SNAPSHOT NOVEMBER

This November I’ve been getting closer to my host family, my students and my friends here in Korea. Some of these moments I have caught on my phone, others not. Here is a sampling of the moments that have brightened my November days.

1. At Seonsan market with my host family my youngest host cousin became obsessed with this blanket. He wouldn’t leave it alone until the family bought it for him. Then he tried to carry it on his head through the whole market. When we finally tucked the blanket in our shopping bag he had to open the bag at each stop to make sure his blankie was still there.

2. A few weekends ago I went to Gwangju to see some friends and teach a lesson for the Korean Bridge Initiative (a non-profit that provides free English lessons for motivated, low-income students). The students were amazing — so intelligent and kind. Afterwards some students and teachers went out for lunch. Speaking with these students whose interests are so diverse and dreams so big encourages me to keep working hard on teaching everyday.

3. There is one coffee shop that I go to regularly in Gumi. I know both the baristas there very well by sight. Though we rarely talk, we have a rapport based on the smile and nod. Last time I was there one of the baristas brought me this latte and explained — it says “HI” to you. Perfect treat to make me smile all day.

4. November is also the time for our school field trip. I went with the second grade students to Geumo Mountain where we hiked and looked at the autumn leaves (단풍). My students had a lot of fun yelling in English and complaining that they were tired. I wish I could spend time with the students and teachers outside of class setting more often.

5. After hiking a mob of second grade girls came over and started asking me questions about the U.S. and about my life. The conversation ended with us taking many, many pictures together (though I only managed to snag this one where everyone is covering their face).





November can be a tough month as winds pick up and the sun sets sooner. I know I am giving thanks for heated floors, lemon tea and absorbing Korean Dramas. What are you thankful for this month?

GYEONGJU: CITY OF TOMBS

Two weekends ago I traveled to the city of Gyeongju for Fulbright's Fall Conference. The conference began Friday evening and ended with a closing dinner on Sunday night. Though the conference's main intent is for Fulbrighters to check in with cultural adjustment and share teaching trials and triumphs, its secondary role is to introduce us foreigners to the historical treasures of Gyeongju, the capital of the Silla dynasty. It is a city filled with giant hill-like tombs, ancient temples and palace grounds. The group spent all of Sunday on a bus tour of the city and saw less than half of its historical sites. Most impressive to me were the great tombs of kings and officials which sit beautifully preserved and alien-like around the city. Since my friend Sophia and I are not too far from Gyeongju we stayed later on Monday exploring the city center by bicycle (rented for only 10,000 Won for the day). It felt like the last beautiful day of fall, sunny and warm, but with an undeniable crispness on the breeze.

View of the lake outside our hotel. Gyeongju is one of those places most lovely in the fall.

Tombs of Gyeongju.

I found the simple tombs strangely beautiful and compelling.

Famous Hwangnam Bread Bakery, stumbled upon by mistake as we toured the city.

Piled stones at a temple. Reminded me of the stones piled on Jewish tombs in Poland.

The golden Buddha of Bulguksa Temple.

Entering Anapji Pond,  playground of the Silla kingdom.

Ready to bicycle, by Gyeongju's river.

Through city fields.

And such a beautiful sky.

Taken from the bicycle seat.

OCTOBER, THE END

October has been a hectic month for me and I am not sorry to see it go. Beginning with the Jinju Lantern Festival I have traveled almost every week in October (if you count trips to Daegu, which I am starting to). I had my first and second NKD meetings, the Fulbright Fall Conference in Gyeongju and our school festival, which threw an entire week into uproar. I bicycled past traditional houses in Gyeongju and sang in Korean in front of over 700 middle school students. This month I have made some of the memories that I will cherish long after I have left Korea. But now I am tired.

Life moves at different paces and, personally, I enjoy a nice brisk trot. Lately though, life has been galloping and I need it to slow down. Early in September when I had just arrived in Gumi I had so much time on my hands that I piled my to-do list higher and higher. The result being a nice fat cold when alls said and done. I might sound sad — I am sad — but it is a sadness of letting go. The fact is I love everything I am doing here in Korea. I love teaching, traveling, studying Korean, blogging, volunteering and building friendships, new and old, but in doing everything I love I am losing me a little bit. Without time to reflect it's all action, action, action. My body is moving, but my self feels more and more lost. I need to cut back. I was so excited about this chance to grow, about all this opportunity, that my tree is now in dire need of pruning. And of all my pursuits the easiest to clip is traveling.

