The first neighborhood I lived in Gumi was called Hyeong-gok dong, "dong" meaning a small subdivision or area. This particular area was shaped like a wheel with a park and public library at the center and streets radiating out from the center like the spokes of a wheel with other streets circling around at various radii. I remember my first day there, jet lagged and feeling somewhat disoriented, both from the long flight and also from the culture shock I was feeling. Nothing really stood out as being shockingly different, but the little things really seemed to add up, almost to the point where my brain didn't seem to be processing the sensory input as quickly as I was used to. I must have seemed to be in a daze, sort of looking at things and puzzling over small quirks and differences to what I was used to back in Canada. Apparently it was a common reaction, since several people I talked to after described being sort of overwhelmed with processing it all, even gregarious people became quiet for the first day or so as they adjusted to their new surroundings. One factor that stood out the most, even more than the Korean characters on everything and the bright neon lighting on advertisements, was how compact and close together all of the buildings were. Back home I was used to a few main streets with most of the businesses and much of anything happening on them, with some smaller side streets branching off to quiet little residential areas and the occasional corner store. Here, there were side streets and alleys winding off everywhere, and they all had businesses, people, and lots of activity, so it was difficult at first to point out where the main landmarks where or to have some reference point to lead me back to where I had come from or towards where I wanted to go. The first morning I woke up at 4am, before the sun had even started to rise and wandered out into the hazy morning air to do some exploring and become acquainted with my surroundings. I remember little urban gardens all around, pepper plants growing here and there, even grapes vines and persimmon trees between old dusty concrete apartment buildings. I got hopelessly lost and just kept wandering. I found a market area where later I would find out was the Jung-ang Shijang, the main market in that area. As the sun came up, I decided it would be a good idea to try and buy a pair of pants, since I didn't actually bring a lot of things with me and wanted to get something nicer to wear to my first day of work later that afternoon. I tried out my rudimentary Korean on a few unfortunate souls, who were polite but looked at me rather confused and unable to understand what I was looking for. One man I found out didn't sell pants, but was able to hem my pants if I needed them hemmed. Finally, I found a slightly upscale shop where I found a pair of pants more or less my size. They were a bit tight, but they would have to do for then. Having confused half the neighborhood with my attempts at Korean, I decided to buy a dictionary so I could at least study when I had the time. I found a bookstore and this time the communication went much more smoothly, and the bookstore owner even understood what I was looking for. I paid and left the store, looking for my way back home. I got hopelessly lost once again, at one point trying to cut a shortcut through a hilly area with trees where I ran face first into a massive spider web and face to face with a species of spider colored bright green and purple, beautiful as a butterfly but probably poisonous and best avoided. Eventually I wandered back to the main road and found one of my co-workers from Ireland. She asked me where I was going and I said I was headed back to my apartment. She pointed across the road and told me that this was where the school was that I would be working for the next year. By that time I was quite tired again, so I headed straight back up the main road and managed to find the apartment. It was on the second floor directly above a barbecue place so it constantly smelled of charcoal smoke and cooked pork. At night businesspeople would wander past in small groups, chatting and joking, a few sheets to the wind. During the day, old men would walk past carrying rickety carts full of potatoes or onions, an old beat-up speaker system announcing a loud message that they were selling their wares for such-and-such a price. That day I just wanted to sleep so I went back into the empty apartment and dozed off for a few hours.
Once I had adjusted better to my surroundings and managed to orient myself better in relation to everything around me, exploring the neighborhood became quite fun. There was always something else to discover or something hidden behind some winding alley. There was a road that lead to a big box store called E-Mart, the Korean equivalent of Walmart, and another road going up towards a mountain called Gumo-san with a resort-like area at the base with small restaurants that sold pajeon, Korean pancakes and makkeoli, a cloudy white, somewhat sweet rice alcohol. There were other trails and paths at the edge of town winding up the hills and mountains. On the weekends I would often wander up the hills, up above the haze and pollution to look down on the city and get a better view of where I was to orient myself. Back then I still had a disposable camera with film and I would occasionally ask a fellow hiker if they would snap a picture for me. The natural environment was quite nice, a lot of smallish thin pine trees, grass and shrubs, the occasional bird or small animal, even springs of groundwater with signs written in Korean that people could drink from. Higher up on the mountain was a Buddhist temple with beautiful architecture, sculptures of fish and dragons, burning incense, and candles. It was quite a contrast, starting in the noisy city below and within minutes walking through forested hills and up to this serenely peaceful place. Monks in grey robes walked from building to building, tending the grounds or going about their religious obeisances inside. A tip I was given before I left and was still doing my best to be a practicing vegetarian was that if I didn't want to eat meat it was a good idea to visit one of these temples and ask the monks for the location of a vegetarian restaurant or perhaps they might even provide something vegetarian to eat.
My first days there turned into weeks and months as I adjusted to working at the school and did my best to establish some teaching skills in the often hectic schedules we were working. But, that's a topic for another post...
