Life's a Beach

Hello All,

As promised, I’m going to make it with another weekly entry – I’m still playing a bit of catch-up from getting back on Saturday night, but the good news is I finished all of my lesson plans and PowerPoints last week, so I can devote a little bit of time to you guys even though I’m at work.You're welcome.

So, to sum up my past week I would have to say that it was filled with beautiful views, friends, and relaxation. If you're jealous I'm sorry. Last Friday I traveled to visit my friend Sara, who is teaching in a little town called Janghueng, where I stayed overnight, and from where we departed for Wando the next morning. Wando is a little town right on the coast, and the scenery was beautiful on the bus ride over. We met up with a bunch of teachers from orientation, many of whom we hadn’t seen for a month, so it was fun to reunite and swap travel/teaching stories. We arrived at the beach around 2, and spent the afternoon swimming in the waves, laying on the white sand, indulging in a few adult beverages, and just hanging out. We even got a game of Ultimate Frisbee going for a while.

A note about the adult beverages – the local firewater here is called soju, which is the Korean version of sake – it is very cheap to buy, tastes awful, and is usually mixed in with juice or pop or something. No Korean teacher dinner is complete without soju, and you can buy it everywhere. If you are ever in Korea it is pretty much necessary to try a shot or drink of soju, so I figured I would educate you now just in case.

Enjoying 7-11 snacks and soju

At night, after a picnic dinner supplied by the local 7-11 (pictured) we had a classic beach camp-out – one of the teachers (I can’t get over calling ourselves teachers, but I guess all the evidence points to that title) very graciously brought supplies to make s’mores, so we had a great time roasting marshmallows, hanging out, and enjoying the sounds of the waves crashing on the beach. Most people slept in tents just up the shore a ways in a little campground, others slept in little bungalow things called minbaks – basically just a roof and a floor that you camp out in, and others found cheap rooms at motels scattered in the little town.Sara and I decided to fulfill our lifelong goals of spending the night on a beach...so we slept on blankets in the sand. This plan worked well until an early morning walker with their dog hit the beach and the dog woke Sara up by licking her on the face.

The next day, Sunday, we all made our way back to town to take the bus back home – the only thing keeping us from staying all day was that most of us just had one more day of work before our vacation. Sunday was spent packing and getting ready for round 2 – after school on Monday (I only had one class to teach, luckily) I tromped back over to the local bus terminal to catch a bus to Janghueng again, from which we repeated our bus to Wando the next morning, but this time to the Wando ferry port. Our 3 hour ferry ride was fun – tons of Koreans just passed out on the raised carpeted floors (no shoes allowed, pillows supplied for your sleeping convenience) but we hung out on deck as well (picture of our view.)


We arrived at our destination, Jeju Island, around 2 in the afternoon. Our first impression was: tropical! Blue ocean and green hills and palm trees everywhere! In the center of Jeju Island is Mount Halla, or Hallasan, a dormant volcano, so the entire island was formed volcano-style many years ago. I could go into more about the history and folklore for you, but I’ve noticed the tendency of my friends to stop listening, (you know who you are) whenever I get into that stuff, so I’ll spare you. I really need to become a history teacher.

Tuesday afternoon was spent wandering around our little hotel neighborhood – we discovered some beautiful waterfalls at an observatory nearby (complete with fresh coconuts to enjoy that were drilled right in front of us.) Beautiful views everywhere – if you want to see more pictures I will put up an album on Facebook soon. That night was traditional Jeju Island black pork Korean barbecue, which they cooked for us right at our table.

Wednesday was Hallasan day. We got up bright and early and taxied over to the starting point of our hike. Mt. Halla has five hiking trails, but only two that go to the top – we were planning to meet some other orientation teachers to hike the longest one to the top (that’s right, we were hardcore.) It was actually the first time I’d really hiked up a mountain, and a volcanic one at that. The 10 k climb took about three and a half hours to the summit – it wasn’t a bad incline, and I kept myself entertained by rock-hopping up the trail (although I really had no choice – it was either rock hopping or break my ankle…) I had fun listening to some of the other experienced hikers we were with – hikers tell great stories. The climb wasn't bad at all - there were some difficult rock climbs in between easy stair climbs, so just when you were starting to breathe heavily you got a bit of a break.


