Party on the Beach

Having a whole week's vacation for Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) was fabulous. I spent the beginning of my week relaxing and mostly indoors due to the torrential downpours and flooding outside. By mid week the weather had cleared up and I made plans for the long weekend. Sam, Terry, Sean, and I decided to go away for a little couples trip to Muuido Island. Muuido Island is a tiny island off the larger island of Yeongjong that houses Incheon airport on the west coast. It's really tiny and mostly known as a great vacation spot with nice beaches.

Once we got to the airport we hopped a bus that took us to the ferry. After taking the shortest ferry ride of my life (about 5 minutes) across and catching another bus, we made it to Hanagae Beach.

welcome to Muuido

shortest ferry ever

Sean and I on the ferry

Our first night we spent in these tiny little one room huts on the beach. They were pretty ghetto and in the morning our backs were aching from sleeping on the hard floor and we felt dirty from the gross bedding they had given us. When we found out there were no showers for our use we were a little alarmed. After exploring the area desperately trying to find somewhere else to stay, we came across a wonderful pension with many rooms which all had a kitchen, TV, bathroom, and AC. Needless to say the second night's stay was much more comfortable.

Sam in front of our tiny rooms on the beach

We spent the next two days enjoying the weather, drinking beer, eating seafood, throwing the football on the beach, getting some sun, making a campfire on the beach, reading, playing cards, grilling out, and relaxing.

Sean, Terry, and Sam on the beach

cheers

shells were everywhere

sunset the first night

campfire on the beach

Sean and I hanging around

Sam and Terry on the swings

BBQ our last night

In the early morning the tide on Muuido Island goes out. Way out. Probably hundreds of feet out. And beach dwellers are left with a huge sand bar almost as far as you can see. Sean and I walked out there one morning and were amazed by this natural phenomenon. I had never seen anything like it in my life. Then, just like clock-work, around 2:30P.M. the tide rushed back in within the span of an hour and you could enjoy the water until the sun went down.

the shoreline in the morning

tracks in the sand

I had a fantastic time on Muuido Island and felt blessed to have some really great people to spend an awesome weekend with.

Namaste

Eat, Pray, Love

I just finished reading Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert again. I really enjoyed this book the first time I read it, and I enjoyed it even more the second time around. (Perhaps because I am anxiously awaiting my stop in Bali this fall and loved reading that section or maybe because I would love to taste the food and surround myself with history in Italy or maybe because India is a place I long to travel and know...) Anyways, I know lots of friends who have mixed reviews about the book and the author's attitude, but I love her witty sense of humor and heart wrenching honesty. It's refreshing to read about someone else's trials and tribulations and makes me feel more connected to people in general. I also love reading about a modern career woman traveling the world solo. I will embark on my first solo traveling this fall for a bit and it makes me a little less weary knowing that so many amazing experiences open up to you when it's just you. Here are two of my favorite quotes from the book:

"You were given life; it is your duty (and also your entitlement as a human being) to find something beautiful within life, no matter how slight."

"Happiness is the consequence of personal effort. You fight for it, strive for it, insist upon it, and sometimes even travel around the world looking for it. You have to participate relentlessly in the manifestations of your own blessings. And once you have achieved a state of happiness, you must never become lax about maintaining it, you must make a mighty effort to keep swimming upward into that happiness forever, to stay afloat on top of it."

-Elizabeth Gilbert-

Eat, Pray, Love

After reading through the Italy chapter about finding that one word for a city or a person, I have been trying to think of mine. For those of you who haven't read the book, the author is having a discussion with a friend about how each city and each person has a word. One word that describes the place or person to a 'T'. He tells her that Rome's word is SEX. They discuss the Vatican's word, POWER, and she decides that New York's word is ACHIEVE. The author eventually figures out her own word is ANTEVASIN, Sanskrit for “one who lives at the border.” My mom thinks Valparaiso's word is FAMILY. I think Seoul's word is APPEARANCE.

Namaste

Thought-Provoking Travel Lit.

"The destination was not really the point. The true desire was to get away- to go..."

"The clouds usher in tranquility. Below us are enemies and colleagues, the sites of our terrors and our griefs, all of them now infinitesimal, mere scratches on the earth."

"What we find exotic abroad may be what we hunger for in vain at home."

"Among all the places that we go to but don't look at properly or that leave us indifferent, a few occasionally stand out with an impact that overwhelms us and forces us to take heed. They possess a quality that might clumsily be called beauty. This may not involve prettiness nor any of the obvious features that guidebooks associate with beauty spots; having recourse to the word might be just another way of saying we like a place."

-Alain de Botton-

The Art of Travel

Namaste

We Live On

Sometimes it seems like my life in Korea creates many highs and lows for me. I'm not going to lie, some days are hard. Not because I miss home and want to leave or anything, but because my job and daily life in general can cause some major frustrations. Some days are amazing and those are the days I look forward to and try to focus on. Today has been one of those days.

