Eating in Korea: Jeju Oranges

When I first came here, I saw oranges being sold that didn't quite look right. They had a leaf still attached (most of them) and the had a little bump on the top where the leaf came out. It wasn't until I was given a free orange at school that I actually tried them. It was by far, the most delicious orange I have ever eaten.

The oranges come from Jeju Island, kind of like a Korean Hawaii. I couldn't find much information on the oranges in a quick search, but rumour has it (i.e. someone told me) that they are a special variety of orange created by cross-breeding other oranges. The oranges are "renowned across the nation" and I can understand why.

If you ever come to Korea, I would suggest trying these oddly shaped oranges - you won't regret it! And if you are lucky enough to go to Jeju (plans to go on a visit in May fell through when their were no flights available when we could go), you can even pick your own oranges.

Coping with a 10-hour Time Change: The Results

Before I left, I wrote about my plan for dealing with the big time change between Ontario and Seoul.

This is what happened. As per my plan, I was able to stay awake the night before I left. I watched some movies and ate some food. I wasn't really even that tired as the sun came up while I was waiting at the Toronto Airport (after my wonderful experience with Air Canada).

The problems with my plan began when my flight to Vancouver started. Though I was very tired, I was unable to sleep due to the uncomfortableness of the plane (my knees were literally pinned against the seat in front of me). I rested for the whole flight, but never really fell asleep. The same went for the longer flight to Seoul.

Needless to say, I was pretty tired when I arrived. We landed early evening (it was about 5:30pm) and after a dinner out (more on that in a later post) and a brief stop to show us where the school is, we got in around 9pm. We slept right away but woke up pretty early (3:30 or so).

Within a few days, I was fully adjusted to the time difference and I feel that my plan was successful in that regard. The problems arose the first full day we were in Seoul. We went into work for some orientation stuff and to meet some children and the staff. Having not gotten a lot of sleep in the two days prior (or however long it was - but it was much longer than 24 hours), I was more sleep deprived than I have ever been. I had dizzy spells throughout the day and often had to sit down.

Luckily, everyone understood how I was feeling and I wasn't asked to do much that day.

After getting a good night's sleep that night I felt much better.

In conclusion, my plan would have worked near perfectly had I been able to sleep on the plane. However, I should have anticipated that problem and tried to find some other way to get some sleep. If you are planning to do a time change such as this, make sure you can sleep on a plane.

I don't think the big time change is as difficult as it seems to be, though I went through much more trouble before I left than when I got here.

Why's the sky so yellow?

When I first got here, I noticed a few things that caused me some concern. On most of the days I have been here, the sky has been very hazy, much like the sky in Southern Ontario on a hot smoggy summer day. I was confused since it is only March and not that warm. There are lots of cars on the road, but this just seemed worse than it should be.

I also noticed several people wearing masks outside. Over the last two weeks, I have seen more and more people wearing these masks. Through several conversations, I have figured out just what is going on.

The yellow stuff consists of dry soil particles from China and apparently most of Eastern Asia experiences the "Yellow Dust" at this time of the year. Over here, this has caused many problems. Trying to run outside has been rough and I've already gotten sick (though that may not be from the dust).

Just one more thing to keep in mind when moving to Korea (or Japan, or China or anywhere else in the general vicinity). Read more about it at Wikipedia.

Yellow Dust on a car

Cars and Drivers in Seoul

One of the first things I noticed in Seoul (yes, I know it was more than two weeks ago, but it has been a busy two weeks) was the way people drive in Seoul. Since then I have seen more differences and thought I would share them (for any potential tourists).

For starters, on our way into the city from the airport (in Incheon - it was about a 45 minute drive), it seemed as if anything goes when driving in this city of more than 10 million. I saw cars try to (and succeed) in switching lanes in front of our vehicle (a van) by turning literally one or two feet in front of us. Luckily, the driver of our vehicle (the school's VP) was paying attention and we did not die. I have also seen cars "sneak by" other cars to get into the turning lanes at red lights. It is also not uncommon for cars to run red lights if the way is clear.

Following the same idea, often we see cars not only parked on the sidewalk, but they drive there when they can. In Korea (so I'm told) the pedestrian does not have the right of way and if you get hit, it is your fault. Which kinda sucks cause many streets do not have sidewalks and there is not much room to get out of the way of buses. I have a feeling that when I do return to North America I will be much more aware of my surroundings.

