I take back my previous statements about loving floor heating.  Well, sort of.  The problem, from a personal heating/cooling perspective, with this floor heating is the oppressive monotony of it.

Anyone who’s ever read Lisa Heschong’s Thermal Delight in Architecture would understand.  (which you probably haven’t, not being an Architecture major, but which everyone on the planet should read – especially non-Architects, as it’s tiny, incredibly accessible, and how more people should think about Architecture)  Like everything in life, it is the contrasts and the progression between them which make life interesting, which delight us and remind us we’re alive.

But sitting on this floor, lying on this floor, walking across this floor, I just feel like slowly baking ham…

Maybe it was different in another day and age when, instead of evenly disbursed coils set in concrete, the ondol system was truly fed by fire and the heat from the fire was shunted under the floors via actual flues.  At least then the heat was uneven and a person’s thermal comfort could be controlled by the proximity to the heat source.  Or, maybe it was better when the walls were only 3″ of straw and mud and the windows were covered in paper.

The only escape from this heat is to strip, or open the window, or go hang out in the unheated bathroom and get dripped on.  Or sleep.  Sleeping gives relief due to the lowered body metabolism, and I’ve even found my little moving pad blanket inadequate.  So I bought these super cute blanket pajamas for sale everywhere, and I roast in those as well.  But, I roast cutely…

I haven’t lived in a real winter climate since I was a kid, so it’s very amusing for me.  I forgot, for example, that manhole covers = guaranteed slipping, and that even if you don’t eat pavement, one slip and muscles you don’t know you have will be sore the next day.  I’d forgotten that people must start their cars 15 minutes early and leave them running so they don’t stall out.  I’d forgotten that pipes freeze and walls sweat.  I’d forgotten that over-dressing is a great way to get yourself sick from sweating and freezing.

Korean winters are a bit different from American winters, however.  Except for the Ugg boot knock-offs, the majority of women are still walking around in high heels.  Fur is everywhere.  NOT fake fur.  Real once live animals.  It’s super chic, but also super pretentious.  Scarves are a fashion must and I’m actually all about them.  It really sucks being around so many wonderful sweaters and scarves and passing them all bye.

Cardboard boxes are everywhere, used to soak up the excess melting snow from boots.  There don’t seem to be trays for snow boots like in the States.  There don’t seem to be that many wearing snow boots.  Just like there aren’t many raincoats during rainy season, just umbrellas.  There aren’t boot scrapers or brushes either.  The school hallways are a filthy dirty mess…

The most frightening thing in my neighborhood is the grade of the hills are so steep.  (30-40%!!!)   There aren’t sidewalks in most places, and the streets are barely wide enough for a car to get past, so if one skidded it would be easy to get pinned or crushed between a car and a brick wall…I also live in a high density motorcycle/moped area, probably precisely because the streets ARE so steep and narrow, and these crazy guys are still driving in the snow and ice.  I watch them going downhill on idle, their legs out dragging their feet, squeezing the brakes.

Another frightening thing is because the area is sooo hilly, there don’t seem to be safety regulations regarding stair step riser height or stringent handrail requirements anywhere in Korea, wet steps can be really treacherous.  The street of course is unlevel, and the bottom step is often met with some poorly constructed ramp connecting the two.  I’ve helped several old ladies cross this transition out of stores, but the entire time I was praying I didn’t take them down with me if I lost it!

And the curbs here.  They’re not rolled asphalt or poured and rounded concrete like in the states.  They’re GRANITE.  And they’re smooth and they have pretty sharp edges.

I haven’t seen any salt or sand being used to control the ice.  Only snow shovels.  I also saw shop owners on their hands and knees scraping the ice with hammers laid on their sides.  They were doing it in unison and chanting something, so it made me feel good.

Avoided email and been watching Kmovies one-right-after-another over the holidays.

I’ll be damned if there isn’t a movie about teenage pregnancy where the young parents decide to KEEP the baby against everyone’s wishes and guess what?  Everyone manages to GET OVER IT.

Jenny, Juno

Released in 2005, I wish this got tons more airplay in Korea.

http://www.mysoju.com/jenny-juno/

(at  first I didn’t think the download worked, but actually it’s just slow to first load)  The kids look like my students, except of course these kids have no acne, no weight problems,  none of them are being rude and disrespectful to their teachers, nobody’s beating anyone up, and they seem to have plenty of free time…

ADDED:

Wikipedia says it did surprisingly well at the box office, and there are some interesting comments on the movie at imdb.  There were some accusations that the writer of Juno plagiarized the idea adding in the adoption option, which the writer denied.  The refreshing thing about this Korean movie is extra-familiar adoption was never considered by the children or their parents, and that the boy steps up to the plate to take responsibility for his actions.

