Jeju!

Last week was a vacation because of the Chuseok (Thanksgiving) holiday. So everyone returns to their families in rural areas or travels abroad. I went to Jeju Island with two teacher friends from my city. (Natashia is a South African girl who just started teaching; Matt is an American, fluent in Japanese, who has been teaching at a private school for a few months here.) We taught on Monday, then left for Gwangju by bus. We walked around with our heavy packs and decided to drink and sing at a norebang. Then we went to a jimjilbang, which is a segregated nude bathing facility with a large common floor area for sleeping. It is a great place to experience some amazing hot tubs and massages and sleep for under $10. On Tuesday, we took the early bus to Mokpo, and thought it would be cool to see the city. So we walked from the bus terminal to the ferry terminal for several hours and got to see an industrial city with plenty of fish smells... The ferry was packed with lots of foreigners and Koreans sleeping 3rd class on a floor. Luckily the air and sun were nice so we could spend the 4.5 hour trip on the deck. We met a "couch surfer" in Jeju, a hyper-friendly Korean high school girl who showed us the city and found us a place to sleep. It's called a minbak, which was a single room with no bed and a common bathroom. The old man who ran the place was grumpy about how we folded and slept on his sheets and yelled at me for not using the cold tub water correctly for bathing, but he was nice enough to give us rides and snacks. On Wednesday we walked through Manjang Gul, (almost) the world's longest lava tube cave system, which was basically very cold and dark and... rocky. Then we got lost in a hedge maze for about 30 minutes which was quite fun. It was great seeing little kids getting yelled at by their parents who could see them but couldn't get to them. Then we went to a nearby beach and swam out in shallow water, past a sand bar, to body-surf in some large salty waves. On Thursday we took the bus to the South part of the Island, Seogwipo, and did some exploring. We walked along a beautiful part of the Olle trail along a rocky cliff coastline. We walked down a ways and found a small cliff to jump off, though it wasn't much fun climbing back up on a razor barnacle rock with the waves pushing us around! We saw a beautiful waterfall and started to hike to another, but realized it wasn't flowing because of the lack of rainfall. So we went to Waterworld, which is underneath World Cup Stadium, built for the 2002 soccer games. It was a jimjilbang plus an indoor water park with false waves, a tubing circuit and water slides. Matt and I couldn't figure out where to get clothes for the water park, so we wrapped 3 skimpy towels around our wast and proudly walked to the front desk. (At that point we realized we could rent or wear our own clothes). After this adventure, we strolled out on the stadium field and filmed ourselves doing some victory dances, naming ourselves "Team Win." On our way out, we realized that Natashia had lost her hiking stick. So we found a freshly fallen bamboo tree and cut it up into three nice sticks, which were the envy of hikers the following day. Next we got some snacks and dinner, played some pool and darts, then had a relaxing night at a motel (shower, but no bed). On Friday, we got up early, made some tuna fish sandwiches and took a bus to Mt. Halla, an inactive volcano with a large crater. Fortunately, we hitchhiked to the trail head in time to get to the top before it closed. We hiked the steep staircase and lava rock up to the 6,400 ft rim (highest point in South Korea) and made our way back down the longer easier trail. Matt literally ran down the mountain, using his bamboo stick to propel himself over rocks and Korean families. Natashia and I took about 1.5 hours longer and enjoyed a nice conversation. That night Matt stepped behind the bar at a slow club and mixed us all some strong cocktails. Saturday morning, we went to a scuba diving company, met some more "couch surfers" and waited for the tide to fall. We took a water taxi to a nearby large island and unloaded the gear on a flat rocky outcropping. Natashia and I snorkeled in some trashy heavy tide water, while those with experience went down 20-30 meters with tanks. It was fun seeing them from above and getting pushed around in the strong current with the fish. It was also a nice place to relax and draw some beautiful scenery. That night we took a taxi back to Jeju city, where we stayed with our new scuba diving friend. She is a private school teacher from Kentucky, living in the biggest, nicest flat I've seen in Korea. We all went out for some nice Indian curry and hit the packed dance floor to finish the night. Sunday was a relaxed morning of coffee shops and waiting for the ferry, leaving at 4:30PM. The ride back was in a much larger boat, which made for bigger rooms to stay in and less swaying boat motion. There was a nice restaurant and norebang on the boat as well. Once we got into Mokpo, we had to beat other foreigners for a taxi to the bus terminal, and we got on our bus with 2 minutes to spare. From Gwangju, we took a taxi to Namwon. The driver knew he wouldn't make more than about $55 on us, so he drove at 90-100mph, making a 1 hour trip last maybe 35 minutes. Thankfully, I made it home safe, before midnight and got some rest before my 8 classes on Monday. What a week!

Abiding

The second semester is well underway now. Luckily, I only had to change one elementary school, so I get to keep all of my student friends that I've made. The weather is becoming cooler (thankfully) and there aren't as many bugs around now. People are moving in and out of the apartments, and so the new initiations begin. We have a good mixed crowd of drinkers and hermits who mostly get along. I have considered applying to move to Jeonju next year, which would be a much bigger city, but I am happy here for now.

Yesterday at my middle school, I walked into a 7th grade classroom and it felt like a morgue. In a flash of inspiration I gave the students step-by-step instruction on how to check their pulse, though only some of them really got the joke. The day before was also interesting. During lunchtime, I kicked the 6th grader's soccer ball on to the roof of the gym. They were so crestfallen that I offered to pay them, but fortunately we found a teacher willing to get a ladder and retrieve their prized possession. That same day, I think I experienced my loudest 4th grade class ever. This is ironic, because it happened while I was trying to get a class of 30 students to play a "whisper game." The problem was that my co-teacher stepped out of the class for 10 minutes to make photocopies. When the children want their friends to be quiet they yell at the top of their lungs in frustration, which only adds to the chaos. Woe to those who lose control of their classroom and want it back! The lesson learned is to draw a diagram of the lines the students must get in and give them a very short amount of time to do so.

