Anyonggi Kaeseyo Korea!
Various Fall Photos
Munsusan Rebolting, Ulsan
Mt Chanweolbong and Jirisan National Park
I can't be asked to keep a blog, I apologize. I don't mind writing my thoughts so much, or remembering my memories. But sitting in front of a computer to dive into my mind and cement them to the internet, is not as fun as I thought. This blogs slowly gone downhill all year, but I think I have it in me to at least post photos. So enjoy photos, ask for stories if your interested or make up your own based on the photos.
Summer Adventures
Summer's in full swing and it's hot. Sweaty and Hot. I exited school the other night and took a bite at the air, not on purpose or even awaringly, just a natural instinct when the air is thick enough to taste. Daegu is hot and in a valley, throw some humidty on that bowl of nothingness and you have stale air that surrounds you. But thanks to that, I don't ever want to be in my home. Before Japan I had made my way to the Boryeong Mud Festival. A large gathering of foreigners and Koreans a like to smear yourself in mud, drink a little soju, and then jump in the ocean. There apparently is a photo contest, so the beach is also swarmed with Ajimas and Ajishis (Grandmas and Grandpas) armed with cameras and ideas. Within the first half hour we had posed for maybe 300 pictuers, shots of us jumping in the air, splashing mud, and even proposals. Mom if you see an ad somewhere it's not real. Unfortunately as well, because of too much mud play, I don't have a single shot from this weekend, but there's plenty out there if you know Korean.
The week after Japan I made my way back to Geoje Isand to visit a friend I had met at the Mudfest. On Geoje, all teachers use motorcyles to get around the Island, and she borrowed her friends and we were able to cruise around the island, swiming in crystal clear waters and camping on the beach. Having never rode a motorcycle before, I took one drive through the parking lot to get a feel for the clutch and then was out on the road. A whole lot of fun. Also at night, the bio-luminescent algae came out, green lights flickering on the water like fireflies.
Currently this weeks been a blast. I had three 19 year old guys from Canada hit me up on Couchsurfing and they came and stayed. They were on a three week trip for their summer vacation and came to explore Korea. Today, I just got back from a great day in search of Hobakso Pond. A basin made into the rock by a water fall in a river outside Miryang, about 30minutes south of Daegu. Tom, myself and our Korean friend Curtis made our way down in hopes of finding this mystical spot. Unfortunately upon arrival we were greeted by the hoards of koreans that take over everywhere easily accesible in nature. We took pictures with all that asked to of us and then we made our way up the river and found some quiter spots to swim.
The week after Japan I made my way back to Geoje Isand to visit a friend I had met at the Mudfest. On Geoje, all teachers use motorcyles to get around the Island, and she borrowed her friends and we were able to cruise around the island, swiming in crystal clear waters and camping on the beach. Having never rode a motorcycle before, I took one drive through the parking lot to get a feel for the clutch and then was out on the road. A whole lot of fun. Also at night, the bio-luminescent algae came out, green lights flickering on the water like fireflies.
Currently this weeks been a blast. I had three 19 year old guys from Canada hit me up on Couchsurfing and they came and stayed. They were on a three week trip for their summer vacation and came to explore Korea. Today, I just got back from a great day in search of Hobakso Pond. A basin made into the rock by a water fall in a river outside Miryang, about 30minutes south of Daegu. Tom, myself and our Korean friend Curtis made our way down in hopes of finding this mystical spot. Unfortunately upon arrival we were greeted by the hoards of koreans that take over everywhere easily accesible in nature. We took pictures with all that asked to of us and then we made our way up the river and found some quiter spots to swim.
AriGato Gojimass
That's the way to say "Thank You" in Japanese, I want to say thank You to Japan for being a whole lot of fun in a short amount of time. Our first night we spent with Justin, Dano and Kelsey's friend from college who is doing Cancer Research in Tokyo. Arriving late at night, then taking a train across the city, then wanting to talk and eat food, we didn't sleep until about 4am. Waking up at 5am, Tom and I were out the door, heading south to Shizuoka to meet up with Takeshi, an excellent couchsurfer who had the patience of a god. He calmly waited as we completely muddled our meeting plans, due to lack of communication and incessant wandering, but he then drove us south to find some surf. The Surf culture in Japan was cool to see, and almost felt like I was back home. A long beach break with guys hanging out in the back of their cars, playing music and waiting to surf. Could have been California except for everyone being Japanese. We surfed and then made our way back to his house. Japan was very different in the sense that people lived in the countryside. Outside the major downtown center, most of the houses are 2 or 3 stories, and more smaller scale towns. Also most of the buildings were old, teeming with history and as if they had been there awhile. That night we made our way to the beach to see a fireworks show that blew my mind. The town was in a bowl, ampitheater shape so each boom echoed around amplifying before the next happened. It finished with a finale that seemed as if the entire sky was on fire. After the show ended we ate Yakki-Soba (noodles) and shared Asahi's on the beach with his friends, japanese lifegaurds who had lived in Australia and spoke English pretty well.
