Hi Everyone,
It's Monday here, which is Christmas Eve Day. :) Nothing really to post, except Merry Christmas and Happy New Year's!
In anticipation for Christmas I've gone through several cycles where it feels like Christmas and then it doesn't.
However, in anticipation of this holiday I downloaded a bunch of Christmas songs about a week ago and have been playing them on loop. This helps make it feel like Christmas. Also, about two days ago I began wearing my Santa hat around the apartment, which made my homestay family laugh. I also mailed out some Christmas cards, and have received some gifts and cards myself. :)
Thank you all for reminding me that I am loved this Christmas!
Happy Birthday Jesus!
-me :)
P.S. I have dinner/lunch dates with different teachers throughout the week, which is nice. I think it's good to relax in Daegu, even if I had hoped for other plans.
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Christmas right around the corner
Hi All,
Another late post! I have been really busy trying to wrap everything up before I leave tomorrow on winter break. I get out a week earlier than the Korean teachers which makes me feel a little guilty, but I am thankful for the break.
This past weekend I was in Gumi- volunteering at an orphanage and then went to Busan with a friend. I had a great time in both places. I'll post pictures soon!
A former ETA, started a non-profit organization to help out the orphanage where she volunteered when she was an ETA. There are several former ETAs that helped create this non-profit and this weekend was the kick-off event for the organization, called KKOM. KKOOM or "koom" means dream in Korean. Here is the link http://www.kkoom.org/
There were events planned for the kids- arts and crafts, singing, video games, picture with Santa, etc. The kids really seemed to have a good time. I spent most of Sat. cooking dinner with a few other ETAs for everyone. It was a lot of work, but fun and totally worth it. The best part was that every kid received a Christmas package (from donors in the states). The kids were so excited- it really felt like Christmas. We ended up spending the night and had breakfast with the kids the next morning and going to church with them. The ages in kids range from toddler to high school (some college kids come back too- it really is a family).
Unlike some orphanages in Korea, none of the kids were available for adoption. The kids live at the orphanage in houses with each other and form a family unit with one woman (mother/aunt) taking care of the kids. The older ones really look out for the younger ones as well. None of the parents have given up their parental rights, and some parents will even visit their children at the orphanage. This is a place where kids come when their parents cannot afford to take care of them. It is like a version of foster care in America. If you want to know more, let me know.
After Gumi I went to Busan with Alison. It was a quick bus ride (2 hours) and the weather was super nice. The first thing we went to do was go to the beach! Apparently it's pretty famous in Busan (Busan is the 2nd largest city in Korea and is the 5 largest port/trading city in the world). The city is really spread out- so the beach is nice and doesn't feel like a "city". We had Indian food (yum) and then went to Busan tower- which took a while to find! But we managed to check into a cheap hotel which was good. The view at night from Busan tower was cool- all the lights and such. It was an early night, which was nice. Then Monday morning we went shopping and to the fish market- ick! All in all a relaxing little trip.
Early Merry Christmas!!! I miss everyone lots and wish I could spend the holidays with all of you. My Christmas plans got moved around- I'm skiing for New Year's, not Christmas. I'm pretty bummed that I don't have any plans for Christmas. Hopefully something will come through.
Catch you all soon!
-me
Another late post! I have been really busy trying to wrap everything up before I leave tomorrow on winter break. I get out a week earlier than the Korean teachers which makes me feel a little guilty, but I am thankful for the break.
This past weekend I was in Gumi- volunteering at an orphanage and then went to Busan with a friend. I had a great time in both places. I'll post pictures soon!
A former ETA, started a non-profit organization to help out the orphanage where she volunteered when she was an ETA. There are several former ETAs that helped create this non-profit and this weekend was the kick-off event for the organization, called KKOM. KKOOM or "koom" means dream in Korean. Here is the link http://www.kkoom.org/
There were events planned for the kids- arts and crafts, singing, video games, picture with Santa, etc. The kids really seemed to have a good time. I spent most of Sat. cooking dinner with a few other ETAs for everyone. It was a lot of work, but fun and totally worth it. The best part was that every kid received a Christmas package (from donors in the states). The kids were so excited- it really felt like Christmas. We ended up spending the night and had breakfast with the kids the next morning and going to church with them. The ages in kids range from toddler to high school (some college kids come back too- it really is a family).
Unlike some orphanages in Korea, none of the kids were available for adoption. The kids live at the orphanage in houses with each other and form a family unit with one woman (mother/aunt) taking care of the kids. The older ones really look out for the younger ones as well. None of the parents have given up their parental rights, and some parents will even visit their children at the orphanage. This is a place where kids come when their parents cannot afford to take care of them. It is like a version of foster care in America. If you want to know more, let me know.