I am very pleased to report that my semester is off to a fantastic start. I have three new co-teachers. Two of them speak very good English and it is easy to work with them. One does not really speak English very well at all (don't even let me get into the "why did they hire her to teach English then?!" rant because I have no idea) and it can be difficult to communicate with her. I have one more extra class a week and I will also be teaching an English class for first and second grade teachers twice a week. I am teaching grades 4, 5, and 6 once again.

The first day with sixth grade I was preparing for the worst. When I walked down the sixth grade hallway and heard not a peep and saw the students in their seats through the windows, I almost had a heart attack. I could not believe it was the same hallway as one month ago. The fifth and sixth grade students have been well behaved and attentive so far. I really pray that it stays this way. (At least until October 6.) The fourth grade students are adorable. I love them. It was my first time to meet them and teach them this week and last. Some of the students I taught in winter camp, but most I had never seen before. It was so cute because when they saw me it was a succession of "ohhs and ahhhs" and they were really excited. It brought a big smile to my face.

The little girl I wrote about a couple months ago who always said hello to me in the hallway was in my class today. I realized that she must have some kind of learning disability. She was sitting in her seat, blurting things out at the wrong times. During my lesson she was cutting up something in her book instead of paying attention to me. No one seemed to pay attention to her and my co-teacher brushed her off and just let her do her own thing. It was actually kind of sad. The way that learning disabled students are treated here is far different from home and can be quite upsetting. I won't get into this today because I vowed to stayed on a positive note, but I will write about it at a later time.

Communicating with my co-workers can be trying. Some people speak English to me, but many cannot or choose not to speak English. This leaves me feeling like an outsider most of the time. I am used to it now and it doesn't really bother me that much. The only thing I really get frustrated about is when I hear my name in a conversation and unless someone feels gracious enough to translate for me, I have no idea what they are saying. Yesterday at lunch my co-teachers, some other co-workers, and I got into a conversation about my leaving next fall. They asked me what my plans were and I told them I wanted to pursue my masters degree or teach. They were like "no, don't leave- you are a good teacher and we will miss you." They complimented me on my organization, good control with my classes, and my ability to be open to the Korean culture. I felt like I had really been accepted by my co-workers and hearing them praise me as a teacher felt great.

I got way too overexcited the the other day when I found out that Gregory David Roberts is writing a sequel to his best seller, Shantaram. If you have not read this book and are not intimidated by 900+ pages, then do yourself a favor and go pick up a copy. NOW. There is something in this intriguing tale for everyone. His writing is beautiful and immensely impressive. It is hands down one of the best books I have ever picked up and I have been recommending it to friends since I first read it a few years ago. Here are a few of my favorite quotes:

"Sometimes we love with nothing more than hope. Sometimes we cry with everything except tears.”

"If fate doesn't make you laugh, then you don't get the joke."

"Lovers find their way by insights and confidences; they are the stars they use to navigate the ocean of desire. And the brightest of those stars are the heartbreaks and sorrows. The most precious gift you can bring to your lover is your suffering."

"At first, when we truly love someone, our greatest fear is that the loved one will stop loving us. What we should fear and dread instead is that we won't stop loving them, even after they are dead and gone."

"Be true to love where ever you find it, and be true to yourself and everything that you really are."

"For this is what we do. Put one foot forward and then the other. Lift our eyes to the snarl and smile of the world once more. Think. Act. Feel. Add our little consequence to the tides of good and evil that flood and drain the world. Drag our shadowed crosses into the hope of another night. Push our brave hearts into the promise of a new day. With love: the passionate search for truth other than our own. With longing: the pure, ineffable yearning to be saved. For so long as fate keeps waiting, we live on. God help us. God forgive us. We live on."

Namaste

Sometimes Car Trouble is a Blessing in Disguise

My Korean-style Thanksgiving celebration was a success. We had delicious food, great company, and lots of fun celebrating last week.

homemade mashed potatoes & gravy

Sara, Hyun-jin, and I

not too shabby

As I mentioned, the Korean government mandated that all public school children receive the H1N1 vaccine in schools. Our students received the vaccine the other week and let me tell you, it was chaos. Mass chaos. First, there was a team of doctors, nurses, and public health staff that was brought into the school to set up their "station" in the science lab. All the teachers and office staff were running around like crazy trying to get everything prepared. Next they began with first grade and brought the students class by class into the hallway and lined them up. Their temperature was checked by sticking a thermometer into the students' ears, it was recorded on their sheet of paper, and then they were ushered into the science room for their vaccine. Many screams and cries were heard throughout the hallways that day. I was given the task of checking temperatures for 3rd-6th grade students. I figured that I stuck a thermometer into about 1,000 students' ears. I couldn't help but think about jabbing that thermometer a little deeper than necessary into the students' ears who constantly misbehave in my class..... wish I was kidding, but of course I would never..... The process took all morning and left everyone at school feeling exhausted and relived that it was over.

