The Adventures of Lauren in Korea

Last week at Bokja part 1

2010-12-20T16:01:00.008+09:00

I had my girls make Christmas cards in class today because I believed that after the way they worked their butts off on finals, they deserved some fun time. The catch was that they had to write the write the cards in English!

This activity came after singing Jingle Bells and Rudolph. Christmas Carols are a required part of the holiday curriculum in my mind. (so says the music teacher.) They laughed as I cued them on when to start singing. When they remembered I was a music teacher by trade, they laughed some more.

But, back to Christmas card making: these girls are insanely creative if they're allowed to be. I brought in glue sticks, wrapping paper, cutouts of different holiday pictures, scissors, and markers/crayons. I've never seen them work so intently on anything. We had pop-out cards, moving cards, cards of different shapes, and everything in between.

A few of my girls made me Christmas cards ... and I took pictures. Here are the outsides ...

And here are the insides of a few of the cards ...

Yeah, I definitely teared up a little today. Remember, it's only Monday.

Annyoung,
Lauren

Private students

2010-12-16T22:08:00.005+09:00

One of the first few weeks I was here I picked up a private student. I've had several other offers but every time I try to arrange something with them, it always fell through. Luckily this girl hasn't.

Her name is Myeong Yeon, and she is a 1st grade middle school student (Our 7th grade. She will be in 8th grade in March). She is one of the most darling girls in the world, and she’s come a long way in 3 months as well. We have 1 hour lessons once a week on Thursdays where I had originally planned on teaching her conversational English mixed in with a little bit of reading comprehension.

Her mother altered that plan and wanted me to focus on reading and pronunciation from this awful pre-teen book. She had no concern about comprehension as long as her pronunciation was right. Well, thank goodness I'm the teacher and can modify things to make them appear as if I am accomplishing the goal her mother wants.

During out lessons we learn new vocabulary and work on comprehension within a reading and pronunciation framework. I wish it didn't have to be from this awful pre-teen book though.

In addition, her mother is a nut-job. She confiscated her daughter's cell phone for a bizarre reason, leaving me without a means of communication with Myeong Yeon. This resulted in her blowing off a lesson because she couldn’t call me because she didn’t have my phone number. Her mother refuses to pay for it as well saying “she wasn’t there, so why do I need to pay you?” I don't want to make her daughter suffer, so I just let it slide.

Today, Myeong Yeon comes running into my apartment after 2 weeks of no lessons due to finals, and the first thing she says is, "Lauren! I've missed you so much!" She shows me a brochure for this movie she went to go see with her favorite actor. I could tell that she worked on how to explain the movie to me, primarily because she was slowly speaking the new words that she is trying to add to her vocabulary, and looking at me ensuring that they were correct. We discuss the movie and the actors for a few minutes, and then she goes into her backpack and pulls out her English final exam. She hands me the paper with a small smile on her face. I look down the page and see no 'X' marks. I just see each problem with a big 'O' around it. I look back at her;

"A circle means it's right?"
"Yes..."
"I see all circles..."
"Yes..."
"You got a perfect on your English exam? You're awesome. I'm so proud of you!"

She had the biggest smile on her face and she grabbed my hand with this look of absolute satisfaction. I'm not sure how much praise she gets at home, but this girl deserves a little bit more of it. She told me about how she was crying this past week from stress over her exams. A 13-year-old girl should not be crying over stress of studying. I'm sorry but that's wrong. This poor girl studies harder than I probably ever have in my life (with maybe the exception of my music history and music theory finals … and maybe my senior recital.) But students here start doing that at age 13 and go all the way through high school and college in a similar manner! They don't have a life and they don't ever have time to be kids. I find some major fault in this system.

Whenever Myeong Yeon walks in my door, I turn on the doting aunt switch. I take out food for her to eat, we talk about what is going on in her life, and you can tell she just relaxes for an hour. She tells me stories from school, I tell her stories from when I was a student, and we laugh. You can help kids learn better when they feel safe. If the environment is not safe, the learning process is harder because information doesn't stick. This holds especially true when they're in middle school -- there is too much self discovery during these years.

The more I think about it, the harder I realize it is going to be leaving my students in a few weeks. I get teary-eyed thinking about it. Right when I am finally getting to see how huge the personalities of my students are, when they are finally showing me their quirky sides, and when they’re finally begin to open up and tell me about their lives, I need to go.

I find something about this situation slightly unfair, and I think it's unfair on both sides of the coin.

The streets behind Bokja

2010-12-08T12:06:00.004+09:00

So if you will remember, the drivers of Korea are kind of insane. Calling it aggressive would be an understatement. About two months ago, by the back entrance of school, the city installed a crosswalk. This was, of course, after many months of petition from the Bojka school nuns, the boys’ high school down the street, and the two or three middle schools in the area. Multiple accidents happened because the students couldn’t cross to get to their school, and I think the city finally relented.

Now that there is a cross walk and a button to press to help the students cross the street, the traffic occasionally stops at the red light. It’s amazing to see. But more often than not, if there is a student crossing, the car will zip through the light before the student gets to their side of traffic. Can’t win them all I suppose.

But once this crosswalk went up, it seemed that the instillation came with an adorable little ahjushi (old man) with a navy blue baseball cap. Every morning when I walk to school, he is standing at this crosswalk pressing the button every time a group of students need to cross the street. I’ve been at work as early as 7:30 and as late as 8:15, and every day for the last 6 weeks, he has been there pressing the walk button each time a student approaches.

And every time I walk up to the cross walk, he is there. Every morning, he tips his hat and bows to me. Of course, I bow back as a return greeting. And a moment later, I cross the street. He’s made this crosswalk his unofficial job in the morning. But I have never seen him when school lets out.

None of the students ever pay attention to him, but he is there every day, regardless of the weather, pressing that walk button and making sure every student gets to school safely.

Hurrah for sweet old people :)

The Return of the Rooster

2010-12-06T22:24:00.006+09:00

So remember that rooster? The one who serenades me in the morning at school? Well, he was off waking up the neighborhood this morning after a short vacation. (He seemed to be missing for a week. Must have been vacationing in Thailand where it's warmer.)

Well, I heard him this morning about 9am while reading at my desk, and of course, I began giggling. That stupid bird never fails to make me laugh, even on a blustery Monday morning in December. Angela and I gave each other a small smile, and continued to do our work. I asked if she wanted some chicken for dinner and she began to laugh saying that we can't eat our pet.

About 1:00pm or so, he began cockle-doodle-dooing again, and I began to laugh some more. Rosa looked over my desk and we both shook our heads.

Rosa: "Lauren, I found out some interesting news about our pet rooster today."

Me: "Really, what is it?"

Rosa: "He belongs to the school. It's the school's rooster."

Me: "No, you're just trying to tease me."

Rosa: "No, I'm serious. It belongs to the school. I think he belongs to one of the nuns."

Now at that point, I was left completely speechless. I asked where this rooster lives because I want to take a photo of him, but no one seemed to know. I am now of a firm belief that this is a phantom rooster. No one has seen this blasted bird. No one knows much about this blasted bird. He randomly disappears and reappears.

More on the phantom rooster when I have more tales to report, my lovely audience.

But now, I need to go to sleep.

annyoung gayseyo,
Lauren

Quotes from the halls of Bokja Girls High School 12.2.10

2010-12-02T17:13:00.003+09:00

Walking home from school
Student: Oh! Lauren! Hi!
Me: Hi, how are you?
Student: Good. You try! (Shoving food in my face)
Me: (moving away) Wait, what am I eating?
Student: Waffle sandwich. Delicious. You try.
Me: Wait...(as I open my mouth, waffle sandwich gets shoved in)
Student: See! It's good!

Sitting in office
Student: Lauren, I have a question.
Me: What's up?
Student: what does "burnt to a crisp" mean?
Me: It's an expression. I'll explain. Say I decide to go to the beach and I forget to wear sunscreen, after a few hours, I would be burnt to a crisp...
Student: You would be very stupid also.
Me: Well, that too.

In classroom
Student 1: Teacher, you so sexy!
Student 2: Yes, very very sexy. Oww oww!
Me: What are you talking about? I'm wearing a blouse with one button undone! This is not sexy.
Student 3: They need to grow up.
Me: Excuse me?
Student 3: Did I use phrase right?
Me: Yes. Where did you learn that?
Student 3: Don't remember. But I like a lot.

In classroom
Student 1: Teacher! Your outfit, I like it.
Student 2: Yes. Very cool. Very hip.
Me: Thanks girls. Are you two girls my fashion directors?
Student 2: Are you Barbie then?

During class
Me: Ok girls, what else do you think of when I say the word Christmas?
Student 1: Boyfriend! Couples!
Me: Why do you think of boyfriends?
Student 1: Because boyfriend buy present. Boyfriend and me kissy kissy.
class: Ahhh!!!
Me: You girls need more boys in your life.
class: Yes!!!
Student 2: Teacher, you find boyfriends for us?
Student 3: Your brother? He have girlfriend?
Me: We are ending this conversation ...

