Random Happenings in DC

I got to meet Robert Picardo!  And he was wearing the Doctor Who shirt "You never forget your first doctor."

I wish my bangs would figure out how to be bangs. Then again, this 95 degree heat wave in DC really isn't helping.

Of Mice and (Wo)Men

Cities.  Yeesh!

Adding to the pests I have experienced since leaving the Midwest, I can now add mice to the list!  And no, I'm not filthy, before you think that's why I have mice!  I should say mouse.  I don't know where he went, and he hasn't brought his friends with him yet.

It started a few weeks ago.  I kept hearing this scratching noise on the roof.  First, I thought it was maintenance working on the roof.  Then, I figured it was probably a bird.  Next it moved onto squirrels.

But suddenly, last night, as I was playing Austria in Civilization V, engaged in a war with Siam and at least holding my own, I saw something in my peripheral vision near the closet.  I looked up from my catapult ravaging Siam's pathetic archers, as something black scurried out of the closet.

Oh, I thought.  Just another b--GAH.  By the time my mind processed what had just crawled out of the closed closet, he scurried back in.  I threw my laptop down on my bed, stood straight up, started shaking, and texted my roommate who was in a cabin somewhere in Virginia, "THERE IS A MOUSE IN OUR HOUSE. OR RAT. SOMETHING WITH A TAIL."

I didn't hear back from her.  By the third message I gave up.  It was clear I was on my own.

After sending the first message, I did what any sane and logical person home alone would do.  I got the hell out of Dodge.  Unfortunately, it was 11:30 at night and the closest I felt safe to leaving Dodge was sitting in the apartment hallway.  I knocked on a few doors, hoping someone had a magical 24-hour maintenance number, but despite the fact I could hear pots, pans, and TVs, no one answered.  Boy, thanks neighbors.

Over an hour was spent texting people 1,000 miles away who couldn't help me.  I was looking for moral support.  I got little.

My mom's reaction was amusement.

My friend Jake continued to mock me and suggested more Klingon methods of dealing with the problem.



I would like to point out the only sympathetic person to my plight was Leah, who understands the squickiness I was feeling.  Thankfully she often works late and so she stayed up trying to talk me into being brave and opening my closet door.  She tried, but didn't succeed.

I gathered enough courage to head back into my actual apartment.  But I still wasn't brave enough to go back into my room.  I sat out on the patio for an hour, curled up in a quilt telling myself I could sleep outside for the night.  But between the teenagers breaking curfew (it was pushing 1:30 a.m. at this point), the people setting off industrial-grade fireworks that made us sound like a warzone, I decided this was futile.  Around 2:00 I finally set back inside and back into my room.

I sat staring at my closet door until 6:30.  During that time, I read many interesting things about mice and stories of people who were just as disgusted and terrified as I was of them.  Finally, around 6:30 I curled up and went to sleep.  I would wake every half an hour or so and flail my arms and legs like a crazy person because I was sure the mouse had found me.  Around 8:30 I realized I wouldn't be able to fall asleep again.  So, I got up and finally, finally opened my closet door around 9:30.

No one rushed out to greet me.  Or run away, for that matter.

I slowly started going through my suitcase, which is functioning as a dresser drawer right now, and a few cube storage boxes I have for socks and underthings.  One by one I took them outside or into the living room.  Everything was out of the closet.  No mouse to be found.

However, I did find out where they are coming from.  On the ceiling of the closet, there is a giant crack that runs on two walls that's probably well over two feet long.  The crack is more than enough space for a mouse to squeeze through.  Since there was no food for him in my bedroom, I hope he has since left for greener pastures, but I know as long as the crack in my wall remains, I know some other mouse will get curious.

Speaking of cracks in the wall, I really do feel like I need The Doctor to come fix it for me.

Matt Smith as The Doctor in his regeneration's debut episode, "The Eleventh Hour." Thankfully touching the crack in my wall does not remove you from existence. 

Anyway.  He and I--the mouse, not the doctor--have reached some sort of detente until tonight.  I think he's probably sleeping somewhere, thinking of how he's going to chew me when I'm sleeping and least suspecting it.  Shudder.

But the business office opens on Monday, where our e-mail pleas for an exterminator will hopefully be answered.  And then the joke's on you, sucker.



In short...I think I've had enough "weekend" for a while.  Will keep you updated on the war at home.

