Korean War Museum II

Andrew and I had vacation July 24^th –Aug 1^st, so instead of going somewhere exotic, we decided to finish seeing the sites we had missed in Seoul. I enjoy going to Seoul, however it does make me miss the calm and less chaotic life we live in Ulsan.

The first thing we wanted to see was the War Museum of Korea. If you remember from an earlier post, we had been to the museum last October during Chuseok, but only toured the outside facilities. This time, we wanted to check out the inside of the museum.

The inside is massive and after spending over two hours there, I was glad we split the museum into two visits. We were also exited to see that last month was the 60^th anniversary of the Korean War, so they were having a special DMZ exhibition.

After walking through the many rooms and eras of Korean history, I was once again reminded that I am glad I’m American. No wonder most of my students dislike history so much. There is so much history on the Korean Penninsula and so many wars, and enemies, and heroes, and facts…it was hard to keep everything straight. My favorite part of the museum was the part dedicated to the Korean War. They had a really great exhibit dedicated to the countries in the United Nations that aided the South during the war. I was very proud to be an American when I entered that room and read everything that the USA did to help the South. It truly is the forgotten war for the USA, and it saddens me that we were not taught more about it in history classes growing up.

One of the coolest things in this exhibit was “The Drop.” In rememberence of both Korean and U.N soldiers who lost their lives in the war, 1,300 I.D tags form the shape of a tear drop. The iron thorns symbolize the horror of the tragic war.

The DMZ exhibit was $5 extra a piece but since the next day we were going to the real DMZ, we thought it would be interesting. It was mostly just pictures and photographs but the disappointing thing was that it was completely in Korean. I wish we would have been told, but we were still able to enjoy the pictures, we just wish we could have read the captions in order to get more out of it. I thought it was a very nice display for the people of Korea to get a chance to see inside the DMZ since they are not allowed to visit the real DMZ. The people of Korea are still not allowed to visit the 38^th parallel because the government still fears that in desperation to see their families, people would try to cross the boarder and then would immediately be killed by North Korean soldiers.

Mud Fest!

It was pretty much what it sounds like. On July 19^th, Andrew and I boarded a bus at 10:00pm anticipating our ‘3.5’ hour bus ride to the north eastern part of Korea. Well, it was actually more like 11pm when we left and the 3.5 hour bus ride turned into a 6 hour bus ride! This was due to two circumstances: 1) It was pouring down rain, so we were driving a little slower than usual. 2) 80% of the bus thought they would get the party started early and drink on their way up to Boryeong. Well we all know what happens when you start drinking…your bladder fills up quickly and thus the five pee stops we had to make. We rolled in to our hotel at 5am.

I forgot to mention that along with the drinking, there was bus karaoke. So sleeping wasn’t an option. Mixing drunk people stuck on a bus with a very loud karaoke system was just a recipe for annoyance and disaster. At least our bus didn’t have a puker like the other Ulsan bus did…haha.

This whole festival began when members of this little town were suffering from a lack of tourism. They created this event to draw in expats from all of Korea to get drunk, spend money, and roll around in some mud; and 13 years later it’s still one of the most anticipated events in Korea. Naturally Andrew and I had to check it out.

So the next morning (the same morning we arrived) we walked down to the beach. It was absolutely pouring pitchforks and hammer handles, but we weren’t at mud fest to stay clean and dry so we went with it. Basically, we would cover ourselves in mud, play around in the waves of the ocean, participate in some obstacles courses, and then repeat. Sorry I have no pictures because I didn’t want to ruin my camera. But you can google the festival…there are tons of pictures!

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!

Jumpin' June

My time this semester has become so routine, that I have resorted to one blog post a month. I know that's really sad, and it may seem lazy, but there is just not a lot going on these days.

Saturday June 5th, Andrew and I heard that Ulsan Grand Park was having a festival of roses; so naturally we had to clear our busy schedule to check it out. This park truly lives up to it's name, it's very grand and we weren't sure which part of the park was holding the festival. After some walking in the hot sun we found it. It was BEAUTIFUL! There were thousands of bloomed roses of every color and size. It was a great day for "couple tee" spotting. These couples came dressed and ready for their pictures to be taken, and men have no shame when it comes to matching the lady they love (Andrew refuses). They also had a few interesting lawn ornaments that made for great photo opportunities but the lines were too long to wait in, so we only manage to take one.

We walked around for awhile until we got tired of dealing with the mass amount of people that were there. We bought some ice cream and then began our hike back home.