Before class
(Walking into classroom)
Me: Good morning, girls!
Student 1: Hello Lauren! I love you!
Student 2: I think she lesbian.
class giggles
Student 1: I love you too!
Student 2: I was right.
Me: Well, I love all of you girls. Does that make me a lesbian?
Student 3: No, that makes you a teacher.

After class
Me: Goodbye girls. Have a good day.
Student: No! Don't leave us!
Me: Awe, that's sweet. Why don't you want me to go?
Student: Because we have math now.

Annyoung,
Lauren

On being a music teacher ...

2010-12-01T17:17:00.002+09:00

I am still a music teacher. Today I think I discovered that I will always be a music teacher.

This week and next week, all of the freshman and sophomore classes at Bokja will have a class concert during their last music class of the semester. (What an awesome idea. I’m putting that one in the back of my mind if I ever teach an ESL classroom only)

Anyways, this week I’ve been receiving personal invites from my students to go their concert. This not only makes me feel so loved by my students, but I am quite excited to see how skilled they are as well. Many of my girls either play violin, flute, or piano (or all of the above.) But a small handful of them play traditional Korean instruments too, such as the ocarina. This gives me an amazing opportunity to continue bonding with my students until the end of the semester, and gives me the feeling of teaching a music class today.

Today was the day that I realized that you can take the music teacher out of the classroom but that changes very little in the way she thinks. A freshman student came up to me today before class started. She began asking me about a rhythm in her solo piece for the class concert, and I became far too excited to help her out. Another student asked me about phrasing (didn’t use the word phrasing, but she sure did stumble around it.) I was significantly more excited to help them than they will ever be aware of.

I adore the ESL/EFL classroom. There is very little I love more than it. But the one thing I do love more than it is the music classroom. For a minute, I felt like I was home from just a simple question on how to read a dotted rhythm. I love the loud rehearsals, I love the learning process of working on a new piece of music, I love having dozens of students in a class at once, I love the group dynamic that is established, I seeing a bunch of them flocking to the room during breaks, and I love the emotion that drives the class and the students. The whole energy makes you feel alive.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I want to take most of these girls home with me back to my future classroom in the states. I can already tell how much I am going to miss these girls, and knowing that I will be leaving them in less than a month breaks my heart. This was my first real classroom. This was the first time I truly taught solo – my class, my rules, my students. I did as I wished every day. It was my demeanor that created the mood. I had no one telling me right from wrong besides my own internal guide. If something went well, it is because of me. If something went wrong, it is because of me. I love knowing that I am the factor that controls failure and success. And I could not imagine a more beautiful and safe environment to learn in.

Recently, I’ve taken to practicing in between periods at school. I hide in the music room above the library with my Mozart, Schumann, and Bernstein and practice for an hour or so. As the periods end, I see my girls unaware of my presence, run into the music room to practice on the piano. When they see me they freak out a little and say, “Oh Teacher! So sorry! We no see you!” I laugh a little and tell them, “No no, keep practicing. I want to hear you play.” Then they laugh and keep playing. And for another minute, I feel at home.

I go home at night and conduct to the music playing from my computer (be it intentionally or unintentionally.) I still dream of being in front of an ensemble on stage. When walking around Cheonan, I get excited when I see people carrying gig bags. Some waygooks get excited to see other waygooks around, but I get excited over gig bags. If I come back to Korea, I need to be in Seoul … or find a way to make my high school allow me to teach music classes. I am not going on a music hiatus this long ever again. When I head to a concert, I don’t want to sit in the audience being jealous of the members on stage. (That happened a few weeks ago, and it tore my heart out.) Not being in music rehearsals absolutely kills me. I need to be in an ensemble, be it on the podium or as a member.

I don’t think I ever realized how much of a musician and music teacher I am until today.

One simple question on reading rhythms.

And yes Daddy, this is another introspective blog post.

And North Korea attacks again

2010-11-24T15:33:00.004+09:00

When I went to Israel in December of 2008, the war in Gaza was just breaking out. Many of the towns that our tour group passed through were hit by missiles from Gaza, and one town that we were supposed to go to was hit the day before we went there. (Needless to say, we didn't end up going.) I remember my family members were all extremely nervous, and I cannot say I blamed them. But that was different. In Israel I saw tanks driving by our bus. I heard fighter planes overhead. You knew that a battle was going on. It was not just a short volley of missile fire. It was constant, and had been for some time.

But I got home alive and well. It will be no different in this case.

I am in a town called Cheonan, which is about 100 miles south from the DMZ as the crow flies. As most everyone is well aware, yesterday about 2:30 or so in the afternoon, North Korea sent missiles to Yeonpyeong Island off the coast of Korea. The island is near the DMZ zone in the West Sea. It is a small fishing island with a South Korean military base on it, and a population of under 2000 civilians.

Here's a good article I saw on the event if you care to read more
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/25/world/asia/25seoul.html

I didn't even realize what happened towards the north until I got a Skype voicemail from a friend freaking out. That is how unconcerned people are here. Someone at school might have read the news, but no one told me. I had zero idea.

Soon after I called him down, I checked Facebook where Brad sent me a message asking me if I'm ok and what is happening.

From there, people started figuring out the situation.

The number of emails, phone calls, and other messages I have received is amazing. (Thank you all for making me feel so loved, by the way.) But here, it is almost disconcerting how much people just shrug off the whole event! It's almost as nothing happened. The whole western world is having a panic attack and all the Korean citizens shake their heads thinking, “oh naughty North Korea.” One of my co-teachers told me this happens every other year or so, though it is surprising that it occurred on a predominantly civilian island. But people just ignore the scenario entirely.

Apparently, North Korea does this for attention and usually because they're low on provisions. The North doesn't have much to lose, but the South does. This makes the South give the North what they want to get them to shut up a while, and everything continues as before. Even though South Korea has allies all over the world, North Korea has a standing army of 1.1 million. Now, chances are, once the military marched into South Korea, most soldiers would make a break for it and run and hide as to not return to the North, but still.

I've been reading the facebook statuses of my friends in Korea and there are some pretty amusing ones including:

Korean Native: "Every foreign friends !!!! thanks for the caring !! i'm fine and South Korea will be fine 2 ! when war breaks out i will be at ur room ,,, just don't kick me out ! :)"

Waygook: "Sigh. Not again."

Waygook: "NORTH KOREA......yes they fired at South Korea... yes they have done this before......yes they may be doing it for attention...and yes most south Koreans are probably going to ignore this one too and pay no attention to it..."

Waygook: "This is as normal as an ahjumma walking down the street wearing big flower printed pants, a polka-dotted blouse, and a visor. Koreans aren't even paying attention. It's barely even news."

Waygook: "So about that DMZ trip we're heading on? Should we still go? I think we should still go."

And most haven't even commented on it.

I am registered at the embassy. They know I'm here. All is well. No worrying until I say it's ok to worry.

Under 6 weeks until I'm headed back to the states. Now that is scary!

Annyoung,
Lauren

A few thoughts about grammar

2010-11-16T18:47:00.004+09:00

I was going to save this post for later, but I changed my mind. I will get back to the travel and funny student quote posts later this week. I had a few more good ones today from my freshman and a couple from my sophomores.

As most people from my generation know, we were never really taught grammar. It was sort of unconsciously exposed to us through literature, expository essays, and random corrections that were never specifically explained. I always took it at face value, shrugged my shoulders, made the corrections in red ink, turned in the paper, and because it was English class, I usually got an A. (Though I am sure my mother is grumbling right now wondering how I got an A with my crummy spelling and grammar.)

English grammar was removed from the curriculum, according to my textbooks, during the late 1970's to early 1980's. Reading scores began going down, so the government decided that reading, not grammar, needs to come first. Students will soak in grammar through literature and other works of fiction and nonfiction. The student population can learn through osmosis, all will be hunky-dory in the universe, and we will all live happily ever after. The end.

Well, we know what happened. Students stopped learning grammar. Every so often I had an English teacher try to explain direct and indirect clauses, what the subjunctive is, and what possessive pronouns were to my class. But I can assure you, he or she received a classroom of 20-30 blank expressions, and at that point, they probably said screw it!

I received more grammar in my Spanish classes than I did in my English classes. In those classes, all the students ran into trouble because we didn't know what a past participle was to save our lives. The Spanish teachers, (and probably the rest of the foreign language department), groaned incessantly about how the English teachers were not doing their jobs, and how it shouldn't be their responsibility to teach basic grammar principles along with a foreign language. Well, I'm certain this cycle is continuing to this moment.