Karin

Every New Beginning...

...comes from some other beginning's end!

I hope this post finds everyone well.

If you have not heard the news already, I am finally employed (again)!  I am leaving my internship a little early for a full time job.  It's primarily for assisting the development department of a nonprofit organization, entering in their gifts and helping out in other areas.  I also have been volunteering on Sundays teaching adults ESL at a church in Columbia Heights.  For the foreseeable future, D.C. will be home.

D.C. is probably the most frustrating city I have ever lived in.  The city stops at the slightest hint of snow, shutting down schools and federal offices...only for the "snowquester" to fizzle into it rain.  I think the weather is windier than Chicago.  I can't even remember how many days I feel as if I have been almost knocked off my feet by wind!  I'm hoping this is just a winter phenomenon.

After experiencing the beautiful subways of Korea and Japan, to get on the D.C. Metro was a total shock.  The first time I got on a train I thought it was just a really old subway car, long forgotten to be decommissioned.  Nope...that's just how they all look.  The platforms are dangerously small and overcrowded, with nothing to prevent you from falling or being pushed onto the tracks below.  The buses are much the same story--Minneapolis, I would say, has a much better bus system than D.C., especially concerned with weekend service.  One particularly ridiculous Sunday, my class finished at 3:00.  I did not get home until 5:00--I made no other stops/errands in between.  I waited for the bus for over an hour before one finally decided to show up (two scheduled buses never came).  Of course, this was one of the super cold and windy days, so it was quite miserable.

However, now that spring is upon us, I've been able to go out and about a little more and see different places, so that's nice. I have already seen most of the touristy sights in D.C. from a trip in high school, but I still can't resist the draw of the cherry blossoms later this week.  I'll have to put up some pictures later this week.  This is my last week at my internship, then I start my new job on April 8th!

Until next time,
Karin

The No Facebook Experiment

 

Find a written version after the jump (push the blue "Read More" button below).  You may have to turn your speakers up for the video, I think I need a real microphone to do these sorts of things.

Another Beginning

It's been a long time since I've wrote anything on this blog!  As I'm sure you're aware, my mom and I returned safely from our trip at the end of September.  We had a really great time, and it was nice for me to spend some more time in Japan.  I enjoyed the four days over New Year's 2012, but most everything was closed then!  Of course, our trip had a few bumps along the way, but nothing that seriously hindered us.

In October, I think I spent more time in Aneta, ND than I did it Detroit Lakes!  First, my aunt came home from Florida for a visit and we spent a few days up there with her.  She hadn't been home for a few years, so it was lucky we were back!



Then a few weekends later was Levi's baptism.  He was just beginning to teethe!  The weekend coincided with grandpa's 92nd birthday (and my brother's not-92nd birthday).  Most grandchildren in my grandpa's family have worn his baptism gown.  However, it has seen better days, and they decided to "cheat" and just lay it on him--especially since he wasn't a newborn any more and is very squirmy! 

I had only been home for a few weeks, so I took quite a few pictures, but managed to get one with me and Levi.  The first picture I ever took with him makes me look like a deranged sleep deprived person--which I was!  This one was much better.  He's kind of looking at the camera.



In early November, I was idly searching DC Craigslist to see if I could find a possible sublease or other short term housing option for the new year.  To my surprise, when I put in the search parameters, a few came up.  About a week and a half later, I had a four month lease in hand for January to May in DC.  This gave me a step over a potential job search hurdle, which is having an out of state address.  So, I continued to apply for jobs and internships with a new address.

There are quite a few birthdays in our family in the late fall time, so most weekends were a family celebration of some kind or another, and then of course a full house for Thanksgiving.

About the first week of December, I interviewed over the phone for an internship at a DC homeless shelter.  They said they would be making their decision in a week or two.  A few days after this, I got a request for another interview.  I'm serious, I felt like I had won the lottery.  The funny thing about this is that I had applied for this internship with my Minnesota address.  I actually had to look back at my saved file of applied-to jobs document to remember who it was!  I interviewed with them and they got back to me the next day.  I accepted the second internship.  It had the bonus of being closer to public transportation and also has a small stipend, which is, as a friend termed it, "the pink unicorn of internships."