Next week is Chuseok (Korean thanksgiving) and I will have a four day vacation. I plan on going to Jeju Island (basically Hawaii for Koreans) with some new friends. To my dear readers: sorry this post was so long in coming. Also, I will send postcards soon, so please give me your address via Facebook or email.

Re-connecting

The fourth graders at Seowon Elementary sounded like little puppies today, shouting "ARF, ARF" with the textbook chant. When I closed my eyes and listened to the howling, I thought I might be on a surreal dog farm. My fourth grade co-teacher, hung-over as he was, rolled along with it quite well. Things are pretty relaxed at this small countryside school. It is so hot and humid in the classrooms that the students are losing their edge of resistance to our lesson plans, and the teachers aren't fighting the students (as much).

Yesterday I had dinner at my favorite Chinese restaurant. I chat with Tom, the owner, about life, women and the news. He speaks decent English because he lived in Denver for many years. This poor guy also daily gambled away a fortune from his restaurant days in Las Vegas. Sometimes he comes over to my apartment and we talk it up over a beer or two. He gets very loud, especially when he is excited. So when he had the magical opportunity to call a friend in America on Skype, he was exstatic. He and his friend used to "go to church" (golfing) every Sunday, quite religiously. Using Google street view, I saw his old house also. I even helped find a relative of his (he won't tell me who...) through Facebook. Understandably, she was quite surprised to hear from a complete stranger. Technology provides us with the tools to separate families, and the means to reconnect. I am doing my best to stay connected.

The stranger

Yesterday was an unexciting day at school. All of my classes were canceled for test preparation. One of my teachers noted that her students couldn't focus in the English classroom, which is true but disappointing. So I set about cleaning the storage room that had become a dumping pile of English materials and past student work. Incidentally, this is what an empty classroom looks like.

On my walk home I had to move out of the way of a student on a bicycle. As I did so, an old man and maybe his slightly younger son approached me. He gave me a hearty smile and asked me who I was, etc.; next he put his hands on my chin like I was his long-lost grandson and wished me goodbye. That was the most intimate moment I've ever had with a complete stranger. I have learned that Koreans are touchy-feely people though. I heard today that a Korean is being sued somewhere in the US for touching a stranger.

Today I taught 2 first grade classes and 3 kindergarten classes. I did my usual routine for meeting young students. I introduce myself and try to catch them by saying or doing silly things. Next I juggle a lot plastic fruit and have them say the words as they fly through the air or fall to the floor, which they find endlessly hilarious. I pass a soft object around and have them say, "My name is ..." We do some total physical response, like "stand up, sit down, clap clap, tuuuurrrn," etc. Then we sing songs like "ABC song" and "Daddy Finger." For the most part young children love to sing. These kids are super adorable, but their energy washes over me like a wave. But it is even more exhausting when you have to yell at them because they aren't yelling for you! I really need to get some ear plugs. And now with these new introductions, I hear my name EVERYWHERE: "Ughh, OH, HELLO CUHRISUTEN!!" they shout at me. It is light years from conversational English, but at least they seem to like me. Actually, I think they are just fascinated with petting my arm hair.

I recently finished reading Pride and Prejudice. The challenging writing style of Jane Austen has been coloring my thoughts and language recently. And it has caused me to dwell upon the expectations involved with relationships. Today I finished The Giver, a short and thought-provoking story about a boy who is chosen to learn the horrific details about his myopic Utopian culture. I highly recommend this book, but I think it could have been much longer. Earlier, I read Number the Stars, also by Lois Lowry. It is about the Danish Jews escaping to Sweden when the NAZI's took over the country in WWII. It's like Anne Frank, but fictional with a relatively happy ending.

Hobbies

The weather has been a little hot and humid, but nothing like what the rain will soon bring. The mosquitoes have abated, thanks to the labors of the mobile bug-fogging squad. The worst thing is when you are walking down a narrow block and you hear this low constant humming noise coming your way. There is nowhere to run. You just put anything over your mouth and nose and charge through the white cloud in faith. It's pretty gross, but the locals are well used to it, one of the drawbacks to living in a rural city. Needless to say, I take more showers these days.

I have been enjoying the use of my electronic drum set more. I have a book of jazz patterns that I am "wood-shedding," in the hopes of liberating my swing feeling on the kit for future jam sessions. There are so many great drum books that I want to work my way through! My guitar has been a bit too dormant these days, hibernating its way through a winter of my lack of inspiration. No doubt that will soon change. Recently, I made an important decision to leave the ranks of taekwondo. I am not keen on the idea of practicing the same material for another 3 months just to take a black belt test that I am competent to take now.

My friends will go to Jeonju tomorrow to test and I hope they do well. At any rate, none of us are convinced that we are learning much about fighting skills. It is unfortunate that much of our practice time has been running around the mat, yelling numbers and shouting, doing a kind of

coordinated dance to some Korean-pop music with accents for the moves. It has been a great help to improve my stretching and condition my legs. I will take some time off from formal training, and use my leisure to improve upon my tai chi form work. At some point I will seek an introduction to a local hapkido studio and set myself down that path. It is a discipline that shuns the repetitive form work in favor of a fluid capacity to manipulate an opponent with the least resistance.

I have been making but little progress in learning Korean these last few weeks, but I am going to wake up early and push myself to study in the morning. (Taekwondo practice was a problem because I didn't get home until 9:15 pm and my dinner schedule was inconsistent.) I have a plethora of learning materials now, so it is up to me to take advantage of them. I recently realized that I have a knack for collecting materials and tools to excel in my hobbies and interests, but I rather too consistently neglect to capitalize on their advantage. I am relatively lazy.