The next day we were going to find our way for the hour and a half journey to the back side of Mt Fuji to meet up with Dano, Kelsey and Justin to night hike Mt Fuji. Takeshi then offered to drive us all the way there, we drove by the Japanese Suicide Forest densly populated and eerie. and then stopping to eat at a conveyer belt sushi house, which we prominently stuffed our faces full of rice, fish and loads of wasabi. We were greatly appreciative of hanging with Takeshi, and real happy because he is now in LA for a month long language course, to which I have passed him Zaheed's information.
Japan in a Slide show...
The next day we were going to find our way for the hour and a half journey to the back side of Mt Fuji to meet up with Dano, Kelsey and Justin to night hike Mt Fuji. Takeshi then offered to drive us all the way there, we drove by the Japanese Suicide Forest densly populated and eerie. and then stopping to eat at a conveyer belt sushi house, which we prominently stuffed our faces full of rice, fish and loads of wasabi. We were greatly appreciative of hanging with Takeshi, and real happy because he is now in LA for a month long language course, to which I have passed him Zaheed's information.
Japan in a Slide show...
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Bap Mama
Kimbap Chongu's Bap Mama
Dano and Kelsey found us a Bap Mama. In Korea Bap means rice, and you find bap in almost every dish. Kimbabp (Rice, Veggies, Spam, Egg rolled up in Seaweed), Jaeyuk Dok Bap (Spicy thin pork and vegetables in a spicy curry), Bokembap (Korean Fried Rice), Chamchi bap (Tuna Bap and also what I told my students my "Korean Name" was)....a whole lotta bap. I haven't talked too much about the food here but it is delicious and cheap. The Korean version of fast food are these places called Kimbap Chongu, or Orange as known by westerners. They have big orange signs and the most money you can pay for a single dish is under 4.50$. During Dano's last month, and due to my frequency of being in Busan, we were fortunate enough to find our very own Bap Mama. She would light up upon our entrance into the store, and then she would load up the side dishes that come free for every meal. Kimchi, Radish Kimchi, Oodang (fish Cakes), Pickled Onions, Steamed Eggs, Onion Broth, it's a different plethora of goodies with each visit. As soon as she notices one getting low, she comes to the table, grabs a spoon, and happily feeds us saying "Mashiseyo", then runs to restock and refill.
Transition Complete
It is now June and I have been putting off this writing since the end of March. Its been an interesting season, but there is definitely something to the tides changing that bring out a new warmth in everybody. I have read multiple times about the transition process of moving to a new location, and I have known the experience through previous ventures living other places. The most profound experience I have had was first moving back to Santa Barbara after South America. The honeymoon phase of being back and seeing everyone, and adjusting to life in one place. The questioning phase, nothing had really changed while I was away that year plus, and now what am I doing right back in it? And the eventual readjusting and recovering, making life into what you want, which was one of the best years of my life thus far. For anyone interested in these phases, Jeff Bochsler, a friend of Santa Barbara, has made a really cool website, Be Multinational, in order to inspire people to travel and live life outside their normal, comfortable confinements.
Well my transitional process to Korea was not horrible, but as it has passed, I feel like a big old pansy for getting down on what I got down on. I arrived at the onset of winter, and was walking through snow and wearing 3 flannels in my first couple weeks here. For most people, that is life, but for a sun loving kid who has only spent a week in the snow at longest, it was rough. The winter took its toll, and adjusting to my new job played its part on my mental readjustment. Also falling into a lifestyle where I wasn't bouncing between three jobs and adventures with friends, shook me up and sent me through some sluggish phases. But now it is warm, I can be outside when the sun is out, and my flannels and pants are tucked deep in my drawers.
That being said, Korean spring time has been amazing thus far. I have yet to spend a weekend in my city of Daegu, due to cheap transportation and a country half the size of the state I'm used to, Friday night or Saturday morning comes round and I'm off. My tent and sleeping bag are getting plenty of use, and the lush green countryside is an excellent change from the bare and brown tree trunks I was viewing all winter.
March is the start of the new school year here, and I received five bright and sparkling Korean faces, from the ages of 3-5. All of them spoke no English, but two were very bright, two "a bit slower", and one has yet to stay in the room with me, claiming "Cole teacher, Scary Dino." To no avail of convincing her I am not a 2 million year old, human shaped, miniature dinosaur, I have inherited the title of Scary Dino.
