100m Dash and Devil Pumpkins

What a fun past few weeks I've had!  I am continually thankful for my school, students, and fellow teachers.  Just tonight I told Aaron that I really look forward to walking into school each day.  My career as a teacher is continually affirmed.  

I thought I’d show some pictures from the past few weeks to give you an idea of my experience:

Sports day is an annual event in many Korean schools.  On this day, students’ homerooms compete against each other in various sporting events.  The students take this VERY seriously and prepare for it weeks in advance.  Each homeroom creates a banner which they hang from their classroom window and create custom made costumes to promote team spirit and unity.It was an absolute BLAST to watch.  I was lucky enough to participate in the three-legged teacher relay race with my co-teacher.

Finally, each Monday, Wednesday, and Friday after school I teach an English conversation class.  This is the class I look forward to all week.  My students are disciplined, enthusiastic about learning, yet are still your usual middle school students.  It such a joy to capture their energy as middle school students but be able to direct it so easily to learning.  We play many games to practice conversation and learn about culture in English speaking countries.  For example, we had a Halloween party including a costume contest and mummy making competition.  I was amazed at how much the students got into the idea of Halloween and how eager they were to dress up.  

Now, don't get me wrong, it is not all sunshine and roses (it is middle school after all), but once you figure out how to channel the students' energy and pubescent personalities (and are willing to make a fool of yourself), I couldn’t think of a better career than teaching.

-Callie

 

 

Passion

Just yesterday I received my first haircut in Korea. Now I’m known for never spending over $15 on a haircut in the US. Actually, $15 is pricey for me. I asked my co-teacher if she could tell me of a place to go, and she decided to make an evening out of it. We would go to her salon and then have dinner at a fantastic all-natural Korean restaurant tucked up on the mountainside. I was excited!

As I sat in the salon chair, iced tea in hand, and pretending to read the Korean magazine given to me on top of a silky, fluffed pillow, I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by what was happening to my hair—or actually, above it. It was one of those epiphanic moments when something just clicks and the world makes a little more sense, yet all the stylist was doing was cutting my hair. There was something about the way he studied each strand and cut so meticulously that unveiled a true passion for what he was doing. I began to see a quiet pride emit from the smirk on his face as his snips came faster and his snaps more rhythmic. He was excited to cut my hair! His passion for his daily work was more than inspiring—it was invigorating!

One of my fellow Korean teachers emits this same subtle, serenity when I watch her with her students. She is a fantastic teacher and I look forward to every chance I have to watch her teach in front of a full class or simply interact with a student in the hallway. She also gets a small smirk when a student raises his or her hand to ask a question or when she is typing tomorrow’s lesson plans at her desk. Her passion is her profession, and even the students find her passion contagious as they are more animated and excited in her classes.

Sometimes our routine catches up to us and we forget why we do certain things. I know I fall in that trap of comfort and routine sometimes as well. But then I stumble upon moments like watching a man gleefully cut someone’s hair or feeling an educator emit a curious sense of peace by encouraging a student, and it’s in these moments that I am reminded of the importance of having passion in life. As humans, we desire that feeling of attachment and purpose that having passion for something gives. For some, it may be a career, for others it may be family, a person, a sport, or a cause. Or, for others like me, our passion may come in more of a mosaic form. Whatever it is though, it’s important that we discover it and become in tune with it. Not only does it bring more peace within ourselves, but it also leaves those with whom we come in contact, feel a little bit better about their own life and world.

I suppose this realization was worth the 95,000 won (roughly $80) salon experience. Oops.

-Callie

Watch out Tyra Banks!

I'm writing this blog while sipping a pomegranate iced tea in a coffee shop near our apartment. Before taking my fifth step into the shop, the barista warmly asked, “Take out?” I politely pointed to a table, and with a surprised, sympathetic gaze that could only be given by a Korean, was handed a menu. You do nothing alone in Korea.