I was supposed to attend a training last weekend with my co-teacher and vice principal. I woke up bright and early at 7A.M. on a Saturday and was picked up a half hour later by my co-teacher. None of us were particularly excited about going to a voluntary school-related event on our day off, but the vice principal asked us to come and we kinda couldn't say no. (Actually I was running all my excuses through my head the night before, but decided to suck it up.) So we began the hour and a half journey to the very northern part of Korea for the event. Looking around us at the scenery we were seriously almost in North Korea. There were Korean army guards stationed at posts just off the highway. We got almost all the way to the city the training was being held in and my co-teacher's car broke down in the middle of the highway. She called for help and we had to stand outside in the freezing cold waiting for a tow. I was pessimistic thinking that it would take forever and amazing enough one showed about ten minutes later. We went to the mechanics and waited about an hour for the car to be fixed. While waiting, my co-teacher turned to me with a sly grin and said "I guess I have to call the vice principal and tell her we won't make it today." I knew what she really meant was "thank God we get to go home and crawl back into bed." My thoughts exactly.

We celebrated my friend's last weekend here in Korea Saturday night. We began at one of my favorite places in Seoul called Rainbow Room. It is a little hippy hookah bar with dim lights, floor seating, and a chill atmosphere. Then our night took us to Hongdae where were danced the night away in true Seoul fashion. Great weekend with great people.

Rainbow in Gangnam

yum green apple hookah

goodbye Mina

I attended a training course for GEPIK public school teachers in my province Monday through Wednesday of this week. I was dreading it a little, but was actually a lot of fun. It was helpful speaking to people teaching in similar situations as me with large class sizes, unruly kids, and problems motivating students to learn English. I got a lot of great ideas, made some new friends, and drank a lot of soju.

Since Christmas is coming up and my birthday just a few months after that I thought I would put together a small wish list for anyone wanting to send me something over here. I am not asking for presents, but just thought if it had crossed your mind to send something, but you weren't sure what- here are some ideas of things I miss/would appreciate. Most of these things can be found here, but are really pricey and/or far away to purchase, especially good books/mags.

• Christmas cookies
• Orbitz whitening gum (spearmint or peppermint)
• Kraft easy mac
• Elle or InStyle magazines (used would be great too! they are $7 or more a pop here!)
• books (would LOVE some more good reads)
• English picture books to use for teaching
• stickers, book marks, other fun things for my students
• Jergens self tanning lotion
• Burt's Bees chap stick
• watermelon sour patch kids, sweedish fish, or green package of starburts

really excited to see Christmas decorations up

If you have never read "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho do yourself a favor a pick up a copy. It is a short read jam packed with great insights about life, love, and the pursuit of your destiny. I just re-read it for the umpteenth time and wanted to share some of my favorite quotes.

"The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon."

"When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

"One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving."

"Because it's not love to be static like the desert, nor is it love to roam the world like the wind. And it's not love to see everything from a distance, like you do. Love is the force that transforms and improves the Soul of the World."

-Paulo Coelho-

The Alchemist

Happy December!

Namaste

Mental Tug O' War

The last month has been more than a little insane. Let me recap briefly; packed and all set to leave for a year in South Korea, phone call 2 days before departure: "no job, sorry", not going to South Korea, contemplating how to get a teaching job at the last minute, trying to figure out where to go, skeptical to take another teaching job in Korea, narrowed it down to Korea or NYC, Korea or NYC, Korea or NYC, Korea or NYC........................ and finally Korea wins out.

This emotional roller-coaster I have been stuck on has taught me a lot about life and myself these past few weeks. I have realized that not everything is going to work out as you had hoped, and sometimes you get the short end of the stick for no reason. I have also realized that my adventurous spirit is strong and a large part of me craves the unknown. I feel that this was my deciding factor in this instance and it has led me to some of the most amazing experiences of my life in the past.

I have decided to write this blog during my time overseas, not only to keep you all up-to-date with what I'm doing over there, but also for people contemplating coming to Korea to teach, and lastly, for myself.

I have not been able to put down the book I am currently reading, Dark Star Safari by Paul Theroux. Not because it is particularly fascinating or anything, but because of his close attention paid to detail and the experiences that he writes about during his travels. I had not kept a journal during my stints in Africa and I find myself re-reading my emails I wrote while traveling in order to get a sense of what I felt and experienced while abroad. I know that this blog will provide a way for me to journal and I will always be able to go back and remember those experiences again through my writing.

As far as reaching people who are contemplating coming to Korea, I would hope that you can use my blog to view one person's opinions and feelings while living and working in a foreign country. I say this because some days are not going to be easy and some things are going to be hard and I want to write it all.

Here's what I know. I will be teaching at a public elementary school called Neulpureun Elementary School. (click on the school name to get to it's website, although it is all in Korean!) I will be living in Bundang, which is in the Gyeonggi province. It is located south of Seoul. I am just guessing, but I think it is like 20 min./ half hour away from the city. I will have my own furnished apartment close to school. I will be working with a Korean co-teacher to help bridge the gap with the language barrier. I know I will be teaching English, but may end up teaching other subjects as well. I will actually begin teaching the first week of October. Other than that, I will let you know when I do!

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard the old "everything happens for a reason" pep talk in the past few weeks, but I know it must be true. I finally feel at peace and am eager and excited to see what awaits me in the Eastern Hemisphere.

The best travel is a leap in the dark. If the destination were familiar and friendly, what would be the point of going there?

-Paul Theroux-

Dark Star Safari

Namaste