Reflections

24-older and wiser

Suwon Garden

Some of my favorite signage and Konglishy

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My favorite dessert- Pat Bing Su

Our common thread- the sweet tooth. 

Merry Christmas from Seoul

Sitting at gate 6, an hour and fifteen minutes away from boarding time, I'm finding myself overcome with sadness. This comes as somewhat of a surprise. I'm not ready to put the intense emotions I'm experiencing into words.

The last three months have been a surreal, dreamlike escapade. I never had any free time to internalize what I was doing or reflect on my experience; now that I have two hours of downtime and nothing to do, I'm feeling somewhat lost.

Overall, I had a fantastic time in Korea. I experienced the most rapid personal growth I've ever experienced in such a short period. Learning how to teach, "performing" 9.5 hours each day, sleeping 4 hours each night, learning to love history, developing an entire biology course, discovering my profound interest in North Korea, feigning effervescence each day, and learning how to manage 195 different kids has left me marked forever. 

I celebrated my birthday the other night with a group of teachers- Laine, Sharon, Yerin, Kay, and I went to Suwon Garden which is a well known Korean restaurant (a picture of Bill Clinton graces the hallway to the restrooms). I've never been surrounded by so much food- I'll post a picture once Laine emails them to me (my camera died). My birthday overall was great as I was completely spoiled- I came in to work to find my desk decorated with sparkles and ribbons, and received wonderful gifts including a chocolate cake, candy bars, ice cream, coffee, and endearing letters from my students and colleagues. 

Last night I finished the development of my biology course and then ate traditional Korean Barbeque with Eugene. Afterward, I went to a lovely Korean Spa and had a 100 minute deep tissue massage until 12:30am. My hedonistic self never appreciated human touch as much as I did this night.

I suppose it's worth mentioning that I received the Teacher of the Month award on the last day of class. It's wonderful to be recognized by the academic staff, and the hefty bonus didn't hurt either.

I'm looking forward to starting school on Monday with a whole new respect for teachers and a new perspective on education. 

Busan, my last weekend

i eat shells for lunch

then I eat raw squid for dinner (still moving, freshly chopped)

dogs. I have more explicit photos but they are quite controversial. if you're curious, I'll email

color

Beomeosa Buddhist Temple, in the clouds

Our love nest

Uh, no. This is actually seafood

Natural hotsprings

Beers in Busan

Jerry's Birthday treat for me- Italian food!

This past weekend marked my last Sunday in Korea. Laine and I travelled via the KTX train to Busan which lies on the southern tip of Korea. On the way south, I had a three hour "conversation" with a young Korean gentleman who did not write a lick of English, was a deaf mute, olympic gold medalist, and sushi chef. He gave me his jersey.

When we arrived, Laine and I headed straight for the beach which felt like heaven on earth. We fed each other grapes and peaches, then laughed hysterically for hours over a pitcher of beer and talks of international relations and stupid mistakes made in college.

Later, we headed to the largest jjimjjilbang in Asia, spending hours prancing around nekkid and taking dips in "the grape bath", "the salt bath", "the mud bath" etc.

We spent the next two nights in a DODGY love motel. And when I say dodgy, I actually mean really classy. There was even a black, curly hair on the soap.

The following day we soaked our tootsies in the public hot spring, visited the Gupo Market, and made wishes at the Beomeosa Buddhist Temple. The Gupo Market definitely had the most poignant effect on me. We had heard there was a dog meat market there, and indeed there was. Walking that gauntlet was one of the most disturbing things I've ever done. We were shooed through quickly by Easterners who did not appreciate us in awe of the spectacle. Not only were there dogs in cages for slaughter, but goats, chickens, and ducks as well. It definitely moved me back onto the vegan bandwagon.

The following day we visited the Jagalchi fish market which frankly puts Pike's Place to shame. When we arrived back in Seoul last night, I visited Ewha Women's University district which reminded me of Telegraph in Berkeley. I wish I hadn't waited until my last week to find this place; it was fantastic- bustling with an eclectic mix of restaurants, vendors, and people.