It has been honestly an awesome experience teaching these ones, and to see them progress, strikes me off balance. Walking into school some days, I am amazed when I hear them speak, blown away and impressed, they may actually be listening to me. They are also at an age where they neither speak Korean nor any language perfectly, so often times when they have questions or talk amongst each other, they do not revert to Korean, like the older kids, but ramble through their ideas, creating single words into fully understood sentences. Bella, my top student, will explain things to me in basic words, and sound umphs, and I just observe, as her mind is processing the best way to get her point across. She talks as if her sound effects have meaning, and as if her explanation is drawn out and clear, and to some extent, coming from a five-year old, it is. Paul, my favorite kid in the whole world, is an awesome little dude who has a tendency to smell things. It struck me as strange at first, he would always smell my arms, papers given to him, and the markers...... Oh the markers. He struts out of class, unknowingly or uncaring, sporting a rainbowed glob as a mustache, getting a good wiff of each marker before he lays it to the pad. One of the first days, I beatboxed to get their attention, sang a little song or something, I cant remember specifics because the more ridiculous you act the more their into you. But the next day I was passing out papers for them to draw on, and out of nowhere, Paul begins with "Boom chee kat chi". It has now spread throughout the other students as well and we take an important time for music each day.
Well my transitional process to Korea was not horrible, but as it has passed, I feel like a big old pansy for getting down on what I got down on. I arrived at the onset of winter, and was walking through snow and wearing 3 flannels in my first couple weeks here. For most people, that is life, but for a sun loving kid who has only spent a week in the snow at longest, it was rough. The winter took its toll, and adjusting to my new job played its part on my mental readjustment. Also falling into a lifestyle where I wasn't bouncing between three jobs and adventures with friends, shook me up and sent me through some sluggish phases. But now it is warm, I can be outside when the sun is out, and my flannels and pants are tucked deep in my drawers.
That being said, Korean spring time has been amazing thus far. I have yet to spend a weekend in my city of Daegu, due to cheap transportation and a country half the size of the state I'm used to, Friday night or Saturday morning comes round and I'm off. My tent and sleeping bag are getting plenty of use, and the lush green countryside is an excellent change from the bare and brown tree trunks I was viewing all winter.
March is the start of the new school year here, and I received five bright and sparkling Korean faces, from the ages of 3-5. All of them spoke no English, but two were very bright, two "a bit slower", and one has yet to stay in the room with me, claiming "Cole teacher, Scary Dino." To no avail of convincing her I am not a 2 million year old, human shaped, miniature dinosaur, I have inherited the title of Scary Dino.
It has been honestly an awesome experience teaching these ones, and to see them progress, strikes me off balance. Walking into school some days, I am amazed when I hear them speak, blown away and impressed, they may actually be listening to me. They are also at an age where they neither speak Korean nor any language perfectly, so often times when they have questions or talk amongst each other, they do not revert to Korean, like the older kids, but ramble through their ideas, creating single words into fully understood sentences. Bella, my top student, will explain things to me in basic words, and sound umphs, and I just observe, as her mind is processing the best way to get her point across. She talks as if her sound effects have meaning, and as if her explanation is drawn out and clear, and to some extent, coming from a five-year old, it is. Paul, my favorite kid in the whole world, is an awesome little dude who has a tendency to smell things. It struck me as strange at first, he would always smell my arms, papers given to him, and the markers...... Oh the markers. He struts out of class, unknowingly or uncaring, sporting a rainbowed glob as a mustache, getting a good wiff of each marker before he lays it to the pad. One of the first days, I beatboxed to get their attention, sang a little song or something, I cant remember specifics because the more ridiculous you act the more their into you. But the next day I was passing out papers for them to draw on, and out of nowhere, Paul begins with "Boom chee kat chi". It has now spread throughout the other students as well and we take an important time for music each day.
Holi Hai is a Hindu spring festival of colors. It stems from the Hindu story of Hiranyakashipu, the great king of demons, who was granted a special power from which he could never die. Hiranyakashipu's own son, Prahlada, was a follower of Vishnu, the Vedic Supreme God. Threatened to not worship Vishnu, and worship his own father, Hiranyakashipu, Prahlada survived all attempts by his father to kill him. Eventually Hiranyakashipu sentenced Prahlada to sit on the lap of Holika, Hiranyakashipu's demoness sister, who had the power to not be burned. As Prahlada sat on Holi's lap, and the both sat through the flames, Holi burned to death while Prahlada escaped unharmed.
Hindus celebrate this story as well as welcoming the spring season, welcoming the spring colors and fertile lands after the drab dull weather of winter. They meet around huge bonfires and throw color powder at each other, vibrantly colored powder made of crushed flower petals. There is a small community of Indians in Busan who put this celebration on, and it turned into an event much more memorable than I thought. I was under the expectation of a ceremonious event, followed by certain guidelines and respect of foreign beliefs, but it really was just a giant celebration. We met on the beach early on a Sunday morning, where you were handed your colors, a delicious samosa, a beer, and hungout while music, bollywood and pop, was blasting through the speakers. After a beautiful speech by the eldest person in the group hosting this event, about the beauty of spring colors in bloom, and Spring being the season of love, it seemed as if all of Spring erupted before your eyes at once. While the color throwing lasted maybe only a half hour, it was non-stop dancing and jumping through a rainbow haze. After everyone's colors ran out and people were tired from the Bollywood dancing, it turned into an excellent beach party, reminding me of days in Santa Barbara, sitting and enjoying the beach. |
A little Birthday video for my mom and a view into my apartment.