At the very cloudy and cool 1.9 k summit, (we couldn’t see a darn thing) we rewarded ourselves with classic American peanut butter and jelly sandwiches –the perfect treat for a job well done! However, we had to get ourselves back down…which took another three hours. We were pretty wiped out by the time we reached the bottom, but then found a fun Western restaurant (kind of like a TGIF’s) called Gecko’s that we celebrated our mountain climb success at that night. Much deserved.

The next day our calf muscles were definitely feeling the hike, and we patted ourselves on the back for planning nothing for the day except THE BEACH. It was THE perfect day (capitals are necessary) for the beach – blue sky, slight breeze, warm sunshine – so we headed over as soon as we woke up.

Beach Day. 

Gecko's 

Beach day. We swam, layed out, slept, people watched, and enjoyed the sunshine and the sounds of the waves. Later on the in the day two other couples from orientation met us at the beach – they were each doing a separate traveling tour of Jeju, and started in the north, headed opposite directions, and we all met up in the south, where we were staying. Since they had been camping out for two nights, we offered our floor space (and shower) for the night. By mid-afternoon our skin started to hate us, so we called it a day, headed home to shower off and change, and then we took our friends to our new favorite place, Gecko’s.

On our last full day in Jeju we were hardcore tourists (you could even say rock-hardcore...sorry) and we set out for another bright day of sightseeing. On our agenda was a mini-hike up a ‘rock’ (technically a volcanic tuff cone, geology people) called Sunrise Peak. No, we didn’t do it at sunrise – we weren’t that ambitious - and the lava tube caves, which were supposed to be some of the biggest in the world. Sunrise Peak was gorgeous – it provided a great view of the island – and even though it looks intimidating and high up, (I think my calves just about gave out again when I first saw the peak) it was an easy 15 minute climb up some stairs. The climb was well worth it, though - there were beautiful views everywhere you turned! Helpful tip- if you are ever curious about how easy/hard a climb might be in Korea - take note of the Korean women's footwear - up Halla, it was hardcore hiking boots, but for Sunrise Peak? High heels. No joke.

A couple of hours later, we were descending underground and wandering around in the old lava tubes
– it was so neat to see the different layers on the wall where the lava had filled out. None of us really knew when the volcano had last erupted, so I guess I have some more research to do.

The next day we caught our ferry in the early afternoon, but unbeknownst to us, it was a 5 hour trip back instead of the 3 hour trip we expected…so we arrived in Wando starved and tired, only to find out that my two friends had missed the last buses to their towns, as it was late in the evening. No worries – they just came to Gwangju with me and we had an impromptu sleepover party in my apartment. Overall we agreed that “Jeju gets an A.” A for weather, A for beauty, A for Gecko’s, A for sunshine, beach, and palm trees. A’s all around.

So when it gets to be mid-January in Minnesota or Wisconsin and you are starting to curse yourself for still living in the Midwest and swear you are going to move before next winter…I know a great place you could escape to to recharge your batteries. Of course, that would mean you have to come visit me too. I won't take no for an answer. Take care all, I will update again sometime this coming weekend - hope you have a great week.P.S. I hate to end this on a sad note, but life is life, and upon returning from my vacation I learned that my Grandpa Covert passed away last Friday. He was growing quite old and his health was failing, so it wasn't an unexpected death, but that doesn't make it any less sad. Rest in peace Grandpa, and I wish you a safe trip to Arizona for the funeral, Dad! Take care everyone, love you and miss you!

Happy Weekend!

Good morning to you all! At least, I hope you are reading this in the morning…otherwise you are up quite late. I’m finishing up my last few hours here at work on Friday afternoon before I depart for my friend Sara’s in Janghueng (about an hour south) by bus, and then tomorrow we will head to Wando for some quality beach and hangout time with all our friends from orientation plus other foreign teachers who like to attend the annual Wando Beach Party. Should be a fun time – I haven’t seen the ocean in Korea yet – looking forward to swimming and relaxing in the sand.

