6th Month: Recap

Now that we have returned to Korea and are approaching the 6th month mark on February 23rd, here is a poem about all of the oddities that we never thought we would get used to again and some we still don’t understand:

Korea is a funny place, filled with new age and tradition,
Experiencing different cultures has always been our mission.

There are things here and there that just don’t seem right,

*Not my photo*

Some make us laugh while others enrage us to fight.

With so many awful smells we often hold our noses,
Between drying fish, trash and kimchi, we’d rather sniff roses.

Walking the streets you’ll notice one thing can’t be found,
Public trash cans don’t exist but there’s no trash on the ground!

Convert this to memory, you’ll never want to assume,
Bring your own toilet paper into the public restrooms.

Speaking of bathrooms, that’s its own gross situation,
Used paper goes in the trash, are there no laws for sanitation?!

To save the city money, schools aren’t cooled or heated.
We have to suffer in the winter and in the summer repeated.

We teach in thick jackets, scarves, and two pairs of socks,
The kids carry hand warmers and wear gloves to use chalk.

The best thing about Korea, is their public transportation,
Causing many headaches in this developed great nation.

Don’t get me wrong, all joking put aside,
There is no place we can’t go without finding a ride.

The problem is traffic laws equate to merely ‘suggestions,’
Cars, busses and scooters do what they want without question.

The sidewalks aren’t safe and are meant to be shared,
Between cars, motorbikes and people, no lives are spared.

You ALWAYS look both ways when crossing the road
Even on a one-way you can easily get mowed.

In a taxi it’s best to just breathe and close your eyes
All the honking and break slamming, you’re just happy to be alive.

On to the busses; the most interesting of them all,
You are packed like sardines with the goal not to fall.

Whether you’ve waited at the stop 30 seconds or minutes,
No one ever queues and people have no rudeness limits.

‘Bows are being thrown and the pushing’s insane,

*Not my photo*

Old people aren’t against to using their canes.

On the blue or green monster, for only a buck you can ride,
Grab a hold, bend your knees as you’re thrown side to side.

It’s hot and it’s smelly, filled with all different ages
These bus situations often set off my rages!

I’ve come pretty far, but I can’t stand the ‘butting’ in line,
Happens almost everywhere and ALL OF THE TIME!

It’s like they don’t ‘see me’ or think they can just cut,
It’s the older generation that feels entitled to butt.

One thing we have gotten used to but will never make sense,
Is making a laundry schedule, here it’s just commonsense.

There is no such thing as a “quick load of laundry,”
No dryers and cold weather make for quite the quandary.

Many a times, I have left for my school,
With wet pants and/or socks, as I planned like a fool.

Not hours, but days, it takes things to dry,
No more doing a ‘load’, just to get by.

On a positive note, Korea’s internet is fast,
The rate of downloads and surfing’s unsurpassed.

*Not my photo*

With so many cell phones and quick access to the net,
No country takes more ‘selfies,’ I could make a safe bet.

Wherever you go, you can be sure there’s picture taking,
But not of scenery, just themselves, with cutesy face making.

Teens have albums on Facebook, full of self taken snaps,
On busses, in coffee shops, or wearing MLB caps.

Facemasks are worn, no matter the season,
Are they sick? Are they cold? I never know the reason.

*Not my photo*

However in wearing the masks there’s something not understood yet,
Removing the mask to sneeze; not caring who they wet!


Speaking of healthcare, this one still throws us for loops,
Outside of the hospitals, patients will gather in groups.

Not to protest or to complain about care,
But to walk around and get some fresh air.

Now this doesn’t seem odd, no reason for fear,
Till you see them in gowns, IV bags, and drinking a beer.

OK, the beer was a stretch, but this I can’t lie,
We often see them smoking as they wheel themselves by!

With so many more thoughts, there are not enough lines,
To write all them down and create some more rhymes.

This is all in good fun, I will always love Korea,
Returning to teach English was our best idea!