A Korean Wedding Singer
My bucket list has never been made, its hard when your young to try and limit possibilities, to conceptualize that there are things you may miss out on in life. Luckily, as I am sure others have experienced, this list seems to create itself, and my number ##### entry was made. In the hagwon (english academy) there is a definite chain of command, much as any business. And the Korean culture, very respective of elders and status, sticks to this system very well. In my school there is the Manager, the woman in charge of all things related to the Hagwon, and right below her is the head teacher, mine is named Maria. Maria deals with the day to day schedule, classes, books and all things educational related. She is who teachers report to before talking to the manager, and she is also very nice so nothings ever a real problem. The only real time Maria comes to talk to me is if something has come up with the classes, a sudden change or the addition of a student to a class. I have known Maria about 2 months, and upon arriving to ECC one day, there were wedding invitations on all of our desks. Maria was getting married an was nice enough to invite everyone in the office. Midway through the day, Maria approached me, and my initial thought was "bummer, Im going to have to teach an extra class or something today." She then proceeded to ask me, very shyly as most Koreans do not express much in any regards of confrontation, that she wants me to play guitar at her wedding. I was surprised, she had only ever heard me play Jingle Bell Rock at Christmas time, and she had no idea that I could not sing. One of the other Korean teachers piped in and explained, "Ya, you know like in America. At the wedding someone sings a song and the couple have their first dance". The wedding song
Korean weddings are a spectacle in them self. Most happen at a wedding Hall, a large building that has three simultaneous weddings at the same time. All invitees come to the first part of the wedding, where they have taken each publicized and materialist part of Western Weddings and thrown them into one action-packed event. Flashing Lights in Red, Yellow, Green, Blue...Check. A cat walk walkway while the Pirates of the Carribean Theme Song plays....Check. A 5 foot tall pyramid of Champagne glasses, that Champagne pours down...>Check(each glass is fake and glued down, and no one actually drinks it). And sure enough a tall western white man to play guitar and sing to the wedding couple.
As far as my bucket list goes, Korea has had me thinking. There are certain things in life I would like to do in this life and so far I've come up with a couple. Run a (half) marathon, build a conga drum(everything from raising the goat to use its hide, to cutting each wood slat), and devote a solid couple years learning capoeira in Brazil.
Korean weddings are a spectacle in them self. Most happen at a wedding Hall, a large building that has three simultaneous weddings at the same time. All invitees come to the first part of the wedding, where they have taken each publicized and materialist part of Western Weddings and thrown them into one action-packed event. Flashing Lights in Red, Yellow, Green, Blue...Check. A cat walk walkway while the Pirates of the Carribean Theme Song plays....Check. A 5 foot tall pyramid of Champagne glasses, that Champagne pours down...>Check(each glass is fake and glued down, and no one actually drinks it). And sure enough a tall western white man to play guitar and sing to the wedding couple.
As far as my bucket list goes, Korea has had me thinking. There are certain things in life I would like to do in this life and so far I've come up with a couple. Run a (half) marathon, build a conga drum(everything from raising the goat to use its hide, to cutting each wood slat), and devote a solid couple years learning capoeira in Brazil.
Unity Seoul Caravan
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Had an excellent weekend for a three day holiday in March. I tagged along with the capoeira group on a trip to Seoul, "a capoeira caravan", to take classes, play music and get as much capoeira in as we could within three days. It was the first time I had spoken Portuguese in awhile, as most of the Korean Mestres had learned to play in Brazil, communicating through Portuguese to Korean faces was interesting but really cool. As capoeira goes, each school is started by a different Mestre, affecting teaching styles, playing styles and which part of the game is emphasized(the fight, the dance, the playfulness vs seriousness). This made for an experience like I haven't had, going from one class to the next, school to school, and being able to experience each aspect emphasized. The dynamic nature of capoeira was portrayed on the full scale, a buffet of Brazilian dance-fighting monkey moves.
Met some great people as well, the most alternative Koreans I have found, and learned how Koreans with dreads come to have them in that undreadable hair.
Met some great people as well, the most alternative Koreans I have found, and learned how Koreans with dreads come to have them in that undreadable hair.
Golgusa Temple Stay
I'm realizing I am a manic depressive writer. I get inspiration and I'm ready to crank out a few posts, but the creative instinct lies dormant and I can't focus for the life of me. Not a spectacular attribute for a blog to update on happenings of a foreign life, but all the same, I can't force anything. I'll try to come back in a creative phase and elaborate more on what I've missed, but for now Tom and I met up with Dano, Kelsey and their buddy Eric for a Temple Stay about an hour outside Daegu. In the hills sits Golgusa Temple, home of sunmudo training, a Zen Martial Arts the Buddhists would train in in the past to protect from Invasions, Mongolian, Japanese, Chinese, they've seen their fair share. The point of the temple stay is to follow in the shadows, observe and try the schedule the monks here live on day to day. This included 4am meditation, a session of 108 bows, chanting ceremonies, walking meditations, making Mandu (vegetarian dumplings), and Sunmudo Training. Watching the monks practice Sunmudo was pretty incredible, seeing them fly around the room, holding kicks towards the cielings and keeping an air of tranquility through it all. Coming down from a little hike we wandered off on the first day, we came to the gravel parking lot, where all the monks were playing Soccer. We jumped right in the game and had a lot of fun, running and sliding on the gravel. The monks were no joke and played for keeps. And as circumstances have it, aggressive monks and my size makes for a lesson in Korean Physics of Mass, didn't deter them one bit though. They hopped right up and sprinted after the next kick.