After Gumi I went to Busan with Alison. It was a quick bus ride (2 hours) and the weather was super nice. The first thing we went to do was go to the beach! Apparently it's pretty famous in Busan (Busan is the 2nd largest city in Korea and is the 5 largest port/trading city in the world). The city is really spread out- so the beach is nice and doesn't feel like a "city". We had Indian food (yum) and then went to Busan tower- which took a while to find! But we managed to check into a cheap hotel which was good. The view at night from Busan tower was cool- all the lights and such. It was an early night, which was nice. Then Monday morning we went shopping and to the fish market- ick! All in all a relaxing little trip.
Early Merry Christmas!!! I miss everyone lots and wish I could spend the holidays with all of you. My Christmas plans got moved around- I'm skiing for New Year's, not Christmas. I'm pretty bummed that I don't have any plans for Christmas. Hopefully something will come through.
Catch you all soon!
-me
Monday, December 10, 2007
*crosses fingers*
Hi all,
I'm late in posting, mainly because I was away yet again this weekend in Seoul for another meeting. It was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. The meeting was finished sooner than expected, although lasted longer than it needed to. However, we went out for Mexican food and margaritas after!!! Woot. Then Alison and I went to a jimjilbang to relax, which was super nice. Although, I still managed to get sick, yet again. But I'm beginning to feel much better now that I have medicine to help relieve all my head congestion.
Other than that, nothing else is really new. I'm pretty sure anyone who reads this log received my e-mail about my students podcasts. If not, please go to www.dong-moonhs.blogspot.com and listen to them! They're really great!
Hope all is well at home!
-me
P.S. Oh I forgot, my host mom failed a breatalizer about two weekends ago and isn't supposed to drive for three months- even though she is. If I got the interpretation right, I think she and my host father spent a night in jail? And had to pay a fine. This was coming home from my host grandmother's 70th birthday.
P.P.S. AND yesterday driving to lunch the car I was in got into a minor car accident as we were about 50 meters from the restuarant. But everyone was fine- the only damage was done to the car. The entire front bumper popped off...yikes.
I'm late in posting, mainly because I was away yet again this weekend in Seoul for another meeting. It was actually a lot better than I thought it would be. The meeting was finished sooner than expected, although lasted longer than it needed to. However, we went out for Mexican food and margaritas after!!! Woot. Then Alison and I went to a jimjilbang to relax, which was super nice. Although, I still managed to get sick, yet again. But I'm beginning to feel much better now that I have medicine to help relieve all my head congestion.
Other than that, nothing else is really new. I'm pretty sure anyone who reads this log received my e-mail about my students podcasts. If not, please go to www.dong-moonhs.blogspot.com and listen to them! They're really great!
Hope all is well at home!
-me
P.S. Oh I forgot, my host mom failed a breatalizer about two weekends ago and isn't supposed to drive for three months- even though she is. If I got the interpretation right, I think she and my host father spent a night in jail? And had to pay a fine. This was coming home from my host grandmother's 70th birthday.
P.P.S. AND yesterday driving to lunch the car I was in got into a minor car accident as we were about 50 meters from the restuarant. But everyone was fine- the only damage was done to the car. The entire front bumper popped off...yikes.
Monday, December 3, 2007
5 months and counting...
Hi everyone,
I hope winter is treating everyone well- wherever you may be. I am really looking forward to a winter where there isn't snow fall where I live. I like snow a lot, but was definitely sick of it last year when my car got stuck in it twice. It does snow in Korea, just not as far south as Daegu. I'm sure I'll get to enjoy lots of it when I'm in Seoul for January. Which brings me to my first piece of news, I was selected as an intern at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. I will be working in the Regional Program Office, which puts on programs about America to different regions in Korea. I'm excited to have this new experience and live in Seoul/on base for a short while. The internship is a little shorter than usual because I was also selected (I don't remember if I mentioned it) to take 5 students from my high school to Seoul for 6 days in January to learn about Korean and American politics, economy, etc. I am excited about that as well, because we will learn a lot, go on field trips, and I'll get to know some of my students better.
I really cannot believe it is December- 5 months into my 13 months here. I am really enjoying my time. The beginning part of November/end of October was a little hard for me, but I seem to have gotten over that. Although I spoke with a lot of the people from our program this weekend and a lot of them are ready to go home for the holidays. They are generally missing America more than they are liking Korea. Which is understandable. I think/hope I'm going skiing for Christmas! My family is Buddhist and I don't particularly want to stick around on Christmas since they won't be doing anything.
Nothing else is really new. I have a final for my Korean class next week and am worried because I am definitely not studying as hard as I was for the midterm. I will be happy when class ends and I have my evenings free again. I am not sure if I will take Korean class in the Spring- it really depends on the time the classes are offered, where they are offered, and what my school schedule looks like.