**The comics are curtosey of ROKetship

Random Happenings

It’s been a good month since my last blog. Nothing blog worthy has really happened in the past few weeks but I felt like I was abandoning all of my eight readers.

We are good and settled now, stuck in the inevitable routine. You think when you completely change your surroundings you escape monotony. So not true.

It’s getting really cold. Korea has winters about like the Midwest just minus all the snow with only a few flakes here and there. However, it is making our 45 min walk home a lot less enjoyable. We have caught ourselves paying the extra cash for a taxi or just taking the crowded city bus with all the other frozen commuters.

I am pleasantly surprised that my school has heat in the classrooms, it’s a HUGE bonus! My old school did not and I wore my coat, scarf and gloves all day while teaching. It’s so much more enjoyable to work when you aren’t suffering from frost bite.

Random Happenings:

I found out today that one of my co-teachers, Alice, and I are “runners-up” in a co-teaching video clip contest that we decided to do on a whim. I quote “runners-up” because that is what EPIK is calling it. However, it’s more like a consolation prize for participating because we were on of sixty…haha…runners-up. We were also the only ones from our province, so that has to count for something. Most participants were from Seoul and Busan.; the bigger cities with a lot more access to materials. I’m not making excuses though. Honestly, I wasn’t really proud of what we submitted. We had to video tape a 40 min class, then slice it down to a ten minute clip and submit an essay and our lesson plan. I was in charge of slicing the video clip. It was only the second video I have edited using a free program on Andrew’s Mac. I would like to participate again next semester and put more than two days of thought into what we were doing. If you want to watch it you can, I apologize for the cheesiness in advance. And I'm embarrassed to say that my cheesiness was actually scaled down...

A few weeks ago Andrew got roped into participating in a” teachers dance” for his schools fall festival. Let me tell you, he was super pumped (sarcasm). He would kill me if I posted the video of him dancing, so here is the link to the exact dance that they copied from YouTube. I personally like the wiggle and heart improvisation. Gives the classic YMCA dance some new life.

Andrew and I also started volunteering. It’s been pretty difficult to find a place because of the skepticism they have about foreigners, and it’s understood. But we visit The Deaf and Mute Cultural Center once a week. The woman who runs the place, Mrs. Kim, is so adorable and grateful to have any help. She holds classes for adults and children who are deaf or mute. Andrew and I entertain the children of deaf or mute parents in the back room while they take classes. None of the kids thus far, have issues of their own. The few people that work there, the cook and front desk woman are deaf however. We just hang out, and make up games as we go. Andrew brought Jenga this week and that was a clutch move. I sat and made bracelets with the girls.

Andrew and I also have this "Korean Lifestyle Bucket List" of things we want to do to better ourselves while we have the extra free time here. There are many random things on this list, and we are only in the middle of a few. I am proud to say that as of today, we are 65 days into our Bible reading plan. We wanted to read the bible together, cover to cover. I have an iPad app that tells us which verses to read to finish the bible in 180 days. We have't missed a day since we began! December is also our "no fast food month." This would be WAY easier if we didn't live abroad. This means no McDonald's, not even an ice cream cone, no pizza (my weakness), no quick convenient store junk food to hold us over on city bus trips...nothing! I also just figured out how to make brownies in our toaster over, but Andrew said that counts too...ugh. It's going to be a long month. I should have argued for February.

We found out that our ten allotted winter vacation days are set for January 21^st-February 2^nd. My school ends Dec 21^st. However, I have to come in and teach, alone, to get my contracted 22 teaching hours in. Andrew and I only get Christmas day off. We will both be working Christmas Eve and New Year’s Day…boo.