Golgusa mean "Stone Buddha Temple" and was originally built around this carving in the stone from the 6th Century, when the Silla dynasty ruled this area. Below this carving is also a cave temple, where golden buddhas line the walls on all the nooks and crannies. A place you could spend days exploring the intricacies of.
The tea with the head monk was one of my favorite parts, sharing tea and getting to ask questions with the monks regarding the temple, sunmudo and Buddhism in General. Sunmudo was outlawed under rule of Japan, and the head monk at this temple was one of the first to bring it back and create this community of revitalizing and practicing the ancient art. Similar story ties to capoeira. We also lucked out in being there on Solalr, the Lunar New Year. We were able to attend the service, where other Koreans came as well, and they pay respect to their elders who have passed on. Then they eat Tteokguk, a soup that ages you (signifying a New Year and you being a year older). During the ceremony we were invited to come up and bow to remember our loved ones who have passed on. We spent the last day in Gyeongju, the nearest little town. This town is known because it was capital of the Silla Dynasty around the 6th Century, and has all the burial tombs of the kings. Giant mounds of earth, like small perfectly made hills. One was available to go in and see, and they also had all the artifacts on display. Interesting to see all the metal and iron work: plating, spears, bowls, figurines. I have only ever observed Latin Amerian Early Historic Culture, and I was definitely hit by the differences I noticed instantly. Asia was a very modernized and developed society when much of the world was still in a primitive stage. Our last morning, we met Kelsey's roommate in the hostel. A 61 year old woman from Portugal, who doesn't speak English, or anything close to any Asian Language. She simply worked her whole life, and now loves enjoying and experiencing the world. She goes on 2-3 month vacations, she said she wouldn't dream of going shorter, and always plans on arriving home to be with her grandchildren for birthdays and Holidays. She says her kids get mad, but its her turn to enjoy the world and meet all the good people out there. When she found out Dano and my mom were sisters, she was through the roof, insisting they come stay in Portugal with her. She has a place in Lisboa, the capital, and also in Porto, on the ocean, and she will pick them up from the airport and show them all Portugal has to offer. |
Days in Days out
Monotony winds, but it also is an unavoidable part of life at times, so coming to grips with that has been tough. Not having worked in six months, getting back in the swing has not been easy, but when I stop and think as well, wherever I'd be right now, I'd be working, day in, day out. But I get to do it in another country, make some money to avoid a prolonged monotony, so life really ain't all that bad. Sorry I have not written in a time, a part of me has felt to lazy to write, but looking back I've actually been fairly busy, working during the week, and cram packing weekends with any activity to expel the pent up energy. Schools the same, really not too different. I have all my kids pretty much figured out now, and I actually am enjoying teaching. I always have enjoyed hanging with kids, they can be a lot easier than adults in their own right, but my first couple months had me questioning it. I have found that it's not the students, but the system. I teach in a hagwon, an English Academy, the students attend after school. To their defense, they've been in school eight hours, come to us for an hour and a half more, may go to another hagwon after: math, music, science, tae-kwan do, and they are just tired of learning. The problem I am having is the emphasis on production, finished products to show work has been accomplished. I teach a 40-minute class, and have to cover 3 pages from the text book, accomplish 3 pages from the workbook, and often these kids have been advanced based on their age, not level, so when they do not understand, my job is to make sure they have the correct answers to show mommy at home. This leaves little time for detailed explanation and most importantly, games. I have been learning to manage time, ditch text book pages, use the board to explain and just try to lighten these little scholastic soldiers' loads. But that being said, the kids see me as the fun teacher, understanding education through a different background, and while they used to be little #$@* heads, they kinda realize if they give me attention, I'll let them play a bit.
Outside school time mainly consists of Saturday and Sunday. I have found a Capoeira group here in Daegu, a group of 6 or so foreigners who meet every Saturday to train and play. It has been awesome getting back into Capoeira and its nice having a priority to plan my weekend around. Food has been an experience each and every meal, and I was chowing down on a side dish with some of co-teachers the other day, these "glass noodles" in a horse-radish sauce. Seeing me enjoying it, got them all excited, and they began asking me how much I liked Jelly-fish. Jelly-Fish? The blobs with noodle legs. Those glass noodles turned a bit slimier in my mind.