One great thing is that I only have 8 more days of class to teach from now until I go on winter vacation (December 22)!!! It's because my kids have finals, there is a national day off, and I don't teach on Fridays. It's pretty crazy, but nice. I still don't know if I'll be teaching the same kids again, when I think about how I might not- I get a little sad. Even though I don't know their names (there are about 500 of them) I really like them.
My podcast project started today and I will e-mail everyone when I start to upload the recordings to the website- www.dong-moonhs.blogspot.com I haven't had a chance to listen to all of them, but overall I'm pretty proud of what my students accomplished!
Please write and let me know how everything is going!!!
-me
I hope winter is treating everyone well- wherever you may be. I am really looking forward to a winter where there isn't snow fall where I live. I like snow a lot, but was definitely sick of it last year when my car got stuck in it twice. It does snow in Korea, just not as far south as Daegu. I'm sure I'll get to enjoy lots of it when I'm in Seoul for January. Which brings me to my first piece of news, I was selected as an intern at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. I will be working in the Regional Program Office, which puts on programs about America to different regions in Korea. I'm excited to have this new experience and live in Seoul/on base for a short while. The internship is a little shorter than usual because I was also selected (I don't remember if I mentioned it) to take 5 students from my high school to Seoul for 6 days in January to learn about Korean and American politics, economy, etc. I am excited about that as well, because we will learn a lot, go on field trips, and I'll get to know some of my students better.
I really cannot believe it is December- 5 months into my 13 months here. I am really enjoying my time. The beginning part of November/end of October was a little hard for me, but I seem to have gotten over that. Although I spoke with a lot of the people from our program this weekend and a lot of them are ready to go home for the holidays. They are generally missing America more than they are liking Korea. Which is understandable. I think/hope I'm going skiing for Christmas! My family is Buddhist and I don't particularly want to stick around on Christmas since they won't be doing anything.
Nothing else is really new. I have a final for my Korean class next week and am worried because I am definitely not studying as hard as I was for the midterm. I will be happy when class ends and I have my evenings free again. I am not sure if I will take Korean class in the Spring- it really depends on the time the classes are offered, where they are offered, and what my school schedule looks like.
One great thing is that I only have 8 more days of class to teach from now until I go on winter vacation (December 22)!!! It's because my kids have finals, there is a national day off, and I don't teach on Fridays. It's pretty crazy, but nice. I still don't know if I'll be teaching the same kids again, when I think about how I might not- I get a little sad. Even though I don't know their names (there are about 500 of them) I really like them.
My podcast project started today and I will e-mail everyone when I start to upload the recordings to the website- www.dong-moonhs.blogspot.com I haven't had a chance to listen to all of them, but overall I'm pretty proud of what my students accomplished!
Please write and let me know how everything is going!!!
-me
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Early Thanksgiving in Seoul
Hi Everyone,
I know I’ve missed the Sunday deadline again, but I was super busy on Monday catching up. First, thanks for sending me postcards and cards! They made me smile! It also makes me look bad since I still haven’t been to a post office in Korea- I know I’m totally lame. However, I do have high hopes for sending out Christmas cards from Korea- we’ll see if it happens :)
I was super busy in Monday because I spent 4 days in Seoul (a long weekend) on a mini-vacation of sorts. I had Wednesday and Thursday off because of the national testing in Korea. The KSAT happened on Thursday, our school was a designated testing site, so I could not even be in the building on Thursday. I had Wednesday off because of some meeting being held about the testing. Wednesday I spent in Daegu just relaxing and trying to do some work. I took off for Seoul on Thursday morning.
Just an FYI- on the national test day, the military grounds all flights (so the noise won’t disturb the test taking students), ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks are on standby to transport tardy students to the test, and some other crazy things happen. Wednesday I dropped by the school to do some grading and saw students from other schools just coming by the school to look at the building where they would be testing (and taking pictures with their cell phones of course). If you think about it, it has to be the single most important day in most Korean students’ lives. It is the first and most important factor in where they will go to university. A good university means a good job and in most cases even a good significant other. No wonder most high schoolers spend 12 hours a day studying.
Back to my travels in Seoul- I successfully bought a KTX (fast) ticket up to Seoul and made it to Seoul in a little under 2 hours. I got there sooner than I intended to check in, but decided to head to where I was staying anyways. I booked three nights at a guesthouse of sorts in Seoul called Koroot. I didn’t know what to expect, but it is super cool. It’s a place where Korean adoptees can stay and it’s super cheap. It’s designed so people can stay for extended periods of time to learn about Korea, learn Korean, or even do a birth family search. I met two Norwegians, a guy from Denmark, two women from France, a woman from Australia, a guy from Sweden, and another woman from America. It was really interesting listening to their stories and getting to meet people from all over the world. Plus, Koroot is a cool place- there’s a kitchen so you can cook, they provide breakfast and will even make you lunch. There’s a t.v., laundry room, and computer. It’s a really great idea and I’m glad it’s around.