I didn't travel to Korea for excitement, for new sights and smells. I traveled to Korea for people and for kitchen tables — for the student yelling Beyonce lyrics in the hallway and the bus that is always late. I would rather miss a thousand glorious Buddhist temples, than miss the moment when my host cousin held my hand as we walked to the market. So many hours of perhaps 'unproductive' time led up to that moment, yet they made possible this unexpected treasure.

I could say, oh, there will be time later for everything. If I don't travel now, I will have time in the spring or next year. In some ways I really believe this is true. The time for travel will become possible. However, I also want to know that if there was never more time, if I left Korea today or tomorrow, I could say I spent my energy on the people I met, rather than the places I went.

All that being said, I still have some commitments to fulfill. This weekend I am traveling to Gwangju to teach a class for the Korean Bridge Initiative, a nonprofit providing English language classes to motivated students who can't afford hagwons. Although I somewhat dread traveling once more I am excited for the chance to teach such motivated high school students. Since they are higher level and more mature I can follow my passions and do a creative lesson on scanning poetry (something I could never do with my middle schoolers).

After Saturday I look forward to some quality time in Gumi for the rest of the semester. And, despite my moaning and groaning, look forward to uploading photos of Gyeongju and some adorable video of my school festival soon!

LIFE IN GUMI: OH SO SLOWLY

This last week or so has been relatively uneventful — a lovely dose of home life for me. So what have I been up to? Mostly planning my lessons. Post-midterms I resolved to get my classes in line, both in terms of discipline and content. For me that means planning my lessons further in advance and planning those lessons in step with the other English teachers. This makes it easier for me to gauge what vocabulary to use and what needs to be covered. On the other hand, this method constricts me to two or three lessons per section which will take some getting used to. Right now my first graders are learning about advice, my second graders are learning about environments and my third graders are learning about congratulations. Things are, in fact, going quite well right now — something I’m glad I can finally say about teaching.

Not that it has been so bad, but that finally I think I’m doing a pretty good job (or at least a more consistent job). Of course this has only been for about a week and I know there will still be many ups and downs to some in this first year of teaching, but still I am pleased. Especially as there was a point not long ago when I was despairing over ever disciplining my classes effectively. However, in the last week I’ve made an effort to change my ways and it has been both easier and more pleasant than I imagined. I think I felt as many young teachers must — I didn’t want to be too harsh, to appear mean ... I thought I might feel bad for disciplining students. In actuality I don’t feel bad for keeping order in my classroom — I feel empowered and I think my students do too. A classroom with order and structure (in whatever form) is a comfortable classroom and one where learning can take the fore.

Besides school I’ve been, well, living. I finished another chapter of my Korean textbook and am almost done with another. A new coffeeshop, Gusto, opened in our neighborhood (did I mention the darth of cafes was my only complaint about the area?) and I’ve been several times. Once I went with my host family to celebrate my first paycheck. They asked me if in America we have the “first paycheck ceremony.” They explained “For your first paycheck you  - to your parents,” “give?” “Yes, you give your parents...what is the word?” Then after some family discussion, “You give your parents underwear.”

I asked my parents if they want me to mail them some delicates, but they declined.

Last week I also watched my first Korean film (shocking, I know). 완득이 (Wan Deuki, English title: Punch) follows the relationship of high school 2nd grader Wan Deuk and his meddlesome homeroom teacher with the nickname Dung Zoo. Funny at times, touching at others and occasionally both at once, Wan Deuki was just what I hoped it might be. The film develops a full cast of quirky characters all of whom have some part to play before the end. However, what I really love is that the film's resolution delicately brings the film to a close without miraculously curing all of Wan Deuk’s ills. I would so like to say more, but would rather encourage you to watch the film yourself and, if you do, to let me know what you think in a comment (the film is on Netflix under the name Punch).