One example of this importance of family, friends, and community is Chuseok. Saturday was the official day of Chuseok. Chuseok is a holiday comparable to Thanksgiving in the US when Koreans celebrate the harvest by preparing special foods and performing ceremonies to honor and offer parts of the harvest to ancestors. Koreans travel back to their homes in order to celebrate this holiday. Aaron and I were fortunate enough to be invited to celebrate with the family I know from Winona. We traveled to Sujin’s parents’ house that is a 50 minutebus ride from Busan. We ate traditional food, reminisced about Winona, exercised, and then ate again. We also visited a traditional Korean house and saw egrets at a nature preserve near their home. It was the perfect way to spend Chuseok, and we were thankful they invited us for the day.

*Above: Sujin, her daughter Subin, and her mother on Chuseok Below: Aaron and I at the top of Geumjong Mountain*

Meanwhile, Aaron and I are keeping ourselves busy with school, hiking, reading, and eating. Both Aaron and I had the opportunity to go out to dinner with our school staff. Aaron’s experiences were particularly beneficial as he’s learned the benefits of eating garlic from his male teachers (“Good for male health...stamina! ”). Also, we’ve both realized how it seems all Koreans understand what herbs, vegetables, roots, and food in general benefit them. They know what is good for their skin, body, sicknesses etc. Instead of turning to prescription medication as we seem to do entirely too much in the states, they look to a root or herb for relief. It’s been fascinating to learn these remedies.

Among other things, Aaron and I managed to land ourselves a modeling job. Super modeling to be exact—well, at least for Aaron. The story begins on a dismal Saturday morning. We’d just finished breakfast and Aaron took the trash to the basement of our apartment building. There’s a man who is in charge of that area as well as the parking garage. Aaron’s told me that they’ve talked before about anything from the US to the importance of effective trash management. But this day, as Aaron is separating plastics from glass, the man came up to Aaron and asked, “Can I ask you a question? You know model? Supermodel? You! Model!” Aaron responded, “Umm…well…I never have.”

Then, while patting Aaron’s beard and broad shoulders, he said, “You put on jacket and I take your picture.” Puzzled but enthusiastic, Aaron responded, “Okay,” thinking he would go in the man’s office, put on a suit coat, and take a picture. But inside the office, the man asked Aaron for his phone number to which Aaron replied, “Oh, I don’t know it yet. I will go get my phone.” The man urgently said, “OH NO! We go upstairs and you meet photographer now.” So they went in the elevator and left the bags of garbage behind.

The man took Aaron to the 3^rd floor of our building and proceeded to start pounding on a door while yelling “It’s Mr. Kim! It’s Mr. Kim!” A young man came to the door and Mr. Kim said, “This is the young man you asked for.” The young man introduced himself as Bob and soon Aaron heard the door shut behind him—Mr. Kim was gone.

But Bob warmly welcomed Aaron to his apartment and told Aaron that he would love to take his picture while Aaron wore one of the snowboarding jackets he had designed. Bob took out one of his blaze orange, puffy jackets, put it on Aaron and said (in his New Zealand/Korean English accent), “You look so good, so cool. Can you model tomorrow? I will take your picture and you will model my line of snowboard jackets. ” In the spirit of “Korea is dynamic” catchphrase, Aaron said yes. Bob said that “when I can afford it I will pay you” and offered to bring Aaron snowboarding/skiing whenever he desired. Then, Bob asked, “Do you know any foreigners?” Aaron said, “Well I’m here with my girlfriend.” Bob’s first words were “is she cute?” And, as Aaron told me, he said, “Well, obviously.” Then, Bob asked for his number. Aaron ran up to our apartment to get his phone number for Bob. Meanwhile, I’m thinking all he did was take the garbage out. As he ran into the apartment, all he mentioned was “You’ll never guess what just happened to me!” and ran out the door again to give Bob his phone number.