These days I am reading "Pride and Prejudice" and some books about the culture and history of Korea. The former book is my girlfriend's favorite, and upon loosing a board-game bet, I promised to write her a one page essay, in Korean. In return she will read a Korean translation of my favorite book, "Walden" by Thoreau. As for the culture books, I am not content to indulge in the common stereotypes of Korea without first considering some of the complexity of this country. She is now reading a book on American customs and we are having some lively discussions about who these strange people are. I must confess that I read the news rather less than I should, it being forever easy to indulge in a relative solipsism when things are going good. I know that there are some horrible problems yet in this world, and my affluence is not wholly independent of them. If for no other reason than to be thankful for my blessings in life, I find it indispensable to take some account of recent history. It's funny how some news, like today's soccer or weather headlines will guarantee an easy entry into conversation; whereas more timely topics such as war and suffering are conversation stoppers. Speaking of which...

Update

I am still using Windows XP on my 2006 Toshiba Satellite (Intel Dual Core...) and it suits me well. I have an older version of Office and I try not to overload my computer with new programs and junk. I don't do gaming or audio/video/photo editing so I don't put too much strain on my system and it rarely crashes. I use Advanced System Care and AVG Free and defrag every once in a while. I did recently buy a 1TB hard-drive, to supplement by 320 GB external - internet downloading is crazy these days! My apartment is furnished with a nice desktop, but the OS is in Korean, as well as are all the PC's I use at school. I had no problem installing the Korean character recognition and typing software in XP. I put stickers on my keyboard with Roman and Hangeul letters, and I press ALT+SHIFT when I want to change between them. Incidentally, I type in Korean about as fast as my dad types in English!

I am learning the language slowly. I can read and write in hangeul, but pronunciation is very difficult. The phonology of Korean has far less accents than English, but the cadence and whiny sounds are about impossible for me to produce accurately. So I can say things correctly, but not apply them in the right context and not get the total sound right and Koreans won't understand me. As you can imagine, I am swarmed by young kids all day who ask me a blizzard of questions in Korean: Are you Married? How old are you? Where are you from? Why are you here? Why don't you remember my name? Why are you SO hairy and tall? Are you dating the co-teacher? etc... When I get tired of trying to translate, I just answer them in English, afterall, I am here to teach them, right? I am in an ideal situation to learn a language: constantly exposed to its source, with access to lots of internet learning tools. The people in America who rate language difficulty say that Korean is a Level 3 for English speakers, meaning that it takes us, on average, 65? weeks to reach a VERY basic proficiency, so it is considerably more challenging than a European language.

I am doing well with taekwondo: I will be tested for black belt on August 28th. I will be ready for the late June test, but I haven't been in Korea for six months yet! (Actually I won't be able to take the test until October 27th now...) After this, I hope to switch to hapkido, a more harmonious style related to Aikido. My uncle in Olympia was a 3rd degree black belt in this style, so I am following in his steps.

I haven't been saving money yet, but I plan on staying for another 1-2 years. Recently, I bought an electronic drumset, which I could conceivably make money with at some point. I still owe $15,000 on my subsidized college loans, but they are in deferment now, so I pay no interest (6%?) until I start making payments. I make around $24,000 a year here, low taexes, rent-free except utilities and cable, with many of my lunches paid for, so I could really put some money in the bank for grad school, etc. Next year... :)

There is lots of farming in my area. Terraced rice fields everywhere, soaking in a watery mud, harvesting more mosquitoes than people to bite soon... Guys on mopeds ride through every alley with a giant bug-fogging machine, spraying this toxic fragrant stuff in the air, truly disgusting. But I am glad to be here, seeing a much more traditional side of Korea, than the big, Westernizing city view. I have been traveling around to the big cities and some smaller ones. Busses, food and hotels are cheap, and I have plenty of free time and friends in various places to visit. I have a friend going to Beijing and the Great Wall for the summer holiday, so I may consider spending more money, but I have a "girlfriend" now, so we'll see. But more on that story as it develops.

A nice weekend

Friday

Taekwondo was a hard workout but I am gettng more conditioned these days. I have weights for my legs and hands that I practice with in my room. I have 3 more poomsaes (forms) to learn before the black belt level. Then I am planning on finding a hapkido studio to practice a style more similar to my philosophy of harmony. Some day I want to study tai chi in China with some old master or join a large group in a park. I want to have peace in my emotional mind and confidence in my physical skills.

Saturday

I temporarily fixed my bicycle: the rear tire bolts were loose and my banging on them with a hammer made them worse, so I finally got some pliers. It's embarassing riding down the street when your back tire is rubbing noisily against the wheel-well, while people pretend they aern't looking at you. Later, I rode the bus almost two hours to Daegu and spent the day there with two lovely Korean (English-speaking) lady friends. They took me to a large Kyobu bookstore where I bought a large stack of language and teaching books. I am going to learn Korean and (some) Chinese and become a skillful teacher before my adventures here are over. We also went to some nice restaurants and had bibimbap and a braised chicken stew. Later, I found a hotel for under $20 that was decent and slept there after drinking some tea with them. Daegu is the third largest city in Korea, and it has a US Army base, which we drove past.

Sunday

The next morning, one of them picked me up and took me to Dunkin' Donuts and then the bus station. Her and I have a nice connection and we'll see where that may go. The bus ride home was calm. I read about the opening up of Korea to the West in the late 1800's. Japan, China, US, France, America, Russia and Britain all wanted to impose their own unequal trading treaties on Korea and make Korea modernize after their own models. Korea had its own enlightenment movement and diplomatic efforts, but it struggled against the neo-Confucian orthodoxy of the entrenched aristocracy, under the weight of foreign domination. I thought about these things while I looked out the window at the beautiful mountainous blooming scenery; the countless and unknown lives who have built this country. When I got home, I met with my friend Kim Ho and his mom and uncle. We ate bbq pork wrapped in lettuce with peppers at a restaurant. Then we went to his mom's farm and collected some edible greens in the forest nearby. Later, at home, I wasted an hour or more moving furniture around in my apartment; finally I ended up back almost where I started, but with simply less stuff. It is easy to collect other people's junk when it is free, but it feels better to have more space to live in and just the essential furniture. Hopefully my current arrangement will be OK for a while. I am finding my couch more comfortable than the floor with pads, and even better than my bed, which had a dip in it.