Fast forward, and I am finally here!  The flight out here was very early.  One time in my life, I would really enjoy flying not at the crack of dawn.  As we took off at 7:15 or so, after the plane got a bath, the sun was just starting to come up.  I realized that I have never left North Dakota when there is snow on the ground.  It was cool to see from the air.  Also the complete drop of at the end of West Fargo.  I'm serious, Fargo is a square, and it just....stops.  It was unnerving to go from complete darkness to serious daylight in about 20 minutes, though!

In short, I've spent the last day getting a few things for my apartment that are difficult to bring with and setting up.  I am trying to keep things simple for the moment.  While I would of course love to stay here for a while, I also don't want to drag home an apartment and a half full of stuff home if it doesn't work out.  So for now it is all about downsized living. 

My internship starts next Friday, which gives me a good chunk of time to get adjusted and explore the city until then.  I already know where not to get off the bus at, and where two metro stations are!  And the meandering way home from the metro station.  So at least that's out of the road, even if it was an accident!

I usually end posts after an extended hiatus with something like "I will be better about writing in this blog," but I'm getting too old to lie to myself like that every time.  So instead--

Until next time!

What I Learned in Korea

Well, this is it.  Probably one of my last posts from Korea.  My mom will be here in 13 days, and we start our trip in 20 days.  I might do another blog post after my farewell dinner with friends and the first few days with my mom, but I'm not sure.  I suppose I will take this opportunity to write a post about what I have learned in Korea.  Or at least where I publicly pretend to have learned something,  Harhar, just kidding. 

1. It doesn't matter how much you empty out of your suitcase, you will still bring way too  much crap for one year.  There's really no way to avoid this one, short of showing up with the clothes on your back which isn't a good start, either.  My advice to anyone doing the teaching-for-a-year gig is to bring one big suitcase and one small suitcase.  Bring mostly the clothes you'll wear to work--you're going to be there five days a week anyway.  You don't need five pairs of jeans.
2. I used to just shrug off the idea of "architecture" when building things.  Now I miss it!  Somedays I wake up, walk outside, and wonder if I'm on the wrong side of the DMZ.  Although this is a trend that slowly seems to be disappearing in Korea, which is a good thing!
3. "Western" men, even from my generation, still have a long way to come in their view of women.  Sure, there are Korean men whose behavior left much to be desired, but the real sleazes were more likely to be from the other side of the ocean.  Of course, not every expat man, not even the majority, is like that.  There are many factors that go into why there seem to be an above average number of men of questionable character here.  But there is still much room for improvement here.  I am not an object.  I am not your sex toy.  Deal with it.
4. China will not become our master.  At least from an educational standpoint.  The systems in China/Japan/Korea are quite similar, in that they favor rote learning and memorization and long hours in school from a very young age.  Many of my elementary aged students are in school for over twelve hours.  This does not make them better educated.  It makes them good at taking tests and putting in the minimal amount of effort possible to make the teacher happy.  Most of the students are unable to apply the material.  These societies are doing a good job of making employees, but not such a good job of making creators.  I hope that in twenty years the educational system will look different in Korea than today.  I hope that these children, when they grow up, will realize that there can be a good balance between students who work hard but are also allowed to have a childhood. 
5. Cheap taxis and transportation are amazing! Coming from the fourth largest country by land area, it's nice to be able to get on a bus and be anywhere in three or four hours for under $40.  Even though Korea has an east/west divide--want to cross the mountains forming the "backbone" of the country?  Good luck!--it's still much easier than in the US. 
6. Anything can be made tasty if you put enough chili powder and/or paste into it.  This can be a pro or a con, depending on your tastes!
7. Not everyone is your friend.  No explanation necessary.  Not everyone in this world is a decent human being.
8. Children are disease ridden germ factories.  This isn't news, but until you're sick for the 10,000th time, you don't realize the full soul-crushing nature of it.  It doesn't matter how often you wash your hands or how many times you teach them to cough into their elbow and not across the table your hands your face and how on earth did it get on the whiteboard?  On the flip side, some people have crappy immune systems, and that poor guy is you.
9. Public trash cans and water fountains are the best inventions ever.  But mostly the trash cans.  Imagine a world without trash cans.  Smell it yet?
10. Mountains are beautiful, partly because they make you appreciate a horizon.  Going to the coast was amazing because you could look out and see...nothing.  Definitely reminded me of home more than once.
11. Children are built with a switch that goes from "bright eyed youngster" to "don't talk to me" immediately at the age of 11-12.  I've seen it happen in some of my own classes, sometimes overnight.  Oh, puberty.  Which brings us to our next item,
12. Teenagers are the same no matter where you are.  No explanation needed here, either.
13. Work/life balance isn't just a buzzword, it's a necessity.  Definitely something I will be looking for in the future.
14. The world exists in a grey area between where and what is has been, and where and what it wants to be.  I encountered this in Egypt, and again here in Korea.  I'm sure those who come to the US for a short time and return home probably share a similar opinion of us.  In Egypt, their very currency exposes this duality:  on one side is the Arabic script with Arabic/Hindi numerals, and drawings depicting their Islamic heritage.  The other side is written in English showing tourist sites (Sphinx, Pharaohs, statues, etc.).  They protest the invasion of American/European culture, while wearing designer clothes and sitting in a McDonald's.  Korea has a similar story.  The government allows foreigners to come and teach English, and parents pay for their children to study for a native speaker, and yet an uncomfortable number of them seem to prefer that we exist only inside of the classroom.

