My Summer Vacation

So, it's been a few months since I was actually on vacation, but what a great time it was. I'm going to begin with Jeju Island. It's considered to be Korea's "Hawaii," and I would have to agree, although it's cheaper in Jeju....but not much. 

The island was beautiful and took about 50 min to get there by airplane from Busan, Gimhae Airport. The airport was small and crowded but greeted its arrivals with palm trees and sunshine. The weather is not supposed to be particularly cheerful in the summer. It's characteristically known for monsoon type weather, but this was the farthest from what I experienced. Three whole days on Jeju Island, and maybe a few drops of rain in the evening. It was particularly beautiful, especially in the Jungman Beach area near Seogwipo City. I had been joined by my incredible SO (significant other), who thoughtfully flew across the pacific ocean and lost a day of sleep for a vacation with me. We stayed at the Hyatt Jeju, and I have forever been spoiled, and will never be satisfied with hotel accommodation again unless it is a Hyatt. The pictures speak for themselves.

Hyatt Jeju - view from the hotel room balcony

Waterfall on a secluded beach behind the Hyatt Hotel

Cheonjehyeon Waterfall 

More vacation to come...

My favourite thing on Korean TV

Well, it's been a very long time since I've written anything, and I figured the best way for me to make my return would be to lead with this. This is quite possibly the greatest thing I've ever seen and I'm taking these dance moves back with me to Canada. For months I had no idea what this commercial was for until I decided to sing it to my manager one day. She told me it's a commercial for loans. Go figure. Anyway, I want to shake the marketing teams hands. 

Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flA6bD_OzJA

Summer is a go.

Well, with the unrelenting encouragement from my mother I have crawled out of my hole to post a new blog...which I agree is long overdue. You would think that being in a new country would give you lots to talk about, but the sad truth is I am still working for that pay cheque, resulting in a good chunk of my time going towards the betterment of English education in South Korea.

Exciting events are on the horizon though, as the semester is ending soon and my vacation begins as of July 17th. 

So , what's new? Well, sick again. Apparently covering your mouth when you cough is a foreign concept here, and I have contracted some virus from one of the hundreds of children I see everyday. Luckily, they are cute...and I have implemented "Coughing and Sneezing etiquette 101" in all my classes.

Before the cold took hold of me I was able to experience a beautiful day at Wayheon beach with a group of fellow teachers. It was a great day. 

We thought it was a fantastic idea to get a watermelon to take to the beach...which it was, however, no one brought a watermelon cutting device. So we put our educated minds together and came up with a solution. A rock wrapped with a plastic bag (for sanitary purposes of course) and another plastic bag for our watermelon smashing surface in an attempt to keep the sand off. So with bated breath we all waited in anticipation as the rock was raised, and I'm happy to report that the effort was a success. Watching us eat from this cracked open watermelon must have been something similar to observing the eating habits of primates, but I have never enjoyed watermelon more so than I did in that moment. 

The Watermelon Feast

Watermelon corpse

Where am I?

Well, it's been an interesting few weeks.

First off, I went to a Korean Medicine doctor and received acupuncture. I've tried a lot of things for my migraines, so I figured I would give this a shot as well. I was slightly concerned about my low pain tolerance that I discovered about 5 years ago when I had my navel pierced and swore never to do any recreational needle play ever again. But, aside from the first prick in the side of my foot, which was entirely uncomfortable, the rest went fairly smoothly and was almost relaxing, aside from my acute awareness of needles in my face, hands and feet. However, I did feel amazing afterwards. I'm not sure if it was the mechanical foot massage and neck massage that I had in the waiting room, or if it was in fact the acupuncture, but regardless I felt fantastic. On my way out I stopped at the reception to pay where I noticed a box of human placenta extract for sale. I decided it was best if I just ignored that altogether. So, as if the placenta extract to my left didn't exist, I paid my 10,000 won (about 10 CAD) and my health insurance apparently covered the rest. So, all in all a good experience. Thumbs up to acupuncture, and thumbs down to potential thoughts of the extraction and uses of human placenta.

