The Land of the Morning Something

Note: For one of the first times since I turned 18, I'm actually travelling with someone else on this trip. This is why I use "we" and "our" a lot.

Well, I'm now in South Korea. And it was quite an interesting experience getting here. And getting over jet-lag has been... interesting. As have been a lot of other things, so here are some bits from the past five days of our adventure here.

Anyways, the original plan was to leave from Cleveland-Hopkins Airport early (at around 8) on the morning of the 11th, have a reasonable 3-hour layover in Detroit, and then take a thirteen-hour flight from there into Seoul-Incheon, arriving at a reasonable hour on the 12th. We did arrive at a reasonable hour on the 12th, but...

The initial CLE-DTW flight got cancelled. Not cool. And it automatically rebooked us on a flight that would leave from Cleveland at 6 in the evening and put us into Seoul at 4 in the morning on the 13th. Even less cool. After talking with the Delta agent, what we were able to get was a flight that left from Cleveland an hour later than the original flight and went into LaGuardia Airport in New York and, from there, we'd need to take a taxi from LaGuardia to JFK Airport for a flight that would leave for Seoul about 3 hours later. Long story short, the traffic in NYC was reasonably painless and we made it to JFK with plenty of time to spare, got checked in rather quickly, and were through security and waiting on our flight in no time.

The flight was, in fact, long. Thirteen hours on Korean Air. The service seemed somewhat disturbingly attentive, though: two meal services, two snack services, beverage services throughout the flight, and several duty-free carts coming and going through the plane. So we were at least sorta taken care of for when we landed at a very foggy Incheon Airport. Immigration was painless (though it involved being fingerprinted and photographed) and Customs was likewise straightforward and, two hours later, we were at our destination and checked in to the place we'll be staying for the month. It's a very small accommodation: the shower, toilet, and sink are all together in one "cabinet", and there's not much space at all. But it'll work.

Saturday and Sunday were designated for exploring, getting acclimated to Suwon (the city in which we're staying), and popping into Seoul, including a trip to the Money Museum at the Bank of Korea. Now that the week's started as normal, we're starting some of the science; in particular, we're getting to know the people we're working with (all very nice) and the equipment. So hopefully there'll be some good results to be brought back to the US with us.

As for the food... well, I'm quickly learning how to use chopsticks, and that's an adventure... especially since the Koreans like using flat metal chopsticks that are sorta kinda hard to grab things with. At least rice is customarily consumed with a spoon, so that's not too hard. And Koreans love red chilis: practically every main dish is flavored with them in varying quantities. Getting used to that level of spiciness is taking a bit, but it's coming along.

So, yeah, more to come soon. With that, have a good rest of your weeks.

Back Stateside Again

This post is coming a bit late, but, after 10½ months in Europe, all things had to come to an end and, a week ago, I left France and came back to the US.

However, I didn't go quietly; since I had to go to Lyon to go to the airport, I decided to make a nice trip out of it. So I spent four days in Lyon combined with a daytrip to Geneva, Switzerland. Lyon is quite pretty and easy to get around; probably as much to see as in Paris, but without the size of the French capital. And a lot of the good things in Lyon are free, so there was no need to hemorrhage money left and right. Definitely a plus.
Geneva was cute and adorable... and very expensive. I went there with the express purpose of spending money and sightseeing (I had a large number of Swiss Francs I wanted to get rid of), and both missions were accomplished, but it's amazing how much prices jump once you enter the tiny little country. Still, though, the added benefit of Switzerland is that the product selection is very different compared to that in France... seems more like a hybrid of what you'd find in Germany and what you'd find in France, all squished into a single package. In any event, I got lotsa good pictures and had a very good time before...

On the 1st of May, however, it was time to return to the US. Leaving on the first, however, was a mistake logistically... because, in France, 1 May is la fête du travail, or Labor Day. For most French public holidays, things, like public transport, still run; I arrived back in France after winter break on 1 January, and that wasn't a problem. However, Labor Day in France is special and, as a result, the Lyon public transport network was completely non-operational that day.

Fortunately, what wasn't offline was the express tram from Lyon to the airport. So, I took a taxi from my hostel to the train station and the tram from the Lyon Part-Dieu station to the Lyon St-Exupéry Airport. And, with it being a holiday (perhaps), the airport was practically deserted. Definitely a plus.

Getting checked in and through security in Lyon was fairly straightforward and painless, and the airport seemed to operate a lot like a US airport in layout. Not much airside, but still a decent amount. The flight from there to Paris was short (1 hour), so it wasn't bad at all.