Koreans are also very funny about aesthetics here. Personal appearance is a huge part of daily life, they like to and they do look good. The catch 22 of their aesthetic ideals is the finest forms of beauty come from the western face, physically unattainable in a natural way to the Koreans. Plastic surgery is at it's highest here, and the most common of these surgeries is the "double eyelid", the small crease westerners have in their eyelids that Koreans do not. This being said, being a foreigner here your constantly told about your looks, and it being a male dominated society, mainly from men. "Oh handsome boy, berry handsome" is the common phrase said after "my name is ______", the natural progression of conversation. I was called up in front of the parents of the 14 new kindergarteners in our school to be introduced , and she spoke for a few minutes in Korean to them, all smiling and laughing some. Most of my time spent in Korea is in confusion, so I nod and smile and let it all happen. After she finishes she turns to me to explain and says,"I talk about....your nice features you know". .....Of course, qualifications for a quality teacher.
Lunar New Years was in February, the kids wear Hambocks (traditional Korean clothing) and bow to their elders (parents, grandparents, in this case teachers) and they give them money for the New Year. Here are some photos from Lunar New Year at School....
Outside school time mainly consists of Saturday and Sunday. I have found a Capoeira group here in Daegu, a group of 6 or so foreigners who meet every Saturday to train and play. It has been awesome getting back into Capoeira and its nice having a priority to plan my weekend around. Food has been an experience each and every meal, and I was chowing down on a side dish with some of co-teachers the other day, these "glass noodles" in a horse-radish sauce. Seeing me enjoying it, got them all excited, and they began asking me how much I liked Jelly-fish. Jelly-Fish? The blobs with noodle legs. Those glass noodles turned a bit slimier in my mind.
Koreans are also very funny about aesthetics here. Personal appearance is a huge part of daily life, they like to and they do look good. The catch 22 of their aesthetic ideals is the finest forms of beauty come from the western face, physically unattainable in a natural way to the Koreans. Plastic surgery is at it's highest here, and the most common of these surgeries is the "double eyelid", the small crease westerners have in their eyelids that Koreans do not. This being said, being a foreigner here your constantly told about your looks, and it being a male dominated society, mainly from men. "Oh handsome boy, berry handsome" is the common phrase said after "my name is ______", the natural progression of conversation. I was called up in front of the parents of the 14 new kindergarteners in our school to be introduced , and she spoke for a few minutes in Korean to them, all smiling and laughing some. Most of my time spent in Korea is in confusion, so I nod and smile and let it all happen. After she finishes she turns to me to explain and says,"I talk about....your nice features you know". .....Of course, qualifications for a quality teacher.
Lunar New Years was in February, the kids wear Hambocks (traditional Korean clothing) and bow to their elders (parents, grandparents, in this case teachers) and they give them money for the New Year. Here are some photos from Lunar New Year at School....
Warning
A quick heads up, the images below are pretty graphic, Shannon you may not like what you see. But although I talk to some negative effect on what I saw, because truthfully I did not enjoy it, I have to acknowledge that this is not my culture. By looking at the pictures you may feel sad and outraged, but we all have to remember we share this world, and we do not all operate the same, nor should we. This is Korean culture, and while it seems to be a dying practice, it is still something that Koreans have and do. It is not up to me to judge based off whether or not I agree or dislike it, and all my opinions expressed are clearly my own, with no negative sentiment to anyone who embraces this. If Koreans toured American factories, be it meat or processed food, I'm sure they'd have their own say, and that's "the way the world goes round."
Hot Diggity Dog
Koreans eat dog, it's what is know and it's what I was told before coming to Korea. My dad told me stories of trying dog himself when he lived here, and my initial thought was, "I'm going to be living in Korea, of course I'm going to try dog." It is a dying tradition I have learned asking around, and when I expressed my interest at school, among my fellow teachers and students, they all said, "No way", they have never tried dog and do not intend to. They all talk about their fathers who have eaten or do eat it occasionally, as dog meet is supposed to be very nutritious. Talking with others on the subject, their always seems to be two-sides to the coin. Those against always are based off the principle that dogs are a man's best friend, and not a live-stock animal to be eaten. I understand completely, I have had dogs my whole life, and love them to death, but this was not enough to deter me. Those for trying Kae-gogi, dog meat, always mention that the dogs were raised to be eaten, "live-stock pets." And in my idealistic mind I pictured a beautiful Korean farm, with free-range dogs, large and plump, who ran and played until their time came. This point of view I was ok with....stupid idealistic American.
Let's be honest, animals we eat at home are not raised in that way. I am all for free-range meat. I have worked on a friends cattle ranch every summer, and seeing the cows graze on the 3,000 acres at their hoofs is a beautiful way for an animal to live. But I also know most of the meat I get is not in this fashion, so why in my mind would this be any different. I think my love of dogs just hoped for it, but reality strikes hard sometimes.