I said yes to the deal and soon Sunday came. Bob called us earlier than expected because rain was on its way. We got into his car, drove literally 200 meters to a park near our house, and proceed to be “models.” We put on 5 different colored coats and attempted to look as model like as possible. Finally, after 20 minutes, Bob was content with his shots. Then, he asked the common question, “have you eaten?” Soon, we found ourselves having a steak dinner with Bob, his fiancé, and forks, NOT chopsticks. Soon we found out that Bob works for BASF chemical company and does coat design on the side. He mentioned that designing is his passion, and he needed our pictures because he’s hoping to market these coats to Europe and America. He’s going to give us each a coat for sure and take us snowboarding/skiing sometime this winter. Truthfully, we could care less about any compensation—the experience is enough.

For the record, the photo shoot lasted 20 minutes and the steak dinner—an hour and a half. We have a studio photo shoot coming soon and then the pictures (and coats) will be available on his website. Oh, and one other thing…it turns out that Bob had asked Mr. Kim (the garbage manager) to look for Aaron because Bob had seen Aaron around and thought he would be the perfect model. Go figure. :)

-Callie

Quirky Korea

I thought we would share some of Korea's quirkiness we've grown to love in our short time here.

First, although we are teaching English, it seems it does not always reach the right person. Grammar/ spelling mistakes are fairly common like "esopresso" on a coffee shop sign and "sprinkle to pizza..." as seen on the parmesan cheese bottle. But regardless of the grammar, seeing English is always a breath of fresh air!!

Another cute Korean quirk are the melodies you hear everywhere. Whether it's the school bell, rice maker, elevator, washing machine, or even the subway, where there are "buzzes" in the states, there are quaint melodies in Korea. Here is one such melody that tells us when our clothes are done click here ----> Clean Clothes Melody

On another note, Koreans are extremely serious about exercise. Not only do they have weight machines and badminton courts everywhere outside, they also look the part. Regardless if they are walking along a bike path or hiking on a mountain trail, they look as if they're ready to tackle Mt. Everest. Quick dry long sleeve shirts, hiking pants, and vests are musts as well as visors, gloves, fairly large backpacks, and trekking poles. Face masks are often seen as well. Really. We felt INCREDIBLY underdressed in our shorts and t-shirts while hiking. There are also outdoor gear and outfitter stores everywhere yet they MUCH more expensive than in the US because of the demand here. You can see Aaron's undercover camera shot above--notice the masks in the background. Swine flu? Mosquitoes? Dirt? Air pollution? Bad kimchi breath? I guess we need to investigate exactly what they're trying to protect themselves from...

Just as all countries and cultures have quirks, when we get a glimpse of Korea's quirky side, all we want to do is smile.

-Callie

Pig Skin, Octupus, and Sea Urchin--OH MY!

We finally have internet at our new apartment and are able to give an update. The past 10 days have been full of new experiences, realizations, raw octopus, and pig skin to say the least.

EPIK Orientation

Our orientation experience left us anxiously anticipating our own classrooms. We had 4 days of lectures on lesson-planning, teaching strategies, culture, classroom management, and Korean tourism. The presenters exceeded our expectations and really prepared us for our adventure ahead. Orientation came to a close with lesson plan presentations and a farewell dinner complete with more Korean dances, drumming, and an EPIK teacher talent show.

Similarly, our field trip to Keumsan Buddhist Temple and Hanok Cultural Village left us hungry for more cultural experiences. The temple was set up on Moak Mountain, about a 20 minute hike through pine trees and over streams. It held many buildings with statues of Buddhas including a gigantic gold Buddha that was probably 3 stories tall. When you are standing on the side of a mountain and all you can hear are birds and the rustling of the leaves it becomes clear why it was chosen as a spiritual place. At the Hanok Village we made our own Korean fans and ate the famous Jeonju bibimbap—a Korean dish consisting of rice, chili paste, vegetables, and beef all mixed together. It really was delicious and one of my favorite dishes so far here in Korea.