To tell you the truth, I wish I learned grammar. It would have helped me write better, edit better, and teach better. But obviously that didn’t happen. If you give a man a fish he will eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he will eat forever. Well, if you correct a student’s grammar in a paper, it will be right for that paper. If you teach a student how to use grammar, it has the potential to be right forever. Oh well, I guess I’m a hopeless case.

Now, what does this have to do with the teaching of English in Korea? (Now, this obviously excludes my mother sending me an email every time I post a blog, informing me about how the public education system failed her because I can’t write a proper clause to save my life.)

In Korea, the education system is failing these students as well, but not because they aren't teaching basic grammar points to their students. The reason they're failing their students, my students, is because they only teach grammar. These students who are dependent upon a basic knowledge of English to get into good schools are only taught grammar, and not conversational English. English conversation classes cost extra, they don't have it more than two times a week, and frankly, they don't know how to apply the grammar they "learn" into conversation class because they're only taught how to answer these questions in a multiple-choice setting. These grammar classes are taught strictly in Korean. Now, that is all well and good if you're looking to translate a book such as Pride and Prejudice from English to Korean, but that does you little to no good when you're looking to show your foreign language proficiency to an employer or a college. It also doesn't do you much good when you're trying to hold a conversation with someone or ask how to get around a foreign city.

Of course, I become even more frustrated because here I am, trying to help my students express themselves in English, and they are so used to being reprimanded for not giving a perfectly correct answer that they are scared to even try. I am not talking only about speaking, but this includes writing as well. When I try to have my students write in English, they are so concerned about their grammar, spelling, and all of that hullabaloo, that they are too afraid to write at all. All they know how to do is pick option A, B, C, or D as a correction to a reading passage. They can't even write in the language with the grammar knowledge they are trying to learn. It is so ridiculous!

Some students get so frustrated and scared that they drop out of English conversation class all together. Then the system not only fails them in a sense that they don’t have enough time to properly learn to speak the language, but it fails them because they don’t know what to do besides give up.

So, I know that I have my mistakes in grammar. But trust me, I believe that grammar is important. It is bad that here I am, becoming certified to teach English as a second and/or foreign language, and I have such absurd mistakes. (Though, I typically forget to go through and edit my entries as well, which may be part of the problem.) However, when it comes to my students, I believe that their primary goal should be becoming conversationally fluent, not having perfect grammar. They are not looking to become published authors yet, if ever. If they are understood, that is all I care about. Conversational fluency is the goal they should be working towards, not grammatical perfection. Once they can fumble their way around the English language, then we can work on having all the proper tenses, correctly arranging clauses, and properly learning participles.

But that is just this idealistic teacher's opinion. We all know how far that got me. It got me to having my mother edit my Korean blog entries 6500 miles away, almost seven years after high school graduation.

Quotes from the halls of Bokja High School 11.15.2010

2010-11-15T08:42:00.008+09:00

Before 1st period class, in office
Student 1: Teacher! We have something for you!
Me: Good morning, what do you have?
Student 2: We went to restaurant for dinner and it was so delicious
Student 1: So we bring you name of restaurant.
Student 2: Look. Modern Korean Cuisine. Beef, salad, so good!
Student 1: Very cheap and very delicious. Oh yum!
Student 2: Yes yes, cheap and delicious. In Chongju. Not too far. You go with friends!
Me: Oh thank you. I will try to go. I love cheap and delicious food.
Students: Yes, very cheap and very delicious. You go and then tell us about it.

(side note: Chongju is an hour away...well, it looks like I might need to take a trip)

In 2nd period class
Me: Why are you girls so quiet today? You don't want to talk at all, and I don't know why."
Student 1: We took huge test on Sunday and we're sleepy.
Student 2: You tell us about your weekend!
Me: I know English, I don't need to practice it.
Student 2: Then say it in Korean!
Me: You're funny.
Student 3: We are hysterical.

(She picked up hysterical from me because I tell them that all the time. I was really proud that she used that word correctly.)

In 4th period class

Screen saver on computer came on with pictures of my family and friends from home
Student 1: Lauren! Ah!
Me: What's wrong?
Student 1: Go back one picture on computer. (The photo is of Mom and I at Brad's Bar-Mitzvah)
Whole class: Ahh!
Me: That's just me and my mom at a family party...what's wrong?
Student 2: You look way much like her. That is scary.
Student 3: How do you feel about that?
Me: Hey, at least I'll look good when I become an ahjumma! How many of you girls can say that?
Student 2: Oh no. I'm in trouble.

In 6th period class

About to show Harry Potter trailer to students
Student 1: Oh my G-d, Lauren! You use Mozilla?
Me: Yes, why?
whole class giggles
Me: What's wrong with Mozilla. I can't use Naver because I don't speak Korean.
(Naver is the Korean search engine.)
Student 2: Mozilla means something in Korean
Student 1: Do you know what it means?
Me: Unless it's food or common words, I don't know much Korean. You girls know that.
Student 3: It's not a very nice word. But not swear word.
Me: So will you tell me?
Student 1: It means you missing something in brain. Brain is missing something important.
Student 2: It means stupid but more mean.
Me: Ooh. I understand.
Student 3: Haha teacher, you mozilla!

Got to love Mondays.

annyoung,
Lauren

Quotes from the halls of Bokja Girls High School 11.11.10

2010-11-11T15:25:00.005+09:00

Three sophomores standing around my desk:
Student 1: "Lauren Teacher, we wanted to be in your class! We had paper-scissors-rock game and lost!"
Student 2: "Other students got to be with you instead. We so sad!"
Student 3: "Now we get in trouble with Gary-Teacher because we talking in class."
Me: "Then why did you talk when you shouldn't?"
Student 2: "Because we are girls?"

While talking to Andrew on Skype before class:
student: "Oh Teacher! He's so cute!"
me: "The microphone is on; he can hear you. Say hi to Andrew."
students: "giggle giggle Hi Andrew, where you from?"
Andrew: "I live in California."
students: "Oh! Wow! Bye!"
me: "Class is about to start, ttfn..."
Andrew: "Bye."
I turn off Skype
students: "Teacher! He so handsome! Is he your boyfriend?"
me: "No, he's not my boyfriend."
students: "Why teacher? So cute-uh!"
me: "uhh...let's watch our movie."

Before class
Student 1: "Lauren Teacher, I want to watch Glee movies."
Student 2: "Oh! Tick Tock! We watch Tick Tock!"
Me: "I will play the song before class, but today we're watching a movie. You know that."
Student 2: "Oh ok. "
Student 1: "After movie we watch Glee?"
Me: "Nice try. Not today. Maybe later."
Student 2: "But Lauren, you look like Rachel! We watch your twin in Glee!"
Me: "Funny, girls."
Student 1: "We tried."

Before a different class
Student: "Teacher! You look so smart today!"
Me: "What do I look like on other days?"
Student: "Like a teacher."

During Clueless scene with Cher and Christian at the Frat party
Student: "Oh My G-d, Lauren!"
Me: "Oh My G-d, what?"
Student: "Do high school girls dress like that at parties?" (gestures to Tai in overalls and Amber in fluffy red tulle thing)
Me: Only if they're clueless.
Student: I hope you're not clueless.

And this is just a small selection that I remember. I should start doing these entries more often. They say some pretty priceless things.

Facing fears and removing the "I can't"

2010-11-08T22:15:00.004+09:00

The few weeks before I left for Korea, I was petrified. Yes, I hid it well. Most would think that I was slightly apprehensive mixed with a small handful of excited butterflies. No. I was scared out of my wits. Chicago was this comfort blanket, and with the exception of going to Israel with Birthright, I had never been more than a few hundred miles from Chicago. Heck, I'd never even been west of Des Moines, Iowa.

I came here to do more than teach English, though being in an environment where I am able to teach is always my first goal. I came here to face all of these fears that I have, all the "I can't's" that I've always believed. They've kind of piled up over the years. None of them are inhibiting per say, but they sure do get in the way.

I have actually overcome a few of the "I can't's" and fears since I've been here, though it always took a little bit of time to convince to do things the first time around. Most of these won't be looked upon as any major accomplishments. They aren't all that huge, but I like to think of them as little stepping stones to becoming a stronger person.

I traveled to Seoul by myself. Since I've been in Korea over three months now, I've done it quite a few times, but it has officially gotten rid of my fear of traveling alone in an unknown location. Even when I got lost, I managed to find my way back to where I wanted to be. My opinion is if I can navigate my way around a foreign city where I don't speak the language, surely I can find my way around most places. So much for that fear!

I ran a 5K. Yes, me, Lauren, the student every gym teacher hated because she chose to walk the mile; the student who cannot do a cartwheel if her life depended on it; the student who found every possible way to get out of gym class without getting a detention, including, but not limited to: peer mediation, nurse's office, writing center, band lessons, etc, has run a 5K...

And I finished in under 43 mintues. So much for "I can't run."