This evening Jeremiah took me out for a lovely dinner to celebrate my birthday. Check out the dessert we had! While the food and company was fantastic, the best part of my evening was doing what I've long been pining to experience in Korea- using a bidet! Although I felt slightly violated, that was an experience worth having at least once.

jump!

leftovers from mudfest

bling bling

I went to the alicia keys concert on thursday. AWESOME!

work, lunch "break" 

must be quick, lots to prep.

Today was teacher appreciation adventure day. Our school took all of us to a very fancy seafood buffet. I'm still full and I ate nine hours ago.

Then we went to JUMP! A ninja/comedy production combining performance judo  and pure wackiness. Very funny and excellent entertainment. 

It was the hottest day in Seoul today. After the show I walked around the market at Insadong. Lots of arts and crafts type stuff. Excellent.

Made an appearance at a mini park in the middle of the city. A park with a river running through it. Hundreda of people were splashing around enjoying the coolness of the Haan Estuary. So good. So beautiful. Such pure joy.

I was able to speak with Kalmoe on the phone yesterday. She got third in her heat and will be racing in the reps tomorrow. So exciting!

Yesterday I did some shopping, went for a FABULOUS meal with Yerin and her mother. That was definitely the best meal I've had in the last 3 months. Afterward, I went to the dentist and had my teef cleaned!

Fewer than two weeks until I'm home. So much to do still... must run!

For now, here's some more photos from the mudfest and a few other randoms...

Dong dae mun market

It's Monday and I've just begun the second week of the third summer session. It was a gorgeous day in Seoul and I was actually able to see blue sky, which has come to be somewhat of an anomaly in the city.

I was honored this morning with my second teacher of the week award- a subtle yet admittedly morale boosting recognition.

I did so much prep this weekend that I have very little responsibility tonight. It will be nice to go home and get to bed at a reasonable hour.

This weekend I finally indulged and did some serious shopping at Dong dae mun market. The shopping starts at 11pm and continues until 4am...  it's absolutely BUSTLING and wonderfully hectic. Yerin and I treated ourselves to some fine Korean luxuries, leaving around 3am nearly toppling over from all our goods.

On Sunday I was meant to go white water rafting and bungee jumping, however our trip was cancelled last minute due to dangerous weather conditions. I'm too bummed to say anything more about that.

I've only got 13 days left of teaching... hard to believe how fast it's gone. Although I was invited to stick around and teach biology year round, I think my time to be a student is soon approaching. Sitting back and taking notes has never seemed so easy...

I find that I have made the transition from acting the role of a teacher to being a true teacher. It's a good feeling seeing my kids grow not just in their "in class" abilities, but as individuals. 

 

It's a Sido thing...

corona advert eat your heart out

street food, island style

color

low tide

clam diggin'

i found one!

a day in the life of the kuntry folk

Lee's sculpture park

the hot mess that was I

riding tandem through chile pepper farms, vineyards, and rice patties

biggest bowl of soup ever

Session two came to an end on Wednesday and we teachers were given a much deserved four day weekend.  Laine, Jin, Kay and I snuck off to some tiny islands off the west coast of Incheon and had ourselves a genuine experience of life in Korean countryside. 

It was quite a trek getting to Sido- after an hour and a half on the subway, a bus ride, two ferry rides, and another bus ride, we found ourselves 4 hours outside of Seoul in a majestic and quaint agricultural/fishing village. The fog sat low over the green rolling hills, and we were surrounded by tiny islands every which way we looked. Sido's perimeter is fewer than 4 kilomenters and its population can't be more than 100. 

We rented tandem bicycles and cruised around vineyards, chile farms, and rice patties. Not long after, we found ourselves caught in a typhoon and managed to salvage a few inches of dryness after picking up some fancy ponchos on the beach. Surrounded by dragonflies, we cycled up and down rolling hills in the pouring rain.  The island was completely silent except for our laughter which was so uncontrollable, it's likely to have transcended the waves of the Yellow Sea and reached our counterparts in Seoul.   

We ate the most delicious meal of homemade kimchi (the freshest I've tasted since my stay in Korea), seafood soup with homemade noodles, and spicy tofu soup. After a lengthy nap, we ventured out again on our bicycles and made our way to another island- Modo. I managed to take a massive chunk out of my toe riding tandem downhill in a typhoon in flip flops. Bloodshed only made this trip more exotic. We found ourselves jaw dropped when we reached an erotic beach-front sculpture park.  This made me think of Tim and miss Tanner and family that much more.