Connecting in Paris, however, was... fun. I was in one terminal and had to go to another. Fortunately, there was a pedestrian route, so I started following that. First, there was exit control; guy took my passport, turned to a blank page, and stamped it in a matter-of-fact manner. I then thought, cool, the gate shouldn't be far away. That was a misjudgment... it took about 20 minutes to walk to another surprise security control. And after that was the gate.

Airside was, fortunately, a bit less deserted than the first time I went through de Gaulle airport, but still overpriced and with not a good selection. Fortunately, I didn't have too long until I got to board the plane. This plane was the largest I had been on... an Airbus 380. A fully double-decked plane... I was on the lower level, but it was still awesome. The flight was long, the food wasn't too bad, and the seat neighbors weren't too horrible... just like usual.

When we landed at JFK airport, it felt a bit like Heathrow all over again... a bit of a walk to Immigration, and the line I didn't go to was jam-packed with people waiting. Getting through immigration and customs was fast and painless (and, fortunately, not very unfriendly) and the terminal I arrived at and the one I needed to go to weren't separated by much, so it was a short walk. And more waiting once through security. The flight from JFK back into Charlotte arrived... early. By about an hour. So I needed to wait around a bit for my father to arrive and, after he got me, we made the three-hour drive back to Stedman.

It fortunately hasn't been too hard to adjust to being back in the US. I do miss France (a lot), but being nice and relaxed and having time to relax has really been good. Only really strange thing is that, now, I'm running errands on my own (driving!) and that my brother isn't yet here. In a week, though, that'll be changed. I have a few more things coming up soon, like a trip to Wisconsin and one to Colorado; I might fit a Canada trip in somewhere this summer; and... I might be headed back to France this fall. Turns out that my paperwork for the renewal wasn't rejected after all! Unfortunately, the number of posts for assistants was reduced by 20%, but there's still that glimmer of hope that I'll get to return. For that would be awesome.

So, with that, this blog shall probably lie dormant for a while until more fun adventures occur. While I didn't post as regularly as I would've liked to, I thank anyone who read this for... reading this (yeah) and, additionally, all the people in Germany and France for making my stay awesome and wonderful. It's always funny to see how things differed from what I anticipated, and it's almost always been different for the better.

Bis bald / À plus,

Larry

Qu'un sang impur abreuve nos sillons!

I've been here in the beautiful Auvergne region for about two weeks now, and I must say that I'm impressed. It's been a bit of an adventure, especially with a public transportation strike the first few days I was here, but it's otherwise been great so far.

Part of why I waited a bit to write some more is because I wanted to actually work with my students for the first time and see what I was working with. As I mentioned before, I'm working at a collège in a suburb of Clermont-Ferrand for 3 hours per week and the remaining 9 hours are at a lycée in the southeastern part of the city. I did meet the teachers (or most of them, at least) and many of the students, and it's going to be fun. The teachers are all incredibly nice, always willing to help (it seems) and friendly in general. In all, I'm working with six different teachers and a total of twelve different classes, each class for one hour per week and generally up to about 15 people in a class (so the sometimes large classes are split up).

At the collège, I'm right now working with students in troisième (3e), so they're all from 13 to 16 years old and preparing for the brevet, an examination given at the end of the year that determines what school they're best suited for at the lycée level. As for the lycée, I'm working with both students in seconde (2e) and post-baccalauréat students who are completing a technical program before licensure rather than immediately going to university. The system here in France is, needless to say, a bit different than that in the US, and one of the lessons I do have planned is a discussion about the differences between the educational systems and, really, how the US high-school experience is different from that in France. And, as I'm working a lot with the speaking skills of the students, talking about more "interesting" topics should help with sparking their interests and, really, getting them to speak.

As for the speaking, well... most of the students are very timid, it seems. I hope to get them to speak more, and it'll hopefully get better as time passes.

So, that's it really in a nutshell. Now for some quick tidbits/observations:

• Beer is sold in fast food restaurants, like McDonald's. Conversely, it's sold very rarely at those in Germany, from what I remember.
• Prices here in France are hit-or-miss compared to Germany. Sometimes, they're quite a bit cheaper (especially for food), but most of the time it's roughly the same price or a bit more. What's interesting, though, is that more food is taxed at the lower VAT rate here in France than in Germany (so, here, soft drinks are taxed at 5.5% rather than 19.6%, whereas they're subject to the full 19% in Germany).
• Getting around Clermont-Ferrand is a bit different: it's mostly bus-based, but there is a tram line that, conveniently, is right near where I'm currently staying. And tickets are a bit cheaper here compared to in Germany (and the UK, for that matter).
• House hunting is... well, different. The terminology is rather different, rules for renting are stricter for both ends, and the prices may or may not have charges (utilities) included. So it's really a case of looking very carefully at the fine print.

So, yeah, it'll be a good seven months, I don't doubt. And, with that, have a good rest of your week.