Off to Busan

On Friday we headed to Busan to meet our co-teachers and move into our new home. We arrived at an elementary school where we would meet our co-teachers for the year. Essentially, these are the teachers that we teach with and who our “mom’s” for the year so it’s an important relationship. We feel quite lucky as both of our teachers are incredibly kind, welcoming, and motherly.

It turned out that the saying “Korea is Dynamic” reigned true for Aaron and me. We were not placed on the island as told before. Instead, we are living in Hwamyeong, a northern “neighborhood” of Busan. Busan and the surrounding area is more beautiful than I ever imagined. The apartment that belongs to my school overlooks a beautiful river as well as the mountains. It’s a front row seat to a beautiful sunset.

School

Aaron and I are actually in very different teaching environments. I am in Doechonli Middle School and teach 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd grade (like 7, 8, 9^th grade in the US). I also teach a conversation class, a teacher’s workshop class, and am going to teach a Newspaper Club! One of my favorite moments from the first week was when I asked students to write three things they knew about the United States. Among the best were: crazy cow disease, NAFTA (I know! Wow!) and Bread Pit.

Aaron is in a vocational/industrial high school and his students are very low level English speakers. It is challenging but he is extremely optimistic and is doing a fantastic job at capitalizing on his creativity. On his first day he was given a pair of sandals which were made at his school. He will later receive a pair of running shoes. I must ad that in order to fit into Korean culture, he also purchased his first pink shirt...I was so proud.

Schools here are extremely different from those in the US in a few main ways:

1. You change your shoes upon entering the building as floors are very important in Korean culture.

2. The students clean the school! After the bell rings, students mop, sweep, and scrub the school top to bottom. It truly makes a lot of sense as then they are more prone to treat it with respect! Ingenious I think!

3. Corporal punishment is prevalent in the classes. I had students who came in late to class and the teacher slapped their cheeks!

4. Teachers go to the students’ classes. My office is in a large room with all of the other teachers. Our desks are right next to each other and the vice-principal is in the middle overseeing all of the teachers. A little different than having the privacy of your own classroom!

Adventures

Our first weekend here we took the subway downtown and spent Saturday exploring Busan. Our apartment is about a 30 minute subway ride from the actual city of Busan (we are not on the island we had thought we would be on). We basically got on the subway and just took it to a random spot. It was a lot of fun! We managed to find the UN Cemetery which honors all those who died in the Korean War from the UN. It looked very similar to the Vietnam Memorial actually. Then, we were on a mission to find the ocean and FINALLY found it. It's a beautiful rocky coast, and we found a park where we could hike.

This past week/weekend we managed to cook some friends a Korean style dinner, eat pig’s skin (as a result of simply blindly pointing at the menu—I had one bite and stuck to the spicy lettuce), go to Jagalchi Fish Market and eat live sea urchin and octopus(they took it out of the tank, chopped it’s tentacles up, and they were still squiggling and sucking while going down your throat!!), come upon a gorgeous park that allowed us to overlook the city, and go to the International Museum of Musical Instruments (I took pictures for you Jake!). All of these adventures were shared with amazing new friends who we feel SO lucky to have met! Tomorrow it is off to see the Lotte Giants for a good ‘ole game of professional baseball (and maybe a Korean hotdog?).

For those of you who didn’t stop reading, you’re champs! ;) We will write more frequently now that we have internet so these won’t be so long.

Love to all!

*Click here to check out our online picture album.

-Callie

The Honeymoon Stage

Annyeonghaseyo?---the standard greeting in Korean which literally translates to ”Are you at peace?”

We made it!