News

Last weekend I set up my slack-line down by the Namwon theme-park and I had lots of Koreans watching me in amazement. Afterward, I went and watched a children's play with puppets and fell asleep because it was all in Korean - something about an ogre that gets his wart removed and lives in a dream, then realizes that life is better with the wart for some reason.

I got some new glasses last week and I updated my wardrobe. Koreans are very fashion-conscious, so it isn't hard to make a good or bad first impression depending on the way you dress. This week I taught a lesson on clothing vocabulary and basic sentences to my middle school kids and they loved it. The last game I played was saying "I put on my" or "I take off my" and some random vocabulary; the boys were embarrased when they had to say "bra" and the girls "underwear." It was all in good clean fun and the lesson went well.

My last fourth grade class was going smooth until this emotional kid flipped out over me taking his tape dispenser. He threw an eraser and hit me in the face and started kicking at me. My co-teacher restrained him and his peers drug him out of the class. We had to lock the doors, but I had to open them when he was pushing against the glass and going to throw a large phone at them. I restrained him outside until they called the big guy around to deal with him. Whew. Earlier, my co-teacher had to tell a sixth grade class that they could never come back to the English classroom because they were so naughty.

I am finding it easier to walk around the city and not be self-conscious. The secret is not making eye contact with strangers. Koreans show great hospitality towards friends and family, so they don't have time or energy for interacting with strangers. This may be a hold-over from the Confucian ethic of relationships and loyalty, but I think it makes practical sense.

An eventful weekend.

Friday

I went on a field trip with around 100 4th graders. We went to a huge spinning factory: they get raw cotton from the US and spin it into thread and export it across the country. I have never seen so many complicated machines spinning in uniformity in a noisy windy building. There was chunks of cotton flying through tubes and getting pulled into thread at various speeds. The factory employs 260 people I think.

After this we got back on the bus and they sang more songs in Korean. We ate lunch at the local theme park. The kid's parents make lots of sushi for their kids and pack fruit and various junk foods. Every couple of minutes the kids would come up to their teacher and offer their left-overs. Then we walked through a museum which tells of the history of Namwon and Chunhyang (the beautiful woman in the love story). I tried to video tape this, but it was difficult because I had 4 girls clinging to me the whole time.

Then we walked back to the school and did some singing and a "dance battle." Each class of kids competed to see who could dance the best to some popular music. They cheered me on when I got up front, but surely some of these kids had better moves. After school, I rode my bicycle home. I let one of my students ride on the back to what I thought was his home. It turns out he just wanted to hang out with me. The poor kid kept begging me for cigarettes and alcohol and was hanging all over the other foreigners when we went down to the festival. Finally I walked him home, but he just wandered on the streets. I tried to get him to speak with his teacher to tell him to go home, but he just kept running away. He wouldn't let me order him a taxi either; finally I commanded him very sternly in broken Korean to go home and left it alone.

Saturday

I made my usual weekend phone calls to friends and family. Then I rode my bicycle around the parade street of the Chunhyang Festival. It is the 80th annual celebration, so there was much fanfare. There were marching bands with drums that sounded like a coordinated racket coming from a kitchen; beautiful women dressed in the traditional hanbok clothing riding majestic horses; and floats with cute children throwing confetti. There were also some amazing artists hard at work.

At Gwangalu, an old large walled Buddhist temple with gardens and walkways, lots of romance was in the air. There is large coi fish pond, temples with lots of old Chinese poems, a museum telling about the love story of Chunhyang and dramatic performances. There were people standing like manequins, completely covered with bright gold.

I took some time to study Korean on my ebook reader and do some tai chi. I sat and did some pencil sketching in front of a music stage for a long time, listening to a 10-piece band play some hip jazz-Korean fusion music. Near the river, there were lots of large sculptures depicting fairy tales; booths selling all manner of cheap knock-off goods; restaurants with full-pig rotisseries, and even a kebab stand next to a cocunut shop.

The cake winner was the cross-dressing clown men who sang along with this bizarre and cheesy Asian pop music. That attracted huge crowds and people were paying big money for souveneirs from those guys; I am sure that I found their antics funny for completely different reasons.

I saw a few foreigners from Seoul along the way and I made a new friend. He is my age and he collects trash for a living, but he speaks some English and we get along well. Later that day, I waited around for a while for my friends to meet up with me and then we finally went out to eat, but I ditched them before they went to the norebang (karaoke) afterwards. I still haven't sung in a bar yet, even though it is wildly popular here.

Sunday

I made some more calls and rode back down to see the events. I bought more kebabs and another coconut and relaxed to some music. It is called pansori, or Korean opera singing, which features only a drummer and a singer. Their voice is more gritty than melodic, but the intensity of their singing conveys their deep emotion. Later on, my new Korean friend (Kim Ho) came over to my place and we tried to cook, then decided that we had better go out instead. We rode around for a while, wandering to different restaurants until we settled on some mediocre Chinese food. We drank a bottle of soju, then went to the Miss Chunhyang beauty pagent. Fortunately, we met up with some of my foreigner friends there, because it was a pretty boring event: these 32 attractive women in unrevealing gowns would stroll very slow and surreal-like to the front, say some stuff and then walk off; then they left and changed into tight jeans and shirts and danced to some pop music. In the mean-time there were 10 minute montage videos of them being silly in Namwon that were boring. So we left and hung out at my place. Kim Ho is teaching me Korean and I am helping him with English. The poor guy works almost every day and just watches American movies for fun, so I think I am a good outlet for him.