I coordinated the travel for 7 members of our Korea group to Jeju-do. All the travel plans (excluding the part where had to get from the port to the hotel) went so incredibly smoothly that I shocked myself. So much for "I can't plan a trip because I'll mess it all up!"

I'm learning to read Hangul (Korean alphabet), I'm working on learning to speak it as well. The reading has progressed better than the speaking, but I must say that I have shocked even myself. I am still having problems with vowels, but it is much improved. So much for being afraid to try and learn a new language. (If I do decide to come back and teach for a whole year, I am taking Korean lessons before I go.)

But I have a few more fears I want to confront before I go back to the states to live in my next stage of limbo. The biggest of these fears that I want to face is my problem with needles. I am determined to do so. There is nothing I dread more than a shot. I squirm like I'm five-years-old all over again. It's absolutely ridiculous, and I am ashamed of myself because of it. The flu shot makes me freak out for crying out loud! When I entered undergrad, I wanted to donate blood every time I saw the signs on campus. I would walk into the place, start to fill out paperwork, then I saw the bags with the blood and the needles, and I politely asked to leave. After a while, I gave up.

I am determined to try acupuncture before I leave. I've heard from various people that it helps them with stress, pain, and headaches even. Others claim it assists blood circulation. It's incredibly inexpensive here and the wife of the biology teacher at my school is an acupuncturist. She runs an Oriental Medicine clinic in Cheonan. I figured I might as well try it.

I am determined to get over this needle fear. One of my co-teachers, Angela, is also scared of needles. I'm trying to get us go to try acupuncture together. Her mother has been trying to persuade her for years now. We'll see if it works.

We'll see if I can think of anything else to try the next 2 months before I get back on an airplane for Chicago. My time here has gone way too quickly. The next 6-8 months will be in Chicago, then we'll see where I head next.

Annyeoung,
Lauren

Naejangsan National Park

2010-11-07T13:03:00.011+09:00

I went on my last hike of the season this weekend. Towards the southwestern portion of the Korean peninsula is a national park called Naejangsan. Very few wagooks (foreigners) know about this park. Most head to the north to Soraksan (Northeastern portion of South Korea) for the fall changing leaves. Luckily, I did my research and discovered this park. Due to how far south it is, it is one of the last mountain ranges on the peninsula to change colors. Once again, Amy was my travel buddy.

Jeongeup, the city Naejangsan is in, is one of the largest towns in the Jeolla-do province. This luckily makes it a KTX (bullet-train) station. KTX is the most expensive mode of travel within the province, so most folks who take the train are rather snooty. On the train, we were watching a TV show on her iPod and giggling. Because of us laughing, we got yelled at by an angry man in front of us. I suppose people don't pay W20,000 to hear two foreign girls giggling. How dare they! If Jacob was with me, he would have gone on a rampage at this guy about how this isn't a library. But we decided not to test the waters, and shut up.

It took a little over 1 1/2 hrs to get to Jeongeup. We pulled into the station about 10:40pm, and decided that instead of going to the little tourist town outside the national park, we were going to find a motel near the train station and stay there the night. I had no desire to sleep in a jimjilbang that evening, and I know that Amy didn't either. A bed sounded like a significantly better idea before hiking mountains.

Love Motels are always found around the train and bus terminals. Prices range from W40,000 on up to W90,000. Before searching for a place to sleep, Amy and I decided to not spend more that W60,000 between the two of us. The first place said W70,000, the second W80,000 which we haggled down to 70,000 but still was more than we wanted to spend. Finally, the third place said W55,000. Due to how exhausted we were, that sounded fine.

The love motel's room was quite nice in fact. They had a decent bathroom, the owner gave us toothbrushes, it had shampoo and conditioner in the bathroom, and there was a TV and computer in there as well. The room was a little smoky, (everyone in this country smokes), but it was tolerable. But the sheets on the bed made the room. The linens were plastic coated! I suppose this makes it easy to clean up because, well, it is a love motel!

We fell asleep in no time at all. Both of us had a long week of work, and were horribly exhausted. At 6am, we woke up, and were out of the motel by 6:20am. After going to Family Mart (Korean 7-11) for a bad can of coffee and breakfast, we got into a taxi to head to Naejangsan for sunrise.

Naejangsan is an enormous park with many peaks, multiple temples, several waterfalls, and at least a dozen hiking paths. The parks hours are from sunrise to sunset, which obviously means it changes throughout the year. It is open all year long, though certain paths are closed in winter, including one of the paths we were on.

When we first arrived, we went to the visitor's information center to pick up a few maps to help decide which paths we wanted to go on. From reading a few Ex-Pats blogs on Korea, I discovered that if you take the cable car to midway up the 2nd highest peak, it helps you see sunrise from the mountain. As we were getting ready to go to the cable car we ran into Heidi, another girl from our travel group to Korea. We took the cable car up with Heidi and her friend Jen, and began hiking with them. As the trail became steeper, both of them bolted on ahead of us. They are quite athletic, and well, I’m a klutz. (So is Amy.) I would rather be safe than sorry.

As we hiked up the mountain, nearly every person we passed said hello, asked us "where-are-you-from" (it sounds like one word), or gave us words of encouragement such as "palli-palli" (faster, faster). Even if they didn't say anything, they always smiled at us. On the daily streets of Korea, people look very serious or stoic, but if you get them away from the city life, they are all smiles and friendliness.

The hike to the top of the mountain was fun and challenging. There were very steep steps and jumps over insane tree roots and rocks that you weren't quite sure how to negotiate without pulling a muscle. This includes portions that were definitely not for those scared of heights! The paths were quite narrow and didn't often have railings protecting you from 100's of kilometers down. Thus why I like to hike slowly! (:

The view from the peak was magnificent. The haze was just lifting from the mountains and the trees were vivid shades of gold and red. The maple trees (dampeong) were extraordinary. I'm no photographer, but even I could capture a little bit of the beauty with my lovely point-and-shoot camera. Due to how clear it was, you could see for miles in every single direction. The rumors of how beautiful Korea is in the fall is true. The mountains are on fire and there is nothing quite so beautiful.

On the top of the mountain, this ajumma and ajussi decided that feeding the waygooks persimmons was a good thing to do. (And it was -- if you have never eaten a frozen persimmon it takes like a slushy in a peel.) I sort of felt like a monkey at the zoo. Everyone wanted to look at the foreigners and feed them! They talked with us in broken English, took our picture from the top of the mountain, and were pleasant company.

Walking up the mountain is always a challenge due to how out-of-breath you get. Coming back down is a totally different story. While it doesn’t take the wind out of you, you feel as though you are learning to walk again. Negotiating height of rocks, roots, and steps is challenging when the downgrade is so intense. However, we made it down in one piece to where the cable car dropped us off.

From there, we started walking to the Buddhist temple near the entrance. When walking down the mountain on the snake path, I slipped on some leaves that were covered in dew and scraped up my hands. Tons of people stopped, helped me up, washed off my hands with their water, and looked for a walking stick for me. So much for Korean unfriendliness! (They didn't find a good one, but giggled about some of the twiggy looking sticks, while pretending that they were good for walking sticks.)

When we walked into the temple, it happened to be one of the two lantern holidays in Buddhism (the lesser of the two, because the big one is in April for Buddha's birthday.) The temple could not be more picturesque with the changing leaves behind the traditional hanok buildings, the colorful lanterns hanging in perfect rows, the sun shining brightly, and the temperature being crisp and cool. People were making offerings to the Buddha, monks were quietly walking around the temple grounds talking to people, and children were laughing and trying to jump and touch the lanterns.

At that point, Amy and I decided to take the temple trail walk which was approximately a 6 km easy hike around without 1m high rocks, and tree roots trying to bite your ankles and make you fall on your tuchus. (Amy fell on one of those earlier in the hike.) This hike was easy and the trails were wider than any hike I've been on. The path we were on had two more temples -- one with the tackiest Buddha statue I've ever seen in my life. Gold leaf Buddha on the side of the mountain. Yes, I know that is awful of me to say, but it's so true! The final temple was as beautiful as the first. It is situated against these great stone cliffs with the Dampeong in full color behind it. It was very peaceful there, and we could have walked around longer, but as we were quite hungry, we sped through towards the entrance.

When we got to the bottom, we ran into Heidi and Jen again. We sat down to eat with them and the first thing they did was give us Makgeolli, traditional Korean Rice wine. Some of the Makgeolli is delicious, others just horrid (almost as horrid as soju, but that is for another post.) This happened to be the best Makgeolli I've had. We ordered some traditional egg pancakes, and as we were doing so, some little adjummas behind us offered us pine-nuts. We happily took some, and we offered them some chocolate that we had. They took a little, and next thing we know, they're offering us, Heidi specifically, a little bottle of whiskey they had.