Our traveling went quite well! On the way from SanFran to Korea we sat by many other EPIK (English Program in Korea) teachers, which was exciting and comforting. We arrived around 5:00pm, grabbed our luggage, and proceeded to wait in quite a long line to go on our 4 hour bus trip to Jeonju University for our 10 day orientation. Upon arrival to Jeonju University (which is "the place for superstars" as written on all of their buildings!) we were given our room assignments, checked for swine flu, given a thermometer so we can check our temperature everyday (to make sure we don’t get swine flu--ha), and given a goodie bag with treats and 2 manuals for orientation.

We woke up early early the first morning here as we’re getting used to the time difference (it is 14 hours ahead here). Our first breakfast was buffet style and included kimchi (their famous dish consisting of spicy, fermented cabbage), bean sprout salad, French fries, eggs, cream of broccoli soup, croissants, fried spam, cornflakes, and basically liquid sugar with a little bit of coffee mixed in. Needless to say, Aaron loved the spam, I loved the cornflakes, and we walked across the street to a little place that has real coffee. Fantastic!

Our first full day in Korea consisted of a welcoming ceremony with traditional drumming, pensori (a traditional type of opera), and a woman who did a traditional fan dance. This was all followed by a huge welcoming dinner. We ate a variety of foods including kimchi, octopus, shrimp with the head still on it, barbeque ribs and sweet potatoes. It is clear that the university is making an effort to somewhat cater towards our Western taste buds, however, the Korean food is fresh and delicious!

Our second day was filled with medical check-ups and a fascinating class on culture and culture shock. Much like the grief process, there are various steps one goes through when experiencing a new culture (we are currently at the honeymoon stage when everything is still new and exciting). Therefore, in order to make our transition a bit easier, we learned quite a bit about Korean culture. One of the main points made was that Korean culture is based in Confucianism. This philosophy promotes social harmony through putting feelings first and logic second. This is evident in all Korean relationships regardless of context. Also, there is not necessarily an absolute or objective truth. For example, in the US we have set policies and rules that are strictly followed in the business and social world. Here, truth is situational and meaning is indirect. Koreans put what’s best for the individual first rather than the policy. I will only touch on these cultural ideals briefly now as I assume we will have MUCH more to say about them once we are actually teaching and experiencing more of the country.

One of the really neat parts of this orientation is meeting people from all over the world. We’ve met fellow EPIK teachers from England, Scotland, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada. Oh, and of course, the US! We are both excited to make new friends from all over the globe.

Today we began our lecture classes. We spent the entire day listening to lectures about teaching strategies and how to work alongside Korean colleagues. Tomorrow is our field trip day to a traditional village and Buddhist temple!

I’ll end with a quote given to us during our culture class. “The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you; they are unique manifestations of the human spirit.” –Wade Davis

We appreciate all of your thoughts and support! We are enjoying ourselves and adapting surprisingly well thus far. Love to you all!

-Callie

Finding inspiration...

As many of you may know, handling transition is not a skill at which I excel.  I tend to cry (a lot), meditate on the details, and make lists. On the other hand, Aaron suavely embraces it with open arms, goes with the flow, and tends to worry more about if there will be coffee, cheese, and climbing walls at hand than anything else.  Needless to say, I'm glad we're making this transition together.  :)

While going through my countless books, papers, and relics of the past 24 years of my life, I stumbled upon this poem.  It is extremely appropriate for our transition ahead, and I have been reading it continuously as a means of inspiration.  I thought I would share it in hopes that a part of it may connect to your life.

For a New Beginning

In out-of-the way places of the heart,

Where your thoughts never think to wander,

This beginning has been quietly forming,

Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,

Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,

Noticing how you willed yourself on,

Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the deduction of safety, 

And the gray promises that sameness whispered,

Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,

Wondered would you always live like this.

Then, the delight when your courage kindled,

And out you stepped onto new ground,

Your eyes young again with energy and dream,

A path of plenitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear

You can trust the promise of this opening;

Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning

That is at one with your life's desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;

Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;

Soon you will be home to a new rhythm,

For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

-From To Bless the Space Between Us by John O'Donohue

-Callie