Although some of these things may sound negative, I don't regret coming to Korea.  As the adage goes, "Twenty years from now, you'll be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do."  And who doesn't love one less regret?  I've met some great people here (and some not so great), and I'm thankful for everyone who made this place a home away from home.  I'll certainly never forget my time and the people here. Korea is a dynamic and quickly changing country.  I'm sure in another twenty years it will look very different, and it would be interesting to come back and to see that change.  But for now, it's time for me to have one last travel, and return home.

Next post from an undetermined location at an undetermined time!
Karin

It's the Final Countdown

Here we go.  The final months of my time in Korea.  I am officially leaving my job on August 31st, and my mom and I will return to the US on September 26th.  This is later than I had expected, and I suppose hoped for, but it is good to have a definitive date.  My plans for after I return to the US are still slightly muddled.  However I am very excited to see all my family and friends back home, and to meet my new nephew Levi!

When I came home from the hospital, I slept in a drawer.  Levi has a crib though, don't worry, it was all for show!

I received an e-mail the other day from the State Department, alerting interested applicants that the language bonuses and process has changed again.  However, this time it's at least somewhat in my favor.  They have reduced the knowledge requirements for Arabic, and have increased the bonus for if you do well. You are able to take the language assessment after you pass your interview.

I still don't know if I can get to the interview this time.  I hope my year in Korea will help distinguish me from other candidates my age who have only spent their lives in school.  But I definitely will need to do something to get my speaking up to par.  In DC I'm sure there would be a tutor or a class somewhere.  However, I have also always thought about returning to Cairo or even Beirut for an intensive summer course.  So do I do it this summer, or wait until next?  Or self study?  I'm not sure at this point, but hey that's why I have 3 more months in Korea plus a month traveling with my mom to forget that I actually have to make choices about my life.

The last month I have visited Gyeokpo Beach, which is about an hour west (as the crow flies, but not as the bus drives) from Jeonju.  We also later in the month for Buddha's birthday visited Busan (my second time).  We went to the aquarium and hung out on the beach.  The weather was very warm and nice--much better than my first trip to Busan--but the water was still cold.

Gyeokpo Beach

If you want to check out the entire "Gyeokpo Beach" album, click here! 

 It was a cool and cloudy day, but the outing was just what we needed!

 

There were many interesting rocks and cliffs on the beach.



And of course great views!
 


Another great view!

Busan

If you want to check out the entire "Busan" album, click here! 

The water at the beach was still very cold!

 

You could actually see horizon!


Of course, there were many pigeons to be found.
 

We went to the aquarium in Busan on our second day.  I was really impressed with it! I got to see penguins!
 

A worker was transporting a baby penguin. It's very blurry, I luckily had my camera on at the right time and it took my brain a minute to process what was happening.  The guy was running so he wouldn't get mobbed by the crowd screaming "baby penguin" I suppose.
 

What a massive fish.
 

Sea anemones!
 

Dun dun..dun dun...

My favorite part of the whole aquarium visit however would have to be the two baby beluga whales they had.  I took a video of them for two minutes on my camera, I'm quite impressed how well it turned out.  Don't worry about the shark you see occasionally, they were separated by a transparent wall.

I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Baby animals always cheer me up!  I will see you all soon.  Only 88 days until vacation!

Best, Karin