Mind you, as all of this is going on, since we're the only waygoogs around, people are trying to take photos of us on the sly. In our group of four at lunch had two blondes, (Amy and Jen), an Amazon woman, (Heidi is 5'11"), and me with a mess of naturally curly hair. We're kind of a sight. And as all of this is going on, we're eating the traditional spicy food with some mad chopstick skills and drinking Makgeolli. Since all four of us are used to being stared at, we all know what is going on. We've assimilated quite well into the culture with the exception of our looks.

Heidi and Jen had to get going because they were on a tour-group that day, but we took our time meandering back to the tourist village, magically finding ice cream on the way (how Korean of us.) We found a bus to take us back to Jeongeup Station, and we made it to our 6pm train right on time.

Once again, this is another place that I wish I had more time to wander around. There is a gorge there, a "Bridge of Love" (which I need to see just because of the name), and I wanted to hike up to the tallest peak. But there are only so many hours in the day, and only so much time to see this country that I’ve totally fallen in love with.

Caution to all my friends at home who read this: you may be dragged on some mad hiking trips when I return! The Rocky Mountains seem to be calling my name. (:

Annyoung,
Lauren

Just a quick giggle

2010-11-03T08:19:00.009+09:00

The town I live in, Cheonan, is a decent sized town by American standards, but by Korean standards it's still small. There is a population of about 600,000 and it is growing quickly because of young families moving into new highrises and many good schools are in the neighborhood. (This definitely includes Bokja, my high school.) However, once you leave Cheonan, you are in the middle of rice fields. Sort of the same way that once you leave most major university towns in the midwest(Think Champaign, Iowa City, Bloomington, etc.), you are surrounded by corn fields.

I get to school by 8am every morning. When I get here, I organize my desk, check my email, read the news, and get ready for my day. Quite normal.

Except for one thing.

The other day, I was sitting at my desk getting ready as I usually do, and I heard this bizarre noise outside the office window. I began listening closer to hear what it was. It wasn't the usual car horns, screeching tires, and jackhammers that I am used to, nor was it the screaming and giggling of my darling students.

All of a sudden, I heard it louder.

I looked over my desk at my co-teacher, Rosa, and she looked back at me.

"Is that a rooster?" she asked me in a confused voice with a smile. I listened closely, then nodded my head slowly with a small smirk on my face. It was definitely a rooster. A bloody rooster in the middle of Cheonan. A town with a population of 600,000+. I never even heard a stupid rooster in my five years in Iowa City! Mind you, it's 8:30am, and it was cockle-doodle-dooing as if the sun just came up.

Instantly, we began laughing hysterically. It's so absurd! I would understand if I lived in the country, a itty-bitty town in the middle of nowhere. But Cheonan? Really?

Our giggling stopped a minute or two later when the rooser shut up.

But about 15 minutes later, we heard the stupid bird cockle-doodle-dooing all over again. It was as if someone pressed the snooze button on the bird. I didn't know birds had snooze buttons. Once again, we both began giggling, shaking our heads in disbelief.

Ahh, that made my morning...or last few mornings.

Drivers in Korea

2010-10-31T19:39:00.006+09:00

Andrew began complaining this evening that I hadn't updated my blog in a month. I guess I sort of felt bad that I hadn't been keeping him (and you, my lovely non-existent readers) informed about my daily adventures. I get so fed up with the computer at school that I never update, and I don't commonly bring this one in. Maybe I'll try to write my daily musings down for your comic relief. They tend to be slightly entertaining, especially when I cannot understand certain customs and cultural differences.

I've fallen into the way of life relatively well. I don't have a problem not understanding most of the conversations around me. I can sleep on the floor now without a problem. My chopstick skills are relatively stellar. (I can eat rice with chopsticks!) I enjoy kimchi. I get cravings for kimbop (Korean sushi, so to speak). The ahjummas and ahjushis (old women and men) staring doesn't irritate me anymore. It seems normal to bow to your superiors. I cover my mouth with my hands when I laugh. Jimjilbangs are still the greatest invention since sliced bread. Frankly, I love my life here.

But some things in this country I just cannot get over.

Today's entry will be on just that. A "cultural difference", so to speak, that still drives me batty. Driving.

Now, don't get me wrong, there are bad drivers in every single country you go to, but drivers in Korea are ... um ... awfully aggressive.

I think of this scene from a "Family Guy" episode about the Asian woman driving every single day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pezdwLmU2H4

This scene is not a joke. It is true. It's worse when you're in the country and there are not just a few drivers scattered on the road. When you're in the US, you can spot these drivers a mile away and avoid them. You avoid them the same way you avoid the people with teddy-bears in the back of the car, those with their whole car decorated in bumper-stickers, and teenagers with beads hanging from their rear-view mirror.

Anyways, I digress. In America, (I cannot speak for other countries because I've only been to Israel, Heathrow Airport, and Cancun, Mexico), there are certain rules of the road which must be followed or you will be pulled over, ticketed, and maybe even have your license revoked. Some of these rules include stopping at red lights, obeying the speed limit, not making a U-turn in restricted areas, allowing pedestrians to cross at walkways, and weaving in and out of multiple lanes of traffic.

These are just suggestions in Korea. The cops don't do anything if these rules are broken, even if it is right in front of their faces. People speed right through red lights and lay on their horn to inform people that they are doing so. Many love speeding through red lights in front of school crosswalks when the light is red. They seem to especially love doing when the students are trying to cross. On my way to school every morning, I see many near-accidents where my girls almost get killed by a driver in a big ol' SUV. The best is when the buses look like they're about to play "bowling for pedestrians" at the crosswalk. This occurs dozens of times a day in front of the department store down the street from my apartment. The light is about to turn green, and it makes zero difference if people are still walking. The bus drivers drive right through the intersection with no mind for the students in their uniforms, ahjummas in their leopard printed pants and flowered shirts, women in their 7 cm heels, and the red light in front of their face!

Have I mentioned yet that sidewalks don't really exist except for on the main streets? Imagine all of this without sidewalks!

Oh, and this is just the start. Until I came to Korea, I believed that there were few things scarier than Chicago cab drivers. That is nothing compared to Korean cabbies. In their mind, there are no “rules of the road.” Speed limits do not matter, red lights do not matter, crosswalks do not matter, turn signals do not matter, and pedestrians certainly do not matter. It is common for them to make U-Turns across 8 lanes of traffic with a green light going in either direction. Of course, this is done while slamming the car horn with their hazard lights on.

In addition, Korean cabbies are the kings of multi-tasking. As they drive, they are watching TV, following their navigator, talking and/or texting on their cell phone, listening to the radio, and holding a conversation with the passenger in the back about their life story, while, of course, slamming their car horn and having their hazard lights on. I wish I was exaggerating. Anyone who has been here can vouch for this.

Every time you get into a cab, you feel like you're going to die.

The most incredible part of this?

I've only seen 3 accidents since coming to Korea. I just don't get it.

The best way of traveling in Korea

2010-10-02T10:31:00.004+09:00

I've done a fair deal of traveling since I've been in Korea. In the two months I've been here, (two months yesterday!), I've been to Seoul three times, Busan, Gongju, Buyeo (in transit, but I'll be back next week when I'm running that 5K), Mokpo, and Jeju. There is still so much more to see on my weekends and I am going to try and do as much as I can with the 3 months remaining here.

Hotels in this country are not cheap. Motels are more like "love motels" where people check out rooms for a few hours for some hanky panky time. Not quite my cup of tea and I feel so seedy staying there. But, the discovery of the jimjilbang not only provides me with a clean sleeping location, they are cheap, relaxing, and a poor English teacher's best option.

Jimjilbangs are 24-spas in Korea. For an affordable W8,000-W12,000, ($7-$10) you get a locker, a few towels (hand towels, of course, because Koreans do not believe in full-size towels), a pair of pajamas, and a mat+pillow for the evening. You take off your shoes when you enter the spa, put them into the assigned locker, and follow the arrows to your designated side of the spa (men and women of course). Once to your side, everything is completely in the nude. So you have everything from little old ahjummas (aunties) to toddlers walking around. But people leave you to yourself, and get to soak in hot tubs, salt baths, and a real shower! The have both a wet and dry sauna and cold tubs right next to it. They have options where you can pay to have a salt-scrub, massage, wax, and all the other amenities you find at all of the normal American spas. The fancier spas have more tubs. One of them that I was at in Seoul had ginseng tubs, different types of sea salt tubs, various temperature pools, and all that other jazz.

Once you're finished relaxing, you can head to the sleeping rooms which are typically on another floor. The spas have sleeping rooms of different varieties. One is a common-room sort of area with a TV set and a food bar where both men and women can sleep. There are warm rooms, single-gender sleeping rooms, and sometimes, if you're lucky, they have a snoring room too. Ah, the wonders of not having to listen to snoring in a dormitory like sleeping style.

You can go to the jimjilbang even if you don't want to sleep there -- typically they are a few thousand won less. But after a long day of traveling with a backpack on your shoulders, nothing feels better than a hot tub.