Otherwise, I’ve been playing with my host cousins, keeping up with the dramas and sleeping copious amounts. It’s still very pleasant here is Gumi, though cool — dare I say, cold — at night.  Enough that we’ve already had the floor heating on a few times — just once was enough for me to know that it’s the best thing in the world.  I also had my first meeting with my NKD mentee (North Korean Defector). With the help of a translator we planned what day we want to meet and  what we want to cover at our meetings. From now on we will meet once a week to study English, and a little Korean, together. My mentee is a girl, only a little older than I am. After our meeting we went to drink juice and eat toast. We found out we both like the Batman movies, hiking and Korean noodles which is, I think, a lot to start from.

Playing Uno with the host cousins. I showed them the game during Chuseok. Now when they come over they ask right away, "우노 해요?" (Play Uno?)

JINJU LANTERN FESTIVAL

Spreading the love at the Jinju Lantern Festival.

Monday to Wednesday at Shinpyeong Middle School this week were devoted to midterm exams. However, since I don't have to proctor or grade any exams this actually meant three days of freedom. Monday was spent recovering from Seoul. Tuesday I packed my bag again and set off to Jinju, a town 2 hours south of Gumi and host to a famous lantern festival. Though there are other lantern festivals in Korea this one stands out as both beautiful and historical; while under siege by the Japanese the people of Jinju placed lanterns in the river to prevent the Japanese from secretly fording the river at night.

The bus ride was, again, perfect for reading and on arrival in Jinju I easily met up with two other friends, Sophia and David. We got a late lunch at a local restaurant, delicious seafood kalguksu (a type of noodle soup) and a hot bibimbap which is a Jinju specialty. Then we wandered over the Jinju castle grounds which were full of lanterns depicting military battles, daily life in old Korea, animals and plants. There were so, so many I'm sure we only saw about half. Walking through the grounds it was like walking through a brightly lit picture book or a still movie.

The dancing cranes were by far my favorite.

David, myself and Sophia in front of the castle.

We had to walk up a hill to get to the castle and on the way back down we took another path which led us through the love tunnel. Literally, there is no other name for it. We stopped here to write our wishes on a ribbon, hoping all the good feelings in the love tunnel will help them come true.

My wish for this year.

After passing through the love tunnel we met up with another friend, John, who actually lives in Jinju. Together we sat down on the hill to watch the fireworks. The lanterns were amazing but they were nothing to the fireworks. The show began with five or six orange and white birds flying up into the night. They coasted so gracefully so that they almost seemed to be kites, but then each bird shot flames from its wings and sped off. This was the signal for the big fireworks and while these were standard fireworks they were stunning in their proximity. We were sitting just above of the river and when the first circle of light exploded everyone jumped. Then a waterfall of sparks began to flow off the sides of each bridge like a golden river. Soon more and more large fireworks were exploding in the sky and each spark seemed like it was about to run right up and kiss you. We could feel the ashes falling on us and I swear I saw someone showered in still-live sparklers. But with all this the noise as well. I feel as if this was the closest I will ever get to watching a star explode. Amazing. After it ended each one of us was stunned silent for a moment.

We were all getting hungry at this point and decided to cross the river in search of food. We quickly found more than we could handle in the giant marketplace, but were able to enjoy two more beautiful lantern tunnels on our way. In the end we sat at one of the food tents, talked and rested until we were about asleep on our feet. The night ended with my first stay at a love motel. 60,000 won for a two bed hotel room? I'll take it.

Windmill lantern, reminds me of the Netherlands.

View from the bridge. Not the best quality, but you can get the idea.

Lantern tunnel — these lanterns were all made (I think) by local children as each one was unique in design and skill level.

Me and 'The Kiss' lantern.

Giant dragon lantern.

This Friday is my first day back at school in a week, but it doesn't feel as if I was gone. I'm more surprised that it is October already. With midterms behind us and a new month ahead I want to take this weekend to map out some rigorous and exciting lesson plans for the rest of the semester. Especially as the weather starts to get chillier, sitting down with a hot drink and a large pile of work sounds more and more inviting.