So after checking in and getting lunch (which was great!) I left to go site see. I went to a palace near Koroot- it was super pretty. Then I went to see a prison that was used during Japanese occupation- not the most uplifting thing, but really interesting historically speaking. I had lots of time so I decided to have dinner in Itaewon (the foreigner district) and got REAL Indian food!!! Following my fabulous dinner I went to a famous shopping area- they were putting up Christmas displays!!! (See the video below!) It was early, but I decided to head back and ended up talking to some people staying in Koroot for awhile.
Friday morning I woke up and made myself toast with CHUNKY peanut butter *cough* it really was exciting. I got ready and then went out and visited Seoul tower and walked around Namsan park and the Korean Contemporary Art Museum. The park was gorgeous- a lot of the leaves are still on trees and there was really beautiful foliage. Friday night there was a Fulbright forum- a place where researchers get to present a little about what they are doing. It was a great place to meet other people and there was dinner! (Seriously, why do all my comments revolve around food?!) The forum was presented by a woman who is a dancer and has created her own 10 steps to strengthen a particular muscle in dancers (and consequently singers). It was a little odd- but interesting nonetheless. If you’re interested check out Maureen Flemming.
Saturday I woke up and met some friends in Insadong and then we walked to the U.S. Ambassador’s residence for our Thanksgiving lunch! The residence is really nice and built in a traditional Korean style, not American style. We got to meet the ambassador and his wife, along with other people who work at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. Apparently it was the third year they hosted ETAs- it was a really nice gathering and the food was good- catered by some place on the American base. I had turkey, stuffing and yams!!!
Afterwards I had the meeting for the program where I am taking 5 high school students up to Seoul. It turns out that there isn’t much planning at all, which is cool. Really I feel like I’m along for the ride. We’re going to visit some cool places and get to hear a lot about international affairs. I think my students are really going to enjoy it. Saturday night I bummed around seeing different people which was a lot of fun.
Sunday I ended up going to church- an English speaking service in Seoul- which was okay. It was a larger service than the one in Daegu, which was cool, and the music was good.
I left Seoul on Sunday night and when I got home my host parents seemed really happy to see me- which was nice.
All in all, a great weekend! I hope all is well back in the states and everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Eat extra stuffing for me…it’s my favorite!!!
Love you and miss you all!
-me :)
P.S. Sorry you have to tilt your head to see this video! And I posted all the pictures in the album labeled Seoul. I tried to be artsy with some of the pics and I even took a series of doors.
I know I’ve missed the Sunday deadline again, but I was super busy on Monday catching up. First, thanks for sending me postcards and cards! They made me smile! It also makes me look bad since I still haven’t been to a post office in Korea- I know I’m totally lame. However, I do have high hopes for sending out Christmas cards from Korea- we’ll see if it happens :)
I was super busy in Monday because I spent 4 days in Seoul (a long weekend) on a mini-vacation of sorts. I had Wednesday and Thursday off because of the national testing in Korea. The KSAT happened on Thursday, our school was a designated testing site, so I could not even be in the building on Thursday. I had Wednesday off because of some meeting being held about the testing. Wednesday I spent in Daegu just relaxing and trying to do some work. I took off for Seoul on Thursday morning.
Just an FYI- on the national test day, the military grounds all flights (so the noise won’t disturb the test taking students), ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks are on standby to transport tardy students to the test, and some other crazy things happen. Wednesday I dropped by the school to do some grading and saw students from other schools just coming by the school to look at the building where they would be testing (and taking pictures with their cell phones of course). If you think about it, it has to be the single most important day in most Korean students’ lives. It is the first and most important factor in where they will go to university. A good university means a good job and in most cases even a good significant other. No wonder most high schoolers spend 12 hours a day studying.
Back to my travels in Seoul- I successfully bought a KTX (fast) ticket up to Seoul and made it to Seoul in a little under 2 hours. I got there sooner than I intended to check in, but decided to head to where I was staying anyways. I booked three nights at a guesthouse of sorts in Seoul called Koroot. I didn’t know what to expect, but it is super cool. It’s a place where Korean adoptees can stay and it’s super cheap. It’s designed so people can stay for extended periods of time to learn about Korea, learn Korean, or even do a birth family search. I met two Norwegians, a guy from Denmark, two women from France, a woman from Australia, a guy from Sweden, and another woman from America. It was really interesting listening to their stories and getting to meet people from all over the world. Plus, Koroot is a cool place- there’s a kitchen so you can cook, they provide breakfast and will even make you lunch. There’s a t.v., laundry room, and computer. It’s a really great idea and I’m glad it’s around.
So after checking in and getting lunch (which was great!) I left to go site see. I went to a palace near Koroot- it was super pretty. Then I went to see a prison that was used during Japanese occupation- not the most uplifting thing, but really interesting historically speaking. I had lots of time so I decided to have dinner in Itaewon (the foreigner district) and got REAL Indian food!!! Following my fabulous dinner I went to a famous shopping area- they were putting up Christmas displays!!! (See the video below!) It was early, but I decided to head back and ended up talking to some people staying in Koroot for awhile.