Tom, my cousin Dano and I made are way to Chilseong Market, notorious for its canine bistro. We walked through each ailse, the pork section, ladened with pig heads, hoofs, skins and any part you could think of. The poultry aisle, and the baskets of chicken feet. The seafood aisle with fish upon fish, mussles, clams, octupus, squid, and other creatures I have never seen nor will know their name. But upon entering the dog section, we decided we had seen enough, and sick to our stomachs we limped away with frowns and nausea in our stomachs.
Let's be honest, animals we eat at home are not raised in that way. I am all for free-range meat. I have worked on a friends cattle ranch every summer, and seeing the cows graze on the 3,000 acres at their hoofs is a beautiful way for an animal to live. But I also know most of the meat I get is not in this fashion, so why in my mind would this be any different. I think my love of dogs just hoped for it, but reality strikes hard sometimes.
Tom, my cousin Dano and I made are way to Chilseong Market, notorious for its canine bistro. We walked through each ailse, the pork section, ladened with pig heads, hoofs, skins and any part you could think of. The poultry aisle, and the baskets of chicken feet. The seafood aisle with fish upon fish, mussles, clams, octupus, squid, and other creatures I have never seen nor will know their name. But upon entering the dog section, we decided we had seen enough, and sick to our stomachs we limped away with frowns and nausea in our stomachs.
The first thing you notice, is that the dogs are at the very back of the market. The only reason we had actually found the section is cause we walked way around the back, just kind of wandering. But you start to notice the cages, small, metal, and smelly. The dogs (and cats and goats), are kept in very little re-bar cages, and usually stuffed in with more than the capacity of a space that small. They are most likely fed whatever is left over from the other animals that are cleaned out. Tom had done some research and sent me a few articles before arriving. Apparently the dogs are killed with electrocution, then boiled in these vats you see in the restaurants. They are then blow-torched in order to burn off all the hair on their corpse. The image that struck me the hardest was the grimace on the corpse. Clinched teeth and lock jawed, a painful shock into the afterlife. Again like my idealist thought of them being raised, was the same for death. The only clear image of death I have is finding my dog Chelsea, who at 14, angelically "fell asleep" under a tree in our yard, with the setting sun shining on her, I could not have been farther from the truth in my mind. Seeing these beautiful Korean Jindo dogs, the almost perfect mix between Lab and Husky, crammed into cages, made me want to run through with a sledge hammer, freeing them from this life. And when I saw the eyes of this guy below, I knew dog was not going to be on my plate. (Warning images below may be interpreted as gruesome.)
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YBM ECC (E SHE SHE)
E SHEE SHEE as the kids call it. Koreans usually have to end words with a vowel sound, so ECC (my school) becomes EEE SHEE SHEE. Cheese Pizza becomes Cheesuhhh Pijjauhhh. What Page? becomes TEACHER TEACHER TEACHER, what pageeeee? Teaching is going well though. I definitely have classes I like and definitely have those that drive me mental. I came at a hectic time because my second week, one of the other teachers pulled a midnight run, and his "weekend trip to Seoul" turned out to be a flight to Malaysia. This made all of us have to pick up his classes and work a bit of overtime to get through the month. On top of it, it was also December, so holiday parties and the such. I did benefit out of his leaving because now I teach Kindergarten as well and those kids are awesome. Young and impressionable and they may get loud but they listen when they should. I'm not a fan of the rebelious attitude middle school age.
I was told we had to teach Christmas Carols to our students, and my first thought was alright fun. But teaching a class of 12 kids who do not speak english, do not sit still very long, and don't even really celebrate christmas is something else. Song selection was huge, because I never realized how complicated Christmas lyrics are. Most don't repeat Choruses as they all tell some sort of story. Some words are made up for christmas, try explaining that to the kids. So I ended up making the executive decision. The young classes got Jingle Bell Rock and the older ones could handle Santa Clause is coming to town.
These two videos are exceptional examples, believe me, most of my other classes did not compare to either of these. The second video is my older class who are awesome. They are entergetic and enthusiastic and down for English. Dianna, the little girl, was very nervous about Dancing and Singing, and showed up in class one day with her violin. I was stoked! She had learned the song, brought the sheet music to class and played awesomely. The video is from our performance in front of the other classes, which I think made her get a bit nervous, but she played perfectly each classroom session. |
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From Daegu to Dano
I spent a weekend in Busan, the second largest Korean city on the southern coast, visiting Dano, Dino, the cousin Extraordinaire and his gal Kelsey. As soon as I stepped off the train I realized I will be spending a lot of time here. It's only an hour train ride from Daegu, it's surrounded by the ocean, the air is filled with salt, and there is the ocean. I'm going to have to make a little Busan fun because once it's warm my tent will have a permanent spot there. Had a fun weekend though laughing with Dano and Kelsey about Korean norms and exploring. I also introduced them to Hottuck, which I couldn't believe they had not had, because I can't get enough. (A sweet pancake thats filled with cinnamon sugar and some sort of ground up nuts) We hiked the hills behind his house and visited a couple Buddhist temples, one of which sits right on the rocky coast line as fishermen sit in their boats off near the horizon. Perrty Ideal.