I'm having a mellow weekend after Jeju last week. I'll post all about my Jeju grand adventure tomorrow while screaming for my Hawkeyes at 9am on a Sunday morning in Korea. Eternal thanks to Nik for hooking me up to his TV set! Now that is what you call a true friend: one who never deprives another from Big 10 Football, even 6000+ miles away. Technology is an incredible thing. Here I am able to call cell phones and land lines an ocean away for $8 a month via skype, talk for free from computer to computer, hook up my computer to my friend's TV to watch football, and write a blog about a liberal American female's views of a patriarchal, conservative, and traditional society...and all her wonderful adventures.

I have a ton of errands to run today, so I will write soon.

Annyounghi Gehsehyo,

Lauren

A little bit about school...

2010-09-30T07:17:00.001+09:00

I'm quite awful at updating this ... but I doubt anyone really reads it so, I don't feel too bad.

I've been in Korea almost two months now. I finally feel like I can get around without too much of a problem. My life is settled here: I'm making friends, have a schedule with activities, and know how to communicate enough to order food, take a taxi, and ask where something is. I am trying to learn the foods still -- my students giggle whenever I try to pronounce items. I need them to make me a food manual. Maybe I'll make that into a project for them.

Angela and Rosa, my two co-teachers, are just the most wonderful people in the world. I feel totally comfortable with them, and couldn't ask for better people to work with. They pretty much keep to themselves at school -- most of the other teachers don't know any English besides "hello" and "bye" so as much as I try to communicate in interpretive dance and my few words of Korean, it makes it challenging to get to know them. But they always smile at me and bow when they see me, and I always do the same.

This week, we're discussing fables in my 2nd year class -- and I introduced their final project to them. They're going to make up two fables for me and make it into a little book. I'm going to them compile the stories together and have four little books from my students to bring back with me and use for my portfolio.

Next week is study week for the students -- there will be no classes. I'll be supervising a study-hall like class. The week after I have off Monday through Thursday, with class on Friday. That will be a brainless day for them -- probably a movie in my 2nd year class and games in my 1st year classes.

The week after I'm going to introduce British English to my 2nd years -- and we'll be watching Clueless and comparing it to Emma. Needless to say, I am excited for this. I need to figure out how exactly I want to go about this too.

My 1st years are the hard ones to plan for. During the break the next two weeks, I am going to try to lesson plan for the rest of the semester. Even a rough outline with activities and topics would be fantastic.

Time to go to school. The sun is getting up later and later and making it harder for me to get out of bed. I love fall, but I hate less sunlight every day.

Annyoung Haseyo,
Lauren

Even more differences between Korea and the USA

2010-09-13T16:51:00.003+09:00

1) Numbers on the elevator are backwards! For us, the numbers go from the top, down so in this fashion:
1
2
3
4
5
6

in Korea they go from the bottom up like this:
6
5
4
3
2
1

I still get confused in my elevator

2) The students clean their school every day after class is over. They are the ones who mop the floors, clean the chalkboards, take out the garbage, etc. They even clean the teacher's office.

3) Students stay at school studying well past 9pm at night. Most stay til at least 10pm.

4) There are almost no extra curricular activities. They get to explore their identity once they get to University. They are rarely taught to express themselves. So I try to fire them up in my class and have them speak their mind. Two of my classes today had good 20-25 minute discussions with me rarely entering conversations. I loved it.

5) The addresses are backwards from the way they are in the states.

For example this is my address:

Lauren Silverman
South Korea
Choongnam, Cheon An-Si
Seong Hwang Dong-9
Bokja Girls High School
330-130

And yes, that was shameless advertising for you to send me love letters via snail mail!

I am still exhausted from my trip to Seoul so it is time for a cat-nap before dinner and lesson planning.

A hike through Gongju

2010-09-10T17:03:00.005+09:00

So I've been slacking on this blog. Apologies to anyone who reads this.

On Saturday morning, Liza and I caught the bus to Gongju which is about an hour from Cheonan. There, we were meeting up with several other members from our NEIU group to go hiking. The mountain we were heading to was about 20 minutes outside Gongju. It is the tallest mountain in the area, and approximately 3km tall. Now, the extent of my hiking experience is limited to the hills of Iowa City, which during winter, considering how little Iowa City salts, can be pretty treacherous. Oh, and Masada. But neither of those can compare with this hike.

The paths on this trail were scary. There were several steps which were well over a meter tall, and you had to essentially rock climb. It took about 2 hours to make it to the top of the mountain. But the path was worth it for the beauty on it. We walked around water falls, through creeks, between beautiful trees, and finally the top of the mountain was worth every single scrape on my knee and out of breath moment I had.

In comparison, it took about an hour to get down the mountain ... but it was much harder on the knees.

I was sore for about 3 days after that.

It was worth every single moment.

Busan

2010-09-01T21:34:00.010+09:00

(AKA: Lauren and Amy go on another grand adventure)

This post is slightly overdue, but I've been busy, so I do apologize.

Amy and I woke up before dawn on Saturday, hailed a cab at 6:00am to the Cheonan/Asan train station, and caught the 7:00am KTX bullet train to Busan. Let me tell you, Bullet Trains, they are beyond awesome! It took us 2 hours to get from Cheonan to Busan, and the whole ride, we were in the mountains. For two girls from the Midwest, two hours on a bullet train surrounded by mountains is pretty incredible.

When we arrived in Busan, we took a taxi to Dr. Christensen's sister-in-law's apartment. When we arrived, they took us to a Buddhist temple outside of Busan called Tongdosa. This is the head temple in the Jogye Order of Buddhism in Korea, and one of the The Temple Jewels. Supposedly build around 600CE, this temple has no outdoor statue of Buddha. Instead, it has separate pagoda-like temples in a plaza, each one housing a Buddha relic. This site has numerous historic cultural relics and temples that are hundreds of years old. It is said that despite the centuries of wars within Korea, the temple candle has not gone out in 1300 years.

Some of the scenes in and around this temple help you realize why this spot is considered sacred. I'm posting some of the photos here.

We couldn't stay as long as we wanted to due to Catherine and Edward, (Dr. Christensen and Clara's kids,) being so young. So after a traditional Korean lunch, Dr. Christensen took Amy and me to the Busan Fish Market. It is nearly impossible to find fresher fish than this. It is caught straight from the ocean, tossed into a tank, and you get to choose which fishie you want on your dinner plate. Then Chop! Off with its head! They will de-bone it for you right there, and you now have sashimi!

That was a cultural experience.

We also wandered the market town of Busan and eventually made our way up to Haeundae Beach, the high-end part of town with the hotels, expensive beaches, and department stores. There, Amy and me were taken to every seafood lovers dream restaurant. All-you-can-eat seafood caught fresh that day from the ocean. Fatty tuna, super-white tuna, crab legs, sushi galore, maki rolls, and everything heavenly.

We missed our 9pm train, so we decided on the 11pm one. This gave us time to quickly run to Haeundae Beach and walk in the ocean for a few minutes. It was a long enough time for us to realize that we need to go back and spend a day there.

We caught our 11pm train to Cheonan where everyone on the train was under the influence of soju, and all I wanted to do was sleep because I was up long before I should have been. We made it back to my apartment by 3:45am and then proceeded to sleep til 11am, and it would have been later if my cell phone didn't ring.

I wouldn't change that adventure for the world.

More differences between Korea and the USA

2010-08-26T18:00:00.002+09:00

1) Toilets: They are sometimes porcelain holes in the ground.
2) Koreans don't have wedding engagements; they just get married.
3) Pizza doesn't have tomato sauce on it ... and it comes with pickles.
4) There are no garbage cans anywhere!
5) There are no garbage bags anywhere either.
6) When you finally find said garbage bags behind the counter of the grocery store, not only are they expensive, but there are different bags for different types of garbage. My interpretive dance to explain what I want is only so good. But I got a garbage bag finally!
7) Koreans constantly push and shove to get off the bus or onto the elevator first. Yet they are 10-15 minutes late to everything.
8) No matter what the temperature is outside, Koreans always eat hot food. It could be 100+ and they are still sipping their hot soups.
9) Cafeteria hot lunches are actually eatable and digestible: Today it was duck. Heck yes!
10) The people, once you show them that you care and are trying to be a part of their culture, are the kindest, warmest, and most loving individuals you could ever meet.

It's kind of amazing here.

Buddhist Temple

2010-08-22T16:15:00.005+09:00

Yesterday, Amy came into town and we decided to go the Gagwonsa Buddhist temple just outside of Cheonan at Mt. Taejo. When we got to the base of the mountain, there were 212 steps to the largest seated Buddha statue in Asia. The number of steps applies to the 212 rules of conduct in Buddhism.