Looking closely at cars in Korea, you will notice that most of them are either made by KIA or Hyundai (both Korean companies). I have yet to see a Ford (or even a Honda or Toyota for that matter). It would appear they do not like their foreign cars. On top of the different types of cars, there are very few large vehicles. There are mini-trucks and mini-buses, but not many SUVs (though they can be found). Motorbikes are present everywhere - especially the above mentioned sidewalks.

So my advice to anyone wanting to drive in Seoul is don't. Unless you are a super good driver and able to drive calmly without getting upset at getting cut off frequently, you are better off taking the subway or buses (the subject of a future post). No word on how the rest of the country is. I've only been in and around Seoul the last few weeks.

Here's hoping I don't get smoked by a bus in the next few days. Enjoy the pictures I took of cars parked in crazy places (unfortunately, I never had my camera out for the cars driving on the sidewalk). Keep in mind this was all on my walk to school on one day.

Parked on the Sidewalk

Also Parked on the Sidewalk

Parked in the crosswalk

A Tale of Two Airlines

To get to Seoul, I took two flights and two different airlines: Air Canada and Korean Air. I cannot begin to explain how different the two experiences were for me.

The story starts in Toronto's Terminal One at the Air Canada check-in counter. For those of you who have never been to this place, it is a cavernous room that looks much like a futuristic spaceport. You have to check-in with a computer which was not as clear as I would have hoped. Then you have to get in line and drop your baggage off. This is where things got interesting. The lady at the counter weighed my stuff (it was heavy) and asked for all of my documents. She asked if I was working in Korea (yes) and then asked if I had documents for that (yes, and I showed her). Then she asked when I was coming back (I didn't know). She said I needed a return ticket in order to be let into the country, or I needed a contract to prove I had a job (even though I had a one-year work visa). She disappeared for about 5 minutes (to check with a manager perhaps, though it was never clearly stated) and when she came back she said I would definitely have to go buy a return ticket (about $800-900) before they could let me check in. I called my recruiter (it was about 6:30am) and she thought – as I did – that this was not quite right. I went to the ticket counter so she could talk to them on the phone (they refused to) and they continued to tell me I needed buy a ticket from them. Keep in mind, I wasn't actually flying to Korea with them. I was just flying to Vancouver. Eventually I convinced someone to let me fly to Vancouver and pick up my bags there instead of having my bags get put on the plane to Seoul. Thus, saving me almost $1000. I did have overweight bags and had to pay $100 extra for them (which is fair, considering they probably have to spend more on fuel for the extra weight).

Things didn't get much better after that with Air Canada. The plane was cramped and whenever the guy in front of me put his chair back he pinned my legs against my chair and I couldn't open up my tray (if you don't know me, I have short legs and this never happens to me). The guy beside me was pretty close to me as well. I was very tired, and I was trying to sleep the whole flight but it wasn't possible in that situation. There was no food service and we only got two drinks (no snacks!). We were also delayed for almost an hour waiting for passengers who were coming from another flight. The upside was that the flying time was about a half hour quicker than what we were told so I was not quite as late as I could have been getting into Vancouver.

Contrast that with Korean Air. When Alex and I originally checked in we did not have seats together, but the airline was nice enough to find us two seats together by the time we boarded the plane. I only had to pay $70 extra for my overweight baggage (for a flight that was more than twice as long). The seats were wider and had much more leg room. We got two large meals (both Korean food, which was nice, even though I didn't really know what I was eating).

We even got snacks with our drinks (honey roasted peanuts!). Overall, even though the second flight took almost 11 hours, it was by far the more enjoyable flight. If only I could have flown with them (or West Jet) from Toronto to Vancouver, I would have had a much better journey

But as my sister said: if the worst part comes at the beginning (Air Canada trying to steal my money) then the rest of the trip will be easy. And it was.

For those of you wondering, we didn't actually go over the Pacific Ocean to get to Korea. We went North over Alaska, the Bering Straight and then Russia (but we did not fly over North Korea for some reason). It was mostly ice and not much else, but it did make for some nice views of mountains.

Note: I should also mention that Air Canada told us that the ticket we would have to buy would be refundable. Personally I did not believe that it would be, but I would have made sure of it and gotten guarantees in writing from the workers. I just wanted to make sure I added that clarification to my account of the events of February 27^th.