I have to give another stranger kindness shout out because the plan was to take the metro from the train station to Dano's spot. Arriving at the metro I found it all closed with some repetitive loop playing overhead in Korean. Other people were standing around, and I kinda just figured I'll wait. Eventually a guy about my age approached me and asked if I understood. He then explained someone had been hit by a train, which is why it was closed. He asked where I was going, and when I told him he said it'd probably be to far for a bus, so probably was just best to wait. All fine with me, the shuffle on my ipod was making some good choices.
I waited for about 20 minutes, when Shin (the guy) came back over. Apparently he had been over at the map, mapping out my route and which bus to take the whole time. He then whipped out his iphone, showed me what to do, and then brought me to the bus. He then decided he could probably take the bus as well to his home, and we rode for a good 30 minutes. Hoping to buy him a beer next time I'm down that way. |
Koreans and Morphine
It has taken me a month to make my first post, and it is pretty incredible to think I've already spent a month here, one of 12 already gone. As a teacher in Korea you are required to have an extended visa, and this visa requires that you establish residence upon your arrival. And once you have residence you are then allowed to get internet in your home, aka updates for the family. To get residence you need to pass a medical check-up, aka the first morning you arrive you are whisked immediately from your love motel to the hospital, measured (wow sooo berry tall!) and weighed, eye-sighted and hearing heard, blood and urine examined. I was taken aback when I went to give my blood test because we walked into the room and the receptionist talked with my boss, as I examined the machines, mechanical gadgets, buzzers and bops, and medical chairs behind them. The women in the room looked as if they were on a high-school internship (Korean women don't tend to age between 12 and 65), and the receptionist motioned for me to put my arm on the desk. She pulls out a rubber tie, ties me off and pokes me right there.....it was the Holy Trinity Catholic Hospital so I just put my faith in the nuns and let them have their way. Plus I don't speak Korean so what really can I say?
We walked back to the school and I began shadowing the teacher I was replacing, learning how it all works, and figuring out the confusing unexplained mess that seems to be the norm for starting any new employment. Three days later my boss calls me in with a real worried look on her face.
Korea is in my mind a sanitized country. The streets are pristine, the buildings well kept, and the metro system is cleaner than most schools in the US. And Drugs are not allowed to even be thought of. I heard of a case of a woman who had been to Indonesia and upon her return was caught with a little bag of Marijuana she had forgot was in her luggage, she's on her 7th of 15 year sentence. If you test positive for a drug it is considered possession, and if your not prosecuted, your deported and black listed, and don't even think about eating fresh Kimchi again. Well this worried look on my boss' face turned out to be fear, my drug test came up positive for Morphine.
The week before I came to Korea I had had surgery on my shoulder, and I calmly explained I had a prescription to prove it was just pain killers. The prescription wasn't enough, I needed a doctors note. The doctor's note did not explain enough, I needed a more detailed one. Turns out they just made me wait till I would be able to pass to retake it. My boss was very nervous our second journey to the hospital, and she finally told me all the uproar was because this was the first time the hospital had tested anyone positive for morphine. Daegu Holy Trinity Hospital Most Wanted list.
*side note, I ran into a girl who I had training with, and she failed as well. She took cold medicine, for which she had a prescription. Hers came up for methamphetamine.
We walked back to the school and I began shadowing the teacher I was replacing, learning how it all works, and figuring out the confusing unexplained mess that seems to be the norm for starting any new employment. Three days later my boss calls me in with a real worried look on her face.
Korea is in my mind a sanitized country. The streets are pristine, the buildings well kept, and the metro system is cleaner than most schools in the US. And Drugs are not allowed to even be thought of. I heard of a case of a woman who had been to Indonesia and upon her return was caught with a little bag of Marijuana she had forgot was in her luggage, she's on her 7th of 15 year sentence. If you test positive for a drug it is considered possession, and if your not prosecuted, your deported and black listed, and don't even think about eating fresh Kimchi again. Well this worried look on my boss' face turned out to be fear, my drug test came up positive for Morphine.
The week before I came to Korea I had had surgery on my shoulder, and I calmly explained I had a prescription to prove it was just pain killers. The prescription wasn't enough, I needed a doctors note. The doctor's note did not explain enough, I needed a more detailed one. Turns out they just made me wait till I would be able to pass to retake it. My boss was very nervous our second journey to the hospital, and she finally told me all the uproar was because this was the first time the hospital had tested anyone positive for morphine. Daegu Holy Trinity Hospital Most Wanted list.
*side note, I ran into a girl who I had training with, and she failed as well. She took cold medicine, for which she had a prescription. Hers came up for methamphetamine.
$&@!
With ensuing excitement, expletives only seem to fill my head. Like you heard there is a bowl of jelly beans in the kitchen, and once you find the bowl, they're all buttered popcorn. Packing is like buttered popcorn jelly beans, a disgusting treat.