Weekend update.

Today I had two difficult 5th grade classes after lunch and I found myself getting a little upset inwardly. The problem stems from my co-teacher's lack of control over the noise level in the class. Kids just scream whenever and whatever they feel like, and they are silenced about every ten minutes. I can tell her voice is stressing to yell over them and explain things. I am trying to be patient and say, "Listen" in an assertive tone that sometimes helps. Also, it is helpful to chant words or phrases in unison, so students know when to speak and they can hear me. This gets most of the class on-board. For those that hide their insecure voices or don't know how to pronounce the target language, it is imperative to quiz individuals. This is a basic formula for the presentation portion of the class, but it is sometimes rushed through. I think we take it for granted that students know how to say something or what they are saying, even when it appears that they are participating. For the really disruptive kids (always boys), I give them the stink-eye, then I pull them out of their chair and make them stand somewhere with their arms in the air, out of reach of things to play with and the means of entertaining their friends. I was half-way through a game with the whole class (that they were mostly enjoying), when I quit it because they wouldn't listen and chant together. The point was for the class to repeat a sentence I wrote on the board so their teammates could perform a simple task. But when all you hear is an undifferentiated mass of shouting, there is absolutely no communication happening and the game is failing to be instructive. My teacher tried to pick up the pieces, but that was that. She walked out without saying good-bye, perhaps with some shame, but we will get on the same page sooner or later. There is no doubt that 30 5th or 6th graders collectively can be an unwieldly opponent. Respect has to come before learning.

This weekend I rode the slow train up to Seoul, which took nine hours roundtrip. It dropped me off at Yeongsan Station, which is the electronics hub of Korea. I walked through miles of electronics of all kinds, though the brands were limited mostly to Korean and Japanese companies. I couldn't find a single e-book reader in any of the three six-story electronic malls. Finally, I found a sign for an IRiver store that was hiding off the beaten-path, and I bought an e-book reader for about $300. It was discouraging to find that the market in Korea is behind the times on such a useful tool. Samsung makes three models that I couldn't find at any of the dozen Samsung stores and none of the sales-people could help me find. Ironically, I believe you can buy this model in Europe and the U.S. now. Anyways, the screen resolution is easy on the eyes, though I am having some problems getting the font size and flow of text to allow for easy reading in some common book formats (.pdf, .txt). The good news is that I have a massive library at home that I can take anywhere and distribute to anyone. But mum's the word.

I am fighting the remnants of a throat bug, which got worse on the trip. Yesterday, I mostly slept it off and did some weekend chores. On Sunday, I got together with my South African (SA) friends (more like a family now) and had rooti (like naan) and chicken curry. I brought my selection of Costco import cheeses to the table with some cheap mixed veggies and table wine. We chased this with various ice-cream flavors and French-press coffee or Rooibos tea with lemon and honey. While I mostly enjoy the strange variety of seafood and spicy dishes that my Korean schools serve up, I still crave traditional Western and Middle Eastern dishes. Soon, I will make a trip to a Pakistani spice store in a nearby city and get my own Indian food fixings.

The language is getting easier. When I repeat an expression or word, I don't get laughed at quite as much. I can read hangul much quicker now, and I have amassed a collection of dictionarys, charts, workbooks and audio tools to push my studying forward. I am endeavoring to learn the vocabulary I am presenting to my students, though I use very little Korean in the class. It is a catch-22 because the students love it when you speak to them in their native tongue, but then they rain questions on you because they think you can speak better than you do, which frequently ends in mutual frustration. They also appreciate my presence on the playground when I am not busy having coffee and stumbling through the language barrier with other teachers in the lounge.

On Friday, I got together with a small group of taekwondo people for dinner and drinking. We ate bibimbap (a great variety of side-dishes mixed in with rice and red pepper paste) at a traditional restaurant out of handmade stone dishes. The makoli (tangy milky rice wine that is fairly strong) was plenteous and free. Afterwards, we went to another bar and drank soju (20% rice liqour) and mekju (weak macro-beer lager), while we shot semi-drunk messages across the great gulf of language. Hand gestures (miming), tone of voice, and cell phone dictionaries saved the day.

Happy (un) St. Patrick's Day!

On Wednesday, I gave a lesson to three middle school classes on the meaning of St. Patrick's Day. It was a typical simplified powerpoint show with some simple sentences to read along. I made it more interesting by having them pinch each other every time I said the word "green." And there is lots of love, so they pinch each other hard. At the end we sang the first verse of "The Wearing of the Green" and I explained the sad meaning of the lyrics. The students connected with the independence movement and symbols because of their own country's struggle against Japan. It is interesting that both countries have been unified under conquering powers and divided after their independence; both have strong indigenous cultures and have exported their sports to the world (rugby and taekwondo); and both drink, a lot. When I asked the Korean students if they have a "drinking" holiday, they laughed and said, "everyday!" Unfortunately, my back-up music on youtube didn't work in one classroom, so I had to dance and sing for them. I am glad no one from Ireland saw me! They were fascinated by the green dye in the Chicago River and the fact that Seoul has a parade as well. During lunch I tuned up a guitar in the teacher room and played some of my classical material. Then I played ping-pong against most of the boys; they mostly won, but I got in some good hits. On my way to school, I somehow missed my bus and I had to get a taxi. I told the driver Sannae Middle School, but he heard "Samae" Middle school. So about 50 minutes and almost $40 later I got to school. He did drop the price $10 because he felt bad, but it was a white-nuckle ride through a windy mountain highway, passing anything that moved less than 75 mph (the driver even turned on his hazard lights and blew through a red light in the shoulder lane).