Saturday June 12th was the first world cup game for Korea. Andrew and I wanted to get in the full spirit of things so with our Home Plus-bought jerseys on, we fought the crowd at Taehawa River where an outdoor viewing of the game was being held. Picture a big flat grassy field next to a river with several large screens and a stage set up for viewing. EVERYONE was wearing red and many people were sporting the light up devil horns ( I really wanted some, but they were sold out) because Korea calls themselves the red devils. 대 한 민 극!! (Dae-Han-Min-Gook) was constantly being shouted and everyone was cheering. Andrew and I decided to pick a spot and just sit down before we would have to sit somewhere where we wouldn't be able to see. Well, what we thought was a good spot ending up being the biggest pain. We were constantly straining our necks in every direction trying to see. People would inch their way in front of us, standing, and it got old fast. Luckily for a few min, an old Korean man sat in a chair next to us and would yell at anyone who stood in his (our) viewing area. He finally got fed up with it and moved.

It was hot, and rainy but everyone was still in pretty high spirits. It reminded me a little of 4th of July at Corporate Woods...minus the Devil Horns and things being shouted in Korean. When Korea scored their first goal against Greece, it was done by Park Ji-Sung. He is basically the biggest athlete after Kim Yuna in this country. People went absolutely nuts! Andrew and I ended up leaving at half time to finish watching it at home because we just couldn't see anything. Luckily, we didn't have to miss a minute of the game on our way home because the taxi driver had his TV playing the game. We got to celebrate Korea's second goal with the cab driver. It was fun to experience the atmosphere and we were glad we went.

For the first three weeks of June, Johnson was in charge of helping 8 students with an English play. So every afternoon for 3 straight weeks, I got to hear the students practicing and helped them make their props. June 18th was the big performance of "The Magic Fish," (but for costume purposes, it was more like the magic dolphin). The kids did a great job considering the entire play was in English and they looked adorable doing it. Check out our awesome laptop, camera, MP3 player, cell phone, refrigerator, and flat screen TV we made.

Let's see, what else...

June 19th I went shopping in Daegu with a couple other female teachers...

June 13th and 27th Andrew and I went to the orphanage again...
June 24th a woman learning to drive accidentally hit the gas instead of the breaks when she was parking and drove through the wall of our English Zone...

Also June 24th in one of my 4th grade classes four students had to run around the classroom once before they could write the answer on the board. Well, one boy thought he would be smart and run the opposite direction to avoid congestion around the curve. Only two people ended up at the board out of the four. Turns out the boy didn't think things through. I went back to check on him and he was holding his nose while a taller girl was holding her mouth. It was obvious what had happened. I peeled his hand off of his nose to assess the damage: instant swelling and bruising as well as a deep cut down his nose...broken. She wouldn't let me see her mouth so I sent them to the nurse right away, never to return back to class. I felt to horrible.

Well that's all that happened in June. Like I said, nothing too exciting.

Just A Few Pictures

We had a day off for elections on June 2nd, so we spent the day at the beach!

Dad this is for you! They even had a bike in the window...I had to take the photo.

Some of the adorable babies from the orphanage.

She's Miss. Independent.

She tends to be a little needy...and loves to throw tantrums.

Don't let the adorable smile fool you.

Being goofy :) I told them to smile...this is what they did!

Look at those eyes...he's quite the ladies man.

Tugs at your heartstrings doesn't it?

Sports Day and A Wedding

May 4th was an exciting day for Hakseong Elementary School. It was our schools Sports Day, (more commonly known as Field Day in the US) and it was quite the spectacle. They had flags from several different countries hung up, tents set up with food and drinks (coffee and beer) for the school staff, and all sorts of gaming contraptions. The kids could barley contain their excitement before the festivities began.

Once all of the student's did their warm up in unison, which is an event in itself, the games began! There were relay races that involved just running. Then there were races that involved somersaults, and hurdles that were entirely too high and hula hoops. The younger kids did balloon pop races and bob-for-candy-that's in flour-where everyone else has also slobbered on, and tunnel races. There were several games of tug-a-war and a very interesting game they called "Blue Yellow." There were no rules to this game. Just two teams (blue and yellow) and about 200 cards in the middle of the field. When they blew the whistle, the teams rushed to the middle and began turning the cards to their teams color. Kids were punching and sprawling out their bodies to protect these cards...it was mayhem.

I got to participate in a few events myself. The first was a tug-of-war game with the parents. I was just told to get in line. Everything else was explained in Korean. There were three ropes laid out and two teams on either side of the field. Not how I usually play tug-of-war but I went with it. They blew the whistle and everyone started running...so I started running. I quickly figured out the team that gets two ropes is the winner. Well, these are grown mom's and dad's and they are just as competitive as their kids. Let's just say I ended up flat on my back in the dirt with a mild case of rope burn. We lost.