The rest of the day was spent telling stories, reading, laughing about girly things, and overall having an appreciation for the day and for life.

The following day we hitched a ride, bussed it, took several more ferries, another bus, a taxi, and another ferry to a larger island called Muido. The tide was low and we were able to walk across a sandbar to another island and submerge ourselves in mudflats where we hunted for clams for lunch. We found three in total and I proudly found the largest and most beautiful clam, although it was hardly enough for four...

More of my blood was shed tripping on rocks of all sorts. I was a hot mess.

Our big finale was buying beer and fireworks and sitting on the rocky beach (on Laine's playboy bunny towel that was purchased by her boyfriend while doing UN work in Kosovo) as we waited for our final transportation home. We felt like fraternity boys laughing hysterically on the beach, drinking beer, dancing with sparklers, and shooting off fireworks. We drew quite a crowd of amused cheerers-on. 

Boryeong Mud Festival

THIS WEEKEND WAS SO MUCH FUN!

For the first time, I didn't think about work. I feel completely rejuvenated, a new soul ready to conquer my remaining 5 weeks in Seoul. We met at the express bus terminal at 8am Saturday morning. There, we hopped on a coach and drove 2 hours through the countryside to the Yellow Sea. The drive was gorgeous. Korea outside the city is lush and majestic; I stared outside the window for the entire two hours listening to the pitter patter of rain and gazing at the low mist trapped by the rolling green hills.

Our first stop was not Daecheon Beach, but rather the location where all the mud for the festival is gathered- miles of mud flats, as far as the eye could see. To our surprise, we were given the option to run the annual 5k Boryeong Mud flat race. We stripped down to our bikinis and hopped into the crowd, just in time for the starting gunshot. Running 5k in knee deep mud was brutal, but the glory when all was said and done was completely worth it. 

After the race, our tour group arranged a handful of mud related activities, which of course included mud wrestling. We were divided into coed teams "A" and "B". Needless to say, Laine and I dominated the mud wrestling field. Unfortunately we only have scratches (no photos) to validate our victories.

We quenched our thirst with some Cass then headed to our hotel room (with a view of the Yellow Sea!) Laine, Yerin, Annes and I dropped our backpacks and sprinted into the waters of Daecheon beach. Sand between my toes and salt water up my nose never felt so awesome.  I felt prodigiously awake and aware of life.

The rest of the afternoon was spent painting our bodies in mud, dancing, mud sliding, swimming, eating tempura corn dogs, socializing, and drinking soju/aloe cocktails. The debauchery didn't stop at sunset; around 10pm I headed to the main stage mosh pit and danced to the beats of live Korean hip hop (AMAZING!) Meanwhile, Daecheon Beach was caught in the middle of a typhoon- you can't even imagine the spectacle...

There is simply too much to be said about this weekend and my words could never do the high I experienced appropriate justice.

More photos to come in the next few days...

The bright side of the moon

Tomorrow is Friday and I feel like I'm on top of the world.  My morale is finally on its way back up.

Last night I had my teacher evaluation conference regarding the results of my biology class; allegedly I made the high scoring record book. :)

Today I ate MEXICAN food after work! It wasn't the best, but it was MEXICAN! The evening could not have been more stellar. The clear blue sky afforded a stunning contrast with the high-rise horizon. Beautifully juxtaposed was a substantial, full, and yellow moon.

This weekend I'm heading to the mud festival on Daecheon beach. Wrestling to ensue... 

Tuesday, really?

I think this is going to be the longest week of the entire summer. It's only Tuesday and I'm absolutely knackered.

This Monday I was crowned "teacher of the week" which served to boost my morale ever so slightly.  This evening I also had a meeting with my boss to review the feedback from the student/teacher surveys. My kids loved me! I managed to score significantly above average in nearly every category from "my teacher is knowledgeable" to "my teacher inspires me to learn".

I almost cried today because all I wanted was to sleep, and that's really not an option at this time...