So I went out “dumpster diving” (actually there aren’t dumpsters in these mid-density areas, just curbside collection sites.  Well, actually there aren’t curbs in half of the places as well, so I guess they’re just collection sites) for used newspapers for an art project, and had to stop and take a couple photographs.

Seoul is a really romantic place at night.  The bridges are lit beautifully, the historic sites are like lanterns, and then the twisting streets of constantly changing elevation provide always interesting vantages and secret places to steal a kiss.

Somewhere in storage is my coffee table book, Paris by Night by Brassai.  Seoul has its own je ne sais quoi as well.  Too bad there are no middle aged romantic men in Seoul for me to experience this fully.  I think Paris has them all:  she is mighty stingy, keeping them all to herself.

I fear the only frogs I will be kissing are these ones:

The frogs in Insa-dong

Hoping he’ll turn into a prince.

Ah well, it’s better to live in Seoul with-or-without romantic frogs, than to live in “new cities” like Anyang, which look like this:

there surely weren’t any frog princes there, and at least in Seoul there is magic on the streets right outside my door.

PT  1-3 :  F2/F4

– Loc: Guri/DoNong (k123 or k124 구리/도농) on light blue(Jungang LIne)

– PT 1: WF: 10:00am-13:00 pm(3 hours)

– PT 2: WF:   7:00pm-9:00pm(2hours)

– PT 3: T,Th: 7:30-9:00pm(1.5 hours)

– Salary: 40000 won/1 hour

– Students: Adults

– Period: Year long

– Start: Jan.21-Jun.30( for 5 months)

– F4: must be looking caucasian.

Because an Asian American couldn’t possibly speak English as well as a Caucasian American.

It’s Christmas Eve and I’ve gotten a few presents from my students.  Here’s one that really touched me:

Dear Leanne

Hello, I’m one of your student.  Maybe you don’t know my face or my name, but I was wishing to write a letter since I met you before.  I hope you will understand my grammer mistake.  by the way, when I first saw you , you were just normal forigner until I saw you on tv.  After I heard about your childhood I was very shock.  And my mind changed.  I thought I’m very unhappy person and I’m always in unfortune.  But I realized that I should thanks for my life, so I want to say “thank you” that you gave me a meaning gift.

I think you are very brave and you live your own life very wonderful.  I want you to be my role model.  I feel your upright mind when you campaign for adopted child.  Also I loved your mind which I can feel your imagination include “free” and open mind, I understand how much you feel hurt in Korea, or shock in our culture.  Sometime I feel sorry and ashamed of my country.  I think Korean have too many bias, and also thinking about just self profit.  Um…I think this happened which since we go through many wars and colony time.  Because everyone have to live and wanted to live…so they were busy at occupying their own things, and doing works faster whatever they have to.  I can compare this because I was shock either when I visit America at young age.  It’s very ridiculous that we are same person which have same one nose and two eyes.  But different mind…I hope you memorize just happy things in Korea, or you can learn more and think again when you disappointed at our culture.  I think Korean should be more gentle and think others and don’t try to see others with their own glasses called “prejudice”…

anyway I’m very thanks to you that you teach me not only English but also how to live in 21 century, globalization world.  This little gift which I give you is not expensive, but I wish you are happy with it.  This gift will bring you a warm and sweet Christmas.  Also I want to say you are very beautiful when you overcome your difficulties.  Thanks again and have a happy merry Christmas.  “I love you”

Anyway, I’m balling right now.  Maybe I’m a good teacher afterall.  Maybe there is hope here.

So this is a parting shot of the hallway to my officetel apartment. So much personality.  So warm and inviting.  NOT!

I say SAYONARA with no regrets!

And THIS is what people want to / dream of living in?

It killed my soul coming home to this every day. This rich experience (cough, cough) is the blight of Korea and what the current administration and their rich developer friends want to replace huge chunks of Seoul with. They seem to think that adding some pedestrian walks and amenties at the base of these 14, 20+ floor high buildings can ameliorate the monstrous presence of these concrete monoliths.

My very cool new old neighborhood is slated for the wrecking ball in four years. A whole way of life will be gone with these buildings: the women knitting, the truck vendors, the neighborhood dogs, the children playing, the tiniest restaurants and bars, the hardware man, etc. I’m all about Sesame Street, and this Korean Sesame Street will soon be nothing but history.

Many of my co-workers live in Seoul and commute an hour to work. I ask them why and they say, “because Anyang (or insert any new city’s name) is too expensive.” Soon, Seoul will be just as expensive, and then where will they live? Where will all the people who depend on this 60’s and older housing stock go?

This is one of the main reasons I’m not in architecture anymore. Development isn’t a response to growing pains – it’s just market hype to turn over yet-still-another-buck. And that greeds seems inexhaustible.