It seems completely pointless and it is. Most likely, I will be teaching about 6 students for four hours a day, then sitting at my desk until my contract time is over, 4:40pm, alone. This will go on for the four weeks until my vacation. Then, we come back to school for two weeks and the students have another week off for their “spring break” before the start of the new school year which begins in March. I however, will not be getting the week off. I will be coming to school, with one other contract teacher, and sitting for eight hours a day. Unless I can convince them to give me the week off as unpaid vacation since Andrew doesn’t have to go into school….grrr. Does it sound confusing and dumb all at the same time? That’s because it is.

I will try to post again soon. Hopefully something awesome happens and gives me something to write about!

Korean Living: Our Pohang Apt

Sometimes, pictures just say it better. Here are some images of our apartment here in Pohang, South Korea.

This is the view from the hall of our apt. complex, looking into our apt.

Immediately to the right, is our 'living room.' Here you can see our futon and our kitchen table

Here is the other side of the living room. Our kitchen table doubles as our TV stand. Sweet wallpaper huh?

Through the sliding doors of our living room is our laundry room. We only have a washer, Koreans hang dry everything.

View of our kitchen from the futon. Our mini fridge-microwave-toaster oven combo.

Our kitchen. Sadly we don't have an oven or a dishwasher. Just a sink and two burners. 

Our tiny bathroom. Notice the odd placement of the shower head? Yup, between the sink and toilet with no curtain. When you shower in Korea, everything just gets wet and it drains under the sink.

Just to the right of the bathroom is our bedroom. We made those curtains out of felt. The sun was AWFUL before we became crafty! To the right is our "closet." It is really just a floor to ceiling rack. 

View of the other side of our bedroom. Closet on the left, and our "dresser" that we recovered from a school's trash pile. The unit above the dresser is the only air conditioning unit in the apt. There are no heating vents. In Korea, the heat comes through the floor. Notice how close we are to the kitchen? Convenient for a late night glass of water!

I hope this gives you a better indication to what apartment living in Korea is like. Super small compared to the United States, but we make due!

Korea, We're Coming Back!

It’s been officially confirmed, Andrew and I have been placed in Gyeongbuk Province to teach English in South Korea!

“What?! You’re going again?” That’s the exact reaction we’ve both received from pretty much everyone we know. And our response is always. “Why not?”

                          

After our whirlwind year teaching in Ulsan, South Korea from Aug 2009-Aug 2010, we were exhausted. We worked more hours than the average public school teachers, and we were ready to kick-off our Southeast Asia backpacking adventure. Sure, we knew we would miss our time in Korea, but we didn’t anticipate missing it that much…

We came back to the USA in October 2010, and both secured jobs and places to live by the early part of 2011. It had begun. The American dream of “grownup jobs,” 401K’s, bills, future planning…etc. It has been a great year and a half since we’ve returned to our cushy bubble, but great just isn’t good enough anymore. Andrew and I were definitely bit by the travel bug and our typical American vacation allotment just wasn’t going to allow us to scratch that itch.Let’s fast forward to February 2012. During one of our usual nightly walks, the idea of returning to South Korea was brought up. Not seriously, but in a more “wouldn’t-it-be-great-to -live-the expat-life-again” sort of way. We then continued to talk about it, reminiscing in old memories. These talks occurred on a more regular basis until we decided that we were actually going to go through with this again.

Leap of faith...get it?

All it takes is a leap of faith and a commitment. A commitment to each other, a commitment to your school to fulfill your contract, and most importantly a commitment to yourself. Andrew and I love to travel. We love to explore, we love to try new things, get lost in foreign lands, meet people who couldn’t be more different than we are, and learn from them. We have committed ourselves to following our passions and dreams. Traveling is a passion, so we have taken another leap of faith, left everything behind, and we are once again heading to the 'land of the morning calm.'