I will head back to Gwangju on Sunday afternoon, teach Monday, and then head right back down to Janghueng for my six day weekend! It is the Korean Thanksgiving, also known as Chuseok, this week (T-Th) and we have Friday off as well. I am going to Jeju Island for the week with Sara and some other teachers from orientation – I am looking forward to a beach vacation! The island is supposed to be jam packed with things to do and beautiful scenery everywhere.

So, since I have a busy weekend/next week coming up, I’ll do my post quickly here before I head out for the weekend (because honestly, who gets quality work done on a Friday afternoon?) I don’t really have a new topic or theme to address today, so I’m just going to comment in general on how beautiful Korea is to me – I think just about every day there is a moment where I stop what I am doing and just take in the views and think, ‘wow, I am really in SOUTH KOREA right now.’ I took these pictures from the office, out of the window right by my desk – basically the view I look at every day at work – I can’t stop thinking about how lucky I am to be having this experience. Coming from a very flaaat Minnesota (sorry Mankato, but your bluffs just don’t cut it compared to Korea’s rolling green hills,) I find the landscape gorgeous and thrilling every time I look at it. I can’t wait for the leaves to change so that I can see the fall colors. Although I have lived in the Midwest for most of my life, I still consider myself a mountain girl at heart due to spending the first six years of my life in Denver.

I spent some time last weekend researching places to go/see/do in South Korea – there are many national parks all over the country, with activities centered around going on mountain hikes, discovering Buddhist temples hidden among the hills, and visiting preserved folk villages. Korea is a very nature-oriented country still rooted in its farming and agrarian traditions, and its people take pride in its natural splendors. I am so anxious to get out and explore more of my new home, especially with this gorgeous fall weather beginning. During the week, however, I am content with looking out my window at work, or enjoying the views during my morning runs or evening walks.

Since it is Friday afternoon and I still have some time to kill before I can leave, I want to end this post with a little humor. I have enjoyed numerous chuckles to myself while out walking or exploring, thanks to the variety of fashion styles I have seen while out and about. Now don’t get me wrong – most of these people here are more fashionable than I can ever dream to be – the clothes, the shoes, the accessories (I’m sure there are many more areas of fashion that I haven’t really paid attention to because I have no idea what is good and what isn’t.) It is great fun to people watch, especially downtown, and see what stylish outfits the young Koreans come up with. However, I live in a much older, casual kind of district on the outskirts of the city, so when I’m out walking around my neighborhood, I find people watching more entertaining than impressive in terms of outfits. Downtown, the young ones dress to impress. Around me, many dress very nicely, but there are definitely a few oddballs here and there. Please note that while it might sound like I am making fun of these people (which in a way I kind of am,) I’m not trying to be mean or condescending, I am just sharing my thoughts from my young, Western point of view. So, without further ado, here is the Buk-gu (my neighborhood) top three style icons:

1. Strongest Ankles in the Country – so there’s this lady who I have seen during my morning runs that jogs – not walks – but JOGS in three inch platform heel sandals. Not even kidding. She can barely even lift her feet off the ground, I imagine because her shoes are so heavy. I mean, I know most Koreans are short, but do you really need the extra three inches while out for a jog? I have seen her attempt this three different mornings – one of the other mornings I noticed her walking…hopefully giving her poor ankles a break.

2. Nothing Holds Her Back…from wearing high heels – not even a hospital gown. I visited my co-teacher Mrs. Lee at the hospital earlier this week with some of the other teachers (she has some stomach/fever problems and was out for the entire week,) and while we were waiting for the elevator, out comes this lady wearing a hospital gown, dragging around her IV on wheels, and trotting around in a pair of very fancy looking three inch heels. Again, do you really need to feel that tall while you are a hospital patient? To me, being in the hospital gives you the best excuse to look like crap and no one will care…clearly she doesn’t share the same attitude.