The statue is overwhelming. It is 15 meters tall and over 60 tons of solid copper. In Chicago we have copper lions, in Korea, they have copper Buddhas. With the green mountains in the background, the scene is just breath-taking.

As we were hiking around the grounds, we passed a group of Koreans having a picnic. They instantly called us over to them and invited us to join their group. They gave us tomatoes, crackers, and rice wine and talked with us for a while. They asked us where we were from, and as soon as they discovered that we were from Chicago, they said, "We know Chicago. Michael Jordan." It made us laugh.

The grounds of the Temple were beautiful. There was a stream coming down from the side of the mountain, there were these towers made of small rocks along the side of the paths, and, beautiful stone inscriptions along the way as well. I need to do more research on Buddhism to understand the significance of everything.

After walking the mountain paths, we walked to the temples which appeared to be something out of a model in a museum. It was hard to believe that places this incredible existed. Inside the largest temple there were three large gold seated Buddhas, candles lit around the frame of the building, and the smell of incense wafting from the room. The whole aura of the building made you feel at peace.

After a long day at work, it is a comforting feeling to know that all I need to do is hop onto the #24 bus in front of my building to regroup and relax.

Back to School

2010-08-19T17:09:00.000+09:00

I just got home from my first day of school, and it was a rather interesting day. Very enjoyable. Being in front of a classroom again was wonderful. It absolutely felt like I was where I belonged.

First, let me backtrack to yesterday. My seven 1st year girls decided to have a party on the last day of "summer camp" and they brought breakfast: Donuts, Fried Chicken, and Coke. For Breakfast.

Culture shock at breakfast!

At the beginning of the lesson, I asked them what I should know about Korean students before I start teaching tomorrow. They gave me a list of things that I should know: most students are shy, they always look in their mirrors to make sure they look ok, they work so much that they are usually sleepy during class, etc. Then they gave me a list of places I need to visit while I'm here as well. When my students left, they told me that I need to talk to the principal and make sure they are in my English class.

This past week when I was talking with one of my co-teachers, I was told that today and Friday I would just be observing classes to see how they're run. The conversational English teachers have no textbook or curriculum guide, and we just create and prepare all of our own materials. However, even though I wouldn't be teaching today, I came to school prepared for next week just in case.

Now to the crazy adventure that was today at Bok Ja Girls High School!

Thank goodness I was prepared for next week because I was thrown into the classroom today! :)

Angela and Rosa, the other two conversational English teachers, showed me around the school today, and during our tour we discovered that the key to the Smartboard and sound equipment is missing. Oh, and that the classroom which I spent hours cleaning on Wednesday was a mess. So now, not only did I not know that I would be teaching today, but in addition my backup lesson plan was thrown to the wind because it involved the Smartboard. So I needed to improvise on the spot with less than 10 minutes before class. (Everything went fine thanks to an absurd number of theatre games taught to me over time.) Thankfully, the keys were found by the end of 4th period. The Smartboard itself was still having a few problems though, but nothing that couldn't be dealt with. I hope that gets fixed soon.

One girl in my 6th period class saw my slide-show on the smartboard as she walked into class and said to me, "Oh you're from Chicago. I used to live there." When I asked her which part, she replied, "A suburb, Glenview." I asked if she went to GBS or GBN and she went crazy. "You know my school! I went to GBS. I moved here last year." When I told her that I was from Lincolnwood and went to Niles West, and she started jumping around and said, "My best friend goes to Niles North." She has an adorable Midwest accent, and it is nice to know that I will have a student who will be able to help if I have any translation problems.

At the end of the school day, Angela, Rosa, and I got on the bus to go home. They both tell me if I have any problems to call either of them whenever. Both are close enough to downtown Cheonan that they can come find me if I'm lost, help me if I'm having a problem, or get me out of a sticky situation if I'm not certain what is going on ... or to just call them to hang out on the weekends. I think I may take them up on that.

I have good feelings about this school. I'm excited to be here.

My class library ...

2010-08-17T12:53:00.004+09:00

I was cleaning my classroom today at school and began organizing the library in the back of the room. As I tried to find some order in the chaos, I read the titles on these books. I got such a kick out of it, that I decided to post it some of them:

Garfield Comics
Jane Eyre
Confessions of a Shopaholic series
Harry Potter 1-7
War and Peace
Mr. Popper's Penguins
Pokemon
Odyssey
Velveteen Rabbit
The Peanuts Comics
1984
James and the Giant Peach (and almost all the other Roald Dahl books known to man)
Anne of Green Gables series
Metamorphosis
Marvel Comics (Superman especially)
Princess Diaries
American History after 1865 (a textbook)
The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (and the whole CS Lewis series)
65 Successful Harvard Business School Applications

and that is just a few in no particular order.

Tomorrow is the last day of summer camp with my seven 1st year girls. They wanted to have a party tomorrow, so I said of course. School orientation is from Thursday to Friday, and classes begin on Monday. This afternoon, I received a call from another one of my co-teachers Angela. She's been working at Bokja for 5 years now and I have a feeling she will be a fantastic resource. On Thursday, she promised to show me how to use all the technology in my fabulous classroom, take me on a tour of the school to ensure I don't get lost, and even said I can observe her classroom to see how it is run.

I'm excited to start school and to be teaching again, but I have a feeling I will not be getting much sleep the next few evenings. :)

Daecheon Beach

2010-08-16T13:42:00.005+09:00

1) Daecheon Beach with the tide rising
2) Heidi, Kim, Ashley, Amy, and I at our midnight beach walk
3) Rice paddies with the mountains in the background.

I had my first weekend adventure! 7 of the 10 NEIU teachers met up this weekend in Daecheon to go to the Yellow Sea, or as the Koreans call it, the West Sea.

Without any assistance, and with only 1 failed taxi cab communication, Kim and I made our way to to the train station, bought our tickets, and made it to Daecheon! Needless to say, I was proud of us. Heidi, Amy, and Mike met us at the station where we proceeded to go out for a pasta lunch while waiting for Ashley and James to get out of English Camp. The company was fantastic and our waiter laughed as we randomly pointed to items on the menu. At the end he finally revealed to us that he spoke English and told us what we ordered. Turns out we ordered a seafood pasta, a pasta with meatballs, and a pasta with cheese. Lunch was fine, but what we thought was a marinara sauce on our "spaghetti" tasted more like a BBQ sweet sauce.

Our original plan was to go island hopping but because Ashley and James got out late, we missed the last ferry to go to the islands. We more than happily contented ourselves with the sea. It was windy outside to the sea was very choppy and the waves were extremely strong, and we had a wonderful time. We buried each other in the sand, swam, and relaxed. When high tide came in we were forced to leave the beach.

By about 7pm or so, we made it back to Ashley's and James' apartments to clean up and go to dinner. We had some fried chicken and pizza (very Korean of us), played a few games of pool, and then received a call from some other foreign friends asking us to come meet them at Daecheon Beach to hang out. By the time we made it back, it was low tide. Where the booeys float informing swimmers not to go any further was nearly out of water. So the 7 of us took a midnight walk on the beach.

The next morning, we were going to catch a ferry to go to the islands off the coast, but the morning was rainy and the ferries were canceled. Kim and I caught an 11am train back to Cheonan, where I had a chance to say goodbye to Jacob because he is leaving to go teach English in Seoul. I'm going to miss him :(

But now, I must be off. Amy will be in Cheonan any minute now and I cannot leave her at the bus stop!

Teaching conversational English

2010-08-12T23:15:00.004+09:00

I am totally spoiled by my 7 girls in my English summer camp program. I have them every day for two hours, 9am-11am, and they are the sweetest, most respectful students that I have ever had. They walk in right on time, if not early, bow to me, ask me how I am, and sit quietly until I address them. If they walk in late, they rush to where the group is sitting, bow quickly to me, apologize, and instantly engage in our task. They don't complain, whine, or talk out of turn. As a music teacher who typically has 70+ students holding noise-makers, I don't quite know how to respond to all of this.

The last few days I've been playing tons of theatre games with them to work on pronunciation of syllables, forming complete sentences, and thinking in English, even if it is just lexical chunks. We played several rounds of "Zip Zap Zop" (the pronounce their Z's like J's), "Bippity Bippity Bop" (enunciating B's and P's is a challenge), and "20 questions" (working on question skills). They get to be teenagers in my class and they love it. The students in this country never get to be kids. Since this is supposed to be camp, I am making it as much of a camp as possible.

In addition to incredible students, my classroom is like a dream come true. I have an enormous smart-board, sliding dry erase boards, Wi-Fi, and a class library. When my students showed me my room the first time, my eyes lit up and they looked at me cross-eyed. "Lauren Teacher, what's wrong?" All I could respond with was, "Nothing is wrong. Everything is very good." I'm so excited by the activities that I will be able to do with the students, how creative I am able to be, and that I get to teach how I want to. I won't be working with a co-teacher, I get to finally have my own class.