SEOUL WEEKEND: PART II

Saturday evening I met my friend Yumin who I hadn't seen since studying in the Netherlands my junior year of college. While in the Netherlands we had a close group of friends and while I had seen my other Korean friends, Hyunji and Chul, already since coming to Korea I had missed Yumin. Visiting her was actually the main reason for my coming to Seoul this weekend and I stayed over Saturday night with her family at their apartment in Seoul. We were so happy to talk again and nothing had really changed. We got along as if we had left Leiden only a month ago. In fact now we have even more in common since Yumin is also a middle school English teacher. We were able to reminisce about our time abroad as well as commiserate over our students. Her parents were so kind and very curious how the Fulbright program works and how I am finding Korea. Each parent expressed their interest in a different way; Yumin's mother, by cooking a delicious meal and asking me many questions in Korean for Yumin to translate, and Yumin's father, by telling me, in English, about his favorite action movies. They were so sweet and when Yumin and I left in the morning insisted I wear a scarf to protect my neck from the cold as well as that I come back to visit again soon. I really hope to. Though I love Gumi I wish I could see my friends in Seoul more often.

Since I hadn't explored any of the palaces in Seoul yet — having only looked at the outside — Yumin and I headed back to Gyeongbok to explore. We started at the Seoul Museum of Palaces which was free and contained collections of ornaments, furniture, paintings and instruments mostly from the Joseon Dynasty (the dynasty preceding Japanese annexation in the early 1900s). There was also some history of the dynasties, but being mostly in Korean it was largely lost on me.

Myself in front of the first pavilion in Gyeongbok.

As we began to explore Gyeongbok itself I realized that the grounds are enormous. Every time I thought we had walked through the final archway I would catch sight of another arch in the distance. It just happened that the re-enactment was taking place again as we entered the grounds and this time Yumin and I were able to see the procession up close. It was exciting to see re-creations of some of the banners and items of state we had seen in the museum being used in the pageant.

After walking, and walking, and walking, Yumin and I stopped on a bench to eat the seongpyeon her mother sent with us. Seongpyeon is a traditional crescent shaped rice cake filled with sugar and sesame. The ones Yumin's mother sent us were handmade with pine needles in the dough giving them a green color. Delicious.

Yumin with seongpyeon.

Afterwards we walked a bit more, explored the National Folk Museum which is attached to the palace grounds, and took some more pictures.

Yumin and I next to the lily pond.

The final part of our day was spent back in Samcheon where we ate hoddok (a delicious pancake filled with brown sugar), kimbap (like sushi minus the fish), and then went to a cafe to chat until it got dark. At 7:20 I caught my train back to Gumi, but not without a little regret to be leaving such an exciting city and good friends behind. However, after such a busy weekend, spending Monday lounging around the house reading Persuasion was exactly what I needed.

SEOUL WEEKEND: PART I

This weekend I traveled to Seoul for the first time since orientation. Shortly after school on Friday I caught the train from Gumi Station to Seoul. It's about a 3 and 1/2 hour train ride including many stops along the way. Just enough time for me to finish the novel I've been reading, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (every time I read this book I am astounded at the intricacy of the plot and characters), and to begin and finish Night by Elie Wiesel. I love having so much uninterrupted time to read while traveling. For me this traveling time is as relaxing as a vacation in itself. I arrived in Seoul around 9pm and met up with my friend Laura, who is teaching in Seoul, and some other people from Fulbright. I hung out with them well into the night before heading to a jimjilbang (Korean bath house) to stay the night. When you go to a jimjilbang you pay between 5,000 and 10,000 won (usually more at night) and are given access to a series of hot baths, saunas and sleeping areas. This was my first time going to a jimjilbang, but I had read a lot of blogs so I knew what I was getting into. For foreigners there is sometimes a squeamishness surrounding jimjilbangs because the gender segregated baths require you to be naked. However, if you love hot water you will love jimjilbangs. I found the whole experience highly relaxing as — once you've showered — you can walk from one bath to another, stop in the sauna, take a dip in the cold bath and repeat. Once you feel clean and relaxed you can put on the pajama-style clothes provided by the jimjilbang and head to the sleeping area. There you can grab a sleeping mat, block pillow and whatever space on the floor you can get. I headed into a sleeping room just for women and was quite comfortable for the rest of the night (though some whispering and people walking around in unavoidable).

Statue of King Sejong, inventor of hangeul, in Kwanghwamun.