OK, next. I got to experience the other Korean health care system first hand when I tripped over a computer cord in my apartment and went head first into my kitchen counter. One x-ray, one CT scan, one uncomfortable IV and 4 hours later, I discovered I had a concussion. As far as I understood, the doctor told be to get lots of bed rest and he prescribed me some pain medication, which was Tylenol ER. So, for 3 days straight I barely moved. For a migraine sufferer I thought for sure I could handle a little concussion...but as it turns out, they can give one hell of a headache. I can honestly say I don't remember much of that week.

Over the past couple weeks I've been on the mend and settling further in to my new home in Okpo. I've been doing a lot of wandering, and investigating new cafes and restaurants. One cafe in particular called Sorheia does an incredible bacon and egg sandwich...and by incredible I mean there was a pound of bacon on this thing. This place has loads of charm and I'm hoping to get a couple of pictures soon.

I've been able to get my hands on a cell phone. Being a foreigner on a year visa, they aren't very willing to give you a phone for any decent price, but I was able to get an old one from the bartender at the Singing Chicken. Everyone seems to communicate by cell here....I have never seen a cell phone culture such as this one. They have cell phones for every Paris Hilton outfit I imagine. Quite impressive.

Now, fast forward to the present. I went on a difficult yet rewarding hike after work yesterday with a co-worker. What started out as "let's just walk up to the top of this hill" became "wow we are actually hiking around the side of this mountain." It had it's steep and rocky moments. My co-worker tried to fall off the side of the mountain a couple times, and I may have tried a couple times myself. Although, I was somewhat comforted by the fact that I knew the emergency number to call. In my grade 6 class we're discussing emergency situations and "if you see a hurt person, call 119" is forever in my memory.

So, we hiked for about 2 hours and ended up at Deokpo Beach. It is a small beach where apparently the International Penguin Swimming Festival is held...although I'm just gathering that from the gigantic penguin statues that greeted us when we arrived at the beach.

We were smart and packed some sandwiches, because by that time I was absolutely famished. By the time we finished eating it was getting dark, which was a perfect excuse not to take the trail back to Okpo. I'm sure we were both secretly wanting to take a cab home, but instead we took the road home, which was a quicker route than the mountain, but still had an impressive incline to it. Today I am definitely feeling a little stiff, but it was well worth it.

Deokpo Beach greeters

Unwittingly looking across at where we would eventually be

Some fishermen

I hope it looks steep. Going down wasn't any easier than going up either.

Soundtrack of my social life

So, I wanted to share something that time and time again has brought me to the dance floor at the Singing Chicken. This song, by South Korean hip-hop artist MC Mong, has become a staple of my weekend enjoyment. This song is infectious and playful, and can lead to some crazy dancing. Often when this song comes on, it kinda has a "souja boy" effect, meaning a dance routine usually ensues. I've learned a few of the moves, and I'm pretty sure I will have it all down in a couple of weeks. Anyway, you don't need to understand korean to enjoy this one, I have only just found out the english translation, but the music itself is very expressive of the overall sentiment.
Please enjoy, laughing is definitely allowed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTUclwr-Jo0

I stand corrected

Leading up to my departure for Korea, I was thinking long and hard about the reality of teaching 6-12 year old children. Throughout my undergraduate degree in English I was frequently asked if I wanted to be a teacher, and I always promptly and with conviction said, NO! I never considered myself to be good with children, nor did I particularly ever want to be around them for too long. So it came as quite a surprise to myself, and to many others, when I decided to sign on for a year of teaching. But I finally decided, as I finalized the contract, that I struggled long enough with the language and I might as well help others struggle along as well.


Today I'm really glad I made that decision. There is a strong sense of fulfillment and satisfaction that comes along with this teaching gig. It's a great experience to watch these kids progress and to know that you've had some part in that. I am thoroughly enjoying teaching, even if they are little germ toting, nose picking, children. They are dedicated to learning and are also adorable little humans.