Tomorrow is Friday and then I have a weekend! Going out with Sora and Joe tomorrow night and then off to island hopping with the rest of the group on Saturday. So excited for the weekend.

Annyoung,
Lauren

Electronics part 2

2010-08-11T11:12:00.002+09:00

ATMs are still a problem...I should get my first stipend in a few days, so I will leave my card at my apartment once that happens.

Washing Machine: Sora explained the washing cycles and made me notes. I still fight with the machine, but I did get three loads of laundry done! Hurrah for clean jeans and socks.

Gas: Yeah, that was me failing. Liza showed me how to use the gas in my apartment. There is a certain angle that nozzel needs to be at for the gas to turn on. Once I figured that out it made life worlds easier. So then I sauteed up some veggies and cooked some pasta for dinner. I maintained self-control and didn't go eat sushi ... maybe tonight though!

Time to go teach my first class ... 2 hours with seven 1st year girls. (Our equivilent to sophomore year of high school.) I'll let you know how that goes tonight.

annyoung,
Lauren

Electronics

2010-08-08T19:34:00.004+09:00

When you live in the states, there are certain things you don't think about, you just kind of mindlessly do: microwave dinner, doing a load of laundry, paying with a credit card, withdrawing money from an ATM, etc.

Now, well, not nearly as easy. I keep trying to look up words in my Korean-English dictionary, but unfortunately, the Korean section is in Roman lettering, so makes it a bit more challenging.

With laundry I am not certain if I am using hot water or cold water; delicate cycle or regular; what size load I am on; etc.

The ATMs are a whole separate story. I am so frustrated with those I cannot even begin to tell you.

With the microwave, the only problem I have is that I am not sure what setting I am on: high, medium, low, reheat, etc. No labels or anything.

The gas isn't working in my apartment. I'm not sure if it just because they turn off the gas during the summer (which some places do apparently) or if I am just inept. (I am guessing the latter)

But I am making do and figuring out as I go. Hopefully money issues will disappear tomorrow when I receive my settlement fee.

More on my school later. Going for a walk with Jacob. But I must say, despite all the challenges I am facing, I like them. I am enjoying myself here. :)

Annyoung,
Lauren

Night #1 in Cheonan

2010-08-06T23:01:00.003+09:00

Brief post because I am exhausted from today. I have made a few observations on life in Korea.

1) You know how we all complain about crazy Asian drivers. They all drive like that here.
2) Soju is a religious belief.
3) Men dress a lot more effeminately. Man Bags? Everyone has them
4) Couples dress in matching outfits. So do best friends.
5) Boys hold hands. Girls hold hands. Just a sign of friendship.
6) Koreans don't believe in full-size towels. Thank you, Mom, for having me pack a towel with me to go. It might be left here for the next American.
7) No shower stalls. No bath tub. The whole bathroom is the shower.
8) Unless you are getting an huge custom-designed apartment, the apartments will not have a oven. No baking for Lauren for 5 months :(
9) Kimchi and rice are not only lunch and dinner food, but breakfast food as well.
10) Chopsticks are not as easy as they look.

More tomorrow.

Annyong,
Lauren

Orientation week in Korea!

2010-08-04T20:54:00.002+09:00

Hello From Korea!!

So, here I am in beautiful Chungnam providence in ROK (Republic of Korea.) Outside my window I can see these beautiful mountains in the distance. But once you step outside there is this sense of familiarity -- thick dense air with 150% humidity. Sound vaguely familiar to anyone out there in Chicago?

Let's backtrack to departure. Our flight left at 1am from O'Hare airport, but we had to arrive at 10:30pm to go through customs and deal with the mayhem of people's not understanding punctuality. Sora got Joe and I guest passes into the business-class lounge of Asiana in O'Hare, so we were able to relax in comfy chairs and eat real food before we departed to Korea. In addition, she also changed our seating arrangements so that she, Joe, and I got to sit next to each other on the airplane.

The flight was 13 1/2 hrs long -- needless to say, it felt like it took forever. The three of us talked for a while and then zoned in and out for about 4 hours. I watched Invictus in there for a couple hours, resumed zoning in and out, read a few chapters of my book, zoned, and about 2 1/2 hrs left in the flight, we all woke up for good.

We landed in Seoul-Incheon a little before 5am, and after customs and baggage claim were tossed onto a bus and were driven to our center where we would have orientation.

As we were driving from the airport, Raquel, our organizer, handed me her cell phone... and on the phone was Jacob, my buddy from high school! Amazing how you need to fly half-way around the world to get reacquainted with an old friend who lived down the street from you. It was great to hear his voice and definitely a comfort.

But once we got to our convention center, we were little did we know how far outside Cheonan this meeting site would be.

We've been quarantined in this ... um ... Convention Center (ie: Mental Institution) for this week until we have our medical tests. Apparently the Korean government doesn't want us interacting with the outside world until they have proven that we are clean and safe to be around. It is kind of like a mini-college campus with a dining hall, dormitories, and classrooms. The problem? We're in the middle of the mountains with no access to real culture.

We've had a couple of decent speakers. This morning, we had an adorable Korean woman who teaches in Yesan come and talk about team-teaching to us and how to act in Korean society. This afternoon, Jacob came and chatted to us about adjusting to culture from our normal Chicago way of life. He, of course, kept making comments about how when either of us were bored at work, we talked on facebook.

Tomorrow we have our medical tests and a "cultural adventure." It should be interesting to see what it entails. Hopefully we'll have tons of fun pictures and a few laughs.

In the meantime, I am exhausted from today and could use a few hours of sleep.

Goodnight and sweet dreams.

under 50 hours....

2010-07-30T13:36:00.002+09:00

So I finally got my act together and began packing tonight. Yeah, I'm a chronic procrastinator. The clothing isn't the challenging part (Though shoes are hard to leave behind. I'll miss you gold stilettos.) My biggest problem comes in the fact that I cannot figure out which sheet music and books I'm bringing with me. I have this terrible music teacher syndrome. I hate putting Mozart, Schumann, Gershwin, Crusell, Weber, Copland, and Bernstein in competition for a prized spot in my luggage. Add a dozen ESL and teaching music books to the mix and I think that I'm already at 1 suitcase of 50lbs.

I'm not sure if leaving has even set in, despite the evidence that an F5 tornado has hit my bedroom and destroyed any sense of order. (You should see the floor and the dressers.)

Everyone has been so unbelievably supportive that it is hard to believe. I hope that this adventure is as incredible as I imagine it being. The most common line is, "This is an incredible experience!" It absolutely is. How often can someone put their life on pause for 5-6 months and then resume where they left off with a boss who wants her back in the shop whenever she gets back. Hopefully my family doesn't rent out my room........

The group needs to be at the O'Hare at 10:30pm on Saturday, and Sora is trying to convince Aisiana airways to have her, Joe, and I sitting together on the plane. I sure hope it works! Good travel buddies will make the 14 hour flight significantly less awful.

Annyeong! (Bye!)

Lauren

20 Days

2010-07-12T04:04:00.003+09:00

So, questions that have been asked repeatedly this week:

1) Have you started packing yet?
a) no

2) Do you like Kimchi?
a) yes

3) Do you know any Korean?
a) no

4) Are you excited?
a) I've never been more excited or nervous in my life! :)

So, maybe I should start thinking about the packing and learning Korean thing.

Lauren

34 days!

2010-06-28T01:20:00.002+09:00

I received my flight confirmation yesterday to Korea. My flight leaves at 1am on August 1st, and I need to be at O'Hare's international terminal by 10:15 on July 31!

That means, 34 days left in the States!

I met most of the people in my Korea group yesterday, and they are a very interesting and diverse group of individuals. There are 10 people on the trip. A few people look like they were looking for a life change, others for an adventure, and I'm not sure about a few.

Then again, I'm not quite sure what possessed me either.

I think we'll all have a wonderful time.

Off to my gig in Evanston.

Have a happy Sunday,
Lauren

I feel a Grand Adventure coming

2010-06-25T12:17:00.003+09:00

For anyone who hasn't guessed, I am headed to Korea in just over a month!

Dr. Park, my professor, scheduled our first meeting for the trip is on Saturday, June 26th at 9am. Now, I must say, needing to be awake at 9am on a Saturday is rather unkind. I suppose it makes up for it that she is bringing us Korean food for lunch. I just need to bring my coffee to wake me up to sit through the meeting.

I wonder if they have good coffee in Korea...

At this meeting, I think we discover our set departure date (I believe it is 1am on Sunday August 1st), the school we will be teaching at, the grades we will be teaching, and hopefully basic formalities in Korean.

As I get closer to the departure date, I'm sure I'll be writing more on here and asking the peanut gallery for opinions on items that I should be sure not to forget when I pack, travel advice, and all that jazz.

In the meantime, have a good weekend everyone!
-Lauren