 The next day I woke up, got dressed and headed to Kwanghwamun Square — stopping at a coffee shop along the way — to meet my friend Carolyn who is teaching English in Cheonan (a city just outside of Seoul). Carolyn has lived in Seoul before so together we saw some of the sights including Insadong, a neighborhood famous for its traditional architecture, Samcheon, famous for oodles of adorable cafes, and Kwanghwamun, which happened to be having a variety of cultural events going on.

Green tea and fruit waffle in Samcheon.

We were told this was a traditional comedy show, but it mostly consisted of this woman dancing and shedding an amazing array of skirts.

This percussion troupe was perhaps our favorite part of the day. I can't remember the Korean name, but Carolyn told me it translates to '9 instruments'. They paraded around Kwanghwamun weaving between trees and we had a lot of fun following them.

Our biggest surprise was a re-enactment taking place at Gyeongbokgung Palace. According to the sign it was "Royal Inspection of the Palace Gaurds." The costumes were beautiful and all the more exciting for being a total surprise.

OUR NEIGHBORHOOD

A short photographic tour of our neighborhood.

Our house snuggled between apartment buildings. Both my host parents are fond of gardening.

A pumpkin-covered rooftop.

Walking near the middle school.

Our middle school, hiding behind the trees.

Looking out at an intersection from fountain park.

Underpass.

Jikjisa (직지사) — Exploring Buddhism

On the Saturday of our Chuseok break my family and I drove to Gimcheon, a nearby city, in order to eat a delicious seafood soup and visit Jikjisa, a famously large and beautiful Buddhist temple. Jikjisa is, according to my Oma, the largest temple in our province (Gyeongsangbuk-do) and will soon be the largest in Korea if they keep building more (which they are doing). Our first stop in Gimcheon was at a tiny downtown eatery for lunch. The two room diner was packed with people and as far as I could tell only sold two things — mandu (delicious dumplings) and seafood soup. Both were delicious, though I admit I had to give myself a pep-talk before eating the mussel-looking-things. Spicy food in Korea is fine, it's the seafood I'm getting used to.

After lunch we went for a short walk around a nearby lake picked up some iced americanos and were on our way. Not before we all had fun teasing host dad who just bought fancy new shoes and was leaning against a tree drinking his americano. Then we drove to Jikjisa.

The front entrance to Jikjisa.

I was a little full and feeling a little disappointed after hearing that my host sisters and Aboji had seen Jikjisa too often and weren't going to go in with us. However, the temple was well worth it and I had more time to talk with Oma.

Here we are in front of one of the decorated doors.

Jikjisa was similar in style to other Buddhist temples I have seen in Korea. It was also more touristy, with a small fee for entry and several gift shops and restaurants on the grounds. Despite this visiting Jikjisa was a spiritual experience and a high point in my Chuseok week. If Jikjisa is full of tourists it is for good reason. Walking through the various archways and temples complex brightly colored designs jumped out from every corner, some darkened and peeling with age. I felt I was seeing two Jikjisas at once - Jikjisa as it must have been when it was first built, as it still is now, brilliant, and the Jikjisa that has stood on this spot for hundreds of years to appear now, darkened and mysterious.

Giant wood-carved statues greet us on either side as we enter the grounds.

Buddhist temples are always surprising to me. I have loved churches for their emptiness, the sense of being very small, of being pressed upon by so much air. It is a surprise to enter a Buddhist temple where every wall and ceiling is a mirage of moving colors and figures. In Jikjisa the main temple room is not large and its doors sit open to the breeze. There is a sense of lightness and yet all around a multitude of lotus lanterns hanging from the ceiling and buddhas watching from the wall. There is such a feeling of abundance, that there is always more and you are just a small point in that multitude. I have never been overwhelmed by a building in quite the same way before.

Looking out from the temple building.

Lotus lanterns.

Altar and incense.

The multitude.

 It was such a peaceful, happy afternoon that I promised myself, before I leave Korea I will do a temple stay, though I will probably choose somewhere a little quieter than Jikjisa. Many temples open their doors to visitors for a weekend or even weeks during the holidays. I look forward to spending a winter or spring weekend enjoying the temple's abundant silence.

An afternoon goodbye.