I would like to add that the teaching experience has been made just a little sweeter when I discovered today that there is an optional booklist in the curriculum which includes a book based on my favourite Shakespearean play. So, next week, I will introduce my grade 6 class to A Midsummer Night's Dream. Looks like they are ready for my Shakespearean interpretation after all.

My Korean Easter

So this wasn't an average Easter for me. First Easter without turkey and my moms stuffing. First Easter without my moms decorative bunnies and eggs. And, first Easter without Cadbury chocolate mini eggs. I of course missed all of these things, but I enjoyed my Korean Easter nonetheless.

Easter is not celebrated in the same decorative and highly commercialized way that it is in North America, but the decorating of boiled eggs, like I used to do back in elementary school, seems have made its way across the ocean. One of my grade one students gave me some easter eggs today. Yes, they are edible, but no they are not chocolate. Three eggs, nicely decorated, came in a little basket with a package of salt and sesame seeds. I'm not a huge fan of hard boiled eggs, but the presentation alone is enough to make me give it a try. So I have my morning snack all figured out.

I also received a gift from a student in the Grade 4 enrichment class I teach after school. Now, I'm not sure if this has anything to do with Easter or not, but it is a gift worthy of recognition.

First I should say that before I left for Korea I said my goodbyes to a number of food items: peanut butter, sour watermelons, soda crackers, bread. But to my surprise, I can still get peanut butter, although for a premium price, and I can get bread, however whole wheat is almost impossible for me to get my hands on. But one thing I knew I was definitely going to miss the most, was my sesame seed bagel, well toasted, with plain light cream cheese.

I have managed to find bagels on occasion at a bakery in town called Paris Baguette, but you can only buy them separately and they are definitely not the cheapest thing on the menu. And I've been able to find cream cheese, not light cream cheese but I can deal with that...of course that is also about $5 CAD, so my cheap bagel order at tim horton's has turned out to be quite the delicacy here.

Anyway, back to the gift. The mother of one of my students made me, yes actually made as in baked, four bagels, all different kinds. Today was a major success just because of these bagels. There was a note attached from the mother explaining that her daughter liked me and that she appreciates that and she thought I would be missing bagels. I would like to give this woman a hug. She couldn't have been more right. I miss bagels a lot. I'm not sure if I want to save them or eat them all at once. Anyway, some may call this "bribery" or an act to "soften the deal". But I should explain that the kids do not get marks for the enrichment class, and they are there by their own will, or I guess their parent's will. But none of that matters anyway, all that matters is that I have a sesame seed bagel crisping up in the toaster, and that in this moment I am content.

Happy Easter!

It's all news to me.

Without the internet and the skype update from my mom, I wouldn't have a clue as to what is going on in the world. I've become increasingly aware of the limitations to the information I do receive. Hindered by my inability to understand more than a couple common korean greetings, I live in a knowledge bubble that consists of children behavioural problems and literature with a grade six reading level. With North Korea's recent attempt to gain the world's attention, and by that I suppose I mean Mr. Obama and Co., trying to decipher what exactly is going on has been tricky.



Last weekend I was sitting in a bar called the Singing Chicken, which is a popular foreigner hang out, and every television had a korean news channel showing coverage of what the rocket launch would look like. I'm sure the journalist was going into extensive detail about time, place, possibilities, outcome, but without my own personal translator, all I got out of it was that a rocket may or may not have been launched from North Korea. Of course, the dissemination of information from North Korea is not the most reliable, unless of course you are China and have an alliance, otherwise you're working with grainy visuals and a skewed interpretation. Regardless, the broadcast I watched answered none of my questions, and also made me think, should I be worried? But then the music in the bar got louder as the friendly korean gentlemen at the bar began his lengthy playlist of Celine Dion, starting with the Titanic monstrosity, My Heart Will Go On, which he played first as an instrumental rendition. I believe The Power of Love followed, and then My Heart Will Go On repeated about 4 more times. So, about 3 Hite beer later and enough Canadian music to last me the year, I totally forgot about the sanction defying rocket launch North Korea may or may not have done.