Friday morning I woke up and made myself toast with CHUNKY peanut butter *cough* it really was exciting. I got ready and then went out and visited Seoul tower and walked around Namsan park and the Korean Contemporary Art Museum. The park was gorgeous- a lot of the leaves are still on trees and there was really beautiful foliage. Friday night there was a Fulbright forum- a place where researchers get to present a little about what they are doing. It was a great place to meet other people and there was dinner! (Seriously, why do all my comments revolve around food?!) The forum was presented by a woman who is a dancer and has created her own 10 steps to strengthen a particular muscle in dancers (and consequently singers). It was a little odd- but interesting nonetheless. If you’re interested check out Maureen Flemming.
Saturday I woke up and met some friends in Insadong and then we walked to the U.S. Ambassador’s residence for our Thanksgiving lunch! The residence is really nice and built in a traditional Korean style, not American style. We got to meet the ambassador and his wife, along with other people who work at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul. Apparently it was the third year they hosted ETAs- it was a really nice gathering and the food was good- catered by some place on the American base. I had turkey, stuffing and yams!!!
Afterwards I had the meeting for the program where I am taking 5 high school students up to Seoul. It turns out that there isn’t much planning at all, which is cool. Really I feel like I’m along for the ride. We’re going to visit some cool places and get to hear a lot about international affairs. I think my students are really going to enjoy it. Saturday night I bummed around seeing different people which was a lot of fun.
Sunday I ended up going to church- an English speaking service in Seoul- which was okay. It was a larger service than the one in Daegu, which was cool, and the music was good.
I left Seoul on Sunday night and when I got home my host parents seemed really happy to see me- which was nice.
All in all, a great weekend! I hope all is well back in the states and everyone has a great Thanksgiving! Eat extra stuffing for me…it’s my favorite!!!
Love you and miss you all!
-me :)
P.S. Sorry you have to tilt your head to see this video! And I posted all the pictures in the album labeled Seoul. I tried to be artsy with some of the pics and I even took a series of doors.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Some more cultural experiences in my travels...
Hi All,
I feel like I've forgotten to blog about a lot of things that have happened. Mostly surrounding different cultural experiences within the last month or so. I'm going to correct that now.
This Sunday my host parents took me to two weddings. I did not know about these until Sat. night around 11:00pm when we were drinking beer and I was eating fish/squid jerky (ick). But my host parents invited me and excited about a new opportunity I said, "yes". So, I woke up on Sunday and my host parents told me to get ready- I didn't know what to wear so I pointed to a suit and my host om shook her head "yes". And off we go- we walk to a nearby subway stop and take the subway across Daegu to the wedding site also known as, "Wedding Castle". Which is a huge tacky wedding hall. Think of happily ever after and such- a Disney wedding essentially. Now, Korean wedding halls are interesting because there are literally weddings booked back to back- which means the place is crowded with tons of people- plus most wedding halls have more than one wedding going on at one time (in different rooms). We literally stayed at the wedding less than 5 minutes. Enough to watch the bride and groom walk down the isle- after they made their entrance on a carriage apartatus that was on tracks suspended on the ceiling! I'm not too sure why we didn't stay longer- I don't htink my host parents knew them all that well. Almost like they were boliged to go an show their faces and give a gift. But, we did manage to eat at the buffet- which is a really interesting experience. Instead of a nice reception hall- there is a buffet area for the whole wedding venue, which means you eat at a cafeteria like place with evryone else who there for the other weddings. Very informal and interesting- the food wasn't all that good either. Now, as I mentioned before, there were two weddings- I only thought we were goign to one, but at lunch my host parents announced that there was "another wedding". So, we hoped into a cab and went to another wedding. We didn't even stay to watch any of the ceremony, but dropped off ou gift, said heloo to a few people and came back home. I have a feeling that if my host parents actually knew these people well we would have stayed longer. Oh, the second wedding hall was a lot more understated and nicer than the first one. Much more traditional. I wish I had pictures, but I think my host mom deleted them off her camera. :(
Another cultural experience I forgot to blog about is a funeral I went to. One of the first year teachers at my school had her father pass away. I think it's tradition for the co-workers to pay their respects- so I went with my co-teacher and other teachers to the funeral home. I'm pretty sure the funeral home was attached to the hospital- like in another wing or something. As we were driving my co-teacher was explaining how it is tradition to bow twice to the person who died and once to their family members. This isn't just a bow, but a full bow to the floor. He explained that Christians usually do not participate in this, but bow their heads instead. Since he's a Christian, he said he'd just do a head bow and tht I should do the same- because I am a Christian and because he didn't want me to offend anyone with a sloppy bow. So we went into the building and went into a room that was reserved for this family. We took off our shoes and went in and bowed to the father- there was a picture- I didn't see a casket or anything. Then the family members (sons) came in and we bowed to them. Then we we went to another little room where we ate some food and talked to the teacher from our school. All in all, it was a somber event, like in the states. The women were dressed in blakc honbok (the Korean traditional dress) and the men were in black suits. Everyone also gave 3,000 won ($3.00) in an envelope to the family. I'm not sure what the money goes toward, but I'm guessing the ceremony.
