rice planting time

The farmers have been planting their rice for a few weeks now and it looks like fun, although they might say otherwise. Initially all the fields were flooded at various times, and sat that way for a few weeks.
Then the big tractors came out to wallow in the muddy fields. I'm not really sure what they're doing, maybe flattening out the bottom or compacting the mud down.

One of these tractors got stuck in the field across from our apartment. He had to have a bulldozer come get his tractor out (the one above is not stuck). All the mud around lately has reminded me of being little and playing in the mud at the edge of Grandpa's garden with John and Kim. Maybe that's why rice planting looks like fun to me.

For awhile I kept missing the actual planting. I'd go to school and a field would be water. By the time school was out, the same field would have baby rice. With all the water-filled fields, it has looked like we're surrounded by lakes.
The rice was being planted so quickly that I thought they must have lots of people helping. Ahh, so naive, because then one day I finally saw the specialized tractor they use, which explains why the rows and plants are so perfectly spaced. It plants probably 7 or 8 rows at a time so it gets a field planted extremely fast. Fast enough that I've still not been able to get a photo of the tractor. One day when I didn't have my camera with me, William and I watched one for a little while. It's pretty cool but we're not sure how it works exactly. It seems like it would shred the baby plants.

(I'll try to post about Hong Kong soon.)

teacher appreciation day

Yesterday was Teacher Appreciation Day in Korea. My school had a ceremony during 1st and 2nd period which I didn't understand a word of, but I did get this pretty corsage from one of my students. All the teachers received one.Then we were allowed to leave for the day. I love half days!

baby strollers

On the bus home from school I saw two women pushing their little girls in strollers. At first it didn't seem strange at all, but then it hit me that they were the first strollers I've seen the whole time I've been here! Everyone carries their babies in a blanket sling like this photo or a store-bought baby harness thing. Even toddlers are usually walking or being carried.

This photo was from awhile ago, but the little girl was cute. We were on the bus and she kept leaning way back to play with some straps on my bookbag (when I was standing before taking the photo). The mother was talking to someone so I don't think she realized the little girl was keeping herself entertained.

my students

Today at the beginning of one of my classes, one student yelled, to no one in particular it seemed, "I love boobies!" Gotta' love junior high ESL!

Korean health care

Yesterday I took a sick day from school (today too) and went to see a doctor. I went to the hospital twice back in late January for a bad sinus infection so this was my third trip. The students are killing my immune system! Luckily I have health insurance through my school. With each trip I've been amazed with Korean health care.

At the hospital there is a foreign visitors desk where at least one person speaks English pretty well. Yesterday, a woman signed me in then walked upstairs with me so I would know where to go. She stayed to help ask questions for the doctor and took my temperature. I had a fever so she walked with me to have some blood drawn and to get a chest x-ray. She stayed with me until I was almost done and was very nice about it.

Within just ONE HOUR I did all of the following: 1) I saw the doctor, 2) had a vial of blood drawn, 3) received a chest x-ray, 4) saw the doctor again after my x-ray films were developed and blood analyzed, 5) paid my very cheap copay of 15,000 won (~$12), and 6) walked across the street to the pharmacy to get my prescription!! I had my prescription and was on my way home by the time an hour was up. I'd be amazed if all of that could be done in 2 hours time back home. I don't think I sat anywhere for more than 5 minutes yesterday, and that was without an appointment.

My chest x-ray was clear but my white blood cell count was high. The one thing I saw the doctor click in English on his computer was acute bronchitis. The rest was in Korean.

The pharmacy has a unique way of distributing medicine. Each time I've received a liquid and pills. Last time the liquid was a cough syrup in a clear unmarked bottle. The pharmacist wrote on the bottle the quantity and doses per day. This time I received the liquid in these shampoo sample-type packets with the frog on the front. I'm guessing that's the antibiotic. I was on different pills last time but received them in the same packaging, so the pharmacy counts out each patient's medicine, puts each dose in its individual packet, then vacuum seals the whole thing.
Way less packaging than giving each patient four or five different bottles of medicine! One of the pills is Tylenol because it's written on the pill, but I have no idea what the others are. It's a little disconcerting not knowing what I'm taking, but I got better quickly last time so I guess they know what they're doing.

cherry blossom festival

There are now a lot of new photos in my Picasa web albums for April. They include a trip to Seoul last weekend, a couple of rides with William, and another trip to Seoul this weekend for the Cherry Blossom Festival with two friends.

It wasn't a festival like we were expecting. It mainly involved hundreds of people walking along the road under the cherry trees and taking pictures. It didn't matter though, the pink cherry blossoms were beautiful! The cherry trees have only been blooming for about a week, but they're already starting to lose their flowers. At times it looked like it was snowing flower petals. By the end of next week they'll probably be completely green, like some of the other trees. I love the green and pink together in the photo above.There were no games for kids, vendors selling toys or artwork, or any of the normal things usually seen at a festival, but there were some cool flower and photo displays from a contest. I thought this jeans one was pretty original.......but I thought the bull was by far the best. All the placards were in Korean so I don't know which displays won something in the contest. Maybe it wasn't even a contest, but it seemed like it probably was.
In addition to the blooming cherry blossoms, there were also lots of flower pots with a wide variety of flowers.
And more magnolia trees, this time of the pink variety.I have to include a few parting "ick" shots. A food vendor was selling silkworms and some sort of shelled animal that I haven't seen anywhere else. The silkworms are very common.

bullfights and maple trees

Sorry, no new photos posted yet and I'm at school so I can't do it now. But here are two NY Times articles about two very different cultural traditions in South Korea. I found these in the last month or so and have been meaning to post them for awhile now.

bullfighting

and

gorosoe