We knew the application process was tedious and time consuming, but we didn’t anticipate the frustrations that we went through being that this was our second time around. Here is the shortened version:

We found a recruiter - we applied - the recruiter told us we were too late since we hadn’t started our background check yet ( in 2009 the background check took two weeks, now it’s an FBI check and it took 12…) – not to be discouraged we applied with EPIK directly – we passed the interview – we waited on our last document (background check) that we had to have in order to officially apply with the Korean Metropolitan Office of Education – we continued to wait – we involved our congressman to speed up the process – this failed – we still waited – 12 weeks later it arrived – we sent it off to DC to be apostilled – then we waited – and waited – four more weeks – then we finally mailed off everything – then we waited for a placement –we waited – we waited – then we waited some more. Seven months after the process began, we were finally placed (and not too far from Ulsan).

So, in a matter of one month’s time, Sarah was involved in a car accident (not her fault) and totaled her car, we quit our jobs, we are getting married, honeymooning in Mexico, moving me out of my apartment, and we are moving to Korea (again)! Whew…that is way too much life change for anyone!

Stay tuned for the next chapter in our lives as newlyweds in Korea...again!

Teacher Rafting Trip

Had an interesting experience rafting with the teachers at my school last weekend. I'm going to take another stab at writing it out in a fun poem, enjoy!

Just last weekend July 9th and 10th,
The teachers decided on a ‘rafting’ trip.

Not sure what to expect but agreed and took part,
After all that occurred I can’t say it was smart.

I boarded the bus and was given a snack,
Octopus jerky I wanted to yak.

We pulled out of Ulsan on Friday at three,
The drive took four hours with no place to pee!

Although it was early and still the afternoon,
The male teachers used the bus as a moving saloon.

I was called from the back to join in the fun,
One Dixie cup of Soju and I was done.

I already get car sick and didn’t want a full bladder,
They ignored this idea because it didn’t matter.

Nathan and Dorian joined in and weren’t cautious,
The swaying and booze caused them to be nauseous.

Four hours later we arrived at our destination,
In the middle of nowhere was our current location.

Only corn stalks and mountains and our place for the night,
It looked new and clean with no reason for fright.

Boys in one room and girls in the next,
I have never stayed in such a complex.

Our room had two rooms that were bare with no beds,
We didn’t have blankets or pillows for our heads.

On the floor were dead spiders and a few other bugs,
This had to be a mistake can I at least have a rug?

After the shock I walked down the stairs,
The smell of meat on a grill was filling the air.

Pig, rice and green leafs is all that I took,
And an oyster type food that I got to cook.

The oyster was a first and I dove right in,
Only to find that it was chewy and thin.

I stuffed in rice and kimchi to try to get it down,
I had no luck and was starting to drown.

Dorian got me some water and after way too long,
I was able to swallow and rush dinner along.

Some drinking and chatter is what took place next,
Then a game of night volleyball kept the drunkards in check.

Tired and hungry I went to “bed,”
Dreaming of eating some butter and bread.

It was the worst night, I did not even sleep.
The women woke up early I wanted to weep.

A quarter ‘till six on a freakin’ Saturday,
The ladies were up and ready to play.

I was called downstairs to go for a hike,
A beautiful movie scene is what it looked like.

The river was peaceful and the mountains so pretty,
The morning fog rolling in, a nice change from the city.

More volleyball was played and then breakfast was served,
No eggs, just kimchi and rice is all I observed.

We boarded the bus around nine oclock,
We didn’t drive more than just a few blocks.

Donggang River is what we would float,
A big yellow raft we would use as our boat.

After strapping the life jackets and helmets on tight,
We hauled our two rafts and began the fight.

It started out fun at first then my arms starting hurting,
Being unaware of the safety tips became disconcerting.

The water speed picked up and then it turned white,
We began bouncing and paddling with all of our might.

“Hanna Duel Set Net,” our guide yelled from the back,
We kept going fast and into rocks we would smack!

I can’t tell you how often our raft would get stuck,
Wedged in between rocks it was always our luck.

At one point our guide fell out of the raft,
At first we all smiled and started to laugh.

We were flying down this river with no one to guide,
Dorian fell out too but pulled himself back inside.

We crashed in some rocks which allowed the guide to get in,
With sharp rocks and fast water, think what could have been?