The third cultural event I forgot to mention was the fact that my host brother had his black belt testing. I kept asking him when it was, but he didn't know until the night before. He tol dme the testing was at 9:30- so I made sure I was up and left the houe with him. I thought it was strange that his parents didn't come, but clearly something was lost in translation. The testing wasn't at 9:30, he had to be at his gym at 9:30 to get ready! I had to hang around for like an hour and a half waiting for kids to get ready. Then, the testing wasn't at my host bros' gym, it was at an elementary school like 20 minutes away. Which means, I got to sit in the very back of a tae kwon do van with like 9 little kids! Note: Tae kwon do vans can be seen all over Korea. Generally each tae kwon do gym has a van that they drive kids around with. I never want to be in one again! The testing went well- it turns out that they test all the kids at one time from many different schools- there must have been like 50 schools- no joke!!! The test wasn't that difficult, but my host bro did well. We're still waiting for his belt.
Okay- a quick update on things that happened this week. Nothing new really happened. Although I did get to go to Pohang this Saturday and see my friend Alison, which was great! I'll post pictures soon. I also have some funny pictures, video of Korean teachers singing the Carpenter's song, "top of the world" for the singing contest at our school! SOOOO funny! I'm heading up to Seoul this weekend for some sightseeing and a Thanksgiving dinner athte Embassy. I'm super excited for turkey and some time by myself.
One more exciting piece of news, I/my school was selected for the Alumni Youth Partnership Program in January, which means I finally have some solid winter break plans! AYPP is going to let me take 5 students from my high school to Seoul for 6 days where they will learn about domestic and international affairs (mainly Korea-US realtions). It's super exciting for the students because a. they get out of class and b. the entire program is in English. I have to interview students today for the program, since I can only take 5 :( Still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my break- I'm still hoping for the Embassy internship!!!
AH! One MORE thing- please check out www.dong-moonhs.blogspot.com This is where my students will be posting their blogs! Actually- I think I might have to do most of the left work, but we'll see! Exciting stuff all around! I'll let you all know when you can hear them!
-me :)
I feel like I've forgotten to blog about a lot of things that have happened. Mostly surrounding different cultural experiences within the last month or so. I'm going to correct that now.
This Sunday my host parents took me to two weddings. I did not know about these until Sat. night around 11:00pm when we were drinking beer and I was eating fish/squid jerky (ick). But my host parents invited me and excited about a new opportunity I said, "yes". So, I woke up on Sunday and my host parents told me to get ready- I didn't know what to wear so I pointed to a suit and my host om shook her head "yes". And off we go- we walk to a nearby subway stop and take the subway across Daegu to the wedding site also known as, "Wedding Castle". Which is a huge tacky wedding hall. Think of happily ever after and such- a Disney wedding essentially. Now, Korean wedding halls are interesting because there are literally weddings booked back to back- which means the place is crowded with tons of people- plus most wedding halls have more than one wedding going on at one time (in different rooms). We literally stayed at the wedding less than 5 minutes. Enough to watch the bride and groom walk down the isle- after they made their entrance on a carriage apartatus that was on tracks suspended on the ceiling! I'm not too sure why we didn't stay longer- I don't htink my host parents knew them all that well. Almost like they were boliged to go an show their faces and give a gift. But, we did manage to eat at the buffet- which is a really interesting experience. Instead of a nice reception hall- there is a buffet area for the whole wedding venue, which means you eat at a cafeteria like place with evryone else who there for the other weddings. Very informal and interesting- the food wasn't all that good either. Now, as I mentioned before, there were two weddings- I only thought we were goign to one, but at lunch my host parents announced that there was "another wedding". So, we hoped into a cab and went to another wedding. We didn't even stay to watch any of the ceremony, but dropped off ou gift, said heloo to a few people and came back home. I have a feeling that if my host parents actually knew these people well we would have stayed longer. Oh, the second wedding hall was a lot more understated and nicer than the first one. Much more traditional. I wish I had pictures, but I think my host mom deleted them off her camera. :(
Another cultural experience I forgot to blog about is a funeral I went to. One of the first year teachers at my school had her father pass away. I think it's tradition for the co-workers to pay their respects- so I went with my co-teacher and other teachers to the funeral home. I'm pretty sure the funeral home was attached to the hospital- like in another wing or something. As we were driving my co-teacher was explaining how it is tradition to bow twice to the person who died and once to their family members. This isn't just a bow, but a full bow to the floor. He explained that Christians usually do not participate in this, but bow their heads instead. Since he's a Christian, he said he'd just do a head bow and tht I should do the same- because I am a Christian and because he didn't want me to offend anyone with a sloppy bow. So we went into the building and went into a room that was reserved for this family. We took off our shoes and went in and bowed to the father- there was a picture- I didn't see a casket or anything. Then the family members (sons) came in and we bowed to them. Then we we went to another little room where we ate some food and talked to the teacher from our school. All in all, it was a somber event, like in the states. The women were dressed in blakc honbok (the Korean traditional dress) and the men were in black suits. Everyone also gave 3,000 won ($3.00) in an envelope to the family. I'm not sure what the money goes toward, but I'm guessing the ceremony.
