Merry Christmas!

A year later and it's still adorable...

Merry Christmas everyone!

Transitions Abroad

written October 2, 2009 in Shanghai (day 2 of my trip)...

I’ve made yet another large life transition. It seems my life has a pattern of starting and ending events on a yearly basis. Honestly, this is by choice and something I have become so accustomed to I can barely wrap my mind around a longer time frame for a job or living situation. With frequent transitions comes the always-difficult round of goodbyes. Saying goodbye to friends is never easy and I am careful to rephrase it as “see you later” for my own emotional stability. Sometimes I see a new friend later and sometimes I don’t, but I’d much rather assume we will meet again when I depart than worry I’m hugging them for the last time.

Spending a year in Korea was one of the best adventures I’ve had in my lifetime. I remember going into it worried about the people I would meet, the food I would eat, and whether or not I had packed enough deodorant—a legitimate fear since it really is difficult to find. I had no expectations and knew very little about the country and its culture. As I look back now I realize how influential every aspect of the experience was on my life.

As a whole, Koreans are the most sincere and giving people I have ever met. Continuously blown away by their generosity, I was impressed every time someone went the extra mile and treated me like a member of their family. Friends set aside large chunks of time to assist me with anything from translating a bill to getting a haircut. There was always enough time in their schedule to spend time with me even when I knew they had a million other things to do. Short events would turn into all day extravaganzas as a meal was almost always involved—a very Korean addition to any activity.

Living abroad has changed me in ways I hadn’t considered before the move. I feel different having spent time away from home–and not different in that I know how to use chopsticks, say hello in several new languages, or navigate a subway system; but different in who I am. Some of my ideals have changed, my worries have subsided and my interests have evolved. I am still myself, but a more confident and complete version. I don’t fear the unknown as much because I know it usually brings something surprisingly wonderful. Things that scare me are typically the experiences that shape my character the most; and I’ve learned the mishaps always make the best stories.

Korea will always be with me wherever I go and although the future is unknown, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Pretty Woman

I really screwed up this year. In an effort to save money and out of sheer laziness, I never visited a hair salon. At some point this spring I convinced Andrea to trim my hair about 1/8" (wasn't sure how great her skills were) and she did a decent job. However, it recently became apparent how bad my split-ends were becoming so I decided to get a cut before leaving on my trip.

I just returned from the best salon experience I've ever had, and the "screwing up" factor is in the realization that I should've been going regularly all year long. It was fantastic. The salon was beautifully decorated and the stylists were perfectly professional. They hung up my purse, massaged my head, and spent endless time on making sure I looked better at the end than when I came into the salon. The stylist's assistant even helped blow-dry and straighten my hair, and with two people simultaneously working on me I couldn't help channeling Pretty Woman... except for the whole hooker thing.

It was a relaxing and indulgent experience that I definitely wish I could have again, and it didn't break the bank—only $16! I love Korea.

Special Visitors

A breath of fresh air arrived on September 4th when my parents landed in Korea for a much-needed visit. It had been just a few weeks shy of a year since I'd last seen them and their timing couldn't have been better. That day at school felt endless as I waited for their phone call to let me know they were in the country. I told each class about their visit and watched as the kids' eyes grew huge with disbelief. "Teacher, your mother and father...Korea?! Wow..." One class commented on how happy I looked as I told them and I could see my excitement rub off on their faces as their smiles widened.

As the last class arrived, I finally received the phone call from my dad. They had made it safely and were sitting in my apartment waiting for me. A 40 minute class couldn't have gone by slower than that one, and when the final bell rang I grabbed my stuff and headed out the door. Without letting my sandals slow me down, I literally ran all the way home and laughed to myself as my own image conjured up thoughts of a sappy movie or commercial. It was worth the run when I busted through the door and saw them standing there—face to face, not on a computer screen.

With only a few short days before they headed to Japan we tried to make the most of our time together. They sampled a few ubiquitous Korean dishes (galbi, bulgolgi, and bibimbap), visited my school, strolled through my neighborhood, indulged in some shopping, met my friends, and experienced one of the largest palaces in Korea—Gyeongbokgung.

Although short, their visit was exactly what I needed to reenergize and refocus myself for the remaining month of school and two months of traveling. I was sad to say goodbye, but excited for the experiences they had yet to have in Japan. Sharing my life in Korea with them is absolutely one of my most cherished memories from this year.

With a stroke of luck, we arrived just in time to see the changing of the guards ceremony at Gyeongbokgung Palace.

A palace bedroom

The painted ceiling of a palace room

A tour guide in traditional Korean dress, hanbok.

The populated palace suddenly opened onto an expansive garden.

Take Me Out to the Ballgame... One More Time!