Yesterday, I feared that I had eaten dog, but the teacher was saying "duck." I guess dog meat is a delicacy and they wouldn't likely serve it at a country school cafeteria. Needless to say, I was feeling a little guilty and sick that I had devoured man's best friend, though it was tasty. I am not crazy about the common fish parts soup broth, ususally with octopus and other weirdness. As far as teaching goes, I am getting the hang of working with my co-teachers. I now have an English translation of the teacher's book, which I got from a friend. It turns out that many of the Korean English teachers didn't know that it exists. This is sad because it is a such a useful tool for bridging the communication barrier. So next week, I will be armed to the teeth with lesson planning preparedness. Today I ran out of activities for my last 4th grade class, so I taught them "Simon says" and they ate it up, especially the "pick your nose" part.

In other news, I now have a cell phone. It gets free TV, where signals are available and it has a English-Korean dictionary that saves words so you can quiz yourself. The same day I got it, my internet and cable was shut-off. Fortunately, cable internet is fast and cheap (less than $30/month) so I will be making some Skype calls soon. The owners of my apartment installed a keyed entry on the door downstairs, so it has been fun getting locked out and helping others get in the building. Another priviledge of being on the first floor is the aroma from my bathroom drain (which I keep covered with a bucket). Mildew is a real problem so I am keeping my windows open as much as I can stand the cold and drying my towel with a space heater. I have been cooking more stir-fry dishes with rice and ramen, and occasionally meat. I scored a huge bag of fresh ginger root for $7.50 and I use lots of garlic, mushrooms, peppers, onions and whatever else I can find. Sometimes my neighbors invite me over for curry and fried donuts.

Taekwondo is going well. I am learning the forms (pronounced poom-says) and avoiding injuries, though I bruised the top of my foot while kicking some pads the other day. Mostly we just follow the leader's actions because we can't understand much of what they are saying. It is great to have a fun group of people with a shared common enemy, namely, pain. The training is sometimes strenuous, but they goof-off a lot, so it keeps things fun, "and it's a great way to stay in shape" (Family Guy). I have been teaching the kids how to play "thumb wars," the hand slapping game, "mercy" and various handshakes. It is impossible to remember all of their names and faces, but when one of them comes up and shakes my hand a certain way, I know which class he/she came from. Tonight, after training, I am going to drink with the two "masters" from taekwondo and some others, which may lead to more body language and a pool of shared meanings. Surprisingly enough, this will be my first drinking excursion in Namwon.

A more challenging day

I didn't know how to get to my last new school or the exact name of it this morning. When I got to Nowan Elementary, nobody knew to greet me, so I wandered around the cold building with my socks because I couldn't find any sandals. I finally went to the English classroom and got settled in. I taught six classes, two each of 3rd, 5th and 6th grades. For my first ever 3rd grade class, the teacher left me alone in the classroom for some reason unknown to me, and I played survivor with a group of 30 wild kids screaming and running around. I don't know how I am supposed to discipline them yet (or what I can do), so I just encouraged them to behave and focused on the attentive children that wanted to learn. I did miming with flash cards and they went along with that ok, and the kids that were wanting my attention lost it, so some of them even joined in. Also, I couldn't figure out how to turn on the heat in the room so I froze most of the day (one teacher tried to help me, but I couldn't understand her). I can tell that I have my work cut-out at this school, winning over the respect of my co-teachers and adjusting to the environment. Fortunately it is only one day each week. I really loved most of the kids and I think they enjoyed me, and possibly learned something.

Tonight in taekwondo, I received my white belt and got my bum toe taped up. It was a fun practice, doing some light drills. We played this game where two people stand abreast, holding each other's belts and they try to tag people with the kicking pads. Whenever they get someone, that person has to join up, gradually forming a larger chain until everyone is in. It's fun to run behind them and try to dive between the center of it.

Third times charming

Today I went to Noam Elementary School, where I will be teaching on Tuesdays and Fridays. It is closer to the city, so the class sizes are larger (5 classes of 30 students). My "team-teacher" at this school is also my "co-teacher" (the person that helps me with everything basically). She let me teach the classes on my own and only intervened for any discipline problems or to help students during the study phase. Sometimes she would have to quiet down the class or explain directions, but that happened less throughout the day as I improved. The classes got a real kick out of me juggling 4 pieces of plastic fruit for them, a great ice-breaker. I feel like I am swimming in a sea of wonderful and lively little foreign beings. They giggle when I try my best to pronounce their names; when their friends tell me each others' name, I can only imagine the dirty words I am unwittingly uttering. One kid was shooting paper bullets with a rubber band, a boy and girl started pushing and punching each other, and some kids were running and hiding. My co-teacher uses a points system and group seating to channel their competitive nature, which mostly works. I am trying to get them to raise their hands and not yell all at once, "HAY HAY HAY HAY...." Basically, karma is biting me in the ___. When I want them to fill in the blank I say, "blah blah blah," and they love that. When they were leaving they said goodbye and bowed, while others would hang onto me, play paper-rock-scissors (kouwi, bouie, boo?) high-five me, or say, "you good teacher, you beautiful, you know my teacher, thank you..."

For lunch we ate rice with kimchi soup, kimchi, chicken with some spicy sauce, bean sprouts, and lukewarm barley tea - much more tasty than it may sound. The whole school progressively lined-up and walked past me as I ate, which was fun. In Korea, their are no janitors because the children clean the classrooms and cafeteria by shifts. The food waste is composted and there are no plastics or paper used during lunch - a very green operation. This school is unique because it has a state-of-the-art "English Zone" where I do all of my teaching. It is a colorful and well-labeled classroom equipped with a huge flat-screen monitor, a blue screen wall with a mounted camera, 2 student computers, a puppet booth and lots of video and book teaching materials. These people are dead serious about teaching English, but they are laid back at the same time. On Tuesday, I will team-teach in a Kindergarten class, which is very rare because usually Guest English Teacher conversational classes begin in the 4th grade. So I feel both lucky and honored to have this opportunity.