As it turns out, what I had been watching was in fact coverage stating that the rocket was launched and that the accompanying satellite had not made it into orbit, although initial reports from NK had expressed a different sentiment.

I would never have even known this had my concerned and loving mother (who reads this blog and offers me...er...suggestions, and shows me the errors of my sloppy grammar) had not timely emailed me a link from the New York Times informing me of the current situation.

I feel as if as soon as I got off that plane in Busan and headed toward my desitnation here in Okpo, I've treated it like I'm in an alternate universe where the same political, social and environmental news that used to keep me in a far too personal relationship with my BlackBerry, is no longer of importance.

Anyway, failed satellite launch or not, I've realized I need to make an effort to know what is going on around me. I can't just assume I'm going to hear through the korean grapevine, or see a clip on tv and be able to piece together the state of world affairs. So now I'm back to my news feed obsession, although my poor BlackBerry has been reduced to nothing more than an alarm clock here in Korea, but the RSS feeds on my computer are alive and well again.

Just today I learned that a Canadian decided to steal a plane from Confederation College and fly out across the border to our friendly neighbours to the south, in an apparent suicide attempt, only to end up parking it somewhere in Missouri to wait for "Homeland Security."

I'm not sure why it's important for me to know all the little and big things that are going on around the world, especially since it's usually after the fact, but I guess if Mr. Kim Jong-il to my north is planning another sensational attention grabber, I may want to know about it before my mother gets on her email.



OK, let me have it mom, what did I spell wrong and where did I use the wrong form of the verb to have.

The Singing Chicken westerner/foreigner bar

My apartment.

It has everything I really need and it takes about 5 min to clean. The room is heated through the floors and is probably one of the best features. I never have to worry about cold feet in the morning. It's definitely a little stark and blindingly white, but this picture was taken the day I arrived, so I have some personalizing to do. Behind the sliding door in the one picture is where my laundry room is located. I also have a tv, a microwave, a toaster oven, a gas stove top and a fridge. I have yet to cook an elaborate korean cuisine in my kitchen, and it's quite possible that may never happen, but I can do poached, scrambled, sunny side up, and over easy eggs...oh and a mean omelette. I have become a huge fan of kimbap though, which is I guess Korean fast food. It's convenient and requires zero cooking and therefore no mess to clean up afterwards.

One month in.

So, I've spent the last month settling in to my new surroundings. After arriving in Busan and with nearly 24 hours in transit, a two hour drive finally brought me to Okpo, which is a small town on Geoje Island. It's a very interesting place, largely populated by foreigners because of the Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering company. Okpo is a wonderful contrast of the industrial and the natural. You can find massive cranes and ships nestled in the bay with water and mountains of trees surrounding.


I'm here in Okpo for a year teaching elementary school children the language I've learned to love and hate. I think my degree in English does me a bit of a disservice, because I don't think the kids are quite ready for exploring my interpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. But they are teaching me patience and I have learned to slow down my fast, if not somewhat slurred, speech. It has actually been a great grammar refresher course. It's been a while since I've reviewed count and non-count nouns.


The food has probably been the most interesting experience so far. Everyday at lunch I'm surprised by the different creatures I can find in my soup. There have been a few things that I will probably never want to taste again, but for the most part the food is great. I will say that I absolutely detest kimchi and the fact that it is served with every meal makes it very difficult to ignore. The variation of kimchi is astonishing, you can even get kimchi spaghetti, or cubed kimchi, or kimchi soup...however you want it, I'm pretty sure you can get it, but it all tastes the same to me, any which way you slice it.

I have much more to say, but I need to get at least one post up now, so I'm just going to finish this here.