Our last baseball game experience in Seoul was a flop for these reasons:

1. We found out after arriving at the game that we had Unreserved Seat tickets.

2. It was Children's Day, which meant... no school.

3. On Children's Day, kids get into the game for free.

4. Everyone in Seoul is trying to save a buck.

5. There were no Unreserved Seats available...

6. And no standing room available...

7. And no walking room available.

So, in July we decided to try again, but this time with better tickets. We got our tickets, showed up early, and walked right in to our shiny, empty seats. The game was excitingly close and although our team (Doosan) lost by a point, it was the hottest day of the year, AND it rained; we were more than happy with the experience. Go Doosan!

Check out this video for some spontaneously choreographed stick banging...

Bang–Bang–BangBangBang–BangBangBangBang–DOOSAN!

Diary- Hair & Skirt

Middle schools and high schools have strict rules regarding the students' appearances. Of course, the boys and girls absolutely hate the restrictions and try to sneak around the system when at all possible. The length of hair is the most debated rule for both boys and girls. Boys must keep their locks short and far away from the shirt collar. In middle school, girls are required to cut their hair above their shoulders, or bind long hair (binding simply means a low ponytail pulled loose to give the illusion of a short bob in front). However, all female high school students must adhere to a "short hair only" policy. Not adhering to the rules results in a black mark on their record, or a teacher inflicted haircut. In some instances, it's hard to tell which would be worse. According to my middle school students, many hair salons are knowledgeable about the rules at each school so students need only to walk into a salon and ask for their school's cut. For example, "I'd like the Dongsan High School cut, please."

In addition to the strict hair rules, no makeup, nail polish, jewelry, or open-toe shoes; all middle schools and high schools require uniforms. A winter uniform and summer uniform are very similar except for the weight of the fabric and addition of a jacket. Boys wear long pants and a button-down shirt while girls don similar shirts with a skirt. Unhappy with the frumpiness of the uniforms, it's common for students to get them "fixed." Seamstresses are well-equipped to handle the common changes many students make to their wardrobe. Shortening the skirt a few centimeters and tightening the shirts are the most common adjustments made to the girls' uniforms. After seeing many of the boys, I wouldn't be surprised if they request alterations on their pants—skinny jeans are popular for guys and I doubt schools have the foresight to provide that option in their uniforms.

Hair & Skirt

by Rachel, 8th grade

I don't want bind my hair

but I must bind my hair.

I don't like long skirt,

but I have to wear a long skirt!

If I don't bind my hair and wear a short skirt,

teachers give a black mark.

But now I'm wearing a short skirt and don't binding my hair.

Why? Because I like it!

Actually, I'm scary.

(If teacher look me, teacher give a black mark. So I'm scary about that).

Rainy Days

With only a few interruptions of dry weather during the week, rainy days are a constant reminder that it's monsoon season. The sneaky showers accumulate strength throughout the morning and let loose all their power at the exact time I leave for work. Walking in a rain storm isn't as exciting when you have to endure wet clothes throughout the day, but my rain boots have proven to be a good purchase. Of course, with anything else there are pros and cons to the current meteorological situation.

Pro: Temperatures have remained in the 70's

Con: Students use their umbrellas as weapons

Submarines & Vampires

Most classes at my school range in age from 1st grade to middle school, however, a few rule breakers have snuck through the system for various reasons and we now see teeny tiny kindergarten students come through the doors followed by great big high schoolers later in the night. I teach the oldest class of high schoolers, which is really fun after a full day of elementary students. They're incredibly intelligent—some attend the best high school in the city; playful; humorous; curious; and hard-working. I've learned a lot about Korean culture from the students and what it takes to make it through the rigorous school system while maintaining a sense of identity and sanity. 

The video below shows a class period back in January. I have some of the same students now along with a few new additions; but some have also moved on since entering high school in February (many high schools have dormitories where the students live on campus just like college). The students really wanted to sing "Yellow Submarine" on video so I brought along my camera the next day only to find that most were too shy to perform. Watch as they play Pictionary with their vocabulary words (paradox, volatile, microcosm, magnanimous, poignant, ubiquitous, etc.); and discuss their views on the book/movie, Twilight. If you've been living without a TV lately or you're just not tuned in to the interests of an adolescent girl (or adolescent girl at heart, like myself), than you've missed out on the vampire craze that has swept around the globe. My students love Edward (the main character/vampire) just as much as American girls back home!

Fan Death... and Other Korean Superstitions

My favorite Korean supersitions:

1. Fan Death— According to almost all Koreans, including doctors, it is believed that if you sleep with a fan on in an enclosed room you will die. There are three possible causes for the death and countless "real-life cases" (people have died over night and it just so happened there was a fan on in the room, must've been the fan!) 

• Hypothermia—Apparently, people die from hypothermia when the fan lowers their body temperature enough degrees to result in the shutting down of major organs. I didn't know fans were that powerful!
  