The third cultural event I forgot to mention was the fact that my host brother had his black belt testing. I kept asking him when it was, but he didn't know until the night before. He tol dme the testing was at 9:30- so I made sure I was up and left the houe with him. I thought it was strange that his parents didn't come, but clearly something was lost in translation. The testing wasn't at 9:30, he had to be at his gym at 9:30 to get ready! I had to hang around for like an hour and a half waiting for kids to get ready. Then, the testing wasn't at my host bros' gym, it was at an elementary school like 20 minutes away. Which means, I got to sit in the very back of a tae kwon do van with like 9 little kids! Note: Tae kwon do vans can be seen all over Korea. Generally each tae kwon do gym has a van that they drive kids around with. I never want to be in one again! The testing went well- it turns out that they test all the kids at one time from many different schools- there must have been like 50 schools- no joke!!! The test wasn't that difficult, but my host bro did well. We're still waiting for his belt.
Okay- a quick update on things that happened this week. Nothing new really happened. Although I did get to go to Pohang this Saturday and see my friend Alison, which was great! I'll post pictures soon. I also have some funny pictures, video of Korean teachers singing the Carpenter's song, "top of the world" for the singing contest at our school! SOOOO funny! I'm heading up to Seoul this weekend for some sightseeing and a Thanksgiving dinner athte Embassy. I'm super excited for turkey and some time by myself.
One more exciting piece of news, I/my school was selected for the Alumni Youth Partnership Program in January, which means I finally have some solid winter break plans! AYPP is going to let me take 5 students from my high school to Seoul for 6 days where they will learn about domestic and international affairs (mainly Korea-US realtions). It's super exciting for the students because a. they get out of class and b. the entire program is in English. I have to interview students today for the program, since I can only take 5 :( Still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my break- I'm still hoping for the Embassy internship!!!
AH! One MORE thing- please check out www.dong-moonhs.blogspot.com This is where my students will be posting their blogs! Actually- I think I might have to do most of the left work, but we'll see! Exciting stuff all around! I'll let you all know when you can hear them!
-me :)
Sunday, November 4, 2007
4 months!
Hi all,
I really had a nice relaxing weekend- which is what I needed since I'm
trying to get over bronchitis- ick! I went to the hospital twice last
week and got antibiotics...I just hope it works, because I only got
the antibiotics for three days each time- so I had a day in between
when I wasn't taking them. But I think I'm finally beginning to
actually feel better. Friday at the hospital (which really means
doctors) I had my sinuses cleaned out- which is gross, but I'm gonna
explain anyways. They take this long (6-8 inches), metal, thin suction thing and
stick it down your nose and suck up all the stuff. I didn't
understand at first, but then I realized what she was going to do and
I was horrified. There wasn't much I could do to stop her at that
point, thankfully it didn't hurt. But it was one of the weirdest
things I've ever experienced.
Friday night was fun- I went to a movie with one of the Korean
teachers at my school. I really like this particular teacher because
she's really with it and speaks English almost fluently- she studied
in the states. We went and saw Once- an Irish rock musical. It is an
Indie film- and I honestly can't say I'd recommend you see it. The
music is really good- I liked the music a lot, but the movie itself
was a bit painful to watch. At first the film was shaky and the story
drawn out and not very good- but if you have a chance to listen to
the soundtrack, you should.
Saturday I hung around and then went to a girl's spa night- one of the
women from church was hosting it. She actually teaches for the
Department of Defense Schools here, which is interesting. She has the
sweetest apartment ever!!! I'm not even joking- it's a 5 bedroom
apartment on the top (27th) floor of the building (she lives by
herself). It has a spectacular view- she was able to buy a whole
bunch of American snacks from the base- which was a treat. I ate a
bunch and felt really icky. But we also had chili- which was kinda
crazy, with real sour cream and cheese! (Clearly, I'm in another
country.) We watched Rent, there are some musical fans, and Step Up.