3. My Heart Will Go On – ah, this is my personal favorite. I have seen this old adjuma (grandma) out walking at Muedung Park in her essential workout outfit – loose slacks, a shirt, and a short sleeved, gauzy button down blouse that is patterned with…wait for it…photos of Leonardo DiCaprio and movie stills from Titanic. Picture medium sized pictures of smiling Leo DiCaprio (Kate Winslet gets a couple, but Leo is the shining star) and accompanying images from Titanic printed all over the shirt. Now, having seen this shirt twice in the past three weeks, I have come to the conclusion that either this lady is a die-hard Titanic fan, a die-hard Leo DiCaprio fan, or she just liked the pictures and has no idea what the movie significance is. I personally like to think she is Leo’s biggest fan. I also can’t help but think to myself that Titanic as made in 1996, therefore she must have been wearing that shirt (unless she acquired it elsewhere) for the past fourteen years?

So those are the three most memorable characters I have encountered so far – I sincerely hope there will be many more to come. As I imagine it would be quite rude to take pictures of these people (although maybe that would counteract the rudeness they exhibit with all their staring, I have to keep telling myself they don’t realize it’s considered rude…) I will just have to describe them to you and hope you can get some sort of mental imagery. An honorable mention goes to the guy who tried to run with me every time I pass him – his particular trait of interest is that whenever I see him on the trail he is walking backwards…when he sees me coming he turns around, shouts something in Korean at me, and tries to keep up – I smile, play along for a few paces, but then he gets too slow and I just wave bye – he starts walking backwards again and waits for my next loop - repeat. We’re going to be great friends, I can tell. At least he smiles at me!

With that, I have about a half hour left at my desk here – going to finish up some e-mailing and head out for the week. Take care and feel free to send me an e-mail to let me know how you are doing.  Bye!

Day in the Life

Good morning everyone!

I hear MN (and WI) is transitioning into that great, slightly cool fall weather – it is definitely cooler here this week, but still warmer than home. Knowing that all of my Green Bay friends are back in school without me is more strange than I thought I would be – I miss the beginning of the semester syllabi, the getting ahead on homework the very first week and then ending up behind the next week, hanging out at Starbucks on the weekends (at least I can do that here if I still want to.)

I know my mom usually likes to be able to ‘picture’ where I am or what I am doing day to day, so I’ll give you guys a rundown of my daily schedule during the week, as it is more established now after two weeks of teaching.

I get up early in the mornings to run these days. It's become one of my favorite parts of the day (I know, I know, I don't run), because the sun is coming up, people are starting to get going for the day, and I love getting my exercise over with right away.

It’s a nice little walking park with a lot of interweaving trails and two lanes per trail – one blacktop surface and one softer surface which must be better for the knees or something. Every morning there are dozens of dedicated Koreans (mostly older) out speedwalking, arm pumping included, and using the workout stations that are along the trails in the park (I almost used the word ‘playing’ on the workout station, because that’s what some of the stations look like to me, but that wouldn’t be very nice.) Koreans are usually pretty dedicated to ‘their health,’ as they like to put it, so a morning walking routine fits nicely into their lifestyle.

So picture these cute little old men and women out walking, chatting, workout stationing, stretching, etc, and then along comes this blundering six foot tall girl in shorts and a t-shirt who starts jogging around the trails, dodging people as she passes them. What a treat for them to stare at! I feel a little like Gulliver in the land of the Lilliputians. It seems like common courtesy for them to nudge whomever they are talking to and point me out so that they can have a proper look at me also. It’s quite hilarious, actually. I’m sure the people that I pass are usually disappointed because they only get to stare at the backside of me instead of the front also. The best part is when I’m coming up the hill, because there are little benches to sit at on at the top so they get to watch me push it the whoooole way up the hill, and then watch the back of me when I pass them. The first day I got a lot of stares, (some I stare right back at, most I just ignore) but by the end of the week there were fewer stares – the regulars weren’t as interested anymore, I suppose. Nevertheless, there are always stares. I have to note that although I call it a walking park, there ARE other joggers there, just usually not in the morning - Mrs. Lee explained to me that Koreans do like to jog, but they prefer to do it in the afternoon - I've only seen a couple here and there in the morning. I'm not breaking the rules or anything, I promise. 

