Daegu | GRRRL TRAVELER

Surviving a university job interview in Korea

Filed under Daegu, GAP YEAR TRAVEL by Christine Ka'aloa on February 6, 2012 at 1:46 am {23 comments}

: Working at a Korean university?

A few of weeks ago, when I tweeted I was undergoing a job interview in Korea, I got a response from Dave of The Longest Way Home about doing a post on ‘Surviving a job interview in Korea’.

At first, I laughed at the idea and then later, I thought…well, why not?

“K******** University wants you to contact them ASAP about a job position. Please call them; they are a very good university.”

That was the message I got from Eun-Hyung, my Korean co-teacher, last April in India. It was a university job I had applied for long before I left Korea. The position started March 1st and it was for a full-time lecturer in the Media Arts department, teaching Video and Animation. At (more…)

What is there to do in Daegu?

Filed under Daegu by Christine Ka'aloa on April 26, 2011 at 6:12 pm {no comments}

: My neighborhood of Singi in Daegu

For the past several weekends, I’ve been making an effort to get out from Daegu and explore other cities in Korea. Why?

Aside from the inexpressible gasping-for-air-need for escapism I’ve been experiencing in culture shock, depression and frustration. Personally, I think Daegu is, to put it bluntly- boring. For a “fashion capital”, the city has got surprisingly no sense of style. The city is a generic grey and I’ve yet to experience a (more…)

Inside my Korean apartment

Filed under Daegu, How & why teach in Korea? by Christine Ka'aloa on March 4, 2011 at 3:03 am {6 comments}

So after having whimpered early off about my introduction to my apartment and Daegu, I’ve been reluctant to show you my free English teacher’s apartment. Well first of all, it’s not really called an “apartment”. This is what Koreans call an apartment.
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Making home abroad feel like “Home”: my neighborhood

Filed under Daegu, Tips & Tricks by Christine Ka'aloa on February 28, 2011 at 9:33 am {6 comments}

Do you find you often take your city for granted? I know I do.

The entire year, I took Daegu for granted, wishing I lived an exciting city-life like that in Seoul. One of the things Seoul could never replace however, is my happy neighborhood of Singi-dong.

I’ve absolutely loved living in the Korean suburbs, where life is steeped with a slow-brewing charming character.

But if you remember my first GRRRL whimper , I didn’t start that way. Instead, I went into culture shock! My apartment was on a dark and dingy alley street and my neighborhood was in the “not-so-good area”; a lower-income sector, exiled from the neon radius of city life.

Over time though, my little neighborhood of Singi revealed itself as a true gem!

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Love Letter #3: Happy Valentine’s Day, Korea!

Filed under Daegu, Korea by Christine Ka'aloa on February 14, 2011 at 11:38 pm {4 comments}

“Love Letter #3: Daegu, Korea“

This blog is reposted from My Crazy Kimchi
.

They say it seldom snows in Daegu, but it’s been snowing all day.

Only a few cars were out on the road this morning, driving real slow. Many teachers reverted to the subway to get to work, parents accompanied their children to school on foot and it’s surmounted in a bit of displacement in the monotonous routine of drivers. School started merrily late today.

After lunch recess, the kids got into the spirit of the first major snowfall by getting into snow play. Did they build snowmen or make angels in the snow?

No.

The best Korean Valentine is to see:

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A Secret List of English-speaking Doctors in Daegu (which none of us know about)

Filed under Daegu, Survival Issues by Christine Ka'aloa on December 23, 2010 at 8:02 am {10 comments}

It’s a royal pain to be an expat hunting for English-speaking doctors, dentists and dermatologists in Daegu. You do your Google search a number of times, only to find nothing. You ask your expat friends and they offer that one recommendation that everyone goes with, even if it’s (sometimes) crap or expensive.

Recently, on one of my searches I found a link to Daegu’s Metropolitan City site. Lo and behold, a long list of medical practitioners for the expat was hidden there! Why it never popped up in any of my many searches, I don’t know. So I’m cutting a pasting it here!

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Review: Buy the Book Cafe’s Vegan Thanksgiving Dinner (Daegu)

Filed under Cool/Veg Restaurants & Bars, Daegu by Christine Ka'aloa on November 27, 2010 at 6:05 pm {5 comments}

I realize I’ve a bad habit of underestimating Daegu. These days, I’ve been discovering a small community and niche spots where I can get together with like-minded people for vegan food, art and yoga workouts.

Last night was another one of those nights of goodness at another Daegu dining spot which has me perked up to visiting more often. Nestled in one of the crazy offshoots of Daegu’s Bandwoldang dizzying maze, perched on the 4th floor of a building housing a Mr. Pizza, a restaurant (called New York) and a billiards room, sits Buy the Book Cafe.

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Searching for a Guru: Opening Mats, Minds & Hearts

Filed under Daegu, Yoga & Spiritual Retreats by Christine Ka'aloa on November 26, 2010 at 12:25 pm {3 comments}

Sometimes, finding your guru can feel like a curse. Gurus are dangerous. The inevitable is bound to happen. The moment you develop a passionate preference for something– a gym, a dance or step aerobics class, a psychologist, a personal trainer…– it becomes a “guru”, making it hard to find room in your heart to follow another… Ayurveda Yoga Camp in Muju.

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Review: Daegu Biennale 2010

Filed under Daegu, Festivals by Christine Ka'aloa on November 14, 2010 at 9:14 am {4 comments}

Crunchy art. It’s the last thing I expected Daegu to produce. To me, crunchy art is very satisfying- a tasty and thought-provoking bit, that you must chew on in order to appreciate it’s flavored variety and texture. When I first heard Daegu was having a Biennale, my first impulse was to dismiss it. I’m glad I didn’t. The exhibition blew me away international works that were witty, gravity-defying, wicked, romantic and… crunchy.