On my bus ride home, there was an 18 year-old female student just staring at me, trying to think of stuff to say, which was incredibly awkward. I can only think that she thought I was the bees-knees, but I was to tired to really try to interact. Later, I decided to join taekwondo and pay my dues. I didn't know that would include kicking my foot into the wall when I missed the toy soccer ball. Ouch, throb. Being a small city, I met some of my students from two different schools at the dojang (Korean dojo). We were happy to meet again.

A lively second day

Today I went to my second school, Sowan Elementary School. I taught three classes and worked on the internet the rest of the day. Two of the classes had less than ten students, which made our discussions go quickly. I just introduced myself and showed them on a map where I am from, being careful to distinguish between Washington State and D.C. I asked them what their names were, and tried to pronounce them, which was very funny to them. They mostly said that they liked computer games and chicken. When they ask questions, they always want to know if you are single, how old you are, why you are in Korea and do you like kimchi. I made them guess my age, which is a fun game. When we are asking names we throw a ball around the class to keep it interesting. Well, for the first class, we only had a basketball with a group of 4th graders. It was OK until, to my shudder, one kid threw it across the room at an unsuspecting kid and it smashed into his head. He had a quick angry look but didn't cry. So next class I made sure I had something softer at hand. One girl in the back spoke English better so I approached her with a question. She got nervous and started pounding the inside of her arm with her fist, which I hear is common.

Another thing I enjoy are the lunches, which are a nice mix of Korean dishes. The best part is that the teachers eat in a group at tables with the students, like a community. I love that feeling. And Koreans like to eat quietly so you don't worry about any awkward silence. I rode home in a school bus full of young sweet chatterbox voices, which made me smile inside in some undefinable way. At the stop before mine I saw a child try and cross a busy street and half-carelessly almost get hit by a car. Cringe! A teacher on the bus helped him cross thankfully. On my way home I stopped at the E-Mart (grocery, clothes, household items) and then unintentionally wandered home. For some reason I haven't gotten my bearings with this place yet, but I always somehow find my apartment.

Tonight I cooked up some rice with fried garlic, mushrooms, peppers and spices, together with some mystery-meat patty the former tenant left in the freezer. Grub. Then my neighbor invited me to taekwondo practice and I went. The class is designed specially for the Westerners in Namwon, but they speak little English. Fortunately, they are patient and have a good sense of humor, but there is a lot of shouting and guttural "EEEIIIII"s. I did well with the stretching and kicking and I may start going, but it is a big decision. They meet every weekday at 7:30 PM and it costs about $70/month plus the uniform cost, but they don't charge for testing at least. This school also promotes very quickly, but the goal is ability and character, not rank anyways.

First day of classes: A+

Today I taught at Sannae Middle School, grades 7-9. It is an hour's bus ride from Namwon up a windy and steep countryside into the mountains. Lots of rice fields and memorials. The school is small and I only teach three classes a day, once a week, of about 20 students. The rest of my time is spent on the internet, planning lessons, which is surprisingly fun. My team-teacher is very friendly and open to my ideas in the classroom. My job is to supplement her English class with authentic conversation and motivating materials. Today I introduced myself and met my students and tested their language abilities. When the students don't understand me, I think of simpler ways to explain my meaning, and the other teacher translates. Many of the students are very shy and speak quiet. I felt as nervous as they did for the first class, but I got over that and had two better classes. I am like a rock-star to them, some alien from the movies that they can touch and feel for a short time. "He IS real!" The cafeteria food was a mixture of a Chinese topping on rice, kimchi, clear soup with spinach and strawberries. The other teachers have been friendly to me and the principal gave me a hearty handshake. That alone means everything in this work environment; I will make them proud. My only complaint is having to take off my shoes to enter the school and put on these uncomfortable sandals. It helps to wear slip on shoes, because they are not worn in schools, shrines, homes, and traditional restaurants.

The bus driver on the way back "home" seemed to be really interested in me and he gave me his phone number. I think he was indicating that if I needed a place to stay, that I could call him, but I was trying to say that I lived in some apartments. The streets are confusing in this city, and I think people use landmarks more often. I still don't have a good map for touring here, and it seems like I just walk out of my apartment and I am getting lost. Walking around in a tweed-like jacket, new shoes and a tie made me self-conscious on the way to work (in the frigid early morning), but proud on the way home (or just too tired to care). I have three more elementary schools yet to visit. I get a travelling compensation for working at multiple schools and the other ones are not nearly as far away.

Yesterday I went to Jeonju (1 hour) to apply for my Alien Registration Card, which will arrive in the post in a week and will allow me to get a cellphone. The day before, I rode the bus to Gwangju (1 hour) with my neighbors to get some bed sheets. The sea of last-minute holiday school shoppers was remarkable. I bought one of the most essential items: an umbrella.

Getting lost in Namwon, Jeonbuk

Well, after much ado and mystery, I have arrived at my new hometown for the next year. The name of the city is Namwon in Jeonbuk province, aka the "city of love" after a famous Korean opera set here. Yesterday I went to the closing ceremony at Jeonju University (Jeonju tae hakyo) and was greeted by two pretty Korean school teachers who drove me around and treated me to lunch, while we talked about the Korean figure skater Kim Yeona. It is both difficult and humorous trying to communicate through gestures and creative language to people who don't get many opportunities to speak English. I am learning some basic Korean phrases and getting quicker at reading the Hangul script, both of which really impress my new friends. (When in doubt, just eat some kimchi, take another shot of soju and smile and bow!)