After searching for some water (it's not readily available in Korea) I was handed a beer and once again waved over to participate in another activity. This time, it was a 200 yard race. All the mom's ran first and then the dads/male teachers. For some reason I wasn't allowed to run with the mom's, instead, I was put in the male league. This was an odd situation. I knew how competitive they were in the tug-of-war but I wasn't sure what to do. Should I run full out and try...or kind of hang back and jog a bit. But I didn't want to lose because I wanted to redeem myself in front of the students after wiping out in tug-of-war. Well, our school's business manager was in this race too. (He is the one at volleyball that's always yelling at me in Korean when I make a mistake. ) So I decided, as long as I beat him...that's is fast as I need to run.

Being a little cocky, he told me I could scoot up 3 yards for a head start. Well, that irritated me even more. They blew the whistle and I started out about 70%, then I noticed the business manager gaining...I decided there is no way I'm letting him beat me. Well...I don't know where it came from, but I just took off. I ended up beating everyone and even won three bars of soap and some toothpaste for my first place finish! The best part was seeing all the little girls cheering for me yelling, "Sarah Teacher number one!"

My thighs were sore for the next week from that little joy sprint.

Saturday May 8th Johnson got married! When I first met him, he went on and on about how he wanted to get married and how he wanted me to help him find a tall woman (even though he's only 5'4.) He met his lovely wife E.K in late October and popped the question in December.

I had been looking forward to this day ever since he told me because I was interested to see what a Korean wedding was like. I had heard that Koreans were beginning to have more western style weddings but I'm not sure where they had been looking for inspiration.

The wedding was held at the World Cup stadium. There is a very nice banquet area below the field. When we arrived, there were tons of people going every which way. I saw a sign with Johnson's name and so we followed it. There were several teachers from my school standing around outside of this room and when I looked in, I noticed that is where the wedding was. The whole thing was kind of bizarre. There was a small room, filled with white chairs and fake roses. The aisle was raised and lit up with different colors of neon lights. There were mirrors on the walls and the ceiling and neon lights lining the entire room that constantly changed colors. That's when it hit me...they must have been going for the Vegas style wedding!

All the sudden, Johnson started waking down the aisle and bowing and then his wife did the same. There was no announcement letting everyone know...it just started. Most people that were standing outside the room didn't bother to come in. The seats were all filled so we just kind of stood in the back and watched in confusion. The whole ceremony lasted about 15 min and then they took a few pictures and it was over.

We didn't know what to do next, so one of the 6th grade teachers, Park, told us to follow him. We went downstairs to eat at a buffet. But the buffet wasn't just for Johnson's wedding...it was for all the guests of all the weddings that day. After we ate...we just left.

I was told that you don't even need to show up on time to the wedding. As long as you stick around for the group photo then that's all that matters. You just want proof that you attended. It was all strange and interesting and exciting and I am glad I got to be a part of it!

April 2010

I know it's been a while. Things have been pretty hectic in my life lately. Working from 8:40am-8pm 5 days a weeks pretty much leaves me exhausted by the weekend. April was a pretty fun month. Here's what I have been up to:

Saturday April 10th, Andrew and I went with a church group to Busan. We spent part of the day at the Famous Busan Fish Market and the other half at an orphanage. The experience at the fish market was interesting. It was basically a bunch of people selling all types of fish. It smelled disgusting and I wasn't particularly excited to see people beheading and gutting the fish in front of me. It was an experience and maybe if I actually liked eating fish I could have appreciated it more. I was glad I witnessed it but I don't think I need to go back.

The next part of the day was an experience I will never forget. I have never been to an orphanage before and the closest thing I can relate it to it the movie Annie. I'm thinking mistreated dirty children cleaning floors with toothbrushes while Ms. Hannigan yells at them to clean faster. This was not the case at all. It was a very nice home that housed about 60 kids ranging from 4 to 14. When we arrived, we were greeted by a few of the children, while the others looked on from their windows. The 12 volunteers broke up into activity groups and the kids joined whichever one they found an interest in. Andrew went and played soccer while I took charge of the crafts. As soon as we brought out the chalk, the kids decided to join. We covered the driveway with drawings or flowers, hopscotch and Spongebob. However, the drawing soon turned into the kids chasing the volunteers and wiping chalk on our faces. But it was still fun; after all, we were there to have fun.