• Poisoning—Fans suck up all the oxygen in an enclosed room leaving high amounts of carbon dioxide produced by the human respiratory system. So, the toxins a person exhales end up killing them.
• Suffocation—When in a sealed room, an electric fan can (and definitely will) create a vacuum, which sucks up the oxygen particles leaving none to inhale and sustain life.

2. Red Pens— Whatever you do, don't write your name in red ink because you will die. Red ink, obviously a symbol of blood, is used to write the names of the deceased. On the first day at school, I was instructed never to write a student's name with my red pen. I've slipped up only a few times, but each one was met with a gasp and the "deer in the headlights" look. Oops, sorry!

3. Number 4— Americans fear unlucky 13 while Koreans hate the number 4. Once again, it means death, but I'm not sure how or why. Either way, I'm glad I don't live on the 4th floor in my apartment building. Ironically, however, I do live on the 13th. I guess it doesn't count because I'm in Korea. 

Jeju Island

Taking advantage of our 3 day weekend, Andrea and I visited Korea's own Hawaii—Jeju Island. Situated at the Southern tip of South Korea, Jeju is a volcanic island which boasts Korea's highest mountain and most popular volcano, Hallasan. Despite its tropical climate, the temperature was still a bit cool during our visit allowing us to miss the peak tourist season, which occurs in July and August. 

Our hotel, KAL, was located on the southern edge of the island in Seogwipo. Its private location meant we were a distance from the touristy area, but the sprawling and well-manicured grounds (which reminded us of a mental institute... but in a good way) that overlooked the ocean made up for any hindrances. 

Opting for a relaxing weekend, our schedules were relatively wide open making us available for trips to the waterfalls, volcanos, and beaches. In an effort to save money on the expensive island, we perused the grocery store and stocked up on fresh fruit and bread for lunchtime picnics. Nothing is better than a beach picnic with fresh tangerines, a Jeju staple; bananas; pineapple; and apple jam. 

Day 1

The hotel grounds...

On our way to the airport via bus. Within a 4 day period, we spent:

8.5 hours on a bus

1.75 hours in taxis

2 hours on airplanes

A view from behind our hotel. Notice the gigantic lawn reminiscent of an "institute."

From our hotel balcony. Unfortunately, the pool was only 10% full due to the off-season (yes, June is still the off-season for swimming!).

Beautiful hotel landscaping

I love palm trees

Day 2

In search of a waterfall...

A deserted hotel that I found to be completely eerie yet incredibly attractive.

Things didn't seem quite right after we passed the above hotel and found the waterfall sign in some very "mature" bushes.

Unique and cost-effective signage

The waterfall seemed much smaller than we imagined. We later found out we had discovered the wrong one. Not too far away was the actual waterfall listed on our map, Jeongbang.

Ahh, the right one! Much more impressive!

According to the Jeju tourism board, Jeongbang is the only waterfall in Asia that empties directly into the ocean.

At the base of the falls on the rocky shoreline is a made-to-order "restaurant." The food is caught fresh from the ocean only 20 feet away!

I could've climbed up had it not been for my skirt.

After a 1.5 hour bus ride, we arrived at Seongsan Ilchubong (Sunrise Peak). The volcanic crater sits at the easternmost point of Jeju Island and is, therefore, the first place to see the sun, hence its nickname.

The hike up is surprisingly steep, but affords many impressive views. You can barely make out Mt. Hallasan in the background.

A tree-trimmer on the side of the volcano without any ropes!

The view of the crater from the top is a let-down unless you're flying in a helicopter overhead like in the picture below. Unfortunately, I wasn't given the opportunity so I copy and pasted the next picture from the Internet.

image courtesy of www.triptokorea.com

An attempt at capturing the complete "panoramic."

4 of our co-workers also made the trip down to Jeju, though all separately; and we met up with Lee & Nicki for the day.

The Haenyo Divers' port of departure. For generations, women in their forties and fifties have provided supplemental income for their families by diving for shellfish, abalone, seaweed, and other marine life off the coast of Jeju Island. As if that's not impressive enough (Korea was, and still sometimes is, a Confucion culture where women were typically ranked lower than men and did not bring in substantial income for the family), the skilled divers do not bother themselves with things like oxygen tanks. All year round, the women dive to depths of nearly 65 feet while holding their breath up to 3, or even 4 minutes! The past success of divers has allowed them to send their children to University, however, the tradition is slowly dying out and may one day become only a memory in Korea's history.

A beachfront house (not the luxurious type) housed a field of grazing horses. Unfortunately, the skeletal horses need more than good scenery to maintain their health. I choose to naively believe they are being rehabilitated by their current owner and will live a long and healthy life. Either way, I love them.

Day 3

Nothing but the beach... perfect