I finally met my "co-teacher," a nice lady named Lee YoungHwa. She is basically my first point of contact for all of my teacher needs and legal issues. Next week I will meet with my "team-teachers," who I will co-teach with at all times. As far as I know I will be travelling to 2-3 elementary schools on different days of the week, teaching about 5 hours per day. Finally, I was dropped off at my apartment and I briefly met the landlord. It is on the first floor of a 3 story, 12 unit villa. It has a bedroom with a large closet, a small living room with a kitchenette, and a bathroom with a washing machine. Korean bathrooms are fully tiled and don't have shower doors or even stalls sometimes, just a shower wand and some plastic sandals. Lucky for me, some other people were moving out of this building, and they had to leave a bunch of things behind. So I inherited 2 comforters, 2 pillows, some dishes, junk food, comfy slip-on shoes, a book case, a table and 2 chairs, seat cushions and a low-level table, a clothes drying rack, an infrared space heater, some cleaning supplies, and a bunch of teaching books and materials. The apartment also comes with a computer and a decent flat screen monitor that works with cable, etc. Only 6/80 of the stations are in English, which play some cool movies - the rest is full of wacky game shows and reality TV, soaps, religious stuff, buying networks and some news. I live in a city full of street vendors, back alleys with character, and lots of people traveling around at less-than-safe speeds. Occasionally I see a chained-up dog or a cat dodging about and I have to look twice. I guess I just miss my furry friends.

Most of my roommates are from South Africa and they are like a family here (they call themselves "colored," having both African and European ancestors). The first night I helped one family move into a different unit because of a serious mold issue and they came to my place and we sat on the floor and had delivery bbq chicken (which is tough to eat with chopsticks). They have some little children which are taking to me and their accents and expressions are fun to keep up with. Tonight I went with them to a bi-weekly English service church, translated by the husband of my co-teacher. The pastor teaches anatomy so he went to town bashing evolutionary thinking, which was quite interesting. We sang some hymns, listened to a singing performance by some young children and ate some food to celebrate the first lunar holiday of the year. Also, I stood up and introduced myself, my nationality and said "nice to meet you" in Korean and they were dazzled. Some of the kids I saw tonight will be my students actually, which is very exciting. Today I walked around town and came across groups of young kids who would yell, "teacher, teacher" and giggle. And I will be a celebrity because I was the only person out of 331 EPIK teachers to come to this city (Only 6 stayed in Jeonbuk).

Mid-orientation update

I have been going to four 1.5 hour lectures on teaching and a 1 hour survival Korean class these last few days. It has been a little bit tiring at times, but generally I am getting some great ideas on how to help plan lessons for the classes that I will be co-teaching soon (more on that later). Sunday we all went on a field trip to a hanok village (traditional clay arched roofs) and learned some history, played new games and made some crafts. We got to take short lessons on dancing with masks, drumming, and learned about the wedding ceremony. Also toured a local market where you can haggle prices if you can speak a little Korean, but these old ladies are tough! My group ran across a band of masked Harley riders cranking their engines.

Tomorrow is my last day of classes, then I will get to present a lesson plan the next day and meet my provincial organizers and maybe my co-teacher. This person is responsible for helping me get everything I need. Then Friday, I will get on a bus and head to my new apartment, which will be somewhere in Jeonbuk province. Monday is National Independence Day, so Tuesday will be my first day of teaching.

Today was my last day of Korean classes here, but I heard that the bigger cities offer free classes to EPIK teachers. I am crossing my fingers that I will get to stay in Jeonju, a nice-sized city so full of old and new culture. Soon I will be posting pictures or links to them on this blog so stay tuned!

Made it!

After a long flight and slightly less long bus ride I made it to Jeonju University, where I will be staying for the next week or so. It was about 7AM before I finally got settled in last night for bed, so I am feeling pretty burned out now, fighting the urge to nap so I can ween myself into the new schedule. Unfortunately, none of my bags had wheels, so I was dragging at the airport until I found an abandoned cart. The food is exotic and flavorful, the people are very kind, the beds are hard, the shower wand goes all over the completely tiled bathroom and the internet is fast. I believe there are around 300 teachers (from the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa) at this EPIK orientation, meeting together for meals, but divided for classes. There are a lot of tall domino-style buildings surrounded by a mountainous countryside full of mystery. Near the campus are streets of colorful windows written in Hangul, advertising for the internet, coffee and small convenience stores.

Getting ready to travel

All of the puzzle pieces have fallen into place. Today I got my passport back in the mail with a visa stamp. My plane leaves Seattle on Feb. 16 at 1PM and arrives in Incheon, South Korea on Feb. 17 at 5:35PM. The flight is non-stop for over 10 hrs and they are 17 hrs ahead of our time. I will be meeting with some EPIK people at the airport and they will give me a ride to wherever. The first week I will spend in orientation at Jeonju University in Jeonju, South Korea (my new home). This will most likely be followed by two teacher training days at my new school. As far as I know, I will begin teaching on Feb. 26. My contract is for 1 year and that includes 18 vacation days, so I hope to travel some in the area.

Still waiting...

Soon I will begin teaching English in Korea for a year, but the details are still pending. I have been waiting for a NOA (Notice of Arrival) from EPIK (English Program in Korea http://www.epik.go.kr/) since Christmas. Apparently they are hiring more teachers than ever and are simply backed up on writing the contracts. All I know is that I will be living somewhere in the province of Jeonbuk (Jeollabuk-do http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeollabuk-do). I will be leaving the third week of February, will spend a week in Seoul for orientation, and begin teaching in early March. I don't know what age level I will be teaching or what my living situation will be like.

I plan on taking my classical guitar, lots of journals, art pencils, some tai chi books, my laptop full of ebooks, some chopsticks, a handmade philosophy mug, and some nice clothes. I hear it is difficult to find deodorant and large shoes there.