shit"). A word that sounds a lot like these is "doun", meaning "stone."

In the recorded history of Corea, which goes back 5,000 years, the people have developed the technology of fermenting food to make it more digestible, as well as to preserve it. Kim chi crocks "breathe;" [I had wondered about the incisions in the glaze. They're not just decorations.] Each crock has its own breath, depending on the kind of vegetables that have been preserved in it and the care that has been taken of it. Some kim chi crocks are centuries old; they are prized for their "good breath." Sun and fresh air are vital for the crock to work on the food properly. Their shape and colour are designed to improve air flow, particularly around the bottom where the food is more compressed, and to soak up heat from the sun.

We finally broke it up close to midnight. I got a couple hours sleep, but the ship is rolling and pitching pretty furiously so I rose to "go bathroom" and see what's happening. One door is unbarred tonight. It really helps to watch the waves. Besides their frothy beauty, it lets the old brain see some pattern in the ship's motions. And it gives me a chance to breathe the salt air, something of a relief. The bathroom smells like vomit and a bit of the aroma flows in the air conditioning. I'll head back to bed soon, though. Today is going to be a scramble, trying to make it to Guro for the afternoon group.

(08:30) I got a good scrub and shampoo in the spa and am "dolled up" in clean white pants (hope they survive the train trip in good shape). We're all gathered in the main room waiting for Immigration to open before we disembark. There are a number of tour groups and they get to go just after the first-class passengers. I'm in with the "individual 2nd-class passengers," along with the local folks. They are calling us to line up now.

(Later) There was a taxi at the end of the long driveway to the ferry terminal, so I took it to the train station and got there at 9:25 a.m. (Immigration was very quick this a.m.) At the ticket booth, I got a "Same-hour" 2nd class ticket for departure at 9:55.

There was enough time to get a big bowl of soup with wide noodles, ¿À ¹Ì, "oh-mee." These noodles are made with glutenous rice flour and fish-bone flour, very high in calcium. It sounds weird, but tastes great!

I still had plenty of time so I went out on the train platform and got a cup of coffee to go with a cigarette. The sun was breaking through the clouds and the wind was picking up, so I was glad to have the hooded sweatshirt that Mary gave me. A big "Siberian high" is sliding down the peninsula to replace the roistering storm that tossed us about on the ferry.

Most of the way to Seoul, I dozed off and on, catching up on lost sleep a little bit. Came up with some ideas for my boys in Guro which worked well later on in the day. I got off at Yeongdeungpo to transfer to the Metro (subway) at 2:25 p.m. and was at the classroom by 3 o'clock. Michael, the young Canadian fellow, was just heading out for the train, so we passed the key like a baton. I set up the classroom as I'd envisioned on the train, with lots of objects in, on, or under the tables, chairs and couch, then drew some pictures on the whiteboard with in, on, or under written beside them. Cho called to make sure I'd made it, and we talked about the lesson a little. I wanted to make sure I was on the right page in the textbook! Cho teaches that class the rest of the week, but he as a college class himself at 3:30 on Mondays. We agreed to meet at the U.S.O. at 6:30 for the key and pay transfers.

The class went really well; segued from "hundred" to "hungry." We finished up with "What has teacher got in her backpack?" There was popcorn and peanut butter. We put peanut butter on the popcorn. Pol made a snowman out of his popcorn and p.b., so we played around with making figurines and eating after the first pangs of hunger subsided. Then we sang, "If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands." Kids always get a kick out of the faces I make for the "sad" and "angry" verses, and the boys entertained me with the Hangul version of the "happy" verse. They had so much fun that they hung around after class and helped me clean the popcorn fragments off the carpet. We practiced saying "Pick up..." and "Clean up..." sentences.

Chak stayed until I locked up and walked with me to the street. He is the sharpest student, but Cho told me later that he's new in town, and the other 3 boys are buddies. They don't like him. In fact, they are planning to quit the class next month, so Cho asked me to teach them next week because they seem to like me better than Phil. [Maybe they'll hang around if they have the funny old grandmother teacher.] He also wants me to take the Canadian's class starting the first Monday in November. Doggone, it's good money, but class prep time is a lot more than with grownups. Cho needs to wait and see if the 3 buddies renew before he knows if there will be one class or 2 on Monday afternoons. He is also unsure about his African lady; he may need to replace her, and wants to give me first dibs on that job.

I ate an early supper and cleaned my e-mail on the way to the meeting with Cho. Took the subway, which is elevated on this stretch, from Guro to Namyeong and walked to the U.S.O. (the better part of a kilometer). Cho and Darrel were there, so I hung out with them for an hour and a half, then foreswore going to supper [too tired], and headed down to Samgakji. This subway stop is nearly a "klick" away, but I didnt want to bother with two transfers going home.

When I finally took the Metro to Anam, I fell asleep within five minutes and awoke when we stopped at Bomun, the station before Anam, 25 minutes later. I had just enough energy to stop and pick up a 2-liter jug of water on the walk home (about 30 meters out of my way). Turned on the floor-heat when I got home; it was 13 degrees C or 56 F outside with a stiff north-west wind, blowing about 15 mph / 24 Km/hr.

Happy days and happy trails!

~ Sil in Corea

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