We had manicures and just hung out- it was really nice, because it was
the first time I've gotten to hang out with these women from church.
Of course I'm the youngest, but there is one girl who's 23- most women
are around 30. Some are even married- which is cool. I ended up
spending the night- sleeping on a real mattress. And then had eggs
and pancakes for breakfast!!! The first time since I've been here!
(Notice how all my news revolves around food.)
Then I went to church yesterday and after had dinner and gelato with some
of the people and women's Bible study. I really like the women, which
is exciting because I've been looking for fellowship for awhile. I
don't necessarily like the sermons at church. However, I do like the worship at
church- so that's cool- fellowship and worship I guess isn't a bad
reason to go to church.
So, four months have gone by and although I am missing family, friends, and familiar things- like Boulder and driving my car, I am having a good time. Everytime a new month begins it makes me reflect and evaluate how I'm spending my time in Korea and how I feel about it. Last month I reflected upon how I hadn't made any Korean friends, Korean language study was really hard, that I didn't have any fellowship, and I wasn't sure where to apply for jobs and such next year.
This month things have changed. I have made one Korean friend, another aspiring English teacher in Korea and I have started to do things with teachers at school- I think some of them count as friends. I passed my Korean test (80%!) and I really like some of the people at church, which equals fellowship. Hopefully it also means friends, as some of the foreigners will be here the entire time I'm here. I still don't have clear direction for where I'll apply for jobs and such next year, but realize that I don't have to think about that immediately- which is comforting.
Hope everyone is dong well at home, please let me know what's happening!
-me :)
I really had a nice relaxing weekend- which is what I needed since I'm
trying to get over bronchitis- ick! I went to the hospital twice last
week and got antibiotics...I just hope it works, because I only got
the antibiotics for three days each time- so I had a day in between
when I wasn't taking them. But I think I'm finally beginning to
actually feel better. Friday at the hospital (which really means
doctors) I had my sinuses cleaned out- which is gross, but I'm gonna
explain anyways. They take this long (6-8 inches), metal, thin suction thing and
stick it down your nose and suck up all the stuff. I didn't
understand at first, but then I realized what she was going to do and
I was horrified. There wasn't much I could do to stop her at that
point, thankfully it didn't hurt. But it was one of the weirdest
things I've ever experienced.
Friday night was fun- I went to a movie with one of the Korean
teachers at my school. I really like this particular teacher because
she's really with it and speaks English almost fluently- she studied
in the states. We went and saw Once- an Irish rock musical. It is an
Indie film- and I honestly can't say I'd recommend you see it. The
music is really good- I liked the music a lot, but the movie itself
was a bit painful to watch. At first the film was shaky and the story
drawn out and not very good- but if you have a chance to listen to
the soundtrack, you should.
Saturday I hung around and then went to a girl's spa night- one of the
women from church was hosting it. She actually teaches for the
Department of Defense Schools here, which is interesting. She has the
sweetest apartment ever!!! I'm not even joking- it's a 5 bedroom
apartment on the top (27th) floor of the building (she lives by
herself). It has a spectacular view- she was able to buy a whole
bunch of American snacks from the base- which was a treat. I ate a
bunch and felt really icky. But we also had chili- which was kinda
crazy, with real sour cream and cheese! (Clearly, I'm in another
country.) We watched Rent, there are some musical fans, and Step Up.
We had manicures and just hung out- it was really nice, because it was
the first time I've gotten to hang out with these women from church.
Of course I'm the youngest, but there is one girl who's 23- most women
are around 30. Some are even married- which is cool. I ended up
spending the night- sleeping on a real mattress. And then had eggs
and pancakes for breakfast!!! The first time since I've been here!
(Notice how all my news revolves around food.)
Then I went to church yesterday and after had dinner and gelato with some
of the people and women's Bible study. I really like the women, which
is exciting because I've been looking for fellowship for awhile. I
don't necessarily like the sermons at church. However, I do like the worship at
church- so that's cool- fellowship and worship I guess isn't a bad
reason to go to church.
So, four months have gone by and although I am missing family, friends, and familiar things- like Boulder and driving my car, I am having a good time. Everytime a new month begins it makes me reflect and evaluate how I'm spending my time in Korea and how I feel about it. Last month I reflected upon how I hadn't made any Korean friends, Korean language study was really hard, that I didn't have any fellowship, and I wasn't sure where to apply for jobs and such next year.
This month things have changed. I have made one Korean friend, another aspiring English teacher in Korea and I have started to do things with teachers at school- I think some of them count as friends. I passed my Korean test (80%!) and I really like some of the people at church, which equals fellowship. Hopefully it also means friends, as some of the foreigners will be here the entire time I'm here. I still don't have clear direction for where I'll apply for jobs and such next year, but realize that I don't have to think about that immediately- which is comforting.
Hope everyone is dong well at home, please let me know what's happening!
-me :)
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