So I run around the same little loop for the amusement of dozens of Koreans, and then if I have time I like to try out some of the workout stations. I usually just copy what the others are doing, as there are two of the same machines per area, but more often than not the machine is a bit too small for me, so I have to adapt. I’m quite fond of the leg press one and the self bench press one (you sit upright and push forward, which actually lifts you and your seat up depending on how hard you push. ) I have my music in so I usually just stare ahead, but I know most of them are watching me. The second morning at the park I made a friend – a really cute adjuma who actually came over and showed me a different way to do one of the machines – she was the only smile I got all morning (she was also speaking mad fast Korean, which of course I couldn’t understand, but I just smiled and nodded back like I understood.) I saw her out walking the next day so I waved at her and smiled and she waved back. A beautiful friendship.

The park is busy every time I walk by during the day or even the evening. There is a neat fountain that lights up with different, changing colors at night in one of the corners – it’s a great gathering place for friends and family also, with lots of benches and hangout areas. My particular favorite place to sit and read or write is a big old stone right in front of the library.

As for the rest of the day, my bus takes about 20 minutes to get to the village my school in, then I’m at school from 8 to 5 each day, bus home, and then spend my evenings making a quick dinner, going out for a walk or swimming, doing some computer/Internet stuff, going to the library (Muedung Library – I now have a card for their English section), or just staying at my apartment and doing some work/reading, etc. I am usually so tired I go to bed by 9 or 10! There is another English teacher in my area whom I met at orientation, and I think we'll try to get together soon so that I'm not deprived socially. It’s a busy day but I like it and am getting used to my full schedule. With that, I’m going to spend the rest of my weekend doing some organizing and cleaning and then going to bed early to get ready for my new week. I hope you all have a great rest of your weekend!

Back to School

I assume many of the schools back in the States started this week or will start after the Labor Day weekend, so here's a little reminder of what it's like to go back to school. The students started on August 26th, and I started this past Monday. My first day went well! My co-teacher Mrs. Lee (she is amazing – a mom with three teenage kids who gets up every day at 4:40 to go to church and pray…don’t tell me that doesn’t impress you…) came to pick me up and ride the bus with me to school so that I knew how to get there. However, we ended up chatting so much that we missed the bus even though it stopped right in front of us. Fail. So she ended up driving me, and we pretended we were riding the bus – she pointed out the stop and then the walking route for me along the way.
 

My school, Changpyeong Middle School (I still have a hard time spelling it) is in a little village right outside of Gwangju. It is known as the ‘slow city,’ which means it has retained much of its traditional style and structure. You can see all the buildings are low, and most of the shopping is done in the outdoor market. I love that I live in the city but work in the beautiful countryside – the best of both.

Changpyeong Middle School

The first thing we did upon arrival was take our shoes off and store it in little wooden lockers – each teacher keeps his or her indoor shoes inside the locker and switch them out while in school. I had my Old Navy flip flops at the ready – will need to search to find some slippers for the winter, however. She walked me down to the teacher’s room and introduced me – the teachers don’t have their own rooms/desks, so all of the computers and desks are in the teacher’s room in the main hallway right down the road from the principal’s office.

 

I enjoy having my own desk and computer. I am responsible for getting lesson plans together, presentations finished, etc, on my own time, so I can basically do whatever I want, provided that it looks like I’m working. As long as it's in English. I also organize my life a bit in my notebook here and there – most of the teachers can’t read it anyways (due to both the language barrier and my awful handwriting - double protection strategy) so they don’t know whether I am planning or not. I have my schedule out in front of me – I teach a different number of classes each day, with a couple of extra classes thrown in (teacher’s workshop – where I basically ‘teach’ my English speaking co-teachers – I think it will end up being mostly conversation since it is just the three of us) and English club, which I have to organize and plan at my liberty – I only have eleven kids and I want to make it fun and enjoyable – next week I will do a soccer/grammar lesson.