His shin was gashed and the swelling began,
You could tell it really hurt, he was such a tough man.

Two hours in, we pulled the boat to the side,
We ate a quick snack before continuing the ride.

One hour left and my arms were so dead,
All I wanted was to sleep in a bed!

When we made it to the end I was so elated
You could tell our fun index had significantly faded.

The rafting was fun and entertaining at times,
Had this been in America, a waiver woulda' been signed.

We changed our wet clothes and boarded the bus,

We had a bibimbap lunch waiting for us.

We scarfed down our lunch and walked around,

A TV set and a cave is what we found.

The set looked real, and resembled a palace,

My co-teacher Sunny began getting a callus.

You see while we rafted she was pushed in,

Her right shoe fell off and we never saw it again.

As we walked back, found by one of the guys,

An abandoned pink crock and it was just her size!

The cave was dark, cold and very wet,
A nice little break from the sun and the sweat.

As we walked through the ceiling got lower,
Without being warned we were crouched and walked slower.

This lasted too long and our backs started aching,

I was ready to leave and was done picture taking.

Once again it was our bus we got on,

The ride home being quiet, I started to yawn.

Four hours later back in Ulsan at last,

Another dinner was offered, but I had to pass.

Exhausted and hungry I had to get back,

I wanted to sleep and had to unpack.

Took a quick shower and then went to bed,

I was out by 9:30 with a pillow under head!

The New Semester

Second semester has come to an end, and March 2nd marked the start of a brand new school year at Hakseong Elementary School. It has come with plenty of changes that I am getting use to. I thought I would spice up this blog with a poetic tale of how the first week went, enjoy :)

It is March 5th a new year has begun,
Not sure what to expect, but it better be fun.

The new year started off in a brand new room,
But we’re kinda cramped there’s no room for a broom.

It’s nice and new and not like the old closet,
That was our old office filled with dusty deposits.

I no longer have third grade, but fourth, fifth and sixth,

Another new co-teacher to throw in the mix.

The kids call her Sunny and she seems really sweet,

Perfect for making the English teacher's complete.

Twelve teachers left and fourteen new came in,
Two from America it’s an English win-win.

The teacher’s move schools every four years,
Not really sure why but it’s ‘cause of their tier.

New teacher Dorian, his skin color’s black,
‘Obama’ he’s called by kids to his back.

My new classroom has a smart board and big screen TV,
Not sure how it works but the kids scream in glee.

On Wednesday March 2nd the staff took a bus,
To drive for an hour through the mountains and dust.

“We’ll hike to the top and then have a good meal,”
I was told nothing more not sure what to feel.

As the hike started up, the hill was not steep,
Then twenty minutes passed by, I wanted to weep.

It was muddy and slick all at the same time,
I was not prepared for this torturous climb.

When we reached the top I imagined a view,
Nothing but trees and the sky a faint blue.

Some teachers kept going while some stayed back,
Then there were stragglers still far from the pack.

Those of us tired and ready to eat,
Walked in the ‘restaurant’ and felt our defeat.

We took off our shoes and sat down on the floor,
Anxious to chow on what the hiking was for.

There was kimchi and rice and some veggies too,
Then came the pot of a chicken type stew.

It was nothing more than a bird in hot water,
Just its neck gone it must have been quite the slaughter.

We ate and we talked and some teacher’s toasted,
To a new school year while the principal boasted.

It wasn’t ‘till later I found out why he smiled,
He was shooting liquor which makes him quite wild.

It was nothing but smiles as we all left the tent,
Dreading the dark and unstable descent.

We all made it down and only one teacher fell,
She was a good sport and was muddy as hell.

We piled back on to our escorted ride,
Hard to stay awake and keep my eyes wide.

When I made it home I told Andrew this news,
And picked off the mud that was stuck to my shoes.

I hope our next dinner is far less demanding,
And hopefully involves some food that’s outstanding!