When the drawing got boring, we ventured into the kids school room where we began to just draw pictures and hang out. Park Hae Min is an 8 year old girl who was always by my side. She wanted to draw chalk with me and took pride in the fact that she was the one who managed to get blue chalk on my face. She drew a picture of me, and asked if I would draw one of her. This adorable picture was the result. The rest of the afternoon involved playing some games roughly discussing their favorite Korean Pop singers and trying to communicate. Overall it was an awesome day and the church plans to go back in May. Andrew and I do too.

Saturday April 17th, Andrew and I ventured to Gyeongju, a city about 45 min from Ulsan. Since winter has lasted longer this year than normal, the cherry blossoms bloomed a little later. We wanted to see them in their prime state, and we were told to go to Gyeongju. After a mix up when we got off the bus (of course), we managed to find a beautiful canopy of trees. I felt like I was in a movie as we walked the path beneath them. They were just beautiful. It was a perfect spring day and the flowers were so full, it looked like the trees were covered in snow. It's sad that they don't stay in bloom very long. Most of the trees in Ulsan have lost their flowers and their beautiful scent. But I am glad we had a chance to see them!

Friday April 23rd, my school had their annual class picnic day. Every grade goes to a different destination and participates in an activity. I got to tag along with the 5th grade. We rode in a coach bus for about an hour. The bus ride was great and we were entertained by a flat screen tv playing Korean pop music videos...it was just hilarious.

When we arrived at our destination I got a little concerned. We were in a rural area in the mountains and there were about 25 buses already parked. We were not the only school there. The first thing I noticed were two baby goats tied to totum polls. The area was basically a mud pit and a few tents and some playground equipment. I had no idea what was going on because Johnson had a meeting as wasn't there...I was just following the crowd at this point.

After what I assume were instructions by some of the staff members, the class I was with, were handed blue plastic bags. What I understood from one of the students was that we were to go into the muddy field and pick weeds. In my head I thought, this was some picnic. Let's go do some yard work as a field trip. Later I found out that we were using the weeds we just picked to make into rice cakes. I heard the staff member over the loudspeaker so we grab as many weeds as we could and went on our way. The next step was a tent. The kids got the chance to beat the weeds into the rice cake with a massive wooden hammer. I later found out that this was the traditional way rice cakes were made. After everyone got to hit it, we were given samples. It wasn't too bad considering I was eating rice and weeds.

Next the kids were given free time to run around, do some archery, slide, and jump on the trampoline. As our luck would have it, it began to rain and the mud just got worse. Picture 100's of kids running around a field of mud while it's raining, basically unsupervised. Chaos. The most entertaining part for me was witnessing the trampoline. If you have ever seen Four Christmas' and remember the scene when the kids were in the "jump jump" it was much like that. Way to many kids trying to jump. They were screaming, trying to climb out, slipping and falling. The best part was when they managed to get out. The kids had brought snacks in with them and food was everywhere. Remember it is still raining at this point. So kids were falling and rolling in mud and snacks. Food was stuck in their hair, on their faces, on their clothing...ah, it was so funny to watch. The kids kept saying, "Sarah Teacher come jump, come jump!!" I was like no way, I will participate in most of the activities...but not this one :)

Next was a very unsafe tractor ride at a speed way to fast for the amount of kids in the back trailer and the rough terrain. I was waiting for a broken neck...but to my surprise everyone seemed to make it out unharmed. It was the most hilarious field trip/picnic I have ever experienced.

Sunday April 25th was one of my favorite days since being in Korea. Andrew and I got involved with an organization called THOPE (Teachers Helping Other People Everywhere) and went to an orphanage in Ulsan. It took us about an hour to get there and the facilities were amazing! There are about 110 kids that call this place home. They range in age from babies to high school. They have their own gym, sauna, pool, playground, and really nice rooms. When it came time to divide the volunteers I jumped at the chance of working in the nursery while Andrew played sports.

I can't even express to you how adorable these kids are. I was in a room with two other volunteers and we were in charge of watching and playing with seven, two and three year-olds. (I would have taken pictures but we were under the impression that you aren't allowed. When we left, I found out it was ok. We are going again on May 9th, so I'll take some then.) It was such a fun afternoon just reading and playing. It just melted my heart when they would hold their hands up so you would pick them up, or when they would fight to sit in your lap. They were all such sweet, sweet babies. We were told that not all the children in the orphanage are up for adoption. A small percentage of them are in there because their families have found themselves in financial trouble and can no longer support the child. When they get back on their feet, they go and pick them up. But again, it's a small percentage.

I am so grateful to have found THOPE and that I am able to volunteer my time every other Sunday to visit these kids. It was hard to leave but very excited to go back.