In Korea there are three middle school grades – Grade 1 (like our sixth grade) Grade 2 (seventh) and Grade 3 (eighth grade.) There are two sections of Grades 1 and 3 and one section of Grade 2, each divided into High and Low classes. So how many classes do I have per week? The answer is 10 (Grade 1, class 1 high/low (2) Grade 1, class 2 high/low (4) Grade 2 high/low (6) and Grade 3-1 and 3-2 High/low (10.) Then you throw in after school Grade 1 conversation class (highs and lows mixed together) on Mondays (every other Monday alternates with Grade 1-1 and Grade 1-2), teacher’s workshop after school on Tuesday, and English Club on Fridays after school (poor kids having to stay after on a Friday!), and that is 13…but then on Wednesdays I go to a different school and teach Grade 1, 2, 3, and English club there. So total I guess that is 17 different classes I have to teach each week (with the help of my co-teachers, of course.) Apologies if that was confusing...it took me a while to figure it out too.

The good news is most classes are repeat classes (same lesson for 4 sections of grade 1) so I actually only have to do about 10 different lesson plans, most of which follow the same structure. I have to make a lesson plan and lesson for each – I rely heavily on PowerPoints for visuals (what we are encouraged to do) because my job is to keep English fun and interesting.

My main responsibility is straight up getting these kids to talk. The Korean teachers teach English class in Korean, which gets into the nitty gritty grammar and listening...then they do all of the grading and testing. My job is to facilitate conversation and help with pronunciation, as well as just demonstrate what a native speaker sounds like, because I automatically speak English ten times better than the Korean teachers. Bonus. So, lots of visuals to keep them interested, and lots of activities to keep them active – I anticipate a new career as a PowerPoint expert by the end of this. I use the book to plan my lessons – there is usually one very small objective (ex – “How was your vacation?” “It was good, how was yours?”) and that is what I have 45 minutes to teach. For that particular lesson I made a PowerPoint of examples of vacation, had them volunteer things you could do on vacation, had them volunteer adjectives of how a vacation might be, and then had them talk to their partner and to me about their summer vacation. Throw in some games, a little time for extra chatting and presenting, and you’ve got a middle school English lesson.

Changpyeong Village, Damyang Country

The students have been pretty interested in me, and so far I haven’t had many discipline problems. Some of the Korean teachers use a bamboo looking stick that they threaten students with – usually just a scare tactic, to rap their desks and keep them in line…but we were warned at orientation that some teachers still use corporeal punishment although it’s illegal in Korea. I am lucky to have a co-teacher with me, however, to help me keep them listening and quiet, as well as translate for me if there is something they don’t understand.

So that’s a little bit about how my first week has gone. I’m thoroughly sick of giving the same presentation about myself (about 15 times, to be exact, as I presented all three classes at the other school!) So far the most common question I get is "How tall are you" and "Do you have a boyfriend?" I converted my height to centimeters and make them guess how tall I am - they always gasp when I write it on the board. The boyfriend answer is "secret," for my own amusement.

The other school is very small, called Goseo (pronounced Koso), and my co-teacher is great – very energetic, in her late fifties, and has been teaching middle school for a very long time. She was so helpful, showed me around, showed me the bus stop, etc. One nice thing at Goseo is that I get my own English classroom, instead of here where I am the travelling teacher.

If any of you are wondering about lunch, (Mom is, I know) the teachers eat the same thing the students eat – we get to cut in line as well! We all sit at the teacher’s table with our metal trays and utensils. For lunch, kimchi and rice is standard, there is always a kind of soup, and then some sort of vegetable/meat dish and fruit for dessert. So far the strangest thing we have had is eel soup and this squid and rice cake dish – it tastes way better than it sounds. I’m mastering my metal chopsticks, but it’s also acceptable to eat with your spoon, so I rely on that if I’m having a hard time. I’m amazed at how fast my little tiny women coworkers put away their rice – I usually can’t finish it because I am so full. I suppose they have had lots of practice, however, as most of them eat rice and kimchi three meals a day. I had a pretty low spice tolerance when I arrived here, but I think I’m acquiring a taste for it – they use hot red pepper powder in everything around here.

The rest of the pictures are of my walk back from school to the bus stop – it was a beautiful sunny day out last Friday. I think I’m going to wrap it up for now – I cleaned up my apartment a bit and took some pics today for you– will save that for another post. I hope everyone enjoys their Labor Day weekend, take care!